Anthony van Rooyen

Research Scientist (Genetics)

Bachelor of Science with Honours (Biochemistry)

Anthony van Rooyen provides critical genetic analysis, research and innovation at Cesar Australia. His portfolio includes projects on animal health, biosecurity, monitoring, genetic rescue and insect pest management. He loves that his work involves a wide variety of projects, which has meant that he has been able to get out in the field and apply technology to many different areas.

While Anthony has a broad skillset and knowledge of contemporary genetics, his real skill is in applying these genetic “toolkits” for positive outcomes in sustainability and conservation. He likes to do this by working with clients and researchers from a diverse range of disciplines, and will always spend time with them first get a thorough understanding of their needs.

Anthony grew up on a picturesque farm nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Southern alps which nurtured a strong interest for agriculture and environment. This led him to Lincoln University, Canterbury where he achieved First Class Honours in Biochemistry. Prior to joining cesar he was part of a research team investigating the effects of ocean acidification on seafloor ecosystems in Antarctica, although, by being based in temperature/pH controlled labs in New Zealand he missed out on those Antarctic conditions.

John Black, Anthony van Rooyen, Dean Heinze, Robbie Gaffney, Ary Hoffmann, Thomas Schmidt, Andrew Weeks (2023) Heterogeneous patterns of heterozygosity loss in isolated populations of the threatened eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii). Molecular Ecology 215: 193-214.

John Black, Anthony van Rooyen, Dean Heinze, Robbie Gaffney, Ary Hoffmann, Thomas Schmidt, Andrew Weeks (2023) Heterogeneous patterns of heterozygosity loss in isolated populations of the threatened eastern barred bandicoot (Perameles gunnii). Molecular Ecology 00: 1-16.

Alex Slavenko, Marielle Babineau, Anthony van Rooyen, Benjamin Congdon, Paul Umina, Samantha Ward (2024) Modelling aphid movement in Australian canola fields. Annals of Applied Biology 185: 242-254.

Lisa Kirkland, Marielle Babineau, Samantha Ward, Anthony van Rooyen, Evatt Chirgwin, Luis Mata, Paul Umina (2024) Assessing the risk of resistance to flonicamid and afidopyropen in green peach aphid (Hemiptera: Myzus persicae) via in-vivo selection. Crop Protection 184: 106783.

Thomas Burns, Nick Clemann, Anthony van Rooyen, Ben Scheele, Andrew Weeks, Don Driscoll (In review) Environmental DNA sampling in a terrestrial environment: Methods to detect a critically endangered frog and a global pathogen. bioRxiv : .

Jessica Keem, Bronwyn Hradsky, Joe Benshemesh, Mark Le Pla, Abigail Watkins, Andrew Weeks, Anthony van Rooyen, John Black, Darren Southwell (2023) Evaluating predator control using two non-invasive population metrics: A camera trap activity index and density estimation from scat genotyping. Wildlife Research 51: WR23033.

Lisa Kirkland, Evatt Chirgwin, Samantha Ward, Benjamin Congdon, Anthony van Rooyen, Paul Umina (2023) P450‐mediated resistance in Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) reduces the efficacy of neonicotinoid seed treatments in Brassica napus. Pest Management Science 79: 1851-1859.

Qiong Yang, Paul Umina, Shujun Wei, Chris Bass, Wenjuan Yu, Katie Robinson, Alex Gill, Dongwu Zhan, Samantha Ward, Anthony van Rooyen, Ary Hoffmann (2023) Diversity and regional variation of endosymbionts in the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae (Sulzer). Diversity 15: 206.

Paul Umina, James Maino, Owain Edwards, Xuan Cheng, Matthew Binns, Anthony van Rooyen, Sue Song, Andrew Weeks, Aston Arthur, Olivia Reynolds, Ary Hoffmann (2023) Fitness costs of pyrethroid resistance in the polyphagous pest mite, Halotydeus destructor, under field conditions. Journal of Pest Science 97: 185–197.

Paul Umina, Andrew Weeks, James Maino, Ary Hoffmann, Sue Song, Joshua Thia, Dustin Severtson, Xuan Cheng, Anthony van Rooyen, Aston Arthur (2022) Australian Bryobia mites (Trombidiformes: Tetranychidae) form a complex of cryptic taxa with unique climatic niches and insecticide responses. Pest Management Science 78: 2860-2871.

