Dr Jerusha Bennett, Our People, Department of Zoology

Email jerusha.bennett@otago.ac.nz Bennett Jerusha
Tel +64 3 556 5099

Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Jerusha-Bennett

Research group

Kia ora e te whānau, our research group, Te Rōpū Pirinoa, explores the biology, ecology, evolution, and impact of host–parasite interactions in Aotearoa, New Zealand.

Te Rōpū Pirinoa Lab (Wixsite.com)

We focus on parasites because while often under appreciated and neglected in ecological research, they play vital roles in the overall health of our taiao (natural environment). If you are interested in learning more about Te Rōpū Pirinoa, or interested in postgraduate study with us, please get in touch. We are currently accepting PhD and MSc tauira (students) in our lab, especially for the projects listed below.

Jerusha is also a member of Zoology's Evolutionary and Ecological Parasitology Research Group.

Our projects

Emerging aquatic diseases

Our group is part of a 5-year MBIE Endeavour Fund Emerging Aquatic Diseases led by Cawthron Institute 2023–2028. In this space, we support local communities, government and industry partners on issues related to parasites in aquatic ecosystems. We are currently working on mass mortality events of manu (birds) across Aotearoa, ecological insights from parasites in kanakana / piharau (lamprey) and various invertebrates (e.g. squid, plankton, snails, bivalves and gastropods) in this space.

Parasites as pollution sponges

We were awarded a 3-year Marsden Fast-Start in 2025 (2026-2029) to explore the role of parasites as pollution sponges. We all know our oceans are in trouble. Plastic and heavy-metal pollution is harming our marine life, threatening our kaimoana, and damaging our natural environment. This crisis requires immediate action with new perspectives and approaches. What if we looked to an existing naturally occurring solution?

Parasites that live in the gut are often thought of as villains, but they may be ‘hidden protectors' that can help us clean up our oceans thanks to a quirk in how they eat. Unlike us, parasites don’t have a gut, absorbing food directly through their skin via diffusion instead. This means they have the potential to absorb harmful microplastics and toxic heavy metals ingested by their hosts.

This Marsden Fund Fast-Start grant proposes a fresh perspective to the pollution crisis, investigating how intestinal parasites can act as filters that soak up harmful environmental pollutants. We will use seabirds to study how parasites inside their gastrointestinal systems might function as pollution sponges. As humans continue to have a devastating impact on te taiao (the environment), this type of research could change the way humans interact with wildlife and think about adaptation and resilience.

Rebuilding productive coastal economies

We are part of a 5-year MBIE Endeavour Fund Rebuilding Productive Coastal Economies led by University of Otago (2025-2030). Our contribution will support community aspirations for thriving and sustainable mariculture, with a particular focus on the disease resilience for our taonga kaimoana (treasured seafood).

Proactive parasitology

Unlike the reactive approach taken to most disease outbreaks in Aotearoa, we take a proactive approach. We opportunistically collect deceased wildlife and create baseline data on parasite infections. This means that when disease does strike, we already have a shortlist of suspects that could be the cause and can jump start our response.

We have a bird pipeline with community and agency partners to korokī taku manu i karakaraka ana (give the birds a second life). We create baseline data of what parasites infect our wildlife now, and investigate how these parasite communities vary across species, space, and time. Our group is committed to facilitating the use of materials for cultural use and for other research kaupapa (projects). We've dissected over 1,500 birds and found over 50,000 parasites so far.

Interested in learning more about our pipeline for Aotearoa's birds, or joining one of our dissection wānanga? Get in touch:

Email: jerusha.bennett@otago.ac.nz

Postgraduate students

Katie Buschang, PhD
Toxoplasma in Aotearoa’s birds.
Co-supervised by Robert Poulin (University of Otago) and Clement Lagrue (Department of Conservation)
Arwen Kleinsmith, MSc
Pollution in NZ sharks and their parasites. Co-supervised by Brit Finucci (Earth Sciences NZ)
Jenna Murrey, MSc
Co-infections of Bonamia spp. and trematodes in tio (oysters) over time. Co-supervised by Henry Lane (Earth Sciences NZ)
Jestena Raj, MSc
Microplastics and trematodes in mussels. Co-supervised by Steph Godfrey (University of Otago)
Katy Rossiter, MSc
Feral cat foraging ecology, diseases and parasites. Co-supervised by Clement Lagrue (Department of Conservation)

