Alex Brighten
@alexbrighten1.bsky.social
PhD student interested in movement ecology, deserts, birds, tech. Runner, biker.
#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.
September 6, 2025 at 8:18 PM
#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.
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!
September 5, 2025 at 8:42 PM
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!
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. 😅 Even got work done on the 14hr train journey, 🌱 but France took my Leatherman; rookie error not checking my field pack! 🥲
August 30, 2025 at 4:13 PM
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. 😅 Even got work done on the 14hr train journey, 🌱 but France took my Leatherman; rookie error not checking my field pack! 🥲
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!
May 10, 2025 at 10:25 PM
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!
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!
April 4, 2025 at 2:33 PM
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!
My PhD research wouldn’t be possible without the @vogelwarte.bsky.social team, the University of Aberdeen and funding from the Brenda Kay Scholarship. A huge thank you to everyone, and to @bou.org.uk for publication in IBIS: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #BOU2025 7/7
April 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
My PhD research wouldn’t be possible without the @vogelwarte.bsky.social team, the University of Aberdeen and funding from the Brenda Kay Scholarship. A huge thank you to everyone, and to @bou.org.uk for publication in IBIS: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #BOU2025 7/7
Study next steps: 1. individual repeatability of movement strategies, linking this to reproductive output; 2. nonbreeding strategies, combining geolocator & stable isotope data; 3. how seasons interact in a model of carry over effects of individual strategies on reproduction & survival. #BOU2025 6/7
April 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Study next steps: 1. individual repeatability of movement strategies, linking this to reproductive output; 2. nonbreeding strategies, combining geolocator & stable isotope data; 3. how seasons interact in a model of carry over effects of individual strategies on reproduction & survival. #BOU2025 6/7
Re: nestling diet, our data shows bolus weight reduces as temperature increases. This ties in with higher temperatures reducing the length of foraging trips. In nestling faecal samples, prey diversity decreases as max. temperature increases & varied significantly across study colonies. #BOU2025 5/7
April 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Re: nestling diet, our data shows bolus weight reduces as temperature increases. This ties in with higher temperatures reducing the length of foraging trips. In nestling faecal samples, prey diversity decreases as max. temperature increases & varied significantly across study colonies. #BOU2025 5/7
Our *preliminary* analyses showed increasing temperature to decrease total distance and duration of trips but to increase number of trips & foraging range area. Mean distance from the colony was 8.5 km (+-6.5 sd) which was positively related to total precipitation. #BOU2025 4/7
April 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Our *preliminary* analyses showed increasing temperature to decrease total distance and duration of trips but to increase number of trips & foraging range area. Mean distance from the colony was 8.5 km (+-6.5 sd) which was positively related to total precipitation. #BOU2025 4/7
I split trips from GPS tracks to calculate trip metrics and modelled short-term foraging range area in continuous time, extracting landcover values from an underlying occurrence distributions ESRI raster. We analysed food boluses of prey visually & extracted DNA from faecal samples. #BOU2025 3/7
April 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
I split trips from GPS tracks to calculate trip metrics and modelled short-term foraging range area in continuous time, extracting landcover values from an underlying occurrence distributions ESRI raster. We analysed food boluses of prey visually & extracted DNA from faecal samples. #BOU2025 3/7
When studying demographic drivers, we need to understand how individuals respond to their environment. Insectivorous birds rely on resource patches that fluctuate in time and space. Reproductive success rests on foraging success, impacted by prey availability, weather, & environment. #BOU2025 2/7
April 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
When studying demographic drivers, we need to understand how individuals respond to their environment. Insectivorous birds rely on resource patches that fluctuate in time and space. Reproductive success rests on foraging success, impacted by prey availability, weather, & environment. #BOU2025 2/7
Uncovering Alpine swift foraging behaviour using GPS tracking & DNA metabarcoding! For the first time we describe Alpine swift foraging movements and what factors impact foraging trips, short-term range area size, & the prey diversity fed to nestlings #BOU2025 #ornithology 1/7
April 3, 2025 at 11:15 AM
Uncovering Alpine swift foraging behaviour using GPS tracking & DNA metabarcoding! For the first time we describe Alpine swift foraging movements and what factors impact foraging trips, short-term range area size, & the prey diversity fed to nestlings #BOU2025 #ornithology 1/7
Great first half of BOU2025; 1.5 days of inspiring & brilliant #ornithology and chatting to cool people. You can follow the presentation threads on #BOU2025.
Looking forward to tomorrow!
…even a little excited to give my first ever conference talk
(despite the crippling anxiety 🙃). Let’s gooo!
Looking forward to tomorrow!
…even a little excited to give my first ever conference talk
(despite the crippling anxiety 🙃). Let’s gooo!
April 2, 2025 at 11:10 PM
Great first half of BOU2025; 1.5 days of inspiring & brilliant #ornithology and chatting to cool people. You can follow the presentation threads on #BOU2025.
Looking forward to tomorrow!
…even a little excited to give my first ever conference talk
(despite the crippling anxiety 🙃). Let’s gooo!
Looking forward to tomorrow!
…even a little excited to give my first ever conference talk
(despite the crippling anxiety 🙃). Let’s gooo!
Awesome thought-provoking guest seminar showing the power of citizen science and long-term flyway-scale collaborations for evidence based conservation from @jengill.bsky.social at UoA SBS today and a great time chatting ornithology & migration. Such an inspirational boost from daily PhD struggles.
February 27, 2025 at 10:50 PM
Awesome thought-provoking guest seminar showing the power of citizen science and long-term flyway-scale collaborations for evidence based conservation from @jengill.bsky.social at UoA SBS today and a great time chatting ornithology & migration. Such an inspirational boost from daily PhD struggles.
Hello Bluesky! Overdue introduction:
I’m Alex; PhD student in 🏴 interested in movement ecology & ecophysiology.
Inspired by many seasons’ fieldwork with migratory birds, I currently use GPS loggers and light-level geolocators; stable isotope analysis; and DNA metabarcoding to study Alpine swift.
I’m Alex; PhD student in 🏴 interested in movement ecology & ecophysiology.
Inspired by many seasons’ fieldwork with migratory birds, I currently use GPS loggers and light-level geolocators; stable isotope analysis; and DNA metabarcoding to study Alpine swift.
January 3, 2025 at 12:46 PM
Hello Bluesky! Overdue introduction:
I’m Alex; PhD student in 🏴 interested in movement ecology & ecophysiology.
Inspired by many seasons’ fieldwork with migratory birds, I currently use GPS loggers and light-level geolocators; stable isotope analysis; and DNA metabarcoding to study Alpine swift.
I’m Alex; PhD student in 🏴 interested in movement ecology & ecophysiology.
Inspired by many seasons’ fieldwork with migratory birds, I currently use GPS loggers and light-level geolocators; stable isotope analysis; and DNA metabarcoding to study Alpine swift.