[
    {
        "id": "thesis:18822",
        "collection": "thesis",
        "collection_id": "18822",
        "cite_using_url": "https://resolver.caltech.edu/CaltechThesis:06112026-222932280",
        "type": "thesis",
        "title": "The Tasmanian Devil: A Genomic Arms Race Against Extinction",
        "author": [
            {
                "family_name": "Yu",
                "given_name": "Clara",
                "clpid": "Yu-Clara"
            }
        ],
        "thesis_advisor": [
            {
                "family_name": "Lewis",
                "given_name": "Daniel",
                "orcid": "0000-0001-9977-4935",
                "clpid": "Lewis-Daniel"
            }
        ],
        "thesis_committee": [
            {
                "family_name": "None",
                "given_name": "None"
            }
        ],
        "local_group": [
            {
                "literal": "Gordon McClure Memorial Communications Prize"
            },
            {
                "literal": "Gordon McClure Memorial Communications Prize - History"
            },
            {
                "literal": "Hixon Writing Center"
            },
            {
                "literal": "div_hss"
            }
        ],
        "abstract": "[Introduction] For millions across the globe, the Tasmanian devil is \u201cTaz,\u201d the spinning, snarling, perpetually hungry Looney Tunes character with an appetite for anything and everything. This cartoon caricature, however, does not totally resemble the real animal. The actual Tasmanian devil doesn't spin in a vortex, but does have a reputation for a formidable appetite and its mischievous nature is befitting, though perhaps in ways the cartoonists never imagined44. Consider the tale of one unlucky hiker on Maria Island. During a long day of trekking, the hiker discovered his hiking boot had vanished. The culprit was soon identified: a Tasmanian devil, attempting to make off with its prize. The boot, however, proved too bulky to fit through a nearby fence, thwarting the thief's getaway. Frustrated, the devil simply decided to finish the boot off on the spot, leaving it mangled with large bite marks and slobber, and the hiker was left to complete the rest of the journey in crocs16. This story, while comical, perfectly illustrates the reality behind the myth of Looney Tunes\u2019 \u201cTaz\u201d. The devil isn't a two-legged whirlwind of chaos but a powerful and opportunistic scavenger. The ruined boot is a testament to a jaw that can exert a force of 553 Newtons, giving it the strongest bite relative to its body size of any living mammalian carnivore with a force capable of crushing bone as easily as it crushes hiking gear. This incredible power, a key to its ecological success, has also become a central vector in the devil\u2019s story of near-extinction.",
        "publication_date": "2026",
        "thesis_type": "other",
        "thesis_year": "2026"
    }
]