Publications
(My favourite papers have a short description after the reference)
(2017) Natasha Mhatre, Robert Malkin, Rittk Deb, Rohini Balakrishnan, and Daniel Robert.
Tree crickets optimize the acoustics of the acoustics of baffles to exaggerate their mate attraction signals
eLife. 6.e32763: DOI: 10.7554/eLife.32763
(Tree crickets make a singing 'aid' called a baffle (image on the left) which helps them be louder than they would be on their own. This paper hows that they can make an optimal baffle in just a single attempt, without any progressive improvement. They probably do this by following a few simple rules of thumb, i.e. by using a heuristic. The important realisation is that seemingly 'stereotyped' behaviours may be supported by a wealth of invisible but sophisticated decision-making.)
(2016) Natasha Mhatre, Gerald Pollack, and Andrew Mason.
Stay tuned: active amplification tunes tree cricket ears to track temperature-dependent song frequency.
Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0016, 12(4), 20160016.
(In this paper, we showed that active mechanics helps tree crickets track song frequency but does not make their hearing more sensitive than that of other crickets.)
(2015) Natasha Mhatre.
Active amplification in insect ears: mechanics, models and molecules.
Journal of Comparative Physiology A. DOI: 10.1007/s00359-014-0969-0 201(1), 19-37 (Invited review).
(2014) Robert Malkin*, Thomas R. McDonagh*, Natasha Mhatre*, Thomas S. Scott & Daniel Robert.
Energy localisation and frequency analysis in the locust ear.
Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 11(90), 20130857. *contributed equally.
(In this paper, we used high-res vibrometry with FEA to show how the geometry of the locust ear allowed it to mechanically separate sound frequencies, something the cochlea does in our ears.)
(2013) Natasha Mhatre and Daniel Robert.
A tympanal insect ear exploits a critical oscillator for active amplification and tuning.
Current Biology. 23(19), 1952-1957.
(In this paper, we showed that a tympanal insect ear has active amplification, and that it is used to create tuning to male song where mechanically there is none. These are the 'oldest' known animals to have this sensory process.)
(2013) K. Rajaraman, Natasha Mhatre, M. Jain, M. Postles, R. Balakrishnan and Daniel Robert.
Asymmetric tuning of tympanal vibration in ato the song frequency of a paleotropical pseudophylline bushcricket with an unusually low pitched song frequency.
Journal of Experimental Biology. 216, 777-787.
(2012) Natasha Mhatre, F. Montealegre-Z, R. Balakrishnan, Daniel Robert.
Changing resonator geometry to boost sound power decouples size and song frequency in a small insect.
PNAS. 109(22) E1444-E1452, [Cover: Issue 22, May 29 2012]
(This was the first time FEA was used in insect bioacoustics. It's a standard part of our tool-kit now. In this paper, we showed why tree crickets have temperature dependent song. The tree crickets have evolved wings and so resonators that are elongated in comparison with those of most crickets. This was probably so they could be louder, but it also made their wings broadly tuned, forcing a compromise on them, i.e. song with temperature dependent frequency. The figure from the summary is on the left.)
(2011) Natasha Mhatre, M. Bhattacharya, R. Balakrishnan, D. Robert.
Matching sender and receiver: poikilothermy and frequency tuning in a tree cricket.
Journal of Experimental Biology. 214, 2569-2578.
(2009) Natasha Mhatre, F. Montealegre-Z, R. Balakrishnan, D. Robert.
Mechanical response of the tympanal membranes of the tree cricket Oecanthus henryi (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Oecanthinae).
Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 195(5): 453-462
(This paper is the end product of my PhD, and its shows that the cricket sound orientation programme (behavioural, neural and biophysical) is only good enough for mate finding not mate selection.
(2008) Natasha Mhatre and R. Balakrishnan.
Predicting acoustic orientation in complex real-world environments.
Journal of Experimental Biology. 211:2779-2785.
(2007) Natasha Mhatre and R. Balakrishnan.
Phonotactic walking paths of field crickets in closed-loop conditions and their simulation using a stochastic model.
Journal of Experimental Biology. 210:3661-3676.
(2006) Natasha Mhatre and R. Balakrishnan.
Male spacing behaviour and acoustic interactions in a field cricket: implications for female mate choice.
Animal Behaviour. 72:1045-1058.
(2004) S. Namboori, Natasha Mhatre, S. Sujatha, N. Srinivasan and S. B. Pandit
Enhanced functional and structural domain assignments using remote similarity detection procedures for proteins encoded in the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.
Journal of Biosciences. 29(3): 245-59.
(2002) S. B. Pandit, D. Gosar, S. Abhiman, S. Sujatha, S. S. Dixit, Natasha S. Mhatre, R. Sowdhamini and N. Srinivasan.
SUPFAM—a database of potential protein superfamily relationships derived by comparing sequence-based and structure-based families: implications for structural genomics and function annotation in genomes.
Nucleic Acids Research. 30(1): 289-293.
