Apex predators structure ecosystems through lethal and non-lethal interactions with prey, and their global decline is causing loss of ecological function. Behavioural changes of prey are some of the most rapid responses to predator decline and may act as an early indicator of cascading effects. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), an apex predator, is undergoing progressive and extensive...

Introduction: Dust devils are an effective aeolian erosion mechanism of small-scale, substantially particle loaded convective vortices driven by insolation, common on both Earth and Mars. These vortices are highly turbulent flows with dust entrainment that is dictated by the surficial material over which they pass, the ambient wind that push them, and the pockets of hot air that power their " e...

Cancer seems to affect all animals, from anteaters to zebras. Much less is known about the cancers that affect wild animals, in part because it is hard to study. Animals move around and may not be easily observed for long periods of time. The cancers that have been studied are very interesting and will certainly prove useful in the study of human cancer. As an example, Tasmanian devils have a t...

Abstract An important and perhaps dominant source of dust in the Martian atmosphere, devils play a key role Mars’ climate. Data sets from previous landed missions have revealed devil activity, constrained their structures, elucidated dust-lifting capacities. However, each landing site observational season exhibits unique meteorological properties that shape activity illuminate dependence on amb...

In the final scene of Doctor Faustus, a group of scholars gathers in the street to discuss the terrible events of the previous night. Blood-curdling cries were heard coming from Faustus's house, which was glowing as if on fire. Faustus's concerned friends and colleagues quickly discover the aftermath of the horror, as they encounter his limbs strewn upon the ground. "The devils whom Faustus ser...

The current mainstream theory of a transmissible cancer cell lineage in Tasmanian devils was originally based on the discovery of similarly rearranged chromosomes in facial cancers of unrelated individuals (devil facial tumor type 1, DFT1) (Pearse and Swift 2006). Several karyotypic variants of this unique transmissible cancer strain have been described in the literature since the original repo...