Ph.D.
My research interests lie in exploring plant-animal interactions in seagrass ecosystems. I obtained a Master's Degree in Marine Sciences in 2005 and a Ph.D. in Marine Biology in 2015. As part of my doctoral research, I documented historical declines in dugong populations in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago and attempted to identify the factors that led to this decline. I also explored how the declined dugong population impacted the seagrass meadows they inhabited. For my post-doctoral research, I looked at how seagrass species composition, sedimentation and large herbivores affected blue carbon reserves in seagrass meadows.
My present research in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago focuses on understanding the biotic and abiotic processes that govern and shape seagrass ecosystems and how dugong behaviour is altered in response to disturbances. In the Lakshadweep archipelago, my team is working towards creating seagrass insurance sites to potentially restore seagrass in the lagoons.