Nature often surprises us with its ingenious adaptations, and the cricket frog is no exception. Native to Virginia and North Carolina, these tiny frogs display an ability that seems almost magical: moving across water as if it were solid ground. 



Known as “skittering,” this behavior has intrigued scientists and inspired visions of futuristic technologies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-capabilities-of-cricket-frogs">Capabilities of cricket frogs</h2>



Jake Socha, a professor of mechanical engineering, and his research team at <a href="https://www.vt.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Virginia Tech</a> have examined this phenomenon.



“The humble cricket <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-frog-day-addressing-environmental-threats-to-frogs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">frog</a> lives nearby, and yet it still surprised us with its capabilities, further motivating our curiosity to understand the living world,” said Professor Socha.



The research, published in the&nbsp;Journal of Experimental Biology, challenges popular notions about how frogs traverse water.



“Skittering is not actually a well-defined word for this behavior. Part of this research is not only studying this behavior in cricket frogs but to try and give ‘skittering’ a more precise, scientific definition,” explained study lead author and graduate researcher Talia Weiss.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cricket-frogs-don-t-walk-on-water">Cricket frogs don’t walk on water</h2>



Using high-speed cameras shooting at 500 frames per second, the team captured the frogs’ motions in astonishing detail. 



Contrary to the idea that these frogs glide effortlessly across water, the footage revealed something unexpected: the frogs sink between each leap.



“It’s fascinating how easily we can be fooled by fast animal movements,” said Professor Socha. “Here, we’re fooled by a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frog-saunas-hot-solution-to-fighting-global-amphibian-extinction-apocalypse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">frog</a> that appears like a skipping stone, but is actually jumping and dunking multiple times in a row.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-leaping-frogs-resemble-dolphins-jumping">Leaping frogs resemble dolphins jumping</h2>



The movement of cricket frogs, often mistaken for walking on water, is better described as "porpoising," a motion similar to the way dolphins leap in and out of the water. 



Unlike true walking, this behavior involves distinct stages within each jump cycle, which researchers broke down into four key phases:



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>Takeoff: The frog begins completely submerged in water. Using its powerful hind legs, it pushes off against the water, propelling its body upward and into the air. This explosive motion provides the energy needed for the leap.</li>



<li>Aerial: While in mid-air, the frog's legs remain extended, providing balance and stability during its short flight. This phase gives the impression that the frog is gracefully skipping across the water.</li>



<li>Re-entry: The frog's front legs are the first to contact the water as it descends. The rest of the body follows, creating a splash and breaking the water's surface as it sinks back under.</li>



<li>Recovery: Once submerged, the frog rapidly retracts its legs to prepare for the next jump. This resetting phase ensures the frog is ready to push off again almost immediately.</li>
</ol>



Each of these phases occurs in less than a second, allowing the frog to perform up to eight consecutive jumps in quick succession. This rapid, repetitive motion creates the illusion that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/common-economic-strategy-could-save-endangered-frogs/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">frog</a> is walking or skipping on water, though it is actually sinking and leaping continuously. 



The efficiency and speed of these movements highlight the cricket frog’s unique adaptations for this behavior.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frog-movement-inspires-robots">Frog movement inspires robots</h2>



Understanding the mechanics of skittering has implications far beyond biology. This unique locomotion could inspire innovations in robotics and engineering. For instance, amphibious drones designed for water testing or rescue missions might mimic the cricket frog’s efficient movements.



“Frogs are great jumpers, but most of them don’t exhibit this porpoising behavior, and we still don’t know why,” noted Professor Socha. “Is there something special about the frog’s leap, or is it simply a matter of small body size?”



