Welcome to our brand new lab at IISER Pune, India!
Welcome to our brand new lab at IISER Pune, India!
We are on a curiosity-driven mission to understand the complex drivers of biodiversity and to provide solutions for halting the ongoing global biodiversity crisis.
We are on a curiosity-driven mission to understand the complex drivers of biodiversity and to provide solutions for halting the ongoing global biodiversity crisis.
The complex patterns of biodiversity—akin to those in an Aria¹—are an embodiment of sheer beauty! What exactly drives such biodiversity patterns across space and time is a remarkably complex fundamental question that continues to elude biologists, and consequently, with no simple answers. We therefore find it useful to decompose this rather herculean question in three parts by studying the assembly, disassembly, and reassembly of biological communities.² In response to the complexity of this question, we use a three-pronged approach, by combining field-based observational studies to provide region-specific solutions to global problems, manipulative experiments to provide mechanistic explanations, and finally data syntheses to scale up findings.
The complex patterns of biodiversity—akin to those in an Aria¹—are an embodiment of sheer beauty! What exactly drives such biodiversity patterns across space and time is a remarkably complex fundamental question that continues to elude biologists, and consequently, with no simple answers. We therefore find it useful to decompose this rather herculean question in three parts by studying the assembly, disassembly, and reassembly of biological communities.² In response to the complexity of this question, we use a three-pronged approach, by combining field-based observational studies to provide region-specific solutions to global problems, manipulative experiments to provide mechanistic explanations, and finally data syntheses to scale up findings.
Savannas and grasslands, particularly those in the tropics, are an ideal system to understand drivers of biologically diverse communities. Three features make them an ideal system to address questions about how factors such as climate and land use drive community assembly. First, tropical savannas harbor exceptionally high levels of biodiversity, much of which is only recently being documented.³ As a testament to their high biodiversity, tropical savannas hold a biodiversity world record at 25 plant species recorded in 100 sq. cm—an area about the size of your palm!!!⁴ Second, tropical savannas span wide climatic gradients: they are found in regions with as little as 250 mm annual rainfall to regions as much as 2500 mm annual rainfall.⁵ In Maharashtra, where much of our research is conducted, savannas span most of this gradient in a geographic area that is just 100 km wide⁶, making this landscape a microcosm of global tropics. Third, these biomes have among the highest rates of land use change anywhere in the world, with tropical savannas being destroyed often at rates greater than tropical forest loss.⁷
Savannas and grasslands, particularly those in the tropics, are an ideal system to understand drivers of biologically diverse communities. Three features make them an ideal system to address questions about how factors such as climate and land use drive community assembly. First, tropical savannas harbor exceptionally high levels of biodiversity, much of which is only recently being documented.³ As a testament to their high biodiversity, tropical savannas hold a biodiversity world record at 25 plant species recorded in 100 sq. cm—an area about the size of your palm!!!⁴ Second, tropical savannas span wide climatic gradients: they are found in regions with as little as 250 mm annual rainfall to regions as much as 2500 mm annual rainfall.⁵ In Maharashtra, where much of our research is conducted, savannas span most of this gradient in a geographic area that is just 100 km wide⁶, making this landscape a microcosm of global tropics. Third, these biomes have among the highest rates of land use change anywhere in the world, with tropical savannas being destroyed often at rates greater than tropical forest loss.⁷
We primarily work with plants as a system (because, of course, they are cool, and are so many!), but are open to discussing (read fighting against :D) the possibility of extending our work to other taxa over a coffee. A large part of our research often involves fieldwork in the rather stunning savannas of western-Maharashtra where we have built a long-term and interdisciplinary research program, but we are keen to expand the footprint of our lab elsewhere. Finally, curiosity and a strong foundation of natural history are at the core of all our projects. If you think you are a good fit for our lab, look up the 'Values' and 'Join us' tab and get in touch!
We primarily work with plants as a system (because, of course, they are cool, and are so many!), but are open to discussing (read fighting against :D) the possibility of extending our work to other taxa over a coffee. A large part of our research often involves fieldwork in the rather stunning savannas of western-Maharashtra where we have built a long-term and interdisciplinary research program, but we are keen to expand the footprint of our lab elsewhere. Finally, curiosity and a strong foundation of natural history are at the core of all our projects. If you think you are a good fit for our lab, look up the 'Values' and 'Join us' tab and get in touch!
