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>.



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‘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...

On an uninhabited island in Alaska, scientists have discovered that wolves are preying on sea otters after nearly wiping out the local deer population. Researchers from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game believe this is the first case of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-otters-have-a-secret-ability-to-generate-heat/">sea otters</a> becoming the primary food source for a land-based predator.



"Sea otters (Enhydra lutris) and wolves (Canis lupus) are two apex predators with strong and cascading effects on ecosystem structure and function. After decades of recovery from near extirpation, their ranges now overlap, allowing sea otters and wolves to interact for the first time in the scientific record," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



The research was focused on Pleasant Island, which is located near Glacier Bay about 40 miles west of Juneau. In this region, sea otters were wiped out from fur trade hunting in the 1800s and 1900s.&nbsp;



Sea otters are now legally protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). They were reintroduced to the Pleasant Island area in the 2000s, and wolves were introduced in 2013.



"After wolf colonization, we quantified shifts in foraging behavior with DNA metabarcoding of 689 wolf scats and stable isotope analyses, both revealing a dietary switch from Sitka black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus), the terrestrial in situ primary prey, to sea otters," wrote the study authors.



"Here we show an unexpected result of the reintroduction and restoration of sea otters, which became an abundant marine subsidy for wolves following population recovery. The availability of sea otters allowed wolves to persist and continue to reproduce, subsequently nearly eliminating deer."



The researchers determined that in 2015, deer made up 75 percent of the wolves' diet, while sea otters made up 25 percent. By 2017, the wolves were primarily feeding on sea otters, while deer made up only seven percent of their diet. This pattern continued through the end of the study period in 2020.



“Sea otters are this famous predator in the near-shore ecosystem and wolves are one of the most famous apex predators in terrestrial systems,” said study co-author Professor Taal Levi. “So, it’s pretty surprising that sea otters have become the most important resource feeding wolves. You have top predators feeding on a top predator.”



“The thing that really surprised me is that sea otters became the main prey of wolves on this island,” said study co-author Gretchen Roffler. “Occasionally eating a sea otter that has washed up on the beach because it died, that is not unusual. But the fact that wolves are eating so many of them indicates it has become a widespread behavior pattern throughout this pack and something that they learned how to do very quickly.



“And from the work we are doing investigating kill sites, we are learning that wolves are actively killing the sea otters. So, they aren’t just scavenging sea otters that are dead or dying, they are stalking them and hunting them and killing them and dragging them up onto the land above the high tide line to consume them.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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



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Clash of the top predators: wolves are eating sea otters

On an uninhabited island in Alaska, scientists have discovered that...

Each year, humpback whales migrate from warmer, temperate waters to the icy Antarctic to gorge themselves on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-krill-can-distinguish-night-from-day-even-in-polar-winter/">krill</a>. These small, shrimp-like crustaceans are rich in nutrients and in the southern summer they become so abundant that the whales’ journey is well rewarded. The frigid waters become so crowded with krill that they were once considered an unlimited source of food, especially in the light of the removal of more than 2 million baleen whales from the Southern Ocean during the 20th century.



However, as with most ecosystems, the components of the Antarctic food webs are interconnected and none of them is inexhaustible. There is no surplus of krill, especially as whale populations have shown recovery and as global warming begins to change the Antarctic ice sheets.



In new collaborative research led by scientists from the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>, the rate of pregnancy in a population of humpback whales was determined over an eight year period (2013 to 2020). Biopsy samples taken from the whales found off the West Antarctic Peninsula were used for genetic analysis, and to determine the levels of hormones, particularly progesterone. The results, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16559">Global Change Biology</a>, indicate that the proportion of females that were pregnant varied considerably each year over the research period.&nbsp;



When the researchers linked the pregnancy rates to the abundance of krill in the waters of the West Antarctic Peninsula, they found that more females were pregnant in years following seasons of krill abundance. In 2017, after a year in which krill populations flourished, 86 percent of the female humpbacks were pregnant. However, in 2020, following a year in which krill populations were less successful, the pregnancy rate plummeted to only 29 percent.&nbsp;



Humpback whales only feed in the Southern Ocean for a few months of the year, and the females fast for most of the rest of the time, even while they are pregnant and nursing calves. This means that the nutrient and energy boost obtained from feeding on thousands of tons of krill during the brief summer visits to the Antarctic, is critical for reproductive success.&nbsp;



According to lead author Logan Pallin, the study demonstrates for the first time the link between population growth and krill availability in Antarctic whales.



