Associate Professor Ian Whittington

Biography/ Background

Ian Whittington is a Senior Research Fellow in the School of Earth & Environmental Sciences (SEES) at The University of Adelaide and a Principal Research Scientist in the Parasitology Section at The South Australian Museum. His office is in the Science Centre of the SA Museum from where he heads the Monogenean Research Laboratory. Ian also leads the Marine Parasitology Laboratory in SEES (Darling Building) where he supervises Honours and PhD students investigating a variety of marine parasites. He is also a member of the Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology & Biodiversity at The University of Adelaide and sits on its Management Committee.

The prime research interests for Ian embrace the biology, systematics, ecology, ultrastructure and adaptations to parasitism by the Monogenea, a class of ectoparasitic flatworms that can live on the skin, fins, gills, oral cavity, cornea, nasal tissue, pharyngeal tooth pads, urogenital system (cloaca, rectal gland, oviducts) and body cavity of principally elasmobranch and teleost fishes. Monogenean parasites have a direct life-cycle and can proliferate rapidly on fish held in captivity. Therefore, knowledge and understanding of Monogenea is important for the burgeoning aquaculture industry worldwide and for aquarists responsible for public aquaria globally.

Ian is a member of the editorial boards of the following journals: Systematic Parasitology; Folia Parasitologica; Journal of Natural History. He is a member of the ARC / NH&MRC Research Network in Parasitology.

 

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Associate Professor (Level D), SEES, The University of Adelaide, 2006-; Principal Research Scientist, Parasitology Section, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, 2006-; Senior Research Fellow, SEES, The University of Adelaide, 2002-; Senior Research Scientist, Parasitology Section, South Australian Museum, Adelaide, 2001-05; Senior Lecturer, Department of Microbiology & Parasitology, The University of Queensland, 1997-2001; Director, Heron Island Research Station of The University of Queensland, 1996-99; Lecturer, Department of Parasitology, The University of Queensland, 1993-96; Queen Elizabeth II Fellow, Department of Parasitology, The University of Queensland, 1990-92; ARC Postdoctoral Research Fellow, The University of Queensland, 1989; University of Queensland Postdoctoral Fellow, 1987-88; PhD student, School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K., 1982-86.

POSITIONS HELD, AWARDS & DISTINCTIONS

Chair, Local Organising Committee for the 2008 Australian Society for Parasitology Inc. and ARC / NH&MRC Research Network for Parasitology, Adelaide, 2006-; Visiting Professor, Centro de Investigaciones Biologicas del Noroeste (CIBNOR), La Paz, Mexico, 2006; Member, International Committee of the International Symposium on Fish Parasites, 2003-; Management Committee, Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology & Biodiversity, The University of Adelaide, 2003-; State Representative (South Australia) & Council Member, Australian Society for Parasitology Inc., 2003-05; Member, International Committee of the Fifth International Symposium on Monogenea, 2001-05; Editorial Board, Journal of Natural History (Taylor & Francis), 2001-; Editorial Board, Folia Parasitologica (Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic), 2000-; Co-editor, Systematic Parasitology (Springer), 1999-; Chair, Organizing Committee, 4th International Symposium on Monogenea, 1997-2001; Member, Organizing Committee, 75th Meeting of Australian Coral Reef Society, 1997; Member, Scientific Organizing Committee, 3rd International Symposium on Monogenea, 1994-97; Section Editor-Invited Reviews, International Journal for Parasitology (Elsevier), 1995-97; Section Editor-Book Reviews & Meeting Reports, International Journal for Parasitology (Elsevier), 1993-94; Queen Elizabeth II Fellow, The University of Queensland, 1990-92; University of Queensland Postdoctoral Fellow, 1987-88; Prize for performance in Final Assessment of B.Sc. (Honours), Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, U.K., 1982; Reckitt & Colman Scholar, Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, U.K., 1981-82.

Qualifications

BSc (Hons), The University of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K., 1982

PhD, The University of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K., 1986

Teaching Interests

CURRENT/RECENT RESEARCH STUDENTS & PROJECTS

Allan Mooney, PhD project: Biology of Zeuxapta seriolae (Monogenea: Polyopisthocotylea: Heteraxinidae) from gills of kingfish, Seriola lalandi in South Australia.  (Thesis submitted: July 2009).

Elizabeth Perkins, PhD project: Molecular systematics, phylogeny & radiation of Capsalidae (Monogenea).   (Thesis submitted: October 2009).

David Schmarr, PhD project: A holistic approach to discriminate stocks of blue mackerel (Scomber australisicus) in Australasia.

