Captive tigers in the U.S. now outnumber those living in the wild. According to estimates from the World Wildlife Federation, about 5,000 of these big cats reside in the U.S., mostly owned by private citizens.&nbsp;



Despite their large numbers, the health and genetic diversity of this captive population remain a mystery, posing significant questions for conservationists.&nbsp;



Could these privately owned tigers help stabilize or restore wild tiger populations, or are they too genetically compromised to be of value? Are they purebred or inbred, or do they exhibit characteristics favored in the illegal trade?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-captive-tigers-nbsp">Protecting captive tigers&nbsp;</h2>



In a recent study, experts at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford University</a> set out to address these questions. The findings provide a new tool that both conservationists and law enforcement can use to protect captive tigers and prosecute those responsible for their mistreatment.



“We're trying to leverage genomic technology to be useful in a conservation context - there are so few tigers. We won't get a second chance if they go extinct,” said lead author Ellie Armstrong, a PhD student at Stanford.



Armstrong conducted this research as part of her doctoral studies in biology at Stanford, working with co-advisors and co-authors Elizabeth Hadly and Dmitri Petrov. 



The team initially became interested in captive tigers after studying the genetic impact of isolation on wild tiger populations.



“We were conducting a large study on wild tiger populations and leveraged these data to address the issue of captive tigers in the United States,” Armstrong said. “It was a bit unbelievable, at first, that you could have a tiger living right next door and not know it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-enormous-number-of-captive-tigers-nbsp">Enormous number of captive tigers&nbsp;</h2>



Through a partnership with <a href="https://tigersinamerica.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tigers in America</a>, Armstrong and her team discovered that an enormous number of tigers live outside accredited facilities.&nbsp;



Many of these tigers were bred for animal encounters, performed in circuses, or were trafficked as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exotic-pets-threaten-ecosystems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exotic pets</a>. However, the team had no idea of their genetic makeup or origin.



The lack of official data on these so-called “generic” tigers (due to their unknown origin) presented a major hurdle. Although documentaries like Tiger King and The Tiger Next Door increased public awareness, accessing these animals for scientific study remained a challenge.



“There was so much hearsay associated with this captive population, and a lot of it contradicts itself,” noted Armstrong. 



“People said, 'All of the cats are really inbred,' or 'All of the cats are genetically diverse.' We had no idea what to expect and thought that genomic technology could help us answer some of these questions.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetics-of-generic-tigers-nbsp">Genetics of generic tigers&nbsp;</h2>



Through relationships with sanctuaries that had rescued generic tigers, Armstrong and her team were able to gather samples and collect data on the animals, including their rescue locations.&nbsp;



The researchers collected samples from 154 generic tigers and compared them with 100 wild tiger samples from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Center for Biotechnology Information</a> (NCBI) database.



With this data, they developed a reference panel to distinguish individual tigers and identify their genetic ancestry, similar to popular genetic ancestry tests for humans.&nbsp;



“When we do 23andMe, we're not sequencing the whole genome - we're sequencing a portion of it that informs us about your health and ancestry,” Armstrong explained. “That's what we want to be able to do, but for tigers.”



The genetic database developed by the researchers has uses beyond conservation efforts. It can also assist law enforcement in prosecuting crimes related to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/experts-are-using-forensic-science-to-fight-wildlife-trafficking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wildlife trafficking</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-prosecuting-wildlife-crimes">Prosecuting wildlife crimes</h2>



The <a href="https://www.fws.gov/what-you-need-know-about-big-cat-public-safety-act" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Big Cat Public Safety Act</a>, which went into effect on December 20, 2022, ended private ownership of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-cat-brain-research/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">big cats</a> as pets and placed restrictions on breeding, commerce, and possession of certain species, including tigers.&nbsp;



However, the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> still has storerooms full of confiscated tiger pelts, bones, teeth, and other materials that are difficult to identify without a clear way to trace their origins.



Armstrong’s team has already received requests from the agency to apply their research in identifying confiscated materials.&nbsp;



“We'll be working with law enforcement to try to apply this in a forensic context to prosecute wildlife crimes like those seen in Tiger King, monitor the populations in the U.S., and track the illegal trade,” Armstrong said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urgent-applications-of-the-research-nbsp">Urgent applications of the research&nbsp;</h2>



Using only a small portion of a genome, this reference panel can allow wildlife agencies to determine the ancestry of confiscated samples with limited DNA.&nbsp;



“That's been the most rewarding part of this research - we know that this work mattered and has immediate future applications.”