Publications

Poulin, R., Bennett, J., Blasco-Costa, I., de Angeli Dutra, D., Doherty, J.-F., Dowle, E., … Lagrue, C., … Li, C.-H., … Presswell, B., … Selbach, C. (2026). Scientists' warning on the rapid evolution of parasites in the anthropocene. Evolutionary Applications, 19, e70244. doi: 10.1111/eva.70244 Journal - Research Other

Li, C.-H., Bennett, J., & Poulin, R. (2026). Hidden hosts: Limpets as key players in trematode transmission. Journal of Helminthology, 100, e21. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X26101217 Journal - Research Article

Bennett, J., Little, M., Kitson, J., Lewis, R., Carson, S., Edwards-Ingle, J., & Poulin, R. (2026). Temperature driving a mass killer: Assessing the risk of trematode outbreaks for New Zealand seabirds. Parasitology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1017/s0031182026101796 Journal - Research Article

Viriyautsahakul, S., Poulin, R., Bennett, J., & Johnson, S. (2025). Brain-encysting trematodes increase the frequency but reduce the repeatability of surfacing behaviour in mottled triplefin. Ethology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1111/eth.70015 Journal - Research Article

Bennett, J., Presswell, B., Little, M., Lagrue, C., Webster, T., Dutoit, L., Poulin, R., … Hutson, K. S. (2025). Endoparasite communities of New Zealand penguins differ over time and among species. Marine Biology, 172, 94. doi: 10.1007/s00227-025-04651-2 Journal - Research Article

2026

Journal - Research Article

Li, C.-H., Bennett, J., & Poulin, R. (2026). Hidden hosts: Limpets as key players in trematode transmission. Journal of Helminthology, 100, e21. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X26101217

Journal - Research Other

2025

Chapter in Book - Research

Poulin, R., & Bennett, J. (2025). Evolutionary biology of aquatic parasites. In N. J. Smit & B. Sures (Eds.), Aquatic parasitology: Ecological and environmental concepts and implications of marine and freshwater parasites. (pp. 277-295). Cham, Switzerland: Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-83903-0_11

Journal - Research Article

Poulin, R., Bennett, J., & Presswell, B. (2025). Variability among taxonomists in helminth species discrimination decisions: A noise audit. International Journal for Parasitology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.06.003

Buschang, K. E., Bennett, J., Lagrue, C., & Poulin, R. (2025). Global analysis of Toxoplasma gondii prevalence in wild avian hosts: Effects of phylogeny, ecology, and detection methods. International Journal for Parasitology. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2025.06.007

Viriyautsahakul, S., Poulin, R., Johnson, S. L., & Bennett, J. (2025). Unravelling hidden battles: Genetic insights into parasite diversity and competition in mottled triplefin (Forsterygion capito). Parasitology Research, 124(6), 62. doi: 10.1007/s00436-025-08495-z

Sabadel, A. J. M., Riekenberg, P., Alaya-Diaz, M., Belk, M. C., Bennett, J., Bode, A., … Filion, A. (2025). Establishing a comprehensive host-parasite stable isotope database to unravel trophic relationships [Data descriptor]. Scientific Data, 12, 623. doi: 10.1038/s41597-025-04970-5

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2025). Two new species of kidney fluke (Trematoda: Renicolidae) from New Zealand penguins (Spheniscidae), with a description of Renicola websterae n. sp. Systematic Parasitology, 102, 26. doi: 10.1007/s11230-025-10219-x

Presswell, B., Salloum, P. M., Bennett, J., Buschang, K. E., & Poulin, R. (2025). Size, spines, and primes: The drivers of collar spine numbers among echinostome trematodes. Parasitology, 152, 123-131. doi: 10.1017/s0031182025000046

2024

Journal - Research Article

Poulin, R., Salloum, P. M., & Bennett, J. (2024). Evolution of parasites in the Anthropocene: New pressures, new adaptive directions. Biological Reviews, 99, 2234-2252. doi: 10.1111/brv.13118

Bennett, J., Niebuhr, C. N., Lagrue, C., Middlemiss, K. L., Webster, T., & Filion, A. (2024). New insights into avian malaria infections in New Zealand seabirds. Parasitology Research, 123, 184. doi: 10.1007/s00436-024-08210-4