Rissa Williams, PhD project: Studies on oral chemotherapeutants against skin & gill Monogenea of commercially farmed finfish.   (Thesis submitted: June 2009).

UNDERGRADUATE COURSES
Zoology II (semester I)

Marine Biology degree: Frontiers in Marine Biology (semester I); Research Methods in Marine Biology (semester II).

 

Research Interests

My major research foci include: 1) the biology, systematics & phylogeny of the Capsalidae (Monogenea); 2) the biology, systematics & phylogeny of the Monocotylidae (Monogenea); 3) the biology, identity, systematics, discrimination & pathogenicity of Neobenedenia spp. (Monogenea: Capsalidae); 4) Monogenea in finfish aquaculture: knowledge of parasite biology to assist treatment & control; 5) Monogenea of elasmobranch & teleost fish: adaptations to parasitism; 6) adaptations for attachment to fish hosts by Monogenea: chemical (adhesives) & mechanical methods; 7) phylogeny of the Monopisthocotylea (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea).

To view other websites that cover some of my past and ongoing research, try:

Ian Whittington at The South Australian Museum

Ian Whittington's ExpertGuide.com.au Entry

CURRENT & RECENT POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWS & PROJECTS (for student projects, see Teaching Interests)

Dr Kate Hutson: Metazoan parasite survey of selected macro-inshore fish of southeastern Australia, including species of commercial importance

Dr Leslie Chisholm: Systematics of Capsalidae (Monogenea): morphological assessments & revisions of species worldwide

CURRENT & RECENTLY FUNDED RESEARCH PROJECTS

2002-present:

2007-2010 Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS) AND Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC): $333,752 to K.S. Hutson & I.D. Whittington: Metazoan parasite survey of selected macro-inshore fish of southeastern Australia, including species of commercial importance

2005-07 Australian Research Council (ARC) Discovery: $188,000 to I.D. Whittington: Marine flatworm parasites of elasmobranchs: a unique model for experiments exploring invasion strategies, biology and specificity to help understand parasitism.

2005-07 ARC Discovery: $200,000 to I.D. Whittington & S.C. Donnellan: Phylogeny & radiation of flatworm ectoparasites from marine fish using morphology & genetics, with novel approaches to identify pathogenic species.

2005-06 Scientific Visits to the United States of America, Canada & Mexico Program, Australian Academy of Science: $10,600 to I.D. Whittington: Neobenedenia (Platyhelminthes: Monogenea: Capsalidae), a genus of ectoparasitic flatworms of wild & cultivated fishes with special diversity in Mexico: identification, systematics & biology.

2005 Wildlife Conservation Fund: $4,495 to B.M. Gillanders, I.D. Whittington & S.C. Donnellan: An assessment of the utility of parasites as indicators of population structure in the giant Australian cuttlefish, Sepia apama.

2005 Sir Mark Mitchell Research Foundation: $4,999 to V. Glennon & I.D. Whittington: Monogenean flatworms of the southern fiddler ray, Trygonorrhina fasciata, in South Australia: providing insight into life history evolution.

2004 University of Adelaide Faculty of Sciences Strategic Research Scheme: $8,000 to I.D. Whittington, S.C. Donnellan & L.A. Chisholm: Identity & phylogeny of flatworm parasites from marine fish using morphology & genetics, with novel approaches to identify pathogenic species.

2003-2006 Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC): $136,650 to C. Johnston, I. Ernst, I.D. Whittington, B.M. Gillanders, Hutson & C.B. Chambers: Wild kingfish populations in Spencer Gulf: potential for parasite interactions with farmed fish, discrimination of farmed and wild fish and assessment of migratory.

2003-2005 Primary Industries & Resources South Australia (PIRSA): $70,000 to I. Ernst, C.B. Chambers, B.M. Gillanders & I.D. Whittington: Wild kingfish populations in Spencer Gulf: seasonal migration and potential for parasite interactions with farmed fish.

2002-2004 ARC Linkage: $507,972 to I.D. Whittington & I. Ernst: Integrated management of pathogenic monogenean (flatworm) parasite infections in warm water finfish aquaculture.

Publications

Note: only selected publications from 2005 onwards are listed here. For a full list of my research publications, see the downloadable pdf file at the bottom of this page.

Perkins E.M., Donnellan S.C., Bertozzi T., Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2009.  Looks can deceive: molecular phylogeny of flatworm ectoparasites (Monogenea: Capsalidae) does not reflect current morphological classification.  Molecular Phylogenetics & Evolution 52: 705-714. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2009.05.008

Barton D.P., Beaufrère C., Justine J.-L. & Whittington I.D. 2009.  Polyopisthocotylean monogeneans from carangid fishes off Queensland, Australia and New Caledonia, with a description of Heteromicrocotyloides megaspinosus sp. nov.  Acta Parasitologica 54: 205-217. doi: 10.2478/s11686-009-0038-y

Whittington I.D. & Kearn G.C. 2009.  Two new species of Neoentobdella (Monogenea, Capsalidae, Entobdellinae) from the skin of Australian stingrays (Dasyatidae).  Folia Parasitologica 56: 29-35.

Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2009.  Dendromonocotyle urogymni sp. nov. (Monogenea, Monocotylidae) from Urogymnus asperrimus (Elasmobranchii, Dasyatidae) off eastern Australia.  Acta Parasitologica 54: 113-118.  doi: 10.2478/s11686-009-0023-5

Whittington I.D. & Kearn G.C. 2009.  Two new species of entobdelline skin parasites (Monogenea, Capsalidae) from the blotched fantail ray, Taeniura meyeni, in the Pacific Ocean, with comments on spermatophores and the male copulatory apparatus.  Acta Parasitologica 54: 12-21.          doi:10.2478/s11686-009-0013-7

Minardi D., Paladini G., Whittington I.D. & Fioravanti M.L. 2009.  Studio tassonomico di monogenei Capsalidae, parassiti di teleostei ed elasmobranchi in cattività.  [=Taxonomic study on Capsalidae (Monogenea), parasites of teleosts and elasmobranchs held in captivity].  Ittiopatologia 5: 171-178.  (In Italian; with English abstract).

Glennon V., Perkins E.M., Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2008.  Comparative phylogeography reveals host generalists, specialists and cryptic diversity: hexabothriid, microbothriid and monocotylid monogeneans from rhinobatid rays in southern Australia.  International Journal for Parasitology 38: 1599-1612.      doi:10.1016/j.ijpara.2008.05.017

Whittington I.D. & Chisholm L.A. 2008.  Diseases caused by Monogenea.  In: Fish Diseases Volume 2.  Eiras J.C., Segner H., Wahlii T. & Kapoor B.G. (Eds.), pp. 683-816 (Chapter 13).  Science Publishers, Inc., New Hampshire, USA.

Mooney A.J., Ernst I. & Whittington I.D. 2008.  Egg-laying patterns and in vivo egg production in the monogenean parasites Heteraxine heterocerca and Benedenia seriolae from Japanese yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata.  Parasitology 135: 1295-1302.      doi:10.1017/S0031182008004691

Whittington I.D. & Kearn G.C. 2008.  Trimusculotrema heronensis sp. nov. (Monogenea, Capsalidae) from the skin of the pink whipray Himantura fai (Elasmobranchii, Dasyatidae) from Heron Island, Queensland, Australia.  Acta Parasitologica 53: 251-257.                doi: 10.2478/s11686-008-0044-5

Kearn G.C., Whittington I.D. & Evans-Gowing R. 2007.  A revision of Entobdella Blainville in Lamarck, 1818, with special emphasis on the nominal (type) species “Entobdella hippoglossi (Müller, 1776) Blainville, 1818” (Monogenea: Capsalidae: Entobdellinae) from teleost flatfishes, with descriptions of three new species and a new genus. Zootaxa 1659: 1-54.

Williams R.E., Ernst I., Chambers C.B. & Whittington I.D. 2007.  Efficacy of orally administered praziquantel against Zeuxapta seriolae and Benedenia seriolae (Monogenea) in yellowtail kingfish Seriola lalandi.  Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 77: 199-205.               doi: 10.3354/dao01824

Hutson K.S., Ernst I. & Whittington I.D. 2007.  Risk assessment for metazoan parasites of yellowtail kingfish Seriola lalandi (Perciformes: Carangidae) in South Australian sea-cage aquaculture.  Aquaculture 271: 85-99. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2007.03.020

Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2007.  Review of the Capsalinae (Monogenea: Capsalidae).  Zootaxa 1559: 1-30.

Glennon V., Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2007.  Experimental infections, using a fluorescent marker, of two elasmobranch species by unciliated larvae of Branchotenthes octohamatus (Monogenea: Hexabothriidae): invasion route, host specificity and post-larval development.  Parasitology 134: 1243-1252.        doi:10.1017/S0031182007002545

Hutson K.S., Smith B.P., Godfrey R.T., Whittington I.D., Chambers C.B., Ernst I. & Gillanders B.M. 2007.  A tagging study on yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi) and Samson fish (S. hippos) in South Australian waters.  Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 134: 128-134.

