Chamara Benthotage

Biography

Chamara completed a Bachelor of Science (Hons) majoring in Zoology at the University of Ruhuna, Sri Lanka in 2013. Title of his undergraduate thesis was ‘Determination of taxonomic status of edible crab species in the southern coastal belt of Sri Lanka using sequences of DNA barcoding gene region’. He completed his master’s degree in Veterinary Sciences at Chungbuk National University, South Korea in 2018 under the Korean Government Scholarships Program. He majored in aquatic animal health in his MSc which included the thesis entitled ‘Molecular characterization of virulence and antimicrobial resistance properties of Aeromonas spp. isolated from white-leg shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) marketed in Korea’.

Chamara ccompleted his PhD at Marine Ecology Research Centre of Faculty of Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, Lismore in 2022, 'The Resilience of Leaf Oysters (Isognomon ephippium) to Variable Water Quality in Northern New South Wales Estuaries'.

Chamara's work contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals

Research

His current research is focused on leaf oysters, a reef-forming bivalve, and its resilience against various water quality stressors in NSW estuaries. The leaf oyster distribution in several northern NSW estuaries are being assessed and a range of water quality factors including pH, heavy metals, sedimentation and microbial loads are investigated at the leaf oyster habitats. The study aimed to investigate the immunological strength of the leaf oysters in order to assess their potential application in shellfish reef restoration at the sites of declined reefs

Awards

• 2019: Australian Government Research Training Program (RTP) Scholarship for doctoral studies at Southern Cross University.
• 2017: Award for the ‘Outstanding Academic Achievement’ as the best master’s fellow among Korean Government Scholarship master’s scholars.
• 2015: Korean Government Scholarships, master’s scholarship from National Institute of International Education, South Korea.