Trends in anecdotal fox sightings in Tasmania accounted for by psychological factors.

There has been little evaluation of anecdotal sightings as a means to confirm new incursions of invasive species. This paper explores the potential for equivocal information communicated by the media to account for patterns of anecdotal reports. In 2001, it was widely reported that red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) had been deliberately released in the island state of Tasmania (Australia), although this claim was later revealed to be baseless.

The dispersion and detection patterns of mtDNA-assigned red fox scats in Tasmania are anomalous.

Models used for resource allocation in eradication programmes must be based on replicated data of known quality and have proven predictive accuracy, or they may provide a false indication of species presence and/or distribution. In the absence of data corroborating the presence of extant foxes in Tasmania, a habitat-specific model based upon mtDNA data (Sarre . 2012.

Clinical and pathological features of toxoplasmosis in free-ranging common wombats (Vombatus ursinus) with multilocus genotyping of Toxoplasma gondii type II-like strains.

Toxoplasma gondii is a cosmopolitan zoonotic protozoan parasite with the capacity to infect virtually any warm blooded vertebrate species. Australian native marsupials are thought to be highly susceptible to toxoplasmosis; however, most reports are in captive animals and little is known about T. gondii associated disease in free-ranging marsupials, including wombats (Vombatus ursinus).

The Tasmanian devil transcriptome reveals Schwann cell origins of a clonally transmissible cancer.

The Tasmanian devil, a marsupial carnivore, is endangered because of the emergence of a transmissible cancer known as devil facial tumor disease (DFTD). This fatal cancer is clonally derived and is an allograft transmitted between devils by biting. We performed a large-scale genetic analysis of DFTD with microsatellite genotyping, a mitochondrial genome analysis, and deep sequencing of the DFTD transcriptome and microRNAs.

A histological and immunohistochemical analysis of lymphoid tissues of the Tasmanian devil.

Tasmanian devil lymphoid tissues (thymus, spleen, and lymph node) from seven animals, including pouch young, juvenile, and adult devils, were investigated using histological and immunohistochemical techniques. Antibodies against the conserved intracytoplasmic portion of CD3 and CD79b (T- and B-cell markers, respectively) and MHC II were used to label immune cells. The thymus from the juvenile devils and the pouch young had CD3+ cells that were primarily located in the medulla of the organ.