The research also sheds light on the genetic makeup of captive tigers in the U.S. Contrary to widespread rumors, these tigers do not show signs of extensive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/inbreeding-can-actually-be-beneficial-for-some-species-in-the-long-run/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">inbreeding</a> relative to wild tiger populations.&nbsp;



However, they also do not maintain pure subspecies ancestry, as is the case with zoo-bred tigers or wild tigers. Instead, these generic tigers are a mix of different tiger subspecies.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-diversity-in-captive-tigers-nbsp">Genetic diversity in captive tigers&nbsp;</h2>



Armstrong and her team also found that the non-zoo captive tiger population does not possess more genetic diversity than their wild counterparts.



“This absence of unique genetic diversity in captive tigers means that there will be no 'genetic rescue' of wild tigers with individuals now in captivity,” said Elizabeth Hadly, one of the study’s co-authors. 



“In other words, the genetic diversity of wild tigers is all that evolution has to work with going into the future.”



Since DNA is the only way to distinguish between tiger subspecies, Armstrong believes the reference panel could be used to identify individual tigers with pure subspecies ancestry if tiger management and conservation efforts ever included releasing captive animals into the wild.



“This technology is usually a 'for fun' thing for humans, to find out more about your genetic ancestry, but we can use genomics in a very serious way to help our wildlife populations thrive in the wild and keep them from being exploited,” Armstrong concluded.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2402924121" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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Could captive tigers help restore wild populations?

Captive tigers in the U.S. now outnumber those living in the wild. According to estimates from the World Wildlife Federation, about 5,000 of these big cats reside in the U.S., mostly owned by private citizens.&nbsp; Despite their large numbers, the health and genetic diversity of this captive population remain a mystery, posing significant questions for conservationists.&nbsp; Could these privately owned tigers help stabilize or restore wild tiger populations, or are they too genetically compromised to be of value? Are they purebred or inbred, or do they exhibit...

The,Queen,(apis,Mellifera),Marked,With,Dot,And,Bee,Workers

The <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">U.S. Department of Agriculture</a> (USDA) has recently granted a conditional license for a vaccine aiming to protect <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honey-bees-cannot-fly-straight-after-ingesting-pesticides/">honey bees</a> from American foulbrood disease, an infection caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae that weakens and kills honey bee colonies and currently has no treatment. This vaccine – developed by the U.S. biotech company <a href="https://www.dalan.com/">Dalan Animal Health</a> – raises hopes for a new and powerful weapon against a disease that routinely ravage colonies that are highly important for food pollination.



“Our vaccine is a breakthrough in protecting honey bees,” said Annette Kleiser, the chief executive of Dalan. “We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global scale.”



In parts of the U.S., the foulbrood disease has been found in over a quarter of honey bee hives. Since there is no cure for this disease available yet, beekeepers usually destroy and burn infected colonies and administer antibiotics to stop further spread.



“It’s something that beekeepers can easily recognize because it reduces the larvae to this brown goo that has a rancid stink to it,” explained Keith Delaplane, an entomologist at the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> who worked together with Dalan for the vaccine’s development.



This groundbreaking vaccine works by incorporating some of the bacteria into the royal jelly fed by worker bees to the queen. After ingesting the vaccine-laced jelly, the queen will gain some of the vaccine in its ovaries and the developing bee larvae will have immunity to foulbrood as they hatch.



“In a perfect scenario, the queens could be fed a cocktail within a queen candy – the soft, pasty sugar that queen bees eat while in transit. Queen breeders could advertise ‘fully vaccinated queens,” Delapane said.



Since the U.S. is highly dependent upon managed honey bee colonies to assist food pollination – with bee hives frequently transported around the country to help pollinating a variety of crops, ranging from almonds to blueberries – the development of this vaccine is a major step forward for boosting agricultural production. Scientists hope that this medical breakthrough could be used to create vaccines for other bee-related diseases, such as the European strain of foulbrood.



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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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World’s first honeybee vaccine approved by the USDA

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has recently granted a...

While most mammals are covered in fur, some have significantly less body <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-body-parts-hair/">hair</a> - including rhinos, elephants, naked mole rats, dolphins, and humans. Until recently, the reasons for this have remained a mystery. To shed more light on this issue, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> and the <a href="https://www.pitt.edu/">University of Pittsburgh</a> has now compared the genetic codes of 62 animal species.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that a set of genes and regulatory regions of the genome which seem to be essential for producing hair have been disabled during evolution in several mammalian species, particularly in those that evolved at faster rates.&nbsp;



“We have taken the creative approach of using biological diversity to learn about our own genetics,” said study senior author Nathan Clark, a geneticist at the University of Utah. “This is helping us to pinpoint regions of our genome that contribute to something important to us.”



According to the scientists, being hairless has its own evolutionary benefits. For instance, without dense hair, elephants cool off more easily in hotter climates and walruses glide effortlessly in water. 



However, despite these various reasons, the analysis of 19,149 genes and 343,598 regulatory regions that were conserved across dozens of mammalian species suggested that hairless mammals seem to have accumulated mutations in many of the same genes, including those that code for keratin and other elements that facilitate hair growth. In addition, regulatory regions of the genome – which rather than coding directly for structures that produce hair, influence the process indirectly, by guiding when and where specific genes are activated - appear equally important.&nbsp;



Another major finding of the study was that hairless mammals evolved at faster rates than their hairy counterparts. “As animals are under evolutionary pressure to lose hair, the genes encoding hair become less important. That’s why they speed up the rate of genetic changes that are permitted by natural selection. Some genetic changes might be responsible for loss of hair. Others could be collateral damage after hair stops growing,” Clark explained.



By answering fundamental questions about the mechanisms shaping this rather rare feature in mammals, the scientists hope to find new ways to recover hair after balding or chemotherapy, as well as in people with disorders that cause hair loss.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.76911">eLife</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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Hairless mammals evolved at a faster pace

While most mammals are covered in fur, some have significantly...

Rats have been introduced to many offshore islands in the past, mostly arriving by accident aboard visiting ships. They can cause devastation to the indigenous wildlife of these islands, particularly if the native species include ground-nesting birds. This has led to a call for rat eradication programs on many islands, in order to save wildlife from the deleterious impacts of these introduced <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-rodent-borne-diseases-spill-over-into-humans/">rodents</a>.&nbsp;



A study led by researchers at <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> has now identified an unexpected way in which invasive rats on tropical islands have affected the lives of fish inhabiting the reefs around the islands. This is an unusual instance where the presence of terrestrial rats leads to a change in the behavior of species in an entirely different biome. It reveals how species in different biomes are linked, despite the fact that they will never meet one another.



The study, which also involved researchers from Lakehead University in Canada,&nbsp;compared the territorial behavior of jewel damselfish (Plectroglyphidodon lacrymatus) on reefs around five rat-infested and five rat-free islands in a remote archipelago in the Indian Ocean. These small reef fish are highly territorial and readily chase away other fish that enter their territory. They “cultivate” patches of algae between the branches of corals within a territory, and mostly direct their aggression towards intruders that are also herbivorous and in search of algal turf for food.&nbsp;



Previous research has shown that the damselfish around rat-free islands benefit from the nutrients that leach from the guano of seabirds breeding and roosting on the islands. These seabirds, including mostly terns and noddies, forage at sea and return to their nests on the islands. They produce nutrient-rich guano that enters the waters surrounding the islands and provides a sort of fertilizer. Around the rat-free islands, algal productivity and damselfish growth and body sizes are higher than they are in the waters around rat-infested islands.&nbsp;



The black rats (Rattus rattus) are thought to have been introduced to the archipelago in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but are not present on all the islands. This provided the researchers with a natural experiment in which they could assess the impacts of the rats by comparing the behavior of damselfish around rat-infested and rat-free islands.&nbsp;



The rats feed on the eggs and chicks of the resident seabirds, causing significant decreases in bird population numbers. The researchers recorded an average of 1,243 birds per ha on rat-free islands, and 1.6 birds per ha on rat-infested islands, which equates to a seabird density that is 720 times smaller where rats are present. As a result, there is less guano on rat-infested islands, and less nutrient-enrichment in the surrounding waters.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The findings of the current study, published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01931-8">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>, show that damselfish on reefs around rat-infested islands defend larger territories (average 0.62m² compared with 0.48m² around rat-free islands), presumably because the algae receives less nutrient-enrichment and is less productive where the seabird populations have been decimated; the damselfish therefore need a larger “farm” area to fulfil their needs.



In addition, while damselfish aggressively defended their small territories and algal turf patches around rat-free islands, the fish on reefs around rat-infested islands were far less likely to behave aggressively towards other fish that entered their territory. The researchers hypothesize that the algal food in waters around rat-infested islands was simply not nutritious or productive enough to make it worth defending.&nbsp;



Dr. Rachel Gunn conducted the research as part of her PhD studies at Lancaster University and is now at Tuebingen University, Germany.&nbsp;



"Jewel damselfish around rat-free islands aggressively defend their turf because the higher enriched nutrient content means they get ‘more for their money,’ and this makes it worth the energy cost needed to defend," said Dr. Gunn. "Conversely, the fish around rat-infested islands behave less aggressively. We believe that the presence of rats is lowering the nutritional benefit of the turf to the extent that it is almost not worth fighting for, which is what we are observing with these behavior changes.”&nbsp;



Seabirds are drivers of nutrient cycling in numerous locations around the world, as they forage out in the oceans and return to land to roost and breed. The results of this study reveal that the reduction in nutrient availability, due to the effects of invasive rats on the seabird populations, can also affect the behavior of fish in the shallow waters around tropical islands. It is possible that the reduced nutrient levels could also affect other reef species, and influence the spread of corals, the distribution of reef fish and the genetic traits of damselfish.&nbsp;



“The algal farming of damselfish affects the balance of corals and algae on the reef. Their aggression towards other fish can influence the way those fish move around and use the reef. We do not yet know what the consequence of this behavioral change will be but ecosystems evolve a delicate balance over long time-scales, so any disruption could have knock-on consequences for the wider ecosystem,” said Dr. Gunn.



“Changes in behavior are often the first response of animals to environmental change, and can scale up to affect if, how and when species can live alongside one another," explained Dr. Sally Keith, the principal investigator of the study. "Our research is the first to show that these broader impacts can even be felt across biomes, from terrestrial invaders to marine farmers. It also shows the power of leveraging real-world environmental variation across multiple locations as an approach to understand animal behavior.”



The findings also add evidence in support of rat eradication programs on tropical islands. Rats have been removed successfully from more than 580 islands worldwide, and in many instances resident seabird populations have benefitted. It is clear from this study that the return of seabirds and their guano would be advantageous, not only for the islands’ ecosystems, but also for the nearshore marine ecosystems that receive nutrient enrichment as a consequence of seabird presence. Rat eradication should be conservation priority for these tropical islands.&nbsp;



“We have provided more evidence that invasive rats have a large impact on both terrestrial and marine ecosystems," said Dr. Gunn. "Rat eradication has the potential to have multiple, cross-ecosystem benefits. The removal of invasive rats could restore the territorial behavior of farming damselfish, which could scale up to benefit coral reef community composition and resilience.”



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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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Rats on tropical islands change reef fish behavior

Rats have been introduced to many offshore islands in the...

Wildlife bridges and tunnels not only protect animals from vehicle collisions but also assist in preventing inbreeding among small and fragile populations that are hemmed in by roadways or other human development by helping connect them with a wider pool of potential mates. However, whether the animals themselves feel safe while using such <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildlife-crossings-save-lives-and-money-in-washington-state/">wildlife crossings</a> is not yet well understood.



Now, by reviewing a set of nearly 600 animal-activated videos, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.ucla.edu/">University of California, Los Angeles</a> (UCLA) has investigated reactions of deer and elk around a wildlife tunnel beneath a four-lane highway in Alberta, Canada. The analysis revealed that the animals were less likely to use the undercrossing after they had displayed a vigilant or fearful response to passing vehicles. These findings suggest that wildlife managers should focus more on animals’ perceptions of their environments when designing wildlife crossing structures, in order to signal that a crossing area is safe.



“It’s only through studies like this that focus on how animals perceive and react to the stimuli in their environment — which can either attract them or repel them — that we’ll gain the necessary insights to develop effective wildlife crossings,” said study co-author Daniel Blumstein, a professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at UCLA. “Importantly, different species are likely to respond differently, and other external contextual cues might also influence how a given species responds.”&nbsp;



The video recordings showed that elk and deer on the roadside near the tunnel often shifted from foraging for food to becoming vigilant or even fleeing when vehicles passed on the highway above. Surprisingly, the animals appeared to react more strongly when vehicles passed infrequently than when the traffic flowed steadily.



“We are not certain why animals are more responsive to fewer vehicles,” said study senior author Erik Abelson, a research scientist at the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a>, who conducted this research during a postdoctoral fellowship at UCLA. “It is possible that when there are many cars barreling down the road, they can be heard from farther away and don’t surprise the animals as much.”



These findings show that animals respond dynamically to human activities in ways which can affect if and how they use wildlife crossings. While some animals, such as racoons, are so accustomed to human activities that they don’t respond negatively at all, others may be much more cautious.&nbsp;



“If we can figure out ways to leverage wildlife behaviors, we may be able to make wildlife crossings more effective. For example, walls to dampen sound or to reduce the visual effects of passing headlights may encourage use of crossing structures. We hope that this study is just one of many that will examine different wildlife species and levels of traffic to better develop tools that increase the use of crossing structures by wildlife and, ultimately, protect the lives of humans and wildlife,” Abelson concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269587">PLoS ONE</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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Do animals feel safe using wildlife crossings?

Wildlife bridges and tunnels not only protect animals from vehicle...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a> has found that Twitter and online new articles could be used effectively to track the timing and location of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-is-the-origin-of-californias-latest-invasive-insect/">invasive insect</a> spread in the United States and globally. These findings suggest that such sources are promising for filling gaps when official data are not widely available.



“The idea was to explore if we could use this data to fill in some of the information gaps about pest spread, and ultimately, to support the development of better predictive models of where pest spread is happening, and when to use costly control measures,” said study lead author Laura Tateosian, an associate professor of Geospatial Analytics at NC State. “Even though these are not formal scientific sources, we found that we could clearly see some of the major events that were occurring about two invasive pests in the news, and on Twitter.”



The scientists tracked Tweets and online news articles (published between 2011 and 2021) about two invasive insects: the spotted lanternfly and the tomato leaf miner (Tuta absoluta). The former - first spotted in the U.S. in 2014 – is an insect native to Asia which can damage or even destroy grapes, cherries, hops, certain lumber trees, and other plants. The latter – often nicknamed the “tomato Ebola” – is native to South America, and was first discovered in Spain in 2006 before spreading to Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.



“While some invasive insects have reached their global range, in both of these cases, the pests are actively spreading,” said study co-author Ariel Saffer, a graduate student in Geospatial Analytics at NC State. “We launched this as a proof-of-concept study to see if it would be scientifically reasonable to use these sources to track pest spread. We compared information in places where the insects were known to be present to see if these sources accurately captured existing knowledge.”



The analysis revealed that activity on Twitter and in news stories reflected some of the patterns in official surveys, such as the pests’ seasonal cycles, and major outbreaks. In Pennsylvania – where the spotted lanternfly was first found - news articles uncovered one county not listed in the official records.



“News media and social media have the potential to give you more immediate insight into what’s going on, especially if scientific information on insect spread is not immediately published in scientific literature, or not widely available to other scientists. Also, relying on data from scientific publications can sometimes offer a patchwork coverage of space and time, depending on when that study happened. It can be hard to get aggregated information in continuous time, especially at the global scale, as that information can be managed by multiple agencies,” Saffer concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2022.101922">Computers, Environment and Urban Systems</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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Tweets provide insights on how invasive insects spread

A new study led by North Carolina State University has...

A team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> and <a href="https://saveourseas.com/">Save Our Seas Foundation</a> has recently sequenced the entire genomes of two species of endangered <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharks-important-deserve-protections/">sharks</a> – the great hammerheads and the shortfin mako. The experts discovered that while low genetic diversity and signs of inbreeding ring alarm bells for the former, there may still be hope for the latter, which showed higher genetic diversity and limited interbreeding.



“With their whole genomes deciphered at high resolution we have a much better window into the evolutionary history of these endangered species,” said study senior author Mahmood Shivji, an expert in Conservation Biology at Save Our Seas.



“Technical advances in the study of genomes mean that DNA sequencing approaches are much more powerful and efficient now,” added lead author Michael Stanhope, a professor of Public and Ecosystem Health at Cornell. “We can apply these new technologies to gain insights about the organism, information that we hope can be leveraged to protect sharks and rays.”



By sequencing to chromosome level the genomes of great hammerhead and shortfin mako sharks, the scientists discovered that their populations have declined substantially over the past 250,000 years. Moreover, the DNA analysis revealed that great hammerheads have low genetic variety, which makes them less resilient to adapting to the rapidly changing world in which they live. In addition, this species also showed significant signs of interbreeding, a feature that can lower the ability of their populations to survive. By contrast, the shortfin mako shark exhibited higher genetic diversity and limited interbreeding, which could make them less threatened by environmental changes.&nbsp;



However, as revolutionary and effective as it is, genetic sequencing performed in order to improve conservation efforts poses its own problems. “Genetics has advanced such that chromosomal level genomes are the expectation for a reference quality genome for species. However, conservation research presents its own challenges to achieving this consistently and at the resolution expected in other fields,” Shivji explained.



“Obtaining tissue samples from endangered marine vertebrates is a major hurdle. You can assemble the genome with a single tissue sample from a single shark, but the ideal circumstance would be to sequence genomes from multiple individuals from different parts of their ocean range, an ethically difficult and costly endeavor.”



Thus, conservation geneticists should balance the latest technological advances with respect for the vulnerable populations that they study. Nonetheless, as new possibilities arise, insights into the genetic blueprint of sharks will help strengthen our understanding of these ecologically important species and help conserving their fragile populations.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.105815">iScience</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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Genetic analyses help shark conservation efforts

A team of researchers led by Cornell University and Save...

Some species of reef <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-can-lost-fish-get-back-on-track/">fish</a> struggle to recognize their competitors after coral bleaching events, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a>.&nbsp;



The research was focused on reefs across five Indo-Pacific regions. The experts analyzed the behavior of 38 species of butterflyfish before and after a coral bleaching event, based on more than 3,700 observations.



The researchers discovered that after the widespread loss of coral, butterflyfish were less capable of identifying threats and responding appropriately. This led the fish to make poor decisions and to engage in unnecessary fights.&nbsp;



“By recognizing a competitor, individual fish can make decisions about whether to escalate, or retreat from, a contest - conserving valuable energy and avoiding injuries," explained study lead author Dr. Sally Keith.



“These rules of engagement evolved for a particular playing field, but that field is changing. Repeated disturbances, such as bleaching events, alter the abundance and identity of corals - the food source of butterflyfish. It’s not yet clear whether these fish have the capacity to update their rule book fast enough to recalibrate their decisions.”



The experts report that after widespread coral losses, signaling between fish of different species was less common. Encounters led to chases 90 percent of the time after bleaching, and the distance of the chases increased substantially. This caused butterflyfish to spend much more energy chasing potential competitors than they would have done previously, noted the researchers.



“By looking at how behavior responds to real-life changes in the environment, and by seeing that those changes are the same regardless of location, we can start to predict how ecological communities might change into the future. These relatively small miscalculations in where to best invest energy could ultimately push them over the edge," said Dr. Keith.&nbsp;



According to the study authors, the findings may have implications for species survival as global warming increases the likelihood of coral loss.



The research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), the Australian Research Council, and the Villum Foundation.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.2158">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



Image Credit: Dr. Sally Keith



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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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Reef fish struggle to recognize competitors after coral bleaching

Some species of reef fish struggle to recognize their competitors...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.upenn.edu/">University of Pennsylvania</a> has found that certain species of gut-dwelling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/human-gut-bacteria-feed-on-complex-plant-sugars/">bacteria</a> activate nerves in the gut that promote the desire for mice to engage in physical activity. Through a series of controlled experiments, the experts identified the gut-to-brain pathway which explains why some bacteria boost exercise performance.



By recording the genome sequences, gut bacterial species, bloodstream metabolites, and other data for a large number of genetically diverse lab mice, the scientists found that differences in running performances were largely caused by the presence of certain gut bacterial species – particularly Eubacterium rectale&nbsp;and&nbsp;Coprococcus eutactus - in the higher-performing animals. These effects appeared to be triggered by small molecules called metabolites that the bacteria produce, which stimulate sensory nerves in the gut to increase activity in a motivation-controlling brain region during exercise.



The researchers analyzed the collected data using machine learning algorithms to identify attributes of the mice which could best explain the animals’ significant inter-individual differences in running performance. The investigation revealed that genetics accounted for only a surprisingly small portion of these performance differences, whereas differences in gut bacterial populations seemed to play a much larger role. In fact, they noticed that giving mice broad-spectrum antibiotics to annihilate their gut bacteria reduced their running performance by half.



Among the vast population of gut bacteria, two species - Eubacterium rectale&nbsp;and&nbsp;Coprococcus eutactus - stood out, which both produce metabolites known as fatty acid amines (FAAs) that stimulate the CB1 endocannabinoid receptors on gut-embedded sensory nerves connecting the brain via the spine. The stimulation of these receptors causes an increase in dopamine levels during exercise, in a brain area called the ventral striatum – a critical node in the brain’s reward and motivation network.



“This gut-to-brain motivation pathway might have evolved to connect nutrient availability and the state of the gut bacterial population to the readiness to engage in prolonged physical activity,” explained study co-author&nbsp;J. Nicholas Betley, an associate professor of Biology at the University of Pennsylvania. “This line of research could develop into a whole new branch of exercise physiology.”&nbsp;



“If we can confirm the presence of a similar pathway in humans, it could offer an effective way to boost people’s levels of exercise to improve public health generally,” added study senior author&nbsp;Christoph Thaiss, an assistant professor of Microbiology at the same university.



