contact: A.Culina@nioo.knaw.nl

Academic Employment and Education

Personal research grant: Pair-bonds beyond the breeding season – a new approach to understanding divorce and fidelity using the power of Open Data (2018-2021)

  • Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • Project funded by NWO

Postdoc, leading the project on Open Science and Meta-Analysis (2016-2018) 

  • Netherlands Institute of Ecology, Royal Academy of Arts and Sciences

Postdoctoral Research Assistant (2015-2016) 

  • Establishing scientific background for a project on life-history and population dynamics in bats
  • Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford

DPhil in Zoology (2010-2014) 

  • Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford                          

MSc and BSc in Ecology (2003-2008)  

  • Faculty of Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia              

 

Scholarships, Grants and Awards

VENI research fellowship, personal grant (2018-2021)

RDA (research data alliance) EU Early Career support Programme for the RDA 9th Plenary (2017)

Conference travel grant, Welcome Trust, UK (2016)

Student scholarship, University of Oxford (2012-2014)

International Society for Behavioural Ecology student travel award (2014)

Wolfson College, University of Oxford, conference grant (2013, 2014)

Frankopan Fund Scholarship (2012)

Graduate Research Training and Support Grant, University of Oxford (2012)

City of Zagreb Student Scholarship (2005-2008)    

The Ministry of Science Scholarship, Republic of Croatia (2004)        

 

Invited talks and seminars

Open Science Conference Berlin, Berlin (2019)
NVG PhD workshop, Egmond aan Zee, Netherlands (2018)
Cutting Edge Ecology 2018: the science of the 21st century, NIOO-KNAW (2018)
DANS Open Day on Open Science, Den Haag (2018)
Warsaw Seminar Series in Ecology & Evolution, University of Warsaw, Poland (2017), slides here

Open Science as a service: Tools for research comunities, workshop session, Open Science fair, Athens (2017)

Netherlands Institute of Ecology (NIOO) seminar series, NIOO-KNAW, Nethrlands (2017)

Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics Seminar series, University of Amsterdam (2017)

Behavioural Ecology Group Seminar, Wageningen University, Netherlands (2016)

Biological Anthropology Seminar Series, UCL Anthropology, University College London, UK (2015)

International Conference on Evolution and Behaviour, Zagreb, Croatia (2014)

Wolfson college seminar series, Wolfson college, Oxford, UK (2013)

 

Organizing symposiums and workshops

Open Science Tools, Data and Technologies for efficient Ecological and Evolutionary research, symposium and workshops, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2018), initiator and organizer of the event, more about the here, and interview here

Transparent meta-analysis and use of open data workshop. Open Science Tools, Data and Technologies for efficient Ecological and Evolutionary research, Amsterdam, Netherlands (2017). slides here 

Navigating the unfolding Open Data landscape in Ecology and Evolution. Workshop at the British Ecological Society Annual meeting 2017. Ghent, Belgium (2017), slides here

Transparent meta-analysis: a powerful tool for the researchers' toolbox. Workshop at the NIOO research days, Netherlands (2017)

Evolutionary biology and open science: practices, challenges and opportunities. ESEB meeting, Groningen, Netherlands (2017), slides here 

 

Conference talks

European Society for Evolutiary Bioogy meeting, Groningen, Netherlands (2017)

British Ecological Society Annual Meeting, Liverpool, UK (2016), slides here

Publishing Better Science through Better Data, Springer Nature, London, UK (2016): video of the talk here, slides here

Digital Infrastructures for Research Conference, Krakow, Poland (2016), slides here 

XVth European Society for Evolutionary Ecology meeting, Lausanne, Switzerland (2015)

International Society for Behavioural Ecology conference, New York, USA (2014)

Animal Behaviour Society Conference, Princeton University, USA (2014)

1st Joint Congress on Evolutionary Biology, Ottawa, Canada (2012)

 

Outreach Activities

Do your D.A.N.C.E: Debunking sAme-sex aNimal prejudiCe and stereotypEs (2016) https://vimeo.com/129345008

It’s Everyone’s D.A.N.C.E: Debunking homosexuAl humaN prejudiCe & stereotypEs (2016) https://vimeo.com/131138049

The evolution of an alternative male mating strategy: Socialising with less attractive rivals (2012) http://vimeo.com/44808911

  • Winner of the Evolution 2012 Video contest by National Evolutionary Synthesis Center - NESCent

Science Slam Oxford: Cedric Tan: "Chicken sex: Variety is the spice of life" (2013) http://www.scienceoxford.com/live/whats-on-events/science-slam

Birds of British Isles, Oxford University Museum of Natural History (2011)

 

 

Open Science and Meta-Analysis

Open Science is changing the amount, type, and the quality of information available to conduct meta-analysis. My project aims to address the extent to which Open Science (and particularly FAIR data) can add a value to biological meta-analysis, enabling effective and timely transition from the current approaches to the new approaches that use this new data landscape. 

