Narcondam Hornbill male

Painting by: Sartaj Ghuman

Hornbills are fascinating birds found in tropical forests of Asia and Africa. We are interested in understanding the foraging and movement ecology of hornbills. Our past and ongoing research has focused on understanding the ecological role of hornbills in tropical forests. Some of our ongoing research also aims to understand the biogeography and evolution of Asian hornbills. 

Selected Publications:

Naniwadekar, R., Rathore, A., Shukla, U., Chaplod, S., & Datta, A. (2019). How far do Asian forest hornbills disperse seeds? Acta Oecologica, 101, 103482. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.actao.2019.103482

Naniwadekar, R., Mishra, C., & Datta, A. (2015). Fruit resource tracking by hornbill species at multiple scales in a tropical forest in India. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 31(6), 477–490. doi: 10.1017/S0266467415000449

Seed dispersal by animals is a key step in the regeneration of more than 75% of tropical plants. Multiple frugivores feed on multiple species of plants forming a network of interacting plants and frugivores. Our lab has a keen interest in understanding the processes governing the organization of these communities 

Selected Publications:

Naniwadekar, R., Chaplod, S., Datta, A., Rathore, A., & Sridhar, H. (2019). Large frugivores matter: insights from network and seed dispersal effectiveness approaches. Journal of Animal Ecology, 88(8), 1250–1262. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.13005

Naniwadekar, R., A. Gopal, N. Page, S. Ghuman, V. Ramachandran, and J. Joshi. 2021. Large frugivores matter more on an island: insights from island-mainland comparison of plant-frugivore communities. Ecology & Evolution 11:1399-1412. Link.

Great Hornbills flying over a rainforest fragment surrounded by tea

Painting by: Sartaj Ghuman

Habitat loss is among the biggest threats to tropical biodiversity. We study what impacts land-use change has on biodiversity and interactions between plants and animals. We are conducting these studies across different landscapes including the Himalaya, Western Ghats and the Andaman archipelago and on different taxa including mammals, birds, and herpetofauna. 

Selected publications:

Gopal, A., Mudappa, D., Shankar Raman, T. R., & Naniwadekar, R. (in press). Forest cover and fruit crop size differentially influence frugivory of select rainforest tree species in Western Ghats, India. Biotropica. 

Naniwadekar, R., Shukla, U., Isvaran, K., & Datta, A. (2015). Reduced hornbill abundance associated with low seed arrival and altered recruitment in a hunted and logged tropical forest. PLoS ONE, 10(3), e0120062. doi: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0120062

Freshly hunted Rufous-necked Hornbill. Rufous-necked Hornbill is a 'Vulnerable' hornbill species found in forests of NE India and mainland SE Asia.