Sarmistha Ojha

I am primarily a student of Anthropology and my research interests lie in primatology where I am interested in studying the social behavior, feeding ecology, and communication systems of nonhuman primates. Currently, I am pursuing Ph.D. in Zoology at Jain (Deemed-to-be) University, Bangalore under the guidance of Dr. Chetan Nag K.S where I am studying the behavioral ecology of Nilgiri langurs (Semnopithecus johnii) in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.

Research Interests:

Evolutionary anthropology, social anthropology, cognitive psychology, and primate behavioural ecology

Education:

B.Sc. Honors (Anthropology, 2016) - Vivekananda College for Women, University of Calcutta, Kolkata
M.Sc. (Biological Anthropology, 2018) - Ballygunge Science College, University of Calcutta in Kolkata
Ph.D.(Zoology, January 2021 Batch)- Jain (Deemed to be University) Bengaluru, Karnataka

Awards/Honors:

UGC-NET - JRF (Junior Research Fellow) - December 2019

Publications

2025

Ojha, S., Chatterjee, A., Mahato, S., Nag K S C., Kumara, H N., Singh, M. 2025. Life in transit: Habitat use, behavioural profile and feeding ecology by Nilgiri langur (Semnopithecus johnii) in a fragmented evergreen habitat of the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Western Ghats, India. Current Science (Accepted).

2023

Sinha, S. K., Mahato, S., Hazari, P., Ojha, S., Jana, N., Pandya, N., ... & Bhattacharyya, S. (2023). Flies in the high for floral hike? Altitudinal variation in species diversity and composition of Diptera (Insecta) in the eastern Himalaya, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 15(11), 24241-24254.

2020

Ojha, S., Pal, B., and Maji, S., (2020). Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) behavior in captivity at the Zoological Garden, Kolkata, India: An exploratory study. Journal of Indian Anthropological Society. 55: 64-86.

Conference Paper

2024

Ojha, S., Nag, K.S.C and Kumara, H.N. (2024). An insight into the daily life of a leaf-eating monkey: Time-Activity budget and space usage of Nilgiri langur (Semnopithecus johnii) in Anamalai Tiger Reserve. In AIP 2nd Conference, University of Mysore, Karnataka, India. 9-11th February 2024.

2021

Ojha, S., Nag, K.S.C and Kumara, H.N. (2021). Can we be heard and seen? A comprehensive review of acoustic communication of Nilgiri langurs (Semnopithecus johnii) and their implications to conservation biology. In 44 th National Conference on Animal Behaviour (Virtual), Bengaluru, Karnataka, India. 23-24 th December, 2021.