Besides offering cheap, safe, diet-based methods of getting people to exercise and optimizing elite athletes’ performance, further explorations of this pathway may help boost motivation and mood in psychological disturbances such as addiction or depression.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05525-z">Nature</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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Gut bacteria may boost your motivation to exercise

A new study led by the University of Pennsylvania has...

A team of researchers from <a href="https://www.vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a> has recently received a $340,000 grant from the <a href="https://www.erdc.usace.army.mil/">U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center</a> (ERDC) to create new tools using sound waves to control the movements of invasive species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/asian-carp-lake-michigan/">Asian carp</a>. The ERDC is an organization which aims, among other things, to manage United States’ commercial waterway infrastructure, including locks and dams.



Asian carps were introduced into targeted waterways in the 1970s to control harmful agents on aquatic farms. However, over the past half a century, these invasive fish have moved beyond aquatic farms and currently threaten the balance of aquatic life in many lakes and rivers across the U.S, gobbling up food and resources needed by other animals, and thus threatening the fishing industry too. Moreover, one type of carp can leap out of the water at a distance of several feet, often endangering boaters.



According to the scientists, the continuous spread of the species is mostly related to human activities. For instance, transported young carp may accidentally be dumped into water from travelling boats, and then mature and breed in areas where they do not belong. In addition, carps take advantage of the movement of boats and water where lakes and rivers meet – intersections that are usually controlled by dams and locks.&nbsp;



In the case of locks, engineers construct small waterways between two larger waterways. When a boat enters, both sides of the lock are closed, and, when one waterway is higher than the other, the lock will either be flooded so the boat can travel “uphill,” or drained so the boat can move “downhill.” During that water movement, nearby carps can enter the lock and create a new habitat in the waterway. Thus, since the carp move most easily through the lock transition, the idea behind Virginia Tech’s new project is to keep them away from those areas.



While many previous technologies – such as combinations of nonlethal barriers at locks and dams to deter the fish, including electrical barriers or columns of bubbles – already exist, they are not focused specifically on carps, but affect instead a large variety of fish species. Now, the research team led by John Palmore (an expert in Computational Fluid Dynamics at Virginia Tech) aims to use sound to deter carp.



“Out of all those technologies, acoustic deterrents are potentially the best in the sense that they are the most customizable,” Palmore explained. “All fish are affected by bubble currents. Electric fences contain fish based on size but not species. For acoustic deterrents, each species hears within a different range. You have a selective mechanism to annoy specific species of fish.”&nbsp;



To keep carp at bay with sound, the researchers will combine different noises, such as predatorial sounds, boat noises, and other irritants. “The goal is to generate a model that can be applied widely to rivers and dams. Information such as the shape of the riverbed and the lock, how often barges enter, and how long it takes to fill the lock are important to our study,” Palmore 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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Controlling invasive carp with sound waves

A team of researchers from Virginia Tech has recently received...

In the animal kingdom, tails come in many shapes, sizes, and strengths. For instance, the long, thick tail of a kangaroo acts as a third leg, while the rabbit’s fluffy tail is used to communicate with conspecifics. In the case of carnivores, tails often help them be more agile while hunting. Scientists have long debated whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/epigenetic-variation-predicts-behavior-in-dogs/">dogs</a>’ tails could play a similar function.



Now, by combining experimental data, mathematical modeling, and computer simulations, an international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://is.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems</a> has found that the canines’ tails play very little role in stabilization and more likely act as a communication device.



While in many mammalian carnivores, tails are very useful for balancing, counterbalancing, and sometimes gripping during climbing activities, they can play a significant role on the ground too. For instance, cheetahs use their tails for jumping stabilization and turning. But is this the case for dogs too?



“It is unknown if larger carnivorans, such as canids, can still use their tails to this effect or whether other appendages, such as head movement, must be used,” the study authors wrote. “Canidae have been shown to exhibit various tail elevations and depressions in different movement paces with many dogs walking with an upright tail whereas galloping with a tail aligned with the spinal column. However, these movements are highly complex and require long periods of dedicated practice to be able to perform them, making it an unlikely strategy for other animals. This study sought to design a complex biomechanics model to test the inertial capabilities of canidae tails.”



To clarify the role dogs’ tails play in stabilization, the scientists used data from detailed motion tracking studies of the ways dog move and jump. Then, they performed computer simulated leaps, altering the position of the tails to see whether positioning had a significant effect on the jump. The analysis shown that dogs were able to jump adroitly regardless of what their tails were doing.



“The utilizing of the tail during jumping mechanisms achieves very low amounts of center of mass movement across all species with the largest being under a single degree. We believe that this implies that dogs utilize their tails for other means, such as communication and pest control, but not for agility in maneuvers,” the scientists explained.



