Profession
Field-biologist

November 1999: Scientist C, Department of Animal Ecology and Conservation Biology, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Dehradun.

Teaching Experience

• Seven years of teaching experience at post-graduate level at WII (M.Sc. in wildlife science), mid-career professional forest mangers: Teaching inputs in Conservation biology; Species concept; Community ecology; Experimental design and null models in community ecology studies; amphibian evolution and radiation; Herpetology; Phylogenetic systematics and taxonomy; Behavioural ecology and, Conservation ethics.

• M.Sc. dissertation supervisor (5): Impact of trawl fishing on sea snake population along the coast of Goa; Population ecology of the endemic agamid Salea anamalayana in the southern Western Ghats; Patterns in anuran diversity along elevation gradient in the southern Western Ghats; Behaviour of the Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus, Linn; Assessment of anuran deformities and identification of causal factors in the central Western Ghats.

• Ph.D. supervision (2): Population status and the ecology of the Travancore tortoise (Indotestudo travancorica) in the Western Ghats; Phylogeograhy of the endemic anurans of India

Academic record

• May 1992: Bachelor’s degree in Zoology, Loyola College, Madras University, India.

• June 1994: Master's degree in Zoology. Annamalai University, India.

• November 1995: Master's degree in Applied Animal Behaviour and Animal Welfare. University of Edinburgh, UK.

• June 2001: Doctoral degree in Zoology from Utkal University, India.

Research interests

• Community ecology, conservation biology, biogeography and systematics of south Asian amphibians, Herpetology.

Papers presented

• July 1995: Reproductive ecology of Aspideretes gangeticus (Cuvier) in North India. International Congress on Chelonian Conservation at Gonfaron, France.

• January 1996: A study on individual behavioural characteristics of aggression in growing pigs (Sus scrofa) to predict aggressive interactions before mixing. National Seminar on Animal Behaviour, Dharwad, India.

• July 1997: Reproductive ecology of mugger Crocodylus palustris in Amaravathi. International Symposium on the biology and conservation of south Asian reptiles and Amphibians, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

• August 1998. Geographical distribution of hill stream amphibians of the rainforests in the southern Western Ghats. National Seminar on Wildlife Conservation and Management, Dehradun, India.

• ---, Ravi Chellam, A. Kumar and B. Noon. 2001. Effects of rainforest fragmentation on the amphibian diversity in the Western Ghats, Southern India. Proceedings of the International Conference Tropical Ecosystems: Structure, Diversity and Human Welfare. Association for Tropical Biology & ATREE, Bangalore 2-5 June 2001.

Publications

-In preparation-

• ---, S.K. Dutta, R. K. Aggarwal, M.S. Chaitra, N. Krishnakumar. Description of three new species of rhacophorids from the Western Ghats, India. Targeted journal Organisms Diversity and Evolution.

• ---, A. Kumar, R. Chellam & B.R. Noon. Effect of rainforest fragmentation on the diversity of amphibians in the southern Western Ghats. Targeted journal. Conservation Biology.

• A.S. Lobo, ---, & Bivash Pandav. Trawl fishing related mortality of sea snakes along Goa coast, India. Targeted journal Biological Conservation.

-In review-

• ---, A. Kumar, Ravi Chellam & B.R. Noon. Density and diversity of forest floor amphibians in the rainforests of the southern Western Ghats, India. Herpetologica.
   

• S. Harikrishnan, ---, K. Sivakumar. Breeding behaviour of the Indian peafowl Pavo cristatus Linn. 1758 in North India. Journal of Ethology.

