Anindita Bhadra
IISER-Kolkata, Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty Member
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Ropalidia marginata is characterized as a primitively eusocial wasp due to the absence of morphological differentiation between the queen and worker castes. Unlike other primitively eusocial wasps, however, the queen in this species is a... more
Ropalidia marginata is characterized as a primitively eusocial wasp due to the absence of morphological differentiation between the queen and worker castes. Unlike other primitively eusocial wasps, however, the queen in this species is a docile individual, who does not ...
Research Interests: Biology and Eusociality
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Apparently random events in nature often reveal hidden patterns when analyzed using diverse and robust statistical tools. Power law distributions, for example, project diverse natural phenomenon, ranging from earthquakes to heartbeat... more
Apparently random events in nature often reveal hidden patterns when analyzed using diverse and robust statistical tools. Power law distributions, for example, project diverse natural phenomenon, ranging from earthquakes to heartbeat dynamics into a common platform of self-similarity. Animal behavior in specific contexts has been shown to follow power law distributions. However, the behavioral repertoire of a species in its entirety has never been analyzed for the existence of such underlying patterns. Here we show that the frequency-rank data of randomly sighted behaviors at the population level of free-ranging dogs follow a scale-invariant power law behavior. It suggests that irrespective of changes in location of sightings, seasonal variations and observer bias, datasets exhibit a conserved trend of scale invariance. The data also exhibits robust self-similarity patterns at different scales which we extract using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis. We observe that the probability of consecutive occurrence of behaviors of adjacent ranks is much higher than behaviors widely separated in rank. The findings open up the possibility of designing predictive models of behavior from correlations existing in true time series of behavioral data and exploring the general behavioral repertoire of a species for the presence of syntax.
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Data sheet containing the details of 95 mother-litter groups who were followed up to their 7th month of age
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Data sheet containing the details of 20 pregnant females
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All data decoded from the videos used for the pointing gesture experiment
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Foraging and acquiring of food is a delicate balance between managing the costs (both energy and social) and individual preferences. Previous research on solitarily foraging free-ranging dogs showed that they prioritise the nutritionally... more
Foraging and acquiring of food is a delicate balance between managing the costs (both energy and social) and individual preferences. Previous research on solitarily foraging free-ranging dogs showed that they prioritise the nutritionally highest valued food, but do not ignore other less valuable food either, displaying typical scavenger behaviour. We conducted a similar experiment on 136 groups of dogs with the same set-up to see the change in foraging strategies, if any, under the influence of social cost like intra-group competition. We found multiple differences between the strategies of dogs foraging alone versus in groups with competition playing an implicit role in the dogs’ decision making when foraging in groups. Dogs continually assessed and evaluated the available resources in a “patch,” transitioning from random foraging to systematic foraging with time and more information. Dogs in groups used an, “eat first, sample afterwards” strategy whereas individual dogs sampled th...
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Animals of different taxa can read and respond to various human communicative signals. Such a mechanism facilitates animals to acquire social information and helps them react in a context-dependent manner. Dogs have garnered extensive... more
Animals of different taxa can read and respond to various human communicative signals. Such a mechanism facilitates animals to acquire social information and helps them react in a context-dependent manner. Dogs have garnered extensive attention owing to their socio-cognitive skills and remarkable sensitivity to human social cues. For example, dogs readily respond to different human pointing gestures to locate hidden food rewards. However, a general inclination towards testing highly socialized pet dogs has resulted in a dearth of information on other sub-populations of dogs. Free-ranging dogs are one of the least socialized dog populations yet exhibit point-following behaviour flexibly. As a consequence of frequent negative interspecific interactions, they are typically wary of unfamiliar humans; thus, contextual recognition of human actions is paramount for these dogs to avoid potential conflict. However, the mechanisms influencing their point-following behaviour remain unidentified. We asked to what extent the informative-deceptive nature of cues and positive human interactions influence the interspecific communicative behaviour of these minimally socialized dogs. Using a point-following experiment with a 2 × 2 design, we focused on adult free-ranging dogs' behavioural adjustments. Dogs were randomly divided into two groups, with only one receiving brief social petting. Further, informative and deceptive cues were given to separate subsets within each group. Our findings suggest that brief social petting strongly affects the likelihood of free-ranging dogs' point-following tendencies. Dogs who received petting followed the pointing cues regardless of their informative or deceptive nature, whereas dogs who did not receive petting discriminated between informative and deceptive pointing. This study highlights the contribution of positive human interaction and informative-deceptive quality of cues in modulating the behavioural responses of free-ranging dogs in an interspecific communicative context.
