Anyone else a fish parasite enthusiast? Recently, I've been wracking my brain trying to put a proposal together so I can start applying for grants for my thesis. The great thing about doing parasitology work in the Philippines is that not much as been done and that means, there's a plethora of things I can explore. Maybe someone will see the value of my work and give me some funding! All I need is one thorough, sound, straight-forward problem that doesn't require a long sampling period. Thank you God for Paul Sikkel who agreed to be my external advisor. He happens to be one out of the few scientists spearheading this fresh field.
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| Underside of an Argulus sp. (*google images*) |
My first encounter with parasites was during my two year internship as a fisheries technician for Mirant, now called Genon. I worked in a aquaculture facility that was in collaboration with Department of Natural Resources' Restoration program for anadromous species, specifically Atlantic sturgeon (
Acipenser oxyrhynchus).
Every summer, our poor sturgeon was heavily infested with irritating, persistent sea lice (
Argulus sp.).
After my two years as a technician, I went back to school for my masters degree in Silliman University. Come to find out that no one has done any parasitology work in the lab before (for a master's thesis or dissertation). I was nervous about choosing the topic considering none of the faculty is even specialized in that field. But God answered my prayers when Renclar (a researcher at the marine lab) informed me about a scientist coming to Silliman conducting some parasite work. That fateful day, I met Paul Sikkel. He gave me the motivation, with a renewed enthusiasm, to pursue my topic.
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| Lionfish taken at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas |
Paul has done plenty of work with lionfish and gnathid isopods. There's a chance my thesis will be based on his work and be used to compare Caribbean and Indo-Pacific parasite loads of lionfish. Now, all I need to do is to get the ball rolling. Finish these old reports, take my comprehensive exam and present my proposal. Oh boy, Jesus give me the strength and wisdom to finish all of this by April! I need to graduate by next March!
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| Gnathid female (*google images*) |
It is certainly rare to read a thesis that is about the relationship of a fish and a parasite. Well, I hope you can get your grant and start with your thesis writing immediately. Anyway, I think it might be good to upload and publish your work online. That way, many people can have an idea on what you are talking about.
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