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2024). Description and molecular data of a new cestode parasite, Cladotaenia anomala n. sp. (Paruterinidae) from the Australasian harrier (Circus approximans Peale) in New Zealand. Systematic Parasitology, 101, 25. doi: 10.1007/s11230-024-10147-2

Bennett, J., Presswell, B., & Poulin, R. (2024). Expanding on a marine food web using parasitological data. Marine Ecology Progress Series, 727, 19-33. doi: 10.3354/meps14492

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2024). Gastrointestinal helminths of the Australasian harrier (Circus approximans Peale, 1848) in New Zealand, and description of a new species of nematode, Procyrnea fraseri n. sp. (Habronematidae). Journal of Helminthology, 98, e6. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X23000883

Shanebeck, K. M., Bennett, J., Green, S. J., Lagrue, C., & Presswell, B. (2024). A new species of Versteria (Cestoda: Taeniidae) parasitizing Neogale vison and Lontra canadensis (Carnivora: Mustelidae) from Western Canada. Journal of Helminthology, 98, e4. doi: 10.1017/S0022149X23000895

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Martin, S. B., Gonchar, A., Louvard, C., Achatz, T. J., Truter, M., Yong, R. Q.-Y., … Bennett, J., … Theisen, S. (2024). Trematodes 2024: The inaugural international meeting for trematode researchers [Conference report]. Trends in Parasitology, 40(11), 942-953. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.09.012

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Bennett, J. (2024). Recent mass mortality of Aotearoa's endemic and at risk Tarāpuka, black-billed gulls. Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Societies for Parasitology and the 7th International Conference on Anaerobic Protists: Parasites in the Pacific. (pp. 76-77). Retrieved from https://www.parasite.org.au/aspconference/

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2024). New helminth parasites from the Australasian harrier Circus approximans. Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Societies for Parasitology and the 7th International Conference on Anaerobic Protists: Parasites in the Pacific. (pp. 75). Retrieved from https://www.parasite.org.au/aspconference/

Buschang, K., Lagrue, C., Bennett, J., & Poulin, R. (2024). Toxoplasma gondii in avian hosts: Testing methods of detection and the drivers of infection in New Zealand and across the world. Proceedings of the Australian and New Zealand Societies for Parasitology and the 7th International Conference on Anaerobic Protists: Parasites in the Pacific. (pp. 39-40). Retrieved from https://www.parasite.org.au/aspconference/

2023

Chapter in Book - Research

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2023). Kingdom Animalia, phylum Acanthocephala (thornyheaded worms). In M. Kelly, S. Mills, M. Terezow, C. Sim-Smith & W. Nelson (Eds.), The marine biota of Aotearoa New Zealand: Updating our marine biodiversity: NIWA biodiversity memoir (Vol. 136). (pp. 193-200). Wellington, New Zealand: NIWA.

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2023). Kingdom Animalia, phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms, cestodes, trematodes, & monogeneans). In M. Kelly, S. Mills, M. Terezow, C. Sim-Smith & W. Nelson (Eds.), The marine biota of Aotearoa New Zealand: Updating our marine biodiversity: NIWA biodiversity memoir (Vol. 136). (pp. 163-179). Wellington, New Zealand: NIWA.

Journal - Research Article

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2023). Description and molecular data for a new acanthocephalan parasite, Polymorphus circi n. sp. (Polymorphidae) from the Australasian harrier (Circus approximans Peale) in New Zealand. Systematic Parasitology, 100(6), 725-733. doi: 10.1007/s11230-023-10120-5

Bennett, J., Poulin, R., & Presswell, B. (2023). Acanthocephalan diversity and host associations revealed from a large-sale biodiversity survey. Diversity, 15, 665. doi: 10.3390/d15050665

Poulin, R., Presswell, B., Bennett, J., de Angeli Dutra, D., & Salloum, P. M. (2023). Biases in parasite biodiversity research: Why some helminth species attract more research than others. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites & Wildlife, 21, 89-98. doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2023.04.010