- Published -

• R. Naniwadekar & ---. 2007. Patterns in diversity of anurans along an elevational gradient in the Western Ghats, south India. Journal of Biogeography. 34: 843-852. [ pdf ]

• ---, M.S.Chaitra, R.K. Aggarwal. 2007. Pernicious ‘new’ frog descriptions from the Western Ghats, India. Current Science.92(3):281-282. [ pdf ]

• ---, A. Kumar and Ravi Chellam. Species Turnover: the case of stream amphibians of rainforests in the Western Ghats, Southern India. Biodiversity and Conservation. In press. [ pdf ]

• B.R. Noon, N.M. Ishwar, ---. 2006. Evaluating adaptive cluster sampling: Application to terrestrial herpetofauna in tropical rainforests, south India. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 34(1): 59-68. [ pdf ]

• A.S. Lobo, ---, Bivash Pandav. 2005. Diet of Lapemis curtus (Hydrophiidae) along the coast of Goa, western India. Copeia 3: 636-640. [ pdf ]

• A.S. Lobo, B. Pandav & ---. 2005. Weight-Length relationships in two species of marine snakes along the coast of Goa, western India. Hamadryad 29(1): 89-93. [ pdf ]

• M.S. Chaitra, --- & K. Shanker. 2004. The biodiversity bandwagon: the splitters have it. Current Science 86(7): 897-899. [ pdf ]

• S.K. Dutta, ---, M.S. Chaitra, K. Shanker & R.K. Aggarwal. 2004. Jurassic frogs and the evolution of amphibian endemism in the Western Ghats. Current Science 86(1): 211-216. [ pdf ]

• --- 2003. A report on the sexual dimorphism in Rana temporalis (Gunther 1854). Hamadryad 27(2): 276-280. [ pdf ]

• S.P. Vijayakumar, ---, and N.M. Ishwar. 2001. Herpetofaunal mortality on roads in the Anamalai Hills, southern Western Ghats. Hamadryad 26(2): 253-260. [ pdf ]

• --- & S.K. Dutta. 2000. A new species of Rhacophorus (Anura: Rhacophoridae) from the Western Ghats, India. In Press, Hamadryad 25(1): 21-28. [ pdf ]

• ---, Ajith Kumar, and Ravi Chellam. 2000. Structure and composition of rainforest floor amphibian communities in Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve. Current Science 80(3): 406-412. [ pdf ]

• 1999. Reproductive ecology of gangetic soft-shell turtle Aspideretes gangeticus in Chambal. Chelonian Conservation Biology 3(1) 96-99. [ pdf ]

• 1998. Nesting ecology of mugger Crocodylus palustris in Amaravathi, Tamil Nadu. Hamadyrad 22(2): 107-110.

• 1997. Rediscovery of the Black Microhylid frog, Melanobatrachus indicus (Beddome 1878). Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 94: 170.

- Papers Presented -

• July 1995: Reproductive ecology of Aspideretes gangeticus (Cuvier) in North India. International Congress on Chelonian Conservation at Gonfaron, France. (Oral presentation)

• January 1996: A study on individual behavioural characteristics of aggression in growing pigs (Sus scrofa) to predict aggressive interactions before mixing. National Seminar on Animal Behaviour, Dharwad, India. (Oral presentation)

• July 1997: Reproductive ecology of mugger Crocodylus palustris in Amaravathi. International Symposium on the biology and conservation of south Asian reptiles and Amphibians, Kandy, Sri Lanka. (Oral presentation)

• August 1998. Geographical distribution of hill stream amphibians of the rainforests in the southern Western Ghats. National Seminar on Wildlife Conservation and Management, Dehradun, India. (Oral presentation)

• ---, Ravi Chellam, A. Kumar and B. Noon. 2001. Effects of rainforest fragmentation on the amphibian diversity in the Western Ghats, Southern India. Proceedings of the International Conference Tropical Ecosystems: Structure, Diversity and Human Welfare. Association for Tropical Biology & ATREE, Bangalore 2-5 June 2001. (Oral presentation)

• -- A. Kumar, B. Noon and Ravi Chellam. 2007. Patterns in density and diversity of anurans in a fragmented rainforest landscape in the Western Ghats, India. Abstracts of the Inaugural Conference of the Asian Chapter of the Association of Tropical Biology and Conservation: Averting biodiversity meltdown in the Asian tropics, Mammalapuram, India. pp. 86-88. (Oral presentation)