I also want to make the ecological community aware of the amount and the quality of the Open datasets, and empower scientists to navigate, use, and contribute to this growing data landscape. Although we (as people) are sometimes afraid of the unknown, we should be excited to be able to participate in the major transition that ecology (and science in general) is experiencing, and be the active plyers in this movement, for the better science and a better world we live in.

Please visit the project web-site to learn more https://nioo.knaw.nl/en/meta-analysis-meets-open-science

 

The stability of pair-bonds

During my PhD, I have worked on divorce and fidelity in socially monogamous species. Within my main project on Open Science, I am also doing a meta-analysis on within season divorce in birds. In my previous meta-analysis, I have found that between-season divorce is triggered by low reproductive success, and that females (but not males) that divorce, improve some components of their breeding success more than faithful individuals do. However, within-season divorce faces slightly different constraints (e.g. availability of partners, or breeding sites, time to re-nest) compared to between-season divorce. 

 

I have an extensive list of collaborators on my VENI project. To name a few: Prof Ben Sheldon (University of Oxford), Dr. Josh Firth (University of Oxford), Prof Camilla Hinde (Wageninen Univeristy), Prof Matthysen (Belgium), Dr. Charmantier and Dr. Doligez (France), Prof Dingemanse (Gemany), Dr. Orell (Finland), Claudia Norte (Portugal).Prof Török (Hungary), Dr. Charter (Israel), Prof Belda (Spain), Dr. Juta (Japan), Dr. Cusimano (Italy), Dr. Hille (Austria), Prof Slagsvold (Norway), Pradel CNRS, France

 

Culina A., Baglioni M., Crowther T.W., Visser M.E, Woutersen S., Manghi P. (in press): Navigating the unfolding open data landscape in ecology and evolution. Nature Ecology & Evolution

Culina A., Linton D.M and Macdonald D.W. (2017): Age, sex, and climate factors show different effects on survival of three different bat species in a woodland bat community. Global Ecology and Conservation 12: 263-271 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2017.11.009

Culina A., Linton D.M and Macdonald D.W. (2017): Testing for complex drivers of resource utilisation: A case-study of roost dynamics in bats. Basic and Applied Ecology 25: 28-36 doi: 10.1016/j.baae.2017.10.001

Culina A., Hinde C.A & Sheldon B.C.(2015): Carry-over effects of the social environment on future divorce probability in great tits. Proceedings of the Royal Society B 282. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2015.0920

Culina A., Lachish S. & Sheldon B.C. (2015): Evidence of a link between survival and pair fidelity across multiple tit populations. Journal of Avian Biology 45. doi: 10.1111/jav.00661

Culina A., Radersma R. & Sheldon B.C.(2014): Trading up: the fitness consequences of divorce in monogamous birds. Biological Reviews 90. doi: 10.1111/brv.12143

Culina A., Lachish S., Pradel R., Choquet R. & Sheldon B.C. (2013): A multievent approach to estimating pair fidelity and heterogeneity in state transitions. Ecology and Evolution 3. doi:  10.1002/ece3.729

Co-authored publications

Farine D.R., Firth J.A., Aplin L., Crates R.A, Culina A., Garroway C., Hinde C.A., Kidd L.R., Milligan N.D., Radersma R., Verhelst B., Voelkl B. & Sheldon B.C.(2016): The role of social and ecological processes in structuring animal populations: a case study from automated tracking of wild birds. Royal Society Open Science. doi: 10.1098/rsos.150057

Shoji, A., Aris-Brosou S., Culina A., Fayet A., Kirk H., Padget O., Juarez-Martinez I., Boyle D., Nakata T., Perrins C.M. & Guilford T.(2016): Breeding phenology and winter activity predict subsequent breeding success in a trans-global migratory seabird. Biology Letters 11. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2015.0671

Crates R.A., Firth J. A., Farine D. R., Garroway C. J., Kidd L. R., Aplin L. M., Radersma  R., Milligan N. D., Voelkl B., Culina A., Verhelst B. L., Hinde C. A. & Sheldon, B. C. (2016): Individual variation in winter supplementary food consumption and its consequences for reproduction in wild birds. J. Avian Biol. doi: 10.1111/jav.00936

Aplin L., Firth J., Farine D., Voelkl B., Crates R.A, Culina A., Garroway C., Hinde C., Kidd L., Psorakis I., Milligan N., Radersma R., Verhelst B. & Sheldon B.C.(2015): Consistent individual differences in the social phenotypes of wild great tits (Parus major). Animal Behaviour 108. doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.07.016