Poulin, R., Presswell, B., Filion, A., Salloum, P. M., Chai, X., Bennett, J., & de Angeli Dutra, D. (2023). Battle of the sexes: Analysis of sex bias in host use and reporting practices in parasitological experiments. International Journal for Parasitology, 53(7), 381-389. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2023.03.002

Bennett, J., Presswell, B., & Poulin, R. (2023). Tracking life cycles of parasites across a broad taxonomic scale in a marine ecosystem. International Journal for Parasitology, 53, 285-303. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpara.2023.02.004

Journal - Research Other

Presswell, B., Bennett, J., Chai, X., & Poulin, R. (2023). Physical evidence of direct antagonistic interactions between trematodes in the host gut: The kiss of death? Parasitology Research, 122, 1953-1957. doi: 10.1007/s00436-023-07883-7

Hutson, K. S., Davidson, I. C., Bennett, J., Poulin, R., & Cahill, P. L. (2023). Assigning cause for emerging diseases of aquatic organisms. Trends in Microbiology, 31(7), 681-691. doi: 10.1016/j.tim.2023.01.012

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

Bennett, J., Presswell, B., & Poulin, R. (2023). Parasites of concern in our coastal seabirds. Proceedings of the New Zealand Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Annual Meeting. (pp. 26). [Abstract]

2022

Journal - Research Article

Bennett, J., Poulin, R., & Presswell, B. (2022). Large-scale genetic investigation of nematode diversity and their phylogenetic patterns in New Zealand's marine animals. Parasitology, 149, 1794-1809. doi: 10.1017/s003118202200138x

Sabadel, A. J. M., Cresson, P., Finucci, B., & Bennett, J. (2022). Unravelling the trophic interaction between a parasitic barnacle (Anelasma squalicola) and its host Southern lanternshark (Etmopterus granulosus) using stable isotopes. Parasitology. doi: 10.1017/s0031182022001299

Chai, X., Bennett, J., & Poulin, R. (2022). Decay of parasite community similarity with host phylogenetic and geographic distances among deep-sea fish (grenadiers). Parasitology, 149, 1737-1748. doi: 10.1017/s0031182022001251

Bennett, J., Poulin, R., & Presswell, B. (2022). Annotated checklist and genetic data for parasitic helminths infecting New Zealand marine invertebrates. Invertebrate Biology, 141, e12380. doi: 10.1111/ivb.12380

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2022). Gastrointestinal helminth parasites of the threatened Australasian crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus australis, Gould 1844) in New Zealand, with descriptions of Baruscapillaria kamanae n. sp. (Nematoda: Trichuridae) and Cryptocotyle micromorpha n. sp. (Trematoda: Opisthorchiidae). Systematic Parasitology, 99, 217-239. doi: 10.1007/s11230-022-10022-y

Journal - Research Other

Poulin, R., Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2022). Male-biased selection of holotypes in parasite taxonomy: Is it justified? [Forum]. Trends in Parasitology, 38(11), 926-929. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2022.08.003

Awarded Doctoral Degree

Bennett, J. D. L. (2022). Otago's coastal marine ecosystem from a parasite perspective (PhD). University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10523/13791

2021

Journal - Research Article

Ruehle, B. P., Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2021). Distribution and diversity of diplostomids in New Zealand. Journal of Parasitology, 107(6), 933-947. doi: 10.1645/21-75

Doherty, J.-F., Filion, A., Bennett, J., Bhattarai, U. R., Chai, X., de Angeli Dutra, D., … Jorge, F., Milotic, M., Park, E., Sabadel, A. J. M., Thomas, L. J., & Poulin, R. (2021). The people versus science: Can passively crowdsourced internet data shed light on host-parasite interactions? Parasitology, 148, 1313-1319. doi: 10.1017/s0031182021000962

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2021). Diomedenema dinarctos n. sp. (Spiruromorpha: Desmidocercidae), a new species of lung nematode in Fiordland crested penguins (Eudyptes pachyrhynchus; Sphenisciformes), from South Island, New Zealand. Systematic Parasitology, 98, 285-290. doi: 10.1007/s11230-021-09977-1

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2021). Helminth parasites of shags (Phalacrocoracidae) from the Otago region of southern New Zealand. Journal of Helminthology, 95, e9. doi: 10.1017/s0022149x21000031