(2017) Natasha Mhatre, Robert Malkin, Rittk Deb, Rohini Balakrishnan, and Daniel Robert.
Tree crickets optimize the acoustics of the acoustics of baffles to exaggerate their mate attraction signals
eLife. 6.e32763: DOI: 10.7554/eLife.32763
(Tree crickets make a singing 'aid' called a baffle (image on the left) which helps them be louder than they would be on their own. This paper hows that they can make an optimal baffle in just a single attempt, without any progressive improvement. They probably do this by following a few simple rules of thumb, i.e. by using a heuristic. The important realisation is that seemingly 'stereotyped' behaviours may be supported by a wealth of invisible but sophisticated decision-making.)
(2016) Natasha Mhatre, Gerald Pollack, and Andrew Mason.
Stay tuned: active amplification tunes tree cricket ears to track temperature-dependent song frequency.
Biology Letters. DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2016.0016, 12(4), 20160016.
(In this paper, we showed that active mechanics helps tree crickets track song frequency but does not make their hearing more sensitive than that of other crickets.)
(2015) Natasha Mhatre.
Active amplification in insect ears: mechanics, models and molecules.
Journal of Comparative Physiology A. DOI: 10.1007/s00359-014-0969-0 201(1), 19-37 (Invited review).
(2014) Robert Malkin*, Thomas R. McDonagh*, Natasha Mhatre*, Thomas S. Scott & Daniel Robert.
Energy localisation and frequency analysis in the locust ear.
Journal of the Royal Society Interface. 11(90), 20130857. *contributed equally.
(In this paper, we used high-res vibrometry with FEA to show how the geometry of the locust ear allowed it to mechanically separate sound frequencies, something the cochlea does in our ears.)
(2013) Natasha Mhatre and Daniel Robert.
A tympanal insect ear exploits a critical oscillator for active amplification and tuning.
Current Biology. 23(19), 1952-1957.
(In this paper, we showed that a tympanal insect ear has active amplification, and that it is used to create tuning to male song where mechanically there is none. These are the 'oldest' known animals to have this sensory process.)
(2013) K. Rajaraman, Natasha Mhatre, M. Jain, M. Postles, R. Balakrishnan and Daniel Robert.
Asymmetric tuning of tympanal vibration in ato the song frequency of a paleotropical pseudophylline bushcricket with an unusually low pitched song frequency.
Journal of Experimental Biology. 216, 777-787.
(2012) Natasha Mhatre, F. Montealegre-Z, R. Balakrishnan, Daniel Robert.
Changing resonator geometry to boost sound power decouples size and song frequency in a small insect.
PNAS. 109(22) E1444-E1452, [Cover: Issue 22, May 29 2012]
(This was the first time FEA was used in insect bioacoustics. It's a standard part of our tool-kit now. In this paper, we showed why tree crickets have temperature dependent song. The tree crickets have evolved wings and so resonators that are elongated in comparison with those of most crickets. This was probably so they could be louder, but it also made their wings broadly tuned, forcing a compromise on them, i.e. song with temperature dependent frequency. The figure from the summary is on the left.)
(2011) Natasha Mhatre, M. Bhattacharya, R. Balakrishnan, D. Robert.
Matching sender and receiver: poikilothermy and frequency tuning in a tree cricket.
Journal of Experimental Biology. 214, 2569-2578.
(2009) Natasha Mhatre, F. Montealegre-Z, R. Balakrishnan, D. Robert.
Mechanical response of the tympanal membranes of the tree cricket Oecanthus henryi (Orthoptera: Gryllidae: Oecanthinae).
Journal of Comparative Physiology A. 195(5): 453-462
(This paper is the end product of my PhD, and its shows that the cricket sound orientation programme (behavioural, neural and biophysical) is only good enough for mate finding not mate selection.
(2008) Natasha Mhatre and R. Balakrishnan.
Predicting acoustic orientation in complex real-world environments.
Journal of Experimental Biology. 211:2779-2785.
(2007) Natasha Mhatre and R. Balakrishnan.
Phonotactic walking paths of field crickets in closed-loop conditions and their simulation using a stochastic model.
Journal of Experimental Biology. 210:3661-3676.
(2006) Natasha Mhatre and R. Balakrishnan.
Male spacing behaviour and acoustic interactions in a field cricket: implications for female mate choice.
Animal Behaviour. 72:1045-1058.
(2004) S. Namboori, Natasha Mhatre, S. Sujatha, N. Srinivasan and S. B. Pandit
Enhanced functional and structural domain assignments using remote similarity detection procedures for proteins encoded in the genome of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv.
Journal of Biosciences. 29(3): 245-59.
(2002) S. B. Pandit, D. Gosar, S. Abhiman, S. Sujatha, S. S. Dixit, Natasha S. Mhatre, R. Sowdhamini and N. Srinivasan.
SUPFAM—a database of potential protein superfamily relationships derived by comparing sequence-based and structure-based families: implications for structural genomics and function annotation in genomes.
Nucleic Acids Research. 30(1): 289-293.