University of Rhode Island
We are the avian disease ecology group in the Department of Natural Resources Science, studying how emerging pathogens, climate change, and habitat loss compound to drive bird declines, and what can be done about it.
Who we are
Bird populations across North America are in steep decline. Disease is one of the most consistently overlooked drivers of that loss, and one of the hardest to see.
The Harvey Lab works at the intersection of disease ecology, evolutionary biology, and conservation science. We study how wild birds respond to emerging and co-evolved pathogens (from highly pathogenic avian influenza to avian malaria parasites and vampire flies), and how those responses are shaped by the pressures birds already face: urbanization, contaminants, food stress, and a warming climate.
We combine transcriptomics, immunology, phylogenetics, and field sampling with decision-analytical tools, so that what we learn about host immunity and transmission can actually be used by the agencies and managers making conservation decisions. Much of our work centers on waterfowl and waterbirds, the hosts sitting at the center of avian influenza dynamics in North America.
Research
H5N1 arrived in North America in 2021 and has since been detected in roughly 10,000 wild bird occurrences across 255 species. We study how host range, demography, and seasonal behavior drive its spread, and which species act as bridges between populations and continents.
Read moreWhen a novel pathogen reaches a wild population, some birds have no innate defense and die; others develop tolerance or resistance. We use transcriptomics and immunological assays to map the pathways behind those outcomes in natural infections.
Read moreDisease rarely acts alone. We examine how urbanization, contaminants, food stress, and climate-driven range shifts in vectors and parasites compound to change infection risk and population outcomes.
Read moreWorking with wildlife managers, decision scientists, and agency partners, we use structured decision making and modeling to turn disease data into defensible management options for species of conservation concern.
Read moreCurrent focus
The current wave of highly pathogenic avian influenza represents a conservation crisis for wild birds, particularly the waterbirds and raptors bearing the brunt of the mortality.
Descendants of the Gs/GD H5 lineage have become increasingly adapted to wild hosts. Our recent Wildlife Monographs synthesis with collaborators at the University of Maryland and USGS assembles what is known about host–virus interactions in wild birds, identifies where the data gaps are, and shows how seasonal patterns, migration, and species interactions shape transmission across landscapes.
Peaks in viral activity coincide with windows of immunological naivety, as young birds with partially developed immune systems enter the population just before pre-migration staging. Species such as mallards, trumpeter swans, Canada geese, and several gulls emerge as key movers; gulls in particular are implicated in the transoceanic spread that brought H5N1 to North America.
How we work
Wildlife disease questions rarely sit inside one discipline, so the lab moves between the bench, the field, the computer, and the decision-making table.
Characterizing host immune pathways during natural infection.
Blood, tissue, and parasite sampling across wild bird populations and flyways.
Tracing pathogen diversity, lineage history, and host associations.
Structured decision making and quantitative models built for management use.
Lab news
Johanna joined the Department of Natural Resources Science in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences as Assistant Professor of Wildlife Disease Ecology. The lab is actively recruiting graduate students and undergraduates.
We are recruiting graduate students, undergraduate researchers, and collaborators who care about wild birds and want their science to be used. Curiosity and persistence matter more than a perfect CV.
