Dr. Robert John Chandran

Fellow

RESEARCH INTERESTS

My research focuses on the diversity and assembly of plant communities in a wide range of ecosystems including species-rich tropical and subtropical forests, terai grassland-woodland mosaics, and sub-alpine and alpine systems. The mechanisms that determine alpha-diversity and species-abundance distributions in plant communities remains poorly understood. Niche-assembly mechanisms emanating from biotic interactions and resource competition on one hand, and dispersal-assembly mechanisms due to dispersal limitation and demographic stochasticity on the other, could all play significant roles. Understanding these mechanisms is not only of fundamental scientific importance, but is also necessary for conservation of biodiversity and sustainable use of forest resources, particularly in the context of rapid land use change and global environmental change.

I am currently working on plant communities in the Western Ghats and in the Northeastern Region of India, and with a Global Network of large forest plots in several countries of the world.

In addition to population, and community-level studies, I am also working on landscape-scale assessments of carbon pools in forest soils and in the vegetation above ground. Baseline data for India are just being generated and these data are critically important for policy decisions regarding land use and livelihoods in the context of climate change and forestry options for mitigation.

ACADEMIC BACKGROUND

Obtained Doctor of Philosophy in Ecology from the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore in the year of 2001
Obtained Master of Technology degree in Chemical Spectroscopy from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in the year of 1993
Obtained Master of Science degree in Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, in the year of 1991
Obtained Bachelor of Science degree from St. Joseph's College, Bangalore University in the year of 1989

PROFESSIONAL EXCELLENCE SUMMARY

Have 3 years of experience at the Assistant Professor level in conducting research and in teaching Masters and Ph.D. students
Recognised as Ph.D. Guide at Manipal University to which the ATREE Ph.D. Programme is affiliated
Member, Core Group on the Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the Forestry Sector, Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India.
Proficient in designing and implementing research programmes in tropical tree community ecology, population biology of plants and large mammals, biodiversity, and soils
Have advanced knowledge of statistical analyses and inference, spatial statistics, geostatistics, regression, likelihood, research methodology; operating knowledge in Geographical Information Systems (GIS); and computer programming in R and FORTRAN 77 in the Unix/Linux environment.
Have 5 years of post-doctoral research experience at three premier American Institutions
Have conducted research in ecology as a member of a prestigious international network of scientists
Have experience in conducting and teaching in international training workshops for researchers at multiple levels
Have experience in lecturing on Science to citizen groups
Have contributed to building the structure and curriculum of the new Ph.D. programme in Conservation Science at Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE)
Was Academic Coordinator and Administrator of the ATREE Ph.D. programme for two years since its inception in the year of 2006

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

2006 - Present: Fellow (Assistant Professor) at ATREE with the following work responsibilities:

Conduct research in forest ecology, conservation science, climate change impacts on biodiversity, restoration ecology, carbon sequestration and affforestation, habitat and wildlife management, and bioresource ecology and management
Mentor Post-doctoral researchers and supervise Ph.D. students toward Ph.D. degrees
Teach basic courses in ecology, statistics, and mathematics, and advanced courses on specific research areas to ATREE Ph.D. students
Obtain grants to conduct research and for institutional development
Provide institutional service in administration and implementation of institutional programmes

2004 - 2006: Worked as NSF funded post-doctoral research associate at the Department of Plant Biology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA, with the following responsibilities:

Conduct and coordinate research on tropical tree communities in forest plots located in several tropical countries as part of Center for Tropical Science Network of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.
Perform statistical modeling, laboratory work, writing of research, and develop computer programs for modeling and analyses for other members of the Network.

2002-2004: Worked as joint post-doctoral fellow with the University of Georgia, Athens, USA, and the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, USA with the following work responsibilities:

Conduct research on the 50-ha tropical forest plot at Barro Colorado Island, Panama.
Develop collaborative research with other members of the global network of plots of the Center for Tropical Forest Science
Contribute to teaching and training in NSF-funded training workshops on statistical modeling in R for other member of the Center for Tropical Forest Science Network

2001-2002: Worked as Research Associate with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore with the following work responsibilities:

Conduct research at the 50-ha Mudumalai Forest Dynamics plot, southern India, including long-term data management, field research, and data analyses and writing
Develop computer programs in R for analyses of large forest plot data to be used by members of the Center for Tropical Forest Science Network of plots

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Instructor, in NSF-funded Center for Tropical Science International Workshops in statistical ecology and computer programming. (i) Bangalore (India) in year 2001 (ii) Gamboa, Panama in year 2002, (iii) Harvard Forest, USA in year 2003.
Introductory course in Mathematics and Statistics in the ATREE Ph.D. programme.
Introductory course in Ecology and Climate Change in the ATREE Ph.D. programme.
Tropical Forest Ecology to MSc Students in Wildlife Science at the National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bangalore.

