I am an interdisciplinary molecular and chemical biologist with experience of applying high-throughput chemical characterization methods to wild amphibian systems. In particular, I am interested in the roles of amphibian skin-secreted molecules in predator defense and disease resistance. I am currently using mass spectrometry-based peptidomics to investigate the role of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) in shaping the microbiome of amphibian skin. This work has broad applications across fundamental microbiome research, chemical ecology, conservation, and drug discovery.
Publications
Naveen, R.S., Tapley, B., Chandramouli, S.R., Jervis, P.A., Babu, S., Meetei, A.B., Karunakaran, P.V. (2023). A new species of Bufoides Pillai and Yazdani 1973 (Amphibia: Bufonidae) from Mizoram (India) and the delimitation of the distribution range of Bufoides meghalayanus (Yazdani & Chanda 1971) to the Khasi hills, Meghalaya (India). Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity, 24, 4617-4627.
Jervis, P.A., Pintanel, P., Hopkins, K., Wierzbicki, C., Shelton, J.M., Skelly, E. et al. (2021). Post‐epizootic microbiome associations across communities of neotropical amphibians. Molecular Ecology, 30, 1322-1335.
Pintanel, P., Tejedo, M., Salinas-Ivanenko, S., Jervis, P.A. & Merino-Viteri, A. (2021). Predators like it hot: Thermal mismatch in a predator-prey system across an elevational tropical gradient. Journal of Animal Ecology.
Canessa, S., Spitzen‐van der Sluijs, A., Stark, T., Allen, B.E., Bishop, P.J., Bletz, M...Jervis, P.A. et al. (2020). Conservation decisions under pressure: Lessons from an exercise in rapid response to wildlife disease. Conservation Science and Practice, 2, e141.
Ghosh, P.N., Brookes, L.M., Edwards, H.M., Fisher, M.C., Jervis, P.A., Kappel, D. et al. (2020). Cross-disciplinary genomics approaches to studying emerging fungal infections. Life, 10, 315.
Streicher, J.W., Kamei, R.G., Nidup, T., Jervis, P.A., Fisher, M.C. (2020). Preliminary survey reveals no evidence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in the Kingdom of Bhutan. Herpetological review, 51, 494–497.
Jervis, P.A., Karlsdόttir, B., Jehle, R., Almeida-Reinoso, D., Almeida-Reinoso, F., Ron, S. et al. (2020). Disease reservoirs threaten the recently rediscovered Podocarpus Stubfoot Toad (Atelopus podocarpus). Amphibian & Reptile Conservation, 14, 157-164.
Tapley, B., Jervis, P.A., Nguyen, L., Portway, C., Nguyen, C., Luong, H. et al. (2020). Low prevalence of Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis detected in amphibians from Vietnam’s highest mountains. Herpetological review, 51(4), 726–732
Education
2022 PhD in Chemical Ecology, Imperial College London
2017 MRes in Tropical Forest Ecology, Imperial College London
2016 MChem Chemistry for Drug Discovery with Industrial Placement, University of Bath