Tasmanian devils have spawned two transmissible cancer lineages, named devil facial tumour 1 (DFT1) and devil facial tumour 2 (DFT2). We investigated the genetic diversity and evolution of these clones by analysing 78 DFT1 and 41 DFT2 genomes relative to a newly assembled, chromosome-level reference. Time-resolved phylogenetic trees reveal that DFT1 first emerged in 1986 […]
Continue Reading
Since the emergence of the facial fungal disease during the mid-1990s that has decimated Tasmanian devil populations in the wild, scientists have been working on developing a vaccine that can protect the species and slow the spread of the fatal cancer. Although there was limited success with an earlier immunotherapy trial, that saw some captive-bred […]
Continue Reading
Research published recently in the journal iScience has found genetic diversity in insurance populations of Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) is just as robust as it is in wild populations and confirms the effectiveness of captive breeding and management strategies. The study, led by researchers from the University of Sydney’s Australasian Wildlife Genomics Group, involved analysing and comparing […]
Continue Reading
Scavenging species around the world are not known for being particular about their food. Whether they are northern hemisphere wolverines or sub-Saharan African spotted hyenas, for a scavenger any animal or bird carcass is a meal, but a study published recently in the journal Ecology & Evolution has found there is one scavenging exception […]
Continue Reading
New research published recently in the journal Ecology Letters has estimated just 17,000 Tasmanian devils remain in the wild, a significant decline since the estimated peak of 53,000 in 1996, when the deadly facial tumour disease was first identified and that has since ravaged the species. Wildlife ecologist and lead author Calum Cunningham, from the […]
Continue Reading