“This is significant because, until now, it was thought that krill were essentially an unlimited food source for whales in the Antarctic,” said Pallin. “Continued warming and increased fishing along the Western Antarctic Peninsula, which continue to reduce krill stocks, will likely impact this humpback whale population and other krill predators in the region.”



Professor Ari Friedlaender noted that the Western Antarctic Peninsula is experiencing some of the fastest climatic warming of any region on the planet. Winter air temperatures have risen significantly since the 1950s, and the annual sea ice extent is, on average, 80 days shorter than four decades ago. These conditions are likely to affect the survival of krill populations negatively.



“Krill supplies vary depending on the amount of sea ice because juvenile krill feed on algae growing on sea ice and also rely on the ice for shelter,” Friedlaender said. “In years with less sea ice in the winter, fewer juvenile krill survive to the following year. The impacts of climate change, and likely the krill fishery, are contributing to a decrease in humpback whale reproductive rates in years with less krill available for whales.”



In recent decades, people have found uses for krill as a food source and medicinal treatments, and there is now a commercial fishery operating in the waters off the West Antarctic Peninsula. The total global harvest of krill from all fisheries is about 150–200,000 tons a year, though only a small percentage of this is for human consumption. The majority is utilized as fish food in aquaculture, bait, and livestock and pet food. Krill oil and enzymes are also used in various medicinal treatments.



Study co-author Chris Johnson is the global lead of the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Protecting Whales &amp; Dolphins Initiative. He said this research shows that highly precautionary management measures are needed to protect all Antarctic marine life that depends on krill for its survival, including blue, fin, humpback, minke, and southern right whales, as well as other krill predators such as penguins, seabirds, seals, and fish. &nbsp;



Furthermore, understanding how climate-mediated variation in prey availability influences humpback whale population dynamics is critical for focused management and conservation actions, particularly in light of changing temperatures in the Antarctic.&nbsp;



“This information is critical as we can now be proactive about managing how, when, and how much krill is taken from the Antarctic Peninsula,” added Pallin. “In years of poor krill recruitment, we should not compound this by removing krill from critical foraging areas for baleen whales.”



“Krill are not an inexhaustible resource, and there is a growing overlap between industrial krill fishing and whales feeding at the same time,” Johnson said. “Humpback whales feed in the Antarctic for a handful of months a year to fuel their annual energetic needs for migration that spans thousands of kilometers. We need to tread carefully and protect this unique part of the world, which will benefit whales across their entire range.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Humpback whale reproduction is linked to krill abundance

Each year, humpback whales migrate from warmer, temperate waters to...

Common,European,Adder,(vipera,Berus)

By using a large genomic dataset, and cutting-edge computer modeling technology, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a> in Finland has managed to recently reconstruct the evolutionary tree of a major group of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-snakes-evolved-from-just-a-few-surviving-species/">snakes</a>, Elapoidea, an extremely diverse group of snakes spread all over the world, and including some of the deadliest known species. Moreover, the experts discovered an entirely new family within this group, consisting of four or five species found in the Levant region and in Eastern and Northeastern Africa.



Among the myriad snakes roaming the Earth, the elapoid snakes are some of the richest and diverse groups, consisting of over 700 species divided into several families. These snakes evolved in the early Cenozoic era (so-called “the Eocene”), around 50 to 45 million years ago. Currently, this group encompasses some of the most dangerous and deadly snake species, such as mambas and cobras, as well as several harmless yet bizarre species like the African shovel-nose snakes, or the venomous burrowing asps that can bite without opening their mouths.



By generating a gigantic genomic dataset of nearly 4,600 genes and using micro- and nano-computed tomographic scans for several elapoid snake species, the researchers managed to shed more light on the emergence and development of this important group.&nbsp;



“We estimate that Elapoidea originated in the early Eocene and rapidly diversified into all the major lineages during this epoch. Ecological opportunities presented by the post-Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction event may have promoted the explosive radiation of elapoid snakes,” the authors explained.



