CEROS
Hornbills and everything under a tropical tree
Latest news!
New Paper: Drivers of intraspecific variation in seed dispersal can differ across two species of fleshy-fruited savanna plants
New Paper: Should the Narcondam Hornbill be introduced on other islands in the Andaman archipelago?
A warm welcome to Vaishnavi Apte, who has joined our Western Ghats team to study the Critically Endangered Satara Gecko!
New Paper: Impacts of invasive rodent as seed predator on oceanic island
The migratory Siberian Blue Robin about to reach the Narcondam Island. Painting by: Sartaj Ghuman
Why we exist?
Tropical forests are among the most biodiverse and the most threatened ecosystems. We strive to
1) understand how human activities affect biodiversity (from genes to communities),
2) restored degraded forests, &
3) increase awareness of threatened biodiversity & ecosystems.
By working on threatened yet relatively neglected species and habitats, we hope to fill vital knowledge gaps that may aid in identifying and prioritising conservation action. We work in four Biodiversity Hotspots - Himalaya, Western Ghats, Indo-Myanmar and Sundaland on woody plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
Narcondam Hornbill pair on a fruiting Caryota mitis
Painting by: Sartaj Ghuman
What we do?
Our current projects across the different biodiversity hotspots are:
Western Ghats:
1) Determining mpacts of habitat loss and degradation on biodiversity
2) Restoring degraded tropical forests with local partners
Eastern Himalaya:
1) Determining impacts of habitat modification on river birds, including the Critically Endangered White-bellied Heron
2) Determining impacts of hunting on hornbills
3) Understanding organisation of plant-frugivore communities
Indo-Myanmar Region:
1) In Andamans, our ongoing work focuses on understanding impacts of logging on birds and plant-frugivorous bird interactions
2) Outreach activities focused on the point-endemic Narcondam Hornbill
Sundaland
1) In southern Thailand, a collaborative project aims to understand how habitat degradation impacts hornbills and plant-frugivore interactions.
2) In Singapore, the collaborative project aims to estimate the densities of the Oriental Pied Hornbill, which is making a comeback
Duetting Malabar Pied Hornbill pair. In the backdrop is a young cashew plantation carved out by clearing foothill forest in the northern Western Ghats.
Painting by: Sartaj Ghuman
Why CEROS?
The program's name is inspired by the Latin name of hornbills (e.g. BuCEROS). The program's origins are based on the work on multiple hornbill species. While we continue to work on hornbills across South and South-east Asia, we have diversified our work onto other threatened species and habitats. The word CEROS also loosely captures the central theme of our work, which is Community Ecology and Restoration in the Sahyadris.