ABSTRACTS

Day 1: 20 Jan 2020

1. Kavita Isvaran

Title: Can antelope successfully navigate changing risks and resources in heavily human-

dominated landscapes?

Abstract:

2. Priti Hebbar

Title: Understanding the influence of landscape and body-size on intrapopulation divergence

among two co-distributed species of Nyctibatrachus from the Central Western Ghats

Abstract: A primary goal of Evolutionary biology is to understand the pattern and processes

of speciation in organisms. Yet, the mechanism of species diversification is still less

understood. Studies show that large radiation in animals is due to the complex interaction

between external factors of the environment and internal factors specific to the species.

In the case of amphibians, studies have shown that extrinsic factors (climate, mountains) and

intrinsic factors (body size) influence speciation. For my study, I test the relative role of

landscape (extrinsic factor) and body-size (intrinsic factor) in promoting population level

divergence in two co-distributed species of genus Nyctibatrachus from the Central Western

Ghats. The findings are discussed in the context of genetic divergence among the two species.

3. Jose Mathew

Title: Land-use simplification reduces soil microbial community diversity in a high altitude

grazing ecosystem

Abstract: Globalisation and socio-economic changes have led humans to appropriate more

land. In the coming decades, high altitude ecosystems will be more vulnerable to such land-

use change. Though much is known about the effect of land-use change on aboveground

diversity, its effect on belowground microbial diversity is little known. Changes in soil

microbial communities would affect biogeochemical cycles and ultimately ecosystem

services. This has led us to ask two questions: 1. How land-use change alters soil microbial

communities in high altitude grazing ecosystems, and 2. Whether microbial communities

vary temporally. Using a method known as catabolic response profiling (CRP), we estimated

the functional diversity of soil microbes in soils under wildlife grazing, livestock grazing, and

agriculture, across the growing season in Trans-Himalayan ecosystem. We found microbial

diversity to decrease from wildlife grazing to agriculture and this effect to vary temporally.

We therefore believe that land-use simplification from pristine ecosystems to human

dominated agriculture would have negative consequences on ecosystem stability, resistance,

and resilience through reduction in microbial diversity.

4. Shivani Sharma

Title: How many markers are needed to build a robust phylogeny?

Abstract: Phylogenetic studies have progressed from using one or few markers to 100s of

markers to resolve evolutionary relationships. For example the primate molecular phylogeny

has progressed from 900 bp of mtDNA (Hayasaka et al. 1988) to 54 nuclear genes

constituting xxx bp (Pelerman et al. 2011). With the increase in the number of taxa it is

recommended that we use more markers to resolve relationships. Secondly, gene trees are

often not congruent with species trees due to ILS or hybridization. Taken together these

findings suggest that the use of one or few markers is problematic as it might not reflect the

true relationships. Thus, it is recommended that multiple markers be used to resolve

relationships. However, this brings to fore the cardinal question: How many markers to use to

generate a robust phylogeny? In this talk, I’ll discuss how I addressed this question and share

the results of the study. The study employed python programming language in order to write

a phylogenetic package that automates an algorithm for finding the number of markers that

are enough for building a phylogeny.

5. Dilip Naidu

Title: Variation in vulnerability of the soil carbon pool to global climate change

Abstract: Carbon-efflux from soils due to adaptation of soil microbial respiration to ambient

temperature and precipitation can determine future soil carbon stocks. Carbon-influx from the

atmosphere is through Net Primary Productivity (NPP) in plants, and a fraction of this enters

soils as detritus. Changes in this critical balance of influx and efflux of carbon determines the

stability of terrestrial carbon cycle and atmospheric carbon concentration. We estimated soil

respiration (Rs) as a function of temperature and precipitation using remotely sensed data and

identified the regions vulnerable to net carbon-loss and hotpots of potential for carbon-

sequestration, as a result of additive and compensatory effects between Rs and NPP. The total

area with the potential for C-sequestration cannot compensate the C-efflux regions which is

nearly 4 times larger with an unequal spatial distribution of these hotspots. The vulnerable areas

comprise Taiga, Tundra and Tropics. Surprisingly, dry tropical forests and savannas show the

highest potential for net soil C sequestration.

