Biodiversity Outside Forests

Biodiversity estimations have been typically carried out mostly in protected areas for a long time now. However, there remains an un-estimated diversity outside forests or the non-protected areas which are mostly not sampled and estimated scientifically. The objective of the research is to initially estimate the biodiversity in the non-protected areas of south-central Deccan Plateau between the Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats. The estimations would involve assessment of ants, amphibians, birds, butterflies, fish, flora, and mammals. Some key questions that the research aims to answer are:

What is the diversity profile in different ecosystems outside the protected areas?

What is the variation in diversity across agricultural ecosystems under single and mixed crops?

Do occurrences of certain species throw any light on the Biogeography of the region?

Are there any relationships or patterns that a few groups favour specific ecosystems in non-protected areas?

Projects that have been / being pursued under this theme are:

A Biological Survey of the Freshwater Algae and Benthic Macroinvertebrates of Rivers of the Western Ghats, India
Conserving the Kavals of Karnataka
Conserving Threatened Anurans in Myristica Swamps of Central Western Ghats
Ecological Explorations
Stream scape ecology and conservation in fragmented landscape in central Western Ghats using diatoms and amphibians and systems approach
Tank Ecosystems: Developing an Integrated Methodology for Evaluating the Health and Enhancing the Sustainability of Human-made Wetland Ecosystems