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Scientist Profile

  2. Scientist Profile

Dr. Nehru Prabakaran

image
Dr. Nehru Prabakaran
Scientist - D

Wildlife Institute of India, Chandrabani, Dehradun 248001, India.

+91-0135-2646337

nehrup [at] wii [dot] gov [dot] in

 

About

Dr. Nehru is a scientist at Wildlife Institute of India since 2018. His PhD at Bharathiyar University focused on the coastal ecosystem recovery in the Nicobar Islands after the 2004 tsunami. He is a recipient of DST-INSPIRE Faculty Award. His post-doctoral research at the Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research, Germany, has focused on mangrove successional dynamics. He has published over 45 research articles in international and national journals.

His research focuses on drivers of ecosystem change. He studies coastal and marine ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrasses, and associated species such as marine turtles, dugongs, and crabs.

Academic Positions
  • Oct. 2023 – present: Scientist-D (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun)
  • Aug 2018 – Sep. 2023: Scientist-C/DST-INSPIRE Faculty (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun)
  • Jun 2018 – Jul 2018: Professional Fellow (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun)
  • Jun 2016 – May 2018: Himalayan Research Associate (Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun)
  • Jan 2016 – May 2016: Research Scientist (Indo-American Wildlife Society, Chennai)
  • Nov 2014 – Nov 2015: Post-Doctoral Fellow (Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research, Germany)
  • May 2013 – Aug 2014: Research Scientist (Himalaya Drug Company, Bangalore)
  • Jan 2013 – April 2013: Research Associate (Indo-American Wildlife Society, Chennai)
  • May 2011 – Dec 2012: Senior Research Fellow (Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History)
  • Jun 2009 – May 2011: Junior Research Fellow (Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History)
  • May 2008 – May 2009: Junior Research Fellow (Care Earth Trust, Chennai)
Education
  • Nov. 2014 – Oct. 2015: Post-Doctoral Fellow, Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Research, Germany
  • Oct. 2009 – Feb. 2014: Ph.D. in Botany, Bharathiar University, India
  • Jun. 2006 – Apr. 2008: M.Sc. in Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, University of Madras, India
  • Jun. 2003 – Apr. 2006: B.Sc. in Plant Biology and Plant Biotechnology, University of Madras, India
Research Interest

Marine ecology, Community ecology, Socio-Ecological systems, Climate Change, See level rise

