Dr. Soubadra Devy
Fellow
Education
Ph.D. 1999 Ecology, Madras University, Chennai, India
Title: Social bee pollination of wet forest canopy trees in Western Ghats
Research Interests
I work primarily on butterflies and plant-animal interactions especially pollination.
Kalakad –Mudanthurai Tiger Reserve has been my focal area for the past several years
and I been involved in a long term monitoring program of phenology of trees and
pollinators, and vegetation dynamics in a wet evergreen forest site within the reserve.
This work has led to other avenues of interest. One is to elucidate the role of plant
animal interactions in biodiversity maintenance and how these interactions are altered
by human activities. Current research interest is to develop management plans that will
maintain pollination services across natural and human-dominated landscapes. I also plan
to integrate the component of plant-animal interactions in the restoration ecology, which
is emerging as a new paradigm in restoration science.
Yet another interest stemming from my earlier work on butterflies is to use them as flagship
species for other lesser known taxa in conservation planning. I am currently using information
system to model butterfly species distribution in Western Ghats to determine whether the
existing Protected Area Network in the region represent butterflies and other smaller taxa.
I plan to use flagship image of butterflies to create butterfly friendly gardens, which
are also suitable for other organisms within the urban sprawl. Scientific inputs for this
study is drawn from a urban biodiversity study which is underway in collaboration with
experts of other taxa.
I have been accessing the canopy of a wet forest site in KMTR for various pollination studies.
As canopies of Indian forests remain unexplored, I would like to take this experience further
by developing a canopy program to assess the biodiversity of this unexplored realm in
collaboration with experts of various other taxa.
Experience
- Research associate: Effect of land use change on the wet forest butterfly community .Salim Ali School of Ecology and Environmental Science , Pondicherry University, Pondicherrry. 1990-1991.
- Research Associate: Evaluation of the protected areas in Andaman Islands for butterflies based on their distribution in relation to area and habitat requirements. Salim Ali School of Ecology and Environmental Science and French Institute, Pondicherry. 1992-1993.
- Research Associate: Integrated program on Biodiversity assessment by University of Massachusetts Boston, Tata Energy Research Institute, New Delhi, and Salim Ali School of Ecology, Pondicherry. 1994-1998.
- Small scale altitudinal plots and forest dynamic plots for long term monitoring of vegetation dynamics in KMTR.
- Long term monitoring of phenology of canopy trees and key pollinator group in a wet forest of KMTR
- Community level pollination studies of canopy tree species in KMTR
- Altitudinal distribution of butterflies in KMTR
- 1999-2000 Research Associate: Evaluation of Protected Areas along Western Ghats for Butterflies. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment.
Affiliations / Positions / Memberships
- International Canopy Network, Washington, USA
- Global canopy program, Oxford, UK
- Advisor, International advisor to Environmental Studies at New College of Florida, Sarasota, USA.
Grants / Awards / Honors
Research Grants:
- 2002-2007. Co- investigator. Department of Biotechnology. An integrated approach to utilizing the proposed butterfly park in Bannerghetta National Park for education and outreach.
- 2002-2004. Co-Investigator- Millennium Assessment of Ecosystem Services . Pollination -a life support service of the ecosystem.
- 2002-2003. Co-Investigator- Flora and Fauna international: Conservation of threatened swamps of Western Ghats.
- 2001-2002. Co- Investigator- World Bank funded project through Karnataka Forest Department: Evaluation of Nagerhole National Park for lesser known taxa.
- 2002-2003. Principal Investigator-National Geographic Society: Continuation grant, Evaluation of Protected Areas for lesser taxa in Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot, using butterflies as probe taxa
- 2000-2001. Principal Investigator -National Geographic Society: Evaluation of Protected Areas for lesser taxa in Western Ghats, a biodiversity hotspot, using butterflies as probe taxa
- 2000-2001 Principal Investigator- Rufford Small Grant: Effects of disturbance on the reproductive success of a keystone species in Western Ghats.
- 2000-2001. Principal Investigator -ATREE Small Grant: An exploratory survey to determine the potential role of Woman Fuel-wood collectors in self sustaining agro-forestry program
- 1999-2000 Principal Investigator - ATREE Small Grant: To set up the database on butterflies of Western Ghats
Select Publications
Complete Publications
Publications
- Ganesh,T, R.Ganesan, M.S. Devy, P.Davidar and K.S.Bawa. Mid elevation wet evergreen forests of southern Western Ghats, India: a region of high plant endemism and low turnover. Accepted -Journal of Biogeography
- Devy,M.S. and P. Davidar 2003. Pollination systems of trees in Kakachi -a mid-elevation wet evergreen forest in Western Ghats, India. American Journal of Botany 90: 650-657
- SDevy.M.S and T.Ganesh. 2003. Canopy science and its relevance to India. Current Science 85:101 - 104.
