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Alex Brighten

@alexbrighten1.bsky.social

PhD student interested in movement ecology, deserts, birds, tech. Runner, biker.

164 Followers  |  142 Following  |  19 Posts  |  Joined: 10.10.2024  |  1.9369

Latest posts by alexbrighten1.bsky.social on Bluesky

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From policy to practice: progress towards data- and code-sharing in ecology and evolution | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Data and code are essential for ensuring the credibility of scientific results and facilitating reproducibility, areas in which journal sharing policies play a crucial role. However, in ecology and evolution, we still do not know how widespread data- and ...

πŸ“£ Hot off the press at #ProcB!

πŸ” Our study checked #datasharing and #codesharing policies in 275 #ecology #evolution journals. Policies exist, but clarity and strictness vary, affecting #reproducibility.
#OpenScience
πŸ”— royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...

17.09.2025 15:12 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Top left: vulture nest in a cliff face; middle left: vulture nest viewed through a telescope; lower: the nestling vulture in the nest getting close to fledging; top right: an adult and a fledgling Egyptian vulture

Top left: vulture nest in a cliff face; middle left: vulture nest viewed through a telescope; lower: the nestling vulture in the nest getting close to fledging; top right: an adult and a fledgling Egyptian vulture

#InternationalVultureAwarenessDay! Thinking of all this year’s fledglings & the threats they’re going to face; mostly anthropogenic. Vultures just go about their lives keeping the natural world clean while humans set it on fire. Tough, but it’s important to hold on to hope & conservation successes.

06.09.2025 20:18 β€” πŸ‘ 4    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Top left; UEA broad just after sunrise; top right meeting welcome sign; lower left reflections of a bridge; lower right my poster and me.

Top left; UEA broad just after sunrise; top right meeting welcome sign; lower left reflections of a bridge; lower right my poster and me.

Reflecting on #BESMove2025, nice couple days chatting all things #MovementEcology and meeting friends old & new. Thank you @besmovesig.bsky.social and the meeting organisers for your hard work to deliver a stacked and smooth running schedule and fun socials. Looking forward to the next one!

05.09.2025 20:42 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Graphical abstract for a manuscript titled "Too few, too many, or just right? Optimizing sample sizes for population-level inferences in animal tracking projects". The workflow presented in this manuscript evaluates sampling design by assessing sampling duration, sampling interval, and the number of sampled individuals needed to obtain reliable population-level estimates.

Graphical abstract for a manuscript titled "Too few, too many, or just right? Optimizing sample sizes for population-level inferences in animal tracking projects". The workflow presented in this manuscript evaluates sampling design by assessing sampling duration, sampling interval, and the number of sampled individuals needed to obtain reliable population-level estimates.

✨ New preprint! "Too few, too many, or just right?" 🌍🌎🌏 We explore how to evaluate study design in animal tracking studies by assessing sampling duration, interval, and, now, the number of individuals needed for reliable population-level estimates. #movementecology www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

04.08.2025 06:33 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Collage of photos from the European Ornithological Union (EOU) conference 2025. Clockwise from top left: an amazing plenary about robust avian science by Antica Culina with a slide on FAIR data; a tiny solar GPS transmitter, the Menai bridge at sunrise; me and my poster; Welsh flag with bonus Welsh jackdaw; Vogelwarte research group; first Guinness after 2.5 months in Switzerland; cool hummingbird mural on a house; and in the centre: Vogelwarte research group - Team Alpine Swift-Barn Owl-Dipper et al!

Collage of photos from the European Ornithological Union (EOU) conference 2025. Clockwise from top left: an amazing plenary about robust avian science by Antica Culina with a slide on FAIR data; a tiny solar GPS transmitter, the Menai bridge at sunrise; me and my poster; Welsh flag with bonus Welsh jackdaw; Vogelwarte research group; first Guinness after 2.5 months in Switzerland; cool hummingbird mural on a house; and in the centre: Vogelwarte research group - Team Alpine Swift-Barn Owl-Dipper et al!

