Smaller and Quieter Tree crickets make Leaf Amplifiers to Trump the Competition for Females

These are some of the textbooks and online resources that CES students have used while preparing for GATE-EY. These textbooks and online resources are not necessarily endorsed by the faculty of CES or IISc. The topics listed in the syllabus of GATE-EY are available in numerous other textbooks and online resources.

Resources for GATE EY

Butterflies respond to complex ecological conditions while foraging in the wild. The spatial scale of resource distribution and also adult nectar and larval resources influences butterfly foraging decisions. At large-spatial scales butterflies spent more time feeding in resource-poor areas as compared to resource-rich areas but at small spatial scales butterflies spent more time foraging in resource-rich patches. Our findings indicate that animals are capable of evaluating multiple resources at multiple spatial scales.

Being conspicuous in the environment allows males to attract mates and warn other males of their presence. Males of a species often use signal traits in different sensory modalities to achieve this. However, as elaboration of several signal-traits is demanding, trade-offs in investment in signal-traits in different modalities is expected, especially since not all traits are equally conspicuous in all environments. In Kabir et al. 2020, we show that signal traits in the chemical and visual modalities in the diurnal gecko, Cnemaspis are well associated with the local environment.

A new list of 2% of top scientists worldwide has identified 1,494 scientists in India, out of which 3 are from Centre for Ecological Sciences [Raghavendra Gadagkar (Subject: Entomology), Raman Sukumar (Subject: Ecology), Ramachandra T.V. (Subject: Energy)], Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru. The prestigious list was prepared by Stanford University and published in the journal PLOS Biology.

Mate-searching context of prey influences the predator–prey space race

Predators generally move towards prey in search of a meal. Far from being easy targets, prey proactively avoid predators at multiple spatial scales, to reduce risk. But prey cannot focus all their efforts on evading predators since they have other crucial tasks to accomplish, such as foraging and reproduction. In Torsekar and Thaker (2020), we show how reproductive behaviour of prey affect their spatial games with predators.

The currency of success in nature is the number of offspring you leave behind, so individuals may employ alternative ways to achieve mating success under different conditions. For instance, males may attempt to mate sneakily instead of performing conspicuous courtship displays, which may attract predators. Predation risk is believed to be a factor that can drive individuals to switch between different mating tactics, but this has rarely been studied experimentally.

Termite mounds are iconic examples of earthen structures that can withstand the forces of nature such as weathering and remain intact for decades if not centuries. We have discovered that moisture alone, at levels close to the liquid limits of the construction soil, which is a residual red soil in Bangalore, is sufficient to give termite mound soils its incredible strength. However, in the absence of the manipulation of soil by termites, this soil has no weathering resistance.

The termite mound is an iconic example of earthen construction. It is a self-organised structure built by thousands of blind termite workers that build a stable soil structure with extremely high safety factors and resistance to slope failure. Using finite element modeling, tomography, porosity measurements and experimental determination of air permeability, we show that the termite mound is a bilayered structure with a solid core and a porous shell.

Candidates with the following additional qualifications/skills will be preferred:

• Experience in field work with herpetofauna

• Quantitative skills including statistics and study design.

• Data analysis skills including working knowledge of R and GIS.

Remuneration: Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and work experience in accordance with GOI and IISc scales.

How to apply: