Data from: Sex bias in ability to cope with cancer: Tasmanian devils and facial tumour disease.

Knowledge of the ecological dynamics between hosts and pathogens during
the initial stages of disease emergence is crucial to understanding the
potential for evolution of new interspecific interactions. Tasmanian devil
(Sarcophilus harrisii) populations have declined precipitously owing to
infection by a transmissible cancer (devil facial tumour disease, DFTD)
that emerged approximately 20 years ago. Since the emergence of DFTD, and
as the disease spreads across Tasmania, the number of devil has dropped up
to 90% across 80% of the species’ distributional range. As a result, the
disease is expected to act as a strong selective force on hosts to develop
mechanisms of tolerance and/or resistance to the infection. We assessed
the ability of infected devils to cope with infection, which translates
into host tolerance to the cancer, by using the reaction norm of the
individual body condition by tumour burden. We found that body condition
of infected hosts is negatively affected by cancer progression. Males and
females presented significant differences in their tolerance levels to
infection, with males suffering declines of up to 25% of their body
condition, in contrast to <5% in females. Sex-related differences
in tolerance to cancer progression may select for changes in life history
strategies of the host and could also alter the selective environment for
the tumours.