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Rounak Choudhary is based in Rajasthan, India. He is currently a DST-INSPIRE Fellow and Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in the Department of Environmental Science at Maharshi Dayanand Saraswati University (MDSU), Ajmer. His research focuses on avifaunal diversity, habitat mapping, and ecological studies in Rajasthan. Choudhary has authored over 20 research articles. He received a Gold Medal for his M.Sc. in Environmental Science from MDSU in 2020. He also holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Industrial Safety, Health, and Environment (PGDISHE), Diploma in Basics of Ornithology (DCBO) and Certificate Course in Birding (CCB).
He has qualified national-level eligibility tests, including the UGC-NET in Environmental Science, conducted by the University Grants Commission, and the ICAR-ASRB NET in Environmental Science, conducted by the Department of Agricultural Research and Education under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.
He is a recipient of the DST-INSPIRE Fellowship awarded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, under the Ministry of Science and Technology, which supports his current Ph.D. research as a Junior Research Fellow (JRF) under the Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (INSPIRE) program since 2023. Earlier in his academic career, he was awarded the RSBB-DST Biodiversity Scholarship by the Rajasthan State Biodiversity Board and the Department of Science and Technology, Government of Rajasthan, for his M.Sc. project work during 2019–2020.
His M.Sc. dissertation, “The Ecology of the Rangelands in Central Rajasthan: Diversity, Socio-Ecology and Future of Wildlife Conservation” (2018–2020), focused on the biodiversity and human-nature interactions in rangeland ecosystems, supported by the RSBB-DST Scholarship. For his PGDISHE program, he investigated “Mitigation of Bird Strike Hazard at Aviation Industry” (2021), focusing on the intersection of environmental safety and aviation management. Additionally, he contributed to the District Environment Plan for Nagaur District, Rajasthan, prepared as per the National Green Tribunal’s directive (O.A. no. 710–713/2017), a report that is now part of the official environmental documentation by the Government of Rajasthan.
His skill set includes scientific writing, biodiversity and habitat assessment, field data collection and analysis, and the use of camera traps and their interpretation. He is proficient in analytical tools and software such as QGIS, R, PAST, MS Office, Adobe Photoshop, and Illustrator, which he applies in tasks ranging from species distribution modeling and occupancy modeling to functional diversity assessment.
He is a member of the Indian Regional Association for Landscape Ecology (IRALE) (tenure: Oct 2024–Oct 2027), the Society for Open Reliable and Transparent Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (SORTEE) (Nov 2024–Dec 2025), and the Society for Ecological Restoration (Dec 2024–Dec 2025). He is also affiliated with the Ecological Restoration Alliance (ERA), the Arid Research Collective, and the India Ecoacoustic Network.
Projects:
Bird Strike Hazard Mitigation at Aviation Industry
Vulnerability of Wintering habitat of Yellow-eyed Pigeon
Study of Landscape Heterogeneity, Biodiversity and Functional Diversity in Agroecosystems of Arid and SemiArid Rajasthan- DST Funded Project
A Trait-based Analysis of Species Turnover through Functional Beta (β) Diversity in Cities of Rajasthan.
Selected Publications
Habitat Suitability for Endemic and Vulnerable White-Naped Tit (Machlolophus nuchalis) in Arid and Semi-Arid Landscapes of India - Journal of Landscape Ecology
Area sensitivity & conservation strategies for three woodland bird species in arid and semi-arid landscapes of Rajasthan- Third National Conference of the Indian Regional Association for Landscape Ecology (IRALE 2025)
Sighting of Oriental Pied-Hornbills from the arid region of Rajasthan, India, Zoo's Print
Intersex plumage in Plum-headed Parakeet (Psittacula cyanocephala)- Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia - Research in Ornithology (RIO)
New Sightings and Habitat Suitability Mapping of Endemic Platyceps gracilis (GÜNTHER, 1862) - Biogeographia –The Journal of Integrative Biogeography
A photographic record of Charaxes solon from the Aravalli hills of Rajasthan, India - Zoo's Print
Additions to the avifauna of Todgarh-Raoli Wildlife Sanctuary, Rajasthan - Species
Progressive greying in the white-eared bulbul (Pycnonotus leucotis) - TAPROBANICA
ERYTHRISM IN HOUSE SPARROW (PASSER DOMESTICUS): A RECORD FROM RAJASTHAN, INDIA - International Studies on Sparrows
Interspecific feeding by Indian Robin (Copsychus fulicatus) to Brown Rock Chat (Oenanthe fusca) - Rivista Italiana di Ornitologia - Research in Ornithology (RIO)
First record of brown plumage aberration in Indian Pied Starling (Gracupica contra) from India - Ornis Hungarica
A new record of Sternocera chrysis (Fabricius 1775), the jewel beetle from Rajasthan's semi-arid region and its cultural significance as a traditional ornament - Entomologie faunistique - Faunistic Entomology
Book Chapters:
1) Nestling Feeding and Breeding Success in the Indian Spotted Creeper (Salpornis spilonota) in Rajasthan’s Arid Region. Biodiversity, Wildlife and Environment, EPH publications, New Delhi ISBN: 978-93-94086-71-5
2) Guild Structure and Niche Characteristics of Wintering Waterbirds in Semi-Arid Wetlands of Rajasthan, India. Biodiversity, Wildlife and Environment, EPH publications, New Delhi ISBN: 978-93-94086-71-5
3) Bioacoustics Signals Based Taxonomic Approach for Anurans. Biodiversity, Wildlife and Environment, EPH publications, New Delhi ISBN: 978-93-94086-71-5
Connect with Rounak!
rounakchoudhary17@gmail.com
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