Gabrielle A. Nevitt
1131 Life Sciences Addition (LSA)
530.752.5929
ganevitt (at) ucdavis (dot) edu
B.S., Biological Sciences, Stanford University, 1983
M.S., Biological Sciences, Stanford University, 1983
Ph.D., Zoology, University of Washington, 1990
Animal behavior; sensory biology.
We work at the interface between neurobiology and ecology, and our work has traditional spanned a wide range of species. My specialty is in the sense of smell, and much of my research has focused on exploring how marine birds and fishes use smell in foraging, navigation and mate choice. I have worked in areas ranging from olfactory homing in salmon, to olfactory foraging and navigation in petrels, albatrosses and shearwaters. Many of the species we study in our lab are currently threatened or endangered. In line with this concern, we also conduct research on the proximate and evolutionary factors contributing to phenotypic plasticity, and this work has been carried out primarily with model fish species (various species of desert pupfish and salmon).
Our current and recent projects include:
1. Exploring evolutionary relationships between developmental environment and foraging behavior among the procellariiforms (the petrels, albatrosses and shearwaters).
2. The development of odor-mediated individual recognition in petrels.
3. Investigating fine-scale foraging behavior in freely ranging seabirds.
4. Exploring the role of globally important signal molecules such as DMSP and DMS in the marine environment.
5. Investigating the effect of simple enrichments and developmental experience on brain growth and behavior in various species of critically endangered fishes.
I am always looking for excellent students and postdocs to join our research team. If you are a schoolteacher, we also are available for outreach activities. Please contact me at ganevitt-at-ucdavis-dot-edu.
Selected Publications: Southern Oceans /Sensory Ecology/ Seabirds; Conservation /Sensory Ecology /Fish /Lobsters
Southern Oceans /Sensory Ecology/ Seabirds
Cunningham, G.B., VanBuskirk, R., Hodges, M.J. Weimerskirch, H. & Nevitt, G.A. (2006) Behavioural responses of blue petrel chicks Halobaena caerulea to a food-related and novel odour in a simple wind tunnel. Antarctic Science, 18, 345-352.
Nevitt, G. A., Begstrom, D. & Bonadonna, F. (2006) The potential role of ammonia as signal molecule for procellariiform seabirds. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 315, 271-277.
Bonadonna, F, Caro, S. Jouventin, P. & Nevitt, G.A. (2006) Evidence that blue petrel, Halobaena caerulea, fledglings can detect and orient to dimethyl sulphide, Journal of Experimental Biology, 209, 2165-2169.
Nevitt, G. A., and Bonadonna, F. (2005) Sensitivity to dimethyl sulphide suggests a mechanism for olfactory navigation by seabirds. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biology Letters 1 (3), 303-305.
Nevitt, G.A. and Bonadonna, F. (2005). Sensitivity to dimethyl sulphide suggests a mechanism for olfactory navigation by seabirds. Biology Letters. in press
Nevitt, G.A. and Bonadonna, F. (2005). Seeing the world through the nose of a bird: New developments in the sensory ecology of procellariiform seabirds. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 287, 292-295.
Nevitt, G.A., Reid, K. and Trathan, P. (2004). Testing olfactory foraging strategies in an Antarctic seabird assemblage. J. Exp. Biol., 2004 207: 3537-3544.
Bonadonna, F. and Nevitt, G.A. (2004). Partner-specific odor recognition in an Antarctic Seabird. Science, 306, 835.
Blackmer, A.L., Ackerman, J.T., and Nevitt, G.A. (2004). Effects of investigator disturbance on hatching success and nest-site fidelity in long-lived seabird, the Leach's storm petrel. Biological Conservation, 116, 114-148.
Silverman, E.D., Veit, R.R. and Nevitt, G.A. (2004). Nearest neighbors as foraging cues: information transfer in a patchy environment. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 277, 25-35.
Bonadonna, F., Cunningham, G.B., Jouventin, P. Hesters, F. and Nevitt, G.A. (2003) Evidence for nest-odour recognition in two species of diving petrel. J. Exp. Biol., 206, 3719-3722.
Nevitt, G.A. and Haberman, K.L. (2003). Behavioral attraction of Leach's Storm to Dimethyl Sulfide. J. Exp. Biol., 206, 1407-1501.
Cunningham, G. B., Van Buskirk, R.W. Bonadonna, F., Weimerskirch, H., Nevitt, G. A. (2003). A comparison of the olfactory abilities of three species of procellariiform chicks. J. Exp. Biol., 206, 1615-1620.
Haberman, K.L., Vernet, M., Ross, R.M., Quetin, L.B., Nevitt, G.A. and Koxlowski, W. (2002). Grazing by Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba Dana) on the prymnesiophyte Phaeocystis antarctica: An immunochemical approach. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 241, 139-149.
