Development of an immunology toolbox to combat emerging marsupial diseases. Disease is increasingly a driver of wildlife population declines in Australia. However, basic immunology tools for >99% of vertebrate species are scarce, limiting our ability to prevent and respond to emerging and endemic diseases, such as devil facial tumour disease and wobbly possum disease. The overarching goal of this project is to improve wildlife health and fill the marsupial immunology gap by developing a long-ove ....Development of an immunology toolbox to combat emerging marsupial diseases. Disease is increasingly a driver of wildlife population declines in Australia. However, basic immunology tools for >99% of vertebrate species are scarce, limiting our ability to prevent and respond to emerging and endemic diseases, such as devil facial tumour disease and wobbly possum disease. The overarching goal of this project is to improve wildlife health and fill the marsupial immunology gap by developing a long-overdue multispecies marsupial immunology toolbox. The toolbox is needed to accelerate devil facial tumour disease vaccine progress and conservation immunology research. It will expand our knowledge of wobbly possum disease virus that is increasingly reported in Tasmania and the risk posed by the virus to other possum species.Read moreRead less
Special Research Initiatives - Grant ID: SR0354798
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$10,000.00
Summary
Interdisciplinary Network for Aquatic Animal Health. The value of Australian fisheries and aquaculture is increasing significantly and, whilst this has resulted in an increase in R&D spending in the area, stifled collaboration amongst isolated scientists sometimes results in slow research progress. This network will enhance research on aquatic animal health. Our main aim is to provide a stimulating environment, encourage collaboration and ensure fast flow of interdisciplinary information between ....Interdisciplinary Network for Aquatic Animal Health. The value of Australian fisheries and aquaculture is increasing significantly and, whilst this has resulted in an increase in R&D spending in the area, stifled collaboration amongst isolated scientists sometimes results in slow research progress. This network will enhance research on aquatic animal health. Our main aim is to provide a stimulating environment, encourage collaboration and ensure fast flow of interdisciplinary information between researchers. We will adapt methods and technologies from medical research and other disciplines to increase our understanding of aquatic animal health and at the same time ensure that our results are applied in other disciplines.Read moreRead less
An immunological and immunogenetic approach to understand and to protect Tasmanian devils against Devil Facial Tumour Disease. The Tasmanian devil is the world's largest living carnivorous marsupial. From an environmental perspective, devils play a fundamental role through scavenging. Dead and dying animals were removed nightly from Tasmania's landscape and therefore decaying carcases did not require removal. Loss of this top order scavenger will alter the balance of biodiversity and non-native ....An immunological and immunogenetic approach to understand and to protect Tasmanian devils against Devil Facial Tumour Disease. The Tasmanian devil is the world's largest living carnivorous marsupial. From an environmental perspective, devils play a fundamental role through scavenging. Dead and dying animals were removed nightly from Tasmania's landscape and therefore decaying carcases did not require removal. Loss of this top order scavenger will alter the balance of biodiversity and non-native animals (such as foxes, feral cats, crows, and even European wasps) will then compete for this scavenger role. As these animals are non-selective they will also prey on living animals and many of Tasmania's native animals (such as Eastern barred bandicoot, potoroos, quolls etc.) will be seriously threatened and our biodiverse landscape could be irreversibly altered.Read moreRead less