Sound advice: A calibration framework for defining detection space in passive acoustic monitoring
This study from ATREE published in PLOS ONE introduces a globally applicable calibration framework to solve the growing “garbage in, garbage out” crisis in bioacoustic monitoring. While automated sound recorders are increasingly deployed to evaluate biodiversity recovery across India, key hardware and habitat performance limitations are frequently overlooked. By conducting empirical playback trials, ATREE researchers […]
Edible Coleoptera as a dietary resource: integrating indigenous knowledge and nutritional composition from Northeast India
A new study by ATREE Entomologists documents 75 beetle species eaten by Indigenous communities in Northeast India, including 24 species reported as edible for the first time globally and five additional first records of edible use in India. The study published in published in npj Entomology, A Nature group Journal on 12 October 2026, highlights […]
Biodiversity origins, threats and conservation in the Western Ghats
One of the world’s 36 global biodiversity hotspots, the Western Ghats region of India, harbours high species richness, endemism and biocultural diversity, while sustaining millions of people across peninsular India through critical ecosystem services. In this Review, we discuss the evolutionary origins, current distribution and threats to biodiversity in the Western Ghats, as well as […]
An eco-epidemiological framework for reducing the abundance of mosquito vectors in urban water bodies: A case study of Jakkur Lake in Bengaluru, India
Rapid urbanization and climate variability reshape the hydrological cycles of urban ecosystems, creating conditions that can amplify the spread of vector-borne diseases such as dengue. In Indian megacities like Bengaluru, where impermeable surfaces and water retention contribute to seasonal vector proliferation, current strategies for mosquito control remain fragmented and reactive. The aim of this perspective […]
Climate benefits without climate goals: how path-dependent institutions shape wildfire emissions in MM hills, India
Making climate policies stable in local socio-ecological contexts is challenging. This paper examines whether locally legitimate institutions pursuing ‘climate-adjacent’ goals—whose environmental activities contribute to avoided emissions without explicitly framing their work as climate mitigation—can be leveraged as climate solutions. By emphasizing path dependencies within long-standing institutions, our research identifies how building on institutional stability rather […]
Unseen threat in the roof of the world: a meta-analysis of microplastic pollution leading to heightened ecological risk in the Hindu Kush Himalaya
The paper synthesises evidence from 562 published studies on microplastic pollution across the Hindu Kush Himalaya, examining its presence in glaciers, snow, freshwater systems and soils, as well as the potential ecological implications and pathways of transport across the region. The study also highlights the need for coordinated monitoring, evidence-based management and transboundary cooperation to […]
Integrative taxonomy of Parastrachia nagaensis Distant (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Parastrachiidae) from Nagaland, India
The genus Parastrachia Distant, 1883 has long been associated with taxonomic uncertainty within Pentatomoidea and comprises two species: Parastrachia japonensis (Scott, 1880) and Parastrachia nagaensis Distant, 1908. In this study, P. nagaensis is rediscovered from Nagaland (India) and re-examined for its taxonomic identity using additional evidence based on integrative taxonomy by combining morphology and molecular […]
Two regions, two lineages: Untangling two centuries of confusion between Machilus glaucescens and M. macranthus (Lauraceae) through integrative taxonomy
The Asian genus Machilus (Lauraceae) of the Persea group is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. Like many other genera of Lauraceae, Machilus has received limited systematic attention, particularly in India. As a result, the nomenclature and systematic positions of Machilus glaucescens (Nees) Wight and M. macranthus Nees have remained unclear. In this study, […]
Assessing awareness to aid action: Stakeholders’ perception of invasive alien species in a metropolis from the Global South
We assessed awareness of invasive alien species (IAS) among ornamental plant buyers and sellers across 44 nurseries in Bengaluru, using the Knowledge-Attitudes-Practices framework. Fewer than 30% of buyers and only 5% of sellers were familiar with IAS concepts, and over 75% of respondents did not know where the plants they bought or sold came from. […]
How do common pool natural resources relate to rural income, poverty and inequality? A multi-country assessment
The role of Common Pool natural Resources (CPRs) such as forests, grasslands, rivers, lakes, wetlands and oceans in rural economies has been much debated in the literature, often on the basis of micro-level or provincial-scale analyses and focusing on a single type of CPR, typically forests. This study draws on data from 6,509 households across […]
