TOPIC: ENDANGERED SPECIESASSIGNMENT IS BASED ON JAMAICAN ROCK IGUANA
Rubik for Presentations: 1-Must have a MINIMUM of 2 genetic papers. (Not population papers) 2 -Data from genetics papers must be presented in either a table or graph in the student’s presentation 3-Student presented references (papers and photos) 4-Student is knowledable about the data he/she is presenting Because of our current situation for this I would recommend you use the notes section under the slides for extra info, comments, concerns. 5- Students provided the IUCN status 6-Student added to the research -"What would I do?" 7-Student was able to present his/her presentation in a clear and concise manner (I get the information without you presenting it) You can put in on the slide or in the notes section. 8- Reference slide ****** Please look at the Tasmanian Devil presentation******* PowerPoint Presentation Tasmanian Devil (Sarcophilus harrisii) In the literature, the scientific name Sarcophilus laniarius. Although that name is largely relegated to fossil species found on the Australian mainland. There was a push to adopt the alternate name that did not amount to much. 1 Background Largest extant carnivore marsupial Found only on Tasmania – completely gone from the Australian mainland ~5000 ya Before Thylacine went extinct, Devils and Thylacines would often predate each others’ young Description Thick, squat build with black fur with a white stripe across the chest Males ~ 26in, 18lbs; Females ~ 22in, 13lbs Live 5-6 years (as much as 8 in captivity) Ecology Competition between Thylacines and Tasmanian Devils is thought to have contributed to the fluctuating numbers of both species. Tasmanian Devils ended up winning the PR war however. 2 Behavior Common name because of their vocalization and aggressive feeding and mating behaviors Primarily solitary, however a radio tagged study concluded that Devils in a region actually form a loose contact network Nocturnal (juveniles tend to be crepuscular) Habitat Found in all environments on Tasmania, but prefer dry sclerophyll forest and coastal heaths Live in 3-4 burrows (esp. old wombat burrows) Ecology Despite the Tasmanian Devil’s fierce posturing and vocalization, they primarily use them establish dominance among themselves. Usually when face with human, they are scared and use these mechanisms to appear frightening. White stripe across chest and rump is thought to make it easier to see each other at night. Devils are not usually found at high altitudes. They can be found even around the edges of suburban areas and ranches where carrion is likely to be found. 3 Diet Carnivores but primarily consume carrion Favor wombats and meat with high fat content Hunt alone, but often eat communally (groups of 2-5 most common) Most dominant eats first and until sated Reproduction Promiscuous; average 4 mating seasons Females are fertile once/year for ~3wks Reach sexual maturity ~2yrs Gestation last ~21days Gives birth to 20-30 young; first four to the nipple remain attached in the pouch ~100 days Once ejected form the pouch, young remain outside; remain in mother’s care ~9mo total Ecology They do not run particularly quickly so cannot outrun kangaroos Known to forage corpses. Females do show some sexual selection. Males will guard a female with whom they have mated against other males. Rear-facing pouch Although the female has 4 nipples, litters are usually 2-3. Most pups survive until weaned, there is a high juvenile mortality. 4 Genetic Diversity: Jones, et al. 2004 Authors’ Conclusions: Heterozygosity (0.386–0.467) and allelic diversity (2.7– 3.3) were low in all subpopulations and allelic size ranges were small and almost continuous, consistent with a founder effect. Although DFTD had arisen by this point, it was not yet the focus of genetics papers at this time. This study involved 11 microsatellite loci. 5 Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD) In 1996, a photographer in Mt William noticed a Tasmanian Devil with facial tumors It was not until 2003 that the population had declined enough and that DFTD had been found in a significant amount of the population that it was recognized as both a problem and reason for the decline. Transmissible cancer; allograft transferred by bite DFTD is 100% fatal No known treatment, prevention, or cure Starts as a growth around mouth Death occurs within 6 months Devil populations had historically had noticeable fluctuations in the past. Since mid-20th century, the Devil numbers had rebounded until the appearance of DFTD. 6 Devil dies either because it is no longer able to eat or because cancer metastasizes to organs and causes multi-system organ failure 7 DFTD: Research & Evolution After emergence of DFTD, scientists originally thought it was a herpes-like virus In 2006, it was determined that tumors were allografts 2 disparate tumor strains identified: DFTD-1 and DFTD-2 DFTD-1 is a clonal tumor that originated from a female DFTD-2 is a clonal tumor that originated from a male MHC I molecules are downregulated on the surface of tumors Treatment with IFN-y upregulates PD-L1 Most Tasmanian Devil research post-2006 is related to DFTD and the captive populations. It was thought that the Devil was so inbred that it was not recognizing the allograft tumor as non-self. It turns out that, while there is a significant amount of inbreeding in Devil populations, the Devil immune system is sufficiently robust to mount an immune response. The DFTD does not express MHC I. When treated with IFN-y, PD-1 is upregulated. Therefore, the immune system is blind to the tumor, and it is allowed to proliferate. Y chromosome loss from a male clone infecting a female host suggests immunoediting. These results imply that Tasmanian devils may have inherent susceptibility to transmissible cancers and present a suite of therapeutic compounds for use in conservation. 