Mani Shrestha

I, Mani Shrestha, received PhD, October 2013 from Biological Sciences, Monash University Australia.

I specialized plant-pollination ecology and floral colour diversity based on pollinating vectors. I also trained for ESEM/SEM microscopy and urban Ecology to understand the floral temperature role and pollinators interactions in new changing envrioment. I have collaborated for several years with the Melbourne- based pollination group that includes Martin Burd, Adrian G Dyer, Jair E Garcia and Alan Dorin. I acted as principal data collector and analyst on many of the research outputs (Two different Australian Research Council: ARC, funded project) from this group.

I have also collaborated at the Chinese Academic Sciences China, National Taiwan University, Taiwan, in Brazil, S. Africa, Spain, The Netherlands, USA, Argentina, and with other researchers across the globe. I have a background in botany, understanding of plant phylogeny and phylogenetic comparative analyses, knowledge of colour analysis and spatial models of bee, fly, and bird colour vision, and experience in management of very large data sets.

Since completion of PhD, I have authored or co-authored ca 50 papers in peer-reviewed journals, 16 of which address floral colour and signalling, including articles in leading journals such as New Phytologist, Journal of Ecology, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Evolution, Ecology, Frontiers of plant sciences, and Journal of Comparative Physiology. My other work addresses plant-pollinator coevolution (including papers in Evolution and New Phytologist), and orchid biology. I have recently worked as Guest Associate Editors in Frontiers in Plant Sciences and am now Associated Editor of Frontiers Functional Plant Ecology.

Since I am at the University of Bayreuth, I took on several lead roles at meetings, training masters and PhD students and assisting my current host for teaching several courses in my area of expertise.