6. Raja Kullayi Swamy

Title: Genetic markers for medicinally important plant genus Phyllanthus s.l (Tribe:

Phyllantheae) from India

Abstract: Genus Phyllanthus s.l (Phyllanthus s.s, Breynia, Sauropus and Glochidion) has a

pantropical distribution and is taxonomically important since it has many cryptic species and

ecotypes. Members of the genus are widely used as medicinal plants in many aspects. Thus

proper identification of these plants is important for their effective use. Here we have used

chloroplast (matK) and nuclear (PHYC, ITS) markers to resolve their phylogeny and use this

data for species identification. A total of 170 samples representing 70 species were used in

this analysis. Chloroplast marker, MatK has been sequenced in 80% samples and nuclear

marker, PHYC for 50% sample. All sequences were initially aligned in MEGA.Phylogenetic

trees were built using RxML and MrBayes. Phyllanthus s.s is not a monophyletic genus,

however rest of them (Breynia, Sauropus and Glochidion) are monophyletic. Phylanthus s.s is

clustered in to different clades at infra generic level

7. Kartik Sunagar

Title: Why does India need a much-improved snakebite therapy?

Abstract: Snakebite in India causes the highest annual rates of death (46,000) and disability

(140,000) than any other country. Antivenom is the mainstay treatment of snakebite, whose

manufacturing protocols have remained unchanged for over a century. A polyvalent antivenom

is produced in India for the treatment of envenomations from the so called ‘big four’ snakes:

the spectacled cobra (Naja naja), common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), Russell’s viper (Daboia

russelii), and saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus). In addition to the big four, India is abode to

many other species of snakes that have the potential to inflict severe clinical and, even, lethal

envenomations in their human bite victims. Unfortunately, however, specific antivenoms are

not produced against these species and, instead, the ‘big four’ antivenom is routinely used for

the treatment. In this talk, I will highlight the poor crossneutralising potential of commercial

Indian antivenoms, and emphasize the pressing need to develop specific therapies for treating

bites from the ‘neglected many’. I will also summarise the Evolutionary Venomics Lab’s

multipronged approach to innovating India’s Next Generation Antivenom.

8. Dhanya Bharath

Title: Is brighter sexier? Luminance and colour perception

Abstract: Understanding how animals perceive the world influences our knowledge of their

evolution. In the domain of visual ecology, it is generally assumed that continuous variation

in colour signals (e.g., variation in bird plumage colouration) is also perceived continuously.

Recently, Caves et al. (2018) showed that zebra finches perceive colour in the orange-red

range of the visible spectrum in a categorical fashion, the first demonstration of categorical

perception outside primates in the visual modality. This colour range is particularly important

for this species because females assess males as potential mates in part based on carotenoid-

based beak colouration, preferring males with redder beaks, which may be an indicator of

better immune function. Natural carotenoid colouration of the beak varies in both hue (color

group, e.g. red, yellow, orange) and luminance (perceived brightness). However, the relative

contributions of these two facets of colour to categorical perception by zebra finches remain

unclear. The present project was designed to determine the extent to which brightness

contributes to categorical colour perception in zebra finches. We trained males and females to

remove discs covering wells to access a food reward, with food only found under discs

comprised of two colours (“bicolour”) and not under discs comprised of a single colour

(“solid”). They were initially trained with discs comprised of colours from either end of the

red to orange continuum. Birds were considered to “pass” a task if they removed the two

bicolour discs before any of the four solid discs (two of each of the colours comprising the

bicolour disc). Once they had learned this task, systematically varying the colours of the

bicolour discs and recording how well individuals performed the task with different colour

combinations, provided a measure of the bird’s ability to distinguish between any two given

colours. Eight colours were chosen in the orange-red spectrum, which varied in brightness in

a saw-tooth shaped pattern, alternating between higher and lower values of brightness as

redness increased. The colours were roughly equidistant in hue, as measured in a

chromaticity space based on zebra finch spectral sensitivity. Data were collected from 8

female and 11 male zebra finches. Each individual was given ten trials with each colour

combination. Preliminary analyses show that variation in brightness significantly impacted

individuals’ ability to pass the colour perception task. Additionally, the characteristic pattern

of categorical colour perception--increased discrimination for cross-boundary comparisons as

compared to within-category comparisons--is reduced when colours vary to similar

magnitudes both in brightness and in hue. When considering the evolution of colour signals,

especially in some colour ranges like those of carotenoid-based colours, where changes in

hue are by nature linked with changes in brightness, the contrast in brightness between

colours may be as important as chromatic distance when determining whether animals can

discriminate between two colours. A remaining question is whether or not brightness alone is

categorically perceived in the absence of hue. Our results illustrate the importance of

considering brightness as well as hue in studies of visual perception of colour-based signals

in animals.

