Pre-dispersal seed predation of Catunaregam spinosa :
August 2014-May 2015
With Dr. Hema Somanathan* and Dr. Deepak Barua**, I monitored the phenology and fruit infestation in Catunaregam spinosa . I also studied the pre-dispersal seed predator Deudorix perse to understand it's behaviour. The work was carried out at Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra, India . A detailed report that discusses the work can be found here.
*Indian Institute of Science Education & Research-TVM, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
**Indian Institute of Science Education & Research-P, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
Temporal flight patters in diurnal & nocturnal Indian carpenter bees:
August 2013-May 2014
I observed three sympatric carpenter bee species in their natural nesting habitat to study their temporal flight patterns, the niche overlap and abiotic factors affecting onset & offset of flight activity as a part of my Masters thesis under the supervision of Dr. Hema Somanathan. Part of my thesis is published and you can find it here .
*IISER-TVM, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Chemical synthesis & biological studies of beta-D-galactopyranosyl triazoles:
August 2011-May 2012
I synthesized Galactose based triazoles using click chemistry and assessed purity and structure of the compounds through NMR. These compounds were further studied for their medicinal properties by subjecting to HeLa cells. This project was part of my Minor project with Dr. K.M. Sureshan (School of Chemistry, IISER-TVM) as a part of Dual-BS-MS degree.
*IISER-TVM, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Vegetation & structural composition of Myristica swamp species:
August 2011-May 2012
As part of a larger ongoing project on Myristica swamps, I was involved in characterizing the vegetation composition and structural features of Myristica swamps. I was part of developing the baseline information on the influence of habitat fragmentation on adult species richness and abundance in these swamp forests. I did this work in Dr. Hema Somanathan's lab as an intern.
*IISER-TVM, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Influence of spatial structure on reproductive success of B. Courtallensis:
August 2011-May 2012
As an intern in the lab of Dr. Hema Somanathan, I looked at the multiple aspects of the reproductive ecology of Baccaurea courtallensis, this included determination of sex ratio, spatial dynamics using point pattern analysis and the effect of neighbouring trees on the fruit-set of females.
*IISER-TVM, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
Dietary assessment of two stream dwelling anurans:
August 2011-May 2012
Along with Seshadri KS* and Dr. T. Ganesh* , I studied dietary composition, tropic niche width & overlap on the diets of arthropodivorous anurans, Micrixalus fuscus & Nyctibatrachus cf. vasanthi. Study involved bolus collection from live frogs in Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu and identification of insects in bolus.
*Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Banglore, India.