Ajay Narendra
Research interests
I am interested in the plasticity exhibited by ants; be it, patterns in their communities or specialized interactions with others or strategically evolved behaviour for survival in daft conditions or variation in their morphology. But it has to be their numbers and the overwhelming exhibition of dominance that has got me looking at them. Visit my ants' page.
Current Research
I am studying the navigation strategies employed by the world's most thermophilic ant Melophorus bagoti in central Australian deserts. Navigation is of utmost challenge for central place foragers like ants. A small proportion of the world's ants are solitary foragers, i.e., they do not use pheromone trails for navigation. Desert ants, that forage during the hot periods of the day, are such solitary foragers. How, in the vast expanse of the desert, their small nest entrance of just over a centimetre in diameter not lost; how these ants have fine-tuned their foraging strategy to suit the habitat they live in, is what I am addressing. I am also studying the Saharan desert ant Cataglyphis fortis to compare how memory systems of ants in featureless saltpans and semiarid deserts vary.
Publications
Journal articles
2006. Narendra A, Cheng K and Wehner R. Acquiring, retaining and integrating memories of the outbound distance in the Australian desert ant Melophorus bagoti. (submitted).
2006. Cheng K, Narendra A and Wehner R. Behavioral ecology of odometric memories in desert ants: acquisition, retention and integration. Behavioral Ecology 17: 227-235.
2003. Narendra A. Responses of the Asian Weaver ant Oecophylla smaragdina Fabr. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) towards high quality and quantity food substances. Insect Environment 9: 89-90.
2000. Viswanathan G and Narendra A. The impact of urbanization on the diversity of ants in Bangalore. J. Ecobiology 12: 115-122.
2000. Viswanathan G and Narendra A. Food preference in ants of different species. Insect Environment 6: 34-35.
Reports and articles
2004. Narendra A. A day out with Ants. Panda bulletiin, WWF Newsletter.
2004. Narendra A. Distance estimation in the central Australian Desert ant Melophorus bagoti. Report to the Parks and Wildlife Divison, Northern Territory, Australia.
2003. Narendra A. The Lesser known Himalayas. Vijay Times, June 1: 8.
2003. Sudhira HS, Narendra A, Bhat H and Gadgil M. Kokkarebellur the Pelicanry of India for Biodiversity hotspot as Status 11, of the Karnataka State of Environment report and Action plan, Biodiversity Sector.
2002. Narendra A. Damming the Sharavathi river: A boon or a bane for Biological Diversity? An indicator approach through ants. In Conservation, restoration and management of aquatic ecosystems (eds Ramachandra TV, Ahalya N): 109.
2002. Narendra A. Remote sensing the ant community in central Western Ghats for chalking out effecient conservation and management strategies. Dissertation sumbitted for Master of Degree in Science, Department of Environmental Remote sensing and Cartography, Madurai Kamaraj University.
2000. Narendra A. Comparative study of the genotype and phenotype of the oyster Crassostrea madrasensis. Dissertation sumbitted for Genetic Honours, Department of Zoology, St Josephs College of Arts and Science, Bangalore University.
1999. Narendra A. Impact of Urbanization on the diversity of ants in Bangalore. Dissertation sumbitted for Entomology Honours, Department of Zoology, St Josephs College of Arts and Science, Bangalore University.