It’s already been a week since #EOU2025! Fun week meeting and chatting cool bird science & geeking out at the cool tech! Presented another poster made from my tent in Bulgaria. πŸ˜… Even got work done on the 14hr train journey, 🌱 but France took my Leatherman; rookie error not checking my field pack! πŸ₯²

30.08.2025 16:13 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Hey Holly, did you manage to get a copy? Otherwise i can send you it

04.07.2025 17:32 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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Join our team? We're hiring a field tech for the year to work on our Secretarybird project:
hawkwatch.org/opportunitie...
Please share this opportunity!
#conservationjob #raptorresearch

26.06.2025 05:23 β€” πŸ‘ 7    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Light blue background, with a digital drawing of an albatross flying on the right side. The uppermost text is in grey and says "Do you have access to these journals?", with a list of journals underneath in black: Ibis, Emu, Ostrich, Journal of Zoology, Australian Wildlife Research, Wildlife Research, Biological Conservation, Vida Silvestre Neotropical, Prairie Naturalist, Pacific Conservation Biology, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, Ardea, Mammalia, Chinese Journal of Zoology". 
At the bottom in grey is the text "please help me find the papers in the attached spreadsheet for my thesis chapter! Thank you for your help!!!"

Light blue background, with a digital drawing of an albatross flying on the right side. The uppermost text is in grey and says "Do you have access to these journals?", with a list of journals underneath in black: Ibis, Emu, Ostrich, Journal of Zoology, Australian Wildlife Research, Wildlife Research, Biological Conservation, Vida Silvestre Neotropical, Prairie Naturalist, Pacific Conservation Biology, Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, Ardea, Mammalia, Chinese Journal of Zoology". At the bottom in grey is the text "please help me find the papers in the attached spreadsheet for my thesis chapter! Thank you for your help!!!"

After 2 years and ~1000 papers, I'm nearing the end of my broad-scale #synthesis thesis chapter! However there are still papers I can't access, if anyone has access to these journals (papers listed in link) and could send them to me, I would greatly appreciate it!! πŸͺΆ
docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

29.05.2025 12:44 β€” πŸ‘ 8    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 3    πŸ“Œ 0
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Movement Ecology Annual Meeting 2025 - British Ecological Society Join the Movement SIG at the University of East Anglia for their yearly meeting, this year titled 'Understanding Migration'.

The next BES Movement Ecology SIG annual meeting is taking place on the 2nd-3rd of September 2025 in Norwich. Come and discuss your results or data with movecologists! www.britishecologicalsociety.org/content/move...
@britishecolsoc.bsky.social @ueaceec.bsky.social @ueaenv.bsky.social

29.05.2025 13:32 β€” πŸ‘ 14    πŸ” 15    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 2
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Do you use Earth Observation #data for #wildlife #ecology? Take this survey to share how you use remotesensing, climate and weather data. Part of SOS (www.dfg-sos.de), a project of @dlr-de.bsky.social, @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social, β€ͺ@uni-wuerzburg.de‬

survey.lamapoll.de/EarthObserva...

27.05.2025 06:35 β€” πŸ‘ 1    πŸ” 6    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Application countdown for the #Animove Workshop 2025 in Costa Rica.....Deadline is 31st of May. Sign up now ! animove.org/next-animove...
@mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social @movebank.bsky.social #biologging #animalmovement #rstats

26.05.2025 11:39 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
Vacatures bij de RUG

PhD opportunity #AfricanOrnithology

PhD in Spatial-temporal dynamics of Black-tailed Godwit habitat use and foraging ecology in Senegal

www.rug.nl/about-ug/wor...

22.05.2025 12:25 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 17    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie Actions2-year Postdoctoral Fellowship
Dr Alex Bond (Natural History Museum, Tring/London UK) [progress pride flag]
Applicants with previous experience in CT/morphology, wildlife acoustics, or plastics particularly encouraged!
Applicant eligibility
Can’t have spent >12 of the last 36 months in the UK
Previous post-doctoral experience & publication track record HIGHLY recommended
Must relocate to the UK (London or Tring; remote working is not possible under this funding scheme)
Defended PhD by Sept 2025; < 8 years postdoc experience
Previous successful applications are available as guides!
Applications shared between fellow & host with a deadline 10 Sept 2025
Email: a.bond@nhm.ac.uk / BlueSky: @TheLabAndField@bsky.social
https://alexanderbond.org