In addition, they also identified a new Afro-Asian family of snakes, the Micrelapidae, which is a rare event in Vertebrate Biology, occurring usually once a century. Until now, four or five species have been included in this family, all of them living in Eastern and Northeastern Africa and the Levant region.



“Snakes are not just diverse, but they are very important ecologically. The venomous snakes are important medically as well.&nbsp;What would happen if the knowledge on the evolution and classification of such an important group were in tatters?” said study lead author Sunandan Das, a doctoral student in Wildlife Biology at Helsinki.



“Everything would then get seriously impeded: From communication among scientists to research into the evolution of venom, venom delivery systems etc., from understanding the tempo and mode of the evolution of a big chunk of the global snake diversity to popular scientific work on such group. Until now, this has exactly been the case with elapoid snakes - they are a textbook example of ‘ancient, rapid radiation’ and, as such, a tough nut to crack,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107700">Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution</a>.



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



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Diverse group of snakes has a new evolutionary tree

By using a large genomic dataset, and cutting-edge computer modeling...

Alzheimer’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder which mostly affects older humans, leading to memory loss, confusion, and forgetfulness. However, a new study published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ejn.15900">European Journal of Neuroscience</a> has found evidence that other species of animals may also suffer from this debilitating condition. 



By conducting postmortem studies on 22 odontocetes, or toothed whales – a group of cetaceans included <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dolphins-have-accents-that-vary-by-region/">dolphins</a>, porpoises, and other species of whales possessing teeth – the experts discovered hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of three species of dolphins found stranded along the Scottish coast.



The scientists examined specimens from five species: Risso’s dolphins, long-finned pilot whales, white-beaked dolphins, harbor porpoises, and bottlenose dolphins. “Critically, we examined the whole brains to provide lesion (abnormality) profiles using more markers of Alzheimer’s disease,” said study senior author Mark P. Dagleish, an expert in Anatomic Pathology at the <a href="https://www.gla.ac.uk/">University of Glasgow</a>.



The analysis revealed that three aged dolphins - a long-finned pilot whale, a white-beaked dolphin, and a bottlenose dolphin – presented brain lesions associated with Alzheimer’s disease in humans. More specifically, these animals seemed to have accumulated phospho-tau and glial cells and formed amyloid-beta plaques, or the clumping of a protein found in the brains of humans suffering from this disease.



According to Dagleish, these findings are&nbsp;“the closest anyone has been able to show that any animals develop the Alzheimer’s disease-associated lesions spontaneously,” which scientists thought could only develop in humans.&nbsp;However, while the similar neuropathology of the aged dolphins and humans with Alzheimer’s suggests that these marine mammals have a susceptibility to the disease too, a clear diagnosis could only be made if clear cognitive deficits are also identified – which is of course impossible in postmortem studies.



“The simultaneous occurrence of amyloid-beta plaques and hyperphosphorylated tau pathology in the brains of odontocetes shows that these three species develop AD-like neuropathology spontaneously. The significance of this pathology with respect to the health and, ultimately, death of the animals remains to be determined. However, it may contribute to the cause(s) of unexplained live-stranding in some odontocete species and supports the ‘sick-leader’ theory whereby healthy conspecifics in a pod mass strand due to high social cohesion,” the authors concluded.



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



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Dolphins may also suffer from Alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a common neurodegenerative disorder which mostly affects...

Pheasants are more likely to be killed by predators in unfamiliar areas, according to a study led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/undergraduate/">University of Exeter</a>. The experts note that most animals know the central areas of their home ranges better than the edges.



For the investigation, the researchers tested the cognitive abilities of more than 100 captive-reared pheasant chicks. The birds were then tagged and released into the wild.&nbsp;



During a six-month study period, about 40 percent of the pheasants were killed by predators, which were primarily foxes.&nbsp;



The results show that the pheasants were far more likely to be killed near the edge of their range. The researchers say this was due to inexperience in these areas, because other birds that knew the same spots well were not likely to die there.



“For pheasants, experience within an area is much more important for predicting whether they are killed by predators than how dangerous the area is itself,” said study lead author Dr. Robert Heathcote.



“Ambush predators like foxes are quite habitual in their hunting behavior, so local pheasants may learn particular locations where foxes prefer to stalk their prey or lie in wait."



“Another explanation is that, with time, pheasants might gain more knowledge about the fastest and safest escape routes should they be attacked."



“Our study suggests this might cause pheasants to evolve better spatial memory, allowing them to expand the region that they have detailed knowledge about.”



Before their release, the birds were tested on two kinds of spatial memory by using a maze and a memory task. Ultimately, the researchers found that chicks with greater cognitive abilities grew up to have a larger range.



“One of the tasks we presented the chicks was to learn to navigate through a carefully designed maze to test for navigation-related spatial cognition including spatial reference memory," said study co-author Dr. Mark Whiteside.



“The ability to remember locations such as sites for foraging, drinking and refuge could explain why individuals that performed well on this task had larger home ranges after their release into the wild."



“Their performance in these tests that were administered when the birds were just a few weeks old went on to predict their chance of being killed by foxes months later.”



The team was able to establish the cause of death by using a novel reverse-GPS tracking system developed by Professor Sivan Toledo of Tel-Aviv University and Dr. Yotam Orchan of Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The high-precision system enabled the team to determine the exact timing, location, and cause of death among tagged birds.



“Our findings show that basic spatial abilities, revealed by tests in mazes, relate to real-world space use in the wild and, crucially, affect the survival of individuals in the face of predation,” said study co-author Dr. Joah Madden.



“We demonstrate that knowing about an area helps pheasants stay alive, and this means that these cognitive abilities can be shaped by natural selection. We now understand a bit more about how cognitive abilities can evolve.”



The research, which was funded by the European Research Council, is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>



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



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Pheasants are most vulnerable in unfamiliar territory

Pheasants are more likely to be killed by predators in...

According to a new study published in the <a href="https://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/xge/">Journal of Experimental Psychology</a>, adolescent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-use-surprisingly-complex-vocal-sequences/">chimpanzees</a> exhibit similar risk-taking behaviors as human teenagers, but they may be less impulsive than their human counterparts. These findings shed more light on the age-old nature versus nurture debates regarding whether adolescents take more risks due to biological predispositions or environmental influences.



“Adolescent chimpanzees are in some sense facing the same psychological tempest that human teens are,” said study lead author Alexandra Rosati, an associate professor of Psychology and Anthropology at the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a>. “Our findings show that several key features of human adolescent psychology are also seen in our closest primate relatives.”



The scientists conducted two tests involving food rewards with 40 wild-born chimpanzees in Congo. In the first test, adolescent and adult chimpanzees had to choose between two containers in a gambling task. While one container was filled with peanuts – a food that chimps somewhat like – the other contained either a cucumber slice, which the apes dislike, or a banana slice (their favorite food). The animals could “play it safe” and get the peanuts, or take a chance for the coveted banana at the risk of ending up with the cucumber.&nbsp;



The chimps’ emotional reactions and vocalizations were recorded, and saliva sample were collected for tracking their hormonal levels. During several reiterations of the experiment, adolescent chimpanzees took the risky option more often than the adult ones, but had similar negative reactions when receiving the unwanted cucumber.



In a second test – modeled after the famous “marshmallow test” initially conducted with human children – chimpanzees could receive a slice of banana immediately or wait for one minute to get three slices, thus showing an ability for delayed gratification. In this case, both adolescent and adult chimps choose the greater delayed reward. By contrast, human teens tend to be more impulsive than adults, and are more likely to take the immediate reward.



“Prior research indicates that chimpanzees are quite patient compared with other animals, and our study shows that their ability to delay gratification is already mature at a fairly young age, unlike in humans,” Rosati explained. Thus, although risk-taking behavior in both adolescent chimpanzees and humans seem to be biologically ingrained, increases in impulses behavior may be specific to human teens.



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



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Young chimpanzees take risks like human teens

According to a new study published in the Journal of...

