Most distribution patterns in nature have been shaped by contemporaneous ecological processes as well as historical events. From a historical perspective, availability of dispersal routes and biotic interactions in evolutionary time as well as paleoclimate and geology have contributed to current distributions. In this regard, the Indian subcontinent provides us with an interesting setting to address questions in biogeography and phylogeography. This is because the Indian subcontinent has experienced diverse geological and climatic changes ever since it separated from Gondwanaland supercontinent. Given this background, one of the fundamental questions in Indian biogeography is, how, when and from where different groups colonized India.Furthermore how have these historical events contributed towards diversification within India.One of the approaches to understand the contribution of historical processes in shaping distributions is to study a system at multiple taxonomic levels.
I plan to address these question using freshwater snails as a model system. Freshwater snail families -Ampullariidae and Viviparidae have contrasting global distribution, suggesting different routes and time of colonization of India. This makes them an ideal system to test different hypothesis regarding their evolutionary origin. Additionally given their habitat preference and modes of dispersal, understanding genetic patterns within a species will be also an exciting area of enquiry. Bellamya bengalensis, a widespread species, is the ideal system to study such patterns in peninsular India. Hence, both biogeographic and phylogeographic studies will be implemented to understand diversity at various spatial and evolutionary scales.