Publications
  • Poti, M., Singh, A.R., Shanker, K., Koedam, N., Prabakaran, N., Dahdouh-Guebas, F. & Hugé, J. (2025). Mangrove governance, its challenges, and responses to the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Andaman islands, India: A stakeholder perspective. Ocean & Coastal Management, 269,p.107786.
  • Fulmali, M., Ponnu, D. & Prabakaran, N. (2025). First post-tsunami report of Coconut Crab Birgus latro (Linnaeus, 1767) (Malacostraca: Decapoda: Coenobitidae) in Car Nicobar Island, Nicobar Archipelago. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 17(5), 27021-27025.
  • Prabakaran, N., Poti, M., Hugé, J., Koedam, N., Shanker, K., Dahdouh-Guebas, F. (2025). Shifted baselines: Using the adaptive cycle to assess the post-tsunami mangrove social-ecological system recovery in the Nicobar Islands. AMBIO A Journal of the Human Environment, 54. 10.1007/s13280-024-02088-3.
  • Singh, AR., Thirumurugan, V., & Prabakaran, N. (2025). Monitoring the Mangrove Colonization on the Uplifted Reef Beds in the North Andaman Island, India. Ocean Science Journal, 59. 1-7. 10.1007/s12601-024-00156-z.
  • Singh, AR., Thirumurugan, V., Bhomia, R. & Prabakaran, N. (2025). Mangrove vegetation response to alteration in coastal geomorphology after an earthquake in Andaman Islands, India. Regional Studies in Marine Science, Volume 76. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103583.
  • Fulmali, M., Singh, AR. & Prabakaran, N. (2025). Influence of coastal uplift and subsidence on the mangrove-associated crab community in the Andaman Islands. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 315. 109179. 10.1016/j.ecss.2025.109179.
  • Singh, AR., Thirumurugan, V., Joshi, N., Chinnasamy, R. & Prabakaran, N. (2025). Coastal vegetation response to land uplift inflicted sea level drop in the North Andaman Islands, India. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 85. 104134. 10.1016/j.rsma.2025.104134.
  • Gole, S., Prabakaran, N., Das, H., Sivakumar, K. & Johnson, J. (2024). Influence of seasonality and edge effect on seagrass-associated macrobenthic communities: A case study from the Andaman Islands, India. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 79. 103812. 10.1016/j.rsma.2024.103812.
  • Seal, S., Bayyana, S., Pande, A., Ghanekar, C., Hatkar, P., Vahedkhan., PS., Patel, S., Rajpurkar, S., Prajapati, S., Gole, S., Iyer, S., Nair, A., Prabakaran, N., Sivakumar, K. & Johnson, JA. (2024). Spatial prioritization of dugong habitats in India can contribute towards achieving the 30 × 30 global biodiversity targets. Scientific Reports, 14. 10.1038/s41598-024-64760-8.
  • ShivaShankar, K., Purti, N. & Prabakaran, N. (2024). Snowballing trends of saltwater crocodile conflicts in Andaman Islands: A mounting concern for conservation and sustainable co-existence. European Journal of Wildlife Biology, 70. 10.1007/s10344-024-01857-5.
  • Singh, A.R., Thirumurugan, V., Bhomia, R.K. & Prabakaran, N. (2024). Mangrove vegetation response to alteration in coastal geomorphology after an earthquake in Andaman Islands, India. Regional Studies in Marine Science,p.103583.
  • Singh, A.R., Sirola, G., Kumar, S. & Prabakaran, N. (2024). Post-tsunami status, distribution, and way forward for the conservation of Andaman Teal Anas albogularis Hume, 1873 (Aves: Anatidae) in the Andaman Islands. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 16(5),pp.25256-25260.
  • Singh, AR., Prabakaran, N. (2024). Diversity, Endemism, and Future Research Needs: A Meta-Analysis on the Orchids of Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago, India. International Journal of Ecology And Environmental Science, 51. 10. 10.55863/ijees.2025.0468.
  • Thirumurugan,V., Singh, A.R., Karattuthodi,S., Gnanasekaran,G., Prabakaran, N. (2024) Impacts of invasive spotted deer (Axis axis) herbivory on mangrove vegetation in South Andaman Island, India. Journal of Wildlife Science, 1 (1), 03-15. https://doi.org/10.63033/JWLS.BKZC9401
  • Singh, AR., Sirola, G.V, Kumar, S. & Prabakaran, N. (2024). Post-tsunami status, distribution, and way forward for the conservation of Andaman Teal Anas albogularis Hume, 1873 (Aves: Anatidae) in the Andaman Islands. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 16. 25256–25260. 10.11609/jott.8938.16.5.25256-25260.
  • Singh, A.R., Thirumurugan, V. & Prabakaran, N. (2024). Distribution of Avicennia spp. in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands with special reference to new distributional reports and post-tsunami colonization patterns. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 104, p.e43. doi:10.1017/S0025315424000262