Psorakis I., Voelkl B., Garroway C., Radersma R., Aplin L., Crates R., Culina A., Farine D., Firths J., Hinde C., Kidd L., Milligan N., Roberts S.,Verhelst B. & Sheldon B.C. (2015): Inferring social structure from temporal data. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. doi: 10.1007/s00265-015-1906-0

Mikulic K., Budinski I., Culina A., Jurinovic L. & Lucic V. (2013): The return of the Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni as a breeding bird to Croatia. Acrocephalus 34, 71-74

Budinski I., Culina A., Mikulić K. & Jurinović L. (2010). Bird species that have significantly changed breeding range on Croatian coastal area: comparison of 30 years old data and recent knowledge. Bird Census News 23: 49-58

 

Datasets

  • Appendix S1. Full data set used in each meta-analysis, including information on life-history traits of the species (Tables S1 and S2). brv12143-sup-0001-AppendixS1.xlsx http://dx.doi.org/10.13140/RG.2.2.30661.45281
  • Dryad data package Culina A, Camilla HA, Sheldon BC (2015) Data from: Carry-over effects of the social environment on future divorce probability in a wild bird population. Dryad Digital Repository. http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1s5rh
  • Culina A, Lachish S, Sheldon B (2015) Data from: Evidence of a link between survival and pair fidelity across multiple tit populations. Dryad Digital Repository. http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.q1gb0
  • Farine DR, Firth J, Aplin LM, Crates RA, Culina A, Garroway CJ, Kidd LR, Milligan ND, Psorakis I, Radersma R, Verhelst B, Voelkl B, Sheldon BC (2015) Data from: The role of social and ecological processes in structuring animal populations: a case study from automated tracking of wild birds. Dryad Digital Repository. http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.885c0
  • Crates RA, Firth JA, Farine DR, Garroway CJ, Kidd LR, Aplin LM, Radersma R, Milligan ND, Voelkl B, Culina A, Verhelst BL, HInde CA, Sheldon BC (2016) Data from: Individual variation in winter supplementary food consumption and its consequences for reproduction in wild birds. Dryad Digital Repository. http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4ch2c

 

 

Technical reports

Budinski I., Mikulić K., Culina A. 2009. Monitoring of birds significant to Učla Nature Park, Unpublished Technical Report for the Nature Park Učka by Association for Biological Research – BIOM

Budinski I., Culina A., Mikulić K. 2009. Research on Ortolan Bunting, Golden Eagle, Horned Larke, Rock Partrige and Peregrine Falcon on the area of Dinara and Krčić, Unpublished Technical Report for the State Institute for Nature Protection by BIOM

Budinski I., Culina A. 2009. Ornithological campus Rovozna, Unpublished Technical Report for the Nature Park Učka by BIOM

Budinski I., Mikulić K., Culina A .2008. Avifauna of Biokovo Nature Park, Unpublished Technical Report for the Nature Park Biokovo by BIOM

Culina A. , Jurkas Ž., Šupraha L., Žeželj P., Maslać M., Budinski I. 2008. Inventory survey of the bird fauna in the Lastovo Archipelago Nature Park, Proceedings of interdisciplinary reasearch campus Lastovsko archipelago, BIUS, Zagreb, 138-149 

Budinski I., Kuljerić M., Jelić D., Culina A. 2008. Amphibians and reptiles of the Mljet National Park – Distribution, vulnerability  and protection mesures, Unpublished Technical Report for the NP Mljet by Croatian Herpetological Society – HYLA

Jurinović L., Budinski I., Mikulić K., Culina A., Lisičić D. 2007. Avifauna of Mljet National Park, Unpublished Technical Report for the NP Mljet by Association for the Protection of Nature and Environment – ELEONORA

Jurinović L., Mikulić K., Culina A., Jurkas Ž. 2007. Autumn migration, Proceedings of Biology Students Association- BIUS, Biological research campus Vis, BIUS, Zagreb, 82-88

Culina A., Budinski I. 2005. Story of a young sample of Ciraetus gallicus ringed in Croatia, La voce del Gheppio 4, 9-10

 

 

 

Attedning the RDA 9th Plenary meeting in Barcelona to present our work on Open data in Ecology and Evolutioary biology. Thanks to the RDA EU Early Career support Programme!

I have recently become an advisor to the Open Knowledge Maps project. More importantly, the project now incorporates PubMed and the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) enabling search (and topic visualisation) within more than 28 million articles! 

Here are the slides from my lightinh talk at the #scidata16 and the video of the lecture 

Slides from my British Ecological Society talk in Liverpool at Slideshare