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Cohabiting with humans in the same ecological space requires significant variation in the behavioral repertoire of animals. Behavioral variation can potentially improve the chances of survival of an individual. The influence of humans can... more
Cohabiting with humans in the same ecological space requires significant variation in the behavioral repertoire of animals. Behavioral variation can potentially improve the chances of survival of an individual. The influence of humans can be measured by quantifying specific behavioral parameters of the interacting individuals. Sociability or the tendency to be friendly toward others is one of many personality traits in animals that can provide us with insights regarding their relationship with humans. Free-ranging dogs are one of the successful urban-adapted species that interact with humans regularly, which, in turn, influences their behavioral properties. In this study, we tested 600 adult dogs from 60 sites across India, categorized as high, low, and intermediate human flux zones, to understand their degree of sociability toward an unfamiliar human. Initially, a "positive vocalization phase" was carried out. Unresponsive dogs were further tested in a "stimulus phase." The first phase was characterized by positive vocal sounds, while the second one included both food and positive vocalization. In addition, we surveyed a total of 1,200 people from the 60 sites to understand their perception of free-ranging dogs. Dogs in the IF zones were highly sociable compared to the other zones. High human flux zone dogs were reluctant to approach initially but showed an increased approach when food was provided. Low human flux zone dogs were the least sociable, and even the food reward had minimal impact on them. Our study provides the first evidence of behavioral variation in the degree of sociability of free-ranging dogs in urban environments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Research Interests: Geography, Animal Behavior, Breeding, Medicine, Dogs, and 9 morePregnancy, Humans, Predation, Female, Animals, Domestication, Human Activities, Ecosystem, and Begging
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The past two years have brought remarkable shifts in the ways that researchers connect, communicate, and collaborate with one another and with the public and policymakers. The pandemic-driven shift towards virtual work and events has... more
The past two years have brought remarkable shifts in the ways that researchers connect, communicate, and collaborate with one another and with the public and policymakers. The pandemic-driven shift towards virtual work and events has presented researchers with both opportunities for and challenges to participation, collaboration, and sharing. Dr. Anindita Bhadra, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences and Associate Dean of International Relations and Outreach at IISER Kolkata, will discuss the impact and future implications of these developments on researchers and their communication and collaboration practices. As the immediate past co-chair of the Global Young Academy, Dr. Bhadra will spotlight how early career researchers can carry pandemic practices forward to continue to improve accessibility and equitable participation in science.
Free-ranging dogs are a ubiquitous part of human habitations in many developing countries, leading a life of scavengers dependent on human wastes for survival. The effective management of free-ranging dogs calls for understanding of their... more
Free-ranging dogs are a ubiquitous part of human habitations in many developing countries, leading a life of scavengers dependent on human wastes for survival. The effective management of free-ranging dogs calls for understanding of their population dynamics. Life expectancy at birth and early life mortality are important factors that shape life-histories of mammals. We carried out a five year-long census based study in seven locations of West Bengal, India, to understand the pattern of population growth and factors affecting early life mortality in free-ranging dogs. We observed high rates of mortality, with only ~19% of the 364 pups from 95 observed litters surviving till the reproductive age; 63% of total mortality being human influenced. While living near people increases resource availability for dogs, it also has deep adverse impacts on their population growth, making the dog-human relationship on streets highly complex
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Details include year of data collection, litter ID, age and current litter size for all nursing bouts. For each bout, data is provided on the duration of the bout (in minutes), Identity of initiator and Individual from which the pups have... more
Details include year of data collection, litter ID, age and current litter size for all nursing bouts. For each bout, data is provided on the duration of the bout (in minutes), Identity of initiator and Individual from which the pups have suckled (mother or allomother) for 2483 nursing bouts
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The raw data for both the POC meat and biscuit experiments, as well as the beavioural data on suckling used for the analysis in Paul et al.
Research Interests: Mathematics, Computer Science, Inorganic Chemistry, Hematology, Developmental Biology, and 13 moreImmunology, Science Policy, Plant Biology, Cancer, Virology, OPERATING SYSTEM, Domestication, Lifetime Reproductive Success, Parent-Offspring Conflict, Raw Data, Database, Selfish, and free ranging dogs
South Asian countries are often at odds with each other for political, economic, and emotional reasons. The conflicts are a frustrating contrast to the promise of the region. Covering only 3.5% of Earth's landmass, but inhabited by... more
South Asian countries are often at odds with each other for political, economic, and emotional reasons. The conflicts are a frustrating contrast to the promise of the region. Covering only 3.5% of Earth's landmass, but inhabited by 23.7% of humanity, the region has the highest rate of economic growth, is rich in knowledge-based institutions, and is home to many indigenous and technological innovations. Sadly, at the same time, South Asian countries have the highest poverty rate, lowest human development index (except for sub-Saharan Africa), the most polluted air, the greatest burden of diseases, and increased vulnerability to climate change. It's time to reinvent science diplomacy in this part of the world to spur collaborations that can help resolve conflicts that are preventing South Asia from achieving its potential.
