Kaplan graduated from Monash University with a Doctor of Philosophy. She published her first book with Clive Kessler, Hannah Arendt: Thinking, Judging, Freedom in 1989, followed by Contemporary Western European Feminism in 1990. In 2005, she submitted a second thesis, titled Vocal behaviour of Australian magpies. In 2011, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Science by the University of New England. In 2015, Kaplan was conferred honorary fellow of the American Ornithological Society. In 2016, the University of New England awarded her the status of emeritus professor. She also received the Whitley Award in Behavioural Zoology for her book Bird Minds. She has given interviews for ABC Radio.
Personal life
In the 1990s, she began hand-raising and rehabilitating native birds, which she continues to do in her spare time.
Publications
Kaplan has published over 250 research articles and 23 books in total; since 2000 predominantly focussing on animal vocal behaviour, communication and cognition specifically in birds and primates.
Books
Kaplan, G. Bird Bonds. Sex, mate-choice and cognition in Australian native birds. Macmillan Australia, Sydney. 368 pp https://www.panmacmillan.com.au/9781760554200/gkaplan/
Kaplan, Gisela Australian Magpie: Biology and Behaviour of an Unusual Songbird. 2nd edition, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. pbk. 280 pp
Kaplan Gisela Bird Minds. Cognition and behaviour of Australian nativespecies. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne. 286 pp
Kaplan, Gisela Australian Magpie: Biology and Behaviour of anUnusual Songbird. Natural History Series, University of New South Wales Press, Sydney & CSIRO 1st ed., Melbourne. pbk.142 pp
Kaplan, G The Vocal Behaviour of Australian Magpies : A Study of Vocal Development, Song Learning, Communication andMimicry in the Australian Magpie. PhD thesis, School of Veterinary Sciences, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Brisbane.
Rogers, Lesley J. and Kaplan, Gisela eds. Comparative Vertebrate Cognition:Are Primates Superior to Non-primates? Kluwer Primatology Series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospect. Kluwer Academic /Plenum Publishers, New York, Boston, Dordrecht, London, Moscow. Hbk, 386 pp
Kaplan, G Famous Australian Birds. Allen & Unwin, Melbourne. Hbk 48 pp
Kaplan, G and Rogers, LJ Birds. Their Habits and Skills, Allen & Unwin, Sydney., 272 pp
Kaplan, G and Rogers, L.J. The Orang-utans. Their Evolution, Behavior, and Future. Perseus Publishing, Cambridge, Mass. , 191 pp
Rogers, L.J. and Kaplan, G Songs, Roars and Rituals. Communication in birds, mammals and other animals. Harvard University Press, Cambridge., 207 pp
Rogers, LJ and Kaplan G Does functional lateralization in birds have any implications for their welfare? Special Issue: Brain Functional Lateralization in Animals..
Kaplan, G Don Quixote's Windmills. Ch. 14 in pp. 284–305. Lexington Books. New York, London.
Kaplan, G. The Australian Magpie : An alternative model for the study of songbird neurobiology. In P. Zeigler and P. Marler. The Neuroscience of Birdsong. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge,UK, pp. 153–170.
Rogers, LJ and Kaplan, G. An Eye for a Predator: Lateralization in birds, with particular reference to the Australian magpie. Behavioral and Morphological Asymmetries in Vertebrates, eds. Yegor Malashichev and Wallace Deckel. Landes Bioscience, Georgetown,TX.
Kaplan, G and Rogers, LJ Charles Darwin and animal behavior. In M. Bekoff and Jane GoodallEncyclopedia of Animal Behavior. 3 vols, Greenwood Publishing, Westport, CT,, vol.2, pp. 471–479.
Kaplan, G Magpie Mimicry. In M. Bekoff and Jane Goodall Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior. 3 vols., Greenwood Publishing, Westport, CT,, vol.2, pp. 772–774
Rogers, LJ and Kaplan, G All animals are not equal: the interface between scientific knowledge and the legislation for animal rights. In: CR Sunstein and M Nussbaum Animal Rights: Law and Policy. Oxford University Press, Oxford,, pp. 175–204.
In Rogers, LJ and Kaplan, G Comparative Vertebrate Cognition: Are Primates Superior to Nonprimates? Kluwer Primatology Series: Developments in Primatology: Progress and Prospect. Kluwer Academic /Plenum Publishers, New York.
Kaplan, G. Economic Development and Ecotourism in Malaysia. The Shaping of Malaysia. Eds. A Kaur & I Metcalfe, St. Martin's Press. London, New York.
In: Kaur A., Metcalfe I. The Shaping of Malaysia. Studies in the Economies of East and South-East Asia. Palgrave Macmillan, London
In RD Nader, B Galdikas, L Sheehan & N Rosen The Neglected Ape. Plenum Press, New York
