Associate Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
📍 3F6, AB1
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Research Area
Behavioural Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, Sensory Ecology, Biodiversity
Research Interests
I am primarily interested in understanding the ecology and evolution of acoustic communication in animals. A major aim is to understand the various drivers of the evolution of acoustic signals. Towards this I study the role of sexual selection, habitat structure, intra and interspecies interactions, as well as anthropogenic changes in shaping animal communication. I have worked on a variety of model systems including insects, fishes, birds and mammals.
Another aspect of my research is to examine the causes and consequences of cooperation and conflict in animals societies. For this I have been working on social babblers using long-term ecological data. I am also studying their vocalization to understand aspects of vocal complexity in relation to the evolution of language.
Finally, I am also working on what information can we derive from sound and soundscapes, including but not limited to patterns of biodiversity and behaviour.
Since 2020 : Associate Professor, IISER Mohali
2013 - 2020 : Assistant Professor, IISER Mohali
2013 - 2016 : Adjunct Faculty, School of Natural Sciences and Engineering, NIAS, Bangalore.
2013 : NSF Post-doctoral Fellowship, Syracuse University (*not availed).
2011 - 2012 : Post-doctoral intern, University of Zurich.
2011 : UKIERI visiting postdoc, University of Bristol.
2010 - 2011 : Research Associate, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.
2004 - 2011 : Ph.D. student, CES, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore
2001 - 2003 : M.Sc. (Zoology), University of Calcutta
1998 - 2001 : B.Sc. (Zoology), University of Calcutta
Valliyappan Mahandran, Haseeb Hakkim, Vinayak Sinha and Manjari Jain. Fruit scent as an indicator of ripeness status in ‘bat fruits’ to attract ‘fruit bats’: chemical basis of chiropterochory. acta ethologica 26(1):1–11, 2023. Soniya Devi Yambem and Manjari Jain. Temporal variation in the behaviour of a cooperatively breeding bird, Jungle Babbler (Argya striata). Tropical Ecology 64(1):133–145, 2023. Richa Singh and Manjari Jain. Variation in call types, calling activity patterns and relationship between call frequency and body size in a field cricket, Acanthogryllus asiaticus. Bioacoustics 30(3):284–302, 2021. Soniya Devi Yambem, Sonam Chorol and Manjari Jain. More than just babble: functional and structural complexity of vocalizations of Jungle Babbler. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 75(8):118, 2021. Richa Singh, P Prathibha and Manjari Jain. Effect of temperature on life-history traits and mating calls of a field cricket, Acanthogryllus asiaticus. Journal of Thermal Biology 93:102740, 2020. MA Sekhar, Richa Singh, Anuradha Bhat and Manjari Jain. Feeding in murky waters: acclimatization and landmarks improve foraging efficiency of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in turbid waters. Biology Letters 15(7):20190289, 2019. Rohini Balakrishnan, Jimmy Bahuleyan, Diptarup Nandi and Manjari Jain. Modelling the effects of chorus species composition and caller density on acoustic masking interference in multispecies choruses of crickets and katydids. Ecological informatics 21:50–58, 2014. Manjari Jain, Swati Diwakar, Jimmy Bahuleyan, Rittik Deb and Rohini Balakrishnan. A rain forest dusk chorus: cacophony or sounds of silence?. Evolutionary Ecology 28:1–22, 2014. Manjari Jain and Rohini Balakrishnan. Does acoustic adaptation drive vertical stratification? A test in a tropical cricket assemblage. Behavioral Ecology 23(2):343–354, 2012. Manjari Jain and Rohini Balakrishnan. Microhabitat selection in an assemblage of crickets (Orthoptera: Ensifera) of a tropical evergreen forest in Southern India. Insect Conservation and Diversity 4(2):152–158, 2011.