Dr Jerusha Bennett

Email: jerusha.bennett@otago.ac.nz

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Parasitology Lab Group

About me

Nau mai, Haere Mai! Kia ora, I am a postdoctoral fellow in the Zoology Department at the University of Otago.

Many of my childhood summers were spent exploring the Ōtākou rocky shore on Otago Peninsula, here in New Zealand. I believe these experiences shaped my awareness, appreciation and a sense of kaitiaki of coastal ecosystems and the interconnectedness between organisms (including us) and the environment. In order for our collective tamariki and future generations to experience a similar sense of belonging to New Zealand, I think we need to understand, protect, and provide kaitiakitanga of organisms in our surrounding ecosystems. I'd like to think my research reflects my appreciation and respect for the natural world.

Research interests

My research primarily focuses on the discovery and characterisation of parasitic and disease-causing organisms that infect our coastal fauna. In recent years I have been extremely lucky to have worked on the parasites of a range of New Zealand wildlife, from plankton and other invertebrates, to fish, sharks and seabirds.

Parasites are ubiquitous in natural environments, yet it was recently summarised that less than 10% of all marine animals in New Zealand have any record of parasitic infections. This is a strong indication that we know very little about potentially problematic parasitic organisms within Aotearoa. With the support and mentorship of Dr. Bronwen Presswell and Professor Robert Poulin, my primary research focus is to create a baseline database of parasitic infections in New Zealand's wildlife. Such databases are extremely important as a first-point of call for the conservation of New Zealand's wildlife when disease strikes, especially in a time where emerging diseases are increasingly prevalent in nature.

Current postdoctoral project

Currently, I am working in partnership with the Cawthron Institute on a Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Endeavour Fund (Emerging Aquatic Diseases: A novel diagnostic pipeline and management framework, Award number CAWX2207) researching the parasites of aquatic animals in New Zealand, with a particular focus on their potential as agents of emerging infectious diseases.

Previous projects

Collecting, analysing and curating New Zealand's largest parasite collection

Alongside Dr. Bronwen Presswell, I co-curated New Zealand's largest parasite collection for future researchers to access and study the biodiversity and evolutionary relationships between New Zealand parasites. This work was supported by both the Zoology Department and Otago Museum.

Otago Daily Times: https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/parasitic-worm-specimens-given-museum

Otago's coastal marine ecosystem from a parasite perspective

For my PhD, I conducted a large-scale biodiversity survey of parasites infecting free-living animals in Otago's coastal marine ecosystem. By dissecting over 7,000 animals of 168 host species (invertebrates, fish, marine mammals, seabirds and elasmobranchs), I uncovered and characterised a large phylogenetically diverse range of parasites living here, mapped their transmission routes and resolved life cycles, and then assessed their role in the structure and functioning of the coastal ecosystem. This work was underpinned by collaborations and support from various agencies, such as the Department of Conservation, Dunedin Wildlife Hospital, Wildlife Management International, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Auckland University of Technology, Otago Museum, Marine Studies Centre, various commercial fishermen and Komiti Taoka Tuku Iho.

Thesis available here: http://hdl.handle.net/10523/13791