Dr Anna Bracken
- Research Associate In Spatial Ecology (Physiology Ageing & Welfare)
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5183-3139Biography
2022 - present: SBOHVM University of Glasgow (Postdoctoral research associate)
Summer 2021: Swansea University, UK and University of Cape Town, South Africa (research technician - building baboon tracking collars)
2017 - 2021: Swansea University, UK and University of Cape Town, South Africa (PhD; thesis title: "Variation in individual and collective behaviours by chacma baboons using urban space in Cape Town, South Africa")
2015 - 2016: Dwarf Mongoose Research Project, South Africa (project manager and assistant)
2013 - 2014: University of Bristol (MSc by research; Dwarf Mongoose Research Project, South Africa)
2009 - 2013: University College Cork, Republic of Ireland (BSc Zoology)
Research interests
My research aims to restore and connect fragmented urban habitats to improve biodiversity, focussing on Glasgow, using spatial modelling & fieldwork techniques. This is part of the restoring biodiversity working package on the GALLANT project. I am broadly interested in human-wildlife coexistence, urban ecology, biologging, and conservation biology; particularly in the practical integration of research into wildlife management, in working with local communities in conservation strategies, and in communicating research findings to the public. My previous research examined human-baboon interactions with a managed baboon group in Cape Town, South Africa, looking specifically at the causes and consequences of urban space use.
Research groups
Publications
2024
Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C., O'Riain, M. J., Fürtbauer, I. and King, A. J. (2024) Intrinsic and extrinsic factors combine to affect baboon movements across natural and urban environments. Animal Behaviour, 215, pp. 97-109. (doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.07.002)
2023
Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C., O'Riain, M. J., Fürtbauer, I. and King, A. J. (2023) Postpartum cessation of urban space use by a female baboon living at the edge of the City of Cape Town. Ecology and Evolution, 13(5), e9963. (doi: 10.1002/ece3.9963) (PMID:37200910) (PMCID:PMC10186196)
Papadopoulou, M., Fürtbauer, I., O'Bryan, L. R., Garnier, S., Georgopoulou, D. G., Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C. and King, A. J. (2023) Dynamics of collective motion across time and species. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 378(1874), 20220068. (doi: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0068)
Christensen, C., Bracken, A. M. , O'Riain, M. J., Fehlmann, G., Holton, M., Hopkins, P., King, A. J. and Fürtbauer, I. (2023) Quantifying allo-grooming in wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) using tri-axial acceleration data and machine learning. Royal Society Open Science, 10(4), 221103. (doi: 10.1098/rsos.221103) (PMID:37063984) (PMCID:PMC10090879)
2022
Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C., Justin O’Riain, M., Fehlmann, G., Holton, M. D., Hopkins, P. W., Fürtbauer, I. and King, A. J. (2022) Socioecology explains individual variation in urban space use in response to management in Cape Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus). International Journal of Primatology, 43, pp. 1159-1176. (doi: 10.1007/s10764-021-00247-x)
Bracken, A. (2022) What GPS trackers revealed about Cape Town’s baboon troop movements. Conversation,
Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C., Justin O'Riain, M., Fürtbauer, I. and King, A. J. (2022) Flexible group cohesion and coordination, but robust leader–follower roles, in a wild social primate using urban space. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, 289(1967), 20212141. (doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2141) (PMID:35078361) (PMCID:PMC8790338)
2017
Morris-Drake, A., Bracken, A. M. , Kern, J. M. and Radford, A. N. (2017) Anthropogenic noise alters dwarf mongoose responses to heterospecific alarm calls. Environmental Pollution, 223, pp. 476-483. (doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.01.049) (PMID:28153414)
Articles
Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C., O'Riain, M. J., Fürtbauer, I. and King, A. J. (2024) Intrinsic and extrinsic factors combine to affect baboon movements across natural and urban environments. Animal Behaviour, 215, pp. 97-109. (doi: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2024.07.002)
Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C., O'Riain, M. J., Fürtbauer, I. and King, A. J. (2023) Postpartum cessation of urban space use by a female baboon living at the edge of the City of Cape Town. Ecology and Evolution, 13(5), e9963. (doi: 10.1002/ece3.9963) (PMID:37200910) (PMCID:PMC10186196)
Papadopoulou, M., Fürtbauer, I., O'Bryan, L. R., Garnier, S., Georgopoulou, D. G., Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C. and King, A. J. (2023) Dynamics of collective motion across time and species. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 378(1874), 20220068. (doi: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0068)
Christensen, C., Bracken, A. M. , O'Riain, M. J., Fehlmann, G., Holton, M., Hopkins, P., King, A. J. and Fürtbauer, I. (2023) Quantifying allo-grooming in wild chacma baboons (Papio ursinus) using tri-axial acceleration data and machine learning. Royal Society Open Science, 10(4), 221103. (doi: 10.1098/rsos.221103) (PMID:37063984) (PMCID:PMC10090879)
Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C., Justin O’Riain, M., Fehlmann, G., Holton, M. D., Hopkins, P. W., Fürtbauer, I. and King, A. J. (2022) Socioecology explains individual variation in urban space use in response to management in Cape Chacma baboons (Papio ursinus). International Journal of Primatology, 43, pp. 1159-1176. (doi: 10.1007/s10764-021-00247-x)
Bracken, A. (2022) What GPS trackers revealed about Cape Town’s baboon troop movements. Conversation,
Bracken, A. M. , Christensen, C., Justin O'Riain, M., Fürtbauer, I. and King, A. J. (2022) Flexible group cohesion and coordination, but robust leader–follower roles, in a wild social primate using urban space. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London Series B: Biological Sciences, 289(1967), 20212141. (doi: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2141) (PMID:35078361) (PMCID:PMC8790338)
Morris-Drake, A., Bracken, A. M. , Kern, J. M. and Radford, A. N. (2017) Anthropogenic noise alters dwarf mongoose responses to heterospecific alarm calls. Environmental Pollution, 223, pp. 476-483. (doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2017.01.049) (PMID:28153414)
