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Vishwanath Varma

Post-Doctoral Fellow

National Institute of Advanced Studies

About Me

I am a post-doctoral researcher working on Fish Behaviour and Cognition with a Ph.D on the evolution of accurate circadian rhythms. My research interests include individual variation in behavioural traits, social behaviour, behavioural plasticity and daily rhythms. I am currently developing a pipeline for tracking and analyzing the movements of multiple fish in complex and noisy environments using OpenCV, machine learning and tracking algorithms. I am also attempting to model animal behaviour and social interactions using NetLogo.

Interests

  • Behavioural Variation
  • Social Cognition
  • Circadian Rhythms

Education

  • PhD in Animal Behaviour and Evolution, 2018

    Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore, India

  • MSc in Biotechnology, 2011

    St. Joseph's College, Trichy, India

  • BSc in Advanced Zoology & Biotechnology, 2009

    Loyola College, Chennai, India

Skills

Statistical analysis

Computer Vision

Behavioural experimentation

Experience

 
 
 
 
 

Post-Doctoral Fellow

National Institute of Advanced Studies

August 2018 – Present Bangalore
Responsibilities include:

  • Experimentation, analysis and modeling of fish behaviour
  • Teaching Course on Animal Cognition
  • Training and mentoring junior researchers
 
 
 
 
 

Ph.D. student

Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research

August 2011 – April 2018 Bangalore
Thesis title: Evaluating the role of circadian clock and developmental processes in the evolution of accurate eclosion rhythms in fruit flies

Projects

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Collective exploration and learning

How do pairs of fish with different exploratory traits collectively learn to navigate a spatial maze?

Personality and social behaviour in Mahseer

Studying the links between personality traits and nature of social interactions in the Deccan Mahseer (Tor khudree) .

Accuracy of circadian rhythms

Evolution of accurate rhythms and correlated clock properties

Daily rhythms under semi-natural conditions

How do rhythms of activity and eclosion in natural environments differ from laboratory conditions?

Miscellaneous side-projects

Jetlag under different temperatures, egg-laying rhythms, adaptive significance of circadian rhythms.

Agent Based Modeling and Fish Tracking

Predator-prey models and Temporal Niches

Modeling predator-prey interactions, behavioural variation and temporal niche segregation

Social interactions and collective movements

Modeling movements of agents to mimic animal behaviours like aggression, sociability and navigation

Tracking fish in complex backgrounds using machine learning

Object detection and tracking using Faster-RCNN and SORT algorithm

Publications

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(2019). First person–Vishwanath Varma. COMPANY BIOLOGISTS LTD BIDDER BUILDING, STATION RD, HISTON, CAMBRIDGE CB24 ….

Contact

  • Animal Behaviour and Cognition Programme, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India 560054