SECORE International has developed a coral seeding method that utilizes assisted reproduction - breeding corals to help restore reefs. This approach has been implemented across the Caribbean through a network of training and partners.&nbsp;



A recent study confirms that the coral seeding method is making a significant impact: during the severe 2023 heatwave in the Caribbean, young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-corals-and-reefs-are-showing-surprising-resilience-as-global-waters-warm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">corals</a> that were bred through SECORE's efforts remained healthy, while many wild corals bleached and died.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coral-seeding-in-the-caribbean-nbsp">Coral seeding in the Caribbean&nbsp;</h2>



The summer of 2023 brought devastation to many coral reefs in the Caribbean Basin. An unprecedented <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-heatwaves-escalate-coral-bleaching-threats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heatwave</a>, both in intensity and duration, hit the region, leading to widespread coral bleaching. 



With high seawater temperatures persisting, many corals were unable to recover and perished.&nbsp;



However, during this time of crisis, a hopeful discovery was made by SECORE’s Restoration Coordinator in Mexico, Sandra Mendoza Quiroz.&nbsp;



While conducting a routine dive to monitor their outplanted corals, she found that the young corals they had bred were healthy, standing out among the bleached and dying reefs.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-assisted-reproduction-and-coral-survival">Assisted reproduction and coral survival</h2>



Similar findings were reported by SECORE’s team in Curaçao, where another species of bred coral had withstood the heat.



“We were excited to observe this pattern showing another benefit of using assisted coral recruits in restoration,” said Margaret Miller, research director of <a href="https://www.secore.org/site/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SECORE</a>.



The team in Curaçao and Mexico, working with Coralium Lab at the <a href="https://www.unam.mx/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México</a>, collected data on the health of various species and groups of outplanted corals. 



The experts reached out to partners across their Caribbean Restoration Network, including the Dominican Foundation for Marine Studies, the <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/caribbean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean</a>, and Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire. 



Together, the researchers confirmed that young corals bred for restoration were significantly more resistant to bleaching compared to their wild counterparts across six coral species at 15 reef sites in five different Caribbean nations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coral-seeding-builds-resilience-nbsp">Coral seeding builds resilience&nbsp;</h2>



This study marks the first scientific evidence that corals restored using natural reproduction methods demonstrate greater resistance to extreme sea temperatures than wild or fragmented corals.



Miller, who has been breeding corals in the Caribbean for over 30 years, expressed optimism about the findings.&nbsp;



“These results provide a lot of encouragement and confirmation that restoration using assisted coral recruits can play an important role in orchestrating coral persistence into our warmer future,” said Miller.&nbsp;



“Nonetheless, truly securing the future of coral reefs is absolutely dependent on humankind’s success in controlling global warming.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-producing-millions-of-coral-embryos-nbsp">Producing millions of coral embryos&nbsp;</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reef-sounds-the-melodic-key-to-coral-restoration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coral restoration</a> methods have evolved significantly in the past decade. Traditionally, corals were propagated by breaking fragments off source colonies and growing them in nurseries before manually transplanting them onto the reef. 



Today, SECORE’s coral seeding approach, which breeds corals specifically for restoration, is widely implemented throughout the Caribbean.&nbsp;



This method involves collecting coral spawn from wild corals, fertilizing the eggs and sperm in a controlled environment (either on a boat or beach), and producing millions of coral embryos.&nbsp;



The coral larvae are grown in ocean enclosures and settled on special substrates before being outplanted onto the reef.



Each generation of corals that reproduces naturally receives a new combination of genes, enhancing their ability to adapt.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-importance-of-the-new-breeding-efforts">Importance of the new breeding efforts</h2>



The study revealed that the young corals produced through breeding showed greater resistance to bleaching than adult coral colonies and fragments.&nbsp;



However, due to the recruitment failure of many reef-building species in the Caribbean, natural offspring are rare, which further underscores the importance of SECORE’s breeding efforts.



