Decline of Tasmanian devil could be causing genetic changes in spotted-tailed quoll, study finds

An international team of evolutionary biologists and natural scientists has found that the population decline of the Tasmanian devil is likely leading to genetic changes in another local predator—the spotted-tailed quoll. In their study, reported in Nature Ecology & Evolution, the group collected quoll tissue samples and conducted a genetic analysis and comparison of quolls over 15 generations to learn more about their evolutionary history during the time the devils have been in decline. A Research Briefing outlining the work has been published in the same journal issue.