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Tasmanian devils have spawned two transmissible cancer lineages, named devil facial tumor 1 (DFT1) and devil facial tumor 2 (DFT2). We investigated the genetic diversity and evolution of these clones by analyzing 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 (1982 to 1989) and DFT2 in 2011 (2009 to 2012). Subclone analysis documents transmission of heterogeneous cell populations. DFT2 has faster mutation rates than DFT1 across all variant classes, including substitutions, indels, rearrangements, transposable element insertions, and copy number alterations, and we identify a hypermutated DFT1 lineage with defective DNA mismatch repair. Several loci show plausible evidence of positive selection in DFT1 or DFT2, including loss of chromosome Y and inactivation of MGA , but none are common to both cancers. This study reveals the parallel long-term evolution of two transmissible cancers inhabiting a common niche in Tasmanian devils.

Unmodified forests are increasingly rare worldwide, with forestry a major contributor to habitat modification. Extending conservation practices beyond protected areas is important to conserve forest ecosystems.We investigate the response of native mammalian carnivores (both Order Carnivora and Family Dasyuridae) to production forests globally, including harvested native forest and timber plantations. We examine how carnivores recorded in production forests use these forests versus other land uses, particularly native and unharvested forest; how habitat use relates to threatened status, body size, diet, and harvesting method; carnivore responses to habitat features within production forests; and carnivore denning, breeding, and predation behaviour in production forests.We review 294 studies recording 132 carnivore species in production forests. Carnivores generally show higher use of native and unharvested forests and lower use of agricultural land than production forests. Threatened species and large carnivores respond more negatively to production forests than non-threatened species and small carnivores respectively. Hypercarnivores respond more negatively than omnivores to plantations compared to native forest, but there was no difference in the use of harvested and unharvested native forest between these dietary groups.Surprisingly, a high proportion of carnivore species use clearfelled more than unharvested native forest. In forest with partial harvesting or reduced-impact logging, most species show no difference in use between harvested and unharvested forest.Carnivores generally respond positively to habitat features such as riparian areas and coarse woody debris. Several carnivores were recorded denning and breeding in production forests. Production forests often influence the prey availability, hunting success, and diet of carnivores.We show that many carnivores use production forests, and how they respond to production forestry varies with species traits. We recommend that production forests are managed as valuable carnivore habitat, and highlight strategies to enhance the use of these forests by carnivores.

Lead toxicity threatens scavenging wildlife globally. To allow inexpensive measurement of long-term lead exposure from archived wildlife tissues, portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF)1devices have been validated to measure lead concentrations in bone samples from bird species. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of portable XRF for hair lead measurement in a specialist mammalian scavenger, the threatened Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). We attempted to first validate the method by analyzing relatively large (∼1.0 g) hair samples from 39 deceased animals initially with XRF, and then with inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) (validation study). We then measured lead concentrations via XRF only in a further 61 hair samples taken from live devils trapped in a plantation forestry landscape, where devils may scavenge on browsing marsupials that are regularly culled using lead ammunition (plantation study). Portable XRF measures of hair lead levels were positively correlated with ICP-MS values (R2= 0.95), although the relationship was weak at low lead concentrations. In the validation study, 95% of sampled Tasmanian devils had relatively low lead levels (≤ 3 mg/kg), but the remaining two animals showed considerably elevated lead levels (> 15 mg/kg), suggesting that harmful long-term lead exposure can occur in this species. In the plantation study, lead levels were comparable to those found in the hair of mammals in other studies, though a higher proportion (11%) of devils showed levels > 3 mg/kg than in the validation study, suggesting devils may have higher exposure to lead in a landscape subjected to regular culling of browsing mammals. Our results suggests that portable XRF is a promising emerging technology, and after some refinement, may allow non-invasive real-time measurement of lead concentrations in the hair of mammals.

Few landscape-scale experiments test the effects of predators on the abundance and distribution of prey across habitat gradients. We use the assisted colonization of a top predator, the Tasmanian devil ( Sarcophilus harrisii ), to test the impacts of predation on the abundance, habitat use and temporal activity of a widespread prey species, the omnivorous common brushtail possum ( Trichosurus vulpecula ). Before introduction of devils to Maria Island, Tasmania, Australia, in 2012, possums were abundant in open grasslands as well as forests. Predation by devils caused high mortality of possums in grasslands, but individuals with access to trees had a higher survival probability. Possum abundance declined across the whole island from 2012–2016, as possums disappeared almost completely from grasslands and declined in drier forests with more open understorey. Abundance remained stable in wet forests, which are not preferred habitat for possums but provide better refuge from devils. Abundance and habitat use of possums remained unchanged at a control site on the adjacent Tasmanian mainland, where the devil population was low and stable. This study demonstrates how spatial variation in predator-caused mortality can limit both abundance and habitat breadth in generalist prey species, excluding them entirely from certain habitats.

