Lab Head
Dr. Aniruddha Datta-Roy
The Indian subcontinent has had a fairly eventful past, drifting away from Gondwanaland, colliding into Eurasia, and picking up and exchanging biota along the way. Add to this a mix of mountains, rivers, and other geographic barriers, and you end up with a fascinating combination of lineages, some very old, others more recent arrivals.
In the BIOGEOSYS lab, we are interested in how all of this has shaped biodiversity, largely in Tropical Asia. We use systematics to figure out how species are related, and phylogenetics, biogeography, and macroevolution to understand where they come from, how they diversify, and why they occur where they do, often working on South Asian herpetofauna.
As a lab, we also care a lot about natural history and fieldwork, and try to keep that central while using modern analytical tools.
I am, at heart, a field biologist who spends an unreasonable amount of time in front of a computer.
PhD Students
Bikash Sahoo (2019-
I joined the lab in July 2019. I am interested in understanding the evolutionary history of Army ant and, I am working on Phylogeny and biogeography of Army ant genus Aenictus Shuckard, 1840 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dorylinae). Army ants are unique in having a set of behaviors known as “Army ant Syndrome”. This includes nomadism, obligate collective foraging, and a highly specialized permanently wingless queen. Army ants are broadly classified as Old World army ants and New World army ants. Genus Aenictus is one of the Old World Army ants. My work aims at conducting phylogenetic analyses of this genus across their distributional range (Old World tropics) to understand how these species are related to each other. Additionally, I intend to explore the estimation of divergence times and ancestral range evolution to understand how and when these species dispersed to different landmasses, despite their poor dispersal ability.
Besides my lab works, I love to do paintings and going outside to see the amazing World of these tiny little ants.
Pranoy Kishore Borah (2020-
I am an evolutionary biologist working on the comparative phylogeography of tropical Asian reptiles. My doctoral research at the BioGeoSys lab, at the National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar, examines the evolutionary history of skinks in the genus Sphenomorphus using multilocus phylogenetics, divergence dating, and ecological niche modelling.
My work has focused on understanding how geological history, landscape structure, and ecological factors influence phylogeographic structure in two widely distributed skinks from the genus Sphenomorphus across tropical Asia. Using molecular data and spatial analyses, I investigate questions related to species boundaries, historical dispersal, and population structure in these forest-dwelling reptiles. A central component of my doctoral research examines the evolutionary origins of Indian Sphenomorphus, showing that their present distribution reflects multiple dispersal events from Southeast Asia rather than a single historical radiation. More broadly, my research interests include molecular phylogenetics, biogeography, ecological niche modelling, and species delimitation. My work integrates field sampling, molecular laboratory methods, and statistical phylogenetic analyses to study the origin and divergence of Sphenomorphus lineages across tropical Asia.
Arijit Dutta (2023-
My academic journey has been a captivating exploration into the realm of herpetofauna and their distribution patterns. What initially began as a fascination with snakes has grown into a profound interest in understanding the complexities of various herpetofaunal species, unravelling their ecological significance and evolutionary histories. My research in the lab mainly focuses on the systematics of skinks belonging to the genus Eutropis. I am particularly interested in understanding the factors that have led to their rapid diversification within two different landmasses – the Indian subcontinent and the Philippine archipelago. I am also intrigued about the phylogeography of two widespread, cryptic and related species complexes of Eutropis: E. macularia and E. allapallensis. As a part of this study, I intend to understand if there are cryptic lineages present under these species groups and whether there is significant gene flow taking place between the different metapopulations, through the use of a large-scale genomic dataset.
Beyond my academic pursuits, I find solace and inspiration in the natural world. My passion for sketching allows me to capture the intricate details of herpetofauna through art. Additionally, I indulge in the art of birdwatching, marveling at the diverse avian species that inhabit my surroundings. However, my truest passion lies in night-time herping, as I embark on thrilling expeditions to observe and study these captivating creatures in their nocturnal habitats.
Prathamesh Amberkar (2025-
I joined the lab in August 2025 as a PhD student. I am broadly interested in macroecology and macroevolution. Lizards have always fascinated me, and I use them as a model system in my studies. I am looking at the function and evolution of tubercles—spine-like structures—on the back of geckos. I think that they reduce aerodynamic pressure drag in geckos. I am planning to explore three interesting questions: 1) Do tubercles reduce aerodynamic drag in geckos? 2) Do geckos use these tubercles to reduce aerodynamic drag, and 3) have tubercles helped geckos in diversification? I plan to use a series of wind-tunnel experiments and comparative phylogenetic methods to explore these questions. Beyond research, I spend much of my time outdoors, searching for and photographing snakes, frogs, and lizards, or climbing boulders and mountains. When indoors, I prefer sleeping.
Int. MSc Students
N. Nitha Fathima
Growing up in a city, my exposure to nature was limited to the books and encyclopedias I devoured as a child and the holiday visits to my grandparents’ place. My grandfather would teach me the names of all the plants he knew while I brushed off the spiders that made their way into my hair. These experiences shaped my growing curiosity about the natural world as a child, and the nature walks I went to as I grew up only helped fuel it.
My interest in nature led me to pursue internships in ecology, from understanding how abandoned coffee plantations affect rainforest regeneration to quantifying organic carbon fractions in the soil. Over this time, I have developed a keen interest in plants, soils, and microbes, especially fungi. I find mycorrhizal symbiosis particularly intriguing, especially their role in nutrient transport and plant growth. Owing to these interests, I am working on understanding how invasive plants affect soil microbes and fungi as my Master’s project in the BioGeoSys lab.