8 Genetic Diversity: Lachish, et al. 2010 Author Conclusions: - Significant increase in inbreeding: FIS pre/post-disease -0.030/0.012, P<0.05; relatedness="" pre/post-disease="" 0.011/0.038,="" p="0.06)" after="" just="" 2–3="" generations="" of="" disease="" arrival,="" but="" no="" detectable="" change="" in="" genetic="" diversity.="" no="" subdivision="" apparent="" among="" pre-disease="" populations="" (θ="0.005," (ci)="" −0.003="" to="" 0.017="" significant="" genetic="" differentiation="" among="" populations="" post-disease="" (θ="0.020," (ci)="" 0.010–0.027),="" ="" n="" a="" ho="" he="" little="" swanport="" (2004)="" 36="" 3.2="" 0.418="" 0.408="" freycinet="" (2004)="" 61="" 3.2="" 0.427="" 0.419="" pawleena="" (2004)="" 40="" 3.2="" 0.402="" 0.410="" this="" study="" involved="" 10="" microsatellite="" loci.="" results="" show="" that="" disease="" can="" result="" in="" genetic="" and="" demographic="" changes="" in="" host="" populations="" over="" few="" generations="" and="" short="" time="" scales.="" ongoing="" management="" of="" tasmanian="" devils="" must="" now="" attempt="" to="" maintain="" genetic="" variability="" in="" this="" species="" through="" actions="" designed="" to="" reverse="" the="" detrimental="" effects="" of="" inbreeding="" and="" subdivision="" in="" disease-affected="" populations.="" 9="" iucn="" status="" and="" interpretation="" http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/40540/0="" current="" status:="" endangered="" last="" assessed:="" june="" 2008="" justification:="" a2be+3e="" population="" reduction=""> 50% over 10 years (based on direct observation and due to the effects of a pathogen) Population reduction > 50% over the next 10 years (due to the effects of a pathogen) Interpretation: Although the Tasmanian Devil has gone through historical fluctuations, the current and future population reductions are almost exclusively due to the emergence of DFTD Link to IUCN page for Sarcophilus harrisii. Some regions have experienced population reductions >90%. It is predicted that these areas will be the first to see local extinctions. 10 Conservation Recommendations There is evidence that females are maturing earlier. Percentage of breeding 1-year-old females has increased exponentially, while percentage of breeding 3-year-old females has decreased Culling diseased Devils is not a viable option, so disease-free insurance populations have been established Most notable is Maria Island Captive populations are monitored to ensure that close relatives are not interbreeding Sustained road sign campaign for drivers to exercise caution Most importantly, research into treatment of effected Devils and vaccine for unaffected Devil populations Insurance populations are disease free: may be zoo populations or wildlife reserves. Because Devils prefer carrion, roadkill continues to be a problem Signs read: Healthy ecosystems depend on carnivores to keep things clean Roadkill makes a good meal, but devils get killed too Dusk to dawn Healthy individuals from insurance populations cannot be released into the wild until DFTD can be treated/prevented. 11 References Academic Papers Regarding Conservation Genetics Jones, M. E., Paetkau, D., Geffen, E., & Moritz, C. (2004). Genetic diversity and population structure of Tasmanian devils, the largest marsupial carnivore. Molecular Ecology, 13(8), 2197-2209. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294x.2004.02239.x Lachish, S., Miller, K. J., Storfer, A., Goldizen, A. W., & Jones, M. E. (2010). Evidence that disease-induced population decline changes genetic structure and alters dispersal patterns in the Tasmanian devil. Heredity,106(1), 172-182. doi:10.1038/hdy.2010.17 Other Academic Papers Epstein, B., Jones, M., Hamede, R., Hendricks, S., Mccallum, H., Murchison, E. P., . . . Storfer, A. (2016). Rapid evolutionary response to a transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils. Nature Communications, 7, 12684. doi:10.1038/ncomms12684 Stammnitz, M. R., Coorens, T. H., Gori, K. C., Hayes, D., Fu, B., Wang, J., . . . Murchison, E. P. (2018). The Origins and Vulnerabilities of Two Transmissible Cancers in Tasmanian Devils. Cancer Cell, 33(4), 607-619. doi:10.1016/j.ccell.2018.03.013 Flies, A. S., Lyons, A. B., Corcoran, L. M., Papenfuss, A. T., Murphy, J. M., Knowles, G. W., . . . Hayball, J. D. (2016). PD-L1 Is Not Constitutively Expressed on Tasmanian Devil Facial Tumor Cells but Is Strongly Upregulated in Response to IFN-γ and Can Be Expressed in the Tumor Microenvironment. Frontiers in Immunology,7. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2016.00581 Jones, M. E., Cockburn, A., Hamede, R., Hawkins, C., Hesterman, H., Lachish, S., . . . Pemberton, D. (2008). Life-history change in disease-ravaged Tasmanian devil populations. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,105(29), 10023-10027. doi:10.1073/pnas.0711236105 Gooley, R., Hogg, C. J., Belov, K., & Grueber, C. E. (2017). No evidence of inbreeding depression in a Tasmanian devil insurance population despite significant variation in inbreeding. Scientific Reports, 7(1). doi:10.1038/s41598-017-02000-y Other Sources Owen, D., & Pemberton, D. (2011). Tasmanian devil: A unique and threatened animal. Crows Nest, NSW: Allen & Unwin. http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=387 12 References Pictures Westfall, S. (2012.) Hell's Welcome Committee. Retrieved from https://retrieverman.net/tag/tasmanian-devil/ Wu, C. (2009). Tasmanian Devil. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/nodust/3455815372/in Pham, J. (2016). Tasmanian Devil Brothers. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/ Heath, H. (2011). Tasmanian Devil Den. Retrieved from http://www.heathholdenphotography.com/life-of-a-tasmanian-devil/ Devil