Hi, I’m Patrick! I am a behavioral biologist with a passion for data analysis and fieldwork. After finishing two Masters degrees, one in Neurobiology and one in Evolution and Ecology, I am now pursuing a PhD at the Neuroethology Lab at the University of Tuebingen. My research focuses on the social behavior of electric fish, where I apply advanced data analysis techniques to unstructured data from passive electric recorders in the field to learn about the social behavior of electric fish.
What drives my research#
Why are some species social while others are not? How do animals communicate with each other, and what information do they convey? These questions drive my research, which lies at the intersection of ecology, behavior, and neurobiology. I am broadly interested in how these fields can be integrated to understand the development and function of social behaviors and communication in animals.
Electric fish offer a unique opportunity to study these phenomena as they offer a wide variety of social lives that can be explored through electric signals. We design and deploy electrode arrays and required analysis software to monitor electric fish in their natural habitats. This non-invasive technology captures electrolocation- and communication signals and tracks movement, providing detailed, quantitative observation of behavior in the wild—an approach that is unique to electric fish.
Data analysis#
I mainly work with Python and use libraries like PyTorch, SciPy, and
scikit-learn for data analysis. I like data wrangling, building data
pipelines, and managing multi-terrabyte datasets, and have experience in
supervised and unsupervised learning, dimensionality reduction, and fine-tuning
deep learning models such as MLPs, CNNs, YOLO, and RCNN. I really enjoy
creating visualizations, some of which you can find on here:
On a personal note, I am a big proponent of open software and hardware, open data, and open science. I believe that sharing knowledge, tools and data is essential for reproducibility and the advancement of science. This is why I am a big fan of anything scriptable: Code is the best way to document, share and reproduce data analysis workflows. You can find anything including analysis code, poster and presentation templates and my Linux system configuration on my GitHub page.
Fieldwork#
Aside from data analysis, I really enjoy the outdoors. I am a certified Advanced Open Water Diver and have been diving in Germany, Indonesia and the Mediterranean Sea. I have fieldwork experience in the Amazon rainforest studying electric fish, and have worked at the STARESO marine research station in Corsica, where I assisted PhD-students during sample collection dives. I’m somebody who enjoys the challenge of working in remote locations and difficult conditions, and I am always looking for new opportunities to expand my fieldwork experience. Aside from the rainforest and underwater, I would especially love to do some work in caves at some point in the future.
A report on my latest trip to the Amazon rainforest can be found here: