Centre for Ecological Sciences · IISc Bengaluru
Theoretical Ecology and Evolution Laboratory
Towards predictive biology—from individuals to flocks to ecosystems.
We combine mathematical and computational theory with empirical work to understand movement, collective behaviour, ecological patterns, and abrupt transitions.
Our scale of inquiry
Movement & decisions
Schools, swarms & flocks
Patterns & tipping points
Instability & prediction
Research
Four connected programmes link collective, ecosystem, stochastic, and evolutionary dynamics.
COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR
Collective Behaviour
How local interactions generate coordinated schools, swarms, and flocks.
ECOSYSTEM DYNAMICS
Ecosystem Dynamics
How ecological interactions generate patterns, alternative states, and resilience.
STOCHASTIC DYNAMICS
Stochastic Dynamics
How random fluctuations reshape ecological, evolutionary, and collective dynamics.
EVOLUTIONARY DYNAMICS
Evolutionary Dynamics
How cooperation, movement, and population structure influence evolutionary outcomes.
Questions that guide us
01
What causes self-organized patterns such as synchronized fish schools, bird flocks, and ordered vegetation?
02
Can we anticipate abrupt ecological changes—from a clear lake turning turbid to a population collapsing?
03
How can collective behaviours evolve when natural selection often rewards individual advantage?
Lab news
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Avaneesh Narla from the Claremont McKenna College, USA visits our lab
Avaneesh Narla from the Claremont McKenna College, USA visited our lab in the month of July 2026 and gave a captivating talk on swarms…
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Vivek Jadhav defends his PhD thesis!
We are thrilled that Vivek Jadhav is the newly minted Dr from our lab! Congratulations Dr Vivek Jadhav! Vivek defended his thesis titled “Collective…
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Jahanvi Tiwari presents her work at ISBE 2026, Italy Turin
PhD student Jahanvi Tiwari presented her ongoing PhD thesis work on mixed-species schooling at the International Society for Behavioural Ecology (ISBE) Congress 2026, held…
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Theoretical Ecology and Evolution Laboratory
Centre for Ecological Sciences · Indian Institute of Science · Bengaluru, India
Header imagery is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–ShareAlike 4.0. Disclaimer: views expressed here are personal opinions of Vishwesha Guttal and do not reflect those of IISc.
Theoretical Ecology and Evolution Laboratory 
