Density trends and demographic signals uncover the long-term impact of transmissible cancer in Tasmanian devils.

ABSTRACT: 1. Monitoring the response of wild mammal populations to threatening processes is fundamental to effective conservation management. This is especially true for infectious diseases, which may have dynamic and therefore unpredictable interactions with their host. 2. We investigate the long-term impact of a transmissible cancer, devil facial tumour disease (DFTD), on the endemic Tasmanian devil. We analyse trends in devil spot-light counts and density across the area impacted by the disease. We investigate the demographic parameters which might be driving these trends, and use spatial capture-recapture models to examine whether DFTD has affected home range size. 3. We found that devils have declined by an average of 77% in areas affected by DFTD, and that there is a congruent trend of ongoing

SUBMITTER: Lazenby BT 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6078421 | biostudies-literature | 2018 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature