Cecilia Nilsson
@cnilsson.science
Researcher at Lund University, working on radar aeroecology, flight behavior and animal migration 📡✨🐦🦋 She/her
http://cnilsson.science
http://cnilsson.science
Pinned
Cecilia Nilsson
@cnilsson.science
· Sep 22
Animal niches in the airspace
For flying animals, including many birds, bats, and insects, the air is a crucial
arena for a range of behaviors. Technological advances, such as year-round tracking
of flight altitudes and expanded u...
www.cell.com
Are animals randomly distributed in the air, or is there a structure to where and when we find them? In our new paper we outline factors that shape habitat use in the air, from abiotic structure to biotic interactions. A lot of fun discussions behind this one! 🦅🦋🦇🌬
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Incredibly honoured and happy to have been awarded a consolidator grant from the ERC!
This grant will expand my group and fund my research at @biologylu.bsky.social for five years, and focus on different factors that disrupt animal migration at large scales 🦅🦋🌍🧲💡🌡️. Exciting times ahead!
This grant will expand my group and fund my research at @biologylu.bsky.social for five years, and focus on different factors that disrupt animal migration at large scales 🦅🦋🌍🧲💡🌡️. Exciting times ahead!
December 9, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Incredibly honoured and happy to have been awarded a consolidator grant from the ERC!
This grant will expand my group and fund my research at @biologylu.bsky.social for five years, and focus on different factors that disrupt animal migration at large scales 🦅🦋🌍🧲💡🌡️. Exciting times ahead!
This grant will expand my group and fund my research at @biologylu.bsky.social for five years, and focus on different factors that disrupt animal migration at large scales 🦅🦋🌍🧲💡🌡️. Exciting times ahead!
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Interested in #RaptorResearch and #MovementEcology? 🧪
The #AnimalEcology Lab at @utu.fi has an open #PhDposition!
We’ll be tagging WTEs with cutting-edge #GPS devices to study their early-life journeys.
Curious to learn more? See the advert: shorturl.at/HMZ84
#PhDOpening #PhDChat #BioLogging
The #AnimalEcology Lab at @utu.fi has an open #PhDposition!
We’ll be tagging WTEs with cutting-edge #GPS devices to study their early-life journeys.
Curious to learn more? See the advert: shorturl.at/HMZ84
#PhDOpening #PhDChat #BioLogging
December 1, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Interested in #RaptorResearch and #MovementEcology? 🧪
The #AnimalEcology Lab at @utu.fi has an open #PhDposition!
We’ll be tagging WTEs with cutting-edge #GPS devices to study their early-life journeys.
Curious to learn more? See the advert: shorturl.at/HMZ84
#PhDOpening #PhDChat #BioLogging
The #AnimalEcology Lab at @utu.fi has an open #PhDposition!
We’ll be tagging WTEs with cutting-edge #GPS devices to study their early-life journeys.
Curious to learn more? See the advert: shorturl.at/HMZ84
#PhDOpening #PhDChat #BioLogging
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
🦉 Ecology of Animal Migration course in Lund 🐦⬛
I got the chance to join this inspiring PhD course at @biologylu.bsky.social. It was very well organized with fascinating lectures, a birdful excursion to Falsterbo and fantastic people doing fantastic research! #ecology #animalmigration
I got the chance to join this inspiring PhD course at @biologylu.bsky.social. It was very well organized with fascinating lectures, a birdful excursion to Falsterbo and fantastic people doing fantastic research! #ecology #animalmigration
November 28, 2025 at 9:13 AM
🦉 Ecology of Animal Migration course in Lund 🐦⬛
I got the chance to join this inspiring PhD course at @biologylu.bsky.social. It was very well organized with fascinating lectures, a birdful excursion to Falsterbo and fantastic people doing fantastic research! #ecology #animalmigration
I got the chance to join this inspiring PhD course at @biologylu.bsky.social. It was very well organized with fascinating lectures, a birdful excursion to Falsterbo and fantastic people doing fantastic research! #ecology #animalmigration
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Much enjoyed learning about how to study bird migration with radar whilst on the roof of Lund University. youtu.be/0sB5On1gLsg?...
Studying bird migration with radar
YouTube video by Bill Sutherland's Conservation Concepts
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 7:18 AM
Much enjoyed learning about how to study bird migration with radar whilst on the roof of Lund University. youtu.be/0sB5On1gLsg?...
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
A typical Batumi migration scene, illustrating the idea of an ‘aerial niche’. For Steppe Buzzards in our bottleneck, that niche is often somewhere between the clouds: great to watch, tricky to count.
Fascinating paper by @cnilsson.science et al: doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...
📸 @barthoekstra.bsky.social
Fascinating paper by @cnilsson.science et al: doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...
