Dr Natasha Speight
Position | Senior Lecturer |
---|---|
Org Unit | School of Animal and Veterinary Science |
natasha.speight@adelaide.edu.au | |
Telephone | 831 30655 |
Location |
Floor/Room
G
,
Corridor Block
,
Roseworthy
|
-
Qualifications
PhD entitled "Oxalate nephrosis in a population of South Australian koalas", 成人大片, SA
Honours degree, Reproductive biology unit, 成人大片, SA
Bachelor of Science (Veterinary Biology)/ Bachelor of Veterinary Medicine & Surgery, Murdoch University, WA
-
Research Interests
Koala health and disease
My research focusses on the health and diseases of koalas in South Australia, particularly oxalate nephrosis, Chlamydia, and koala retrovirus.
Oxalate nephrosis is characterised by the precipitation of calcium oxalate in the kidneys, causing affected koalas to become ill due to kidney dysfunction. The main aims of my research have been to describe the renal histopathology and clinical biochemical abnormalities of the disease, and to determine the potential cause(s) of oxalate nephrosis in this koala population. Dietary oxalate in eucalypt leaves has been tested in several local species and found to be fairly low overall, and therefore unlikely to be the primary cause of oxalate nephrosis in koalas. An inherited abnormality of oxalate metabolism is the most likely cause but has not yet been able to be proven. It is also possible that climatic factors, such as the hot, dry summer that occurs in South Australia, contribute to the severity of this disease in SA koalas.
Our research group has investigated Chlamydia prevalence and pathology in South Australian koala populations, and its association with koala retrovirus, as well as the differing characteristics of koala retrovirus infection in southern koalas in relation to viral loads and disease manifestation.
Other current research interests include endocrine gland morphology and histology; gastrointestinal microbiome of koalas; and the impact of the bushfires on koala health.
-
Publications
2024 McDougall, F. K., Speight, N., Funnell, O., Boardman, W. S. J., & Power, M. L. (2024). Dynamics of Antimicrobial Resistance Carriage in Koalas (Phascolarctos Cinereus) and Pteropid Bats (Pteropus Poliocephalus) Before, During and After Wildfires. Microbial Ecology, 87(1), 15 pages. 2024 Hough, I., O'Handley, R., & Speight, N. (2024). Cryptosporidium-associated enteritis in captive koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Australian Veterinary Journal, 102(6), 313-315. 2023 Baek, C., Woolford, L., Funnell, O., McLelland, J., Eddy, S., Stephenson, T., & Speight, N. (2023). Cutaneous and Respiratory Lesions in Bushfire-Affected Koalas. Veterinary Sciences, 10(11), 10 pages.
2023 McDougall, F. K., Boardman, W. S. J., Speight, N., Stephenson, T., Funnell, O., Smith, I., . . . Power, M. L. (2023). Carriage of antibiotic resistance genes to treatments for chlamydial disease in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus): A comparison of occurrence before and during catastrophic wildfires. One Health, 17, 10 pages. 2023 Blanchard, A. M., Emes, R. D., Greenwood, A. D., Holmes, N., Loose, M. W., McEwen, G. K., . . . Tarlinton, R. E. (2023). Genome Reference Assembly for Bottlenecked Southern Australian Koalas. Genome Biology and Evolution, 15(1), 5 pages.
Scopus3 WoS1 Europe PMC22023
Scopus4 WoS1 Europe PMC32022 Buchanan, C., Woolford, L., Stephenson, T., Hoebergen, M., Kovac, J. H., Breed, W. G., & Speight, N. (2022). TESTIS ABNORMALITIES IN A POPULATION OF SOUTH AUSTRALIAN KOALAS (PHASCOLARCTOS CINEREUS).. Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 58(1), 158-167. 2022 Speight, N. (2022). Health and Diseases of Koalas. Animals, 12(8), 1005. 2022 Tarlinton, R. E., Legione, A. R., Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Meers, J., McMichael, L., . . . Emes, R. D. (2022). Differential and defective transcription of koala retrovirus indicates the complexity of host and virus evolution.. J Gen Virol, 103(6), 1-17.
Scopus4 WoS2 Europe PMC32021 Stephenson, T., Lee, K., Griffith, J. E., McLelland, D. J., Wilkes, A., Bird, P. S., . . . Woolford, L. (2021). Pulmonary Actinomycosis in South Australian Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).. Veterinary Pathology, 58(2), 416-422.