PROFESSIONAL ACHIEVEMENTS

Publications:

John, R., J.W. Dalling, K.E. Harms, J.B. Yavitt, R.F. Stallard, M. Mirabello, S.P. Hubbell, R. Valencia, H. Navarrete, M. Vallejo, and R.B. Foster. 2007. Soil nutrients influence spatial distributions of tropical tree species. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 104: 864-869.
Wills, C., K. . Harms, R. Condit, D. King, J. Thompson, F.L. He, H.C. Muller-Landau, P. Ashton, E. Losos, L. Comita, S. Hubbell, J. LaFrankie, S. Bunyavejchewin, H.S. Dattaraja, S. Davies, S. Esufali, R. Foster, N. Gunatilleke, S. Gunatilleke, P. Hall, A. Itoh, b, S. Kiratiprayoon, S.L. de Lao, M. Massa, C. Nath, M.N.S. Noor, A.R. Kassim, R. Sukumar, H.S. Suresh, I.F. Sun, S. Tan, T. Yamakura, and E. Zimmerman. 2006. Nonrandom processes maintain diversity in tropical forests. Science 311:527-531.
Condit, R., P. Ashton, H. Balslev, N. Brokaw, S. Bunyavejchewin, G. Chuyong, L. Co, H.S. Dattaraja, S. J. Davies, S. Esufali, C.E.N. Ewango, R. Foster, N. Gunatilleke, S. Gunatilleke, C. Hernandez, S. Hubbell, R. John, D. Kenfack, S. Kiratiprayoon, P. Hall, T. Hart, A. Itoh, J. LaFrankie, I. Liengola, D. Langunzad, S. Loo de Lao, E. Losos, E. Magard, J. Makana, N. Manokaran, H. Naverrette, S.M. Nur, T. Okhubo, R. Perez, C. Samper, L. H. Seng, R. Sukumar, J-C, Svenning, S. Tan, D. Thomas, J. Thompson, M. I. Vallejo, G. V. Munoz, R. Valencia, T. Yamakura, and J. Zimmerman. 2005. Tropical tree ?-diversity: Results from a worldwide network of large plots. Biologiske Skrifter 55:565-582.
Uriarte, M., S.P. Hubbell, R. John, R. Condit, and C. D. Canham. 2005. Neighborhood Effects on Sapling Growth and Survival in a Neotropical Forest and the Ecological Equivalence Hypothesis. Pages 89-106 in Biotic Interactions in the Tropics: Their Role in the Maintenance of Species Diversity, ed. D. F. R. P. Burslem, M. A. Pinard and S. E. Hartley. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
John, R., H. S. Dattaraja, H.S. Suresh, and R. Sukumar. 2002. Density dependence in common tree species in a tropical dry deciduous forest in Mudumalai, southern India. Journal of Vegetation Science 13: 45-56.
John, R., and R. Sukumar. 1999. Distance- and density-related effects in a tropical dry deciduous forest tree community at Mudumalai, southern India: in Tropical Forest Diversity and Dynamism: Findings from a Large-scale Plot Network. (eds: Elizabeth C. Losos & Egbert G. Leigh, Jr.). Pages 363-383. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.
Sukumar, R, H.S. Suresh, H.S. Dattaraja, R. John, and N. 1999. Mudumalai forest dynamics plot, India: in Tropical Forest Diversity and Dynamism: Findings from a Large-scale Plot Network. (eds: Elizabeth C. Losos & Egbert G. Leigh, Jr.). Pages 551-563. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, USA.
Dalling, J. and John, R. 2008. Seed limitation and the coexistence of pioneer tree species. Tropical Forest Community Ecology (eds: Walter P. Carson and Stefan A. Schnitzer), Pages 242-253, Wiley-Blackwell, UK.
John, R, H.S. Dattaraja, H.S. Suresh, and R. Sukumar. 2007. Fire in tropical dry forests: results from a long-term study in Mudumalai, southern India. Proceedings of a National Workshop on Forest Fires in India. Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), Pages 101-106, New Delhi, India.
Anitha, K., S. Joseph, R. John Chandran, E.V. Ramaswamy, and S. Narendra Prasad. Tree species diversity and community composition in a human-dominated tropical forest of Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. Ecol. Complex. (2010), doi:10.1016/j.ecocom.2010.02.005