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Raw data for the one time tes
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Cohabiting with humans in the same ecological space requires significant variation in the behavioral repertoire of animals. Behavioral variation can potentially improve the chances of survival of an individual. The influence of humans can... more
Cohabiting with humans in the same ecological space requires significant variation in the behavioral repertoire of animals. Behavioral variation can potentially improve the chances of survival of an individual. The influence of humans can be measured by quantifying specific behavioral parameters of the interacting individuals. Sociability or the tendency to be friendly toward others is one of many personality traits in animals that can provide us with insights regarding their relationship with humans. Free-ranging dogs are one of the successful urban-adapted species that interact with humans regularly, which, in turn, influences their behavioral properties. In this study, we tested 600 adult dogs from 60 sites across India, categorized as high, low, and intermediate human flux zones, to understand their degree of sociability toward an unfamiliar human. Initially, a "positive vocalization phase" was carried out. Unresponsive dogs were further tested in a "stimulus phase." The first phase was characterized by positive vocal sounds, while the second one included both food and positive vocalization. In addition, we surveyed a total of 1,200 people from the 60 sites to understand their perception of free-ranging dogs. Dogs in the IF zones were highly sociable compared to the other zones. High human flux zone dogs were reluctant to approach initially but showed an increased approach when food was provided. Low human flux zone dogs were the least sociable, and even the food reward had minimal impact on them. Our study provides the first evidence of behavioral variation in the degree of sociability of free-ranging dogs in urban environments. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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Cooperative breeding is an excellent example of altruistic cooperation in social groups. Domestic dogs have evolved from cooperatively hunting and breeding ancestors, but have adapted to a facultatively social scavenging lifestyle on... more
Cooperative breeding is an excellent example of altruistic cooperation in social groups. Domestic dogs have evolved from cooperatively hunting and breeding ancestors, but have adapted to a facultatively social scavenging lifestyle on streets, and solitary living in human homes. Pets typically breed and reproduce under human supervision, but free-ranging dogs can provide insights into the natural breeding biology of dogs. We conducted a five year long study on parental care of free-ranging dogs in India. We observed widespread alloparenting by both adult males and females. Allomothers provided significantly less care that the mothers, but the putative fathers showed comparable levels of care with the mothers. However, the nature of care varied; mothers invested more effort in feeding and allogrooming, while the putative fathers played and protected more. We were unsure of the relatedness of the pups with the putative fathers, but all the allomothers were maternal relatives of the pup...
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Dominance and subordinate behaviours are important ingredients in the social organizations of group living animals. Behavioural observations on the two eusocial species Ropalidia marginata and Ropalidia cyathiformis suggest varying... more
Dominance and subordinate behaviours are important ingredients in the social organizations of group living animals. Behavioural observations on the two eusocial species Ropalidia marginata and Ropalidia cyathiformis suggest varying complexities in their social systems. The queen of R. cyathiformis is an aggressive individual who usually holds the top position in the dominance hierarchy although she does not necessarily show the maximum number of acts of dominance, while the R. marginata queen rarely shows aggression and usually does not hold the top position in the dominance hierarchy of her colony. These differences are reflected in the distribution of dominance-subordinate interactions among the hierarchically ranked individuals in both the species. The percentage of dominance interactions decrease gradually with hierarchical ranks in R. marginata while in R. cyathiformis it first increases and then decreases. We use an agent-based model to investigate the underlying mechanism tha...
Research Interests: Animal Behavior, Biology, Medicine, Theoretical biology, Biological Sciences, and 14 moreSocial behavior, Wasps, Mathematical Sciences, Aggression, Animals, Biological evolution, Hierarchy, Ropalidia, Social Behavior, Species Specificity, Social Dominance, Eusociality, Winning ability, and Queen strategy
Indian free ranging dogs live in a carbohydrate rich environment as scavengers in and around human settlements. They rarely hunt and consequently do not encounter rich sources of protein. Instead they have adapted to a diet of primarily... more
Indian free ranging dogs live in a carbohydrate rich environment as scavengers in and around human settlements. They rarely hunt and consequently do not encounter rich sources of protein. Instead they have adapted to a diet of primarily carbohydrates. As descendants of the exclusively carnivorous wolves, they are subjected to the evolutionary load of a physiological demand for proteins. To meet their protein needs they resort to a thumb rule, if it smells like meat, eat it. Pups face high competition from group and non group members and are in a phase of rapid growth with high protein demands. Following the thumb rule, then they can acquire more protein at the cost of increased competition and reduced supplementary non protein nutrition. However, if the mother supplements their diet with protein rich regurgitates and milk, then the pups can benefit by being generalists. Using a choice test in the field we show that while adults have a clear preference for meat, pups have no such pre...
Research Interests: Zoology, Ethology, Food Science, Nutrition, Food and Nutrition, and 3 moreEvolution, Dogs, and Behaviour
Parent-offspring conflict theory predicts the emergence of weaning conflict between a mother and her offspring arising from skewed relatedness benefits. Empirical observations of weaning conflict has not been carried out in canids. In a... more
Parent-offspring conflict theory predicts the emergence of weaning conflict between a mother and her offspring arising from skewed relatedness benefits. Empirical observations of weaning conflict has not been carried out in canids. In a field-based study on free-ranging dogs we observed that suckling bout durations reduce, proportion of mother-initiated suckling bouts reduce and mother-initiated suckling terminations increase, with pup age. We identified the 7th - 13th week period of pup age as the zone of conflict between the mother and her pups, beyond which suckling solicitations cease, and before which suckling refusals are few. We also report for the first time milk theft by pups who take advantage of the presence of multiple lactating females, due to the promiscuous mating system of the dogs. This behaviour, though apparently disadvantageous for the mothers, is perhaps adaptive for the dogs in the face of high mortality and competition for resources.