Dirk Petersen, the founder of&nbsp; SECORE, is thrilled with the study’s positive results.&nbsp;



“Our coral seeding approach is an important contribution to help coral reefs deal with climate change,” said Petersen. “Our investment over the past five years to build a large network for coral restoration in the Caribbean has paid off.”&nbsp;



“This network not only produces and outplants tens of thousands of corals every year but could also immediately assess how these corals responded to this unprecedented heatwave. Our priority is now to further scale efforts to the ecosystem level.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-chance-for-coral-reefs-to-survive">A chance for coral reefs to survive</h2>



Coral restoration, however, is not a solo endeavor. It requires collaboration across various disciplines, from science and engineering to on-the-ground implementation.&nbsp;



The process involves logistics, effectiveness, and thorough training, and must be grounded in strong management strategies that engage local communities.&nbsp;



While coral restoration is crucial, it alone cannot solve the broader challenges posed by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-study-provides-answers-to-how-coral-reefs-can-survive-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate change</a>. Still, it provides vital time to help coral populations survive in the face of environmental pressures.



“Our Caribbean Training and Capacity Building Program has turned out to be a successful model, which we urgently need to take to other regions across the world,” Petersen said.&nbsp;



In his view, as extreme weather events continue to increase in frequency and severity, regions beyond the Caribbean will also be affected.&nbsp;



“Restoration measures are best implemented at an early stage to strengthen the reefs. Once degradation has reached a critical level, restoration becomes much more challenging,” said Petersen.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expanding-coral-restoration-efforts">Expanding coral restoration efforts</h2>



SECORE is now expanding its efforts globally. In 2023, the organization hosted its first training session for participants from U.S. jurisdictions in the Western Pacific and plans to establish a team in Mauritius by the end of the year.&nbsp;



This new base will serve as a hub for restoration training in the Indian Ocean. “Restoration truly is a cooperative effort - let’s all work together to give these valuable ecosystems a future!” Peterson concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309719" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLoS ONE</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-ralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

‘Coral seeding’ increases resistance to extreme heatwaves

SECORE International has developed a coral seeding method that utilizes assisted reproduction - breeding corals to help restore reefs. This approach has been implemented across the Caribbean through a network of training and partners.&nbsp; A recent study confirms that the coral seeding method is making a significant impact: during the severe 2023 heatwave in the Caribbean, young corals that were bred through SECORE's efforts remained healthy, while many wild corals bleached and died. Coral seeding in the Caribbean&nbsp; The summer of 2023 brought devastation to many coral...

Marine invertebrates such as clams, oysters and worms are keystone species that play a critical role in ocean ecosystems. In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/">University of Exeter</a>, an international team of researchers has investigated the impact of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urban-noise-affects-the-color-of-songbirds-beaks/">noise</a> pollution on marine invertebrates.&nbsp;



The experts reviewed hundreds of relevant studies. They concluded that noise from human activities is damaging marine invertebrates in many different ways, and this damage can be fatal.



“Many people are surprised to discover that invertebrates can even perceive sounds, but in fact sound is fundamental to their survival. Light doesn’t travel very well in water but sound does, and invertebrates use sound in a variety of ways," explained study first author Dr. Marta Solé from Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC).



“Human activities - especially shipping - are changing the ocean soundscape rapidly, and our study brings together the latest evidence on the impacts of this.”



The study revealed that noise from human activities such as shipping and drilling can harm marine invertebrates on a cellular level. Ocean noise is also impacting entire marine ecosystems by changing the health and behavior of predators and prey in complex food webs, explained the researchers.



Some of the changes in behavior that have been documented include a “startle” reaction in response to loud sounds. For example, ship noise has been found to limit the camouflage ability of shore crabs.



The experts also reviewed evidence that ocean noise can delay hatching and egg development in crustaceans, which significantly increases death rates among larvae.



Furthermore, research has shown that low-frequency sounds can cause injuries and even death. Numerous studies have confirmed that blue crabs are often killed as a direct result of underwater explosions.&nbsp;



“Our study underlines that these animals exist in a rich underwater soundscape,” said Dr. Sophie Nedelec from the University of Exeter. “We urgently need to know more about the impacts of noise pollution on these animals and ecosystems."



“Considering that noise can affect invertebrates from cellular to ecosystems level, we need to bring together interdisciplinary expertise to embrace a holistic vision of the problem."



