Thomas Kelly

Thomas Kelly is a Lecturer in the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences at University College Cork (UCC). His research focuses on avian epidemiology, wildlife ecology, and biodiversity in forested ecosystems. He has collaborated extensively with the Department of Applied Mathematics on modeling disease dynamics in seabird colonies and bird strike hazards to aviation.

Education: PhD (1982) on ticks and viruses in seabirds. His work includes studies on tick-borne viruses in seabird populations, behavioral ecology of crows and wading birds, and the impacts of afforestation on bird communities.

Research interests span avian influenza models, parasite-host interactions, and conservation strategies for threatened species like the Hen Harrier. He has supervised multiple MSc and PhD theses on topics ranging from gull diets to forest biodiversity indicators.

Notable contributions include identifying tick species transmitting viruses to seabirds and developing models explaining the persistence of viruses in seabird colonies. His bird strike research has been presented globally, addressing emerging threats like woodpigeon populations.

He is a member of John O’Halloran’s research group, focusing on biodiversity in Ireland’s forests. Key outputs include publications on forest management for bird diversity and the role of plantation forests in conservation efforts.