This research highlights how studying even the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/puddle-frogs-have-a-secret-weapon-against-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">smallest creatures</a> can lead to big discoveries. The cricket frog’s seemingly simple movement holds secrets that may shape the future of technology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cricket-frogs-built-for-skittering-on-water">Cricket frogs: Built for skittering on water</h2>



Cricket frogs may be small, but their anatomy is a masterpiece of adaptation. Their ability to skitter across water is no accident; it’s the result of finely tuned physical traits that allow them to excel at leaping, sinking, and jumping again.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-powerful-hind-legs">Powerful hind legs</h3>



The cricket frog’s hind legs are disproportionately long and muscular for its tiny body. These legs provide the explosive force needed to propel the frog both on land and through water. 



Their large, well-developed muscles allow for rapid extension and retraction, making it possible to perform consecutive jumps in quick succession.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-lightweight-body">Lightweight body</h3>



Weighing less than many other frogs, cricket frogs benefit from a lightweight frame. This reduces resistance when they re-enter the water after a jump, helping them maintain momentum. Their small size also means they create minimal drag during movement.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flexible-joints">Flexible joints</h3>



Their joints, particularly in the hind legs, are highly flexible. This flexibility enables the frogs to fully extend their legs during the takeoff phase and then rapidly retract them underwater to reset for the next leap.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-streamlined-body-shape">Streamlined body shape</h3>



The cricket frog’s body is slightly flattened, which may help reduce resistance during re-entry into the water. This streamlined shape allows for smoother transitions between aerial and submerged phases of their movement.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-skin-adaptations">Skin adaptations</h3>



The frog’s skin plays a subtle but critical role. Smooth and water-resistant, it minimizes friction as the frog moves in and out of the water. This feature also helps maintain buoyancy and allows for quicker movement beneath the surface.



Ultimately, the cricket frog’s body is a perfect example of how evolution tailors physical traits to meet specific survival needs. Each aspect of the frogs' anatomy, from powerful legs to streamlined bodies, contributes to their ability to skitter on water.&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article-abstract/227/22/jeb249403/363001/Skittering-locomotion-in-cricket-frogs-a-form-of?redirectedFrom=fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Experimental Biology</a>.



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Walking on water? Cricket frogs redefine aquatic locomotion

Nature often surprises us with its ingenious adaptations, and the cricket frog is no exception. Native to Virginia and North Carolina, these tiny frogs display an ability that seems almost magical: moving across water as if it were solid ground. Known as “skittering,” this behavior has intrigued scientists and inspired visions of futuristic technologies. Capabilities of cricket frogs Jake Socha, a professor of mechanical engineering, and his research team at Virginia Tech have examined this phenomenon. “The humble cricket frog lives nearby, and yet it still surprised...

Scientists have long known that, after a period of intense physical exertion, vertebrates (including humans) need a period of recovery to lower their heart rates and allow the organism to repair injured muscles. However, more recent studies have shown that intensive physical activity can also affect immune defenses, and that rest is crucial for boosting the <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/organ-regeneration-offers-new-clues-about-the-immune-system/">immune system</a> too. Now, a team of researchers led by <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> in Sweden has found that this is also true in the case of migratory birds.



When they migrate, birds regularly stop in one place for a few days to eat and rest – a behavior previously thought necessary to build up new fat reserves which provide fuel for the rest of the migration process. However, scientists have now shown that, during such “pitstops,” they also boost their immune systems.



“This is the first time that this has been demonstrated in wild migratory birds. Our study shows that migratory birds’ stops serve other purposes, besides just ‘refueling.’ They also need other physiological systems to recover. You could compare it to pulling off the motorway into a service station. That is not just for the purpose of refueling, you might also need to recover,” said study senior author Arne Hegemann, a biologist at Lund.



Together with his team, Hegemann examined a variety of small migratory birds such as chaffinches, dunnocks, and common redstarts to assess how their immune systems change when they take breaks during migration. By collecting and comparing data from different individuals and species, they discovered that free-flying migratory birds usually restore several parameters of immune function during their stopovers.



“If you see a little bird in your garden or in the park during the autumn and you know that it is heading to southern Europe or Africa, it is fascinating to think about why it is&nbsp;taking&nbsp;a break. If they do not get food or rest, their immune systems cannot recover – which is when they risk becoming ill. This provides an important part of the puzzle of how migratory birds cope with the physiological challenges they are faced with on their long journeys,” Hegemann concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0518">Biology Letters</a>.