“Given the many pressures being caused by humans - including from climate change and fisheries - we must do everything we can to limit underwater noise.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://74n5c4m7.r.eu-west-1.awstrack.me/L0/https:%2F%2Fwww.frontiersin.org%2Farticles%2F10.3389%2Ffmars.2023.1129057%2Ffull/1/01020186ef2945b2-70c1feb9-0d3f-4f4b-a6b9-8081e0cdc241-000000/awzuC7zUjcAq3w8xKIB-5QMuj7Y=313">Frontiers in Marine Science</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Ocean noise can be fatal to marine invertebrates 

Marine invertebrates such as clams, oysters and worms are keystone...

Owning a pet may lead to more restless nights, according to new research published in the CABI journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1079/hai.2023.0005">Human-Animal Interactions</a>. The study is not the first to confirm that pet ownership can have a negative impact on sleep quality.



For the investigation, Dr. Lauren Wisnieski of Lincoln Memorial University analyzed data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), which was conducted in 2005-2006.



The results showed that dogs are associated with a greater risk of sleep disorders, while cats are associated with a higher risk of leg jerks.



“Prior studies on the association between pet ownership and sleep quality and sleep disorders have varied results," said Dr. Wisnieski.&nbsp;



“On the one hand, dogs and cats may be beneficial for an owner’s quality of sleep due to the social support that pets provide - pets offer a sense of security and companionship, which may result in improvements in levels of anxiety, stress and depression. Yet on the other hand, pets may disrupt their owners’ sleep."



“This cross-sectional study aimed to determine if there is an association between dog and cat ownership and sleep quality and sleep disorders – including consideration of aspects such as snoring, waking up during the night, needing pills to sleep and leg jerks.”



According to Dr. Wisnieski, the differences in the association of sleep quality and cat versus dog ownership may be because cats tend to be more active at night.



“If the causal relationship is established through further investigation, the results will have implications for clinician recommendations for treating patients with poor sleep quality."



“Additionally, educational resources can be developed to inform pet owners about the risks of sleep disruptions and offer potential solutions, such as crating the pet or restricting access to the bedroom at night.”



Dr. Wisnieski said that future studies would benefit from measuring the human-animal bond, so that we can understand how the strength of it affects quality of sleep.



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Owning a pet can lead to more restless nights

Owning a pet may lead to more restless nights, according...

A team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a> in Australia has recently discovered and described the largest bird of prey that ever lived on the Australian continent – an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eagle-fossil-represents-a-unique-branch-of-the-family-tree/">eagle</a> twice the size of the modern-day apex predator the wedge-tailed eagle, named by the experts Dynatoaetus gaffae&nbsp;(Gaff’s powerful eagle).&nbsp;



Closely related to Old World vultures of Asia and Africa, as well as to the critically endangered monkey-eating or Philippine Eagle, this now extinct raptor soared over southern Australia in the late Pleistocene 60,000 years ago. It had a wingspan extending to up to three meters and powerful talons wide enough to easily grab a small kangaroo or koala.&nbsp;



The researchers discovered a variety of large fossil bones scattered across the Flinders Ranges, the Naracoorte and Wellington Caves, and near Cooper Creek in the Lake Eyre Basin.&nbsp;



“We were very excited to find many more bones from much of the skeleton to create a better picture and description of these magnificent long-lost giant extinct birds,”&nbsp;said study lead author Ellen Mather, a paleontologist at Flinders.&nbsp;



“This discovery reveals that this incredible family of birds was once much more diverse in Australia, and that raptors were also impacted by the mass extinction that wiped out most of Australia’s megafauna.”



“It was ‘humongous’ – larger than any other eagle from other continents, and almost as large as the world’s largest eagles once found on the islands of New Zealand and Cuba, including the whopping extinct 13kg Haast’s eagle of New Zealand,” added senior author Trevor Worthy, an associate professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at the same university.



“It had giant talons, spreading up to 30cm, which easily would have been able to dispatch a juvenile giant kangaroo, large flightless bird, or other species of lost megafauna from that era, including the young of the world’s largest marsupial&nbsp;Diprotodon&nbsp;and the giant goanna&nbsp;Varanus priscus.”



According to the researchers, this massive predator most likely coexisted with still living species such as the wedge-tailed eagle. Considering that the Australian birds of prey used to be more diverse, the fact that the wedge-tailed eagle managed to coexist with the giant Dynatoaetus without being outcompeted could mean that its habitat and feeding grounds were more limited in the past.



Dynatoaetus is estimated to have become extinct during the time of the megafaunal mass extinction peaking around 50,000 years ago, which marked a drastic decline in the diversity and function of Australian raptors.