• ---, N.B. Kar, P. Nigam and V. Torsekar. 2007. A report on anuran deformities and identification of causal mechanism in some protected areas of the Central Western Ghats. International Congress on Advances in Zoo and Wild Animal Health and Management and Symposium on Impact of diseases on conservation of wild animals, Sher-e-Karshmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu, India. (Poster presentation)

-Conference proceedings-

• --- 2005. Geographical distribution of hill stream amphibians of the rainforests in the southern Western Ghats. Proceedings of the National Seminar on Wildlife Conservation, Research and Management, Dehradun, India pp. 144-148.

• ---, Ravi Chellam, A. Kumar and B. Noon. 2001. Effects of rainforest fragmentation on the amphibian diversity in the Western Ghats, Southern India. Proceedings of the International Conference Tropical Ecosystems: Structure, Diversity and Human Welfare. Association for Tropical Biology & ATREE publication pp 187-188.

• --- 1997: Reproductive ecology of mugger Crocodylus palustris in Amaravathi. Proceedings of the International Symposium on the biology and conservation of south Asian reptiles and Amphibians, Kandy, Sri Lanka p 12.

• --- 1996: A study on individual behavioural characteristics of aggression in growing pigs (Sus scrofa) to predict aggressive interactions before mixing. Proceedings of the National Seminar on Animal Behaviour, Dharwad, India p 145.

• --- 1996. Reproductive ecology of Aspideretes gangeticus (Cuvier) in North India. In. Devaux, B (Ed.). Proceedings International Congress of Chelonian Conservation, Gonfaron, France: Editions SOPTOM pp: 21-28

-Reports and popular articles-

• --- M. Singh, V.R. Singh, M.S. Chaitra, R.S. Naniwadekar, V. Deepak and N. Swapna. 2006. Survey of biological diversity in Kudremukh Forest Complex. Karnataka Forest Department report, 60 p.

• --- 2004. Biodiversity Informatics: a new frontier and a new challenge. WII Newsletter, Winter 11(4):10.

• --- 2004. Designing amphibian population monitoring protocol. Frogleg Newsletter of the DAPTF South Asia. August 9, 2004.

• --- 2004. Johnsingh’s natural history at its best. Book review of On the Corbett’s Trail and other stories by Dr. A.J.T. Johnsingh. Permanent Black, New. Delhi. WII Newsletter, Autumn 11(3):11.

• --- and M.S. Chaitra. 2004. On the proliferation of species through degeneration of taxonomic thought. Wildlife Institute of India, Newsletter, Spring 11(1):8-10.

• --- 2003. A report on the survey of rainforest fragments for amphibian diversity in Kerala. ENIVS Bulletin- Rainforest Special Issue, vol 4 (1): chapter 19.

• A. Kumar, Ravi Chellam, B.C. Choudhury, D. Mudappa, ---, N.M. Ishwar and B.R. Noon. 2002. Impact of rainforest fragmentation on small mammals and herpetofauna in the Western Ghats, south India. Final Technical Report. Wildlife Institute of India publications, vii+iii+146p.

• --- 2002. A patchwork forest. Sanctuary Asia XXII(3): 52-59.

• ---, S.P. Vijaykumar, and B.C. Choudhury. 2002. Declining amphibians in Ladakh: evidence and hypotheses on causal factors. Frogleg 10:1-2. [ pdf ]

• A. Kumar, Ravi Chellam, B.C. Choudhury, D. Mudappa, ---, N.M. Ishwar and B. Noon. 2001. Impact of rainforest fragmentation on small mammals and herpetofauna in the Western Ghats, south India. A summary of research findings. Wildlife Institute of India publications 26 p + 3 appendices.

