Muntasir Akash

Work

Subjects:

Life Sciences, Biology

Research Keywords:

ecology, expedition, small mammalian carnivore, lesser cat, grassland bird, taxonomy, Wallacean shortfall

Collaboration interests:

My yesteryears with fish taxonomy, grassland birds, and mammalian carnivores hooked me to ecological studies; led to mend my life in field ecology. I will be glad to team up with researchers indulging in camera-trapping/analytics/taxonomy.

Biography:

I am a lecturer at the Department of Zoology, University of Dhaka, Bangladesh, with an avid interest in ecological investigations on mammalian carnivores and grassland birds. My indulgence also lies in expeditionary surveys on fishes and crustaceans. I am very much inclined to wildlife and nature since the beginning; the timeline goes back even before my formal education-schooling-started. The passion helped me to consider a research-oriented career. My undergrad years at Department of Zoology of the University of Dhaka were sound, spent mostly in parallel with expeditionary surveys, wildlife photo-walks. I completed my MS from the very department with a thesis on the bird diversity of Dhaka metropolis. However, my attachment to ecological studies has commenced in my freshman graduate years. In 2015, I ran a systematic study on grassland birds' association with altered grass patches – first of its kind in Bangladesh. The study findings revealed systematic management of grasses unpalatable to livestock; grassland specialist birds tend to prefer these in heavily grazed patches. This study was a touchdown which pushed to be present me. After this funded project was over, I had spent a year at IUCN Bangladesh as research assistant. Then, I have joined as faculty member to the department I grew up. Becoming an academician-researched has opened a myriad of opportunities in front of me. I conducted the similar study design on a different area – the sandbar-grassland mosaic of the Ganges River of northern Bangladesh. The habitat is equally important both to grassland and riverine birds. The country has yet to have any riverine area protected for birds. I hope the work, awaiting publication, will help the policy makers and highlight the siginifance of non-palatable grasses to healthy bird community. It was 2018. On the same year, I devised a camera-trapping survey at a northeastern national park of Bangladesh. My focuses was on the least-known mammalian carnivores. Because, other than tigers on the Sundarbans, there is no systematic studies on other predators or meso-predators. The study proved the existence of the Asiatic Wild Dog in the study area as well as a new sub-species of civet in Bangladesh. Being prepared for publication, the work will shed important insight into activity pattern of mammals in a protected area under constant pressure from different dimensions. My luck with the least known mammalian carnivores keeps rolling. I investigated an Indian Wolf body killed by locals in a remote southern area. The presence of wolf in Bangladesh has come in spotlight after 80 years, considered long gone from the region. It was an adventure of my lifetime. It gets featured in Mongabay.com. These two works have firmed my beliefs. These are the reasons driven to be here, at AuthorAid, for a systematic nurturing of my career. Besides, fish and crustacean, too, have an anecdotal place in my areas of interest. I have documented around 15 species as new for Bangladesh including gradual spread of a new invasive species. Collaborative works, together with my solo projects, have honed my skills To mention one of many is my work on conflict measure of Human-Elephant interaction in the borderline districts of northern Bangladesh. The work was featureed in IUCN SSC Asian Elephant Specialists Group journal Gajah. Of transferrable skills, I love my time with R statistical packages and GIS software ArcGIS. My knowledge of creative media software spreads from Microsoft essentials to Adobe (including Indesign). Wildlife photography aids in my enjoyment with nature. Several of my photos have already been exhibited and published in field guides and coffee-table books. I am glad to be a photo contributor to the Species Red List assessment program of IUCN Bangladesh. This is me – an aspiring naturalist, a lecturer in zoology and a wildlife photographer. Notable Publications: Zakir, T., Akash, M., Khan, T. & Hossain, M.A.R. (2019). Dario kajal Britz & Kullander, 2013 (Percomorpha, Badidae): the first documentation of the genus Dario Kullander & Britz, 2002 from Bangladesh. Check List 15(1): 229-233. Akash, M. & Hossain, M.A.R. (2018). A Southeast Asian species in the Ganges Delta: On spreading extent of non-native Trichopsis vittata in Bangladesh (Teleostei: Perciformes: Osphronemidae). BioInvasions Records 7(4): 447-450. Palash, A., Akash, M. & Islam, M.A. (2018). Sociological dimensions of Human-Elephant conflict with trans-boundary herds in northern Bangladesh. Gajah 48: 12-19. Akash, M., Khan, T. & Chowdhury, S.U. (2018). Association of grassland birds with Saccharum-Imperata patch in a northeastern tea estate of Bangladesh. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10(7): 11831-11843.

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