Southern California Society of Parasitologists - Regional Society Update

Submitted by Ralph Appy, Secretary-Treasurer, SCSP.

The Southern California Society of Parasitologists (SCSP) will hold their annual business meeting this fall. Dr. Bruno Passarelli will continue as President until the fall meeting. The SCSP budget is presently $2,706.28.

As in previous years, student presentations were done in conjunction with the Southern California Academy of Sciences April 18, 2026. Awards in the amount of $200 each were given to two presentations from students at the University of California at San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography:

Estuarine crab loaded with diverse parasites – Sasha Sypher and,

Food-web exploiting parasites dominate parasitic load and diversity in jackknife clams – Chiara Rizzuti.

Fall meeting planning is underway for a collaborative parasite workshop at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in conjunction with faculty and students from Universidad Autonoma de Baja California (UABC), Ensenada.

SCSP members Drs. Juliane Passarelli and Ralph Appy are continuing collaboration with Dr. Milton Love, University of California at Santa Barbara, to update the 1983 “A Checklist of Parasites of California, Oregon, and Washington Marine and Estuarine Fishes”. Special thanks to those ASP members who have agreed to review the draft document.

Current Officers:

President: Dr. Bruno Passarelli, Saddleback College

President-Elect: Vacant

Secretary-Treasurer: Dr. Ralph Appy, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Auditor: Dr. Julianne Kalman Passarelli, Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

4 May 2026