The introduction of mammalian predators often results in loss of native biodiversity due to naiveté of native prey to novel predators. In New Zealand, an island system with virtually no native mammalian predators, introduced mammalian predators threaten a large proportion of the native fauna. A critical step in adapting to introduced predators is the ability to recognize and respond to a novel predation threat. Whether New Zealand's lizards can do this has received little attention. We compared the basking behaviour of native McCann's skinks (Oligosoma maccanni) when exposed to a live cat (Felis catus), cat body odour, a model raptor (representing a coevolved predator) or procedural controls. We inferred predator recognition from reductions in individual basking and higher selection for basking sites with greater refuge availability. We tested these behavioural responses for two skink populations: one from an area with high abundance of mammalian predators including feral cats and the other from a fenced conservation reserve where predators have been excluded for over 10 years (3–4 skink generations). Skinks from the high-predator population reduced basking when exposed to cat and raptor cues, whereas skinks from the predator-free population did not. These results suggest that within approximately 150 years of exposure to novel predators, McCann's skinks might be able to recognize the threat posed by invasive mammals. However, they also demonstrate that predator recognition and antipredator behaviours may not necessarily be retained once gained. The rapid loss of basking-related antipredator behaviours might reflect the high fitness costs of reduced basking for this species. Our results indicate that the behavioural response of skinks is flexible and that skinks may maximize individual fitness by balancing the risk of predation with the costs of antipredator behaviours

Captivity can alter the stress physiology and behaviour of an animal in both the short- and long-term through repetitive exposure to novel stressors and, subsequently, may reduce the success of conservation efforts such as translocation and reintroduction. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is threatened with extinction from a fatal facial tumour disease which has led to the establishment of an insurance meta-population designed for future reintroductions of disease-free devils. The meta-population is comprised of intensive captive and free-range captive environments; however, no study has yet examined the long-term physiological implications of captivity on devils. We used non-invasive faecal glucocorticoid metabolite (FGM) monitoring to determine if there were any differences in adrenal activity between intensive captive, free-range captive, and wild devils. FGMs were not age- or sexdependent, and we found that all population-types had similar intra-population variability and mean FGMs. In conclusion, both types of captive environment maintain stress profiles similar to wild devils.

Context Home-range size and population density characteristics are crucial information in the design of effective wildlife management, whether for conservation or control, but can vary widely among populations of the same species. Aims We investigate the influence of site productivity on home-range size and population density for Australian populations of the native, threatened spotted-tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) and the alien and highly successful feral cat (Felis catus). Methods We use live trapping and fine-scale GPS tracking to determine the home-range size and population density for both species across five sites in Tasmania. Using these data, as well as published estimates for both species from across Australia, we model how these parameters change in response to productivity gradients. We also use the telemetry data to examine the energetic costs of increasing home-range size for both species. Key results For both species, decreasing site productivity correlates with lower population density, and in spotted-tailed quolls and female feral cats, it also correlates with larger home-range sizes. However, the relative magnitude of these changes is different. Feral cats show smaller increases in home-range size but larger decreases in population density relative to spotted-tailed quolls. Our results suggest that these differences may be because increases in home-range size are more costly for feral cats, demonstrated by larger increases in nightly movement for the same increase in home-range area. Conclusions We suggest that knowledge of both home-range size and population density is needed to accurately determine how species respond to habitat productivity, and inform effective management across their geographic range. Implications These results have clear management implications; for example, in our low-rainfall sites, an adult female spotted-tailed quoll requires up to five times the amount of habitat expected on the basis of previous studies, thus dramatically increasing the costs of conservation programs for this threatened native species. Conversely, productivity-driven differences of up to four-fold in feral cat population density would influence the resources required for successful control programs of this invasive species.

The iconic Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is endangered due to the transmissible cancer Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), of which there are two genetically independent subtypes (DFT1 and DFT2). While DFT1 and DFT2 can be differentially diagnosed using tumour biopsies, there is an urgent need to develop less-invasive biomarkers that can detect DFTD and distinguish between subtypes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), the nano-sized membrane-enclosed vesicles present in most biofluids, represent a valuable resource for biomarker discovery. Here, we characterized the proteome of EVs from cultured DFTD cells using data-independent acquisition–mass spectrometry and an in-house spectral library of > 1500 proteins. EVs from both DFT1 and DFT2 cell lines expressed higher levels of proteins associated with focal adhesion functions. Furthermore, hallmark proteins of epithelial–mesenchymal transition were enriched in DFT2 EVs relative to DFT1 EVs. These findings were validated in EVs derived from serum samples, revealing that the mesenchymal marker tenascin-C was also enriched in EVs derived from the serum of devils infected with DFT2 relative to those infected with DFT1 and healthy controls. This first EV-based investigation of DFTD increases our understanding of the cancers’ EVs and their possible involvement in DFTD progression, such as metastasis. Finally, we demonstrated the potential of EVs to differentiate between DFT1 and DFT2, highlighting their potential use as less-invasive liquid biopsies for the Tasmanian devil.

Scavenging by large carnivores is integral for ecosystem functioning by limiting the build-up of carrion and facilitating widespread energy flows. However, top carnivores have declined across the world, triggering trophic shifts within ecosystems. Here, we compare findings from previous work on predator decline against areas with recent native mammalian carnivore loss. Specifically, we investigate top-down control on utilization of experimentally placed carcasses by two mesoscavengers—the invasive feral cat and native forest raven. Ravens profited most from carnivore loss, scavenging for five times longer in the absence of native mammalian carnivores. Cats scavenged on half of all carcasses in the region without dominant native carnivores. This was eight times more than in areas where other carnivores were at high densities. All carcasses persisted longer than the three-week monitoring period in the absence of native mammalian carnivores, while in areas with high carnivore abundance, all carcasses were fully consumed. Our results reveal that top-carnivore loss amplifies impacts associated with carnivore decline—increased carcass persistence and carrion access for smaller scavengers. This suggests that even at low densities, native mammalian carnivores can fulfil their ecological functions, demonstrating the significance of global carnivore conservation and supporting management approaches, such as trophic rewilding.

Devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) is a transmissible cancer affecting Tasmanian devils Sarcophilus harrisii. The disease has caused severe population declines and is associated with demographic and behavioral changes, including earlier breeding, younger age structures, and reduced dispersal and social interactions. Devils are generally solitary, but social encounters are commonplace when feeding upon large carcasses. DFTD tumors can disfigure the jaw and mouth and so diseased individuals might alter their diets to enable ingestion of alternative foods, to avoid conspecific interactions, or to reduce competition. Using stable isotope analysis (δ13C and δ15N) of whiskers, we tested whether DFTD progression, measured as tumor volume, affected the isotope ratios and isotopic niches of 94 infected Tasmanian devils from six sites in Tasmania, comprising four eucalypt plantations, an area of smallholdings and a national park. Then, using tissue from 10 devils sampled before and after detection of tumors and 8 devils where no tumors were detected, we examined whether mean and standard deviation of δ13C and δ15N of the same individuals changed between healthy and diseased states. δ13C and δ15N values were generally not related to tumor volume in infected devils, though at one site, Freycinet National Park, δ15N values increased significantly as tumor volume increased. Infection with DFTD was not associated with significant changes in the mean or standard deviation of δ13C and δ15N values in individual devils sampled before and after detection of tumors. Our analysis suggests that devils tend to maintain their isotopic niche in the face of DFTD infection and progression, except where ecological conditions facilitate a shift in diets and feeding behaviors, demonstrating that ecological context, alongside disease severity, can modulate the behavioral responses of Tasmanian devils to DFTD.

Control of invasive predators is a priority to protect island biodiversity. Understanding the responses of other species in multi-species invaded food webs is important to avoid unintended consequences. We use an intensive two-year cat-trapping program in the vicinity of seabird colonies on Bruny Island, Tasmania, to estimate the change in densities of feral cats and investigate the effect of control on the behaviour and abundance of native and invasive mammal species. Cat density before control was extremely high then reduced by 5.4-fold consequent to control. We show a complex but subtle cascade of ecological effects among mesopredator and prey species, with a lagged response to a pulse of bottom-up productivity provided by breeding seabirds. Our study demonstrates that cat density on islands, particularly around seasonally rich food resources such as seabird colonies, can be very high, much higher than on mainland areas, and that control using trapping is effective reducing cat density in this focussed landscape context. Our results highlight the complexity of effects of control of an invasive predator on the broader ecosystem. The top-down effect of cats on the ecosystem was limited but the response of prey indicates a predator effect conditioned by temporal change in bottom-up productivity.

Like many other Australian mammals, the eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) was widespread on the Australian mainland but went extinct there during the 20th century. The species remained abundant in Tasmania until a rapid decline occurred from 2001 to 2003, coinciding with a period of unsuitable weather. We provide an updated analysis of eastern quoll population trends in Tasmania by analysing a Tasmania-wide time series of annual spotlight counts (1985-2019). Eastern quolls were widespread and abundant in Tasmania until the early 2000s. A distinct change occurred in the early 2000s in the east and northeast, which led to severe population reductions. However, we present new evidence of an earlier decline in the north (mid-1990s) and a more recent decline around 2009 in the south. Range-wide declines have continued unabated during the last decade, resulting in a ∼67% decline (since the late 1990s) in the area with high quoll abundance. Although the timing of the major decline in the early 2000s coincided with unfavourable weather, the continuing decline and more recent change points suggest other causes are also involved. We can no longer assume that the existence of eastern quolls in Tasmania ensures the species’ long-term survival, highlighting the urgent need to increase efforts to conserve the remaining populations in Tasmania.

Telomeres protect chromosomes from degradation during cellular replication. In humans, it is well-documented that excessive telomere degradation is one mechanism by which cells can become cancerous. Increasing evidence from wildlife studies suggests that telomere length is positively correlated with survival and health and negatively correlated with disease infection intensity. The recently emerged devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) has led to dramatic and rapid population declines of the Tasmanian devil throughout its geographic range. Here, we tested the hypothesis that susceptibility to DFTD is negatively correlated with telomere length in devils across three populations with different infection histories. Our findings suggest telomere length is correlated with DFTD resistance in three ways. First, devils from a population with the slowest recorded increase in DFTD prevalence (West Pencil Pine) have significantly longer telomeres than those from two populations with rapid and exponential increases in prevalence (Freycinet and Narawantapu). Second, using extensive mark-recapture data obtained from a long-term demographic study, we found that individuals with relatively long telomeres tend to be infected at a significantly later age than those with shorter telomeres. Third, a hazard model showed devils with longer telomeres tended to become infected at a lower rate than those with shorter telomeres. This research provides a rare study of telomere length variation and its association with disease in a wildlife population. Our results suggest that telomere length may be a reliable marker of susceptibility to DFTD and assist with future management of this endangered species.

Genetic structure in host species is often used to predict disease spread. However, host and pathogen genetic variation may be incongruent. Understanding landscape factors that have either concordant or divergent influence on host and pathogen genetic structure is crucial for wildlife disease management. Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) was first observed in 1996 and has spread throughout almost the entire Tasmanian devil geographic range, causing dramatic population declines. Whereas DFTD is predominantly spread via biting among adults, devils typically disperse as juveniles, which experience low DFTD prevalence. Thus, we predicted little association between devil and tumour population structure and that environmental factors influencing gene flow differ between devils and tumours. We employed a comparative landscape genetics framework to test the influence of environmental factors on patterns of isolation by resistance (IBR) and isolation by environment (IBE) in devils and DFTD. Although we found evidence for broad-scale costructuring between devils and tumours, we found no relationship between host and tumour individual genetic distances. Further, the factors driving the spatial distribution of genetic variation differed for each. Devils exhibited a strong IBR pattern driven by major roads, with no evidence of IBE. By contrast, tumours showed little evidence for IBR and a weak IBE pattern with respect to elevation in one of two tumour clusters we identify herein. Our results warrant caution when inferring pathogen spread using host population genetic structure and suggest that reliance on environmental barriers to host connectivity may be ineffective for managing the spread of wildlife diseases. Our findings demonstrate the utility of comparative landscape genetics for identifying differential factors driving host dispersal and pathogen transmission.

Spontaneous tumor regression has been documented in a small proportion of human cancer patients, but the specific mechanisms underlying tumor regression without treatment are not well understood. Tasmanian devils are threatened with extinction from a transmissible cancer due to universal susceptibility and a near 100% case fatality rate. In over 10,000 cases

Evolutionary Applications published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd Ecological and evolutionary concepts have been widely adopted to understand host–pathogen dynamics, and more recently, integrated into wildlife disease management. Cancer is a ubiquitous disease that affects most metazoan species; however, the role of oncogenic phenomena in eco-evolutionary processes and its implications for wildlife management and conservation remains undeveloped. Despite the pervasive nature of cancer across taxa, our ability to detect its occurrence, progression and prevalence in wildlife populations is constrained due to logistic and diagnostic limitations, which suggests that most cancers in the wild are unreported and understudied. Nevertheless, an increasing number of virus-associated and directly transmissible cancers in terrestrial and aquatic environments have been detected. Furthermore, anthropogenic activities and sudden environmental changes are increasingly associated with cancer incidence in wildlife. This highlights the need to upscale surveillance efforts, collection of critical data and developing novel approaches for studying the emergence and evolution of cancers in the wild. Here, we discuss the relevance of malignant cells as important agents of selection and offer a holistic framework to understand the interplay of ecological, epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of cancer in wildlife. We use a directly transmissible cancer (devil facial tumour disease) as a model system to reveal the potential evolutionary dynamics and broader ecological effects of cancer epidemics in wildlife. We provide further examples of tumour–host interactions and trade-offs that may lead to changes in life histories, and epidemiological and population dynamics. Within this framework, we explore immunological strategies at the individual level as well as transgenerational adaptations at the population level. Then, we highlight the need to integrate multiple disciplines to undertake comparative cancer research at the human–domestic–wildlife interface and their environments. Finally, we suggest strategies for screening cancer incidence in wildlife and discuss how to integrate ecological and evolutionary concepts in the management of current and future cancer epizootics.

Age‐related changes in diet have implications for competitive interactions and for predator–prey dynamics, affecting individuals and groups at different life stages. To quantify patterns of variation and ontogenetic change in the diets of Tasmanian devils Sarcophilus harrisii, a threatened marsupial carnivore, we analyzed variation in the stable isotope composition of whisker tissue samples taken from 91 individual devils from Wilmot, Tasmania from December 2014 to February 2017. Both δ13C and δ15N decreased with increasing age in weaned Tasmanian devils, indicating that as they age devils rely less on small mammals and birds, and more on large herbivores. Devils, By using stable isotope analysis of whiskers, we quantify variation in the isotopic trophic niches of Tasmanian devils as they age. We highlight changes in the isotopic composition and variation of devil whiskers with increasing age, reflecting the effect of weaning in early life, and a likely shift from a diverse subadult diet of small mammals, birds and invertebrates through to larger herbivores in adulthood.

Sympatric species can minimise interspecific competition by spatial avoidance or by altering their temporal activity to reduce encounter rates. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), the largest carnivorous marsupial, coexists with the smaller spotted‐tailed quoll (Dasyurus maculatus) in Tasmania, Australia. Quolls may be susceptible to interspecific competition from devils, because they utilise similar habitats, consume similar prey species and are displaced by devils at food sources. Such competition might cause quolls to spatially or temporally avoid devils. To investigate whether spatial or temporal avoidance occurred, we deployed GPS collars on sympatric devils and quolls and conducted a camera survey at a site in northwest Tasmania where the devil population was not affected by devil facial tumour disease. GPS tracking coincided with the lactation period when devils and quolls had young in dens and continued until weaning occurred. We found little spatial segregation of home range and core area placement between devils and quolls and among devils. Quolls showed more spatial segregation within the sexes than between them. Devils had larger home ranges than quolls. Male devils had larger home ranges than females, but there was no difference in home range size between the sexes of quolls. Females of both species travelled significantly further per night than did males. There was moderate temporal partitioning between the two species: devil activity peaked after dusk and devils remained active until the early morning, while quoll activity showed distinct peaks around dusk and dawn. In conclusion, quolls did not spatially avoid devils but moderate temporal partitioning occurred. It is plausible that quolls are active at different times of the diel cycle to reduce encountering devils, but further studies are needed to resolve the cause of this temporal partitioning.

