By combining laboratory experiments with field work, I have looked at the following aspects of cellular slime mould (CSM) biology: (a) the genetic structure of social groups (fruiting bodies) in the wild and its relation ...

Altruism is defined as a trait in an individual that increases some other individual’s fitness at the expense of her own. Therefore, existence of such traits in a population is an evolutionary paradox, as natural selection ...

Various ecological and human-induced disturbances play an important role in defining the health of an animal. To cope up with such threats or challenges to its homeostasis, an animal responds by secreting stress hormones ...

Tropical habitats face a diverse range of anthropogenic threats. Two common and important threats to tropical biodiversity are invasive species and roads. Invasive plants are proposed to be a major threat to biodiversity ...

The question of group-living in animals has attracted a lot of research attention. Today, we have a nuanced understanding of ultimate explanations and proximate mechanisms for group-living, as well as the genetic basis for ...

Obligate nursery pollination mutualisms such as the fig–fig wasp system, with their central plant–pollinator mutualism associated with non-pollinating satellite wasp species, can function as closed system microcosms ...

It has been more than two centuries since the latitudinal pattern of increase in taxonomic richness from poles to equator was first documented. After two centuries of research, and with more than two dozen hypotheses ...

Reproduction is the avenue for gaining direct fitness. But in certain species some individuals do not reproduce, instead gain indirect fitness by helping relatives to reproduce; the prime examples for this come from the ...

Macroecology is the study of relationships between organisms and the environment at large spatial and temporal scales. This field of research examines patterns in species abundance, distribution and diversity. Understanding ...

Humans directly or indirectly cause changes in the environment, and urbanisation is currently one of the most important threats to biodiversity. Urbanisation exposes organisms to novel pressures that are drastically different ...