Gaurav Agavekar

I have broad interests in ecology and evolution that developed from a fascination for the natural history and photography of butterflies in the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot in India, where I grew up. I am currently stationed in Okinawa, a beautiful subtropical island in southern Japan, where I am pursuing a Ph.D. at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST). For my doctoral work, I am trying to establish Strumigenys ants as a “model clade” to study the molecular mechanisms underlying the convergent evolution of ultrafast trap-jaw mandibles in these ants. Outside of work, I enjoy baking, running, cycling, reading non-fiction, and exploring onsens in Japan.

Please visit my website to learn more about my work, and feel free to email me if you have any questions or suggestions for this blog.