Scopus1 WoS12021 Tarlinton, R. E., Fabijan, J., Hemmatzadeh, F., Meers, J., Owen, H., Sarker, N., . . . Emes, R. D. (2021). Transcriptomic and genomic variants between koala populations reveals underlying genetic components to disorders in a bottlenecked population. Conservation Genetics, 22(3), 329-340.
Scopus5 WoS42021 Stephenson, T., Speight, N., Low, W. Y., Woolford, L., Tearle, R., & Hemmatzadeh, F. (2021). Molecular Diagnosis of Koala Retrovirus (KoRV) in South Australian Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Animals, 11(5), 1-13.
Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC22021 Dunstan, E., Funnell, O., McLelland, J., Stoeckeler, F., Nishimoto, E., Mitchell, D., . . . Speight, N. (2021). An analysis of demographic and triage assessment findings in bushfire-affected koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) on kangaroo island, south australia, 2019–2020. Animals, 11(11), 3237.
Scopus12 WoS6 Europe PMC72020 Downey, P., Caraguel, C., Speight, K. N., Fabijan, J. H., & Boardman, W. S. (2020). Field anaesthesia using alfaxalone and alfaxalone-medetomidine in free ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), a randomised comparative study.. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia, 47(3), 368-376.
Scopus2 WoS12020 Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Owen, H., Seddon, J., Simmons, G., Speight, N., . . . Tarlinton, R. E. (2020). Koala retrovirus viral load and disease burden in distinct northern and southern koala populations.. Sci Rep, 10(1), 263.
Scopus18 WoS16 Europe PMC132020 Butcher, R. G., Pettett, L. M., Fabijan, J., Ebrahimie, E., Mohammadi-Dehcheshmeh, M., Speight, K. N., . . . Trott, D. J. (2020). Periodontal disease in free-ranging koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) from the Mount Lofty Ranges, South Australia, and its association with koala retrovirus infection.. Australian veterinary journal, 98(5), 200-206.
Scopus8 WoS7 Europe PMC52020 Fabijan, J., Speight, N., Boardman, W., Hemmatzadeh, F., Trott, D. J., & Woolford, L. (2020). Haematological reference intervals of wild southern Australian koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).. Aust Vet J, 98(5), 207-215.
Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC22020 Fabijan, J., Sarker, N., Speight, N., Owen, H., Meers, J., Simmons, G., . . . Trott, D. J. (2020). Pathological Findings in Koala Retrovirus-positive Koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) from Northern and Southern Australia. Journal of Comparative Pathology, 176, 50-66.
Scopus18 WoS17 Europe PMC132020 Speight, N., Gates, M., Scriven, J., Stephenson, T., & Woolford, L. (2020). Symmetric dimethylarginine values in koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) based on oxalate nephrosis status.. Aust Vet J, 98(6), 247-249.
Scopus2 WoS2 Europe PMC12020 Speight, N., Bacci, B., Stent, A., & Whiteley, P. (2020). Histological survey for oxalate nephrosis in Victorian koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus).. Aust Vet J, 98(9), 467-470.
Scopus3 WoS3 Europe PMC32020 Kasimov, V., Stephenson, T., Speight, N., Chaber, A. L., Boardman, W., Easther, R., & Hemmatzadeh, F. (2020). Identification and Prevalence of Phascolarctid Gammaherpesvirus Types 1 and 2 in South Australian Koala Populations. Viruses, 12(9), 12 pages.
Scopus3 WoS2 Europe PMC32019 Immelman, L., Rich, B., & Speight, K. N. (2019). Changes in antioxidant capacity of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) based on health status and measurement of the antioxidant ascorbate in eucalypt leaves. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine, 50(4), 861-867. 2019 Speight, N., Colella, D., Boardman, W., Taggart, D. A., Haynes, J. I., & Breed, W. G. (2019). Seasonal variation in occurrence of oxalate nephrosis in South Australian koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Australian Mammalogy, 41(1), 92-98.
Scopus5 WoS52019
Scopus23 WoS19 Europe PMC122019 Speight, K. N., Houston-Francis, M., Mohammadi Dehcheshmeh, M., Ebrahimie, E., Saputra, S., & Trott, D. J. (2019). Oxalate-degrading bacteria, including Oxalobacter formigenes, colonise the gastrointestinal tract of healthy koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) and those with oxalate nephrosis. Australian Veterinary Journal, 97(5), 166-170.
