Post-doctoral Fellows
M S RAM
I am interested in understanding the evolution and diversification of macaques in the Indian subcontinent, which is home to all three groups of Asian macaques. While macaques are thought to have colonised Asia by early-Pliocene, the when and how of their occurrence in the subcontinent (at least six species occur here, out of which three are endemic) are largely unknown and has been a matter of speculation.
I am aiming to pry the demographic histories of these macaques and the genetic mechanisms underlying their speciation, including hybridization, from whole genome data. The demographic histories of lion-tailed macaque and bonnet macaque, two species that are endemic to Indian peninsula but occupy different habitats, could also further our understanding of the process of aridification of the subcontinent during Pliocene-Pleistocene.
I am interested in understanding the evolution and diversification of macaques in the Indian subcontinent, which is home to all three groups of Asian macaques. While macaques are thought to have colonised Asia by early-Pliocene, the when and how of their occurrence in the subcontinent (at least six species occur here, out of which three are endemic) are largely unknown and has been a matter of speculation.
I am aiming to pry the demographic histories of these macaques and the genetic mechanisms underlying their speciation, including hybridization, from whole genome data. The demographic histories of lion-tailed macaque and bonnet macaque, two species that are endemic to Indian peninsula but occupy different habitats, could also further our understanding of the process of aridification of the subcontinent during Pliocene-Pleistocene.