Awards » Dr. C. Chandrasekharan Memorial Award

Dr. Joyce Jose

Dr. Joyce Jose Is a young researcher in conservation biology whose presentation on the “Animal Diversity of Myristica Swamps in Southern Kerala with Emphasis on Herpetofauna” won her the C.Chandrasekharan Memorial Award for the eyar-2010. Her research presents important insights about diversity of Herpetofauna of the Myristica swamp , a unique, naturally fragmented ecosystem needing special abiotic conditions for development. This ecosystem has been restricted into small patches along selected waterways of the Western Ghats. Anthropogenic causes have further fragmented this ecosystem. The total area of Myristica swamps in India is less than 200 hectares. Studies on the faunal diversity or on threats to this ecosystem were almost non-existent. Joyce Jose during her study on herpetofaunal assemblages and anthropogenic perturbations in the Myristica swamp patches of Kulathupuzha Forest Range, Anchal Forest Range and Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary observed that:
  • The diversity and abundance of amphibians were higher in dry season inside the swamps.
  • Most of the amphibian species were active during the day inside the swamp but were fewer in number when compared to night.
  • Large number of species in a small area is appreciated as ‘rich biodiversity’ but this may be due to the proliferation of generalists at the expense of habitat specialists’. This may indicate declining ecosystem health as in the case of Myristica swamps.
These insights have serious consequences on the planning for Herpetofaunal conservation and the study forms a point of reference for further research for formulating management and conservation strategies for theMyristica swamps of Southern Kerala.

Research Profile of Joyce Jose

Ph. D. “Animal biodiversity of Myristica swamps in Southern Kerala with emphasis on Herpetofauna” in 2010 at the Kerala Forest Research Institute, research centre of Forest Research Institute University, Dehradun, under the Guidance of Dr. KK Ramachandran, Department of Wildlife Biology, KFRI.

Publications
  1. Joyce Jose, T.J. Roby, K.K. Ramachandran, Thomas. P. Thomas and P. Vijayakumaran Nair (2007). Myristica swamps – a forgotten wetland. In the Envis News letter Vol 3(1), SACON. 2
  2. Joyce Jose, K.K. Ramachandran, and P. Vijayakumaran Nair (2007). Occurrence of the Forest Cane Turtle Geoemyda Silvatica (Reptilia, Testidunes, Bataguridae) from a Myristica swamp of Kulathupuzha Forest Range, Southern Kerala. In the Envis News letter Vol 3(1), SACON. 3-4
  3. Joyce Jose, Ramachandran, K. K. & Nair, P. V. (2007). A Preliminary Overview and Checklist of the spider fauna of Myristica swamp forests of southern Kerala, India. Newsl. Br. arachnol. Soc.109. 12-14
  4. Joyce Jose, Ramachandran, K. K. and Nair, P.V. (2007). A rare and little known lizard, Otocryptis beddomi from the Myristica swamps of Southern Kerala, India. Herpetological Bulletin, 101: 27-31
  5. Roby T.J and Joyce Jose. (2007). Biodiversity measurement as a diagnostic tool to assess ecosystem health- a case study from Myristica swamp forests of Kulathupuzha. Rational Discourse. Vol. XIII. No. 1 & 2.
Papers in Proceedings of Workshops/ Symposiums/ Seminars
  1. Joyce Jose, T.J. Roby, K.K. Ramachandran, K. Swarupanandan, Thomas. P. Thomas and P. Vijayakumaran Nair (2004). Biophysical characterization, conservation and management of a rare forest ecosystem, the Myristica swamps of Southern Kerala. In the Proceedings of Second National Congress of the Western Ghats Forum at Coimbatore. 9-11.
  2. Joyce Jose, K.K. Ramachandran, and P. Vijayakumaran Nair (2007). Animal diversity of the Myristica swamp forests of, Southern Kerala with special reference to herpetofauna. In the Proceedings of the 19th Kerala Science Congress, 29th -31st January 2007. 724-726
  3. Liza Mathew K. and Joyce Jose (2007).A Study on Attitude towards Women’s Rights among the Adults of Kottayam District. In theProceedings of the International Conference of AIAER on Educational Research and Learning beyond Cognition.
  4. Roby T.J and Joyce Jose. (2008). Biodiversity measurement as a diagnostic tool to assess ecosystem health- a case study from Myristica swamp forests of Kulathupuzha. In the Proceedings of the 20th Kerala Science Congress, 29th -31st January 2008.515-517
  5. Joyce Jose, Roby T. J., Ramachandran, K. K. and Nair, P.V.. (2008). Myristica swamps: a treasure trove of biodiversity. In the Proceedings of the Lake 2008 at IISc. URL: http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/energy/lake2008/program/theme3.htm#t5