Dr Tommy Leung

Lecturer in Parasitology and Evolutionary Biology - School of Environmental and Rural Science

Tommy Leung

Phone: +61 2 6773 4083

Email: tleung6@une.edu.au

Biography

Tommy Leung a lecturer at University of New England in Armidale who does research on various aspects of parasitism / symbiosis, evolutionary ecology, and disease ecology. The general themes of their research and publications includes:

-The evolutionary ecology of parasites

- How parasites interact with their hosts

- Parasite life cycles and life history characteristics and their evolutionary significance

- The large-scale ecology (macroecology) of disease and parasitism

- Interactions between different parasites within the same hosts

Apart from their own research program, they are interested in most aspects of life sciences in general and writes a blog about newly published research on parasites (http://dailyparasite.blogspot.com/).

Qualifications

BSc (UTS) / PGDipSci (University of Otago) / PhD (University of Otago)

Primary Research Area/s

Parasitology

Research Interests

Current Collaborations

Janet Koprivnikar, Parasite Ecologist - Toronto Metropolitan University
Comparative analyses of parasite communities in reptiles

Publications

2020 to present

Leung, T.L.F. (2024). Zoonotic Parasites in Reptiles, with Particular Emphasis on Potential Zoonoses in Australian Reptiles. Current Clinical Microbiology Reports, In Press.

Goggin, C. L., Leung, T.L.F., Byrne, M., Murphy, N. E., & Koen, T. (2023). Prevalence of the scuticociliate Orchitophrya stellarum in seastars from the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms 156: 89-98.

Leung, T.L.F. (2022). Economies of parasite body size. Current Biology 32: R645-R649.

Leung, T.L.F. (2021). Parasites of fossil vertebrates: what we know and what can we expect from the fossil record?. In The evolution and fossil record of parasitism: identification and macroevolution of parasites (pp. 1-27). 

2019 

Leung, T.L.F. & Koprivnikar, J. (2019). Your infections are what you eat: how host ecology shapes the helminth parasite communities of lizards. Journal of Animal Ecology 88: 416-426.

2017 

Leung, T.L.F. (2017). Fossils of parasites: what can the fossil record tell us about the evolution of parasitism?. Biological Reviews 92: 410-430.

2016

Leung, T.L.F. & Koprivnikar, J. (2016). Nematode parasite diversity in birds: the role of host ecology, life history and migration. Journal of Animal Ecology. 85: 1471-1480.

Mitchell, D. R., & Leung, T.L.F. (2016). Sharing the load: a survey of parasitism in the invasive freshwater pulmonate, Physa acuta (Hygrophila: Physidae) and sympatric native snail populations. Hydrobiologia 766: 165-172.

2015 

Leung, T.L.F. Mora, C., & Rohde, K. (2015). Patterns of diversity and distribution of aquatic invertebrates and their parasites. In Parasite Diversity and Diversification: Evolutionary Ecology Meets Phylogenetics, (pp. 39-57).

Koprivnikar, J., & Leung, T.L.F. (2015). Flying with diverse passengers: greater richness of parasitic nematodes in migratory birds. Oikos 124: 399-405.

2014

Leung, T.L.F. (2014) Evolution: How a Barnacle Came to Parasitise a Shark. Current Biology 24: R564 - R566

Leung, T.L.F. (2014). Fish as parasites: an insight into evolutionary convergence in adaptations for parasitism. Journal of Zoology. 294: 1-12.

2013

Leung, T.L.F. and Bates, A. (2013) More rapid and severe disease outbreaks for aquaculture at the tropics: implications for food security. Journal of Applied Ecology 50: 215-222.

2012

Leung T.L.F., King, K.C., and Wolinska, J. (2012) Escape from the Red Queen: an overlooked scenario in coevolutionary studies. Oikos. 121: 641–645.

Koehler, A.K., Springer, Y.P., Randhawa, H.S., Leung, T.L.F., Kenney, D.B. and Poulin, R. (2012) Genetic and phenotypic correlates of clone-level success and host specialization in a generalist parasite. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 25: 66-79.

2011

Poulin, R., and T.L.F. Leung. (2011) Body size, trophic level, and the use of fish as transmission routes by parasites. Oecologia, 166: 731-738.

Herbert S.M., Leung, T.L.F. and Bishop, P.J. (2011) Fluorescent probes as a tool for labelling and tracking the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. Diseases of Aquatic Organisms, 96: 169-174.

Leung, T.L.F., and R. Poulin. (2011) Small worms, big appetites: ratios of different functional morphs in relation to interspecific competition in trematode parasites. International Journal for Parasitology, 41: 1063-1068.