9. Seshadri K S

Title: Faithful fathers and marauding males: The adaptive significance of parental care an

arboreal frog in the Western Ghats, India.

Authors: Seshadri KS and David Bickford

Abstract: Parental care behavior is a recurring theme across multiple taxa and is known to

enhance offspring survivorship. Anurans exhibit a diverse array of parental care behaviors

but few studies have examined such behavior among anurans in Asia. We examined the

parental care behavior in an arboreal frog Raorchestes chalazodes (Rhacophoridae) from the

Western Ghats of India. This critically endangered frog breeds exclusively inside hollow

internodes of the endemic bamboo (Ochlandra travancorica) that are devoid of water.

Natural history observations revealed that adult male R. chalazodes were always found

alongside eggs that undergo direct development. Using systematic surveys, we established

the adult males as the sole caregivers and they exhibit egg attendance behavior and defend

oviposition sites. Using in-situ adult removal experiments, we found that 83% of un-attended

eggs succumbed to mortality from predation, specifically from conspecific cannibalism.

Fungal infections, desiccation and, submergence also contributed to egg mortality but in

lower proportions. Our results suggest that predation is a key driver for the evolution of

parental care in R. chalazodes. Our work lays foundations to further examine the social and

reproductive behaviors of anurans in the Western Ghats and elsewhere in South and

Southeast Asia.

10. Yogesh Bangal

Title: Molecular dating in primates: mitochondrial vs nuclear markers

Abstract: Mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences have been used extensively to build

phylogenies and time trees. Past studies have shown that mitochondrial genes evolve 5-10

times faster than the nuclear genes depending on the taxanomic group. How does this

difference in molecular evolution between these different classes of markers influence time

trees? Here, we compare molecular dates based on mitochondrial and nuclear markers in

primates to address this question. We used the same set of taxa and calibrations to address

this question. Results indicate that in the deeper nodes the mitochondria time tree has

younger dates vis-a-vis nuclear markers whereas in the case of nodes closer to the tips the

opposite pattern is observed. The reason for this incongruence is discussed.

11. Vivek Suranse

Title: Venom evolution: A saga of weaponized physiological proteins

Abstract: Venom, a complex biochemical cocktail employed for defence, prey capture or

both, is a remarkable ecological innovation that has underpinned the evolutionary success of

numerous lineages across animal kingdom. Owing to several independent origins and losses

in animals, venom is amongst highly dynamic traits. However, the molecular mechanisms

underpinning the evolutionary origin of this adaptative trait has largely remained elusive.

Using comparative transcriptomics and genomics, we describe two remarkable mechanisms

that lead to the weaponization of non-toxic, physiological proteins into potent venom

components.

De novo recruitment: Sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus) are an ancient group of jawless

fish with funnel-like suctorial mouth lined with teeth. They are known to latch onto their host

and deliver an anticoagulant cocktail to facilitate hematophagy. Though certain anticoagulant

proteins have been described from lamprey salivary secretions, the precise biochemical

composition of this cocktail is yet to be described. Using comparative transcriptomics, we

reveal for the first time, the salivary cocktail of sea lampreys, which were surprisingly

enriched with immune related and heat shock proteins, including ‘clusterins’ – a vertebrate

heat shock protein, involved in the prevention of stress related platelet aggregation. To

facilitate their haematophagous dietary lifestyle, sea lampreys may have ingeniously

weaponized these non-toxic proteins as potent anticoagulants.

Evolutionary weaponisation: Solenodons (Solenodon paradoxus) are critically endangered

venomous mammals of the order Eulipotyphla, endemic to Caribbean island of Hispaniola.

They have grooved incisors for administering venom into their prey and predators. Genome

sequencing and venom proteomic fingerprinting revealed that their venom is predominantly

constituted by ‘kallikrein-1’, a type of serine protease inhibitor, also expressed in the salivary

secretions of other mammals. In contrast to lampreys, solenodons have evolutionarily

tinkered a preexisting salivary protein into a potent hypotensive toxin. Ancestral character

reconstructions not only revealed that the venom has independently originated on at least four

times in this order, but also that this very toxin has independently originated in three distant

eulipotyphlans, insinuating that the observed convergence may have been dictated by

ecological exigencies. Thus, we present two remarkably distinct phenomena of venom

origins: de novo recruitment in lampreys and evolutionary weaponization of salivary proteins

in solenodons.

