People

Ratna

Education

PhD Ecology, Indian Institute of Science, Centre for Ecological Sciences, India, 2004-2010.
MSc Zoology, University of Calcutta, India, 2001-2003
BSc Zoology, University of Calcutta, India, 1999-2001

Professional Experience

Associate Professor, Biological and Life Sciences Division, School of Arts & Sciences, Ahmedabad University, Gujarat, India, June 2023-present
Assistant Professor, Biological and Life Sciences Division, School of Arts & Sciences, Ahmedabad University, Gujarat, India, January 2018-June 2023
Research Associate, University of Minnesota, Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, St Paul, MN, 2016-2018
Post-Doctoral Fellow, University of Minnesota, Dept. of Fisheries, Wildlife and Conservation Biology, St Paul, MN, 2012-2016

Aditya

I joined the Ecology and Environment Lab as a PhD student in May 2024, having completed my Masters in Zoology from The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda. Currently, I am exploring various behavioural/ecological contexts which might stimulate formation of social systems in Mugger Crocodiles

Chena

I am a PhD student in the Ecology and Environment Lab, and I joined the lab as a Master's thesis student in 2019 and have joined as a Ph.D. student since 2020. I have completed my integrated Masters in Life Sciences degree from Ahmedabad University. I am studying causal relationship between environmental stimuli and ecological processes using two congeneric, cichlid species.

Tathagata

I joined the Ecology and Environment Lab as a PhD student in 2023 and completed my masters thesis from IISER Kolkata. I always find it fascinating how animals behave and interact with the environment. I would like to understand basking behaviour in mugger crocodiles and different ecological and physiological contexts associated with that behaviour

Vandana

I am an Integrated Master's student from Ahmedabad University, having joined the Ecology and Environment lab in 2023 through the Undergraduate Research Programme (UGRP). I now have the opportunity to continue my research in the lab for my master's thesis, where I am studying the interspecific interactions of Green Chromide, a cichlid species native to India.

Alumni

Amani Haider, Master thesis student, 2024-25. Title of the thesis: "Cross-talk among residency, body size and familiarity in influencing intraspecific interactions in Amazon sailfin catfish (Pterygoplichthys spp.)”.

Suman Mallick, PhD student, 2019-2024. Title of the thesis: "Using behavioural and ecological approaches to unravel the invasiveness of the Amazon sailfin catfish (Pterygoplichthys spp.) in the Indian context".

Brinky Desai, PhD student, 2019-2024. Title of the thesis: "A multidisciplinary study on mugger crocodiles (Crocodylus palustris), including reproductive behaviour, endocrine correlates, and biometric identification".

Kartikey, Masters thesis student, 2023-2024. Title of the thesis: "Characterizing morphometric and pigmentation traits for two different populations of green chromide (Etroplus suratensis), a freshwater fish native to India".

Dwija Panwar, Undergraduate thesis student, 2023. Title of the thesis: "Understanding Alarm Response in fresh water cichlid species, Etroplus suratensis".

Eva Gajera, Undergraduate thesis student, 2023. Title of the thesis: "Role of barbels in sensory perception in catfish".

Nirali Panchal, Masters thesis student, 2019-2020 Title of the thesis: "Non-invasive monitoring of stress physiology in leopards (Panthera pardus) in captivity".

Heli Raval, Masters thesis student, 2018-2019. Title of the thesis: "Understanding shoaling behavior in a freshwater fish - Etroplus maculatus".

Aditi Shah, Masters thesis student, 2018-2019. Title of the thesis:"Understanding choice behaviour in context of novel versus familiar enviornment in a native cichlid fish, Etroplus maculatus".