Dr. Asmita Sengupta

Email: asmita.sengupta@atree.org; asmita.sengupta@gmail.com

Academic Background

2015: PhD, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore (degree awarded by Manipal University)

Thesis title: Seed dispersal by rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

2009: M.Sc. Forestry, Forest Research Institute University, Dehradun

2007: B.Sc. Zoology (Hons.), Presidency College, University of Calcutta, Kolkata

Research Interests

Human-primate interactions, plant-animal interactions, primate ecology

Current Project

As a DST-INSPIRE Faculty Fellow, I am currently examining the drivers of human-primate commensalism. To this end, I am studying groups of rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) with varying levels of dependence on anthropogenic food and habitations to understand the ecological, behavioural, and social correlates which determine home range use and feeding ecology of the macaques. I am further trying to assess the attitudes, perceptions and tolerance levels of people towards commensal primate species and the implications of the same for the conservation and management of these so-called ‘common’ species.  My project also intends to look at the same aspects of human-bonnet macaque (M. radiata) commensalism in peninsular India.

Publications

Sengupta, A. and Radhakrishna, S. (2020). Factors Predicting Provisioning of Macaques by Humans at Tourist Sites. International Journal of Primatology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10764-020-00148-5

Sengupta, A., Gazagne, E., Albert‐Daviaud, A., Tsuji, Y. and Radhakrishna, S. (2020). Reliability of macaques as seed dispersers. American Journal of Primatology, p.e23115.  https://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.23115

Sengupta, A., Binoy, V.V. & Radhakrishna, S. (2020). Human-Elephant Conflict in Kerala, India: a Rapid Appraisal Using Compensation Records. Human Ecology 48: 101–109. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10745-020-00128-6

Sengupta, A. (2019) The Tree Travelogues. Resonance 24:169-179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12045-019-0769-

Sengupta, A. and Radhakrishna, S. (2018) The Hand That Feeds the Monkey: Mutual Influence of Humans and Rhesus Macaques (Macaca mulatta) in the Context of Provisioning. International Journal of Primatology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10764-018-0014-1

Sengupta, A. and Radhakrishna, S. (2016) Influence of fruit availability on fruit consumption by a generalist primate species Macaca mulatta. International Journal of Primatology, 37: 703-717. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10764-016-9933-x

Sengupta, A., McConkey, K.R. and Radhakrishna, S. (2015) Primates, provisioning and plants: Impacts of Human Cultural Behaviours on Primate Ecological Functions. PLoS One 10(11): e0140961. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0140961. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0140961

Sengupta, A. and Radhakrishna, S. (2015) Fruit trait preference of rhesus macaques Macaca mulatta and its implications for seed dispersal. International Journal of Primatology, 36: 999-1013. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10764-015-9869-6

Sengupta, A., McConkey, K.R. and Radhakrishna, S. (2014) Seed dispersal by rhesus macaques Macaca mulatta in northern India. American Journal of Primatology, 76: 1175-1184. http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ajp.22302/abstract

Sengupta, A. and Radhakrishna, S. (2013) Distribution and Conservation status of the bonnet macaque (Macaca radiata) in Goa, India. Primate Conservation, 27: 109-114. http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1896/052.027.0113

Jamir, C., Sharma, N., Sengupta, A. and Ravindranath, N.H. (2013) Farmers’ vulnerability to climate variability in Dimapur district of Nagaland, India. Regional Environmental Change 13: 153-164. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-012-0324-3?view=classic

Chaliha, S., Sengupta, A., Sharma, N. and Ravindranath, N.H. (2012) Climate variability and farmer’s vulnerability in a flood-prone district of Assam. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, 4: 179 200. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/abs/10.1108/17568691211223150

Tiwari, R., Somashekhar, H.I., Parama, V.R.R., Murthy, I.K., M S Mohan Kumar, B K Mohan Kumar, Parate, H., Varma, M., Malaviya, S., Rao, A.S., Sengupta, A., Kattumuri, R and Ravindranath N.H. (2011) MGNREGA for environmental service enhancement and vulnerability reduction: Rapid appraisal in Chitradurga district, Karnataka. Economic and Political Weekly, XLVI: 39-47. http://www.epw.in/journal/2011/20/special-articles/mgnrega-environmental...