SEMINAR
The iconic Tasmanian devil is under threat. Not only does it face traditional conservation pressures, a devastating facial tumor is wiping out populations across Tasmania. The species is the focus of numerous conservation efforts and research, but can the devil be saved from extinction?
Professor Katherine Belov, ARC Future Fellow and Professor of Comparative Genetics at the University of Sydney, will explore the fate of the Tasmanian devil in a lunchtime seminar.
When: 12 Noon, 22 November, 2013
Where: Horrace Lamb Lecture Theatre
Tasmanian Devil. Image – Flickr/Scott Nolan
Katherine Belov, Professor of Comparative Genomics at the Faculty of Veterinary Science of the University of Sydney and contributing author of the 2012 Annual Review of Genomics and Human Genetics, Prof. Belov will discuss the origins of the Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), a transmissible cancer that has already caused the disappearance of 85 percent of the species and could lead to its extinction in the wild within 25 years. She will talk about what is known of the tumor based on its genomics, why it is transmitted between animals without causing immune recognition in the devils, and what are the conservation efforts to save the species from extinction.
