Professor Robert Poulin
Since arriving here from Canada in 1992, I have established a research programme in parasite ecology and evolution that focuses on broad questions and not on any particular taxa. Currently, our research has three main branches, reflecting my main long-term interests. First, we investigate the forces shaping the evolution of parasites, in particular the evolution of life history traits such as body size and fecundity, host specificity, the ability to manipulate host behaviour, and the complexity of the transmission pathways. Second, we are studying the role of parasites in coastal ecosystems, i.e. how they affect community diversity and productivity and food web stability, and how parasitism may interact with climate change to influence the properties of ecosystems. Third, I have long been exploring large-scale patterns of parasite biodiversity and biogeography, in the hope of better understanding the processes behind the diversification and distribution of parasites and diseases.
Dr Haseeb Randhawa (Associate Research Fellow & Ecology Senior Teaching Fellow)
I was born and raised just outside Montreal in Québec, Canada. My interest in cestodes of elasmobranchs dates back to my days as an undergraduate at Macdonald College of McGill University. I pursued this interest by undertaking an MSc at McGill’s Institute of Parasitology working on the biology and taxonomy of helminth parasites of four sympatric skate species from the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick, Canada. I later completed my PhD in the Department of Biology at the University of New Brunswick, in September of 2007, assessing host specificity and its determinants in cestodes infecting elasmobranchs from the northwest Atlantic. In addition to my teaching duties in the Otago Ecology Programme, I study the evolutionary ecology and molecular systematics of cestodes (Tetraphyllidea) infecting elasmobranchs, with emphasis on a particular subfamily (Echeneibothriinae), which infects rajid skates. Much of my work is done in collaboration with the Falkland Islands Fisheries Department (see my personal page).
Dr Isabel Blasco-Costa (Postdoctoral Research Fellow)
[at the Institute of Parasitology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic, until March 2013]
I am from Spain and parasites have fascinated me since I participated in research as an undergraduate at the University of Alicante. This experience prompted me to pursue a PhD at the University of Valencia. It was focused on the development of a modern taxonomic framework for the most diverse and abundant trematodes of mugilid fishes, the subfamilies Bunocotylinae and Haploporinae, using morphological and molecular approaches. I gained experience in molecular techniques at the Natural History Museum of London. Later, I was involved in a 2-month study aimed at developing primers for barcoding trematode species at the Institute of Parasitology of the Czech Academy of Science, followed by a return to the University of Valencia to assess the phylogenetic relationships among Ligophorus spp. in mugilids. I came to Otago as recipient of a Marie Curie Fellowship to broaden my knowledge of phylogeography and molecular ecology of parasites. In particular, I will investigate the effects of key life history variables and host and habitat characteristics on patterns of genetic structuring of parasite populations using Potamopyrgus antipodarum and its trematode parasites as a model system.
Dr Anja Studer (Postdoctoral Research Fellow)
I'm from Switzerland where I studied biology at the University of Basel. I did my Diploma thesis at the Swiss Tropical Institute on the epidemiology of a human mycobacterial disease in Cameroon. Already during my studies, I developed a strong interest in marine ecology and biology. The combination of these disciplines is what brought me to the topic of my PhD at Otago University. Its objective was to investigate potential effects of global change and parasitism on the intertidal community of Otago harbour. I focused on the trematode Maritrema novaezealandensis and its intermediate hosts as a model system. Among other things, the project examined the effects of UV radiation on the parasite, and the effects of multiple factors and their impacts on different levels - individuals, populations and a local community. My current research expands on these earlier themes and continues to explore the links between climate and parasitic disease.
Dr Clément Lagrue (Postdoctoral Research Fellow)
I am from France where I received a MSc in Ecology and Evolution in 2004 (University of Burgundy). For my Masters project, I tested the adaptiveness of behavioural changes in amphipods infected by acanthocephalans. I then came to New Zealand in 2005 to do my PhD here at Otago, looking at why parasites with complex life cycles evolve alternative life history strategies, such as life cycle truncation. From 2009 to 2012, I moved back to France where I worked as a postdoctoral fellow (1 year in Toulouse, 2 years in Dijon). During this time I diversified my interests. Firstly, I studied the consequences of altered riparian vegetation and invasive crayfish on stream ecosystem functioning. Secondly, I investigated cryptic diversity in freshwater amphipods and tested its implications for ecological processes (reproductive isolation, assortative mating, parasitism). Now back at Otago on a Marsden-funded project (2012-2015), I will apply network analysis to parasitism within food webs. Using New Zealand lakes, we will determine how an animal's position in the food chain determines its risk of acquiring parasites, how parasites use flows of energy through the web for their transmission, and how a food web's architecture might mitigate the impact of parasites. Our research seeks general patterns of parasite transmission in freshwater systems, and will use comparisons with other systems to assess the universality of these patterns.
Melanie Lloyd (PhD student)
I grew up in the northeast USA and received my bachelor's of science in environmental biology from the University of Vermont. Most of my research background is in the developmental genetics of plants, which I worked on as an undergrad at UVM. I became interested in ecological parasitology after taking a course taught by Dr. Joseph Schall. I then came to the University of Otago as a PhD student, and plan to develop methods of in vitro cultivation of trematode rediae in order to investigate the phenotypic variability in their ecological interactions within the host.
