Uma Ramakrishnan is the first Indian to win the Parker/Gentry Award from The Field Museum in Chicago. The award is giving for outstanding work in conservation biology and preserving the world’s natural heritage. She has done some of her best work in studying patterns in tiger behaviour. She at the moment studying at Stanford on a Fulbright scholarship, from where she spoke to Grin News.
1. Explain for a non-scientific reader in detail why the work that you do is so urgent, and indeed, so exciting.
We live in an era called the Anthropocene. All of us have changed the earth so significantly. As human populations have grown, we have destroyed natural habitat and the extinction of several species. We have pushed many species to this state, including tigers. So its our responsibility to come up with solutions to stay this decline. Its urgent!
Science provides us the ability to deconstruct our natural world, and such deconstruction can be used to predict how plants and animals will be impacted by ongoing change and respond to it, and how we can mitigate the effects we are having on the environment. This is exciting, the ability to use our knowledge to possibly impact our future.
The field I work in has been revolutionised recently because we live in a time where getting genomic data is very cheap and fast. This allows us to get lots of genetic data from many natural systems for the first time. This ability is recent, something we could not do 5 years ago.
In summary, we must understand our animals and how they are being impacted by loss of habitat, climate change etc. Genomic methods allow us to gather a lot of data, and hopefully improve our ability to understand what is going on in the wild. The Anthropocene is now and so is the genomic revolution. This makes the field urgent and exciting. I hope this makes sense.
2. How did you arrive at your field of work — what made you choose it?
I love wild spaces and wildlife. I was always curious about the lives of animals. As a young student I worked with Prof. Sukumar of IISc, watching elephants. I wanted to understand more about them and realized there was no way I could answer many of the questions I was interested in. Unless I was able to somehow peek into their lives. DNA is one tool that allows you to do this. DNA records the stories of your past and your present (e.g. who you are related to, here you are from etc). This is how I became a molecular ecologist.
I feel strongly about conservation, the world is changing so fast. In the city where I live, Bangalore, the population of has DOUBLED in the last eight years! We must all be conservationists and think about the future of our wildlife and the natural world more generally.
I also love India (I know this is old-fashioned), and this is my way of learning more about my country and hence myself.
3. What is the most exciting project that you have done in your career?
Very hard to answer. I love all the project we have done, but I have to say that a recent study on connectivity has been very exciting. We are also hoping to start work on the origins of species in the Andaman Nicobar islands, and I am very excited by that project.
4. Tell us about your favourite tiger anecdote.
I think tigers are very majestic and I am lucky to work on them. I once saw a mother with three oldish cubs in Ranathambore. The cubs were being playful, pulling at their mother ears, teasing her. The mother, off course, looked bored. Thats the best thing about watching animals, you realise how similar they are to us. Given this, how can we stand by and watch them go extinct?
5. Recently there has been some joy about tiger populations increasing in India and around the world — is there reason to celebrate?
Yes and no. While there has been recovery in some populations, tigers have lost habitat and most remaining populations are very small. We should take statement by Dr. Ullas Karanth and other tiger biologists seriously. I personally believe that in the future, our biggest challenge will be maintaining connectivity between these small, fragmented populations.
6. What is India doing right — and wrong — in saving the tiger?
Its great that the Indian government is investing resources and effort into tiger conservation. This is as it should be, because 60% of the worlds tigers live in India. Overall, its been a laudable effort. It would be nice if it was possible for several NGOs and research institutions to participate more in monitoring tiger numbers and connectivity, I think this would make for a more robust system. It would also be nice if scientific inputs were taken early and seriously in considering development and policy decisions.
Call to action: You are read more details about Dr. Uma Ramakrishnan’s work here — https://www.ncbs.res.in/faculty/uma