📸 @barthoekstra.bsky.social
November issue out online now
www.cell.com/ecology-evol...
We hope you enjoy it!
The cover article is by Cecilia Nilsson and colleagues, photo by Bart Hoekstra
The penultimate interviews in our Disability series feature John Dennehy and Tara Cronin
www.cell.com/ecology-evol...
We hope you enjoy it!
The cover article is by Cecilia Nilsson and colleagues, photo by Bart Hoekstra
The penultimate interviews in our Disability series feature John Dennehy and Tara Cronin
November 18, 2025 at 8:41 PM
A typical Batumi migration scene, illustrating the idea of an ‘aerial niche’. For Steppe Buzzards in our bottleneck, that niche is often somewhere between the clouds: great to watch, tricky to count.
Fascinating paper by @cnilsson.science et al: doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...
📸 @barthoekstra.bsky.social
Fascinating paper by @cnilsson.science et al: doi.org/10.1016/j.tr...
📸 @barthoekstra.bsky.social
So proud of this cover that features @barthoekstra.bsky.social amazing photo!
November issue out online now
www.cell.com/ecology-evol...
We hope you enjoy it!
The cover article is by Cecilia Nilsson and colleagues, photo by Bart Hoekstra
The penultimate interviews in our Disability series feature John Dennehy and Tara Cronin
www.cell.com/ecology-evol...
We hope you enjoy it!
The cover article is by Cecilia Nilsson and colleagues, photo by Bart Hoekstra
The penultimate interviews in our Disability series feature John Dennehy and Tara Cronin
November 17, 2025 at 8:42 AM
So proud of this cover that features @barthoekstra.bsky.social amazing photo!
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
How many #birds are killed by #cats in Canada? Between 19-197 million! This is the main result from my first chapter of my PhD thesis just published in Avian Conservation and Ecology. ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a...
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
October 16, 2025 at 4:19 PM
How many #birds are killed by #cats in Canada? Between 19-197 million! This is the main result from my first chapter of my PhD thesis just published in Avian Conservation and Ecology. ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a...
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
We’re hiring a doctoral researcher in the area of migration ecology.
The work will focus on the question of how and when migratory songbirds learn where their home is using #Motus.
Part of the Cluster of Excellence NaviSense and linked with @sfb1372.bsky.social
uol.de/job788en
#ornithology
The work will focus on the question of how and when migratory songbirds learn where their home is using #Motus.
Part of the Cluster of Excellence NaviSense and linked with @sfb1372.bsky.social
uol.de/job788en
#ornithology
October 20, 2025 at 10:13 AM
We’re hiring a doctoral researcher in the area of migration ecology.
The work will focus on the question of how and when migratory songbirds learn where their home is using #Motus.
Part of the Cluster of Excellence NaviSense and linked with @sfb1372.bsky.social
uol.de/job788en
#ornithology
The work will focus on the question of how and when migratory songbirds learn where their home is using #Motus.
Part of the Cluster of Excellence NaviSense and linked with @sfb1372.bsky.social
uol.de/job788en
#ornithology
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Another massive movement of migratory birds underway tonight — nearly 1 Billion Birds! With the full moon, you might be able to see some silhouettes zipping by. You can make your own flow maps here (just hit record): aeroecolab.com/uslights
October 8, 2025 at 2:21 AM
Another massive movement of migratory birds underway tonight — nearly 1 Billion Birds! With the full moon, you might be able to see some silhouettes zipping by. You can make your own flow maps here (just hit record): aeroecolab.com/uslights
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Looking forward to sharing some of my PhD research on process-guided deep learning for bird migration in the AI for Good webinar series tomorrow! 🐦⬛🌍🤖
2nd talk of the 4th session AI for Good Webinar series
AI for Earth & Sustainability Science
📅8 Oct 2025
⏰4:00–5:00 CEST
📚 Topic: Forecasting and understanding bird migration with process-guided deep learning
🧑🏫Speaker: Fiona Lippert
🔗 aiforgood.itu.int/event/foreca...
AI for Earth & Sustainability Science
📅8 Oct 2025
⏰4:00–5:00 CEST
📚 Topic: Forecasting and understanding bird migration with process-guided deep learning
🧑🏫Speaker: Fiona Lippert
🔗 aiforgood.itu.int/event/foreca...
October 7, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Looking forward to sharing some of my PhD research on process-guided deep learning for bird migration in the AI for Good webinar series tomorrow! 🐦⬛🌍🤖
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
High above us, the atmosphere is teeming with life. New research from @cnilsson.science at Lund University reveals how the atmosphere is an ecosystem, with complex ecological processes that affect how animals move between different altitude levels of the airspace.
www.biology.lu.se/article/hidd...
www.biology.lu.se/article/hidd...