Day 2: 21 Jan. 2020

1. Vijay Ramesh and Sarthak J Shetty

Title: pyResearchThemes: A novel, open-source tool to identify themes of research

Abstract: The last few decades have seen a drastic increase in the availability of scientific research

in a digital format. This has provided the opportunity to carry out detailed systematic reviews and

meta-analyses that bridge the gap between scientists and policymakers by carrying out a

comprehensive synthesis on a particular topic. However, with increasing volumes of scientific

literature being published each year, it is difficult to methodically analyze and synthesize research

across multiple topics. To bridge this gap, we have developed a novel open-source tool,

pyResearchThemes, that automates the identification of research themes by synthesizing large

amounts of published literature. This tool trains language models on a corpus of abstracts scrapped

from scientific journal databases. To test the utility of this tool, we asked: What are the key research

themes in the field of Conservation Biology? First, we scraped and analyzed a reference dataset

consisting of 22,561 abstracts from 8 high-impact journals in the field of conservation biology. Our

analysis identified 12 distinct clusters/themes of research in this field. Each cluster consists of a

number of words, in order of their frequency and relative contribution to that particular cluster. At

CES-IHS, we aim to ask participants to label each cluster and identify the ‘theme’ of research that the

tool has identified, given a set of words. In an era of global changes, a timely and easy-to-use tool to

synthesize research trends will guide appropriate research efforts.

2. Pronoy Baidya

Title: Ant Communities across Large Spatial Scales in Goa, India: Beta Diversity and its

Components

Abstract: Understanding how biodiversity is distributed and the patterns of this distribution

has been a central question in ecology for a long time. Gaining this understanding has

become of priority in recent times due to an accelerated human induced land-use change

leading to global declines in biodiversity. To understand these patterns of biodiversity

distribution, beta diversity is progressively becoming a widely used concept since it has the

ability to be more interpretive than alpha diversity, is better suited to test general ecological

models and provides good insights for conservation and management practices.

In this study, we ask how taxonomic species, functional groups and land-use contribute to

beta diversity, partitions of beta diversity and whether invasive species have a

disproportionate influence on beta diversity. We answer these questions using ants in Goa as

a model system since they are one of the most diverse, abundant and ecologically significant

organisms on earth, and contribute significantly to various ecological functions.

To this end, we record 68 species of ants of which five are invasive and classified the

recorded species within six functional groups from 277 sites distributed within five land-use

types. At the taxonomic species level, Oecophylla smaragdina a common arboreal species of

the tropics and the globally important invasive Anoplolepis gracilepis contributed the most to

beta diversity. At the functional group level, the group comprised of large-bodied

decomposers, contribute the most to beta diversity. Lateritic plateaus and forests contributed

most to beta diversity whereas this contribution drastically decreases in human influenced

land-uses. At taxonomic species level, beta diversity of ant communities is explained more by

species replacement between sites however at functional group level there is more nestedness

within sites. We found that sites with no invasive species contributed more to beta diversity

than sites which had invasive species and this effect progressively strengthens with an

increase in the number of invasive species at a site.

Our results suggest a strong relationship between human influence on land-uses resulting in

the reduction of beta diversity and a disproportionate influence of invasive species in this

landscape.

3. Suyog Kochare

Title: Evolution Stings: unravelling the evolution of enigmatic arthropod venoms

Abstract: Venom is a complex concoction that has independently evolved several times

across the animal kingdom. This dynamic trait has been recruited to serve several important

ecological functions, such as defence, offence and/or competition, in order to sustain in a

demanding natural environment. In contrast to venoms of evolutionarily young lineages, such

as snakes and cone snails, the venoms of ancient lineages that include insects, scorpions,

spiders, and centipedes, have remained largely under investigated, particularly in the Indian

subcontinent. Scorpions are old members of arachnids with equipped with a tail, ending in a

pointed needle-like stinger and a bulb where a pair of venom glands is nested for effectively

delivering the venom to capture a prey or to defend themselves against predators. They hold

an arsenal of bioactive compounds with immense therapeutic importance, notably these same

components can potentially elicit severe medical symptoms upon envenomation. Despite of

wide distribution and ecological importance as very few studies have been conducted to

scrutinize complexities of their venom compostion For example, the Indian red scorpion

(Hottentotta tamulus tamulus), a member of the family Buthidae, despite being the only

known medically relevant scorpion species in India, has been largely uninvestigated.

