Assistant Professor

Dr Shoji D Thottathil 

Department of Environmental Science and Engineering

Interests

  1. Carbon biogeochemistry of aquatic systems
  2. Carbonic greenhouse gas (CH4 and CO2) emissions from freshwater environment
  3. Dissolved organic matter and microbial dynamics in aquatic networks

Faculty Details

Education

2002

Kannur University
India
Bachelors

2007

Annamalai University
India
Masters

2012

Kyoto University
Japan
Masters

2018

University of Quebec at Montreal
Canada
Ph.D.

Experience

  • 2012-2013, Researcher | Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
  • 2008-2009, Junior Research Fellow | Goa University, Goa, India
  • 2005-2008, Project Assistant | National Institute of Oceanography, Kochi, Kerala, India

Research Interest

https://srmap.edu.in/seas/environmental-science-research-areas/

  • Methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from inland water networks – streams, rivers, reservoirs, lakes, and estuaries
  • Regulation of CH4 production and oxidation in aquatic systems
  • Dissolved organic matter dynamics and bacterial metabolism along the streams – rivers - estuarine continuum
  • Fate of terrestrial carbon in aquatic systems

Awards & Fellowships

  • 2014, Merit Scholarship for Foreign Students, Fonds de Research du Quebec – Nature and Technologies, Quebec, Canada Government
  • 2013, Scholarship of Excellence in Faculty of Science, University of Quebec at Montreal, Canada
  • 2010, Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho Mext) Scholarship, Japanese Government

Editorial Roles

Memberships

  • Association for the Science of Limnology and Oceanography
  • International Society of Limnology

Publications

  • Latika Patel, Rashmi Singh, Sarath C. Gowd, Shoji D. Thottathil (2024). Environmental determinants of aerobic methane oxidation in a tropical river network. Water Research, 265, 122257, https://doi.org/10.1016 j.watres.2024.122257.
  • Patel, L., Singh, R., & Thottathil, S. D. (2024). Contribution of Photosynthesis-Driven Oxic Methane Production to the Methane Cycling of a Tropical River Network. ACS ES&T Water. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsestwater.3c00812
  • Patel, L., Singh, R., Thottathil, S.D. (2023). Land use drivers of riverine methane dynamics in a tropical river basin, India. Water Research, 228: 119380. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.119380
  • Thottathil, S.D., Reis, PCJ., Prairie, Y.T. (2022). Variability and controls of stable carbon isotopic fractionation during aerobic methane oxidation in temperate lakes. Frontiers in Environmental Science,10:833688. https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.833688
  • Thottathil, S.D., Reis, PCJ., Prairie, Y.T. (2022). Magnitude and drivers of oxic methane production in small temperate lakes. Environmental Science & Technology, 56 (15), 11041–11050. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c01730
  • Reis, P. C.J, Thottathil, S. D., & Prairie, Y. T. (2022). The role of methanotrophy in the microbial carbon metabolism of temperate lakes. Nature Communications, 13:43. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27718-2
  • Thottathil, S. D., & Prairie, Y. T. (2021). Coupling of stable carbon isotopic signature of methane and ebullitive fluxes in northern temperate lakes. Science of The Total Environment, 777, 146117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.146117
  • Reis, P. C., Thottathil, S. D., Ruiz‐González, C., & Prairie, Y. T. (2020). Niche separation within aerobic methanotrophic bacteria across lakes and its link to methane oxidation rates. Environmental Microbiology, 22(2), 738-751. https://doi.org/10.1111/1462-2920.14877
  • Thottathil, S. D., Reis, P. C., & Prairie, Y. T. (2019). Methane oxidation kinetics in northern freshwater lakes. Biogeochemistry, 143(1), 105-116. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10533-019-00552-x
  • Thottathil, S. D., Reis, P. C., del Giorgio, P. A., & Prairie, Y. T. (2018). The extent and regulation of summer methane oxidation in northern lakes. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences, 123(10), 3216-3230. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JG004464
  • Thottathil, S.D., K. Hayakawa, Y. Hodoki, C. Yoshimizu, Y. Kobayashi, S. Nakano (2013). Biogeochemical control on fluorescent dissolved organic matter dynamics in a large freshwater lake (Lake Biwa, Japan). Limnology and Oceanography 58: 2262-2278. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.2013.58.6.2262
  • Nishino H., Hodoki Y., Thottathil, S.D., Obayashi K., Takao Y., Nakano S (2015). Identification of species and genotypic composition of Cryptomonas (Cryptohyceae) populations in the eutrophic lake Hira, Japan using single-cell PCR. Aquatic Ecology 49: 263-272. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10452-015-9520-9
  • Thottathil, S.D., Balachandaran K.K, Madhu N.V, Gupta G.V.M, Nair, S. (2008). Influence of allochthonous input on autotrophic-heterotrophic switch-over in shallow waters of a tropical ecosystem (Cochin Estuary), India. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Science 78: 551-562. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2008.01.018
  • Thottathil, S.D., Balachandran, K.K., Jayalakshmi, K.V., Gupta, G.V.M., Nair, S. (2008). Tidal switch on metabolic activity: Salinity induced responses on bacterioplankton metabolic capabilities in a tropical estuary. Estuarine Coastal and Shelf Sciences 78: 665-673. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecss.2008.02.002
  • Gupta, G.V.M., Thottathil, S.D., Balachandran, K.K., Madhu, N.V., Madeswaran, P., Shanta Nair (2009). CO2 supersaturation and net heterotrophy in a tropical estuary (Cochin, India): Influence of anthropogenic effect. Ecosystems 12: 1145-1157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-009-9280-2
  • Madhu N.V., Balachandran, K.K., Martin, G.D., Jyothibabu, R., Thottathil, S.D., Maheswari Nair, Joseph, T., Kusum, K.K (2010). Short-term variability of water quality and its implications on phytoplankton production in a tropical estuary (Cochin Backwaters –India). Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 170: 287-300. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-1232-y
  • Ramaiah, N., Jane T. Paul, Veronica Fernandes, T. Raveendran, O. Raveendran, D. Sundar, C. Ravichandran, D. M. Shenoy, G.Mangesh, Siby Kurian, V .J. Jerson, Thottathil, S.D., N. V. Madhu, S. Sreekumar, P. A. Lokabharathi, S. R. Shetye. 2005. The September 2004 stench off the southern Malabar Coast – A consequence of holococcolithophore bloom. Current Science, 88 (4): 551-554 http://www.jstor.org/stable/24110252
  • Funded Research Projects (as Principal Investigator)
  • Project Title: Methane emissions from tropical aquatic networks: Elucidating the underpinning mechanisms and landscape-level drivers.
  • Funding Agency: Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB)- Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India
  • Total Project Layout: 30.2 Lakhs
  • Duration: 20 November 2019 – 19 May 2022

Contact Details

TOP