Marie SkΕ‚odowska-Curie Actions 2-year Postdoctoral Fellowship Dr Alex Bond (Natural History Museum, Tring/London UK) [progress pride flag] Applicants with previous experience in CT/morphology, wildlife acoustics, or plastics particularly encouraged! Applicant eligibility Can’t have spent >12 of the last 36 months in the UK Previous post-doctoral experience & publication track record HIGHLY recommended Must relocate to the UK (London or Tring; remote working is not possible under this funding scheme) Defended PhD by Sept 2025; < 8 years postdoc experience Previous successful applications are available as guides! Applications shared between fellow & host with a deadline 10 Sept 2025 Email: a.bond@nhm.ac.uk / BlueSky: @TheLabAndField@bsky.social https://alexanderbond.org

The 2025 Marie Curie Fellowships are now open! If you are interested in #PlasticPollution, #ornithology / #birds, #conservation & our work at @adriftlab.bsky.social and want to discuss an application, get in touch! #PhDjobs

marie-sklodowska-curie-actions.ec.europa.eu/calls/msca-p...

20.05.2025 08:44 β€” πŸ‘ 50    πŸ” 48    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 5
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Happy #WorldMigratoryBirdDay! Alpine swift are back from sub-Saharan Africa & pre-breeding surveys in our Swiss study sites are complete. Looking forward to the last field season of my PhD with these epic birds! #WMBD 2025 theme: make space for urban spp; we must protect nesting sites for #swifts!

10.05.2025 22:25 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 0    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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Today is #WorldMigratoryBirdDay!

Let’s work together to bring nature back into our cities and neighbourhoods and protect our #SharedSpaces for the benefit of migratory birds and people. 🐦

Learn more how you can help create bird-friendly cities and communities ➑️ www.worldmigratorybirdday.org

10.05.2025 06:41 β€” πŸ‘ 15    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

The Ecology of Animal Migration course will be held again in Lund University this November! A great opportunity to learn and network for PhDs working on migration.

06.05.2025 13:54 β€” πŸ‘ 5    πŸ” 3    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Did I mention I'm so stoked that this is published? :)
Collect feather fragmentsπŸͺΆ; chop 'em upβœ‚οΈ;
set 'em on fireπŸ”₯; measure the gasesπŸ‘©β€πŸ”¬!
Super excited to build on this research in coming months combining stable isotope analysis (made possible w huge help from @isotopesuk.bsky.social) & geolocators!

04.04.2025 14:38 β€” πŸ‘ 6    πŸ” 2    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0

Still totally buzzing from #BOU2025. Awesome few days. Meeting brilliant people, chatting cool science, surviving my first ever presentation as speaker (just!). Thanks @bou.org.uk for organising such a welcoming, inclusive, & real (so much honesty re: talk nerves) conference. Bring on the next one!

04.04.2025 14:33 β€” πŸ‘ 9    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 0
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🧡1/6 That’s it for #BOU2025

We hope you’ve enjoyed following along!

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to everyone who’s engaged with and participated with the conference here on Bluesky

#ornithology

03.04.2025 14:31 β€” πŸ‘ 16    πŸ” 1    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2
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Did you follow #BOU2025 on Bluesky?

πŸ’¬ If so, how did you find it? If not, why not?

Please take 5 minutes πŸ•°οΈ to complete our survey: forms.gle/dVNDYs8wg5...

Your views will inform the future of our Bluesky conferences!

#ornithology πŸͺΆπŸ§ͺ #conservationscience 🌎

Please repost!

03.04.2025 15:00 β€” πŸ‘ 10    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 0    πŸ“Œ 3
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1/ We are delighted to have @judyshamounb.bsky.social deliver the Alfred Newton Lecture at #BOU2025 Frontiers in Ornithology

Judy's research focuses on understanding movement ecology in birds 🧡

#ornithology #migrationresearch #movementecology πŸͺΆπŸ§ͺ

01.04.2025 19:41 β€” πŸ‘ 41    πŸ” 16    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
An adult Egyptian vulture flying over a Central Asian landscape. The bird has a cute pointy yellow face, mostly white feathers, and wide wings with long black flight feathers. The sky is blue and cloudless, and the ground is hilly yellow grass.