An in-depth description of this eagle is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10336-023-02055-x">Journal of Ornithology</a>.&nbsp;



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Australia's largest eagle was a massive predator 

A team of researchers led by Flinders University in Australia...

The small island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean has a large number of endemic plants and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-did-warning-coloration-evolve-in-animals/">animals</a> that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. This unique ecosystem is highly interconnected, as many fruit-bearing plants depend on animals to disperse their seeds.&nbsp;



Mauritius faces a serious risk of mass extinction in the coming decades, and researchers at the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> have investigated the potential consequences of changes in the composition of the island's frugivore communities.



"Many plants, especially on tropical islands like Mauritius, rely on animals to help spread their seeds. If the animals that can help spread the seeds become extinct, the plants get into trouble because the animals which humans have brought to the island destroy the seeds instead. This increases the risk of the plants that are still on the island dying out," explained study first author Julia Heinen.



In a negative feedback loop, the loss of plants on the island could perpetuate the loss of more frugivorous animals. According to the researchers, the introduction of new animals to the island will not necessarily help.&nbsp;



"After the dodo and other Mauritian animals have become extinct, other animals have come to the island. They have either come with the people or they have found their way to the island themselves. But they cannot replace the function of extinct animals in the ecosystem," said Heinen.



"Now there are rats, pigs, monkeys and some other types of birds. And they actually eat the same fruits, but they handle them in a different way, and it doesn't have a positive effect on the plants."



"If we remove one species from the island, for example the dodo, we destroy the connection to others. It's like a house of cards. Then the plants that were eaten by the dodo and other animals in Mauritius will also be at risk of extinction."



Heinen explained that rats are a big problem when they arrive on an island. "They hide on the ships with the humans, so when the humans came to the island, the rats were there. The rats eat and destroy seeds, but they are also fond of birds' eggs.'



Ever since humans arrived on the island with rats and pigs 400 years ago, the sensitive ecosystem of Mauritius has been impacted. Some other animals, however, have helped to keep the ecosystem functioning.&nbsp;



"The Mauritian fruit bat is a very unique and endangered animal that plays a vital role in the ecosystem because it is one of the few remaining animals that can disperse the plants over the island. But the authorities are actively killing the bats because they are noisy and eat the mangoes in people's backyards," said Heinen. "People are very frustrated, but the authorities ignore the science. And Mauritius is the last place on Earth the bat lives."



“We don’t know yet how to stop extinctions on islands worldwide, but this study makes it clear that on Mauritius we can prevent the loss of the native plants if we stop culling the flying foxes, start conservation projects focused on the Mauritian Bulbul and continue to protect the Telfair’s skink.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36669-9">Nature Communications</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Native island plants may not survive animal extinctions 

The small island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean has...

Hawksbill,Turtle,-,Eretmochelys,Imbricata,Floats,Under,Water.,Maldives,Indian

A recent study led by <a href="https://ucsd.edu/">UC San Diego</a> highlights the dangers faced by global coral reef systems due to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/citizens-should-help-determine-the-future-of-our-oceans/">ocean</a> deoxygenation, which is the decline of oxygen in marine waters.



Although deoxygenation has been extensively researched, hypoxia in coral reefs is not well-studied. The current investigation is unprecedented because it explored hypoxia in 32 coral reef sites across Japan, Hawaii, Panama, Palmyra, and Taiwan.



“This study is unique because our lab worked with a number of collaborators to compile this global oxygen dataset especially focused on coral reefs - no one has really done that on a global scale before with this number of datasets,” said marine scientist Ariel Pezner, a postdoctoral fellow at the Smithsonian Marine Station in Florida.



A study of this scale is vital because deoxygenation is a serious threat to coral reefs and will become more relevant as oceans warm due to climate change. The results revealed that coral reef hypoxia is widespread.



The researchers discovered that 84 percent of the reefs in the study experienced “weak to moderate” hypoxia, and 13 percent experienced “severe” hypoxia.



“We were surprised to find that a lot of coral reefs are already experiencing what we would define as hypoxia today under current conditions,” added Pezner.



Due to the biological functions of the reefs, hypoxia is more severe at night, while many ocean creatures are respiring instead of producing oxygen.



