Rachana Rao

Hometown: Home changes with conversations, sometimes it is Navi Mumbai, sometimes Mumbai, sometimes Bangalore - But my allegiance lies with Mumbai

Research Interests: I like to think through the messiness of ecology using both, theoretical and experimental lenses. Lately, I have been fascinated by how microbiota shape macro-scale processes that give rise to the systems we observe. This research - firmly grounded in theory and tested through experiments - allows me to delve into the nuances of plant-soil dynamics and explore their implications on restoration, invasion mitigation, and biodiversity maintenance.

Projects: As a part of my PhD thesis, I will be exploring the mechanisms that structure monodominant forests in the otherwise hyperdiverse tropics, focusing on belowground players.

Past experiences: I earned my master’s in Wildlife Biology and Conservation from NCBS, Bangalore and worked as a research assistant at NCF for three years before joining LSU. Like many plant ecologists, I have worked on birds, but unlike many, I studied seagrass too. I explored how seagrass species navigate extreme environmental conditions as the tide retreats in the meadows of the Andaman archipelago. Find more about my work here: Google Scholar.