Lackenby J.A., Chambers C.B., Ernst I. & Whittington I.D. 2007.  Effect of water temperature on reproductive development of Benedenia seriolae (Monogenea: Capsalidae) from Seriola lalandi in Australia.  Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 74: 235-242.         doi: 10.3354/dao074235

Hutson K.S., Ernst I., Mooney A.J. & Whittington I.D. 2007.  Metazoan parasite assemblages of wild Seriola lalandi (Carangidae) from eastern and southern Australia.  Parasitology International 56: 95-105.       doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2006.12.003

Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2007.  The oncomiracidium of Nasicola klawei (Monogenea: Capsalidae: Capsalinae).  Parasitology Research 100: 467-471.             doi: 10.1007/s00436-006-0278-9

Glennon V., Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2006.  Three unrelated species, 3 sites, same host – monogenean parasites of the southern fiddler ray, Trygonorrhina fasciata, in South Australia: egg hatching strategies and larval behaviour.  Parasitology 133: 55-66.                 doi:10.1017/S003118200600998X

Glennon V., Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2006.  Redescription of Calicotyle australis Johnston, 1934 (Monogenea: Monocotylidae) from the type-host Trygonorrhina fasciata (Rhinobatidae) off Adelaide, South Australia, including descriptions of live and silver stained larvae.  Systematic Parasitology 63: 29-40.   doi: 10.1007/s11230-005-5501-z

Glennon V., Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2006.  Pseudoleptobothrium aptychotremae Young, 1967 (Monogenea: Microbothriidae) redescribed from a new host, the southern fiddler ray, Trygonorrhina fasciata (Rhinobatidae) in South Australia with a description of the larva and post larval development.  Acta Parasitologica 51: 40-46.

Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2006.  Revision of Capsaloides (Monogenea: Capsalidae) with a redescription of C. magnaspinosus Price, 1939 from the nasal tissue of Tetrapterus audax (Istiophoridae) collected off Nelson Bay, New South Wales, Australia.  Zootaxa 1160: 1-20.

Mooney A.J., Ernst I. & Whittington I.D. 2006.  An egg-laying rhythm in Zeuxapta seriolae (Monogenea: Heteraxinidae), a gill parasite of yellowtail kingfish (Seriola lalandi).  Aquaculture 253: 10-16. doi:10.1016/j.aquaculture.2004.11.029

Hutson K.S. & Whittington I.D. 2006.  Paradeontacylix godfreyi n. sp. (Digenea: Sanguinicolidae) from the heart of wild Seriola lalandi (Perciformes: Carangidae) in southern Australia.  Zootaxa 1151: 55-68.

Kearn G.C., Whittington I.D. & Euzet L. 2006.  The handling and fate of spermatophores in Neoentobdella diadema and N. apiocolpos (Monogenea: Capsalidae: Entobdellinae).  Folia Parasitologica 53: 57-62.

Glennon V., Chisholm L.A. & Whittington I.D. 2005.  Branchotenthes octohamatus sp. n. (Monogenea: Hexabothriidae) from the gills of the southern fiddler ray, Trygonorrhina fasciata (Rhinobatidae) in South Australia: description of adult and larva.  Folia Parasitologica 52: 223-230.

Whittington I.D. 2005.  Monogenea Monopisthocotylea (ectoparasitic flukes).  In: Marine Parasitology.  Rohde K. (Ed.), pp. 63-72.  CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne, Australia.

Professional Associations

Membership of Scientific Societies: American Society of Parasitologists; Asian Fisheries Society; Australian Coral Reef Society; Australian Marine Sciences Association; Australian Microscopy & Microanalysis Society; Australian Society for Parasitology Inc.; British Society for Parasitology; Helminthological Society of Washington; Oceania Chondrichthyan Society.

Community Engagement

A role in my split appointment at The South Australian Museum and The University of Adelaide is public outreach and community engagement to inform people about parasites, parasitism and parasitology. I have presented public talks at the Museum (e.g. Parasitology@SAM; Prolific Pesky Parasites), I have delivered talks to school groups, clubs, societies and the CSIRO Double Helix Science Club and I have engaged with recreational fishers and aquaculturists to inform them about parasites of fish. In my position at The South Australian Museum, I field phone calls for information and advice about parasites from the public and from general practitioners. Currently, with colleagues at the Museum, I am developing a travelling exhibition about elements of parasites and parasitology which will tour around schools in South Australia.

Files

• Publicationd of A/Prof Ian Whittington updated 29 July 2009 - Publications_of_Associate_Professor_Ian_Whittington_July_29_2009.pdf [417.5K] (application/pdf)
• Personnel in the Marine Parasitology Laboratory: January 2004 - Marine_Parasitology_Lab_personnel.jpg [428.1K] (image/jpeg)

Entry last updated: Friday, 30 Jul 2010