tagged w/ Tasmanian Devil
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Who Jeff Bridges really reminds us of. Check out the video!
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In my life I have been unfortunate enough to witness many shocking things in relation to the state of earth's ecosystems. Shortly after moving to the town of Katherine in the northern territory the cane toads also arrived like a biblical plague. One could hardly even drive on the road without running them over. Their poisonous glands also spelt doom for many native predators such as the Goanna and northern Quoll. Now the Cane toad has reached the borders of Western Australia. Introduced to Queensland in 1935 in hopes it would control the cane beetle it has since steadily spread across the continent leaving a trail of destruction.
I now live in Tasmania which is home to many smaller marsupials that have gone extinct on the mainland to introduced species such as the fox. However it is believed the fox has now made it here as well threatening the last major holdout for many unique species. On top of this the Tasmanian Devil has been driven to near extinction in the last few years by a facial tumour disease. The situation is just as bad or even worse in other parts of the planet such as Guam where the introduced brown tree snake has caused the extinction of many native species. Perhaps worst of all is New Zealand where introduced species now make up half of the fauna and many natives only survive on isolated islands.
However the impact extends to humans as well with West Nile virus now spreading across the United States, and millions being spent each year to control invasive species that damage infrastructure such as the Zebra mussel. I could go with other examples but the list of invasive species and the damage already caused is massive.
Once an invasive species becomes firmly established it is nearly impossible to get rid of it. Clearly more needs to be spent on prevention controls and rapid eradication if detected. This has been done successfully in the past such as the eradication of the African giant snail from Florida. Australia has also been leading the way with strict border controls and quarantine procedures. Restrictions on ships emptying their ballast tanks is another vital measure.
What have your experiences with invasive species been? Have you also witnessed this terrible worldwide plague?
*** Links would not paste correctly... please click to original source below for full linkage...
http://talkingskull.com/column/world-outside/growing-threat-from-alien-speciesIn my life I have been unfortunate enough to witness many shocking things in relation... more
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Taz has had a real problem with facial tumors, but researchers are developing diagnostic cancer testing to attack the tumors at an earlier stage.Taz has had a real problem with facial tumors, but researchers are developing... more
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Australian scientists say they want to build a fence on Tasmania to prevent the spread of a cancer that threatens the Tasmanian Devil with extinction.
The scientists say there is no cure for the contagious disease which has already infected two-thirds of Tasmania's devil population.
They warn that unless action is taken the world's largest marsupial carnivore could be extinct within 20 years.
They hope a fence will separate the healthy and infected animals.
Until now the strategy has been to remove healthy animals and to place them in quarantine.
Earlier this year the Tasmanian Devil - unique to the island - was declared an endangered species because of the disease - which results in facial tumours.Australian scientists say they want to build a fence on Tasmania to prevent the spread... more
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But the cancer that’s killing the Tasmanian devils is different. The cancer cells themselves are infectious.
Here’s what happens. The cancer causes a tumor on the animal’s face. If an infected animal bites another — which happens often, as devils are aggressive creatures, especially during the mating season — some of the tumor cells get transferred. These then start growing on the other animal. It’s as though you kissed someone with throat cancer, and got their cancer yourself.But the cancer that’s killing the Tasmanian devils is different. The cancer... more
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Australia's endangered Tasmanian Devil, its numbers decimated by an infectious facial cancer, is mating earlier, scientists have found.Australia's endangered Tasmanian Devil, its numbers decimated by an infectious... more
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ruppen
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added this
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3 years ago
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The little devils just can't wait. Faced with an epidemic of cancer that cuts their lives short, Tasmanian devils have begun breeding at younger ages, according to researchers at the University of Tasmania in Australia.
"We could be seeing evolution occurring before our eyes. Watch this space!" says zoologist Menna Jones of the university.
Tasmanian devils live on the island of Tasmania, south of Australia. They weigh 20 to 30 pounds and were named devils by early European settlers because the furry black marsupials produce a fierce screech and can be bad-tempered.
Since 1996 a contagious form of cancer called devil facial tumor disease has been infecting these animals and is invariably fatal, causing death between the ages of 2 and 3.
In the past devils would live five to six years, breeding at ages two, three and four, but with the new disease, even females who breed at two may not live long enough to rear their first litter.
Jones, who has been studying the animals' life cycles since before the disease outbreak, noted that there has been a 16-fold increase in breeding at age one. She reports her findings in this week's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"What we are suggesting in this paper is that there is likely to be strong selection for rapid evolution" toward early maturity, Jones said in an interview via e-mail.
"It was an exciting discovery," she added.
The disease could cause the devils to become extinct in 25 years or so, she said, but this change to younger breeding may slow population decline and reduce the chance of them disappearing.
"To our knowledge, this is the first known case of infectious disease leading to increased early reproduction in a mammal," Jones and her colleagues report.The little devils just can't wait. Faced with an epidemic of cancer that cuts... more
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Australia's Tasmanian devil will be listed as an endangered species this week as a result of a deadly and disfiguring cancer outbreak, the state government said Monday.Australia's Tasmanian devil will be listed as an endangered species this week as... more
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A face cancer is decimating the population of the Australian marsupial.
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It's a facial cancer that has wiped out 1/3 of their population since 1990! Trust me, don't GIS for the real thing, it's pretty gross.It's a facial cancer that has wiped out 1/3 of their population since 1990! Trust... more
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