Dr Elrika D'Souza is the Programme Manager of Oceans and Coasts at the Nature Conservation Foundation. Her research interests lie in exploring plant-animal interactions in seagrass ecosystems. Elrika has documented historical declines in dugong populations in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago, and has worked towards identifying the reasons that led to that very decline. Presently, her research in the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago focusses on understanding the biotic and abiotic processes that  shape seagrass ecosystems and dugong behaviour.