Mange-riddled wombats starve to death trying to forage enough to keep up with their increased metabolism.
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New research from the University of Tasmania has uncovered sarcoptic mange is responsible for an increased metabolic rate among mange-riddled bare-nosed wombats.
The link is new information in the fight against sarcoptic mange, which has lead to a 94 per cent drop in the population of bare-nosed wombats at Narawntapu National Park.
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The research, published in Royal Society journal Open Science was led by UTAS researcher Alynn Martin.
“We found while wombats with sarcoptic mange do spend more time out of their burrows, they actually spend less time foraging and more time resting and itching because of the mange,” Ms Martin said.
“This means they are not eating enough to make up for the high amount of energy they are burning, which can result in death.”
Sarcoptic mange is caused by skin burrowing parasites and is known predominately to cause hair loss, skin thickening and death in Tasmanian bare- nosed wombats.
The new research also shows sarcoptic mange can also cause a major loss of body heat, detrimental behaviour changes and alteration of fat composition.
The new findings particularly challenge past assumptions that wombats with mange spent more foraging.
“This research addresses critical knowledge gaps about the impact of physiological changes in wombats with mange giving us a more comprehensive picture of the health implications,” Ms Martin said.
Importantly, the research also showed obvious changes in fatty tissue composition in wombats with the disease, suggesting a high fat diet might work as part of the solution to the health issues associated with mange.
“Supplementation has the potential to help arrest the fatty tissue changes we have seen in mange ridden wombat, enable the storage of more nutrients to meet the animals high metabolic rate and help keep these animals alive,” Ms Martin said.
“With this extra piece of the puzzle there is the potential for a combination approach to management including diet supplementation of individual wombats, improved disease treatment options and treatment delivery.”