Hester Bronnvik

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

68 followers 21 following13 posts

Hester Bronnvik reposted

Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior

@mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social

Same weight, different energy bill. An Andean condor uses 79% less energy per kilometer than a trumpeter swan, even though both weigh roughly the same. Why? Find out in a new study in Science, which rewrites the costs of flight for wild birds and bats: doi.org/10.1126/scie... 1/3

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

A new publication means a new themed cake. @enourani.bsky.social @safilab.bsky.social This time: eagle soaring, thus a spinning candle to illustrate thermal uplift. A tasty way to celebrate the physics of flight. The paper can also be enjoyed even without cake. doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

Hester Bronnvik reposted

Royal Society Publishing

@royalsocietypublishing.org

Independence from parental care is an important milestone for many animals. This #RSOS study used GPS tracking to study the link between the flight skills of juvenile golden #eagles and the timing of independence from their parents: doi.org/10.1098/rsos... @hbronnv.bsky.social @enourani.bsky.social

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

Why live with your parents? Golden eagles 𝘤𝘢𝘯 be independent long before they actually 𝘢𝘳𝘦. We tracked juvenile eagle flight in high detail and found that skill didn’t predict when they left home. So what does? 🧵 📝 doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251574 @enourani.bsky.social @safilab.bsky.social

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Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

The Alps are a dangerous place for a young eagle. Suitable territories are already occupied. Food is scarce. If you can safely stay with your parents, why gamble on finding a place of your own?

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

Sometimes the question isn’t “Can I survive on my own?" It’s “Is leaving worth it?” Delaying independence lets juveniles make a choice: to leave based on external conditions, not just developmental milestones. @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social @royalsocietypublishing.org doi.org/10.1098/rsos...

doi.orgDecoupling of emigration timing and skill acquisition in a saturated population of golden eaglesAbstract. Many animals must gain independence from parental care by acquiring skills necessary for survival. Thus, the rate of skill acquisition can predic

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

Why live with your parents? Golden eagles 𝘤𝘢𝘯 be independent long before they actually 𝘢𝘳𝘦. We tracked juvenile eagle flight in high detail and found that skill didn’t predict when they left home. So what does? 🧵 📝 doi.org/10.1098/rsos.251574 @enourani.bsky.social @safilab.bsky.social

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

The assumption: learning -> ability -> independence But, we found a difference between being able to be independent and choosing to be independent. Regardless of how we define independence, skill was necessary, but it wasn’t sufficient.

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

Construction of the Berlin Wall began 65 years ago today, on Aug. 13, 1961. What started as a barrier has been transformed into a symbol of freedom. It took 28 years, but what was built to divide is unifying. A lesson for people who want to build more walls. #EastSideGallery #MauerBerlin #onthisday

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

Spent a great few days in Milan taking in the sights and seeing some of the amazing figure skating #Olympics. Unforgettable! #MilanoCortina2026 #FigureSkating

Hester Bronnvik reposted

@anflack.bsky.social

Happy and proud of the next fledgling of the Flack flock. Dr Hester Brønnvik @hbronnv.bsky.social defended her PhD thesis today. She has done a wonderful job. I could not be happier! @imprs-qbee.bsky.social @animaltracking.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

If there is an optimal behavior, why is there so much variation in the world? We found that, for white storks, context is everything. @anflack.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social New paper! @cellpress.bsky.social doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.06.044 🧵1/5

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Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

4/5 Soaring well requires good thermals. Waiting for the best thermals means waiting for summer afternoons. But if storks don’t migrate until the weather is good, they miss out on the breeding season.

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

5/5 Migrating at the right time means migrating in bad weather. Older storks were performing worse at flight to perform better at migration. Whether or not an animal is improving its performance at a task can only be determined in the context of that task.

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

If there is an optimal behavior, why is there so much variation in the world? We found that, for white storks, context is everything. @anflack.bsky.social @mpi-animalbehav.bsky.social New paper! @cellpress.bsky.social doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.06.044 🧵1/5

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

2/5 We tracked 151 storks over up to 8 migrations (at 1 Hz!) to ask whether they improve their soaring skills to migrate efficiently. We identified > 55,000 soaring & > 6,000 flapping events that allowed us to compare flight across ages & seasons.

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

3/5 We found that, rather than showing a learning curve, older white storks performed worse in almost all flight metrics. How do we justify this?

Hester Bronnvik

@hbronnv.bsky.social

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