Despite the existence of many mechanisms that prevent reproduction between two different species in nature, hybridization is a widespread phenomenon that has shaped the genomes many of today’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-than-350-new-species-discovered-in-2022/">species</a>, humans included. When the genomes of two different species are combined through successful reproduction, this provides a source of genetic novelties that can be crucial in helping populations adapt to changing environments. Understanding the evolution of hybrid genomes is therefore important because it can shed light on how species barriers become established, on the costs and benefits of hybridization, and on the function of genes and their interactions.&nbsp;



Researchers at the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a> were aware that two species of wood ants, Formica aquilonia&nbsp;and&nbsp;F.&nbsp;polyctena have bred and formed populations of hybrids in several different locations in Finland. The researchers took advantage of these known hybrid populations to measure how rapid and predictable the evolution of genomes is in the wild, after hybridization has taken place. In this case, predictability applies to the genetic outcome after hybridization, and the question of whether, if one could redo the same hybridization, the genetic results would be similar.&nbsp;



The scientists collected 39 ants from the three different hybrid populations in the forests in southern Finland, close to the Tvärminne Zoological Station. They then generated whole-genome DNA sequences from these individuals and compared them with genomes from 10 individual ants of both parent species, found within and outside the ranges where the hybrids and parental species overlap. In order to do this, they collaborated with scientists from Scotland and Portugal, and used supercomputers from the Finnish IT center for science (CSC). In total, the researchers analyzed about 1.6 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms from locations throughout the ant genomes.



The results, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3001914">PLOS Biology</a>, showed that, for the three different hybrid populations, hybridization between the two ant species occurred only about 125 years ago, which equates to 50 ant generations. After hybridization, the three distinct hybrid populations evolved independently towards the same genetic outcome. This means that, today, the genomes of ants from the hybrid populations are remarkably similar to one another in terms of their genetic composition, even though they started out being dissimilar at the time of hybridization.&nbsp;



To explain this unexpected finding, the researchers tested for evidence of gene flow between the hybrid populations, and between hybrids and parental species. They found no evidence of gene flow and concluded that other mechanisms must be involved to explain this rather rapid evolution of the three hybrid populations towards a similar genome. They suggest that natural selection against deleterious genes in the hybridizing species with the lowest effective population size&nbsp;(and presumably higher load of disadvantageous alleles) could explain how the hybrid populations became genetically similar over such a short time.



When asked whether these results represented a small step or giant leap in knowledge, researcher Pierre Nouhaud, from the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences at the University of Helsinki responded, “A bit of both! Finnish wood ants give the opportunity to observe multiple, very recent hybridization events, and the amount of predictability we found, despite this recency, is remarkably high, which is quite novel. In the meantime, our study also confirms previous results obtained in a handful of species, including humans, suggesting the patterns we see in wood ants are quite general.”&nbsp;



“On an evolutionary timescale, we are dealing with recent events, less than 50 ant generations, which had very little time to leave footprints in DNA sequences,” adds Nouhaud. “This means it can be hard to distinguish between competing hypotheses. In our study we performed computer simulations considering different evolutionary scenarios to take this uncertainty into account and ensure our results are robust.”



The researchers emphasize that hybrid genomes provide powerful insights into evolution because they are exposed to strong, and often opposing, selective forces. In this way, evolution has shaped the hybrid genomes in a predictable manner, such that the genomes of the different hybrid populations are now similar. This indicates that selective pressures were similar for each hybrid population and this led to the removal of deleterious genes from the genomes.



“Since hybridization is also frequent in many other species than ants, our results could help understand its consequences more generally,” concludes docent Jonna Kulmuni, from the Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Helsinki. “On the long term, our work would help better apprehend the impact of hybridization in the wild and assess whether it could help species cope with changing environments,” she says.&nbsp;



Next, the ant research group will monitor the genetic composition of hybrid populations over multiple years to find evidence for adaptation and test whether hybrids can combine temperature ranges from both species, which might help wood ants deal with warming climate. According to Nouhaud this could be quite important because wood ants are key species of boreal forests: they provide food for many species, contribute to nutrient cycling, and hunt many other insects. Without them, Finnish forests would certainly look quite different.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer



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Hybrid ants evolve rapidly to remove deleterious genes

Despite the existence of many mechanisms that prevent reproduction between...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a> has investigated how different populations of red <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sea-urchin-behavior-drives-destruction-of-kelp-forests/">sea urchins</a> – a commercially valuable species – responded to changes in their environments. The analysis revealed that red sea urchin populations in Northern and Southern California are both adapted to their local environmental conditions, but differ in their vulnerability to future climate change and ocean acidification.&nbsp;



Although sea urchins in Southern California are already adapted to warmer conditions, the scientists estimate that further warming of the habitats may be more than they can tolerate.



“Red sea urchins from the Southern California population were much more sensitive to environmental changes than those from Northern California, and we think that is likely because they are already closer to some kind of thermal limit,” said study senior author Kristy Kroeker, a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UC Santa Cruz.



The scientists examined the effects of three key environmental variables in sea urchins’ habitat: water temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH (a variable measuring the level of ocean acidification). All of these variables are affected by climate change, which is warming the oceans, reducing oxygen levels in the water, and increasing acidification through the absorption of CO2 by seawater.



Currently, Northern California sea urchin populations are already adapted to more acidic, less oxygenated, and colder conditions than their Southern Californian counterparts. By exposing sea urchins from both populations to projected future conditions simulated in the laboratory, the researchers found that Northern California sea urchins experienced lower mortality than the Southern Californian ones.



“Despite the Northern California populations being in more acidic, lower-oxygen conditions in the future, it was the Southern California populations that were much more impacted,” said Kroeker.&nbsp;



This is surprising since the Northern Californian populations are already adapted to seasonal changes in which temperature, dissolved oxygen, and pH all decrease in concert. With climate change, this so-called “covariance structure” will be broken: while dissolved oxygen and pH will decrease further, temperatures will rise.



“It’s breaking down the environmental covariance structure they’re adapted to, so our prediction was that this would make them more vulnerable. But that’s not what we found,” Kroeker said.



These discoveries suggest that water temperature is a critical variable for red sea urchins. Thus, with already warmer temperatures, the Southern Californian coastal waters may not have to get much warmer to reach temperatures inhospitable to their inhabitants.



“We should not assume that a species’ vulnerability to climate change is the same across its whole range. Each population is adapted to local conditions, and not all populations are going to respond similarly to global climate change,” Kroeker concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.ade2365">Science Advances</a>.&nbsp;



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



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Some red sea urchins will tolerate climate change better than others

A new study led by the University of California, Santa...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University&nbsp;</a>(ELTE) in Hungary has investigated whether companion <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-are-more-aware-of-actions-than-objects/">dogs</a> and pigs would show their owners the location of a food reward that is out of reach for them, but accessible to the owners.&nbsp;



The experts discovered that only if the owners were present in the room, pigs paid them as much attention as dogs did. However, when the reward was also in the room, only dogs tried to direct the attention of the owners to the location of the reward. The findings suggest that directing humans’ attention to relevant locations may not be something that every domestic animal can do.



Referential communication is the act of directing someone’s attention to a specific object in the environment. Humans use this type of communication regularly through language and gestures. Scientists have long pondered whether some species of animals have similar capacities.



“Domestic animals seem especially predisposed to referentially communicate with humans,” said study lead author Paula Pérez Fraga, a doctoral student in the Neuroethology of Communication at ELTE. “However, some human-socialized wild animals can do this as well, thus domestication might not be key for this communicative ability to emerge after all. We noticed that a shared characteristic among these species is that they use many visual signals when communicating with their conspecifics. Could this be a necessary characteristic&nbsp;for animals to engage in referential communication with humans?”



In order to test this hypothesis, the scientists compared the behavior of similarly raised companion dogs and pigs. The animals entered a room where they were either alone with the owner, alone with a hidden food reward, or together with the owner and the reward. While dogs are known to rely heavily upon visual communications, pigs are less visually-oriented creatures.