“Imagine that you’re a person who is used to sea-level conditions, and then every night you have to go to sleep somewhere in the Rocky Mountains, where the air has less oxygen," said biogeochemist Andreas Andersson.



"This is similar to what these corals are experiencing at nighttime and in the early morning when they experience hypoxia. And in the future, if the duration and intensity of these hypoxic events gets worse, then it might be like sleeping on Mount Everest every night.”



The researchers say that more studies are needed to determine baseline oxygen levels, track other hypoxia events, and to analyze how reefs are affected.



“Baseline oxygen conditions varied widely among our reef habitats, suggesting that a singular definition of ‘hypoxia’ may not be reasonable for all environments,” concluded Pezner. “Determining which thresholds are relevant will be important moving forward in making predictions about how reefs might change under warming and oxygen loss.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Coral reefs are increasingly exposed to low oxygen levels 

A recent study led by UC San Diego highlights the...

Multicoloured,Asian,Ladybird,/,Ladybug,(harmonia,Axyridis),Walks,On,A

Some animal species use bright <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-animals-got-their-complex-color-patterns/">color patterns</a> to keep predators away – a phenomenon known as “aposematism.” Scientists have long pondered how aposematic animals can survive long enough for this warning signal coloration to evolve before predators learn to avoid them.&nbsp;



Now, a team of scientists from <a href="https://carleton.ca/">Carleton University</a> in Canada and <a href="https://en.snu.ac.kr/">Seoul National University</a> in South Korea has found that, during evolution, aposematism emerged through intermediate steps. Initially, coloration was only visible when an animal was fleeing or intentionally displaying color patterns that are normally hidden.



Evolutionary adaptations to avoid being tracked by predators have led to a considerable variation in the diversity of animal color patterns. While some species developed camouflage coloration, enabling them to blend into the background in order to avoid detection, others evolved to exhibit bright colors as conspicuous warning signals that advertise defense mechanisms such as venom, toxicity, or aggression.



The researchers performed a large-scale phylogenetic analysis of over 1,400 amphibian species with known warning coloration along nine different evolutionary models. They discovered that the evolutionary transition from camouflage coloration to aposematism was rarely direct and most likely emerged through a series of intermediary steps in which warning coloration was first hidden and only selectively visible.



According to the scientists, predators encountering such hidden warning signals probably continued to treat permanently aposematic mutants with caution, a phenomenon providing selective pressure for warning coloration to become a permanent adaptation.&nbsp;



“Macroevolutionary studies on animal coloration should take into account these underappreciated hidden signals, which are both common and widespread across the animal kingdom, to advance our understanding of the evolution of antipredator defenses," wrote the researchers.



"Indeed, many animal taxa such as snakes, fishes, and a variety of arthropods include species that are cryptic, aposematic, and have hidden conspicuous signals. We therefore encourage follow-up studies in other taxa to evaluate the generality of the steppingstone hypothesis as a route to aposematism."



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.ade5156">Science</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How did warning coloration evolve in animals?

Some animal species use bright color patterns to keep predators...

At a time when infectious diseases play a significant role in the media and popular culture – due to the Covid-19 pandemic and TV shows such as “The Last of Us,” in which a deadly, brain-infecting fungus is wiping out most of the human population – many scientists around the world are trying to better understand how viruses, bacteria, and fungi affect not only humans but also other animals.&nbsp;



A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.sfsu.edu/">San Francisco State University</a> (SFSU) has recently investigated the emerge and spread of a deadly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-fungus-has-become-more-deadly-thanks-to-jumping-genes/">fungus</a> (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis&nbsp;or&nbsp;Bd) among amphibians in Africa. Since it affects the skin of amphibians, which is much more important for their survival than it is for humans, this pathogen is highly detrimental for amphibians worldwide, currently contributing to a significant loss in biodiversity.



“When [amphibian] skin starts to change thickness, it basically creates a condition where they can’t maintain their internal processes and they die,” said study co-author Eliseo Parra, a biologist at SFSU. “If infecting a mammal, it might affect your fingernails or something you wouldn’t even notice, but amphibians (frogs, salamanders) use their skin to breathe. It’s a very critical part of their body.”