The control of invasive species can have cascading and at times undesirable effects on the wider ecological community. Effective management requires that the ecosystem-wide effects of removing invasive species be understood. We investigated the effects of large-scale rabbit control on the abundance (numerical response) and diet (functional response) of an invasive predator (ferret, Mustela putorius furo) that preys on rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), as well as the subsequent predation pressure experienced by alternative prey species (total response), in New Zealand’s dryland habitats. Following rabbit control, ferret densities declined but surviving ferrets increased their per capita consumption of lizards and invertebrates, two key native prey groups. Rabbit control increased predation pressure on lizards, but reduced it on invertebrates. While rabbit control can negatively impact some groups of alternative prey up to 18 months post-control, it probably benefits them in the longer term because prey-switching by ferrets tended to reduce with time, and regeneration of vegetation previously over-grazed by rabbits is likely to reduce exposure of native prey to predation. While confirming these benefits will require longer-term monitoring, our results support management actions that limit short-term fluctuations in rabbit abundance and maintain them at low abundance.

Contains fulltext : 219339.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) A better understanding of context in decision-making - that is, the internal and external conditions that modulate decisions - is required to help bridge the gap between natural behaviors that evolved by natural selection and more arbitrary laboratory models of anxiety and fear. Because anxiety and fear are mechanisms evolved to manage threats from predators and other exigencies, the large behavioral, ecological and evolutionary literature on predation risk is useful for re-framing experimental research on human anxiety-related disorders. We review the trade-offs that are commonly made during antipredator decision-making in wild animals along with the context under which the behavior is performed and measured, and highlight their relevance for focused laboratory models of fear and anxiety. We then develop an integrative mechanistic model of decision-making under risk which, when applied to laboratory and field settings, should improve studies of the biological basis of normal and pathological anxiety and may therefore improve translational outcomes. 9 p.

Scavenging by large carnivores is integral for ecosystem functioning by limiting the build-up of carrion and facilitating widespread energy flows. However, top carnivores have declined across the world, triggering trophic shifts within ecosystems. In this study, we use a natural ‘removal experiment’ of disease-driven decline and island extirpation of native mammalian (marsupial) carnivores to investigate top-down control on utilisation of experimentally placed carcasses by two mesoscavengers – the invasive feral cat and native forest raven. Ravens were the main beneficiary of carnivore loss, scavenging for five times longer in the absence of native mammalian carnivores. Cats scavenged on almost half of all carcasses in the region without dominant native carnivores. This was eight times more than in areas where other carnivores were at high densities. In the absence of native mammalian carnivores, all carcasses persisted in the environment for 3 weeks. Our results reveal the efficiency of carrion consumption by mammalian scavengers. These services are not readily replaced by less-efficient facultative scavengers. This demonstrates the significance of global carnivore conservation and supports novel management approaches, such as rewilding in areas where the natural suite of carnivores is missing.

Background Transmissible cancers lie at the intersection of oncology and infectious disease, two traditionally divergent fields for which gene expression studies are particularly useful for identifying the molecular basis of phenotypic variation. In oncology, transcriptomics studies, which characterize the expression of thousands of genes, have identified processes leading to heterogeneity in cancer phenotypes and individual prognoses. More generally, transcriptomics studies of infectious diseases characterize interactions between host, pathogen, and environment to better predict population-level outcomes. Tasmanian devils have been impacted dramatically by a transmissible cancer (devil facial tumor disease; DFTD) that has led to widespread population declines. Despite initial predictions of extinction, populations have persisted at low levels, due in part to heterogeneity in host responses, particularly between sexes. However, the processes underlying this variation remain unknown. Results We sequenced transcriptomes from healthy and DFTD-infected devils, as well as DFTD tumors, to characterize host responses to DFTD infection, identify differing host-tumor molecular interactions between sexes, and investigate the extent to which tumor gene expression varies among host populations. We found minimal variation in gene expression of devil lip tissues, either with respect to DFTD infection status or sex. However, 4088 genes were differentially expressed in tumors among our sampling localities. Pathways that were up- or downregulated in DFTD tumors relative to normal tissues exhibited the same patterns of expression with greater intensity in tumors from localities that experienced DFTD for longer. No mRNA sequence variants were associated with expression variation. Conclusions Expression variation among localities may reflect morphological differences in tumors that alter ratios of normal-to-tumor cells within biopsies. Phenotypic variation in tumors may arise from environmental variation or differences in host immune response that were undetectable in lip biopsies, potentially reflecting variation in host-tumor coevolutionary relationships among sites that differ in the time since DFTD arrival.

Habitat loss is a primary cause of population decline for 85% of species recognized as threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Ecological restoration can mitigate and reverse the effects of habitat loss on wildlife, but many restoration programs lack a systematic approach to monitoring outcomes, if indeed restoration sites are monitored at all. Here, we evaluate the response of wildlife to restoration plantings in an agricultural landscape in Tasmania, Australia, five years after their establishment. We surveyed three faunal groups—ground-dwelling invertebrates, birds and terrestrial mammals—and compared community composition in plantings with those of nearby livestock pasture and remnant woodlands. Habitat type had some influence on invertebrate communities with more pollinators, but fewer nectivores (predominantly Lepidoptera) and engulf predators in riparian plantings than in paddocks. In comparison, nonriparian plantings had more nectivores and pollinators and a greater proportion of small-bodied invertebrates than in paddocks. Invertebrate biomass was positively associated with the presence of large ground-foraging birds. Habitat type had a significant effect on the composition of bird communities in nonriparian areas, with small native species more abundant in plantings than in paddocks. Endangered mammal species were recorded using planting sites, including eastern bettongs and spotted-tailed quolls. We describe possible trajectories to inform adaptive management of local restoration efforts. Our study provides a rare example that considers the response of multiple faunal groups to restoration concurrently and highlights differences in wildlife communities between restoring and reference habitats that are likely to impact ecosystem services.