—



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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Migratory birds take breaks to boost their immune system

Scientists have long known that, after a period of intense...

Jewel <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reconstructing-300-million-years-of-beetle-evolution/">beetles</a> are a striking species of insects that can be easily recognized by their metallic sheen and vivid colors. They possess a highly developed visual system that helps them engage in a variety of behaviors, such as finding mates and host plants, and their color vision is different from ours, with special genes allowing them to see ultraviolet (UV), as well as blue and green light.&nbsp;



To shed more light on the complexity of these insects’ vision, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a> has recently investigated their evolutionary history and discovered that jewel beetles have duplicated some of the ancestral genes responsible for color perception, allowing them to detect more complicated and diverse color signals.



The experts built on a previous study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-00061-7">Nature</a> showing that, before the evolution of modern beetles, their ancestors lost the ability to see blue light around 300 million years ago, most likely because they became nocturnal or started living in low-light conditions. Later on, as they diversified, beetles evolved duplicates of the ancestral genes allowing them to detect the UV and green spectrum.



In the current study, the researchers set to find out whether these duplicate genes have evolved, allowing modern beetles to see colors that their ancestors were not able to detect. Since jewel beetles are notoriously difficult to keep and work with in the laboratory, the scientists copied the genes and inserted them into fruit flies, replacing their normal visual genes. Then, by using electrophysiology, they tested the color sensitivity these genes produced in the flies, focusing on genetic changes underlying the shifts in color sensitivity.



The analysis revealed that jewel beetles have evolved additional blue and orange sensitivity by duplicating their UV and green visual genes, enabling complex tetra-chromatic color sensitivity to UV, blue, green, and orange wavelengths (similar to the color sensitivity of various species of colorful birds). When visual genes were modified and retested, the newly evolved genetic changes related to color detection were not found to shift sensitivities.



In future studies, the scientists aim to better understand the molecular bases of beetles’ color sensitivity and – according to lead author Camilla Sharkey, an expert in Ecology, Evolution, and Behavior at Minnesota – “determine if specific types of color vision can be predicted from genes and how color vision is used by insects to better manage pest and pollinator insects, thus improving crop production.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msad023">Molecular Biology and Evolution</a>.



—



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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How did jewel beetles’ visual systems evolve?

Jewel beetles are a striking species of insects that can...

The southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), also known as the California sea otter, is a threatened subspecies of marine predator that inhabits the coastal waters of central California. Before legal protection of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-bird-species-are-less-competitive/">species</a> was introduced, sea otters were hunted for their fur and their populations plummeted. It is estimated that only 50 individuals of this subspecies remained 1n 1911, when hunting was first prohibited. Since then, their numbers have increased slowly, although they remain endangered.



Sea otters are ecologically important because they prey on marine species that graze algae and kelp. Otter foraging keeps the kelp forests in balance and prevents them from being overgrazed. In the absence of sea otters, sea urchins and other herbivorous invertebrates graze kelp forests to the ground, leaving barren and depauperate ecosystems. The small size of the sea otter population (around 3,000 individuals) means that the subspecies is still threatened and needs all the help it can get.



The <a href="https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/">Monterey Bay Aquarium</a> has a sea otter surrogacy program that helps pair stranded pups with non-releasable female otters, with the aim of preparing the pups to be reintroduced into the wild. In a study published in the journal Biological Conservation, Aquarium researchers have evaluated the success of the program’s methods to help identify approaches that maximize the chances of successful release of young otters and contribute to the recovery of the species.



“These findings describe everyday, life-threatening challenges experienced by sea otter pups, and help us identify optimal conditions for returning orphaned otters to the wild, where they may benefit population and ecosystem recovery,” said lead author Teri Nicholson, Senior Research Biologist for Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Program. “Because of our surrogate females’ strong nurturing behavior, three-quarters of the orphaned pups in our program reacclimate to the wild after release. What we are learning from this study will increase this success.”