Scopus5 WoS5 Europe PMC12019 Taggart, P., Fancourt, B., Fabijan, J., Peacock, D., Speight, K., Caraguel, C. G., & McAllister, M. M. (2019). No evidence of toxoplasma gondii exposure in South Australian Koalas (phascolarctos cinereus). Journal of Parasitology, 105(4), 638-641.
Scopus3 WoS2 Europe PMC12019 Fabijan, J., Miller, D., Olagoke, O., Woolford, L., Boardman, W., Timms, P., . . . Speight, K. N. (2019). Prevalence and clinical significance of koala retrovirus in two South Australian koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations. Journal of Medical Microbiology, 68(7), 1072-1080.
Scopus19 WoS18 Europe PMC132019 Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Seddon, J., Tarlinton, R., Owen, H., Simmons, G., . . . Meers, J. (2019). Genetic diversity of Koala retrovirus env gene subtypes: insights into northern and southern koala populations.. The Journal of general virology, 100(9), 1328-1339.
Scopus19 WoS17 Europe PMC142019 Pettett, L. M., Wilson, G. J., Nicolson, V., Boardman, W., Speight, N., Fabijan, J., . . . Bird, P. S. (2019). Malocclusions in the koala (Phascolarctos cinereus).. Australian veterinary journal, 97(11), 473-481.
Scopus3 WoS22018
Scopus17 WoS16 Europe PMC152018
Scopus23 WoS24 Europe PMC182018 Speight, K. N., Hicks, P., Graham, C., Boardman, W., Breed, W. G., Manthorpe, E., . . . Woolford, L. (2018). Necropsy findings of koalas from the Mount Lofty Ranges population in South Australia. Australian Veterinary Journal, 96(5), 188-192.
Scopus19 WoS15 Europe PMC82017
Scopus19 WoS15 Europe PMC82017 Fabijan, J., Woolford, L., Lathe, S., Simmons, G., Hemmatzadeh, F., Trott, D., & Speight, N. (2017). Lymphoma, Koala Retrovirus Infection and Reproductive Chlamydiosis in a Koala (Phascolarctos cinereus). Journal of Comparative Pathology, 157(2-3), 188-192.
Scopus16 WoS15 Europe PMC112017 Tarlinton, R. E., Legione, A. R., Sarker, N., Fabijan, J., Meers, J., McMichael, L., . . . Emes, R. D. (2017). Differential and defective expression of Koala Retrovirus indicate complexity of host and virus evolution.
2016
Scopus25 WoS24 Europe PMC142015 Speight, K., Kokkinn, M., & Breed, W. (2015). The gastrointestinal tract of the Australian water rat (Hydromys chrysogaster) – its morphological adaptations to a carnivorous diet. Australian Mammalogy, 38(1), 52-57.
Scopus4 WoS42015
Scopus36 WoS35 Europe PMC302014
Scopus17 WoS15 Europe PMC72014 2013
Scopus11 WoS102013
Scopus7 WoS82013
Scopus27 WoS26 Europe PMC13- Speight, N. (n.d.). Koala retrovirus infection and disease in South Australian koala (Phascolarctos cinereus) populations. In Proceedings of the Second Koala Retrovirus Workshop, ed. D. E. Alquezar-Planas, D. P. Higgins, C. L. Singleton, and A. D. Greenwood. Technical Reports of the Australian Museum online, 38, 41-43. -
Professional Associations
Veterinary Surgeon's Board of South Australia (registered veterinarian)
Wildlife Disease Association (Australasian section)
South Australian Veterinary Emergency Management
Australian Mammal Society
Australian Centre for Evolutionary Biology & Biodiversity
South Australian Wildlife Health Network
Australian Wildlife Management Society
The information in this directory is provided to support the academic, administrative and business activities of the 成人大片. To facilitate these activities, entries in the University Phone Directory are not limited to University employees. The use of information provided here for any other purpose, including the sending of unsolicited commercial material via email or any other electronic format, is strictly prohibited. The University reserves the right to recover all costs incurred in the event of breach of this policy.
Entry last updated: Monday, 15 Jul 2024
To link to this page, please use the following URL: /directory/natasha.speight