October 6, 2025 at 8:15 AM
High above us, the atmosphere is teeming with life. New research from @cnilsson.science at Lund University reveals how the atmosphere is an ecosystem, with complex ecological processes that affect how animals move between different altitude levels of the airspace.
www.biology.lu.se/article/hidd...
www.biology.lu.se/article/hidd...
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Only a few days to go… please share!!!
Fully funded PhD working on insectivorous bird declines with a broad range of stakeholders. Starting ASAP #ornithology #zoology #biodiversity #science #ecology
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
www.exeter.ac.uk/study/fundin...
September 28, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Only a few days to go… please share!!!
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
We are seeking an ornithologist/modeller for a 2-year POST-DOC in Turin. Using archaeological remains, we will reconstruct past avian communities to understand the impacts of climate change and human pressure on birds through time. For details see cutt.ly/irN76QDZ PLEASE RT. #ornithology #AviArch
September 29, 2025 at 7:20 AM
We are seeking an ornithologist/modeller for a 2-year POST-DOC in Turin. Using archaeological remains, we will reconstruct past avian communities to understand the impacts of climate change and human pressure on birds through time. For details see cutt.ly/irN76QDZ PLEASE RT. #ornithology #AviArch
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
We're really proud and exited to announce that Staffan Bensch, professor at the Department of Biology, has received an ERC Advanced Grant for his project “Genetics of long-distance migration”. 👏👏👏
Read the full story on our website!
www.biology.lu.se/article/staf...
Read the full story on our website!
www.biology.lu.se/article/staf...
September 24, 2025 at 6:31 AM
We're really proud and exited to announce that Staffan Bensch, professor at the Department of Biology, has received an ERC Advanced Grant for his project “Genetics of long-distance migration”. 👏👏👏
Read the full story on our website!
www.biology.lu.se/article/staf...
Read the full story on our website!
www.biology.lu.se/article/staf...
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
This is definitely one of those papers that goes in the, 'hm, I never really thought of it that way' category. I love these 'simple' but somehow mind shifting papers. And it's probably more relevant to my own niches than I had previously considered. Cool!
September 19, 2025 at 1:27 PM
This is definitely one of those papers that goes in the, 'hm, I never really thought of it that way' category. I love these 'simple' but somehow mind shifting papers. And it's probably more relevant to my own niches than I had previously considered. Cool!
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Online now: Animal niches in the airspace
Animal niches in the airspace
For flying animals, including many birds, bats, and insects, the air is a crucial arena for a range of behaviors. Technological advances, such as year-round tracking of flight altitudes and expanded use of radar, increasingly show how flying animals use the aerial habitat. This enables us to answer questions about the environmental patterns and ecological processes that shape aerial niches, including energetics, biotic interactions, and risk due to growing anthropogenic conflicts. In this review, we identify environmental conditions and biological interactions influencing where animals occur in the airspace throughout their life cycles. We outline an ecological framework to advance understanding of how different properties of the airspace shape fundamental aerial habitat niches and how biotic interactions influence the realized niches.
dlvr.it
September 19, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Online now: Animal niches in the airspace
Are animals randomly distributed in the air, or is there a structure to where and when we find them? In our new paper we outline factors that shape habitat use in the air, from abiotic structure to biotic interactions. A lot of fun discussions behind this one! 🦅🦋🦇🌬
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Animal niches in the airspace
For flying animals, including many birds, bats, and insects, the air is a crucial
arena for a range of behaviors. Technological advances, such as year-round tracking
of flight altitudes and expanded u...
www.cell.com
September 22, 2025 at 8:04 AM
Are animals randomly distributed in the air, or is there a structure to where and when we find them? In our new paper we outline factors that shape habitat use in the air, from abiotic structure to biotic interactions. A lot of fun discussions behind this one! 🦅🦋🦇🌬
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
www.cell.com/trends/ecolo...
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Migratory birds aren’t equally efficient at all speeds. A new Lund University study shows thrush nightingales fly most efficiently at 7–8 m/s – the speed they actually use on migration.
@pablomaciastorres.bsky.social & Prof. Anders Hedenström, Animal Flight Lab.
www.biology.lu.se/article/not-...
@pablomaciastorres.bsky.social & Prof. Anders Hedenström, Animal Flight Lab.
www.biology.lu.se/article/not-...
September 5, 2025 at 8:25 AM
Migratory birds aren’t equally efficient at all speeds. A new Lund University study shows thrush nightingales fly most efficiently at 7–8 m/s – the speed they actually use on migration.
@pablomaciastorres.bsky.social & Prof. Anders Hedenström, Animal Flight Lab.
www.biology.lu.se/article/not-...
