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2021-11-09T20:45:03Z

Early life And Family

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{{short description|Indian researcher, scholar, author}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=December 2018}}
{{Orphan|date=March 2014}}

{{Infobox person
| name = Priya Davidar
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| nationality = Indian
| other_names =
| occupation = Researcher, [[scientist]], writer
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'''Priya Davidar''' is an [[Indian people|Indian]] [[Scientific method|scientific researcher]], a conservation biologist, [[Scholarship|scholar]] and an [[author]].<ref name=":0" /><ref name="penguinbooksindia.com" /> Currently she is working as a professor at the [[Pondicherry University]] and conducts [[Ecology|ecological]] research in different regions of India.<ref name="penguinbooksindia.com">{{Cite web|title = Priya Davidar|url = http://www.penguinbooksindia.com/en/content/priya-davidar|website = Penguin Books India|accessdate = 2015-09-07}}</ref> She has authored a few books, including ''Whispers from the Wild'', co-authored with E.R.C Davidar and published by [[Penguin Books|Penguin India]] books.<ref name="penguinbooksindia.com" /><ref name="Dr Priya Davidar biography">{{cite web|title=Dr Priya Davidar biography|url=http://www.pondiuni.edu.in/profile/dr-praviar-davidar|publisher=Pondicherry University|access-date=15 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924075559/http://www.pondiuni.edu.in/profile/dr-praviar-davidar|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> She was elected Fellow of the [[American Association for the Advancement of Science]] in 2012.<ref name="ECOS DPD">{{cite web|title=Dr. Priya Davidar|url=http://www.pondiuni.edu.in/profile/dr-praviar-davidar|publisher=ECOS|accessdate=15 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924075559/http://www.pondiuni.edu.in/profile/dr-praviar-davidar|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> She is actively involved with the [[Forest|conservation of forests]] and [[Wildlife conservation|wildlife]].<ref name="penguinbooksindia.com"/> She has published about 100 papers in scientific journals.{{citation needed|date=February 2019}}

==Early life and family==
Dr. Priya Davidar grew up in Ooty, Tamil Nadu, which is known of its rich variety of fauna and flora. She witnessed the loss of wildlife and nature as she grew up, which motivated her to get into the field of conservation. She said, In a competition for space, other species are rapidly losing out to humans."<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciencemag.org/careers/2014/01/surveyor-jungles|title=A Surveyor of Jungles|last=VenkatramanJan. 14|first=Vijaysree|last2=2014|date=2014-01-10|website=Science {{!}} AAAS|language=en|access-date=2019-02-16|last3=Pm|first3=12:00}}</ref>

Davidar's father is a [[Conservation movement|conservationist]] E.R.C. Davidar and brother Mark Davidar is one of the founders of the Sigur Nature Trust (SNT), in Masinagudi, [[Tamil Nadu|Tamil Nadu, India]] which is a 30-acre [[Nature reserve|wildlife reserve]].<ref>{{Cite web|title = Elephants Never Forget: The Touching Legacy of Tamil Nadu Conservationist Mark Davidar|url = http://scribol.com/environment/elephants-never-forget-the-touching-legacy-of-tamil-nadu-conservationist-mark-davidar|website = scribol.com|accessdate = 2015-09-07}}</ref>

She married Jean-Philippe Puyravaud who is a research scientist trained in remote sensing. They have collaborated on many research papers.<ref name=":4"/>

== Education ==
She completed her B.Sc. in 1973 from [[University of Madras|Madras University]] and then moved on to get an M.Sc. in 1975 from the same university. In 1979 she was awarded a Ph.D. from [[University of Mumbai|Bombay University]] and later moved on to acquire a S.M. from [[Harvard University]] in 1985.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Dr Priya Davidar biography|url = http://www.pondiuni.edu.in/profile/dr-praviar-davidar|website = Pondicherry University|accessdate = 2015-09-07|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150924075559/http://www.pondiuni.edu.in/profile/dr-praviar-davidar|archive-date = 24 September 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref>

For her doctoral thesis, she worked on pollination of the hemi-parasitic mistletoes by nectar feeding birds, under the guidance of the naturalist, [[Salim Ali]], who is known as the "bird man of India".<ref name=":4"/>

== Work ==
As a conservation biologist, her work mostly revolved around forest ecology, pollination biology and endangered species conservation.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Priya_Davidar|title=Priya Davidar {{!}} Ph. D. {{!}} Pondicherry University, Puducherry {{!}} Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences|website=ResearchGate|language=en|access-date=2019-02-16}}</ref>

She worked for close to three decades in [[Pondicherry University]] at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences until she retired.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4"/> Currently, she is working on a research project where she is “analysing tree distributions at the bio-geographical scale, and the conservation genetics of endangered species such as the Asian elephant and Nilgiri Tahr”<ref name=":0" />

She is one of the few women who were field biologists in the 1970s.<ref name=":4"/> Though scientists who have only carried out research inside of their laboratories do not adjust well to fieldwork, Allison Snow, who was a fellow postdoc in Panama remarked, "Priya was … unfazed by all the practical difficulties."<ref name=":4" />

== Challenges ==
Dr. Davidar has been vocal about the inherent gender bias found in the field of Ecology. When asked about how she was treated by her male colleagues, she said, ""They suggested that I get married and stay in the kitchen. I used to take it quite personally and suffered a lot. Now, I realize this only creates needless stress for oneself."<ref name=":4" /> She also acknowledges that caste can be another barrier in the field which is mostly dominated by people who belong to the upper caste. She said that though there are no proper statistics, "caste-based nepotism is very much a part of academic recruitment procedure".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.womensweb.in/2018/06/dr-priya-davidar-life-as-a-woman-ecologist-in-india/|title=Dr. Priya Davidar: Life As A Woman Ecologist In India|date=2018-06-18|website=Women's Web: For Women Who Do|language=en|access-date=2019-02-16}}</ref> She also added, "My advice to researchers from disadvantaged backgrounds unwelcome in upper-caste networks is to find collaborators who are supportive to buffer the harshness. Being persistent and carrying on despite difficulties is important. What I found is, time is an important ally that leads to eventual success."<ref name=":4" />

According to her, field work can sometimes be challenging to women researchers due to "large gangs of mostly young men from cities, prowling around in the jungles drinking and looking for trouble. Anonymity probably gives them cover for harassment of women." In such cases, however, it is the locals who help them as they tend to feel protective of the women researchers.<ref name=":4" />

== Honours/Awards ==
In 2009, she was the President of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation<ref>http://www.tropicalbio.org/ {{full citation needed|date=December 2018}}</ref>

In 2012, she was elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

== Bibliography ==
* ''Whispers from the Wild''
* ''Giant Hearts: Travels in the world of Elephants''

== References ==
{{reflist}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Davidar, Priya}}
[[Category:Articles created or expanded during Women's History Month (India) - 2014]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Indian women science writers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women scientists]]
[[Category:Scientists from Puducherry]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian biologists]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Writers from Puducherry]]
[[Category:Indian ecologists]]
[[Category:Women ecologists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women writers]]
[[Category:Indian non-fiction environmental writers]]
[[Category:Women writers from Puducherry]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:Pondicherry University faculty]]
[[Category:University of Madras alumni]]
[[Category:University of Mumbai alumni]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Priya Davidar - Revision history

->BostonMensa: /* Early life And Family */