Genetic Resistance by Tasmanian Devils to Facial Disease (DFTD) - Biology

Biological research shows genetic resistance to Tasmanian devil disease.

The Tasmanian devil is an animal unique to Australia. It Once resided all over the continent. Perhaps is was easy for Aboriginals to catch for food. It cannot run very fast. It could just have died out due to a warming of the country. Tasmania is its only natural home today.

Their raucous cries led to them being named devils by European settlers. They are violent to each other though attacks on humans are virtually non-existent. Scavenging for food is their number one priority.

A facial disease began in the species in 1996. It was unusual in that it is the only known cancer transmitted from animal to animal. Tasmanian devil numbers fell by 80 per cent in twenty years due to Tasmanian devil facial tumor disease (DFTD).

Extinction was predicted. However, it was noticed that some animals survived without getting the disease. Genes were examined and these devils had five genes not present in their brothers who succumbed. This shows that all animals currently living are unlike their ancestors who dominated even a hundred years ago.

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GENETIC RESISTANCE TO FACIAL DISEASE

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Weedy Seadragon (phyllopteryx taeniolatus) - Australiana

Weedy seadragon is an Aussie icon.

Weedy Seadragons (phyllopteryx taeniolatus) live only in southern Australian waters. The fish are quite large, growing to 46cm. They are redish with yellow spots and blend in with their surroundings.  Their red, sandy color does not show against the weedy background as they have green weed-like appendages.

Seadragon males incubate eggs. A female puts about 200 eggs into a brooding pouch on the male during mating. The male fertilizes the eggs in his pouch. The young take two years to become mature.

When seadragons die they are preserved by bony plates. These can be found washed up on beaches. Yearly rings are "recorded" in their ear bones. They live for five years. Seadragons are a barometer for climate change. It the environment deteriorates many die off.

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