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Diseases Bio 354 March 2, 2018 Section 7 Research paper outline

Tasmanian Devils' Population Decline due to Facial Tumor Disease and Catastrophic Cascades Introduction/ Background Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease (DFTD) is a transmissible, aggressive and non-viral neoplasm cancer that

affects Tasmanian

devils

(Sarcophilus

harrisii).

The rapid

population decline of those Australian marsupials in the past 20 years led those marsupials nearly to extinction. If those marsupials were to become extinct a disequilibrium in the ecosystem in the island of Tasmania would occur, leading to catastrophic cascades. 

Tasmanian devils and their habit (Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment 2010).



Origin of Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), what is it and how does this deadly tumor spreads among Tasmanian devils: originated in a single specimen in 1996; transmissible, aggressive and non-viral neoplasm cancer; tumor cells can transfer from one individual to another when contaminated animals bite others during fights or sexual disputes (Deakin and Belov 2012; Pyecroft et al. 2007; Metzger and Goff 2016).



Studies on Tasmanian devil’s genes (Pearse et al. 2012; Caldwell and Siddle 2017; Woods et al. 2007).

Subtopic 1

Diseases 

3 cases of contagious cancer in 3 diverse species of animals: Tasmanian devil, dogs and bivalves (Metzger and Goff 2016; Castro 2015; Ujvari et al. 2016).



What those species and contagious cancer have in common (Belov 2012; Castro 2015; Ujvari et al. 2016).



Immune system of those species (Woods et al. 2007; Belov 2012; Ujvari et al. 2016).

Subtopic 2 

Research on seasonal patterns/ times of the year where Tasmanian devils are more vulnerable to contract DFTD (Hamede et al. 2012).



How DFTD lead Tasmanian devils nearly to extinction (Deakin and Belov 2012; Pyecroft et al. 2007; Metzger and Goff 2016).

Subtopic 3 

Transmission dynamics of infectious diseases in populations (Hollings et al. 2015; Hollings et al. 2013; Hunter et al. 2015).



Importance of apex predators in the ecosystem (Hollings et al. 2015; Hollings et al. 2013; Hunter et al. 2015).



Effects to other species due to population decline of Tasmanian devils: increase activity of alien invasive species and reduced small native prey (Hollings et al. 2015; Hollings et al. 2013; Hunter et al. 2015).

Subtopic 4 

Socioeconomic importance of Tasmanian Devils (Hunter et al. 2015; Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment 2010). 

Population decrease of Tasmanian devils leads to an increase in feral cats which leads to another contagious disease: toxoplasmosis. Diseases leads to infection in native

Diseases mammals, livestock, and humans (Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment 2010). 

Major implication for livestock industry; high percentage of sheep with toxoplasmosis (Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment 2010).

Conclusion Every year, thousands of species of animals go extinct. Animals that once wandered the Earth in abundance are disappearing permanently from the planet at a frightening pace. When a species of animal is extinguished, irreplaceable animals are only part of the loss. Although we can consider the animal world separate from our world, our lives and theirs are interconnected, connected by millions of strands. Plants, animals, people and the environment together constitute a biological community, an ecosystem in which every single organism depends on the other to survive. When a species goes extinct the whole system suffers. Therefore, seeking solutions to preserve wildlife is essential to maintain the ecosystem in equilibrium. 

Ways to fight DFTD and prevent Tasmanian devils from becoming extinct (Caldwell and Siddle 2017; Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment 2010).



Discovery of vaccines and treatments (Caldwell and Siddle 2017).



How Tasmanian devils could restore mainland ecosystems (Hunter et al. 2015; Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment 2010).

References Belov, K. 2012. Contagious cancer: lessons from the devil and the dog. BioEssays 34: 285-292.

Diseases Caldwell, A. and H. Siddle. 2017. The role of MHC genes in contagious cancer: The story of Tasmanian devils. Immunogenetics 69: 537-545 Castro, K. F. D. 2015. Tumor venéreo transmissível canino-I. Expressão gênica e proteica e caracterização genotípica de DLADQA-1 (MHC-II); II. Estudo imuno-histoquímico da resposta imune local. Deakin, J. E., and K. Belov. 2012. A Comparative genomics approach to understanding transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils. Annual review of genomics and human genetics 13:207–222. Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment. 2010. Recovery Plan for the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment, Hobart. Hamede, R.K., H. Mccallum, and M. Jones. 2012. Biting injuries and transmission of Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease. Journal of Animal Ecology 82:182–190. Hollings, T., H. Mccallum, K. Kreger, N. Mooney, and M. Jones. 2015. Relaxation of risksensitive behavior of prey following disease-induced decline of an apex predator, the Tasmanian devil. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 282:20150124. Hollings, T., M. Jones, N. Mooney, and H. Mccallum. 2013. Trophic cascades following the disease-induced decline of an apex predator, the Tasmanian devil. Conservation Biology 28:63–75. Hollings, T., M. Jones, N. Mooney, and H. Mccallum. 2016. Disease-induced decline of an apex predator drives invasive dominated states and threatens biodiversity. Ecology 97:394– 405. Hunter, D. O., T. Britz, M. Jones, and M. Letnic. 2015. Reintroduction of Tasmanian devils to mainland Australia can restore top-down control in ecosystems where dingoes have been extirpated. Biological Conservation 191:428–435. Kreiss, A. and G. M. Woods. 2009. The immune responses of the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) and the devil facial tumor disease. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology 128:337. Metzger, M. J. and S. P. Goff. 2016. A sixth modality of infectious disease: contagious cancer from devils to clams and beyond. PLoS pathogens 12: e1005904. Pearse, A. M., K. Swift, P. Hodson, B. Hua, H. Mccallum, S. Pyecroft, R. Taylor, M. D. Eldridge, and K. Belov. 2012. Evolution in a transmissible cancer: a study of the chromosomal changes in devil facial tumor (DFT) as it spreads through the wild Tasmanian devil population. Cancer Genetics 205:101–112.

Diseases

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