Reid, K., Brierley, A.S. and Nevitt, G.A. (2000). Relationships between the distribution of whales and Antarctic krill Euphausia superba at South Georgia. Journal of Cetacean Research and management, 2 (2), 143-149.
Nevitt, G.A. (2000). Olfactory Foraging by Antarctic Procellariiform Seabirds: Life at High Reynolds Numbers. Biological Bulletin, 196, 245-253.
Nevitt, G.A. (1999). Foraging by seabirds on an olfactory landscape. American Scientist, 87, 46-53.
Nevitt, G.A. (1999). Olfactory foraging in Antarctic seabirds: A species-specific attraction to krill odors. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 177, 235-241.
Nevitt, G.A., Veit, R.R. and Kareiva, P. (1995). Dimethyl Sulphide as a foraging cue for Antarctic Procellariiform Seabirds, Nature, 376, 680-682.
Conservation /Sensory Ecology /Fish /Lobsters
Debose, J.L. and Nevitt, G.A. (2007). Investigating the association between pelagic fish and DMSP in a natural coral reef system. Marine and Freshwater Research, in press
Lema, S. C. and Nevitt, G.A. (2006). Testing an ecophysiological mechanism of morphological plasticity in pupfish and its relevance to conservation efforts for endangered Devils Hole pupfish. Journal of Experimental Biology, 209, 3499-3509.
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Kihlsinger, R.K., Lema, S.C. & Nevitt, G.A. (2006) Environmental rearing conditions produce differences in the relative brain size of wild Chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A, 145 (2): 145-51.
Kihlsinger, R.K. & Nevitt, G. A. (2006) Early rearing environment impacts cerebellar growth in juvenile salmon. Journal of Experimental Biology, 209, 504-509.
Lema, S. C., Hodges, M. J., Marchetti, M. P. & Nevitt, G. A. (2005) Proliferation zones in the salmon telencephalon and evidence for environmental influence on proliferation rate. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Part A, 141, 327-335.
Nevitt, G. A. & Bonadonna, F. (2005) Seeing the world through the nose of a bird: new developments in the sensory ecology of procellariiform seabirds. Marine Ecology Progress Series 287, 292-295.
Lema, S.C. and Nevitt, G.A. (2004). Exogenous vasotocin alters aggression during agnostic exchanges in male Amargosa River pupfish (Cyprinodon nevadensis amargosae). Hormones and Behavior, in press.
Lema, S.C. and Nevitt, G.A. (2004). Variation in vasotocin immunoreactivity in the brain of recently isolated populations of a death valley pupfish, Cyprinodon nevadensis. General and Comparative Endocrinology, 135(3), 300-309.
Lema, S.C. and Nevitt, G.A. (2004). Evidence that thyroid hormone induces olfactory cellular proliferation in salmon during a sensitive period for imprinting. J. Exp. Biol. 2004 207: 3317-3327.
Watters, J. Lema, S. and Nevitt, G.A. (2003). Phenotype management in habitat restoration. Biological Conservation, 112, 435-445.
Marchetti, M. and Nevitt, G.A.(2003). Effects of hatchery rearing practices on brain structures of Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Environmental Biology of Fishes, 66, 9-14.
Nevitt, G.A. Pentcheff, N.D., Lohmann, K. J., and Zimmer, R.K. (2000). Den selection by the spiny lobster Panulirus argus: Testing attraction to conspecific odors in the field. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 203, 225-231.
Nevitt, G.A. and Dittman, A.H. (1998). A new model for olfactory imprinting in salmon. Integrative Biology, 1, (6), 215-223.
Dittman, A. H., Quinn, T.P. Nevitt, G.A., Hacker, B. and Storm, D. (1997). Sensitization of olfactory guanylyl cyclase to a specific imprinted odorant in Coho salmon. Neuron, 19, 1-20.
Dittman, A., Quinn, T. and Nevitt, G.A. (1996). Timing of imprinting in Coho salmon Oncorhynchus kisutch. Can. J. Fish. Aqua. Sci., 53, 434-442.
Nevitt, G.A. Pentcheff, N.D., Lohmann, K.J., and Zimmer-Faust, R.K. (1995). Evidence for hydrodynamic orientation by spiny lobsters in a patch reef environment. J. Exp. Biol., 198, 2049-2054.
Lohmann, K.J., Pentcheff, N.D., Nevitt, G.A., Stetten, G., Zimmer-Faust, R.K, Jarrard, H. and Boles, L. (1995). Magnetic orientation by spiny lobsters in the ocean: Experiments with an undersea magnetic coil system. J. Exp. Biol., 198, 2041-2048.
Nevitt, G.A.(1991). Do fish sniff? A new mechanism of olfactory sampling in Pleuronectid flounders. J. Exp. Biol., 157, 1-17.
Animal Behavior Graduate Group
Ecology Graduate Group
Bodega Marine Laboratory