Rajeev Raghavan

Rajeev Raghavan is an aquatic conservation biologist known for his work on the freshwater fishes of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot. He is currently an Assistant Professor at the Department of Fisheries Resource Management, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi, India and the South Asia Coordinator of the IUCN’s Freshwater Fish Specialist Group.[1][2]

Dr.

Rajeev Raghavan
Born(1979-07-00)July 1979
Kerala State, Kochi, India
NationalityIndian
OccupationAssistant Professor, Conservation Biologist
Known forFreshwater Fish Conservation
Board member ofMahseer Trust
Academic background
Alma materSt. Albert's College,
University of Madras,
Wuhan Institute of Hydrobiology,
University of Kent
Academic work
DisciplineConservation Biology
Sub-disciplineFreshwater Fish Conservation, Fish Taxonomy, Inland Fisheries
InstitutionsKerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies
Websitehttp://www.fishlab.in

Education and Career

After completing undergraduate and graduate degrees in Aquaculture and a PhD in Fish Ecology, Rajeev received postdoctoral training and worked in various Universities and institutions in Asia and Europe. Prior to his current appointment with the Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies (KUFOS), Kochi, India, Rajeev also worked as a Lecturer at St. Albert's College, Kochi, India (where he set up the Conservation Research Group, a multidisciplinary network of conservation biologist working on various aspects of the biodiversity of the Western Ghats) and also held affiliate positions at the Zoo Outreach Organisation (ZOO), Coimbatore, India.[3]

Research

Since 2003, Rajeev has been involved in interdisciplinary research that generates information to support conservation decision making in tropical aquatic ecosystems particularly in the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot. His work cuts across multiple disciplines from taxonomy[4][5] to evolutionary biogeography,[6] fisheries management and conservation policies, and range from local to global scales.[7][8]

His research has resulted in the discovery and description of twelve new species, three new genera and a unique new family of freshwater fish and shrimp from the rivers of the Western Ghats; contributed to the assessment of the extinction risk of over 100 species of South Asian freshwater fishes for the IUCN Red List, and helped generate the first information on the biology and population status of several endemic fish species of the Western Ghats. As of May 2019, Rajeev has published over 140 peer-reviewed papers (with >1300 citations)[9] in some of the world’s top journals in fisheries and conservation science including Fish and Fisheries,[10] Biological Conservation,[11][12] Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems;[13][14][15][16] Marine Policy[17] and Ambio.[18][19]

Work with IUCN

Rajeev is closely involved with the work of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) holding multiple responsibilities in its various groups. He is currently the South Asia Coordinator of the Freshwater Fish Specialist Group (FFSG); Freshwater Fish Red List Authority Coordinator for the regions of Southern, Northern and Eastern Asia and Oceania; and the Steering Committee member of the Freshwater Fish Specialist Group (FFSG). In addition he is also a member of the Species Survival Commission/World Commission on Protected Areas (SSC/WCPA) Joint Task Force on Biodiversity and Protected Areas; the WCPA Freshwater Specialist Group and the IUCN Conservation Planning Specialist Group.[20][21]

Work with International Organizations

Rajeev’s expertise has been used by various international organizations including the World Bank and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)[22] while he currently works in honorary capacity as the Head of Science and Knowledge (India) for the Mahseer Trust,[23][24] an international conservation NGO based in the UK.

References
  1. "IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group". Retrieved 18 Aug 2017.
  2. "Professors to study freshwater conservation - Eastern Mirror". Retrieved 26 Aug 2017.
  3. "Journal of Threatened Taxa - www.threatenedtaxa.org - 26 April 2016 - 8(4): 8659–8665". Retrieved 26 Aug 2017.
  4. "A team of scientists have discovered a new species of freshwater fish in the Western Ghats which they have named Badis britzi - Bangalore Mirror". Retrieved 26 Aug 2017.
  5. "A new fish genus named after the Western Ghats - Bangalore Mirror". Retrieved 26 Aug 2017.
  6. Benziger, Allen (2011). "Unraveling a 146 Years Old Taxonomic Puzzle: Validation of Malabar Snakehead, Species-Status and Its Relevance for Channid Systematics and Evolution". PLoS ONE. 6 (6): e21272. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0021272. PMC 3123301. PMID 21731689.
  7. "Threatened freshwater fish fall through net of mismanaged aquarium pet trade-IUCN". 2013-07-26. Retrieved 18 Aug 2017.
  8. "Journal of Threatened Taxa". Retrieved 26 Aug 2017.
  9. "Google Scholar Citations". Retrieved 18 Aug 2017.
  10. Cooke, Steven J (2016). "Angling for endangered fish: conservation problem or conservation action?". Fish and Fisheries. 17: 249–265. doi:10.1111/faf.12076.
  11. Raghavan, Rajeev (August 2013). "Uncovering an obscure trade: Threatened freshwater fishes and the aquarium pet markets". Biological Conservation. 164: 158–169. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2013.04.019.
  12. Turak, Eren (2017). "Essential Biodiversity Variables for measuring change in global freshwater biodiversity". Biological Conservation. 213: 272–279. doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.09.005.
  13. Raghavan, Rajeev (2009). "Damsel in distress;- The tale of Miss Kerala, Puntius denisonii (Day), an endemic and endangered cyprinid of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot (South India)". Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 19: 67–74. doi:10.1002/aqc.963.
  14. Pinder, Adrian C. (2015). "Eff icacy of angler catch data as a population and conservation monitoring tool for the f lagship Mahseer f ishes (Tor spp.) of Southern India" (PDF). Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 25 (6): 829–838. doi:10.1002/aqc.2543.
  15. Raghavan, Rajeev (2015). "The conservation status of decapod crustaceans in the Western Ghats of India: an exceptional region of freshwater biodiversity - Raghavan - 2014". Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 25 (2): 259–275. doi:10.1002/aqc.2490.
  16. "Protected areas and imperilled endemic freshwater biodiversity in the Western Ghats Hotspot". Retrieved 26 Aug 2017.
  17. Prakash, Sanjeevi (March 2017). "Marine aquarium trade in India: Challenges and opportunities for conservation and policy". Marine Policy. 77: 120–129. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2016.12.020.
  18. Kanagavel, Arun (2013). "Beyond the "General Public": Implications of Audience Characteristics for Promoting Species Conservation in the Western Ghats Hotspot, India". AMBIO. 43 (2): 138–148. doi:10.1007/s13280-013-0434-2. PMC 3906479. PMID 23979990.
  19. Kanagavel, Arun (2017). "Do frogs really eat cardamom? Understanding the myth of crop damage by amphibians in the Western Ghats, India". Ambio. 46 (6): 695–705. doi:10.1007/s13280-017-0908-8. PMC 5595740. PMID 28233252.
  20. "The Fishes SSC directory provides the full list and contact details for all Fishes SSC Groups". 2016-01-21. Retrieved 26 Aug 2017.
  21. "Secretariat - IUCN Freshwater Fish Specialist Group". Retrieved 26 Aug 2017.
  22. "Threatened freshwater fish fall through net of mismanaged aquarium pet trade-IUCN". 2013-07-26. Retrieved 18 Aug 2017.
  23. "Mahseer Trust". Retrieved 18 Aug 2017.
  24. "Save the mighty mahseer". The Hindu. 6 June 2015. Retrieved 18 Aug 2017.
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