Interestingly, a subspecies (H. t. concanensis) found in the coastal regions of Maharashtra, is

infamous for inflicting severe clinical symptoms in their human victims. Similarly,

Hymenopterans are a unique evolutionarily ancient lineage known to cause fatalities in

humans. Yellow jacket wasp (Vespa affinis), a vespid family member, has a venom rich in

allergens that can cause acute allergic reactions. Unlike bees, they can inflict multiple stings.

There are reports of victims dying within hours to days despite receiving timely treatment.

However, the complex mechanisms underlying these sever pathophysiological symptoms

remain poorly understood. Here, we report comparative proteomics of the venoms of two

Hottentotta subspecies from very distinct geographical habitats. I will also highlight the

influence of various ecological and environmental factors in shaping this biochemically

complex cocktails. Further, the identification of one of the most potent anticoagulants from

the wasp venom, which possesses significant therapeutic potential, accentuates the

importance of investigating these ‘neglected’ lineages. Thus, I will provide an insight into the

evolution of venom in these enigmatic arthropod lineages from India.

4. Kartik Shanker

Title: Mixed company: A framework for understanding the composition and organization of

mixed-species animal groups

All authors: Eben Goodale, Hari Sridhar, Kathryn E. Sieving, Priti Bangal, Gabriel J.

Colorado Z.4, Damien R. Farine, Eckhard W. Heymann, Harrison Jones, Indrikis Krams, Ari

E. Martínez, Flavia Montaño-Centellas, Jenny Muñoz, Umesh Srinivasan, Anne Theo, and

Kartik Shanker

Presenting author: Kartik Shanker

Abstract: Mixed-species animal groups (MSGs) are common among fish, birds and social

mammals, and increase their participants’ predator avoidance and foraging efficiency. There

is great diversity in their composition, ranging from two to 70 species of very similar or

completely different phenotypes, yet also consistency in that one or a few species usually

have disproportionate importance for their formation and/or maintenance. We present a two-

dimensional framework for understanding this diversity and consistency. One axis represents

the similarity in the nature of benefits accrued, with one extreme being the case of single

species groups wherein all individuals obtain the same ‘supplementary’, group size-related

benefits, and the other extreme being associations of very different, but complementary

species. The extremes of this gradient represent different selective regimes; competition plays

an important role in supplementary-based MSG, but not in complementary ones. The second

axis expresses asymmetry in benefits/costs within participating species pairs; extreme

asymmetry occurs when one species is exclusively a benefit provider and the other

exclusively a user. We review the kinds of benefits traded in MSG, both supplementary

and/or complementary components. We conclude by considering how MSGs may influence

the structure and processes of the communities in which they occur.

5. Priya Iyer

Title: Adaptation to sexual selection: non-sexually selected males should provide parental

care

Abstract: Sexually selection is recognized as an important factor selecting for sex roles in

parental care. Previous models have predicted that sexually selected males should not provide

parental care as they benefit more from deserting offspring and remating, hence selecting for

female biased care. These models have restricted non sexually selected males from mating.

We hypothesize that allowing non sexually selected males few opportunities to mate should

select for them to provide care, in contrast to the sexually selected males' strategy to desert.

We developed agent based models to test this hypothesis, and we are able to confirm it for a

large range of parameters. Our model also shows that there can be conditions when females

desert more than both types of males. Both these findings are new to the theoretical literature

on evolution of parental roles. In nature, especially among birds, we find examples of

alternative male strategies (with sexually selected males deserting and non-sexually selected

males caring) similar to the predictions of our model.

6. Satyajeet Gupta

Title: Which vehicle to ride on? Hitchhiker’s dilemma in an ephemeral microcosm

Abstract: Hitchhikers (phoretic organisms) that are part of tritrophic systems, differentiate

and locate their vehicle using various visual, chemical and vibrational cues at an inter-

specific level but their intra-specific level discrimination abilities have been rarely

investigated. To ensure successful propagation, the phoretic organisms not only needs to

avoid overcrowded vehicle but also requires presence of conspecifics so as to have access to

mating partners. Hence, a trade-off between these two opposing selection forces can be

expected while a phoretic organism selects a vehicle for transport at an intra-specific level.