The Program makes use of the fact that female sea otters demonstrate a natural tendency to behave maternally towards orphaned young otters, even when in captivity. These pups learn to groom, socialize, avoid humans, and forage on a variety of hard-shelled invertebrates (including mussels, clams, crabs, and urchins), skills that are essential for surviving in the wild. Over 20 years, the Program has released 64 pups, with a survival rate comparable to that of wild populations.&nbsp;



Along the way, the researchers have learned which approaches maximize the rate of success. In the current study, Nicholson and her colleagues examine 34 key rehabilitation components that make up the five phases of a stranded pup’s journey to release: stranding, stabilization, surrogacy, pre-release and release. The researchers determine the modifications that would contribute most to improving successful outcomes in the wild. These results will inform decisions about when and where to release sea otters within the species’ historical range, in order to maximize their chances for survival.



The results also form a foundation for other aquariums that may wish to start a similar program. For example, the Aquarium of the Pacific joined the surrogacy program in 2020 and has been building a specialized area for pairing stranded sea otter pups with surrogate mothers.



“By sharing more details about sea otters within our program, and our common challenges, we hope to inspire stronger connections with these wildlife populations and stewardship of our shared ocean environment,” Nicholson said.



The study highlights the following key conclusions:



<ul><li>Surrogacy draws from the natural behavior and adaptability of sea otters, resulting in 75 percent success reacclimating orphans to the wild, regardless of their stranding age, origin, early development, surrogate mother idiosyncrasies, weaning age, and pre-release conditioning.</li></ul>



<ul><li>Release conditions – such as favorable seas and mild weather – represented the strongest modeled drivers of success.</li><li>Low daily swimming distances by released individuals, and less competitive local population dynamics were additional factors that contributed to success.</li><li>Comparable success rates among a variety of sites and habitats, such as estuary seagrass meadows and open-coast kelp forests, demonstrate the potential for broader application of these methods throughout California, where release conditions are favorable.</li></ul>



Successful surrogacy methods can give orphaned pups another chance at survival in the wild, which helps benefit wild populations and restore coastal ecosystems. For this reason it is important to evaluate the outcomes to develop the most successful strategies for rearing and releasing the young otters.&nbsp;



The results of this study may also be applied to the recovery of other threatened or endangered species, and may provide a blueprint for nature-based solutions that strengthen ecosystem resilience in the face of increasing impacts from climate change.



“Our surrogacy program is effective, and results from this study build our confidence that we’ll be able to increase the number of animals we can return to the wild through key partnerships,” said Jess Fujii, the sea otter program manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. “The study also provides valuable insights for when and where we can release rescued otters with the best chance of success.”



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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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Strong maternal drive helps sea otters survive

The southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris nereis), also known as...

Changing environmental conditions could make it difficult for marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solitary-mammals-live-shorter-lives-than-social-species/">mammals</a> to find prey, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ele.14193">Ecology Letters</a>. The research shows how gradual reductions in prey could have profound implications for animal populations.



For female elephant seals, reproductive success depends on the ability to find prey and gain weight. Researchers at <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz</a> studied the relationships between elephant seal behavioral strategies in the open ocean, weight gain, and lifetime success at producing pups.



The findings reveal a relationship between mass gain and pup production, suggesting a tipping point at which insufficient mass gain leads to reproductive failure.



“We found that diving deeper during foraging allowed the females to gain more mass, and gaining more mass led to a marginal increase in their chances of survival and a massive increase in the number of pups they produced in a lifetime,” said Professor Roxanne Beltran.



The team used 25 years of data to investigate the influence of behavioral strategies and foraging success on survival and reproduction in female northern elephant seals. Migration activities were recorded, including where the seals went and the depth of their dives. Data collected on the beach at Año Nuevo told researchers which animals survived, how much weight they gained, and how many pups they had.



“Conceptually it makes sense that an individual would have to gain enough energy to survive and reproduce, but we were able to demonstrate how entwined these are and suggest when survival may be prioritized over reproduction,” said study co-first author Keith Hernandez.



Female elephant seals give birth to a single pup in winter. They spend four weeks on the beach nursing their pup, relying on stored energy until they can return to the ocean to feed. After the winter breeding season, they head out to sea for two months before returning to the colony to molt. Then they leave on a long migration across the North Pacific Ocean over seven to eight months.



During foraging trips, seals pursue their own strategies such as traveling different distances from the coast, diving to different depths, and targeting different prey. The researchers found that deeper diving seals migrated farther and had more energy-rich diets than shallower diving seals.



Mass gain was found to directly affect female seal reproduction. The threshold is around 205 kilograms (450 pounds): animals that gained less rarely had a pup, while those gaining more than 260 kilograms (573 pounds) almost always reproduced.



<a href="https://news.ucsc.edu/2019/09/supermoms.html">Previous research</a> has shown that a relatively small number of long-lived female elephant seals produce most pups in the colony. These “supermoms” may live as long as 23 years and produce more than 15 pups in their lifetime. The strategies that allow these moms to be so successful, however, have long been a mystery.



“We discovered that an additional 5 percent of foraging success led to a 300 percent increase in lifetime pup production due to the effects of mass gain on both survival and giving birth and raising a pup each year,” said Professor Beltran. “These findings tell us which strategies allow these long-lived mammals to succeed at their most important job, which is to stay alive and contribute to the next generation.”



After being hunted to near extinction during the 19th century, the northern elephant seal population has recently increased by about four percent each year. They do, however, face new threats. Climate change is impacting ocean environments and the fishing industry is exploring areas where elephant seals find most of their prey.&nbsp;



“Elephant seals are incredibly successful now, but that could change as their environment shifts in the coming years.” said Professor Beltran.



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



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Elephant seals prioritize survival over reproduction

Changing environmental conditions could make it difficult for marine mammals...

Honey bees are famous for their “waggle dance," the behavior they use to tell hive mates that they have found a good source of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-people-think-insects-will-become-a-sustainable-food-source/">food</a>. The dance has several different components that indicate the distance to the food, the direction to fly and the richness of the find.&nbsp;



Although the bees combine these elements to communicate useful and quite complex information to other foragers in the hive, scientists have stopped short of calling this a “language.” After all, language is always learned, but bees are born knowing this behavior and do not have to learn it. Well, that was the thinking until the publication of a new study by researchers from the Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden (XTBG) of the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, and UC San Diego.



The experts observed how a successful foraging bee returns to the hive and performs a waggle dance to communicate that it has located a good source of pollen, nectar or water, and provides information about the presence, quality, identity, direction and distance of the source so that nest mates can find and use it. The other foraging bees gather round the recently returned individual and watch its behavior, sometimes following in its tracks as it dances, in order to learn the details of the resource.&nbsp;



This type of learning is known as social learning, when one individual learns by observing or interacting with another. It has been shown that bees learn about details of a resource by observing the waggle dance and interacting with the dancer. However, it is not known whether young and inexperienced bees are also perhaps learning how to dance by watching the dancing individual.&nbsp;



In the new study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.ade1702">Science</a>, the researchers set out to test whether bees can use the waggle dance effectively without ever having seen it performed before by others.&nbsp;



The experts populated five experimental hives with a cohort of one-day-old bees. In some of the hives there were other foraging bees that performed waggle dances, and in others there were no waggle-dancing bees. The researchers monitored the introduced cohort until they began to show their own waggle-dance behavior and then assessed the effectiveness of this behavior.&nbsp;



“As these bees aged, we monitored the colonies until we observed the first waggle dances and then observed the same dancers 20 days later when they had more foraging and dancing experience,” said Dr. DONG Shihao, first author of the study.



The team found that young bees that had witnessed others doing waggle-dances before were better at performing the behavior themselves. Those that did not have the opportunity to follow any dances before their own first dance display produced significantly more disordered dances with larger errors in waggle angle and incorrectly encoded distance.