Since this fungus appears to be lethal for many amphibian populations but not others, the experts aimed to better understand this pathogen’s emergence, evolution, and prevalence, focusing on under-studied areas in Africa. Through a combination of methods including the testing of thousands of frog specimens, the examination of previous scientific studies of this disease, and the genotyping of Bd lineages, the researchers mapped how the fungus interacted with amphibians across the African continent over the past 165 years.



The analyses revealed that, until 2000, there was low prevalence and limited spread of the disease in Africa. Afterwards, prevalence spiked from 3.2 percent to 18.7 percent and Bd became more widespread geographically and increasingly deadly for a large number of amphibians. The scientists identified two main lineages of the fungus in Africa: a global, more dangerous lineage, and a local lineage which, although it was previously thought to be more benign, new evidence shows that it can also be quite destructive. By using this data, the researchers created a model estimating that eastern, central, and western Africa are the regions most vulnerable to Bd.



“We’re trying to extend our findings and make predictions about what could happen in the future. It’s the best way to make our study worth the work,” said senior author Vance Vredenburg, the Associate Chair of the Department of Biology at SFSU. “There are nearly 1,200 amphibian species in Africa. We wanted to say where are the riskiest places for outbreaks. Those will probably be the places where you have the most hosts in one place.”



“It’s very important to note that&nbsp;Bd&nbsp;didn’t spread worldwide without humans helping in one way or another. It’s not the first pathogen that affects hundreds of species worldwide and it’s not going to be the last,” concluded co-author Hasan Sulaeman, a biologist at the same university.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fcosc.2023.1069490">Frontiers in Conservation Science</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Deadly fungus threatens African amphibians

At a time when infectious diseases play a significant role...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deadly-disease-spread-by-tasmanian-devils-is-evolving/">Tasmanian devil</a> is Australia’s apex terrestrial predator. Since most of these animals are known to be “individual specialists,” feeding on the same food items consistently over time, human impacts on their environment could be influencing whether they have access to their favorite foods, according to a recent study led by the <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">University of New South Wales</a> in Sydney (UNSW Sydney).



“We found Tasmanian devil populations had different levels of variation in their diet depending on their habitat,” said lead author Anna Lewis, a doctoral candidate at UNSW Sydney. “The more that habitat was impacted by humans, the more restrictive the diet became.”



The experts investigated the diets of Tasmanian devil populations across habitats with various levels of disturbance - ranging from undisturbed rainforests to clear pastures – by analyzing stable isotopes from whisker samples. They discovered that devils in human-impacted environments, such as cleared land or regenerated native forests, fed primarily on medium-sized mammals, while in undisturbed areas like rainforests, they ate a broader range of prey and incorporated smaller animals, such as birds, into their diets.



“We found devils in heavily altered areas like cleared land fed on a smaller range of prey compared to populations living in ancient undisturbed regions, who had much more variety in their diet,” Lewis reported. “They may be turning to human-derived sources of food, such as highway roadkill, which are more readily available.”



Interestingly, devils living in regenerated forests also ate a smaller variety of food items, suggesting that, despite appearances, regenerated land lack complex features such as tree hollows in large old trees, which support the diversity of small mammals and birds devils living in rainforests consume.



According to the scientists, devils with limited food opportunities run the risk of interacting more frequently with their conspecifics around carcasses, possibly leading to the proliferation of a highly contagious and lethal cancer, the Devil Facial Tumor Disease (DFTD), which has already reduced local devil populations by 82 percent.



“The highest rate of cancer transmission other than during the mating season occurs when they’re feeding around these large carcasses. So, there could be an increased chance for the disease to spread amongst devils, and the devils themselves are also at risk of being hit while feeding,” Lewis explained.



These findings highlight the urgent need to protect what remains of untouched landscapes for the benefit of both Tasmanian devils and their prey. 



“It’s apparent there is much more diversity of species available in these old-growth forests, and the devils are shining a light on how vital these pristine areas are, and the urgent need to preserve what remains from the constant threat of clearing and mining,” concluded senior author Tracy Rogers, an ecologist at UNSW Sydney.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-30490-6">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



—



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Humans have restricted the diets of Tasmanian devils

The Tasmanian devil is Australia’s apex terrestrial predator. Since most...

In Washington State, bald eagles and dairy farmers exist in a mutually beneficial relationship. This win-win connection is driven by the impact of climate change on eagles' traditional winter diet of salmon carcasses, and the increase in eagle abundance following decades of conservation efforts.



