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College of Liberal Arts & Sciences School of Integrative Biology

Kevin Paul Johnson

Principal Ornithologist

Research Interests

Host parasite systems provide an opportunity to study the interface between microevolutionary processes and macroevolutionary patterns. The goals of my current research center around recovering the coevolutionary history of birds and their ectoparasitic lice. The degree of cospeciation varies across different groups of lice. 

Education

PhD, Ecology, University of Minnesota, 1997
BS, Biology, Bethel College, St Paul MN, 1991

Additional Campus Affiliations

Principal Ornithologist, Illinois Natural History Survey
Affiliate, Entomology

Recent Publications

Cai, C., Johnson, K. P., Fu, Y., Gustafsson, D. R., Azar, D., Su, Y., Xuan, Q., Engel, M. S., & Huang, D. (2025). Cretaceous chewing-louse eggs on enantiornithine birds. National Science Review, 12(2), Article nwae479. https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwae479

Johnson, K. P., & Doña, J. (2025). Phylogenomics and biogeography of the feather lice (Phthiraptera: Ischnocera) of parrots. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 144(2), Article blae034. https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/blae034

Najer, T., Doña, J., Buček, A., Sweet, A. D., Sychra, O., & Johnson, K. P. (2025). Phylogenomics reveals the timescale of diversification in Amblycera. Systematic Entomology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/syen.12668

Oswald, J. A., Boyd, B. M., Szewczak, A. R., Lefebvre, M. J., Stucky, B. J., Guralnick, R. P., Johnson, K. P., Allen, J. M., & Steadman, D. W. (2025). Genomic data reveal that the Cuban blue-headed quail-dove (Starnoenas cyanocephala) is a biogeographic relict. Biology Letters, 21(1), Article 20240464. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2024.0464

Sweet, A. D., Doña, J., & Johnson, K. P. (2025). Biogeographic History of Pigeons and Doves Drives the Origin and Diversification of Their Parasitic Body Lice. Systematic biology, 74(2), 198-214. https://doi.org/10.1093/sysbio/syae038

View all publications on Illinois Experts

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences School of Integrative Biology

286 Morrill Hall

505 S. Goodwin Ave.

Urbana, IL 61801

217-333-3044

Email: sib@life.illinois.edu

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