Poulin, R. and Leung, T.L.F. (2011) Latitudinal gradient in the taxonomic composition of parasite communities. Journal of Helminthology, 85: 228-233.

Koppel, E.M., Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2011) The marine limpet Notoacmea scapha acts as a transmission sink for intertidal cercariae in Otago Harbour, New Zealand. Journal of Helminthology, 85: 160-163.

Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2011) Intra-host competition between co-infecting digeneans within a bivalve second intermediate host: dominance by priority-effect or taking advantage of others? International Journal for Parasitology, 41: 449-454.

2010

Poulin, R. and Leung, T.L.F. (2010) Taxonomic resolution in parasite community studies: are things getting worse? Parasitology, 137: 1967-1973.

Leung, T.L.F., Keeney, D.B. and Poulin, R. (2010) Genetics, intensity-dependence, and host manipulation in the trematode Curtuteria australis: following the strategies of others? Oikos, 119:393-400.

Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2010) Infection success of different trematode genotypes in two alternative intermediate hosts: evidence for intraspecific specialisation? Parasitology, 137:321-328.

2009

Saldanha, I., Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2009) Causes of intraspecific variation in body size among trematode metacercariae. Journal of Helminthology, 83: 289-293.

Leung, T.L.F., Donald, K.M., Keeney, D.B., Koehler, A.V., Peoples, R.C. and Poulin, R. (2009) Trematode parasites of Otago Harbour soft-sediment intertidal ecosystems: life cycles, ecological roles and DNA barcodes. New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research, 43: 857-865.

Thieltges, D.W., Saldanha, I., Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2009) Contribution of parasites to intra- and inter-site variation in shell morphology of a marine gastropod. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 89: 563-568.

Leung, T.L.F., Poulin, R. and Keeney, D.B. (2009) Accumulation of diverse parasite genotypes within the bivalve second intermediate host in the digenean Gymnophallus sp. International Journal for Parasitology, 39: 327-331.

Leung, T.L.F., Keeney, D.B. and Poulin, R. (2009) Cryptic species complexes in manipulative echinostomatid trematodes: when two become six. Parasitology, 136: 241-252.

2008

Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2008) Parasitism, commensalism, and mutualism: exploring the many shades of symbioses. Vie et Milieu, 58: 107-115.

Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2008) Size-dependent pattern of metacercariae accumulation in Macomona liliana: the threshold for infection in a dead-end host. Parasitology Research, 104: 177-180.

Leung, T.L.F., King, T.M., Poulin, R. and Keeney, D.B. (2008) Ten polymorphic microsatellite loci for the trematode Curtuteria australis (Echinostomatidae). Molecular Ecology Resources, 8:1046-1048.

Keeney, D.B., Lagrue, C., Bryan-Walker, K., Khan, N., Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2008) The use of fluorescent fatty acid analogs as labels in trematode experimental infections. Experimental Parasitology, 120: 15-20.

Keeney, D.B., Boessenkool, S., King, T.M., Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2008) Effects of interspecific competition on asexual proliferation and genetic diversity in larval trematode infections of snails. Parasitology, 135: 741-747.

Martorelli, S.R., Fredensborg, B.L., Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2008) Four trematode cercariae form the New Zealand intertidal snail Zeacumantus subcarinatus (Batillariidae). New Zealand Journal of Zoology, 35: 73-84.

2007

Leung, T.L.F., Poulin, R. and Keeney, D.B. (2007) Ten polymorphic microsatellite loci for the trematode Gymnophallus sp. Molecular Ecology Notes, 7: 1039-1041.

Bryan-Walker, K., Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2007) Local adaptation of immunity against a trematode parasite in marine amphipod population. Marine Biology, 152: 687-695.

Leung, T.L.F. andPoulin, R. (2007) Recruitment rate of gymnophallid metacercariae in the New Zealand cockle Austrovenus stutchburyi: an experimental test of the hitch-hiking hypothesis. Parasitology Research, 101: 281-287.

Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2007) Interactions between parasites of the cockle Austrovenus stutchburyi: Hitch-hikers, resident-cleaners, and habitat-facilitators. Parasitology, 134: 247-255.

2006

Leung, T.L.F. and Poulin, R. (2006) Effects of the trematode Maritrema novaezealandensis on the behaviour of its amphipod host: adaptive or not? Journal of Helminthology, 80:271-275.

2005

Poulin, R., Fredensborg, B.L., Hansen, E. and Leung, T.L.F. (2005) The true cost of host manipulation by parasites. Behavioural Processes, 68: 241-244.

Memberships

Member of the Australian Society for Parasitology