An adult Egyptian vulture flying over a Central Asian landscape. The bird has a cute pointy yellow face, mostly white feathers, and wide wings with long black flight feathers. The sky is blue and cloudless, and the ground is hilly yellow grass.

🧡1/6 The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) is an Endangered species that occurs across Europe, Africa and Asia.
βœ…Migration patterns are well-studied in Europe/Middle East
❓Little research across in Central Asia.
I'm at #BOU2025 today!
#ornithology #Raptors πŸͺΆ #vultures #conservation

02.04.2025 09:55 β€” πŸ‘ 26    πŸ” 5    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 1
Image of study site Bluemull Sound, Shetland, and a foraging European Shag

Image of study site Bluemull Sound, Shetland, and a foraging European Shag

1/6 Tidal stream environments are unique marine habitats characterised by fast tidal currents.

Knowledge of how #seabirds use these areas for foraging is scarce.

@tomgale98.bsky.social is at #BOU2025 presenting work on understanding drivers of habitat selection of Shags in these environments...

02.04.2025 12:41 β€” πŸ‘ 22    πŸ” 11    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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1/🧡 #BOU2025 #CitizenScience #WildlifeHealth #OneHealth #Ornithology 🌏πŸ§ͺ

Hi, I’m Becki Lawson, a wildlife vet at @zslofficial.bsky.social, and today I will be exploring disease surveillance in wild birds in light of the overall health of people, animals, and the ecosystem – in short: One Health.

03.04.2025 08:00 β€” πŸ‘ 24    πŸ” 14    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Global warming is leading to more frequent periods of extremely high temperatures. Understanding individual behavioural responses across temperature gradients can help identify and design measures that enable species to cope with extremes temperatures, aiding their conservation.
1/5 #BOU2025

03.04.2025 13:15 β€” πŸ‘ 32    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 2
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1/6. Are modern contaminants causing eggshell thinning in birds? In the first chapter
of my PhD I have completed a systematic review evaluating whether 6 contaminants
cause eggshell thinning by assessing the volume of & agreement in the literature.
#BOU2025 #SESH5 #Ornithology #Ecology 🌍 πŸ§ͺ

03.04.2025 08:44 β€” πŸ‘ 18    πŸ” 7    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 1
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Hello! I'm a 3rd year PhD student at Newcastle University attending the #BOU2025 conference. Today I will be talking about my research 'Exploring Grey Heron DNA transportation through lake sediment in a spatiotemporal analysis using ddPCR'.

#ornithology #eDNA #ddPCR
@nclneg.bsky.social 🌍 πŸ¦†
1/6

02.04.2025 14:40 β€” πŸ‘ 39    πŸ” 4    πŸ’¬ 1    πŸ“Œ 0
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1/🧡 One of the main drivers of 🌍 change is pollution
Birds foraging in landfills eats #plastics that egest in natural areas by pellets in a process known as biovectoring
We’re at the #BOU2025 presenting how we compare and quantify the biovector role of some aquatic species towards a natural area

03.04.2025 08:30 β€” πŸ‘ 27    πŸ” 9    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 2
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🧡1/7 What do massive insect crashes mean for insectivorous birds? And can aquatic habitats help?

Today at #BOU2025 I'm exploring how aquatic habitats might help to buffer declining insectivore populations, using the Spotted Flycatcher as an example.

#ornithology

03.04.2025 11:30 β€” πŸ‘ 57    πŸ” 19    πŸ’¬ 4    πŸ“Œ 4
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#ExtinctInTheWild (EW) species are some of the most at risk in the world, existing only in human care. I’m a PhD student at @zslofficial.bsky.social and @ucl-c4ia.bsky.social studying how time spent in human care may affect EW bird recovery #BOU2025 #Ornithology #ConservationScience 🌍 🦀 πŸ§ͺ 1/6

02.04.2025 16:15 β€” πŸ‘ 44    πŸ” 8    πŸ’¬ 2    πŸ“Œ 5

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