Ram Mohan
- PhD Student, Lab of Animal Ecology, Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, University of Western Sydney
- Topic: A cross-continental comparison of drivers of flying-fox urbanisation
- Research Umbrella: Flying-fox movement ecology & Flying-fox conservation management
- Supervisors: Prof Justin Welbergen, Dr Jessica Meade
- Contact: Ram Mohan
Bio
My research interest is primarily in understanding how animals respond to changes in their environment. Over the years, this broad interest has motivated me to explore the fields of behavioural ecology, community ecology, movement ecology and ecophysiology.
During my B.Sc. degree in Environmental Science between 2013 and 2016, I explored opportunities as a research volunteer for monitoring large-mammalian diversity and assessing the bat diversity in the Western-Himalayas. For my M.Sc. project in 2017, I studied diet composition and overlaps between wild mountain goats and domestic livestock in Kashmir part of the Himalayas.
In the following years, I gained valuable research experience in bat community ecology and behavioural ecology. This involved studying variation in the bat species diversity across an elevational gradient in the Western-Himalayas, testing the efficacy of acoustic and olfactory lures to attract neotropical bats into artificial roosts in Panama, and investigating the species assemblages and temporal partitioning of bats over desert ponds in the semi-arid grasslands of the Thar Desert. My research on semi-arid bats inspired me to delve into the field of movement ecology for a PhD, to understand the responses of bats to anthropogenic changes in their environment.
My research interest is primarily in understanding how animals respond to changes in their environment. Over the years, this broad interest has motivated me to explore the fields of behavioural ecology, community ecology, movement ecology and ecophysiology.
During my B.Sc. degree in Environmental Science between 2013 and 2016, I explored opportunities as a research volunteer for monitoring large-mammalian diversity and assessing the bat diversity in the Western-Himalayas. For my M.Sc. project in 2017, I studied diet composition and overlaps between wild mountain goats and domestic livestock in Kashmir part of the Himalayas.
In the following years, I gained valuable research experience in bat community ecology and behavioural ecology. This involved studying variation in the bat species diversity across an elevational gradient in the Western-Himalayas, testing the efficacy of acoustic and olfactory lures to attract neotropical bats into artificial roosts in Panama, and investigating the species assemblages and temporal partitioning of bats over desert ponds in the semi-arid grasslands of the Thar Desert. My research on semi-arid bats inspired me to delve into the field of movement ecology for a PhD, to understand the responses of bats to anthropogenic changes in their environment.
Research
Human populations have long impacted and induced changes in their environment. These environmental changes have been extremely rampant with the advent of technological advancements, resulting in large-scale development giving shape to the urban landscapes that currently exist. Although there are detrimental impacts of urban expansion on global biodiversity, novel urban ecosystems provide opportunities for resilient and adaptable species such as flying-foxes fo the Pteropus genus.
Flying-foxes are large, fruit-eating bats, widely distributed across the old-world, including tropical and subtropical areas of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Across their range, many species of flying-fox have occupied urban landscapes. The Indian flying-fox (Pteropus medius) and the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) are two of such species that have increasingly been using urban spaces for their roosting as well foraging needs. Although prior work on the grey-headed flying-fox have shown that they have largely nomadic movement patterns, recent studies have shed light on them increasingly occupying urban areas for longer durations. Furthermore, distinct foraging movement patterns and diets have also been recorded in these bats when roosting in non-urban and major-urban roosts. In contrast, very little is known about the movement ecology of the Indian flying-fox and about the factors that have facilitated flying-foxes to frequently and even permanently occupy urban spaces in recent times.
For my PhD, I aim to study the drivers of flying-fox urbanisation in India and Australia, comparing the Indian flying-fox and the grey-headed flying-fox. The objectives of my research are:
Human populations have long impacted and induced changes in their environment. These environmental changes have been extremely rampant with the advent of technological advancements, resulting in large-scale development giving shape to the urban landscapes that currently exist. Although there are detrimental impacts of urban expansion on global biodiversity, novel urban ecosystems provide opportunities for resilient and adaptable species such as flying-foxes fo the Pteropus genus.
Flying-foxes are large, fruit-eating bats, widely distributed across the old-world, including tropical and subtropical areas of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Across their range, many species of flying-fox have occupied urban landscapes. The Indian flying-fox (Pteropus medius) and the grey-headed flying-fox (Pteropus poliocephalus) are two of such species that have increasingly been using urban spaces for their roosting as well foraging needs. Although prior work on the grey-headed flying-fox have shown that they have largely nomadic movement patterns, recent studies have shed light on them increasingly occupying urban areas for longer durations. Furthermore, distinct foraging movement patterns and diets have also been recorded in these bats when roosting in non-urban and major-urban roosts. In contrast, very little is known about the movement ecology of the Indian flying-fox and about the factors that have facilitated flying-foxes to frequently and even permanently occupy urban spaces in recent times.
For my PhD, I aim to study the drivers of flying-fox urbanisation in India and Australia, comparing the Indian flying-fox and the grey-headed flying-fox. The objectives of my research are:
- To compare how green-cover in urban landscapes has changed over recent times and to investigate how seasonal variations of dietary plant species preferences of grey-headed and Indian flying-foxes affect their habitat use in urban landscapes.
- To examine the role of anthropogenic disturbances and extreme heat events on the foraging habitat use and colony sizes of the grey-headed and the Indian flying-fox.
- To compare the stress physiology of flying-foxes roosting in a gradient of urban spaces.
Left: A GPS-collared Grey-headed Flying-fox in Sydney, Australia; right: An Indian Flying-fox pollinating a non-native Kapok tree in an urban area in India
Academic Publications
1. Chhaya. V., Lahiri. S., Jagan. M. A., Mohan. R., Pathaw. N. A., & Krishnan. A. (2021), Community Bioacoustics: Studying acoustic community structure for ecological and conservation insights. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 9: 706445; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2021.706445
2. Chakravarty, R., Mohan, R., Voigt, C. C., Krishnan, A., & Radchuk, V. (2021). Functional diversity of Himalayan bat communities declines at high elevation without the loss of phylogenetic diversity. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-13.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598- 021-01939-3
3. Mukherjee. S. & Mohan. R. (2021), Albinism and Leucism in Free-ranging Snakes Rescued in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, India. Reptiles & Amphibians, 28(3), 485–487.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v28i3.15754
4. Mukherjee, S., & Mohan, R. (2022). Observations of nocturnal activity in diurnal Indian snakes. Reptiles & Amphibians, 29(1), 146-147.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1761/randa.v29i1.16345
5. Mohan R, Chhaya V and Krishnan A (2022). Seasonality and interspecific temporal partitioning in a semiarid grassland bat assemblage. Journal of Arid Environments, 205, 104818.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2022.104818
2. Chakravarty, R., Mohan, R., Voigt, C. C., Krishnan, A., & Radchuk, V. (2021). Functional diversity of Himalayan bat communities declines at high elevation without the loss of phylogenetic diversity. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 1-13.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598- 021-01939-3
3. Mukherjee. S. & Mohan. R. (2021), Albinism and Leucism in Free-ranging Snakes Rescued in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu, India. Reptiles & Amphibians, 28(3), 485–487.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.17161/randa.v28i3.15754
4. Mukherjee, S., & Mohan, R. (2022). Observations of nocturnal activity in diurnal Indian snakes. Reptiles & Amphibians, 29(1), 146-147.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1761/randa.v29i1.16345
5. Mohan R, Chhaya V and Krishnan A (2022). Seasonality and interspecific temporal partitioning in a semiarid grassland bat assemblage. Journal of Arid Environments, 205, 104818.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2022.104818
Grants and Awards
1. The Rufford Small Grant - October 2019.
The Rufford Foundation, UK
https://www.rufford.org/projects/ram-mohan/acoustics-and-conservation-bats-and-birds-insemiarid-landscapes/
2. Inlaks-Ravi Sankaran Fellowship for abroad internship, 2018.
Inlaks Shivadasani Foundation & Ravi Sankaran Foundation, India
https://www.inlaksfoundation.org/ecology-conservation-field-biology/recipients/ https://inlaksshivdasanifoundationblog.org/home/2018/6/19/rsif-interns-zoya-tyabji-and-rammohan
1. The Rufford Small Grant - October 2019.
The Rufford Foundation, UK
https://www.rufford.org/projects/ram-mohan/acoustics-and-conservation-bats-and-birds-insemiarid-landscapes/
2. Inlaks-Ravi Sankaran Fellowship for abroad internship, 2018.
Inlaks Shivadasani Foundation & Ravi Sankaran Foundation, India
https://www.inlaksfoundation.org/ecology-conservation-field-biology/recipients/ https://inlaksshivdasanifoundationblog.org/home/2018/6/19/rsif-interns-zoya-tyabji-and-rammohan