Research

Four questions, one phylogenetic lens.

Our programmes interlock: a robust phylogeny underpins everything, from drawing species boundaries to tracing biogeographic history, testing what drives diversification, and safeguarding genetic diversity.

01 Systematics

Molecular systematics

We apply phylogenetic methods to clarify the taxonomic position of challenging groups, and to delimit species using a combination of molecular, morphological, behavioural and ecological data.

The aim is to identify both cryptic species — lineages hidden within what looks like a single species — and the evolutionarily significant units that are essential targets for conservation. Getting the taxonomy right is the foundation everything else is built on.

Approach: Integrative taxonomy · multi-locus & genomic data · coalescent species delimitation
Study systems: Hemidactylus geckos · skinks · caecilians · freshwater snails

02 Biogeography

Phylogenetics & biogeography

We investigate how past climatic and geological events have shaped species distributions across the Indian subcontinent.

By combining phylogenetic analyses with distribution data, we reconstruct evolutionary histories and identify the biogeographic barriers — mountain ranges, river systems, aridification — that drive genetic divergence and speciation across a wide range of taxa.

Approach: Divergence dating · ancestral area reconstruction · phylogeography
Focal regions: Western Ghats · Eastern Ghats · Deccan Plateau · Northeast India

03 Diversification

Diversification & trait evolution

We explore the ecological and evolutionary drivers of diversification — how key traits promote adaptive radiations.

Using comparative phylogenetic methods, we assess how morphological, behavioural and physiological traits evolve across clades, and how evolutionary innovations influence lineage success and the expansion of ecological niches.

Approach: Comparative methods · diversification-rate models · trait-dependent speciation
Study systems: Tarantulas · Hemidactylus geckos · butterflies

04 Population genetics

Population & conservation genetics

We study how habitat fragmentation and anthropogenic pressures impact genetic diversity and evolutionary processes in natural populations.

By combining population genomics with molecular-evolutionary analyses, we assess gene flow, selection and demographic change — translating evolutionary insight into conservation that protects not just species, but the genetic diversity within them.

Approach: Population genomics · demographic inference · landscape genetics
Study systems: Blackbuck · endemic plants · range-restricted reptiles

Current projects

What the lab is working on now

Aritra Biswas

Uncovering the macroevolutionary processes and population genetic structure within tarantulas

Aarthi R

Exploring the link between hybridization, triploidy and parthenogenesis in blindsnakes

Ashika Dhimal

Understanding the hybridization between golden and capped langurs in Bhutan

Madhura Agashe

Investigating the biogeography, diversification and trait evolution of Hemidactylus geckos

Radhika Dutt

Examining the biogeography and diversification of Mallotus and Macaranga

Navaneel Sarangi

Unravelling the biotic assemblage of cave fauna and the genomic basis of cave adaptation

Completed projects

26 past funded projects

Systematics and phylogeny of the genus Phyllanthus Raja K. Swamy · SERB-NPDF
The convoluted evolutionary history of the capped and golden langur lineages Kunal Arekar
Comparative phylogeography of Hemidactylus geckos of the brookii complex Aparna Lajmi
Comparative phylogeography of Indian freshwater snails Maitreya Sil
Phylogeography and conservation genetics of blackbuck Ananya Jana
Evolutionary origin and biogeography of blindsnakes of South Asia Chinta Sidharthan
Biogeography and phylogeography of Indian freshwater snails Maitreya Sil
A phylogenetic perspective on the phytogeography of the Western Ghats Divya B.
Effect of life-history traits on phylogeographic patterns in butterflies Sandhya Sekar · DBT, MoEF
DNA barcoding of satyrine butterflies (Satyrinae: Nymphalidae) of peninsular India Manjunatha Reddy, Kartik Rao · DBT
Molecular phylogeny and systematics of the centipede family Scolopendridae Jahnavi Joshi · MoEF
Phylogeny and phylogeography of the scolopendrid genus Digitipes of the Western Ghats Jahnavi Joshi · CSIR
Phylogeny and phylogeography of the scolopendrid genus Rhysida of peninsular India Rekha Warrier, Jahnavi Joshi · CSIR
Phylogeny of the tarantula genus Poecilotheria (Araneae: Theraphosidae) Henrik Krehenwinkel · MoEF
Phylogeny and biogeography of the endemic Indian tarantula subfamily Thrigmopoeinae N. P. Indradyumna Das · DST
Molecular phylogeny of Hemidactylus geckos of the Indian subcontinent Rohini Bansal · IISc startup, MoEF
Origin and phylogenetic position of Hemidactylus anamalensis Rohini Bansal · MoEF
Clarifying species status of morphotypes in the Hemidactylus brookii complex Aparna Lajmi · DST
Systematics and diversification in the Indian radiation of Hemidactylus geckos Aparna Lajmi · SERB
Biogeography of endemic skinks of the Indian subcontinent Aniruddha Datta Roy · DST
Resolving the taxonomy of peninsular Indian Hanuman langurs through a multi-disciplinary approach Chetan Nag · DBT
Delimiting species boundaries among Hanuman langurs through molecular phylogenetics Ashalakshmi C. N. · DBT
Significance of the Indian subcontinent in the evolution of Asclepiadoideae Siddharthan S. · SERB Fast Track
Phylogeography and molecular systematics of Darwin's lizard, the Sitana ponticeriana complex Deepak V. · DBT
Phylogeography and evolution of the genus Geckoella Ishan Agarwal · DST
Species delimitation in the Geckoella complex Ishan Agarwal · DST

In the lab & the field

Methods that run through every programme

M / 01

Fieldwork across South Asia

Sampling expeditions from the Western Ghats to the Northeast, documenting and collecting across challenging terrain.

M / 02

Molecular & genomic data

Sanger sequencing through to reduced-representation and whole-genome data, generated and curated in-house.

M / 03

Phylogenetic computation

Bayesian and maximum-likelihood inference, divergence dating and comparative analysis on high-performance computing.

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