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Dr Kate Hutson

Lecturer

Dr Kate Hutson

Lecturer, JCU (2010-present)

Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Adelaide (2007-2009)

PhD, University of Adelaide

BSc Hons, University of Melbourne

Member of the: Australian Society for Parasitology, Australian Marine Science Association, Royal Society of South Australia


Contact Details

Campus:

Townsville

Office:

DB32-008B

Phone:

+61 7 4781 6216

Email:

kate.hutson@jcu.edu.au

Research Interests

  • Marine parasitology

  • Parasite interactions between wild and aquaculture fishes

  • Risk assessment and parasite management

I was bitten by the parasite bug when I was in primary school. My Mum extracted a head louse out of my best friend’s hair and showed it to us underneath a microscope. I soon discovered I could combine my penchant for fishing with my passion for parasites. I have been hooked by marine parasitology ever since.

Parasites have the potential to limit the growth of Australian fishing industries through mortality, morbidity and reduced marketability. My research involves identifying parasites of farmed and wild Australian fish species (including candidate aquaculture species), and providing risk assessments for industry development.

Recent and Current Projects

  • Taxonomy (identification and description) of aporocotylids (blood flukes), copepods (sea-lice) and monogeneans (skin and gill flukes)

  • Blood fluke infections in wild, candidate and aquaculture fishes

  • Phylogenetics of the blood fluke genus Paradeontacylix

  • Wild fish aggregations at sea-cage farms: implications for aquatic animal health

  • Parasite transmission, life cycles and life histories

  • Wild fish movement (conventional tagging)

  • Parasite as indicators of geographic population structure

  • Parasite risk assessment for kingfish (Seriola spp.) aquaculture

  • Genetic population structure of kingfish in Australia and New Zealand

Recent and Currently Supervised Projects

  • Miss Emma Brock (current Honours candidate and ABRS capacity-building scholar) is examining the parasite fauna of King George whiting (Sillaginoides punctatus) – the most valuable commercial fishery to South Australia. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide.

  • Miss Sarah Catalano (BSc Hons 2009, Playford memorial/Adelaide University scholar) examined parasite assemblages of the Arripidae in southern Australian waters. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Adelaide.

Teaching

  • AQ2001/5006 - Aquaculture: Introduction to Aquaculture

  • AQ3015 - Aquaculture: Sustainable Aquaculture

Selected Publications

Full Publication List

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.

Repulles-Albelda A., Montero F.E., Holzer A.S., Ogawa K., Hutson K.S. & Raga J.A. 2008. Speciation of Paradeontacylix spp. (Sanguinicolidae) in Seriola dumerili. Two new species of the genus Paradeontacylix from the Mediterranean. Parasitology International 57, 405-414.

Hutson K.S., Ernst I. & Whittington I.D. 2007. Risk assessment for parasites of Seriola lalandi (Carangidae) in South Australian sea cage aquaculture. Aquaculture 271, 85-99.

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

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.

Current funding

My research is funded by:

  • Australian Biological Resources Study (ABRS)

  • Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)

  • ARC/NHMRC Research Network for Parasitology