Viraj Torsekar | विराज तोरसेकर
@virajtorsekar.bsky.social
450 followers 190 following 17 posts
Ecologist | Researches species interactions in the wild | Sometimes in the lab | Mostly in the head #NewPI at GITAM, India | Past at Indian Institute of Science and Hebrew Univ. of Jerusalem | Enjoys frisbee, cooking and geopolitics https://torsekar.in/
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
Looking forward to building on these conversations!

Amazing work by the organising committee to put this huge conference together. Until next time Behaviour/ Kolkata!

5/5
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
Another milestone: one of my first invited talk at a conference! I even took the liberty of giving a non-data talk, one based largely on ideas. Preparing for it was both exciting and a little intimidating, but the experience was quite rewarding.

4/5
Everyone who gave talks as a part of "Collaborations in nature: a dive into the phenomenon of mixed-species animal groups " symposium organised by Priti Bangal (Nature Conservation Foundation) and Bharat Ahuja (CES, IISc)
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
I ended up co-organising two symposia with early-career researcher friends. We brought together a diverse mix of speakers, spanning taxa, concepts, tools, and academic stages. Both sessions were well received!

3/5
Kavita Isvaran gave an invited talk as a part of the "Maintenance of trait variation under sexual selection" organised by Rittik Deb (NISER), Diptarup Nandi (Azim Premji Univ) and me. Wolfgang Goymann speaking as a part of the "Maintenance of trait variation under sexual selection" organised by Rittik Deb (NISER), Diptarup Nandi (Azim Premji Univ) and me. Alexandros Vezyrakis speaking as a part of the "Maintenance of trait variation under sexual selection" organised by Rittik Deb (NISER), Diptarup Nandi (Azim Premji Univ) and me. Everyone who gave talks as a part of "Mechanisms of Collective Behaviours" symposium organised by Jitesh Jhawar (Ahmedabad University), Akanksha Rathore (BITS Pilani Hyderabad) and me.
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
Always a treat to meet old friends and colleagues!

But since it was one of my first conferences as a faculty member, I wasn’t quite prepared for the interest and attention from so many young researchers who initiated conversations. It was truly humbling and gratifying!

2/5
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
Many firsts for the lab at the @Behaviour2025 conference in Kolkata last week! 🎉

Two of our new PhD students (Shivam Shinde and Dhwani Dave) attended their very first Behaviour conference, and had an absolutely great time engaging with the community.

#Behaviour2025
1/5
Reposted by Viraj Torsekar | विराज तोरसेकर
kristymferraro.bsky.social
Animals don’t just live in their environments—they transform them. And in doing so, they may also shape their own evolutionary trajectories. Our new paper in Trends in Ecology & Evolution introduces a framework for zoogeochemical niche construction. A thread 👇
Reposted by Viraj Torsekar | विराज तोरसेकर
paulmmcooper.com
When botanist Richard Deakin examined Rome’s Colosseum in the 1850s, he found 420 species of plant growing in the ruins: cypresses and ilex, pea plants and more than 50 types of grasses.

But some flowers growing there mystified him. They were so rare they were found nowhere else in Europe.
A painting of the Colosseum in ruins by Giovanni Paolo Panini (Italian, ca. 1692-1765).
Reposted by Viraj Torsekar | विराज तोरसेकर
shikharabhat.bsky.social
Since we've moved platforms, I thought I'd make a new explainer thread for our (Aamir Sadiq, @vishuguttal.bsky.social, Rohini Balakrishnan, and I) recent paper on tree crickets.

Meet Oecanthus henryi. Like in many cricket species, O. henryi males call to attract mates.

#science #evobio 🌍 🧬
Picture of male Oecanthus henryi Picture of male Oecanthus henryi
Reposted by Viraj Torsekar | विराज तोरसेकर
rupsykhurana.bsky.social
To avoid predation by an invasive parasitoid fly, crickets on Hawaii are remixing their love songs for females but these escape plans might not be foolproof, at least not yet.
My latest for @thehindu.com is on an evolutionary arms race in real time.

www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/sci...
Scientists have found a cricket evolving rapidly to beat a new threat
Pacific field crickets in Hawaii evolved quieter songs to evade invasive flies, but flies adapted, illustrating a rapid evolutionary arms race driven by climate change.
www.thehindu.com
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
What we research: predator-prey interactions, phenotype-environment matching, nutritional ecology, landscape of fear 🕷️🦗

🎓Candidates with national-level qualifications (UGC-CSIR, GATE, NET, etc.) are exempt from Univ PhD entrance

📩 Questions? Email me: vtorseka [at] gitam.edu
#BehaviouralEcology 🌏
A green lynx spider has just captured a female tree cricket that recently mated — the spermatophore is visible on her ovipositor
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
Thanks Michael!
Are you planning on attending the conference?
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
Thrilled to announce our symposium on the 'mechanisms of collective behaviours: theory, empiricism, and applications' as a part of the Behaviour 2025 conference scheduled August 25-30 in Kolkata, India.

Send in your abstracts and come join the discussion!
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
We plan to facilitate discussions around what drives the maintenance of variation in reproductive traits despite strong sexual selection. Data, ideas and perspectives even loosely based on the question are welcome.

Come join the discussion!
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
Excited to announce our symposium on the 'maintenance of trait variation under sexual selection' as a part of the Behaviour 2025 conference scheduled August 25-30 in Kolkata, India.

Send in your abstracts!
1/2
Reposted by Viraj Torsekar | विराज तोरसेकर
behaviour2025.bsky.social
Exciting News! 🎉 Behaviour 2025 symposia are finalized! 🌍🐾

Join thought-provoking discussions on behaviour variation, evolution, neuroethology, comparative research & AI.

Visit our website for details & plan your trip to Kolkata for an unforgettable experience! ✨
Reposted by Viraj Torsekar | विराज तोरसेकर
asab.org
ASAB @asab.org · Dec 2
Registration is now open for the IISER Kolkata outreach event. 40 seats only! Thanks @abhadra7.bsky.social and others for organizing, this looks great!
Poster “Nature-watching like a Scientist
About the Event
See
and wonder,
question
and
experiment, and discover the joy of science with Nature! This inclusive and exploratory winter workshop is geared towards infusing the minds of young people with questions about nature.
What You'll Do
• Visit research labs!
• Talk to scientists!
• Informative talks!
• Inclusive & hands-on activities
• Do your own research & present your results!
• Think like a scientist, be a scientist!
SUSTAINABILITY, NURTURING BIODIVERSITY, CONSERVATION AND COEXISTENCE,
3-5 & 10-12 JAN '25
IISER KOLKATA
OPEN FOR
CLASSES VI - IX
AGE 12 - 15 YEARS
ENTRY FEE 0
SCAN THE QR TO REGISTER
A workshop sponsored by
The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour”
Reposted by Viraj Torsekar | विराज तोरसेकर
viveknityananda.bsky.social
Big day today! I've written a book on overconfidence and it's out in India! Equal parts nervous and excited 😊

Out in bookstores and online. Have a read and tell me what you think!
Book cover with the title "Beyond Doubt" in yellow against a red background. The author's name "Vivek Nityananda" is in black. A graphic shows a hand holding an umbrella that has three layers. Two quotes are to the sides. Rob Brooks "Coherent and Entertaining". Olvia Judson "Fascinating and Sobering"
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
"One Nation One Subscription will provide country-wide access (in India) to research articles all Higher Education Institutions managed by the central and state govts. It will benefit 1.8 crore students, faculty, researchers and scientists"
I wonder if this will work
www.livemint.com/education/ne...
www.livemint.com
Reposted by Viraj Torsekar | विराज तोरसेकर
virajtorsekar.bsky.social
That's me! Thanks Kate!
What a great conference that was.

If anyone's interested here are the papers I spoke about at #ISBE2024 -
esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
and
royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/...