Florian Reyda | Source | Professor of Parasitology at SUNY Oneonta

Reyda's fish parasitology research focuses on the taxonomy and systematics of parasites, with a particular emphasis on biological diversity. He and his students essentially address similar questions about evolution, diversity, and host specificity of parasites using two different host-parasite systems. The first area is the freshwater fish parasites in North America. A major focus has been the fish parasites of Otsego Lake, home of the SUNY Oneonta Biological Field Station. More recent efforts have focused on a survey of Oneida Lake fish parasites in which parasitological data are being used to gain a perspective on the many changes in that lake. Reyda and his students have conducted fieldwork throughout the northeast and the southern USA, where they have collected various species of thorny-headed worms (acanthocephalans). The second host-parasite system is the tapeworms (cestodes) of stingrays. Recent efforts include descriptions of new species of tapeworms from stingrays from Borneo, Senegal, and South America. Students who conduct research with Reyda gain experience with field sampling and host dissections, as well as techniques involved in modern taxonomic work, including preparation of permanent slides, light microscopy, imaging, scientific illustration, scanning electron microscopy, and DNA sequencing.