Studies of impacts of fragmentation have focused heavily on measures of species presence or absence in fragments, or species richness in relation to fragmentation, but have often not considered the effects of fragmentation on ranging behavior of individual species. Effective management will benefit from knowledge of the effects of fragmentation on space use by species.We investigated how a woodland specialist, the eastern bettong (Bettongia gaimardi), responded to fragmentation in an agricultural landscape, the Midlands region of Tasmania, Australia. We tested whether individual bettongs could adjust home range size to maintain access to essential habitat across three sites differing in degree of fragmentation.We used GPS tracking to measure the home ranges of individual bettongs. Our models tested the effects of habitat aggregation and habitat amount measured at two radii comparable to a typical core range (250 m) and a typical home range (750 m), and habitat quality and sex on individual home range. We also tested the relationship between fragmentation on woodland used to determine whether individuals could compensate for fragmentation.Depending on the spatial scale of fragmentation measured, bettongs altered their movement to meet their habitat requirements. Our top model suggested that at the core range scale, individuals had smaller ranges when habitat is more aggregated. The second model showed support for habitat amount at the core range, suggesting individuals can occupy larger areas when there is a higher amount of habitat, regardless of configuration.Species that are relatively mobile may be able to compensate for the effects of habitat fragmentation by altering their movement. We highlight that any patch size is of value within a home range and management efforts should focus on maintaining sufficient habitat especially at the core range scale., For a mobile species that can cross gaps, the configuration of patches does not hinder movement given there is sufficient habitat.

Top predators cause avoidance behaviours in competitors and prey, which can lead to niche partitioning and facilitate coexistence. We investigate changes in partitioning of the temporal niche in a mammalian community in response to both the rapid decline in abundance of a top predator and its rapid increase, produced by two concurrent natural experiments: 1) the severe decline of the Tasmanian devil due to a transmissible cancer, and 2) the introduction of Tasmanian devils to an island, with subsequent population increase. We focus on devils, two mesopredators and three prey species, allowing us to examine niche partitioning in the context of intra- and inter-specific competition, and predator-prey interactions. The most consistent shift in temporal activity occurred in devils themselves, which were active earlier in the night at high densities, presumably because of heightened intraspecific competition. When devils were rare, their closest competitor, the spotted-tailed quoll, increased activity in the early part of the night, resulting in increased overlap with the devil's temporal niche and suggesting release from interference competition. The invasive feral cat, another mesopredator, did not shift its temporal activity in response to either decreasing or increasing devil densities. Shifts in temporal activity of the major prey species of devils were stronger in response to rising than to falling devil densities. We infer that the costs associated with not avoiding predators when their density is rising (i.e. death) are higher than the costs of continuing to adopt avoidance behaviours as predator densities fall (i.e. loss of foraging opportunity), so rising predator densities may trigger more rapid shifts. The rapid changes in devil abundance provide a unique framework to test how the non-lethal effects of top predators affect community-wide partitioning of temporal niches, revealing that this top predator has an important but varied influence on the diel activity of other species.

Global declines of large carnivores have reduced the 'landscape of fear' that constrains the behaviour of other species. In recent years, active and passive trophic rewilding have potentially begun restoring these lost top-down controls. The Tasmanian devil Sarcophilus harrisii has declined severely due to a novel transmissible cancer. In response to extinction fears, devils were introduced to the devil-free Maria Island, where their abundance rapidly increased. We tested how this introduction influenced risk-sensitive foraging in the common brushtail possum Trichosurus vulpecula, a major prey species for devils, using giving-up densities (GUDs). Before the introduction of devils, possum GUDs on Maria Island were indistinguishable from the long-diseased region of Tasmania, where devils have been rare since ∼2000. Three years after devil introduction, GUDs were 64% higher on Maria Island than the control region, demonstrating that after an initial period of high mortality, possums quickly adopted risk-sensitive foraging behaviours. Devil activity across Maria Island was variable, leading to a heterogeneous landscape of fear and highlighting that top predators must be at functional densities to elicit behavioural responses from prey. Our study provides strong evidence that top predators modify the behaviour of prey by instilling fear, causing rapid ecological change following recoveries.

Interactions between competing species may be intensified when they are restricted to small patches of remnant habitat, potentially increasing physiological stress in individuals. The effects of interspecific competition on stress in wildlife remain largely unexplored. In Australia, remnant woodlands are often dominated by aggressive honeyeaters, especially the noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala). Harassment of smaller birds by miners may result in their exclusion from suitable woodland habitat. We tested whether the presence of noisy miners is also associated with elevated stress in a model species of small passerine bird, the superb fairy‐wren (Malurus cyaneus). We sampled wrens from six sites, three remnant woodlands with noisy miners and three larger fragments of reserved habitat without noisy miners. Differential white blood cell counts were used to infer levels of chronic stress. We also assessed variation in body condition and the prevalence of blood parasites (Haemoproteus spp.) to test for associations between stress and parasitemia. The mean heterophil‐to‐lymphocyte (H:L) ratio was 1.8 × higher among superb fairy‐wrens living in miner‐dominated woodlands, suggesting higher levels of chronic stress. Individuals with higher stress appeared to be in poorer condition, as indicated by fat scores and residual body mass. Prevalence of blood parasites was generally high and was highest in reserved habitat (59%) where miners were absent. Birds with blood parasites living in these habitats had higher H:L ratios but the intensity of infection and H:L ratio was inversely related. Our results suggest that birds persisting in the presence of noisy miners might experience chronic stress, but further study is necessary to separate the relative importance of noisy miner aggression from other potential stressors in small patches of degraded woodland. Stress induced by interspecific aggression should be considered in future studies of wildlife living in remnant vegetation.

