Fields of Research

Aquaculture
Fish pests and diseases
Veterinary anaesthesiology and intensive care
Animal developmental and reproductive biology
Bacteriology
Animal behaviour
Fish physiology and genetics
Animal protection (incl. pests and pathogens)
Veterinary parasitology
Pattern recognition
Animal welfare

Research Objectives

Aquaculture fin fish (excl. tuna)
Fisheries - aquaculture
Aquaculture crustaceans (excl. rock lobster and prawns)
Aquaculture molluscs (excl. oysters)
Expanding knowledge in the biological sciences
Aquaculture tuna
Fisheries - recreational freshwater
Animal welfare

Career Best Publications

Amoebic gill disease: sequential pathology in cultured Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L; Journal of Fish Diseases
Branchial mechanical injury does not accelerate the progression of experimentally induced amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L; Aquaculture
Distribution and structure of lesions in the gills of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., affected with amoebic gill disease; Journal of Fish Diseases
Gross pathology and its relationship with histopathology of amoebic gill disease (AGD) in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L; Journal of Fish Diseases
Preliminary success using hydrogen peroxide to treat Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. affected with experimentally induced amoebic gill disease (AGD); Journal of Fish Diseases

Research Publications

Neoparamoeba branchiphila n. sp., and related species of the genus Neoparamoeba Page, 1987: morphological and molecular characterization of selected strains; Journal of Fish Diseases
Neoparamoeba perurans n. sp., an agent of amoebic gill disease of Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar); International Journal for Parasitology
A preliminary study into effects of seawater acclimation on the progression of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD) in out of season Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar, L.); European Association of Fish Pathologists. Bulletin
AGD sequential pathology: field re-infection and experimental primary interactions/effect of physical gill trauma on attachment of Neioparamoeba species; ASAS Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture Subprogram Scientific Conference
Amoebic gill disease (AGD) of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in Tasmania: An Epidemiological Challenge; ISVEE XI Innovation: Reshaping Veterinary Epidemiology
Amoebic gill disease in cultured salmonids in Australia; 4th International Symposium on Aquatic Animal Health
Amoebic Gill Disease in cultured Tasmanian Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) caused by marine amoeba Neoparamoeba sp; XI International Meeting on the Biology and Pathogenicity of Free-Living Amoebae
Amoebic gill disease increases energy requirements and decreases hypoxia tolerance in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) smolts; Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology. Part A
Amoebic Gill Disease research highlights; The Second scientific conference of the Atlantic salmon aquaculture subprogram
Amoebic gill disease: sequential pathology in cultured Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L; Journal of Fish Diseases
An introduction to amoebic gill disease of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.); 2nd FRDC Aquatic Animal Health Subprogram Scientific Conference
An opportunistic detection of amoebic gill disease in blue warehou, Seriolella brama Günther, collected from an Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., production cage in south eastern Tasmania; Journal of Fish Diseases
AQUI-S® as a transfer and treatment tool during freshwater bathing of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar affected by amoebic gill disease (AGD); Skretting Australasian Aquaculture melbourne 2012 'the next ten years'
Are short opercula and lower jaw deformity in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar related to triploidy?; World Aquaculture Adelaide 2014
Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) exposed to cultured gill-derived Neoparamoeba branchilila fail to develop amoebic gill disease (AGD); European Association of Fish Pathologists. Bulletin
Bacteriomic profiling of branchial lesions induced by Neoparamoeba perurans challenge reveals commensal dysbiosis and an association with Tenacibaculum dicentrarchi in AGD-affected Atlantic salmon (Salmo Salar L.); Microorganisms
Branchial mechanical injury does not accelerate the progression of experimentally induced amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L; Aquaculture
Branchial pathomorphology of southern bluefin tuna Thunnus maccoyii (Castelnau, 1872) infected by helminth and copepodan parasites; Frontiers in Physiology
Cardiac morphology in relation to amoebic gill disease history in Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L; Journal of Fish Diseases
Cardiovascular pathology and dysfunction associated with amoebic gill disease in cultured Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar); Tenth International Conference "Disease of Fish and Shellfish"
Cell-surface carbohydrate antigen(s) of wild-type Neoparamoeba spp are immunodominant in sea-cage cultured Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L) affected by amebic gill disease (AGD); Aquaculture
Changes in the interbranchial lymphoid tissue of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) affected by amoebic gill disease; Fish and Shellfish Immunology
Characterisatiion of an immunodominant, high molecular weight glycoprotein on the surface of infectious Neoparamoeba ssp., causative agent of amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon; Fish and Shellfish Immunology
Comparison of bacterial diversity and distribution on the gills of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.): an evaluation of sampling techniques; Journal of Applied Microbiology
Comparison of three inert markers in measuring apparent nutrient digestibility of juvenile abalone under different culture condition and temperature regimes; The 2nd International Symposium on Marine and Fisheries Research
Concurrence of lower jaw skeletal anomalies in triploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) and the effect on growth in freshwater; Journal of Fish Diseases
Cultured gill-derived Neoparamoeba pemaquidensis fails to elicit amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar; Diseases of Aquatic Organisms
Cyclic hypoxia exposure accelerates the progression of amoebic gill disease; Pathogens
Development of an in vivo assay to assess attachment of Neoparamoeba sp. (an amphizoic gymnamoeba) to the gills of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L; Journal of Fish Diseases
Distribution and structure of lesions in the gills of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., affected with amoebic gill disease; Journal of Fish Diseases
Effect of acute and chronic ammonia and nitrite exposure on oxygen consumption and growth of juvenile big bellied seahorse; Journal of Fish Biology
Effect of AQUI-S® anaesthesia during freshwater treatment on AGD re-development
Effects of advanced and continuous photoperiod regimes on maturation control and profiles of sex steroids in brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis); Australian Journal of Zoology
Effects of anaesthetics containing eugenol on Neoparamoeba perurans; Aquaculture
Effects of husbandry on amoebic gill disease
Evaluation of low temperature and salinity as a treatment of Atlantic salmon against amoebic gill disease; Microorganisms
Experimental amoebic gill disease of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L.: further evidence for the primary pathogenic role of Neoparamoeba sp. (Page, 1987); Journal of Fish Diseases
Gross pathology and its relationship with histopathology of amoebic gill disease (AGD) in farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L; Journal of Fish Diseases
Growth enhancement of tropical abalone, Haliotis asinina L, through probiotic supplementation; Aquaculture International
Heterogeneous astaxanthin distribution in the fillet of Atlantic salmon post-smolt at elevated temperature is not affected by dietary fatty acid composition, metabolic conversion of astaxanthin to idoxanthin, or oxidative stress; Aquaculture
Histological study of gonadal development and sex differentiation in Salvelinus fontinalis under Tasmanian climate conditions; Australian Journal of Zoology
Histopathology of amoebic gill disease (AGD) in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.); The Annual Scientific Meeting of the Australian Society for Parasitiology Inc.
Host response to the chondracanthid copepod Chondracanthus goldsmidi, a gill parasite of the striped trumpeter, Latris lineata (Forster), in Tasmania; Journal of Fish Diseases
Host-Pathogen interactions in amoebic gill disease
Hydrogen peroxide treatment of experimentally induced amoebic gill disease; 1st FRDC Australasian Animal Health Conference
Immersion challenge of naïve Atlantic salmon with cultured Nolandella sp. and Pseudoparamoeba sp. did not increase the severity of Neoparamoeba perurans-induced amoebic gill disease (AGD); Journal of Fish Diseases
Immune gene expression in the gills of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) following experimental reinfection with Neoparamoeba perurans; Aquaculture
Immune responses in salmonids affected by amoebic gill disease; Fifth International Symposium on Aquatic Animal Health
Important breakthrough in Salmon DiseaseResearch
In vitro screening of lactic acid bacteria isolated from gastrointestinal tract of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) as probiont candidates; Aquaculture International
Insights into Amoebic Gill Disease pathogenesis
Isolation and screening of lactic acid bacteria associated with the gastrointestinal tracts of abalone at various life stages for probiotic candidates; Aquaculture Reports
Isolation of alginate lyase-producing bacteria and screening for their potential characteristics as abalone probionts; Aquaculture Research
Lower jaw deformity in triploid Atlantic salmon: an integrated morphological and transcriptomic investigation; Interdisciplinary Approaches in Fish Skeletal Biology
Model Development for Epidemiology of Amoebic Gill disease
Molecular cloning and expression analysis of tumour necrosis factor-alpha in amoebic gill disease (AGD)-affected Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.); Fish and Shellfish Immunology
Monthly variations in the profile of sex steroids and gonadal development of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchill) during puberty in Tasmania; Australian Journal of Zoology
Multigenic delineation of lower jaw deformity in triploid Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.); PLoS One
Pathology of amoebic gill disease (AGD) in farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L; Aquafin CRC Conference
Pathology of amoebic gill disease in Atlantic Salmon (Salmo salar L)
Pigment depletion in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) starved at high temperature: effect of dietary carotenoid type and vitamin E level; 17th International Symposium on Feeding and Nutrition of Fish
Pigment-depletion in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) post-smolt starved at elevated temperature is not influenced by dietary carotenoid type and increasing α-tocopherol level; Food Chemistry
Preliminary success using hydrogen peroxide to treat Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. affected with experimentally induced amoebic gill disease (AGD); Journal of Fish Diseases
Profiling branchial bacteria of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) following exposure to antimicrobial agents; Frontiers in Animal Science
Screening and activity of potential gastrointestinal probiotic lactic acid bacteria against Yersinia ruckeri O1b; Journal of Fish Diseases
Seasonal variation in the profile of sex steroids and histological testicular development of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis Mitchill) during the annual reproductive cycle in Tasmania; Australian Journal of Zoology
Sequential pathology after initial freshwater bath treatment for amoebic gill disease in cultured Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L; Journal of Fish Diseases
Sequential pathology and gross lesion histopathology of amoebic gill disease (AGD) in farmed Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L; The Second scientific conference of the Atlantic salmon aquaculture subprogram
Sex reversal of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) by 17α-methyltestosterone exposure: a serial experimental approach to determine optimal timing and delivery regimes; Animal Reproduction Science
Size-dependent resistance to amoebic gill disease in naive Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar); Fish and Shellfish Immunology
Skeletal anomaly assessment in diploid and triploid juvenile Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) and the effect of temperature in freshwater; Journal of Fish Diseases
Temperature effects on performance of large Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) held in seawater recirculation aquaculture systems; Asia-Pacific Aquaculture 2017
The effect of antimicrobial treatment upon the gill bacteriome of Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) and progression of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD) in vivo; Microorganisms
The effect of mechanical gill injury upon the development of experimental amoebic gill disease in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar); EAFP 12th International Conference Diseases of Fish and Shellfish
The effect of temperature and ploidy on skeletal anomaly prevalence in a fast growing phase in Atlantic salmon Salmo salar and molecular investigations on lower jaw deformity; World Aquaculture Meeting 2015
Transcriptome profiling the gills of amoebic gill disease (AGD)-affected Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.): a role for tumor suppressor p53 in AGD pathogenesis; Physiological Genomics

