A classic example of plant–animal interactions, galls are atypical structures that are formed on plants but provide nourishment and protection to the inducer organism and/or its progeny. Gall-inducing insects belong to a widely diverse group approximating about 13,000 species that can re-direct plant growth and physiology to their advantage, the exact mechanisms behind which are still unknown. The fig tree and its associated community of galling fig-wasps provide us a platform for studying the different potential stimuli contributing to gall induction. Additionally, the numerous wasp species with very different life history traits allow us to compare the different strategies that are employed by different gallers in a single syconium, all restricted by the same resource patch. We also hope to gain insights into nutrient flow in plants with special reference to how the fig tree controls the allocation of nutrients to different modules and how far does an associated fig-wasp override plant control in order to draw nutrients. The presence of both mutualist and cheater fig-wasps in the same fig elevates the conflict as the fig tree is expected to punish overexploitation without eliminating the mutualistic benefits.

Colobines are known to colonise habitats over a wide range from lower to
high altitudes, which makes them highly adaptive to different
environmental conditions. Higher altitudes being less productive with
decreased animal and plant density provide greater challenges for the
resident primate populations. Primates living in high altitudes are known
to cope up with challenges by adapting risky foraging strategies.
Most of the information about primate ecology and behaviour and diet in
particular comes from lowland habitats. Very few studies on Himalayan
langurs have coupled the primate diet with phenological data. In this
study I aim to understand the ecology and behaviour of Himalayan langurs
(Semnopithecus ajax). I will look into foraging strategies and diet
selection by them in different habitats across various seasons. Moreover,
I will try to understand the effects of human disturbance on feeding in
light of optimal foraging theory

Acoustic communication in orthopterans and anurans is a suitable model system to study sexual selection because the acoustic signals are generally produced by males to attract females over long distances for mating. Such systems provide an opportunity to explore the two operative mechanisms of sexual selection, male competition and female mate choice. In studies of sexual selection in these systems, the common approach has been to quantify male acoustic signal variation and to measure female preferences for different features of the acoustic signal using playback experiments, generally under laboratory conditions. A lack of ecologically relevant information on signal variation and female mate sampling strategies in wild populations, however, makes it difficult to assess the strength of selection and distinguish between the two mechanisms of sexual selection. Thus, for my thesis, I first quantified variation in male acoustic signals in a wild population of the field cricket species Plebeiogryllus guttiventris, in terms of amount of calling activity across multiple nights and the acoustic features of the advertisement signal within and across nights. I then went on to study female preferences for individual call features and the possible trade-offs when features co-varied. Finally, I explored female sampling strategies using experimental and computational approaches.

One of the central questions in ecology deals with understanding the processes underlying patterns in population abundance and the distribution of species at small and large spatial scales. The distribution of individuals of a species across a landscape may be influenced by local processes acting on births and deaths and propensity to dispersal; and by landscape-level processes influencing the colonisation and extinction of local populations and the movement of individuals between populations. Relatively few studies examine both sets of processes. Furthermore, the response of species to these ecological conditions may depend on species-specific traits, such as body size, behavior and other functional traits, but the roles of such functional traits is not fully understood. I propose to investigate the ecological processes at local and landscape levels influencing population densities by taking a behavioral ecological approach and using butterflies as a model system. Studying the behavior of individuals allows us to link population patterns with underlying ecological and evolutionary processes. While population ecological studies allow us to estimate the relationship between ecological variables (such as resource dispersion) and population densities, taking a behavioral ecological approach can help understand, from first principles, how resource dispersion influences populations by influencing different behavioral traits, e.g., individual movement, foraging rates, oviposition rates. These individual-level traits influence demographic parameters (e.g., fecundity, mortality, immigration, emigration rates) and thereby can influence population densities. I propose to focus on the influence of two key ecological factors, namely resource distribution and landscape composition. I propose to examine the influence of resource dispersion at local patch-level and landscape-level scales on butterfly behavior. I plan to examine how these relationships vary with functional traits of species and use this understanding to predict and test relationships between landscape composition and population density patterns of butterflies.