Alexander Coutts, Allyson O’Brien, Andrew Weeks, Stephen Swearer, Anthony van Rooyen, Simon Branigan, Rebecca Morris (2022) An environmental DNA approach to informing restoration of the functionally extinct oyster, Ostrea angasi. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems 32: 1732-1744.

Mark Le Pla, Emma Birnbaum, Matthew Rees, Bronwyn Hradsky, Andrew Weeks, Anthony van Rooyen, Jack Pascoe (2022) Genetic sampling and an activity index indicate contrasting outcomes of lethal control for an invasive predator. Austral Ecology 47: 1062-1076.

Aston Arthur, Lisa Kirkland, Evatt Chirgwin, Anthony van Rooyen, Paul Umina (2022) Baseline susceptibility of Australian Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) to novel insecticides flonicamid and afidopyropen. Crop Protection 158: 105992.

Adam Pym, Paul Umina, Jenny Reidy-Crofts, Bartlomiej Troczka, Andrew Matthews, James Gardner, Benjamin Hunt, Anthony van Rooyen, Owain Edwards, Chris Bass (2022) Overexpression of UDP-glucuronosyltransferase and cytochrome P450 enzymes confers resistance to sulfoxaflor in field populations of the aphid, Myzus persicae. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 143: 103743.

Paul Umina, Chris Bass, Anthony van Rooyen, Evatt Chirgwin, Aston Arthur, Adam Pym, Jo Mackisack, Andrew Mathews, Lisa Kirkland (2022) Spirotetramat resistance in Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and its association with the presence of the A2666V mutation. Pest Management Science 78: 4822-4831.

Elia Pirtle, Anthony van Rooyen, James Maino, Andrew Weeks, Paul Umina (2021) A molecular method for biomonitoring of an exotic plant‐pest: Leafmining for environmental DNA. Molecular Ecology 30: 4913-4925.

Anthony van Rooyen, Adam Miller, Zach Clark, Craig Sherman, Paul Butcher, Justin Rizzari, Andrew Weeks (2021) Development of an environmental DNA assay for detecting multiple shark species involved in human-shark conflicts in Australia. Environmental DNA 3: 940-949.

Aston Arthur, James Maino, Ary Hoffmann, Moshe Jasper, Alan Lord, Svetlana Micic, Owain Edwards, Anthony van Rooyen, Paul Umina (2021) Learnings from over a decade of increasing pesticide resistance in the redlegged earth mite, Halotydeus destructor (Tucker). Pest Management Science 77: 3013-3024.

James Maino, Ary Hoffmann, Matthew Binns, Xuan Cheng, Anthony van Rooyen, Paul Umina (2021) Strip spraying delays pyrethroid resistance in the redlegged earth mite, Halotydeus destructor: A novel refuge strategy. Pest Management Science 77: 4572-4582.

Nancy Endersby‐Harshman, Thomas Schmidt, Jessica Chung, Anthony van Rooyen, Andrew Weeks, Ary Hoffmann (2020) Heterogeneous genetic invasions of three insecticide resistance mutations in Indo‐Pacific populations of Aedes aegypti (L.). Molecular Ecology 29: 1628-1641.

Thomas Schmidt, Jessica Chung, Anthony van Rooyen, Angus Sly, Andrew Weeks, Ary Hoffmann (2020) Incursion pathways of the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) into Australia contrast sharply with those of the yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti). Pest Management Science 76: 4202-4209.

Daniel Stoessel, Anthony van Rooyen, Luciano Beheregaray, Scott Raymond, Bryan Van Wyk, James Haddy, Jason Lieschke, Andrew Weeks (2020) Population genetic structure of estuary perch (Percalates colonorum Gunther) in south-eastern Australia. Marine and Freshwater Research 72: 263-274.

Reid Tingley, Matthew Greenlees, Scott Oertel, Anthony van Rooyen, Andrew Weeks (2019) Environmental DNA sampling as a surveillance tool for cane toad Rhinella marina introductions on offshore islands. Biological Invasions 21: 45297.

Thomas Schmidt, Anthony van Rooyen, Jessica Chung, Nancy Endersby‐Harshman, Philippa Griffin, Angus Sly, Ary Hoffmann, Andrew Weeks (2019) Tracking genetic invasions: Genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms reveal the source of pyrethroid-resistant Aedes aegypti (yellow fever mosquito) incursions at international ports. Evolutionary Applications 12: 1136-1146.

Yasaman Alavi, Anthony van Rooyen, Mark Elgar, Therésa Jones, Andrew Weeks (2018) Novel microsatellite markers suggest the mechanism of parthenogenesis in Extatosoma tiaratum is automixis with terminal fusion. Insect Science 25: 24-32.