Typically, the narrative around birds and farmers is combative due to livestock predation. However, many farmers have grown to appreciate the services that eagles provide, which includes carcass removal and pest control.



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> and Trinity Western University in Canada conducted interviews with farmers on dairy operations to better understand this unique relationship. The study was motivated by lead author Ethan Duvall’s research showing that eagles have been redistributing from rivers to farmland over the past 50 years.



"Climate change has altered the chum salmon spawning schedule, causing them to run earlier in the winter," said Duvall. "Now the salmon are spawning when annual Nooksack River flooding is at its peak. The fish who spawn and die are swept away by the high water instead of being deposited on shore where the eagles can easily access them."



Many rivers in the Pacific Northwest have experienced dramatic salmon population declines, eliminating winter resources for eagles. To adapt, eagles have turned to dairy farm by-products resulting from the births and deaths of cows and prey on waterfowl populations in agricultural areas.



"We know this positive interaction between farmers and bald eagles is not the norm in many other agricultural areas, especially near free-range poultry farms where the eagles snatch chickens," said Duvall.



"But this study gives me hope that, moving forward, farmers, wildlife managers, and conservationists can come together to think critically about how to maximize benefits for people and wildlife in the spaces they share."



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.4456">Ecosphere</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Farmers and bald eagles can coexist peacefully

In Washington State, bald eagles and dairy farmers exist in...

A new study from the <a href="https://vet.tufts.edu/">Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine</a> has revealed that the deaths of hundreds of seals in New England were caused by bird flu. The research is the first to link a large scale mortality event in wild mammals to avian influenza.&nbsp;



In the summer of 2022, more than 330 New England harbor and gray seals died along the North Atlantic coast. The researchers have connected this shocking event to an outbreak of avian influenza (HPAI) in the region.



The Tufts Wildlife Clinic has been conducting avian influenza surveillance since January 2022, which is shortly after the H5N1 strain arrived from Europe. The testing has revealed that at least three strains of avian influenza have crossed the Atlantic, and there have been consistent waves of bird infections.



In collaboration with NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Region Marine Mammal Stranding Network, the team also tested seals for bird flu.&nbsp;



“We have a better resolution and greater depth of detail on this virus than before because we were able to sequence it and detect changes almost in real time,” said study co-first author Wendy Puryear. “And we have pairings of samples, sometimes literally from a bird and a seal on the same beach.”



“Because of the genetic data that we gathered, we were the first to see a strain of the virus that's unique to New England. The data set will allow us to more meaningfully address questions of which animals are passing the virus to which animals and how the virus is changing,” said co-first author Kaitlin Sawatzki.



Domestic poultry and seabirds are highly susceptible to the H5N1 strain of bird flu. This particular strain is responsible for about 60 million poultry deaths in the U.S. since October 2020.&nbsp;



The experts determined that at the time of the seal mortality event in New England, seagulls were getting hit hard by the H5N1 virus. There are lots of ways gulls and other birds may transmit the virus to seals, and not just through direct contact, noted the researchers.



The highly pathogenic H5N1 is associated with a death rate of nearly 100 percent among domestic and wild birds, and the Tufts research indicates that there is a similar fatality rate for wild mammals. According to the study authors, none of the stranded seals that tested positive for bird flu recovered.



“It's not surprising that you might have transmission between the seals, because it has happened with low pathogenic avian influenza,” said Puryear. “However, we can't say definitively whether or not there has been mammal-to-mammal transmission of HPAI.”



“To get strong evidence of mammal-to-mammal transmission, you need two things: lots of infected animals and time,” explained Sawatzki. “Time for the virus to mutate, and time for the mutated virus to be transmitted to another seal."



"As the virus acquires mutations, we can see shared mutations in the sequences that are specific only to mammals and that haven’t been seen in a bird before. We had the numbers, but this outbreak didn't last long enough to provide evidence for seal-to-seal transmission.”



The team found evidence that the virus had mutated during the mortality event, but there has not been a case of bird flu in seals along the Atlantic coast since the end of summer 2022.



The CDC reports that the risk to the public remains low, with less than 10 human cases of H5N1. In these cases, the individuals had direct contact with infected poultry.