  • Gole, S., Prabakaran, N., Prajapati, S., Dudhat, S., Das, H., Kuppusamy, S. & Johnson, J.A. (2024) Latitudinal variation in seagrass communities with special emphasis on post-tsunami status in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, India. Plos one, 19(3), p.e0300654. (IF: 3.7)
  • Sivapushanam, K., Vedagiri, T., Fulmali, M. & Prabakaran, N. (2023). A mating congregation of YellowLipped Sea Kraits, Laticauda colubrina (Schneider 1799), from the Andaman Islands, India. Reptiles & Amphibians, 30(1), pp.e18979-e18979.
  • Gole, S., Prajapati, S., Prabakaran, N., Das, H., Kuppusamy, S. & Johnson, J.A. (2023). Spatial diversity and habitat characteristics of seagrass meadows with management recommendations in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Frontiers in Marine Science, 10, p.1251887. http://doi: 10.3389/fmars.2023.1251887 (IF: 3.7)
  • Gole, S., Prajapati, S., Prabakaran, N., Johnson, J.A. & Sivakumar, K.(2023). Herd Size Dynamics and Observations on the Natural History of Dugongs (Dugong dugon) in the Andaman Islands, India. Aquatic Mammals, 49(1), pp.53-61. DOI:http://doi.org/10.1578/AM.49.1.2023.54
  • Vedagiri, T., Singh, A.R., Prabakaran, N. (2023). First report on the distribution of Aegiceras corniculatum (L.) Blanco (Primulaceae) from the Nicobar archipelago, India. Ocean and Coastal Research, 71, p.e23034. https://doi.org/10.1590/2675-2824071.23019vt (IF: 0.8).
  • Hatkar, P., Patel, S., Pathan, S., Kuppusamy, S., Vachhrajani, K., Prabakaran, N. & Johnson, J.A. (2023). Review of stranding records of megaherbivore the Dugong (Dugong dugon, müller, 1776) in the Gulf of Kutch, India-an implication to the conservation of marine mammals in Gujarat. Journal of Survey in Fisheries Sciences, 62-77.
  • Thirumurugan, V., Nithya, S.P., Ramesh, C. & Prabakaran, N. (2022). Tephrosia subtriflora (Fabaceae): A new distributional record for Southern India. Nelumbo, 64(1), 311-313. DOI: http://doi.org/10.20324/nelumbo/v64/2022/168113
  • Nath, A., Joshi, C., Prabakaran, N., Ghosh, S. & Talukdar, G. (2022). Change Mapping of Aboveground Carbon Stocks and Ecosystem Services in the Mangrove Forest of Andaman Islands: Implications for Conservation and Ecosystem-Based Adaptation. In Assessing, Mapping and Modelling of Mangrove Ecosystem Services in the Asia-Pacific Region (pp. 143-166). Singapore: Springer Nature Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-2738-6_8
  • Vedagiri, T., Singh, A.R., & Prabakaran, N. (2022). First report on the occurrence of Avicennia marina (Forssk.) Vierh. (Acanthaceae) in the Nicobar archipelago. Ocean and Coastal Research 2022, v70:e22013. http://doi.org/10.1590/2675-2824070.21077vt
  • Vedagiri, T., Prabakaran, N., Nair, V.S. & Ramesh, C. (2022). Larger group size and distribution of threatened Sambar deer Rusa unicolor niger (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) in Moyar River Valley, Southern India: Larger group size and distribution of Sambar deer. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 14(4): 20926-20929.
  • Prabakaran, N., Vedagiri, T., & Singh, A.R. (2021). Are the uplifted reef beds in North Andaman letting nesting Olive Ridley stranded? Journal of Threatened Taxa, 13(12): 19860–19863. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.7603.13.12.19860-19863
  • Prabakaran, N., Bayyana, S., Vetter, K. & Reuter, H. (2021). Mangrove recovery in the Nicobar archipelago after the 2004 tsunami and coastal subsidence. Regional Environmental Change, 21, 87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-021-01811-0
  • Prabakaran, N., Ramesh, C. 2021. The Post-tsunami Status of Reticulated Pythons,Malayopython reticulatus(Schneider 1801) in the Nicobar Archipelago, India. Reptiles & Amphibians, 28(1): 126–130
  • Vedagiri, T., Prabakaran, N., Nair, V.S., Ramesh, C. 2021. Ecological significance of two large heritage trees in Moyar River Valley, Southern India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 13: 17587–17591. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1011609/jott.6095.13.1.17587-17591