William Lugg, Josh Griffiths, Anthony van Rooyen, Andrew Weeks, Reid Tingley (2018) Optimal survey designs for environmental DNA sampling. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 9: 1049-1059.

Siobhan de Little, Owain Edwards, Anthony van Rooyen, Andrew Weeks, Paul Umina (2017) Discovery of metabolic resistance to neonicotinoids in green peach aphids (Myzus persicae) in Australia. Pest Management Science 73: 1611-1617.

Alecia Bellgrove, Anthony van Rooyen, Andrew Weeks, Jennifer Clark, Martina Doblin, Adam Miller (2017) New resource for population genetics studies on the Australasian intertidal brown alga, Hormosira banksii: Isolation and characterization of 15 polymorphic microsatellite loci through next generation DNA sequencing. Journal of Applied Phycology 29: 1721-1727.

Gurutzeta Guillera‐Arroita, José Lahoz‐Monfort, Anthony van Rooyen, Andrew Weeks, Reid Tingley (2017) Dealing with false‐positive and false‐negative errors about species occurrence at multiple levels. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 8: 1081-1091.

Andrew Weeks, Dean Heinze, Louise Perrin, Jakub Stoklosa, Ary Hoffmann, Anthony van Rooyen, Tom Kelly, Ian Mansergh (2017) Genetic rescue increases fitness and aids rapid recovery of an endangered marsupial population. Nature Communications 8: 1071.

Adam Miller, Anthony van Rooyen, Gordana Rašić, Daniel Ierodiaconou, Harry Gorfine, Robert Day, Caroline Wong, Ary Hoffman, Andrew Weeks (2016) Contrasting patterns of population connectivity between regions in a commercially important mollusc Haliotis rubra: Integrating population genetics, genomics and marine LiDAR data. Molecular Ecology 25: 3845-3864.

Adam Smart, Andrew Weeks, Anthony van Rooyen, Alana Moore, Michael McCarthy, Reid Tingley (2016) Assessing the cost‐efficiency of environmental DNA sampling. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 7: 1291-1298.

Adam Smart, Reid Tingley, Andrew Weeks, Anthony van Rooyen, Michael Mccarthy (2015) Environmental DNA sampling is more sensitive than a traditional survey technique for detecting an aquatic invader. Ecological Applications 25: 1944-1952.

Reid Tingley, Andrew Weeks, Adam Smart, Anthony van Rooyen, Andrew Woolnough, Michael Mccarthy (2015) European newts establish in Australia, marking the arrival of a new amphibian order. Biological Invasions 17: 31-37.

Andrew Weeks, Michael Smith, Anthony van Rooyen, Dion Maple, Adam Miller (2014) A single panmictic population of endemic red crabs, Gecarcoidea natalis, on Christmas Island with high levels of genetic diversity. Conservation Genetics 15: 909-919.

Paul Umina, Owain Edwards, Peter Carson, Anthony van Rooyen, Annette Anderson (2014) High levels of resistance to Carbamate and Pyrethroid chemicals widespread in Australian Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) populations. Journal of Economic Entomology 107: 1626-1638.

Adam Miller, Oisín Sweeney, Nick Whiterod, Anthony van Rooyen, Michael Hammer, Andrew Weeks (2014) Critically low levels of genetic diversity in fragmented populations of the endangered Glenelg spiny freshwater crayfish Euastacus bispinosus. Endangered Species Research 25: 43-55.

Adam Miller, Anthony van Rooyen, Oisín Sweeney, Nick Whiterod, Andrew Weeks (2013) The development of 10 novel polymorphic microsatellite markers through next generation sequencing and a preliminary population genetic analysis for the endangered Glenelg spiny crayfish, Euastacus bispinosus. Molecular Biology Reports 40: 4415-4419.

Andrew Weeks, Anthony van Rooyen, Paul Mitrovski, Dean Heinze, Amy Winnard, Adam Miller (2013) A species in decline: Genetic diversity and conservation of the Victorian eastern barred bandicoot, Perameles gunnii. Conservation Genetics 14: 1243-1254.

Adam Miller, Anthony van Rooyen, Renae Ayres, Tarmo Raadik, Peter Fairbrother, Andrew Weeks (2012) The development of 24 polymorphic microsatellite loci for the endangered barred galaxias, Galaxias fuscus, through next generation DNA sequencing. Conservation Genetics Resources 4: 613-616.