Dr. Blanar's research interests bisect the fields of parasitology and general ecology. He studies the natural and anthropogenic processes that structure parasite communities in aquatic organisms. He also does the reverse and tracks changes in parasite community structure to answer larger questions about ecosystem processes and ecological health. His projects typically involve some combination of field work in critical Florida habitats (Everglades, mangrove swamps, coral reefs, sargassum mats), laboratory-based work (based at NCU's Ocean Campus), and the use of multivariate statistics. Dr. Blanar's interests extend to meta-analysis, parasite phylogeny, community-level processes, parasite-induced host behavior modification, and host-parasite interactions in general. 

 

Ongoing projects (as of Sept 2026) include a) parasite communities in invasive organisms, enermy release, and parasite spillover and spillback; b) parasite communities in Florida wildlife (fishes and birds) and their relation with host migration, trophic guild and foraging behavior; c) the study of how parasite communities change in fishes that undergo ontogenetic niche and diet shifts; d) parasite bioenergetics; and e) parasite phylogeny. I maintain active research collaborations with colleagues across the USA, Canada, Austria, New Zealand, Belgium, and Germany.

 

I also use meta-analytical approachs to study a) parasite community structure in small-bodied fishes in response to industrial development and landscape use; b) the role that distance decay, host range, and post-glacial recolonization play in parasite communities of sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus); and c) quatification of effect sizes associated with observer bias in parasite community studies.