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| programmes . research . advocacy . conservation . people . publications and resources | contact us . about us . home | |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR PROJECTS
QUALIFICATIONS
1996 M. Sc. Geography, Delhi School of Economics, University of Delhi, India
1994 B.Sc. Geography (Statistics and Geology), University of Kerala, India
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF MAJOR PROJECTS
Over the past ten years, I worked as a researcher with a number of research and conservation organisations in India on projects related to conservation biology and planning, capacity assessments with respect to the Convention on Biological Diversity and biodiversity outreach. The research projects that I have been involved with include a project with the Wildlife Institute of India that aimed at identifying potential areas for conservation of biodiversity in the Indian Himalaya. I have conducted surveys of mammals and vegetation in protected areas in the Garhwal region of the Western Himalaya as well as the cold desert biomes of the trans-Himalaya. My field studies primarily aimed at identifying macroecological patterns that are crucial aids in reserve selection. With the Andaman Nicobar Environmental Team, I carried out the first field study on the endangered Nicobar treeshrew (Tupaia nicobarica), a little known small mammal endemic to the Great and Little Nicobar islands. As an independent researcher, I have carried out capacity assessments related to the CBD for the Himalaya and in developed environmental education material for the Western Ghats. From 2004 to 2009, I worked with the Ashoka Trust for Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore, where I was the Managing Editor of Conservation & Society – an open-access peer reviewed journal. At present I am involved with the publication of Current Conservation.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
I am interested in conducting pure as well as applied research related to biodiversity conservation and planning. My research interests are centred on the concepts of species diversity, biogeography and macroecology in mountain ecosystems particularly the Himalaya and the Western Ghats. From an applied conservation perspective, I am interested in developing interdisciplinary frameworks integrating reconciliation ecology with socio-cultural, economic and policy aspects to obtain realistic conservation objectives in these regions. I am also interested in conservation outreach and capacity building activities both at a generic level (via publications such as Current Conservation) as well as with specific projects in my areas of interest which include the trans Himalaya and the Western Ghats. Additionally, I am also interested in the ecology and behaviour of treeshrews, particularly the Nicobar treeshrew which is found on Great and Little Nicobar islands.
PUBLICATIONS
Oommen, M.A. (in press) Treeshrews of south Asia. In: Mammals of South Asia (Eds. A.J.T Johnsingh and N. Manjrekar). Universities Press & Orient Longman.
Oommen, M.A. and K. Shanker. 2008. Ecology and behaviour of an endemic treeshrew (Tupaia nicobarica Zelebor, 1869) on Great Nicobar Island, India. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 105(1):55-63.
ATREE. 2007. National Capacity Self-Assessment Thematic Assessment Report on Biodiversity. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore. Final Report (Revised Draft). Core Team Member.
Oommen, M.A. 2006. Biodiversity Conservation in the Himalaya and Trans-Himalaya in Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir. National Capacity Self-Assessment, Biodiversity Component. Independent Consultant Report. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment, Bangalore.
Oommen, M.A. and Shanker, K. 2005. Regional species richness patterns emerge from multiple local scale mechanisms in Himalayan plants. Ecology 86:3039–3047.
Tripathy, B., M. A. Oommen, B. Pandav and K. Shanker. 2005. A bibliography of sea turtles in Orissa, India. Indian Ocean Turtle Newsletter 1: 28-36.
Oommen, M.A. (2001). A preliminary report on the status, ecology, distribution and behaviour of the Nicobar Treeshrew (Tupaia nicobarica) in Galathea National Park, Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve. Centre for Herpetology, Madras Crocodile Bank Trust, Tamil Nadu.
Oommen, M.A. (2000). Vegetation studies in the Western Himalaya. Report submitted to the project, ‘Identify Potential Areas for Conservation of Biodiversity in the Indian Himalaya’ of USFWS and WII, Dehradun.
Oommen, M.A. (1996) Biodiversity and sustainability of the Upper Beas Basin, Kullu District, Himachal Pradesh – M.A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Geography, Delhi School of Economics, Delhi University.
Oommen, M.A. (in preparation) Species diversity modifications in the Western Ghats hotspot: Insights from habitat changes with special reference to existing policies and land management strategies.
Oommen, M. A. and K. Shanker. (in preparation)Strange bedfellows: Context dependant foraging associations between treeshrews, greater racket-tailed drongos and sparrowhawks on Great Nicobar Island.