“When the same bees were older and had experience of dance following and dancing, they significantly reduced divergence angle errors and produced more orderly dances. However, they were never able to produce normal distance encoding,” said Dr. DONG.



The results indicate that waggle-dance behavior is not completely genetically pre-programmed. Although bees are born with the innate knowledge of how to perform the components of the dance, they refine their skills and become more proficient by learning from others. This is important because this complex communication can save foraging bees time and energy by allowing them to fly directly to a resource, rather than having to search around for it in the environment.&nbsp;



But why should honey bees use social learning to improve their waggle dancing, rather than being born with a fully programmed instinctive ability?



“Learning is a useful way to refine behaviors for local conditions. We suggest that the unique topologies of each colony’s dance floor make it advantageous for novice dancers to learn from more experienced ones. Another possibility is that experienced dancers may transmit distance encodings based on local optic flow to nest mates,” said TAN Ken of XTBG.



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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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Honey bees refine their dancing skills by watching others

Honey bees are famous for their “waggle dance," the behavior...

A new study from <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis</a> reveals that animals in the Brazilian Amazon are threatened by climate change and the gradual transition of the tropical rainforest into savanna, also known as savannization.&nbsp;



"Climate change will affect species persistence and distribution, particularly in high-diversity ecosystems like the Amazon. Studies predict that as temperature and deforestation increase and precipitation patterns change in the Amazon, areas along its southern and eastern borders will suffer large-scale savannization, the conversion of tropical forest to degraded savannah-like vegetation," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"Here, we aim to identify the terrestrial mammal species potentially most at risk from savannization by studying their use of natural forest and savannah habitats within four protected areas, using camera-trap surveys and community occupancy models."



The experts determined that most land-based mammals in the Brazilian Amazon, from jaguars to capybara, will struggle for survival once they lose their forest habitat. In addition, the researchers found that even animals that use both forest and savanna habitats - like pumas - are vulnerable to savannization.



“We’re losing Amazon forest as we speak,” said study lead author Daniel Rocha. “The Amazon’s biodiversity is very susceptible to climate change effects. It’s not just local; it’s a global phenomenon. We cannot stop this just by law enforcement, for example. These species are more susceptible than we realized, and even protected areas can’t protect them as much as we thought.”



While monkeys and other animals that live in trees will certainly be impacted by savannization, the UC Davis team wanted to investigate how this transition will affect land-based mammals.



The experts used camera traps to conduct surveys of 31 land-based mammal species in the southern Brazilian Amazon, which consists of both rainforest and savanna. Based on community occupancy models, the analysis revealed that only a few species preferred the savanna habitat.



Rocha pointed out that the savanna used in the modeling study is pristine - not degraded - so the negative effects of savannization among animals will likely be even stronger.



“Unfortunately, there are more losers than winners,” said Rocha, who is currently an assistant professor at Southern Nazarene University in Oklahoma. “Most Amazon species, when they can choose between good forests and good savanna, they choose the forest. That’s true even for species considered ‘generalists,’ which use both habitats.&nbsp; As we lose forests, they suffer, too.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/acv.12853">Animal Conservation</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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Amazon animals will suffer as the rainforest turns into savanna

A new study from UC Davis reveals that animals in...

Big,Lion,Lying,On,Savannah,Grass.,Landscape,With,Characteristic,Trees

The theory of sexual selection proposes that, where males have to compete to mate with females, the males may develop indicators of "good genes," in order to impress and gain access to females. Indicators may include things such as large body size, impressive horns or feathers, or the ability to win physical fights. In theory, the males with the best genes will sire more offspring and thereby their impressive traits will spread within the population, leading to increased success for all.&nbsp;



Past field studies have sometimes shown that this is not how it works in nature. In fact, males can sometimes go to extremes to demonstrate their fitness and this may impact females negatively and lead to less successful reproduction for them. In the end, with fewer offspring being born to the females, recruitment into the population may diminish to the extent that the population may even collapse completely.&nbsp;



Scientists from <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a> and the University of Lausanne have now developed a model that explains how so-called "good genes" in males can sometimes be disadvantageous for females and, indeed, for an entire population. The model, published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2211668120">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, tested theories of sexual competition and compared the results with data from various population experiments, in order to provide a possible explanation for why sexual selection can improve male condition while, at the same time, being disadvantageous for female fitness and population viability.



