Gail Patricelli

Gail Patricelli is a Professor in the Department of Evolution and Ecology at the University of California, Davis. Her research focuses on animal communication, sexual selection, and the impacts of anthropogenic activities like noise pollution on wildlife behavior and ecology. She employs innovative methods such as robotics, acoustic monitoring, and ecological observatory networks to study species like greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) and satin bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus). Her work bridges evolutionary biology, behavioral ecology, and conservation, with particular attention to how environmental changes affect mating systems and population dynamics.

Patricelli’s research has examined how sage-grouse lekking behavior responds to habitat structure, social networks, and experimental noise pollution. She has pioneered the use of robotic females to study courtship negotiation and signal complexity in birds. Her studies on the physiological and behavioral effects of traffic noise on nestlings have advanced understanding of anthropogenic stressors in free-living populations. She also investigates the role of acoustic directionality and signal evolution in avian communication.

Her lab’s interdisciplinary approach integrates field observations, experimental manipulations, and computational modeling to address questions in behavioral ecology. Key themes include sexual selection mechanisms, the evolution of communication systems, and conservation implications of human environmental impacts. Patricelli is affiliated with the Patricelli Lab at UCDavis and maintains an active research program supported by grants focused on biodiversity monitoring and sagebrush ecosystem management.