Rahul's Evolution Lab
RAHUL
Illustration by Rahul
I am a generalist. I am both a teacher as well as a researcher. I am a Molecular Biologist by training and have special interest in Ecology and Evolution.
Therefore, my workspace is not limited to just a concrete lab. I also explore forests, rivers, farmlands, hills, etc. for my research. I conduct most of my experiments in the undergraduate Zoology lab where I have acquired many basic instruments recently.
When I proudly tell people at conferences and workshops that I have developed a decent research laboratory at a remote rural government college of Bihar, many find it hard to believe. Besides this, I have developed a small aquaculture facility in our department where I am culturing fish, tadpoles and some aquatic insects for both teaching and research. I also set up a botanical garden in front of our department where I study insect behaviour. Many novel observations have been recorded in this small, but rich garden.
I usually visit the nearby Son river canal for in situ observations and sampling of insects and other invertebrate specimens. I also like collecting molluscan shells and colourful stones from across the sandy river bank. These constitute my indoor and outdoor lab spaces.
Quite often I get unique surprises while sampling along the bank of Son river and its canal. Some of my students have farmlands in the vicinity of this canal where they are conducting small experiments in their own farms.
Whatever be the objectives, most of my research projects revolve around evolution as a central theme. I am very much fascinated with the works of Darwin, Wallace and Bates. Therefore, I have named my lab as “Evolution Lab.”
Currently my students and I are working on biology of mimicry using arthropod models like ant-mimicking spiders, experimental evolution using flour beetles, chemical ecology of sessile hemipterans, faunal diversity of Son river, agricultural insect-pest diversity and survival strategies of various insects. I am working in a limited resource set-up where we don’t have access to advanced instruments.
For experiments requiring advanced facilities, I often visit and even send my students after taking approval to the central instrumentation facilities of the institutions like JNU New Delhi, AIIMS New Delhi and ICAR-IARI New Delhi where I also worked previously as a researcher.
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I believe "wherever life plants you, bloom with grace.""
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About Rahul
Dr. Rahul Kumar is a trained molecular biologist with special interest in ecology and evolution. During his Ph.D., he worked on the biology of mimicry using ant-mimicking spiders as model, recorded more than 150 mimic-model pairs from Chhotanagpur Plateau and also developed a nanotechnology-based quick insect species detection method. Along with teaching, he researches different aspects of arthropod behaviour (including mimicry), experimental evolution using flour beetles, chemical ecology of sessile hemipterans, arthropod diversity of Magadh region and survival strategies of different insects at his small "Evolution Lab" far from the noise of the cities. He is also associate editor of Indian Entomologist, a popular magazine published by Entomological Society of India. He is a published poet, avid storyteller and loves sketching in his free time.
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