Dr. Hanja B. Brandl
Postdoctoral researcher
Centre for the Advanced Study of Collective Behaviour,
University of Konstanz/Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich
I am a behavioural ecologist and ecophysiologist interested in the drivers that shape the social structures of animal collectives and the consequences of social processes on evolutionary relevant outcomes. Particularly in social systems, small impacts on ecological and demographic processes quickly scale up to population wide effects. Understanding how animals respond to changes in their environment is one of the biggest, and most relevant, challenges in biology. In my research, I use integrative approaches spanning behaviour, physiology, and evolutionary ecology, investigating underpinnings of social processes, and aiming to better understand the selective drivers shaping how animals cope with environmental challenges. I combine field studies, captive experiments, large-scale automated data collection, fine-scale physiological tracking, and molecular biology methods to understand behavioural and physiological interactions and responses on both the individual and group-level.
When I'm not engaged in doing science, I like to rock climb, I stand-up paddle across the lake, or badly play the harmonica.
integrative biology – evolutionary ecology – collective behaviour – physiological interactions – endocrinology
host-microbiota/parasite interactions – avian societies – animal social networks – stress physiology
