Scott Nunes

Scott Nunes is Professor in the Department of Biology. He earned his BA from the University of California, Santa Cruz and his PhD from Michigan State University. His research focuses on the behavioral ecology of mammals. His recent work with Belding’s ground squirrels in the Sierra Nevada has examined benefits of play behavior for young animals.

• Behavioral ecology of mammals
• Breeding dispersal in adult males; short- and long-term benefits of play behavior for young animals

• Michigan State University, PhD in Zoology, 1997
• UC Santa Cruz, BA in Biology, 1986

• Post-doctoral researcher, University of Nebraska at Omaha (1998-2000)

• Arthur Furst Award in Recognition of Outstanding Research Advancing Science for the Betterment of Humanity, 2025

• Ryan W.J., Kuan M.B., and Nunes S. (2024) Disruption of play behavior influences development of caution in juvenile ground squirrels. Frontiers in Ethology 3: 1410334.
• Nunes, S. (2023). Animal-friendly behavioral testing in field studies: Examples from ground squirrels. Frontiers in Behavioral Neurosciences 17: 1239744.
• Nunes, S., and Monroy Montemayor, M. P. (2023) Multiple benefits of juvenile play: A ground squirrel’s perspective. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews 147: 105099.
• Shehan, M. I., Burcher, M. N. Hernandez, M., Rodriguez, J. D., and Nunes, S. (2023) Social play predicts caution in juvenile ground squirrels. Journal of Mammalogy 104.
• Hurst-Hopf, J. S., Monroy Montemayor, M. P., Leonardi, N. N., and Nunes, S. (2023) Social play predicts docility in juvenile ground squirrels. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 77: 62.