Identifying the types of contacts that result in disease transmission is important for accurately modeling and predicting transmission dynamics and disease spread in wild populations. We investigated contacts within a population of adult Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) over a 6-month period and tested whether individual-level contact patterns were correlated with accumulation of bite wounds. Bite wounds are important in the spread of devil facial tumor disease, a clonal cancer cell line transmitted through direct inoculation of tumor cells when susceptible and infected individuals bite each other. We used multimodel inference and network autocorrelation models to investigate the effects of individual-level contact patterns, identities of interacting partners, and position within the social network on the propensity to be involved in bite-inducing contacts. We found that males were more likely to receive potentially disease-transmitting bite wounds than females, particularly during the mating season when males spend extended periods mate-guarding females. The number of bite wounds individuals received during the mating season was unrelated to any of the network metrics examined. Our approach illustrates the necessity for understanding which contact types spread disease in different systems to assist the management of this and other infectious wildlife diseases.

Maintenance of adaptive genetic variation has long been a goal of management of natural populations, but only recently have genomic tools allowed identification of specific loci associated with fitness-related traits in species of conservation concern. This raises the possibility of managing for genetic variation directly relevant to specific threats, such as those due to climate change or emerging infectious disease. Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) face the threat of a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), that has decimated wild populations and led to intensive management efforts. Recent discoveries from genomic and modeling studies reveal how natural devil populations are responding to DFTD, and can inform management of both captive and wild devil populations. Notably, recent studies have documented genetic variation for disease-related traits and rapid evolution in response to DFTD, as well as potential mechanisms for disease resistance such as immune response and tumor regression in wild devils. Recent models predict dynamic persistence of devils with or without DFTD under a variety of modeling scenarios, although at much lower population densities than before DFTD emerged, contrary to previous predictions of extinction. As a result, current management that focuses on captive breeding and release for maintaining genome-wide genetic diversity or demographic supplementation of populations could have negative consequences. Translocations of captive devils into wild populations evolving with DFTD can cause outbreeding depression and/or increases in the force of infection and thereby the severity of the epidemic, and we argue that these risks outweigh any benefits of demographic supplementation in wild populations. We also argue that genetic variation at loci associated with DFTD should be monitored in both captive and wild populations, and that as our understanding of DFTD-related genetic variation improves, considering genetic management approaches to target this variation is warranted in developing conservation strategies for Tasmanian devils.

Rewilding is increasingly recognized as a conservation tool but is often context specific, which inhibits broad application. Rewilding in Australia seeks to enhance ecosystem function and promote self-sustaining ecosystems. An absence of large-bodied native herbivores means trophic rewilding in mainland Australia has focused on the restoration of functions provided by apex predators and small mammals. Because of the pervasive influence of introduced mesopredators, predator-proof fences, and establishment of populations on predator-free islands are common rewilding approaches. This sets Australian rewilding apart from most jurisdictions and provides globally relevant insights but presents challenges to restoring function to broader landscapes. Passive rewilding is of limited utility in arid zones. Although increasing habitat extent and quality in mesic coastal areas may work, it will likely be necessary to undertake active management. Because much of Australia's population is in urban areas, rewilding efforts must include urban areas to maximize effectiveness. Thus rewilding is not synonymous with wilderness and can occur over multiple scales. Rewilding efforts must recognize human effects on other species and benefit both nature and humans. Rewilding in Australia requires development of a shared vision and strategy and proof-of-concept projects to demonstrate the benefits. The repackaging of existing conservation activities as rewilding may confuse and undermine the success of rewilding programs and should be avoided. As elsewhere, rewilding in Australia should be viewed as an important conservation tool.Una Perspectiva Australiana del Proceso de Resilvestrar Resumen El proceso de resilvestrar es reconocido cada vez más como una herramienta de conservación, pero con frecuencia depende del contexto ambiental, lo que inhibe su aplicación generalizada. En Australia, el proceso de resilvestrar busca mejorar la función ambiental y promover los ecosistemas auto-sustentables. Una ausencia de herbívoros nativos corpulentos significa que el resilvestreo trófico en la isla principal de Australia se ha enfocado en la restauración de las funciones que proporcionan los superdepredadores y los mamíferos pequeños. Debido a la influencia generalizada de los mesodepredadores introducidos, los cercos contra depredadores y el establecimiento de poblaciones en islas libres de depredadores son estrategias comunes de resilvestreo. Esto coloca al resilvestreo australiano aparte del que ocurre en muchas jurisdicciones y proporciona información relevante a nivel mundial, pero presenta retos para la restauración de la función en paisajes más amplios. El resilvestreo pasivo es de utilidad limitada en las zonas áridas. Aunque el aumento de la extensión del hábitat y la calidad en las áreas meso-costeras puede funcionar, probablemente sea necesario emprender un manejo activo. Ya que la mayoría de la población de Australia se encuentra en áreas urbanas, los esfuerzos de resilvestreo deben incluir a las áreas urbanas para maximizar su efectividad. Por lo tanto, el resilvestreo no es sinónimo de la naturaleza y puede ocurrir en múltiples escalas. Los esfuerzos de resilvestreo deben reconocer los efectos que los humanos tienen sobre otras especies y deben beneficiar a la naturaleza y a las personas. El resilvestreo en Australia requiere del desarrollo de una visión compartida y de proyectos con prueba de concepto para demostrar sus beneficios. La reinvención de las actividades de conservación existentes como resilvestreo podría confundir y debilitar el éxito de los programas de resilvestreo, por lo que debería evitarse. Como en todos lados, el proceso de resilvestrar en Australia debería verse como una herramienta importante de conservación.野化正越来越多地被用于保护, 但它通常是环境特异的, 难以广泛应用。在澳大利亚, 野化项目旨在加强生态系统功能, 促进生态系统的自我维持。由于澳洲大陆缺乏大型本土食草动物, 因此考虑营养级联的野化项目主要关注顶级捕食者和小型哺乳动物的功能恢复。受到引入的中等体型捕食者带来的普遍影响, 野化中常常用到布设防捕食者围栏和在没有捕食者的岛屿上建立种群的方法。这使澳大利亚的野化有别于大多数国家和地区, 为全世界的野化项目提供了见解, 但也对在更大尺度的景观上进行功能恢复提出了挑战。在干旱地区, 被动野化的效果有限。尽管在湿度适中沿海地区, 扩大生境范围、提高生境质量可能有用, 但也需要进行积极的管理。由于澳大利亚大部分人口都生活在城市地区, 要实现效益最大化, 野化工作必须要包括城市地区。因此, 野化不等同于荒化, 且可以在多个尺度上进行。另外, 野化工作必须认识到人类对其它物种的影响, 并使自然和人类都能受益。澳大利亚的野化需要发展共同观念和概念验证项目来展现其效益。而若将现有的保护活动重新包装为野化, 可能会混淆和破坏野化项目的成功, 应注意避免。和其它地方一样, 澳大利亚也应该将野化作为一种重要的保护工具。【翻译: 胡怡思; 审校: 聂永刚】.