Poulin, R., Bennett, J., Filion, A., Bhattarai, U. R., Chai, X., de Angeli Dutra, D., Donlon, E., Doherty, J.-F., Jorge, F., Milotic, M., Park, E., Sabadel, A., & Thomas, L. J. (2021). iParasitology: Mining the internet to test parasitological hypotheses. Trends in Parasitology, 37(4), 267-272. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2021.01.003

Journal - Research Other

Bennett, J., Presswell, B., & Poulin, R. (2021). Biodiversity of marine helminth parasites in New Zealand: What don’t we know? New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 56(2), 175-190. doi: 10.1080/00288330.2021.1914689

2020

Journal - Research Article

Bennett, J., McPherson, O., & Presswell, B. (2020). Gastrointestinal helminths of little blue penguins, Eudyptula novaehollandiae (Stephens), from Otago, New Zealand. Parasitology International, 80, 102185. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2020.102185

Presswell, B., Bennett, J. D. L., & Smales, L. R. (2020). Morphological and molecular characterisation of a new genus and species of acanthocephalan, Tenuisoma tarapungi n. g., n. sp. (Acanthocephala: Polymorphidae) infecting red-billed gulls in New Zealand, with a key to the genera of the Polymorphidae Meyer, 1931. Systematic Parasitology, 97, 25-39. doi: 10.1007/s11230-019-09898-0

Journal - Research Other

Poulin, R., Bennett, J., de Angeli Dutra, D., Doherty, J.-F., Filion, A., Park, E., & Ruehle, B. (2020). Evolutionary signature of ancient parasite pressures, or the ghost of parasitism past. Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution, 8, 195. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.00195

2019

Journal - Research Article

Presswell, B., & Bennett, J. (2019). Galactosomum otepotiense n. sp. (Trematoda: Heterophyidae) infecting four different species of fish-eating birds in New Zealand: Genetically identical but morphologically variable. Journal of Helminthology, 94, e86, 1-12. doi: 10.1017/s0022149x19000828

Selbach, C., Jorge, F., Dowle, E., Bennett, J., Chai, X., Doherty, J.-F., … Filion, A., Hay, E., Herbison, R., Lindner, J., Park, E., Presswell, B., Ruehle, B., … Wainwright, E., & Poulin, R. (2019). Parasitological research in the molecular age. Parasitology, 146(11), 1361-1370. doi: 10.1017/S0031182019000726

Bennett, J., Jorge, F., Poulin, R., & Randhawa, H. (2019). Revealing trophic transmission pathways of marine tapeworms. Parasitology Research, 118, 1435-1444. doi: 10.1007/s00436-019-06264-3

Bennett, J., & Presswell, B. (2019). Morphology and molecules resolve the identity and life cycle of an eye trematode, Philophthalmus attenuatus n. sp. (Trematoda: Philophthalmidae) infecting gulls in New Zealand. Parasitology Research, 118, 1501-1509. doi: 10.1007/s00436-019-06289-8

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

Bennett, J. (2019, July). Parasites that travel using elasmobranch feeding links. Verbal presentation at the NZ Marine Sciences Society (NZMSS) Joint Meeting with the Oceania Chondrichthyan Society, Dunedin, New Zealand.

2018

Journal - Research Other

Bennett, J., & Randhawa, H. S. (2018). Diet composition of New Zealand’s endemic rough skate, Zearaja nasuta. New Zealand Journal of Marine & Freshwater Research, 53(1), 162-168. doi: 10.1080/00288330.2018.1541813

Research group

Our projects

Emerging aquatic diseases

Parasites as pollution sponges

Rebuilding productive coastal economies

Proactive parasitology

Postgraduate students

Publications

2026

Journal - Research Article

Journal - Research Other

2025

Chapter in Book - Research

Journal - Research Article

2024

Journal - Research Article

Journal - Professional & Other Non-Research Articles

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

2023

Chapter in Book - Research

Journal - Research Article

Journal - Research Other

Conference Contribution - Published proceedings: Abstract

2022

Journal - Research Article

Journal - Research Other

Awarded Doctoral Degree

2021

Journal - Research Article

Journal - Research Other

2020

Journal - Research Article

Journal - Research Other

2019

Journal - Research Article

Conference Contribution - Verbal presentation and other Conference outputs

2018

Journal - Research Other

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