• --- 2001. A foot flagging frog from the Western Ghats. Cobra 44: 25-29. [ pdf ]

• --- N.M. Ishwar & S.U. Saravanakumar. 2000. Living Treasure, pictorial poster highlighting the herpetofaunal diversity in the Western Ghats.

• --- and A.J.T. Johnsingh. 2000. Rainforests, a fragmented story – The Kudremukh Experience. Wildlife Institute of India Newletter 7(3&4): 11.

• ---1998.Stream amphibian assemblages in the rainforests of Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, southern India. Frogleg 2(2):1

Awards/Grants

• July 2007: Barcoding anurans of India, Department of Biotechnology grant BT/PR8354/NDB/51/141/2006 Rs. 17.59 lakhs for three years.

• ---, N.B. Kar, P. Nigam and V. Torsekar. 2007. A report on anuran deformities and identification of causal mechanism in some protected areas of the Central Western Ghats. International Congress on Advances in Zoo and Wild Animal Health and Management and Symposium on Impact of diseases on conservation of wild animals, Sher-e-Karshmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology, Jammu, India. Best Poster Presentation Award.

• October 2005: Survey of biological diversity in Kudremukh Wildlife Division, Karnataka State Forest Department grant PS PCCF.WL.CR 13/2005-06.

• October 2003: Ministry of Science & Technology, Department of Biotechnology grant BT/PR3788/BCE/08/260/2003 Rs. 11.95 lakhs (USD 28000) for three years.

• September 2003: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India Grant in aid for research Rs. 8.00 lakhs (USD 18600) for five years.

• August 2002: Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India Grant in aid for research Rs. 3.18 lakhs (USD 7400) for two years.

• May 2002: DAPTF seed grant USD 500 for survey of amphibians in Zanskar valley, Jammu and Kashmir.

• June 1998: Travel grant from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to visit the USA for training in natural sound recording CNSL Ithaca, visit to the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago and technical discussions with experts.

• September 1997-99: Best presentation award. Annual Research Seminar, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

• June 1997: Student travel grant. International Symposium on the biology and conservation of south Asian reptiles and Amphibians, Kandy, Sri Lanka.

• January 1996: Junior/Senior Research Fellowship at the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun.

• September 1994: Overseas Studentship awarded by Royal Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, United Kingdom to attend MSc course at University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

• December 1994: Junior Research Fellowship awarded by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, India.

• June 1992: Fellowship awarded by the World Wide Fund for Nature-India under the `Conservation Corps Volunteer' programme to conduct study on fresh water turtles at Uttar Pradesh, India.

Training courses/workshops attended

• June 1998: One week training in natural sound recording Centre for Natural Sounds Laboratory Ithaca, USA. One week training on curation and managing of wet collections at the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.

• December 7-9, 2004: Indo-US joint workshop on Biodiversity Informatics at National Chemical Laboratory, Pune.

• August 16-22, 2005: Advanced Course in Analysis and Management of Animal Populations. Organized by: Post-Graduate Program in Wildlife Biology and Conservation, Wildlife Conservation Society - India and US Geological Survey.

- Professional affiliations -

• IUCN-Amphibian Species Specialist Group three-year appointment as the Working Group co-Chair for South Asia (excluding Sri Lanka) from 14 November 2007.

- Referees -

• Dr. V.B. Mathur Dean, Faculty of Wildlife Science, Wildlife Institute of India, P.O. Box 18, Dehradun 248001, India; vbm@wii.gov.in

• Dr. Sushil K. Dutta Professor, Department of Zoology, North Orissa University, Shri Ram Chandra Vihar, 
  Takatpur, Baripada, Distt. Mayurbhanj 757003, India. Res +91-674-2350811; sk_dutta@yahoo.com

• Dr. Ajith Kumar Course Co-Director, M.Sc. Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, National Centre for Biological Sciences, Post Box 6501, G.K.V.K. Campus, Hebbal, Bangalore 560 065; ajith@ncbs.res.in