Lucia Bruscagnin

Research interests
I am interested in how animals acquire and use social and ecological information in their natural environments, with a particular focus on fieldwork and data collection in wild primates. In my PhD, I focus on curiosity and information-seeking behavior, operationalized through selective attention to relevant events. I am especially interested in how individuals allocate attention, how this varies with age, sex, social rank, and social context, and how information gathered through attention guides decision-making and may ultimately affect fitness.

Academic career

• August 2026 – present:
  PhD, Behavior and Cognition (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen and the German Primate Center)
  Thesis topic: Selective Attention and Information Acquisition in Wild Assamese Macaques
• May 2025 – October 2025:
  Field Assistant & Collaborator – Orangutan Behavior and Cognition | SUAQ Project, Indonesia
• February - December 2024:
  Internship and scientific collaboration| Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior, Konstanz
  MSc. thesis: Neophobia and Tool Use in Island-living Capuchin Monkeys (Cebus capucinus imitator): Do tool-using individuals exhibit lower neophobia levels than non-tool-using counterparts?
  Auxiliary scientist (Hiwi): Video scoring of camera trap footage in BORIS, focusing on tool use behavior in capuchin monkeys| Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior
• April – December 2024:
  Research Assistant and Scientific Collaborator| CoBreeD Project (Cooperative Breeding Database)

Publications and Presentations

• Bruscagnin L, Crofoot M, Barrett & Goldsborough Z (2026) Wild tool-using white-faced capuchins show lower neophobia and higher neophilia than their non-tool-using neighbours. Culture Conference, Utrecht (presentation)
• Ben Mocha Y,m Woith M, Scemama de Gialluly S, Bruscagnin L ... & Griesser M (2025) An integrative, peer-reviewed and open-source cooperative-breeding database (Co-BreeD). Journal of Animal Ecology 94(12), 2597-2614
• Bruscagnin L, Crofoot, Barrett B & Goldsborough Z (2024) Novelty responses towards camera traps in tool- and non-tool-using white-faced capuchin monkeys. LMU Faculty of Biology, Munich (poster)