Theses/Term Papers:

Habitat associations, density dependence, and tree species diversity in a tropical dry deciduous forest in Mudumalai, southern India. Ph.D. dissertation, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 2000.
Applications of immobilized proteins in analyses. Master of Technology dissertation, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 1993.
Template assembled synthetic proteins: A synthetic approach to protein design. Term paper, Master of Science dissertation, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 1991.
Soil nutrient losses in a tropical dry forest: The influence cattle grazing. Bachelor of Science Research Report, St. Joseph's College (with the Indian Institute of Science), 1989.

Fellowships/Grants Obtained and/or Administered:

Merit Fellowship, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 1989-1991. Grant amount: Rs. 7200/-.
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) Fellowship (Chemistry), Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, 1991-1993. Grant amount: Rs. 32,000/-.
Graduate Research Fellowship, Indian Institute of Science, 1993-1998. Grant amount: Rs. 172,600/-
Research Grant. Center for Tropical Forest Science (CTFS), Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), USA. (November 2002 - November 2003). Grant amount: US$ 31,000/-
Lead Principal Investigator on project titled "Programme Support for Technological Innovations and Ecological Research for the Sustainable Use of Bioresources in the Sikkim Himalaya". Funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Total outlay Rs. 4,49,89,000/- (May 2009 - May 2014)
Principal Investigator on project titled "Science and Education on the linkages between climate change and biodiversity". Funded by HSBC Bank and Coordinated by Earthwatch UK. Project outlay for the year 2009. £10,000/-
Principal Investigator: Research and Monitoring component of the UNESCO World Heritage Biodiversity Project sites in Assam, India (2008- 2011). Total project outlay US$ 120,000 over a 4-year period.
Principal Investigator during June 2007 - January 2009 on a joint institutional project between ATREE and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences on global climate change and biodiversity and agriculture. Total project outlay Rs. 1,54,92,915/- over a 3-year period.

Contact

Phone: +91-94490 40468, Fax: 080-2363 0070, Email: robert.chandran@gmail.com

REFERENCES

Dr. James W. Dalling
Associate Professor
Dept. of Plant Biology
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
265 Morrill Hall,
Urbana, IL 61801. USA
Phone: (217) 244-8914
Fax: (217) 244-7246
E-mail: dallingj@life.uiuc.edu

Dr. Kyle E. Harms
Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Louisiana State University
202 Life Sciences Bldg.
Baton Rouge, LA 70803 USA
Telephone: 225-578-7566
Fax: 225-578-2597
E-mail: kharms@lsu.edu

Dr. Stephen P. Hubbell
Distinguished Research Professor
Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
University of California, Los Angeles
BOX 951606, 114 Botany Building
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1606, USA
Phone: (310) 206-8165
Fax: (310)206-3987
E-mail: shubbell@eeb.ucla.edu

Dr. Elizabeth Losos
Adjunct Professor and President & CEO
Organization for Tropical Studies
Duke University
410, Swift Ave, Durham, NC 27705, USA.
Phone: (919) 684-5774
Fax: (919) 684-5661
E-mail: elizabeth.losos@duke.edu

Dr. David F. R. P. Burslem
School of Biological Sciences
University of Aberdeen
Cruickshank Building
St Machar Drive
Aberdeen AB24 3UU
Scotland, UK
Phone: +44 (0)1224 272695
Fax: +44 (0)1224 272703
E-mail: d.burslem@abdn.ac.uk

Dr. Fangliang He
Professor and Canada Research Chair in Biodiversity and Landscape Modeling
Dept. of Renewable Resources
University of Alberta
823B General Services Building
Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1
CANADA
Phone: (780) 492-7575
Fax: (780) 492-4323
Email: fhe@ualberta.ca