Cats (Felis catus) are globally one of the most widespread invasive predators and are identified as one of the top 100 invasive species (Lowe et al. 2000). The effects of cats are particularly seve...

The iconic Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) is endangered due to the transmissible cancer Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD), of which there are two genetically independent subtypes (DFT1 and DFT2). While DFT1 and DFT2 can be differentially diagnosed using tumour biopsies, there is an urgent need to develop less-invasive biomarkers that can detect DFTD and distinguish between subtypes. Extracellular vesicles (EVs), the nano-sized membrane-enclosed vesicles present in most biofluids, represent a valuable resource for biomarker discovery. Here, we characterized the proteome of EVs from cultured DFTD cells using data-independent acquisition-mass spectrometry and an in-house spectral library of 1500 proteins. EVs from both DFT1 and DFT2 cell lines expressed higher levels of proteins associated with focal adhesion functions. Furthermore, hallmark proteins of epithelial-mesenchymal transition were enriched in DFT2 EVs relative to DFT1 EVs. These findings were validated in EVs derived from serum samples, revealing that the mesenchymal marker tenascin-C was also enriched in EVs derived from the serum of devils infected with DFT2 relative to those infected with DFT1 and healthy controls. This first EV-based investigation of DFTD increases our understanding of the cancers' EVs and their possible involvement in DFTD progression, such as metastasis. Finally, we demonstrated the potential of EVs to differentiate between DFT1 and DFT2, highlighting their potential use as less-invasive liquid biopsies for the Tasmanian devil.

Background Transmissible cancers lie at the intersection of oncology and infectious disease, two traditionally divergent fields for which gene expression studies are particularly useful for identifying the molecular basis of phenotypic variation. In oncology, transcriptomics studies, which characterize the expression of thousands of genes, have identified processes leading to heterogeneity in cancer phenotypes and individual prognoses. More generally, transcriptomics studies of infectious diseases characterize interactions between host, pathogen, and environment to better predict population-level outcomes. Tasmanian devils have been impacted dramatically by a transmissible cancer (devil facial tumor disease; DFTD) that has led to widespread population declines. Despite initial predictions of extinction, populations have persisted at low levels, due in part to heterogeneity in host responses, particularly between sexes. However, the processes underlying this variation remain unknown. Results We sequenced transcriptomes from healthy and DFTD-infected devils, as well as DFTD tumors, to characterize host responses to DFTD infection, identify differing host-tumor molecular interactions between sexes, and investigate the extent to which tumor gene expression varies among host populations. We found minimal variation in gene expression of devil lip tissues, either with respect to DFTD infection status or sex. However, 4,088 genes were differentially expressed in tumors among our sampling localities. Pathways that were up- or downregulated in DFTD tumors relative to normal tissues exhibited the same patterns of expression with greater intensity in tumors from localities that experienced DFTD for longer. No RNA sequence variants were associated with expression variation. Conclusions Expression variation among localities may underly phenotypic variation in the tumor, potentially manifesting in morphological differences that alter ratios of normal-to-tumor cells within biopsies. Phenotypic variation in tumors may arise from environmental variation or differences in host immune response that were undetectable in lip biopsies, potentially reflecting variation in host-tumor coevolutionary relationships among sites that differ in the time since DFTD arrival.