“Given the incredibly low angular movement the tail is imposing on the center of mass in a range of canid species, we believe at this point that the dog tail is primarily adapted for communication,” they concluded.



The study is published on the preprint server <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.12.30.522334v1.full">bioRxiv</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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Dogs use their tails more for communication than movement

In the animal kingdom, tails come in many shapes, sizes,...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ozone-pollution-threatens-the-health-of-plants-and-pollinators/">Pollinators</a> have an essential function, helping numerous plants reproduce, and thus maintaining and protecting a variety of ecosystems. Moreover, since scientists estimate that over three quarters of the most important crops depend on pollinators, a loss of these plant visitors would lead to major economic losses. Unfortunately, human-related influences such as changes in climate and land use may negatively affect these essential creatures.



A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-022-01928-3">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution&nbsp; </a>has investigated changes in pollinator populations in the vicinity of Kittilä in Finland (a village located approximately 120 km north of the Arctic Circle). In this region, between 1895 and 1900, forester Frans Silén systematically recorded which insects visited which flowers and how often. Now, the scientists repeated a similar pollinator census at the same place in 2018 and 2019.



The analysis revealed that, although this region remained sparsely populated, with little changes in land use, it has unfortunately not escaped the consequences of climate change, leading to major changes in the types of pollinators present there.&nbsp;



“We have noticed drastic changes in the networks of pollinators,” said study lead author Leana Zoller, an ecologist at the <a href="https://www.uni-halle.de/?lang=en">Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenburg</a>. In fact, only seven percent of the flower visits observed involved the same species of insects and plants as at the end of the 19th century. “That is surprisingly little,” Zoller said.



For instance, hoverflies and moths – which are particularly effective pollinators - appear less frequently on flowers in the area than they previously used to. While these insects have become rarer, the flowers around Kittilä are currently getting considerably more visits from bumblebees and certain flies.&nbsp;



This aspect concerns the scientists, since there are now considerably fewer insects that are specialists for specific flower shapes. These have been largely replaced by “generalists” such as flies of the genus Thricorps, which visit many different plants. While such generalists are more resilient to environmental changes, they may provide less effective pollination services, since they usually carry the pollen of various other plant species onto a flower.



Although the pollinator network in the region still seems to be working well, this can change in the future if shifts in the insect communities continue. Moreover, while flies in this area seem to be coping quite well with rising temperatures, further north in the Arctic, fly populations are currently dwindling. “If this also happens in our study area, it could become a problem,” Zoller 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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Pollinator populations have experienced dramatic changes

Pollinators have an essential function, helping numerous plants reproduce, and...

According to a recent study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2022.11.064">Current Biology</a>, the ascendancy of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-were-going-strong-when-the-deadly-asteroid-struck/">dinosaurs</a> through the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic periods was primarily driven by climate change, rather than inter-species competition.



The experts argue that changes in global climate linked to the Triassic-Jurassic mass extinction - which wiped out many large terrestrial vertebrates such as the armadillo-like aetosaurs – in fact benefited the earliest dinosaurs.



For instance, sauropod-like dinosaurs, which later on evolved into the giant herbivore species of the late Jurassic (such as Diplodocus or Brachiosaurus) were able to thrive and expand their territories as the Earth warmed substantially after the mass extinction event, about 210 million years ago.



By comparing computer models of prehistoric global climate conditions like temperature and rainfall with data on the different locations of dinosaurs, the scientists showed how the sauropods and related creatures ended up being the success story of a turbulent period of evolution.



“What we see in the data suggests that instead of dinosaurs being outcompeted by other large vertebrates, it was variations in climate conditions that were restricting their diversity. But once these conditions changed across the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, they were able to flourish,” said study lead author Emma Dunne, a lecturer in Paleontology at <a href="https://www.fau.eu/">Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg</a> (FAU).



“The results were somewhat surprising, because it turns out that sauropods were really fussy from the get-go: later in their evolution they continue to stay in warmer areas and avoid polar regions.”



“Climate change appears to have been really important in driving the evolution of early dinosaurs. What we want to do next is use the same techniques to understand the role of climate in the next 120 million years of the dinosaur story,” concluded study co-author Richard Butler, a professor of Vertebrate Paleontology at the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</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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Early dinosaurs benefited from changes in global climate

According to a recent study published in the journal Current...

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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

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" 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.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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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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



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

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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



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

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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



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"

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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



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...

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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



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

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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



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

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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

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