Here, we investigate the intra-specific level discrimination for vehicular selection by the

phoretic organism by exploring both the factors i.e. the presence of conspecifics and

overcrowding; and the underlying sensory modality by which a phoretic nematode

community (containing plant- and animal-parasitic taxa) associated with a brood-site

pollination mutualism uses to differentiate between pollinators (vehicle) with different

nematode densities. We found that only conspecifics densities regulates the hitchhiking

process, the animal-parasitic nematodes were able to gauge conspecific’s presence and the

extent of overcrowding for embarking onto a vehicle. However, the plant-parasitic nematodes

used only conspecific’s overcrowding as a factor. Further, the nematode species used

volatiles as sensory cues for discriminating between the different conspecific nematode

densities. Therefore, not only, this study sheds light on the different strategies that phoretic

organisms use while making an intra-specific vehicular selection but also, opens up new

testable hypotheses on the stability and persistence of phoretic interactions in a mutualism.

7. Senji Laxme R R

Title: Pandora’s box: Dramatic biogeographic venom variation in the medically most

important Indian snakes emphasizes the pressing need for the innovation of Next Generation

Snakebite Therapies

Abstract: Snakebite imposes severe socioeconomic burden on the rural-agrarian

communities in India, resulting in excess of 46,000 snakebite deaths and 140,000 immutable

morbidities, annually. India is home to over 60 described snake species that are capable of

inflicting clinically significant bites and, yet, the antivenom – the only treatment for

snakebites, is produced only against the ‘big four’ snakes: the spectacled cobra (Naja naja),

the common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) and the saw-scaled

viper (Echis carinatus). The composition of snake venoms has been theorised to be influenced

by numerous ecological and environmental factors. This variation not only underpins the

ecological adaptations of the animal but also severely impacts the snakebite therapy. In fact,

one of the major drawbacks of the existing snakebite therapy in India could be the inability to

account for the geographic variation in snake venoms. Unfortunately, the extent of

biogeographic venom variation in Indian snakes and their impact on the effectiveness of the

marketed antivenoms is yet to be elucidated. In this talk, I will present the results unveiling

the stark differences in venom composition and potencies observed even at short distances

(~150 Km), thereby accentuating the impact of ecology, environment and rapid molecular

evolution in shaping these complex biochemical cocktails. The results will also highlight why

the conventional strategies in practice are incapable of producing pan-India efficacious

antivenoms and emphasize the pressing need for the innovation of Next Generation Snakebite

Therapies.

Day 3: 22 Jan 2020

1. Raghavendra Gadagkar

Title: Cutting-Edge Research at Trifling Cost

Abstract: I am writing a book with the working title “Cutting-Edge Research at Trifling

Cost: How to Design Experiments in Animal Behaviour”. The book will contain 16 chapters,

each describing simple, clever experiments that, while creating significant new knowledge,

required no sophisticated facilities and almost no money, and could have been done by

almost anyone, anywhere. The book will begin with an opening chapter discussing why it is

important to do low-cost research, both for science and for society. In this talk I will attempt

to address this why question and begin to articulate my arguments in favour of low-cost

research and about how to make it fashionable and imbue it with social prestige.

2. Shamik Roy

Title: Large mammalian herbivores influence foraging strategies of soil microbes

Abstract: Foraging strategies of soil microbes in grazing ecosystems can be highly

consequential to global biogeochemical cycles. How microbes deploy different extracellular-

enzymes (EE) in soil, and whether this is influenced by large mammalian-herbivores, remains

poorly understood. We find activities of seven EE peak at different times during the growing-

season in an asynchronous manner in a grazing ecosystem. EE-profile shifts from N-

acquisition to C- and P- acquisition as the growing-season progresses. This departure from

a laissez faire approach is an indicator of a foraging strategy, rather than an artefact of

changes in biomass or community composition. By improving quality of biomass-input to

soil herbivores reduced generic-depolymerizing EE relative to the specialised-EE which

release assimilable end-products. Generality of this microbial-response was evidenced in 860

soil-EE profiles from across the world, and was validated by experimental manipulation of

biomass-quality. This exposes the continuum between microbes in herbivore’s gut and soil,

that regulate nutrient cycles.

POSTERS

PRESENTER POSTER TITLE

Shivani Sharma How many markers are enough for building a phylogeny?

Thresiamma Varghese Butterflies of the Indian Institute of Science Campus

SCIENCE AND CREATVITY STALLS

Priti Bangal

Sambita Modak

RMB Lab

Priti Hebbar