@pablomaciastorres.bsky.social & Prof. Anders Hedenström, Animal Flight Lab.
www.biology.lu.se/article/not-...
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Join us in the migration ecology group at the University of Oldenburg! 📡🐦🐥
Spread the word: we’re #hiring! We offer two short-term #fellowships for master’s degree holders and PhD candidates for 6-12 months to excellent researchers, who are interested in doing research within one dedicated project of our SFB/CRC 1372. Find more information on www.sfb1372.de/jobs
August 26, 2025 at 9:27 AM
Join us in the migration ecology group at the University of Oldenburg! 📡🐦🐥
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
After a lot of time spent in the darkness of the wind tunnel, the results finally see the light.
I'm very excited to share what will become the first chapter of my thesis.
Energy conversion efficiency peaks at intermediate flight speed in a migratory songbird www.cell.com/current-biol...
I'm very excited to share what will become the first chapter of my thesis.
Energy conversion efficiency peaks at intermediate flight speed in a migratory songbird www.cell.com/current-biol...
Energy conversion efficiency peaks at intermediate flight speed in a migratory songbird
Using in vivo measurements of thrush nightingales flying in a wind tunnel, Macias-Torres
et al. show that energy conversion efficiency varies with airspeed following a concave
function, with a maximum...
www.cell.com
June 5, 2025 at 6:20 AM
After a lot of time spent in the darkness of the wind tunnel, the results finally see the light.
I'm very excited to share what will become the first chapter of my thesis.
Energy conversion efficiency peaks at intermediate flight speed in a migratory songbird www.cell.com/current-biol...
I'm very excited to share what will become the first chapter of my thesis.
Energy conversion efficiency peaks at intermediate flight speed in a migratory songbird www.cell.com/current-biol...
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
I am looking for a postdoc wanting to use functional genomics to understand why birds 🐦 struggle with climate warming in @erc.europa.eu project #HotLife. Ideal candidate is a molecular evolutionarybiologist. Join us at @biologylu.bsky.social. Details 👇
shorturl.at/wijEq
Would appreciate a re-post!
shorturl.at/wijEq
Would appreciate a re-post!
Post-doctoral fellow in functional genomics and ecophysiology
Subject description The goal of the project is to uncover the mechanisms explaining why global warming and heatwaves reduce reproductive success and cause excess mortality in wild and domesticated war
lu.varbi.com
May 22, 2025 at 3:22 PM
I am looking for a postdoc wanting to use functional genomics to understand why birds 🐦 struggle with climate warming in @erc.europa.eu project #HotLife. Ideal candidate is a molecular evolutionarybiologist. Join us at @biologylu.bsky.social. Details 👇
shorturl.at/wijEq
Would appreciate a re-post!
shorturl.at/wijEq
Would appreciate a re-post!
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Do you like working with large datasets? Always wanted to develop sophisticated population models? I am looking for a postdoctoral researcher to study the impact of body weight on the survival and reproduction of dark-bellied brent goose using a long-term dataset.
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Vacancy — Postdoc Brent Goose Demographic Analysis in Waakvogels (Sentinel Birds) Project
Do you like working with large datasets? Always wanted to develop sophisticated population models? The department of Theoretical and Computational Ecology is looking for a postdoctoral researcher to s...
werkenbij.uva.nl
May 19, 2025 at 11:54 AM
Do you like working with large datasets? Always wanted to develop sophisticated population models? I am looking for a postdoctoral researcher to study the impact of body weight on the survival and reproduction of dark-bellied brent goose using a long-term dataset.
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
werkenbij.uva.nl/en/vacancies...
Our PhD level course Ecology of Animal Migration at @biologylu.bsky.social is now open for applications! The course will run this November (3-14th) and cover various theoretical and practical aspects of migration ecology.
See: www.biology.lu.se/phd-studies/...
See: www.biology.lu.se/phd-studies/...
Ecology of Animal Migration
Lund University.
www.biology.lu.se
May 6, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Our PhD level course Ecology of Animal Migration at @biologylu.bsky.social is now open for applications! The course will run this November (3-14th) and cover various theoretical and practical aspects of migration ecology.
See: www.biology.lu.se/phd-studies/...
See: www.biology.lu.se/phd-studies/...
Reposted by Cecilia Nilsson
Another birding paper! 🐦 Where do the Nearctic landbirds that show up in Europe each autumn come from? We usually assume they come from NE populations, pushed off course by bad weather - but is that the whole story? #ornithology 1/3
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
May 5, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Another birding paper! 🐦 Where do the Nearctic landbirds that show up in Europe each autumn come from? We usually assume they come from NE populations, pushed off course by bad weather - but is that the whole story? #ornithology 1/3
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...