Shishir Thantya Rao

Email: [email protected] | Website: https://shishirtrao.weebly.com/ | Twitter: @ShishRao

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EDUCATION

Aug 2019 – Current: PhD candidate, Odum School of Ecology | Integrative Conservation (ICON) and
Ecology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

July 2014 – Oct 2016: Master’s Program in Wildlife Biology and Conservation, Wildlife Conservation
Society (WCS) - India and National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India.

July 2003 – July 2007: Bachelor of Engineering (Electronics & Communication), Bapuji Institute of
Engineering and Technology, Davangere, Karnataka, India.
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RESEARCH AND PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Aug 2023 – current: Research Assistantship with Dr. Sechindra Vellury, UGA. Research support for
data management and analysis of environmental drivers of human migration in Kerala and Tamil Nadu,
India.

Aug 2022 – May 2023: Research Assistantship with Integrative Conservation (ICON). Co-organizer of
the roundtable discussion on “Gender, The Body & Fieldwork Across Disciplines 2022” and facilitation
of ICON/CICR reading clubs.

May 2022 – Aug 2022: Research Assistantship with Dr. David Leigh and Dr. Seth Wenger, UGA.
Research support for morphometric modelling of the lower Chattooga River before Tugaloo dam.

Aug 2021 – May 2022: Research Assistantship with Dr. Seth Wenger, UGA. Research support on
projects related to developing flow-ecology relationships, assessing efficacy of stream restoration
measures and monitoring mitigation credit compliance of infrastructure projects.

Jan 2021 – June 2021: Research Assistantship with Dr. Don Nelson, UGA, for Network for
Engineering with Nature (N-EWN). Research support for literature review and qualitative analysis of
United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) policy documents to understand the adoption and
implementation of Nature and Nature-Based Features (NNBF).

Aug 2019 – Dec 2020: Research Assistantship with Integrative Conservation (ICON). Co-organizer of
“Brown Bag” seminar series and co-editor of ICON research briefs.

Oct 2016 – June 2019: Research consultant, Center for Wildlife Studies (CWS). Research involved
quantifying the hydrological alteration of rivers in the Western Ghats, India as part of SNAPP – Science
for Nature and People Partnership.

Jan 2014 - June 2014: Research associate in a CEPF funded project titled “Socio- ecological impacts of
Small Hydropower Projects in the Western Ghats, India”. Research involved assessing water chemistry
and habitat quality, sampling freshwater fish, conducting semi-structured interviews and project
management.

Dec 2008 – Jan 2014: Senior embedded firmware engineer in Industrial automation, Power and Energy
sector in Larsen & Toubro Pvt. Ltd. and Schneider Electric – India Pvt. Ltd.
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PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
Stowe, E.S., Petersen, K.N., Rao, S., Walther, E.J., Freeman, M.C. and Wenger, S.J. (2023), Stream
restoration produces transitory, not permanent, changes to fish assemblages at compensatory mitigation
sites. Restoration Ecology. Accepted Author Manuscript e13903. https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.13903

Rao, S., Krishnaswamy, J., & Bhalla, R. S. (2022). Linking flow alteration with fish assemblage structure
in a river regulated by a small hydropower project in the Western Ghats of Karnataka, India. River
Research and Applications, 38(1), 138–151. https://doi.org/10.1002/rra.3882

Jumani, S., Rao, S., Kelkar, N., Machado, S., Krishnaswamy, J., & Vaidyanathan, S. (2018). Fish
community responses to stream flow alterations and habitat modifications by small hydropower projects
in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, India. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, 1–
15. https://doi.org/10.1002/aqc.2904

Jumani, S., Rao, S., Machado, S., & Prakash, A. (2017). Big concerns with small projects: Evaluating the
socio-ecological impacts of small hydropower projects in India. Ambio, 46(4), 500– 511.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0855-9
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TECHNICAL REPORTS
Leigh, B. D. S., Rao, S., & Wenger, S. J. (2023). Lower Chattooga River Before Tugaloo Dam, University
of Georgia River Basin Center Scientific Investigations Report 2022-DSL-01, Report to American Rivers.
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FELLOWSHIPS & GRANTS