“We expected an increase of referential communicative behaviors when both the owner and the food reward were present, meaning that the animal was directing the attention of the human to the food location,” said study senior author Attila Andics, an expert in Ethology at ELTE. “We found that when pigs and dogs were alone with their owners, they paid similar attention to her/him. However, after the experimenter hid the reward, only dogs tried to show their owners where it was. Pigs, in contrast, just tried to find the way to take it themselves.”



"We suggest that pigs might lack important characteristics that are crucial for the emergence of this sort of communication. Although we know that dogs are especially skillful in communicating with humans, other animals like horses, cats, and even kangaroos can referentially communicate with us, and all of them rely heavily upon visual communication when interacting with their mates. Pigs, on the contrary, don’t,” Pérez Fraga concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-26503-5">Nature Scientific Reports</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



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Pigs lack the skills for referential communication

A new study led by the Eötvös Loránd University&nbsp;(ELTE) in...

Keeping domestic cats indoors is best for their health and the environment, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a>. The experts report that humans are primarily responsible for the risks associated with free-roaming cats, such as threats to native animal populations and the potential for disease transmission.



"Free-roaming domestic cats (Felis catus) are known to pose threats to ecosystem health via transmission of zoonotic diseases and predation of native wildlife," wrote the study authors. "Likewise, free-roaming cats are also susceptible to predation or disease transmission from native wildlife."



The researchers analyzed data from the D.C. Cat Count, a survey that included 60 wildlife cameras across 1,500 sites. The cameras revealed where the cats frequently overlapped with native wildlife.



“We discovered that the average domestic cat in D.C. has a 61% probability of being found in the same space as racoons - America’s most prolific rabies vector - 61% spatial overlap with red foxes, and 56% overlap with Virginia opossums, both of which can also spread rabies,” explained study lead author Daniel Herrera. “By letting our cats outside we are significantly jeopardizing their health.”



The survey cameras also revealed the native animals that were commonly preyed upon by domestic cats, including grey squirrels, chipmunks, cottontail rabbits, groundhogs, and white footed mice. The experts noted that by hunting these animals, cats can reduce biodiversity and degrade ecosystem health.



“Many people falsely think that cats are hunting non-native populations like rats, when in fact they prefer hunting small native species,” explained Herrera. “Cats are keeping rats out of sight&nbsp; due to fear, but there really isn’t any evidence that they are controlling the non-native rodent population. The real concern is that they are decimating native populations that provide benefits to the D.C. ecosystem.”



Overall, the study showed that the presence of cats increased with human population density, yet decreased with tree cover and other natural features that are associated with a greater presence of wildlife. Herrera said that these associations run counter to arguments that free-roaming cats are simply stepping into a natural role in the ecosystem by hunting wildlife.



“These habitat relationships suggest that the distribution of cats is largely driven by humans, rather than natural factors,” noted Professor Travis Gallo. “Since humans largely influence where cats are on the landscape, humans also dictate the degree of risk these cats encounter and the amount of harm they cause to local wildlife.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2022.1048585">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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



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Humans are responsible for the risks of free-roaming cats

Keeping domestic cats indoors is best for their health and...

It only takes one degree of warming to change a species, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/">Norwegian University of Science and Technology</a>. The researchers looked at the climate responses of individual species by analyzing natural history collections, which they say are an underexploited resource for long-term ecological research.



“Natural history collections can provide unique insight into a wide range of ecological responses over a period of time that is much greater than what most ecological monitoring programs manage. So the collections are an essential and invaluable source for ecological research over time," said study lead author Professor James D. M. Speed.



All of life on Earth is affected by the surrounding environment, so it is clear that climate change has an impact on species around the world. What is not as clear, however, is how each individual species will respond to specific changes in temperature.



“The climate affects the life cycle of species, the number of individuals of a species, the overall number of species and the composition and distribution of species in an area,” said Professor Speed.



To investigate how the climate affects individual species, the team set out to examine how plants and animals have been affected by temperature changes in Norway over a long period of time.



“We used museum collections that have been built up over 250 years to measure the ecological response to climate change in central Norway,” said Professor Speed. “We looked at a number of species, including vertebrates, invertebrates, plants and fungi."



