Centre for Ecological Sciences (CES)
Recent Submissions
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The benefits and costs of flexible alternative reproductive tactics in Oecanthus henryi
Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) are distinct phenotypes that individuals of a species use to maximize reproductive success. This thesis investigates the persistence and adaptive value of flexible ARTs in male tree ... -
Mathematical and Computational Modelling Investigations of the Role of Trait Variation in Savanna-Woodland Bistable systems
Over the last decade, several studies have shown the importance of individual variation in natural populations. Theoretical ecological studies are beginning to incorporate trait variations in models, but they continue to ... -
Deciphering the evolutionary ecology of snake venoms and its impact on snakebite therapy in India
Venom, being an adaptive trait, has propelled the expansion of snake lineages across diverse habitats, such as the biogeographically distinct Indian landscapes. Natural selection optimises the potency, composition and ... -
Venomics of Medically Important yet Neglected Elapid Snakes of India and the Antivenomic Potential of Plant Extracts
India is considered the world's snakebite capital, where over 58,000 snakebite fatalities are registered annually. Most bites are primarily attributed to four snake species: the spectacled cobra (Naja naja), common krait ... -
Risks of finding mates in the wild: Ecological and Behavioural Determinants of Sex-biased Predation
Sex-biased predation occurs when one sex of a prey species is consumed more than the other, irrespective of their relative availability (sex-ratio). Some of the potential factors leading to sex- biased predation are sex ... -
Diversity and distribution of mixed-species foraging groups in the Lakshadweep Islands, India
Species interactions are known to shape biological communities. While antagonistic interactions like competition and predation are well known, cooperative interactions have received comparatively less attention. Mixed-species ... -
Ground-dwelling arthropods across human land use: Interpreting the spatial and temporal dimensions of beta diversity
This study investigates beta diversity and its partitions to quantify the influence of different processes that drive spatial and temporal variation in ground-dwelling arthropod assemblages. First, ant assemblages across ... -
Local Interactions, Spatial Patterns and Ecosystem Stability
Many ecosystems exhibit striking patterns in the spatial distribution of organisms, for example, patterns of clumping and dispersion in semi-arid vegetation, mussel in intertidal beds and even sea-grass and macroalgae. ... -
Condition-dependent signalling and mating behaviour in the tree cricket, Oecanthus henryi
Male reproductive success in systems exhibiting sexually selected traits can be driven by male mating effort in sexual signals and in the production of nuptial gifts. Male mating effort can be determined by various biotic ... -
Climate-Growth Relationships of West Himalayan Fir (Abies pindrow) along an Altitudinal Gradient in Northwestern Himalaya
Climate change which includes an increase in temperature, changes in precipitation, retreating of glaciers, has a significant impact on ecosystem dynamics and the social communities. High mountains around the globe are ... -
Understanding the origins and diversification of Indian blindsnakes
Much of systematics done in the past was based on morphological data. One of the drawbacks of using morphological data is that in groups with conserved morphology, the diversity is often underestimated and relationships ... -
Collective escape dynamics of fission-fusion groups in the wild
Collective movement is a fundamental process affecting the survival and reproductive success of group-living animals. Many of the hypothesized benefits of grouping such as predation evasion and foraging efficiency may ... -
Territorial and mating strategies of males in a lekking population of blackbuck Antilope cervicapra
Territoriality associated with lek-mating systems is unique in that males defend small, heavily clustered territories that lack resources usually thought to attract females, such as food and water. Females visit these male ... -
A Phylogenetic Perspective on The Phytogeography of Western Ghats
I used a finer scale data of 156 published plots across the entire latitudinal range of WG, covering most of the protected forests. The pruned phylogeny for this study consisted of 367 species, of which ~ 50% are taxa endemic ... -
Soil microorganisms and biogeochemical cycles in a grazing ecosystem: interactions between producers, consumers, and decomposers
Microorganisms are the unseen majority that determines ecosystem processes, they perform biogeochemical functions that translate into essential services, and regulate global climate. In grazing ecosystems, which represent ... -
Biogeography and comparative phylogeography of freshwater snails of India
Distribution of flora and fauna is shaped by both current and historical processes. In my thesis I concentrated on how the historical component of the governing processes have dictated the current distribution of biota. ... -
A place for everything and everything in its place: Spatial organization of wasps on the nests of the primitively eusocial paper wasp Ropalidia marginata
In my thesis, I found that queens and workers in the primitively eusocial paper wasp Ropalidia marginata use space on their nests non-randomly with a majority of individuals showing spatial fidelity to small core areas, ... -
Diversity from the Gut to Species: Phylogeny, Population genetics and Microbiome of the Antilope cervicapra
Evolutionary relationships between members of the Antilopina taxon have been much debated in recent years. The ‘true antelope’ clade is currently comprised of 4 genera viz., Gazella, Nanger, Eudorcas and the monotypic genus ... -
Dispersal Patterns and Processes in Littorinid Snails along the Indian Coastline
Dispersal has important ecological and evolutionary consequences for a species. Marine dispersal is unique because of facilitation by ocean currents, where oceanography interacts with species traits and environmental ... -
Large Herbivore Dung Decomposition: Effects on Nutrient Cycling in a Tropical Forest of Southern India
Large herbivores can selectively feed on nutrient rich resources, resulting in regular deposition of high quality organic matter in the form of dung. In tropical forests such as in southern India it is estimated that large ...
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