Adriana Luna
Main Focus
I am broadly interested in cognition, communication and individual
differences.
My research focusses on understanding how cognitive development is influenced by personality traits, in particular curiosity. Exploration may have acted as a catalyst for behavioral innovations in our evolutionary lineage, favoring abilities such as problem-solving. Through a combination of observational and experimental studies, I will investigate the interplay between explorative tendency, cognitive performance and socio-ecological factors. By investigating how individuals interact with their environment, acquire new skills and transmit them within a population, we can ultimately gain insights into the intricacies of cognitive and cultural evolution.
I am interested in conducting comparative studies across populations and
species to trace back the phylogeny of those skills. While I have experience with a
wide range of birds and mammals, I am particularly interested in orangutan and great ape cognition.
For my thesis I will collect behavioral data on on two orangutan species at Suaq Balimbing and Tuanan research stations in
Indonesia.
Curriculum Vitae
WORK EXPERIENCE
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2023 - Present: IMPRS Doctoral Student (MPI of
Animal Behavior and University of Konstanz)
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2022 - 2023: Research assistant on
“Communicative plasticity in chimpanzees’ joint action coordination”
(University of Tübingen)
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2021-2022: Field assistant (Max
Planck Institute for Ornithology)
EDUCATION
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2021 Research internship (Lund University
Cognitive Science) “The development of social- cognitive abilities
in a Sumatran orangutan infant”
- 2018 - 2020: Msc Biodiversity (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid); Msc Thesis at Helsinki University
- 2018 - 2020: Msc Applied Ethology (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid); Msc Thesis at IKIAM University
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2014 - 2018: Bsc
Psychology (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
PUBLICATIONS
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Sauciuc GA, Luna AM, Wester A, Hellgren T,
Persson T (2021) Maternal behaviors that mediate skill development in
Sumatran orangutans. [Paper presentation] COGSCI 2021: Comparative Cognition
— Animal Minds, July 2021, Vienna, pages 1-6.
- Luna A, Thorogood R. & Kluen, E. (2021). Do range-expanding Reed warblers (Acrocephalus scirpaceus) show a behavioural syndrome? SymBioSE 2021, Lisbon, Portugal.
Awarded with Best Poster presentation Prize
COURSES
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Challenges in African conservation: National Parks in Central
Africa (UAM –Spain, 2019)
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Intensive course on primatology: Primate behaviour, Cognition,
Ecology and Conservation (Centro Recupero di Animali Selvatici ed
Esotici de Semproniano – Italy, 2018)
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Workshop on Psychological resilience and mental health care
services for refugees in Europe (University of Bergen, 2017)
- Theoretical-practical course on Primatology: Communication in primates (Rainfer – Spain, 2017)