Research Projects

Advanced monitoring to maximise fish welfare in offshore aquaculture; Blue Economy CRC Co (BECRC)
Alternative Treatment Strategies for Amoebic Gill Disease; Is Hydrogen Peroxide a potential Therapeutic Option?; University of Tasmania (UTAS)
Aquafin CRC - Atlantic Salmon Aquaculture Subprogram: Effects of Husbandry on Amoebic Gill Disease; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Atlantic Salmon Subprogram: Hydrogen peroxide treatment of Atlantic salmon affected by AGD; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Comparative susceptibility and host responses of endemic fishes and salmonids affected by amoebic gill disease in Tasmania ; Fisheries Research & Development Corporation (FRDC)
Funding for New Tank Systems at Aquaculture; Tasmanian Salmonid Growers Association (TSGA)
Combination treatment of Atlantic salmon affected by amoebic gill disease (AGD)
Commercial treatment of AGD affected Atlantic salmon
Dietary carotenoid utilisation at high temperature by Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
Dietary Optimisation of the smoltificiation window for Atlantic salmon
Does sedation of fish during transfer to and treatment with FW influence AGD redevelopment, fish performance and stress in vivo?
Effect of AQUI-S® anesthesia during freshwater treatment on AGD re-development.
Further optimisation of a combination treatment for AGD
Gill health assessment - Cages 1735 & 1736
Gill health assessment of harvestable Atlantic salmon
Gross scoring of fixed gill samples for EAF/Skretting
Optimising a combination treatment for AGD in Atlantic salmon
Optimising dietary phosphorus inclusion to reduce skeletal deformity in triploid Atlantic salmon
Performance of Atlantic salmon following simulated thermal delousing with AQUI-S sedation
Salmonid Nutrition and Performance
Salmonid Nutrition and Performance - Fish & Digestibility Chemical Analyses
The effect of different dietary treatments on the growth performance of rainbow trout at winter water temperatures
The impact of culture condition on biochemical egg content in Tasmanian Atlantic salmon

Research Candidate Supervision

Assessment of Resistance to Amoebic Gill Disease in the Tasmanian Atlantic Salmon Selective Breeding Population
Dietary carotenoid utilisation at high temperature by Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar)
Factors Impacting on Aggressive Behaviour, Cannibalism and Subsequent Growth Performance in Juvenile Barramundi
Intraepithelial Lymphiod Tissue in the Gills of Wild Fish
Reproductive Biology and Maturation Control of Brook Trout (Salvelinus fontinalis, Mitchill) in Tasmania
Screenin and Characterization of Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) in Gastrointestinal Tract of Barramundi, Abalone and Lobster as Probiotic Candidates
Treatment of Amoebic Gill Disease (AGD) Caused by Neoparamoeba Perurans in Salmo Salar (Atlantic Salmon)