Learning from squirrels, how to squeak out of a competition – with Rakesh Kumar Muni

​IEN Research Spotlights are community events hosted by the India Ecoacoustics Network (IEN), where we highlight works of researchers who employ acoustics to explore and understand their environments. These sessions are free and open to join for anyone with an interest in ecoacoustics and environmental research.

We invite you to the 14th IEN Research Spotlight featuring Rakesh Muni who is currently a PhD at Sciurid Lab- IISER Tirupati.

Interested in urban biodiversity, behavioural ecology and bioacoustics, Rakesh's PhD research looks at the adaptations of palm squirrels in zones of overlaps. His work focuses on understanding ecological and reproductive character displacement where he studies habitat differences and variations in acoustic traits across these zones. He also studies behavioural responses and resource acquisition traits of individuals in sympatric areas, as well as squirrel calls and their variations. He aims to understand macroevolutionary events happening on a contemporary scale, which can help interpret the dynamics of species and multi-species interactions influenced by anthropogenic interferences and climate change.
When not at work, he loves to teach and dabble into music.

About the talk:
We see and hear squirrels all around us but always confuse them with bird calls. Our study began with trying to understand how do the different palm squirrels species sound. In this session, we would talk about how squirrels use vocalisations for certain behaviours and how they find their way around acoustic competition.

Join us to hear more about Rakesh's journey and research. To secure the Zoom link, and any resources, kindly RSVP via this Luma page.