Ms Sarah Catalano

Biography/ Background

PhD candidate in the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Adelaide.  Awarded an Australian Postgraduate Award for postgraduate study (July 2010 - current)

PhD supervisors:

A/Prof Bronwyn Gillanders (University of Adelaide)

A/Prof Ian Whittington (University of Adelaide, South Australian Museum)

Prof Steve Donnellan (University of Adelaide, South Australian Museum)

PhD project: Using mesozoan dicyemid parasites to infer the population structure of giant Australian cuttlefish, Sepia apama, in southern Australian waters.

This project is supported by funding from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment, Norman Wettenhall Foundation, Sir Mark Mitchell Foundation, Lirabenda Endowment Fund, Nature Foundation SA and Nature Conservation Society of SA.

Qualifications

Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology with First Class Honours, The University of Adelaide, Australia (2006-2009)

My Honours project was entitled: Parasite assemblage of the Arripidae in southern Australian waters.  I was supervised by A/Prof Ian Whittington (University of Adelaide & South Australian Museum) and Dr Kate Hutson (James Cook University, Townsville)

Awards & Achievements

2007: Awarded a summer scholarship - Institute of Medical and Veterinary Science

         Environmental Biology Level II Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement

2008: Environmental Biology Level III Prize for Outstanding Academic Achievement

2009: Playford Memorial Honours Scholarship

         Unibooks Scholarship for Honours 2009

         Michael Smyth Memorial Prize for best Honours thesis in Zoology 2009

2010: Awarded a summer scholarship - South Australian Research and Development Institute

2011: Awarded a Doreen McCarthy Bursary

         Student prize for presentation at Australian Society of Parasitology Conference

         Winner of the Royal Society of SA student prize for 2011

Research Interests

My research interest is in marine science, a field I have been attracted to, fascinated by and passionate about all my life. 

In my Honours year, I discovered and documented the parasite assemblage of commercially and recreationally important Arripis spp, including the eastern Australian salmon, western Australian salmon and Australian herring. 

For my PhD, I am extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to work with one of the most unique, stunning and iconic marine species in Australia, the giant Australian cuttelfish.

Publications

 

CATALANO, S.R. & Hutson, K.S. (2010).  Harmful parasitic crustaceans infecting wild arripids: a potential threat to southern Australian finfish aquaculture. Aquaculture 303: 101-104

CATALANO, S.R., Hutson, K.S., Ratcliff, R.M. & Whittington, I.D. (2010).  Redescriptions of two species of microcotylid monogeneans from three arripid hosts in southern Australian waters. Systematic Parasitology 76: 211-222

CATALANO, S.R., Hutson, K.S., Ratcliff, R.M. & Whittington, I.D. (2011). The value of host and parasite identification for arripid fish. Marine and Freshwater Research 62 (1): 72-82

Hutson, K.S., CATALANO, S.R. & Whittington, I.D. (2011). Metazoan parasite survey of selected macro-inshore fish of southeastern Australia, including species of commercial importance.  Final Report to FRDC (Project No. 2007/225).  James Cook University, Townsville. 259pp.

Conference presentations

CATALANO, S.R., Hutson, K.S. & Whittington, I.D. (2009). Picky parasites: patterns of infection in three important endemic fishes (Arripis spp.). Australian Society for Parasitology, Sydney, Australia

CATALANO, S.R., Hutson, K.S. & Whittington, I.D. (2010). Bring back Sherlock Holmes! A closer look at three arripid species and their parasites.  International Congress for Parasitology, Melbourne, Australia

CATALANO, S.R., Gillanders, B.M., Whittington, I.D. and Donnellan, S.C. (2011). Dicyemid parasite diversity in southern Australian cephalopod species as a tool to explore species status in Sepia apama.  Australian Society for Parasitology, Cairns, Australia

Professional Associations

Australian Society for Parasitology

Nature Conservation Society of South Australia

Biology Society of South Australia (secretary)

 

Entry last updated: Wednesday, 14 Sep 2011