The ultimate public health threat associated with bird flu, however, is not yet known. According to the World Health Organization, 868 cases of human infection with H5N1 have been reported worldwide since 2003, and the fatality rate was over 50 percent.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid2904.221538">Emerging Infectious Diseases</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Bird flu killed hundreds of seals in New England last year

A new study from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine...

In a study led by the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a>, scientists have investigated the genome of the Australian black swan to examine its susceptibility to infectious <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-rodent-borne-diseases-spill-over-into-humans/">diseases</a>. The researchers found that black swans lack some of the immune-related genes that are needed to fight off bird flu and other viral illnesses.&nbsp;



"The Australian black swan (Cygnus atratus) is an iconic species with contrasting plumage to that of the closely related northern hemisphere white swans," wrote the study authors.



"The relative geographic isolation of the black swan may have resulted in a limited immune repertoire and increased susceptibility to infectious diseases, notably infectious diseases from which Australia has been largely shielded."



"Unlike mallard ducks and the mute swan (Cygnus olor), the black swan is extremely sensitive to highly pathogenic avian influenza."



Study co-author Dr. Kirsty Short noted that black swans can die from the avian flu HPAI within three days.



“Our data suggests that the immune system of the black swan is such that, should any avian viral infection become established in its native habitat, their survival would be in peril," explained Dr. Short.



“We currently don’t have HPAI in Australia, but it has spread from Asia to North America, Europe, North Africa and South America."



When the bird flu was introduced to new locations, such as Chile and Peru, it killed thousands of wild seabirds, noted Dr. Short. “The risk to one of Australia’s most unique and beautiful birds is very real, and we need to be prepared if we hope to protect it.”



The researchers hope their findings will be able to better protect not only the black swan, but also other susceptible species across the globe.



“We want to increase awareness about how vulnerable Australia’s bird species are to avian influenza and the highly precarious situation they are in,” said Dr.&nbsp; Short.



The research was funded by the Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources and an Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13059-022-02838-0">Genome Biology</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Black swans do not have the genes to survive bird flu

In a study led by the University of Queensland, scientists...

In a new study from <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a>, experts have found that strong winds can increase the spread of pathogens at outdoor chicken farms. The research was focused on the prevalence of Campylobacter - the most common bacterial cause of foodborne illness - at chicken farms in the western United States.



Across farms that had experienced high winds the week before the samples were collected, the pathogen was found to be more widespread.&nbsp;



“Farmers need to be aware of the risk,” said study co-lead author Olivia Smith. “These environmental factors are influencing if the poultry are going to have foodborne pathogens, so farmers need to be aware of what's around them. If there's a lot of wind and if they're in really agricultural areas, that's a problem.”



For the investigation, the researchers collected samples of chicken feces at 27 farms in California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho. On most of the farms, samples were taken once a year for three years.&nbsp;



Overall, more than 85 percent of the farms had some instance of Campylobacter during the study period.&nbsp;



"We found that 26.0% of individual chicken fecal samples we tested were positive for Campylobacter spp.," wrote the study authors. "Our analyses suggest that Campylobacter spp. prevalence increases in poultry on farms with higher average wind speeds in the seven days preceding sampling; on farms embedded in more agricultural landscapes; and in flocks typified by younger birds, more rotations, higher flock densities, and the production of broilers."



Study senior author Jeb Owen, a WSU entomologist, said that farmers should set up a professional relationship with a veterinarian to get their flocks checked and monitored on a regular basis. “Whether for productivity or for animal welfare, you don't want your animals to be sick.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13030492">Animals</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Strong winds help pathogens spread on poultry farms

In a new study from Washington State University, experts have...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu/">University of Miami</a> Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science explores how changes in water temperatures have affected tiger shark habitats and movements in the North Atlantic Ocean. The study reveals that rising temperatures have caused the sharks to shift toward the poles over the past 40 years.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



The researchers analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, combined with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Cooperative Shark Tagging Program.



The experts found that during the last decade of record heat, for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. They also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



“Given their role as apex predators, these changes to tiger shark movements may alter predator-prey interactions, leading to ecological imbalances, and more frequent encounters with humans,” concluded Professor Hammerschlag.



Video Credit: University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

Today’s Video of the Day from the University of Miami...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video Credit: ESA



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



---



By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Editor



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by Eric Ralls and Earth.com.

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"]</div>



Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



---



By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...