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Sciurid Lab

Kavitha Unni KK

Kavitha Unni KK
Master's Student

  • Kavitha landscape

I am primarily focused on studying the community ecology of small carnivores for my master's thesis. Specifically, I am investigating the patterns of sympatry and resource partitioning among small carnivores in a landscape. This study involves examining the interactions between species, including competition, predation, and resource partitioning. The ultimate goal of my research is to develop a deeper understanding of how these species coexist in the same geographic area and how they effectively divide and utilize available resources to minimize competition with the help of invasive methods like camera trapping. Scat collection and diet analysis. By analyzing these patterns, I aim to uncover the underlying mechanisms that facilitate the coexistence of multiple small carnivore species, allowing them to share space and resources without excessive competition. The insights gained from this research can be aided in the development of effective conservation strategies for these animals. Previously I have worked on two semester projects as part of the project in the lab.

Poster presentations

  1. Kavitha Unni K K, Swati Udayraj, Deval Kadam, Senan D’Souza, Jehan Bhujwala, Shomita Mukherjee & Nandini Rajamani. Co-occurrence of sympatric carnivores across a matrix of habitat types. Poster at the 14ᵗʰ Students Conference for Conservation Science, Coimbatore, 09-12 October 2023.

  2. Kavitha Unni K K, Swati Udayraj, Deval Kadam, Senan D’Souza, Jehan Bhujwala, Shomita Mukherjee & Nandini Rajamani. Co-occurrence of sympatric carnivores across a matrix of habitat types. Poster at the 59ᵗʰ Annual Meeting of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation, Coimbatore, 02-06 July 2023.

  3. Kavitha Unni K K. The Small carnivores of Kutch, Gujarat. Poster at ‘semester evaluation, IISER Tirupati’. IISER Tirupati. 01st December 2022.

  4. Kavitha Unni K K. Co-occurence of sympatric carnivores across a matrix of landscapes. Poster at ‘semester evaluation, IISER Tirupati’. IISER Tirupati. 09th May 2023.

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