May 2023: RBC Spencer grant ($1,684) for conducting PhD dissertation-related field work.
April 2023: Odum School of Ecology large grant ($4,710) for conducting PhD dissertation-related field
work.
Jan 2023 – Dec 2023: Rufford’s small grant ($5,838) for PhD dissertation “Assessing the Effects of
Hydropower Operation on Flow and Sediment Dynamics, and River-Dependent Livelihoods, in the
Tropical Estuaries of Karnataka, India.”
July 2014 - July 2016: WCS-India fellowship for Master’s course in Wildlife Biology and Conservation at
NCBS.
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TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Feb 2019: Co-designed and co-taught “Introduction to R for ecologists”, a 10-day workshop at Sikkim
University, India.

Dec 2016 - Mar 2017 & Dec 2018 – Mar 2019: Teaching assistant for Dr. Krithi Karanth for the
module “Conservation Education and Practice” as part of WCS (India) – NCBS Post- Graduate
Program in Wildlife Biology and Conservation.

Aug 2016: Resource person for freshwater fish ecology as part of the field trip of WCS (India) - NCBS
Master’s Program in Wildlife Biology and Conservation (2016-18 cohort) to Agumbe Rainforest
Research Station, Agumbe, Karnataka.

Aug 2018: Resource person for freshwater fish and amphibian ecology as part of the field trip of WCS
(India) - NCBS Master’s Program in Wildlife Biology and Conservation (2018-20 cohort) to Kadumane
Tea Estates, Sakleshpura, Karnataka.
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PRESENTATION & TALKS

Oct 2022: Presented an online talk on “Flow, Ecology and People in the Riverscapes of Western Ghats”
as part of the Scientists Share series organized by Amche Mollem Campaign, Goa.

Sep 2022: Presented an online guest lecture on “Dams and hydrological connectivity” as part of Dr.
Divya Vasudev’s Conservation in Practice course at Ashoka University, Delhi.

Feb 2020: Presented a talk titled “Assessing hydrological alteration at two spatial scales in the Western
Ghats biodiversity hotspot of India with implications for environmental flows”, at the Graduate Student
Symposium in Odum School of Ecology, UGA.

Jan 2017: Presented a poster titled “Response of stream fish assemblages to Small Hydropower induced
flow alteration in the Western Ghats, Karnataka” at the NCBS Annual talks, Bengaluru.

Jan 2017: Invited speaker at the ‘National Workshop on Small Hydropower Projects - its Role, Issues
and Prospects in the Changing Energy and Environmental Landscapes’ conducted by the Energy
Management Centre, Kerala.

Sep 2017: Invited speaker at the Moving Waters Film Festival, Bengaluru, to present research on socio-
ecological impacts of Small Hydropower projects in the Western Ghats of India.
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OUTREACH & SCIENCE COMMUNICATION

The Conundrum of Sacred Mahseer - JLR Explore – Article about the confusing identity of Mahseer
fish protected in a temple fish sanctuary in the Western Ghats.

As the Wild Mango Tree Saw It - JLR Explore – Article documenting the biodiversity of tropical rivers
and forests along the Western Ghats of India, and threats they face.

Harbouring Concerns - Nature inFocus – Article about the footprint of mechanized fishery and over-
fishing in the West-coast of India.

Co-organizer of Café Oikos, a science communication initiative in Bengaluru, India which hosts public
talks by researchers in the field of ecology and conservation at informal gatherings.
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IN THE PRESS

‘People are also part of this ecosystem’: Rao studies impact of hydropower on human, ecological systems
- The River Basin Center (uga.edu) – Article about my PhD dissertation-related field work in the
estuaries of Uttara Kannada, India

A Voice For Our Rivers - Nature inFocus – Interview focusing on my research on tropical rivers,
freshwater fishes and small hydropower projects in the Western Ghats of India.

GigaWhat: Clean-washing by dams - Mongabay – A podcast discussion on renewable energy focusing on

the ecological impacts, accountability issues and sustainable planning of small hydropower projects in
India.
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Last updated on 9th Feb 2024