Sarah, holding a baby turtle
By Sarah A. Orlofske, PhD, Assistant Professor & Curator of Animal Parasites, Associate Editor Ecology, Epidemiology, Survey and Behavior, Journal of Parasitology, University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point
This article originally appeared in Wisconsin Waterfowl Association’s September Newsletter edition.
Greetings Fellow WWA members!
I appreciate the opportunity to introduce myself through this newsletter and share some background about the research my students and collaborators are pursuing related to waterfowl biology, parasite and disease ecology, and habitat restoration and management.
My name is Sarah Orlofske and I am a faculty member in the Department of Biology at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. I am a Wisconsin native and grew up thinking all families went on vacation to Horicon Marsh for spring and fall migrations. My childhood adventures around wetland habitats instilled a love of wildlife and a desire to contribute to conservation. Building off my childhood passions, I graduated with my Bachelors of Science in Biology and Wildlife Management and Research from UWSP before pursing graduate school at Virginia Tech and the University of Colorado – Boulder, where I completed my PhD. My previous research focused on amphibians and amphibian disease, particularly caused by flatworm parasites, and the effect of ecosystem changes in the food web. Now as a faculty member my focus has shifted to waterfowl and that brought me to WWA.
Sarah, snail sampling
Waterfowl are hosts to a wide variety of parasites and pathogens, including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, lice, and an unimaginable array of worms. The current aim of my research is to survey local waterfowl for their parasite diversity and use that information to help land managers, wildlife biologists, and restoration ecologists better understand species interactions within waterfowl habitat. Specifically, the worms I study live in the digestive tract of the birds and get into the host through the diet. Because these parasites have complex life cycles involving multiple hosts, such as snails, insects, and birds, finding a particular parasite inside a host tells us a lot about what other species are present in the ecosystem. Our specific goal is to investigate how parasites can tell us what is going on “hidden” within the food web and use this information to monitor ecosystem structure and function. While the worms I study may not cause illness in the birds and aren’t a risk to humans, they may actually serve as tools to help us understand how to conserve and protect our important natural resources.
I look forward to working with WWA members to collaborate with our research efforts and share the results of our work through this newsletter. I appreciate your help making these discoveries and for supporting the student researchers at UWSP involved in the projects!