Animal and plant specimens preserved in museum collections hold valuable insight into how we can expect climate change to progressively affect our world today.&nbsp;



“What these data and the objects in the museum collections have in common is that studying climate change was not one of their purposes when they were collected. Only now are we seeing that the collections are relevant and that we can use them for such a purpose,” said study co-author Tommy Prestø “It’s really interesting to be able to show that we can use the museum collections in new and innovative ways."



The results of the analysis clearly indicate that even a single degree of warming can induce major changes. The researchers found that:



<ul><li>The number of zooplankton decreases by almost 7,700 individuals per cubic meter of water per degree warmer in Jonsvatnet, a lake in Trondheim.</li><li>The number of nesting birds is decreasing by two fewer breeding territories per square kilometre per degree warmer in Budalen in Trøndelag county.</li><li>Flowering plants bloom earlier throughout Trøndelag, on average two days earlier per degree warmer.</li></ul>



The researchers also determined that when some species change, the life cycle of other species can change as well. “We can see a clear, regional connection with the climate,” said Professor Speed.



“For certain plant species, we’ve found that they’re flowering on average nine days earlier per century," said Presto. "This means that some of our plant species bloom three weeks earlier now than they did 250 years ago."



“But not everything changes with the climate. Some aspects of nature are more resilient. Overall, the distribution of species and species diversity stays stable over time. That surprised us,” said Professor Speed.



Fluctuations in the number of animals and species composition do not directly follow fluctuations in temperature, noted the researchers. A time period of 250 years can have both periods of warming and a stable climate, which means that species could have delayed responses to climate change.&nbsp;



The greatest immediate threat to plants and animals may be land-use changes such as deforestation. The International Nature Panel IPBES reports that land-use changes have had the largest relative negative impact on nature since 1970.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9471">Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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



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Just one degree of warming can change a species

It only takes one degree of warming to change a...

The tropical Pacific Ocean is home to most of the islands on Earth, including reef islands and atoll reefs. A new study led by <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a> in Australia has found that Southeast Asian regions of the Pacific produce more <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">fish</a> than all the world’s largest coastal upwelling areas combined, despite many scientists previously believing that tropical oceans are low in both nutrients and phytoplankton productivity.



According to the experts, transient short-lived wind events trigger the formation of massive phytoplankton blooms – which occupy the base of many marine food webs – close to tropical reef islands, such as the disputed Spratly Island in the South Island Sea, as well as a variety of other islands in the Pacific Ocean.



“The key here is that the tropical Pacific contains thousands of such islands, which implies that tropical wind events can create a large network of marine ecosystems existing year-round and spanning thousands of kilometers, possibly forming one of the largest upwelling biomes on Earth,” said study lead author Jochen&nbsp;Kaempf, an associate professor of Coastal Oceanography at Flinders.



Upwelling is a physical process which enriches oceans’ surface waters with dissolved nutrients, thus fueling the production of phytoplankton. The scientists discovered that coastal winds are the main drivers of the most productive upwelling systems on our planet, including those forming on the coasts of California and Peru-Chile, which are major global fish producers.



“We believe that this (Asia-Pacific) upwelling biome provides critical feeding habitats for migratory marine species such as sea turtles, tuna, and whales,” Kaempf explained. “For instance, pygmy blue whales migrate from their feeding habitat in upwelling regions of southern Australia to their breeding grounds in Indonesian waters, where they seem to gather near Christmas Island and volcanic arc islands of the Banda Sea. Our findings suggest that this behavior is primarily feeding-related.” &nbsp;



These findings opens new paths for examining the phytoplankton bloom mechanisms in tropical oceans, especially in the light of new worrisome phenomena caused by climate change, such as sea-level rise, enhanced wave erosion, and shifts in tropical rainfall and winds patterns.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10872-022-00673-2">Journal of Oceanography</a>.



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



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Tropical winds support the world's most productive ocean systems

The tropical Pacific Ocean is home to most of the...

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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



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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

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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;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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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;



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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

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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;



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



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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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



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



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How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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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



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



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Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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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;



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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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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;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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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;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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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



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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

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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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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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



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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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)



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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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;



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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

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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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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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;



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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

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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



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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

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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



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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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;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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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;



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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

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