  • Dahdouh-Guebas, F., Hugé, J., Abuchahla, G.M., Cannicci, S., Jayatissa, L.P., Kairo, J.G., Arachchilage, S.K., Koedam, N., Nijamdeen, T.W.M., Mukherjee, N. and Poti, M., Prabakaran, N., Ratsimbazafy, H.A., Satyanarayana, B., Thavanayagam, M., Vande Velde, K., Wodehouse, D. 2020. Reconciling nature, people and policy in the mangrove social-ecological system through the adaptive cycle heuristic. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science, p.106942. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2020.106942
  • Prabakaran, N. 2020. Mangrove community response to subsidence inflicted sea level change in Car Nicobar Island, India. Botanica Marina, 63(5): 419–427. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/bot-2019-0088
  • Murugan, R., Beggi, F., Prabakaran, N., Maqsood, S., Joergensen, R.G. 2020. Changes in plant community and soil ecological indicators in response to Prosopis juliflora and Acacia mearnsii invasion and removal in two biodiversity hotspots in Southern India. Soil Ecology Letters, 2(1): 61–72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42832-019-0020-z
  • Ramesh, C., Prabakaran, N. 2019. Living with snakes: human-snake conflict in southern asia and way ahead. Asian Journal of Conservation Biology, 8(2): 220–223
  • Mane, A., Prabakaran, N., Manchi, S. 2019. Floral diversity, composition, and recruitment on the karstland of Baratang Island, India. Ecological Complexity, 37:47–54. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecocom.2018.11.002
  • Ramesh, C., Prabakaran, N., Vishnu, S.N, Karthy, S., Thiru Murugan, V., Abhijit, D., Gautam, T. 2019. Mating behaviour of Python molurus molurus (Linnaeus, 1758) in Moyar River Valley, Tamil Nadu, India. Zoo’s Print, 34(2): 10–14
  • Prabakaran, N., Balasubramanian P. 2018. Mangrove species diversity and composition in the successional habitats of Nicobar Islands, India: A post-tsunami and subsidence scenario. Forest Ecology and Management, 427: 70–77. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2018.05.063
  • Prabakaran, N., Balasubramanian, P. 2015. Littoral forest composition and influence of soil characteristics on vegetation succession in the Tsunami impacted coastal habitats of Nicobar Islands, India. Journal of Island Ecology, 2015 (1): 1–17
  • Prabakaran, N., Balasubramanian, P. 2014. Rate of vegetation change in the tsunami impacted littoral forests of Nicobar Islands, India. Forest Ecology and Management, 313: 243–253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2013.11.023
  • Nehru, P., Kannan, R., Babu, UV. 2014. Magnolia baillonii: A new adulterant of Magnolia champaca (Michelia champaca). Inventi Rapid: Planta Activa, (2):1–3
  • Nehru, P., Balasubramanian, P. 2012. Sonneratia ovata Backer (Lythraceae): Status and distribution of a Near-Threatened mangrove species in tsunami impacted mangrove habitats of Nicobar Islands, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 4 (15): 3395–3400. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3009.3395-400
  • Nehru, P., Gnanasekaran, G., MuthuKarthick, N., Narasimhan, D. 2012. Angiosperms of Nanmangalam Reserve Forest, an urban forest in Metropolitan Chennai, India. CheckList, 8(1): 57–76. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/8.1.057
  • G. Gnanasekaran, G., Nehru, P., Narasimhan, D. 2012. Angiosperms of Sendirakillai Sacred Grove (SSG), Cuddalore District, Tamil Nadu, India. CheckList 8(1): 113–129. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/8.1.113
  • Nehru, P., Balasubramanian, P. 2011. Re-colonizing mangrove species in tsunami devastated habitats at Nicobar Islands, India. CheckList, 7(3): 253–256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/7.3.253
  • Gnanasekaran, G, Nehru, P., Narasimhan, D. 2011. Spermacoce remota Lam. (Rubiaceae)- A potential invasive weed of wetlands. Journal of Economic and Taxonomic Botany, 35(4): 645–647
  • Nehru, P., Balasubramanian, P. 2010. Notes on the distribution of Capparis grandiflora Wall. ex Hook.f. & Thomson, An endemic shrub of peninsular India. Indian Journal of Forestry, 33(2): 271–272
  • Daniels, R., Nehru, P.,Gnanasekaran, G. and Karthik, M.N. 2008. 200 + Plants of Indian Institute of Technology – Madras, a pictorial guide for the amateur naturalists. IIT-Madras, India. pp. 144. ISBN: 8190423541, 9788190423540
Additional Links
  • X : https://x.com/nehrutp
  • Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/nehruprabakaran
  • ResearchGate : https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nehru-Prabakaran?ev=hdr_xprf
Last updated 18-07-2025
Wildlife Institute of India, an Autonomous Institute of MoEFCC, Govt. of India
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