Apart from my academic interests, I am an avid reader – I have a growing collection of books amassed over the years that I keep as a private library in my room. I frequently forage, photograph, and collect mushrooms, and I often take back rocks, leaves, and flowers from places I visit to add to my collection. At other times, you can find me writing and consuming art.
Joel J. Mathew
Exploring the Western Ghats with my family and friends, surrounded by a rich diversity of organisms, sparked my love for nature. I had a broad interest in the natural history of a variety of organisms, and I was lucky to interact with people who shared similar passions. They introduced me to the world of citizen science projects and inspired me to pursue research.
Since my first year, I have been in and around the Biogeosys lab. The opportunities I got to discuss ideas and get involved in projects in the lab helped me realise that this is the path I would like to pursue in my life. Currently, for my MSc dissertation, I am exploring how camouflage, activity patterns, and environmental variables influence anti-predator behaviour in ground-nesting birds. Specifically, I am quantifying and comparing camouflage and Flight Initiation Distance (FID) in the Indian Thick-knee (Burhinus indicus) and Yellow-wattled Lapwing (Vanellus malabaricus), two species with contrasting life histories.
I am a naturalist, and I aim to create a peaceful coexistence between humans and nature by connecting people with the natural world and enlightening them to admire the marvels of nature. Most often, you’ll find me outdoors photographing and observing nature. When I’m indoors, I enjoy reading novels, doing DIY projects with my bicycle or trying out new flavours of coffee and dark chocolates.
Nissy Milcia W.
As a kid, I was fascinated by the wonders of the world my encyclopaedias opened up for me – I would stare at the animals that dominated our planet at different time periods and the fossils they have left behind. These childhood interests continued to influence my academic trajectory as I explored my interests in the natural world. My research interests lie in Evolutionary biology at levels of both microevolution and macroevolution.
Currently, I am a Master’s student at the BioGeoSys lab. For my thesis project, I am trying to understand the effects of anthropogenic activities on a species of endemic Indian fan-throated lizard. One of the ways that humans affect wildlife is through the modification of their habitats via processes such as urbanization. My model system is found commonly around a variety of locations in Odisha, making it a good model system to understand genetic and phenotypic variation across a multitude of landscape features.
Apart from my academic interests, I like food (eating, making it, thinking about it), reading, consuming audio-visual media and sleeping.
Shivanshi Gupta
The intricate behaviors displayed by animals and insects have always fascinated me. My research interests are broadly in behavioral ecology, evolution and phenotypic plasticity. My previous internships helped me explore into data collection, thermal ecology, intraspecific competition, and statistics. It also made me like arthropods and reptiles as model systems.
For my master’s thesis I am using species distribution modelling to understand how environmental niche breadth and range size affect the future distribution of spiders from the Sparassidae family. I’ll be comparing whether species with a larger distribution show a more profound poleward range shift than species with restricted distribution under future climate change scenario.
Apart from academics, you’ll find me watching movies and shows, sleeping, doodling, or listening to crime podcasts. I also enjoy playing badminton.
Neha S Prasannan
Melanitis leda (Common evening brown) is a tropical satyrine butterfly found widely in India. A striking feature of this butterfly is its seasonal polyphenism. It exists as two morphs: the Wet Season Form(WSF) and the Dry Season Form (DSF) in their respective seasons. WSF is characterised by well-differentiated eyespots, shorter tails and smaller wings, whereas DSF is characterised by reduced eyespots against variable wing backgrounds that resemble the dry season resting backgrounds. My work focuses on quantifying differences in traits between the two morphs and looking into their possible ecological significance, especially in relation to predator avoidance tactics like camouflage. Broadly, I study how phenotypic plasticity helps in survival in changing environments by switching strategies. Previously, I have also worked on plankton ecology and on the analysis of mud-puddling behaviour in butterflies of India.
Apart from academic pursuits, literature and the arts pique my interest. I love to read and collect books – fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, and poetry. As a result of extensive reading, I have developed an interest in creative writing in both Malayalam and English. Besides these, I love to sketch and paint, watch movies, and never stop talking about them.
Kashish Krishania
I joined the lab as a Master’s student in August 2025. Since then, I have been working on bacterial communities inhabiting the aerial parts of the plant or the phyllosphere. These communities, although very important for their plant hosts, are quite unexplored in the tropical forest ecosystems. Addressing this knowledge gap, I am using the relationships/similarities between the Phyllosphere bacterial communities of multiple host plant species found in a wet tropical forest of the Central Western Ghats to infer how the host functional traits and host phylogeny affect these communities. Alongside this, I am also looking at how these communities, the relationships/similarities between them and host factors affecting them change across seasons.
Apart from being constantly awestruck by the way nature acts as a huge network where the connections have shaped what once existed, what we see today and what might come next, I spend my time making art, watching movies and learning new things!
Abhishek
I am fascinated by the incredible diversity of animals. For my current project, I am working on trait evolution in the suborder Gekkota. I am analyzing how traits like the presence or absence of tubercles, femoral and cloacal pores, and different lamellae types are associated with different microhabitats. And how microhabitats have influenced these traits to produce the diversity we see today.
In my free time, I relax by playing video games and listening to music.