Colin MacLeod (PhD student)
I received my Honours BSc in Marine Biology from the University of British Columbia, Canada, where I conducted research on several marine species, from protozoans to cetaceans. My interest in parasitology began with the marine ciliate Orchitophrya stellarum (see image), which parasitizes a keystone sea star species (Pisaster ochraceus) found in abundance throughout the intertidal zone of the northwest Pacific. I assessed the effects of abiotic stressors associated with climate change on O. stellarum by exposing in vitro populations to various combinations of temperature, salinity and pH. At the University of Otago, I will investigate the impact of decreased pH (ocean acidification) on trematode parasites and their hosts. I am interested in the potential effects of ocean acidification at the individual and ecosystem level, and look forward to contributing to this exciting new field of research.
Amanda Valois (PhD student)
I received my BSc and MSc from Laurentian University in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, where I examined the role of ecological bottlenecks in the recovery of zooplankton communities from metal mining activities. My interest in invertebrate ecology quickly translated into a love of parasites after working as a mosquito taxonomist in a West Nile Virus research lab. My PhD study at the University of Otago will investigate the role of parasitism in driving population dynamics in New Zealand lake plankton communities. I am particularly interested in the community level effects of invasive zooplankton and fish and whether the spread of invasive species enhance or limit the spread of parasites in lake environments.
Katie O'Dwyer (PhD student)
I am from Ireland and, growing up by the sea, have always had a great interest in all things marine. I received my BSc Zoology from University College Cork, and following this took on the role of Head Aquarist at Dingle Oceanworld aquarium. I also got involved in the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group and was part of their strandings network. My interest in parasites came about, firstly, from lectures on platyhelminths and, following this, from my final year project which was an investigation of parasites, mainly gregarines (apicomplexans), found in two species of tunicate. At the University of Otago, I am going to be studying the parasites of New Zealand periwinkles and their direct and indirect effects on the hosts, at both local and geographical scales.
Sabrina Hock (MSc student)
I am from Pennsylvania, and received my BSc in Biology at West Chester University. During my undergraduate studies, I spent time doing research for Oné R. Pagán on the neuro-pharmacology of planaria. After my degree, I took on a 3-month internship with Steve O'Shea in Auckland, working on marine invertebrates. Upon discovering an interest in microscopic organisms, I was inspired to take on the challenge of a MSc degree in Ecology at the University of Otago. I was infected with a particular passion for parasites after having had an intimate encounter with a diseased tick, and am now currently researching the synergistic effects of trematodes and glyphosate contamination in freshwater ecosystems.
Harriet Thomas (MSc student)
I completed a BSc majoring in Zoology here at Otago and have now joined the parasite group to pursue a MSc. I chose the field of parasitology after an undergraduate course introduced me to the topic of parasitism; that's what first sparked my interest. For my MSc research, I will be looking at the trematode parasite Telogaster opisthorchis and its potential to cause malformations in juvenile Common bullies (fish). I am interested in comparing the condition and survivorship of parasitised, malformed individuals with normal hosts to identify the costs malformations and parasites exert on the fish. Additionally, I may also look into the role of agri-chemicals and how they may interact to amplify or increase the prevalence of parasite-induced malformations.
Melisa Joe (MSc student)
I was born and raised in Levin, a small town in the lower North Island. It was pretty quiet as small towns go, so I watched a lot of animal-focused documentaries to pass the time. I've also always swayed towards science, biology in particular, at school. I decided to attend Otago University straight after high school, as many of my family members are alumni and it has a great reputation. I went straight in to Zoology, and in my third year I realised my interest in research so decided to do a masters in parasitology. Currently, I am in the first year of my masters and I endeavour to carry out research into whether parasites use epigenetics (alterations of gene expression) as a mechanism for host manipulation. My focus animals will be snails and amphipods and their common trematode parasites.
Bronwen Presswell (Research Technician & Lab Manager)
I am from the UK where I gained my BSc in Zoology at Aberystwyth, and a Masters in Advanced Methods in Taxonomy and Biodiversity at the Natural History Museum, London. For my PhD at Glasgow University and the NHM, London, I studied the morphological and molecular systematics of Indian caecilians at the intraspecific level. Caecilians are the third largest amphibian group, but they are little studied, and mine was the first project to look at morphological and molecular variation between populations. I am currently investigating the identities and life cycles of a metacestode, a trematode metacercaria and a monogenean that are found in, and on, the Common Bully, and other native NZ freshwater fishes. Apart from a few well-studied species, little has been published about the biodiversity of parasites on native fishes. Using molecular, histological, scanning electron microscope and other methods I hope to fill a few gaps in our knowledge of this parasite fauna.
Tsukushi Kamiya (Honours Student)
I was born and grew up in Tokyo. After attending high school in Hawke's Bay for three years, I came down to Dunedin to study zoology at Otago, with conservation of iconic species in mind. Over the past three years, my interest has shifted towards fundamental theories in evolutionary ecology. I realised my interest in research while working as a summer bursary student, and I am currently working towards completing a BSc Honours degree. My current research project focuses on division of labour in Philophthalmus sp. (Trematoda). In particular, I am interested in investigating the role of non-reproductive morphs by comparing the quantity and quality of asexually produced clonal larvae with and without the presence of their competitor Maritrema novaezealandensis within the same host.