Shrushti Modi, Ph.D.
Scientist-C
Email: shrushti [at] wii [dot] gov [dot] in, shrushti30 [at] gmail [dot] com

I am a molecular ecologist deeply interested in understanding the changing dynamics of species interactions in the face of habitat fragmentation and climate change. For my Ph.D., I investigated the impact of habitat fragmentation on the genetic connectivity of large carnivores (tiger, leopard and Asiatic wild dog) in Maharashtra, India. Using a combination of population genetics and landscape modelling, I developed species-specific connectivity models to inform conservation planning. My interdisciplinary research interests incorporate population genetics, landscape ecology, community ecology and bioinformatics. Over the years, I have contributed to diverse projects, including Asiatic wild dog genomics, health assessment of captive leopards, wolf phylogenomics, and ant diversity across different habitat types. My recent project investigated the impact of the North American fur trade on furbearer species, a multi-dimensional study involving modern and ancient genomic data, museum specimens, and anthropological insights into indigenous communities engaged in the trade. 

I joined the Wildlife Institute of India in 2025, and my current interests lie in assessing how climate change and landscape transformations in the Anthropocene reshape species interactions at the community level and understanding the population dynamics and dispersal pattern of the Asiatic wild dog in their distribution range. I am particularly interested in integrating modern genetic tools with classical ecological methods to develop comprehensive conservation strategies for threatened species.

Specialisation: Population Genetics, Landscape Connectivity, Bioinformatics

Publications:
Gomes, L., Modi, S., Nigam, P., Habib, B. (2024). The bear truth: Analysing genetic variability and population structure in Sloth Bear across the Vidarbha Landscape using microsatellite markers. Diversity, 16(2), 74.

Modi, S., Mondol, S., Ghaskadbi, P., Nigam, P., Habib, B. (2022). Genetic evidence of differential dispersal pattern in the Asiatic wild dog: Comparing two populations with different pack sizes. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10, 993851.

Ghaskadbi, P., Bathla, N., Bhandari, A., Modi, S., Nigam, P., Habib, B. (2022). Feeding ecology of the endangered Asiatic wild dogs (Cuon alpinus) across tropical forests of the Central Indian Landscape. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 14029.

Alcantara, M.J.M., Modi, S., Ling, T.C., Monkai, J., He, X.U., Huang, S., Nakamura, A. (2022). Impacts of rubber plantations on community assembly of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a case study from monsoonal tropics of Xishuangbanna, southwest China. North-Western Journal of Zoology, 18(1).

Modi, S., Mondol, S., Nigam, P., Habib, B. (2021). Genetic analyses reveal demographic decline and population differentiation in an endangered social carnivore, Asiatic wild dog. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 16371.

Hennelly, L.M., Habib, B., Modi, S., Rueness, E.K., Gaubert, P., Sacks, B.N. (2021). Ancient divergence of Indian and Tibetan wolves revealed by recombination‐aware phylogenomics. Molecular Ecology, 30(24), 6687–6700.

Modi, S., Habib, B., Ghaskadbi, P., Nigam, P., Mondol, S. (2019). Standardisation and validation of a panel of cross-species microsatellites to individually identify the Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus). PeerJ, 7, e7453.

Alcantara, M.J.M., Modi, S., Ling, T.C., Monkai, J., Xu, H., Huang, S., Nakamura, A. (2019). Differences in geographic distribution of ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) between forests and rubber plantations: a case study in Xishuangbanna, China, and a global meta-analysis. Myrmecological News, 29.

Biswas, S., Bhatt, S., Paul, S., Modi, S., Ghosh, T., Habib, B., ... & Mondol, S. (2019). A practive faeces collection protocol for multidisciplinary research in wildlife science. Current Science, 116(11), 1878–1885.

Modi, S., Mondol, S., Ghaskadbi, P., Hussain, Z., Nigam, P., Habib, B. (2018). Non-invasive DNA-based species and sex identification of Asiatic wild dog (Cuon alpinus). Journal of Genetics, 97, 1457–1461.