Research Projects

The Tethyan seaway, a dynamic system shaped by tectonic forces, is a classic example of abiotic influence driving group evolution in deep-time. The Cenozoic Tethyan seaway, consisting of the western Indo-Pacific Ocean, Proto-Mediterranean Sea, and Paratethys Sea, connected the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The Western Indian Province (WIP) fauna, connected to the Proto-Mediterranean Sea, was affected by significant tectonic events during the late Oligocene – early Miocene epoch. These events significantly impacted the atmospheric and ocean circulation, affecting the diversity and ecology of marine biota, particularly benthic organisms. The physical stress experienced by marine benthos depends on the depositional environment of a region. Marine benthos exhibit high phenotypic plasticity responsive to environmental changes such as temperature, productivity, and salinity. Their hard carbonate skeletons also serve as a geochemical archive, with stable isotope and trace element compositions of carbonate shells being used to reconstruct past environmental changes in marine systems. This proposed project aims to use Oligo-Miocene deposits from Himachal Pradesh, Kutch, and Kerala, representing diverse depositional environments along the Tethyan seaway, to evaluate the response of marine biota to major environmental changes brought in by regional tectonics. This deep-time perspective is crucial in the context of anthropogenic environmental degradation and biodiversity crisis, as it helps develop a baseline and predict long-term patterns.