- Davidar,P; K. Yoganand; T. Ganesh and M.S. Devy. 2002. Distribution of forest birds and butterflies in the Andaman islands, Bay of Bengal; nested patterns and processes. Ecography 25: 5-16.
- Devy, M.S and P.Davidar. 2001. Effects of selective felling on the butterflies assemblage in wet forest of Kalakad-Mudanthurai Tiger reserve: conservation implications. Current Science, 80: 400-405.
- Ganesh,T and M.S.Devy. 2000. Flower use by arboreal mammals and its consequence in the pollination of a rainforest tree in the south Western Ghats, India. Selbyana, 21 (1,2) 60-65.
- Ganesh,T and Devy, M.S 2000. Bird flowers and pollination ecology. Current science, 79:689.
- Devy,M.S. 2000. Butterflies of wet forests of southern Western India. Tropical Lepidoptera news 4: 8-11.
- Devy,M.S, T.Ganesh and P.Davidar.1998. Patterns of butterfly distribution in the Andaman Islands- Implications for conservation. Acta Oecologia 19 (6):527-534.
- Ganesh, T; R.Ganesan; M.S. Devy; P.Davidar and K.S.Bawa (1996). An assessment of plant biodiversity at a mid elevation evergreen forest of Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats, India. Current Science 71:379-392.
- Devy, M.S,. T.Ganesh and P.Davidar.1994. Butterfly Distribution in the Andaman islands. Journal of Andaman Science Association, 10:50-56.
Chapter in books
- Davidar, P; M.S.Devy; T.K.Yoganand, and T.Ganesh 1994.Reserve size and implications for conservation of Biodiversity in the Andaman Islands. In (Ed) Boyle.T.J.B and Boontawee, Measuring and monitoring of Biodiversity in tropical and temperate forest, CIFRO, Indonesia pp 287-301.
Short articles
- Devy,M.S. 1998. Occurrence of Spot puffin (Appias lalage) in Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve of south Western Ghats Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 95:522.
- Ganesh,T., R.Ganesan and M.S.Devy. 1998. Diet of the brown palm civet in Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu. . Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 95(1): 108-109.
- Devy M.S. 1997. Study of social bee pollinated canopy tree species in the montane wet forest of southern Western Ghats, India. The Newsletter of the international canopy network.3(2):7.
- Ganesh, T and M.S.Devy. 1993. How butterflies raise their temperature on cold and misty days. Journal of Bombay Natural History Society 90:303.
- Devy M.S and C.Livingstone. 2001. Interactions between social bees and their foodplants in rainforest canopy of Western Ghats.Proceedings on the International conference on Tropical ecosystems: structure, Diversity and Human Welfare.Pgs 420-422.( Ed K.N.Ganeshaiah , R.Umashaanker and K.S.Bawa) Oxford –IbH publication.
Popular articles
- Devy.M.S. Out on a limb .Sanctuary 2001 Spl. issue on Western Ghats:14-17
Meetings / Conferences / Symposiums / Workshops
- Pollination -a life support service of the ecosystem. A workshop organised as a part of Millennium Ecosystem assessment 2003., Bangalore.
- Organizer of the workshop
- Assessment of pollination service through Millennium Assessment :some directions
- International workshop on conservation and management of bees for sustainable development, 2003, Bangalore
- Organising committee member
- The need for landscape approach to plant-pollinator interactions
- Association of Tropical Biology annual meeting, Aberdeen, UK. 2003
- Why does Helecteres isora (Sterculiaceae) flowers get attractive with age : to draw pollinators or cheat the pollen robbers ?
- Association of Tropical Biology annual meeting, Panama city, Panama 2002
- Palaquium ellipticum” a flag species for Apis dorsata arrival to a wet evergreen forest in Western Ghats.
- Attractive neuter flowers and its colour change in Dichrostachys cinerius: a means to increase male reproductive success?
- Monitoring techniques of social bees and their foodplants. Workshop organised for senior level researchers of Agricultural Dept, Bangalore. 2003.
- Series of lectures and field demonstration
- Threatened plant species of Tamil Nadu, Tamil Nadu Forest Department, 2002
- Role of bees as important pollinator for many threatened plant species
- Association of Tropical Biology annual meeting held at Bangalore 2001.
- Interaction between the social bees and their foodplants in the rainforest canopy of Western Ghats
- National symposium on the study of social insects conducted International Union for studies on social insects (Indian Chapter). Mudugere, Karnataka 1998.
- Breeding systems of tree species pollinated by the social bees
- International Symposium on Pollination in tropics, Bangalore, India. Presented paper on height preference of butterflies 1993.
- Plant-Pollinator interactions in a mid-elevation evergreen forest of Kalakad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve
- Height preferences of butterflies in Southern Western Ghats.
Others
Contact
soubadra@atree.org
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