Spiders as health indicators of eco-systems...

Research Interest

Ecology & evolution – population/community ecology; plant-animal interactions; conservation; pollination biology; entomology; conservation; global change; phenology; citizen science; aquatic-terrestrial interface; invasive species; biostatistics; natural history...................I am looking for short or long term positions and collaborations, with research agencies, individuals and organizations.

Journey to Web World.......

A story and a moral behind, as you all heard of - Legend has it that, when, around 1306, Robert the Bruce was the outlawed leader of a guerrilla war against the English and his fortunes were at a low ebb, he derived courage and hope from watching the patient, persevering way in which a spider spun its web. This gave him the inspiration to fight on and eventually win nationhood for Scotland. This story is a clear example of the cultural significance of biodiversity, and emphasises how no species should be dismissed as unimportant. And indeed the web that Robert watched the spider build is a remarkable achievement. It can contain more than 30 metres of silk, spun by the spider in less than a hour, purely instinctively – newly hatched spiderlings can spin a perfect web at their first attempt. But the real importance of spiders is as predators, controlling the population level of other invertebrates. One spider expert has estimated that there may be as many as 5 million spiders in a hectare of meadowland in the autumn. The total consumption of this many spiders have a very significant effect on the numbers of prey species – many of which would be regarded as pests by farmers or gardeners.

Prelude .........

Back in the 1998, after my high school days, I have come across a book by E. O. Wilson, Diversity of Life,- “Every country has three forms of wealth: material, cultural and biological. The first two we understand well, because they are the substance of our everyday lives. The essence of the biodiversity problem is that biological wealth is taken much less seriously. . . . The fauna and flora are also part of a country’s heritage, the produce of millions of years of evolution centred on that time and place, and hence as much a reason for national concern as the particularities of language and culture”. This idea drives me to research for understanding and exploring the diversity of faunal life around us. As a part of my post graduation curriculum, I worked on urban ecology of butterflies, which inspired me to look on conservation issues related to these species which lack enough public attention.