My primary research interests is in tropical ecology, particularly rainforests and applied ecological subjects such as restoration ecology and conservation biology. I am also interested in research on plant-animal interactions, particularly frugivory and seed dispersal ecology.
Hornbills and small carnivores are the animal groups that I have studied. I studied the Malabar Grey Hornbill for my Master’s dissertation (Salim Ali School of Ecology, Pondicherry University), followed by other studies on hornbills, including nearly two decades of nest monitoring, distribution and abundance surveys along the Western Ghats, and effects of rainforest fragmentation on hornbills. My doctoral thesis (Bharathiar University, Coimbatore) was on the ecology and conservation of the endemic and nocturnal brown palm civet, a frugivorous small carnivore in the tropical rainforests of the Western Ghats.
The broad goal and long-term plan of my role in this field is to improve the scientific understanding of the patterns and processes in tropical ecosystems and to use this knowledge for implementation of conservation programmes that would benefit both wildlife and local communities.