Vertebrate vision is one of the best studied and characterised of all biological transduction systems, but most of what is known comes from studies of birds, mammals
and fish. The relative neglect of snakes in modern studies of vision is surprising given that background information from historical studies indicates that snake
retinas are unusual and extremely diverse. Vision biology has also played an important role in debates about the evolutionary origins of snakes. Thus, studies of
snake vision could provide useful new information on vertebrate vision biology and vice versa. I will give an introduction to the topic and present insights from new
research.

An acoustic communication system consists of a sender, a receiver and a signal. In my thesis I have focused on the receiver. The model system I chose was the tree cricket species, Oecanthus henryi. In a cricket mating system, usually the male calls and the female recognizes and responds to the call. A female in a cricket mating system is thus faced with three kinds of issues: recognizing the conspecific call, localizing the call and discriminating among conspecific males based on individual differences in the calls. My thesis objectives are focused upon these three broad themes. I have examined the role of call carrier frequency in maintaining sender-receiver match thus aiding conspecific recognition. I have also explored the role of carrier frequency in discrimination among conspecific males. O. henryi is found in sympatry with a congeneric calling tree cricket species, O. indicus. I studied reproductive isolation between the two based on calls. Finally since O. henryi is found on bushes, the males and females are separated in azimuth as well as in elevation; hence I studied the mechanism of 3D sound localization in these insects.

Biological growth is coordinated over many time and length scales - right from the inner workings of the cell at the molecular level all the way to population level responses in the face of environmental changes. In this context, I will discuss biophysical mechanisms of size and growth control at the organelle, organism and population level. Using the multicellular nematode C. elegans I will address how an organism organises its cellular contents and regulates the size of its internal structures with functional consequences on growth. Interestingly, organism size itself governs developmental progression under changing food availability. Finally, I will present data showing worm populations modulate their investment in growth and reproduction when their food source is dynamically redistributed. Altogether, these table-top experiments provide an exciting opportunity to explore adaptive life history strategies with broad and important consequences in both developmental biology and ecology.

Open Data Kit (ODK) is a free and open-source set of tools which help organizations author, field, and manage mobile data collection solutions. ODK tools are versatile and designed to work in completely
offline environments. In this workshop, you will learn about different ODK tools and how to set them up for your field data collection project. You will learn how to use *ODK Build* to create forms, use *ODK Collect* android app to collect data and setup *ODK aggregate* server to collect and process field data. At the end of the workshop, you will take ODK out for a spin and carry out a field data collection exercise within the IISc campus.

Understanding species distribution and richness can contribute significantly to our knowledge of community assembly and macroecological patterns, as well as to the effective conservation of threatened species and habitats. Although there have been a plethora of studies on birds in India over the years, there is a critical need to accurately delineate species distributions and understand patterns of richness. The focus of this study was to understand the factors that influence the distribution of bird species in the Western Ghats, as well as to explore patterns in their geographic range sizes. These questions were addressed at the scale of the entire Western Ghats using a combination of primary field data comprising 78 one km transects across habitat types and a published secondary dataset comprising 57 transects. Multivariate analyses and species distribution modeling were used to examine the influence of environmental factors, and the relationship of floristics and vegetation structure on bird species distribution were explored using Mantel’s tests. Species distribution models also produced fine scale maps which were used to investigate patterns in range sizes in terms of species-specific traits and compared with currently available information on range. The specific approaches used to address these questions and the findings will be presented at the defense.

Understanding the processes that influence spatial patterns in species
richness and composition is central to ecology. A wide range of mechanisms
have been proposed but the struggle to find a universal explanation for
these patterns continues. The wet evergreen forests of the Western Ghats
provide an ideal setting to test the drivers of large scale variation in
species richness. We collected primary data comprising 20,400 occurrences
of 450 species of woody plants, and built a biome-wide species database,
to examine patterns of richness and composition along the entire
latitudinal extent of the Western Ghats. This study uses a macroecological
approach with a focus on species geographic range to uncover the
mechanisms that shape the diversity and distribution of woody plants in
the Western Ghats. We then use spatial, edaphic, topographic and climatic
variables to test the relative importance of niche based and dispersal
based processes in structuring spatial variation in species composition.
Finally, using the primary data collected on species occurrence and range
size, we establish for the first time, baseline data on the status and
distribution of woody plants and, following the IUCN criteria, carry out
species assessments for 250 species of endemic woody plants of the Western
Ghats.