“Where males evolve selfish traits that help them individually win, they can actually end up causing the population to crash – it’s a form of evolutionary suicide. Even when females evolve to counter male harm and prevent population collapse, the population still decreases significantly, reducing its viability," said study first author Dr. Ewan Flintham.



A prime example of this is the phenomenon of infanticide in lion prides. Dominant males may kill offspring sired by other males, leading to lower reproductive rate for females and, potentially, lower recruitment into lion populations. Other examples include the mating practice of male bed bugs that inseminate females by piercing holes directly into the body cavity, courting antelope that chase and harass females to the point of exhaustion, and brawling male elephant seals that trample pups to death while defending a harem of females.



The team’s model considered different scenarios where individuals vary in their condition. Good condition is considered to be evidence of good genes, but male animals in good condition will experience more intense sexual conflict as they compete more for access to females. If this competition has the effect of harming females, it may well end up backfiring and generating a negative association between male condition and population size.&nbsp;



The new model provides an explanation for why some experiments show male condition improving, without female fitness or population viability improving alongside. This occurs because sexual selection favors genes that improve condition, which can then lead to more sexual conflict and more significant harm to females. Population decline or crash can result from this situation, according to the predictions of the model. This finding contrasts with the common view that sexual selection on good genes also improves mean fitness of the population.



Sexual interactions like these are an important component of understanding population demographics and conservation. For example, where there are more males, sexual competition intensifies, meaning harm towards females is more likely. This is also true in human-managed populations, for example domestic carp, where males and females must be isolated during spawning season.



Dr. Flintham completed the study as part of his research at the <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/qmee-cdt/">Centre for Doctoral Training in Quantitative and Modelling Skills in Ecology and Evolution</a>&nbsp;at Imperial. His project supervisor and study co-author was Professor Vincent Savolainen, director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/georgina-mace-living-planet/">Georgina Mace Centre for the Living Planet&nbsp;</a>at Imperial.



“Male harm evolved in nature as something that was supposed to be good, but is detrimental to females and the whole population. Questions like how and why this happens can only be answered with quantitative methods – data and mathematical models – which can be just as important as field studies,” said Savolainen.



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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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Good genes do not always lead to evolutionary success

The theory of sexual selection proposes that, where males have...

In social groups, male and female <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ostriches-double-kneecap/">ostriches</a> are affected differently by cooperation and competition. According to a new study from <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a>, this depends on males and females having different interests and could determine which group sizes work best.



To understand the pros and cons of living in a group, the research team studied ostriches over a seven-year period in different sized groups. At the start of each breeding season, various numbers of males and females were placed inside of enclosures to create experimental groups similar to those seen in the wild. 



For the study, natural incubation behavior was prevented by temporarily removing ostrich eggs. This allowed the researchers to measure the effect of group size and cooperation on reproductive success based on the number of offspring born.



“We decided to study the ostriches under controlled conditions in order to distinguish the effect of individual differences from group attributes on reproductive success and find out how competition and cooperation changed with the size of the group,” explained study co-author Julian Melgar.



The results showed that males and females have different interests. In particular, males wanted to continue mating even when the females had already started thinking about incubating eggs. This resulted in many eggs being crushed.



During the study, males were driven by competition while females were driven by cooperation. These results have identified that males thrive in relatively small groups of their own gender, while females can cooperate with others and thrive in larger groups.&nbsp;



“The difference in interests between the sexes could help us to explain why the size of ostrich groups varies so much in nature,” said Melgar. The optimal group size appears to depend on the balance between the sexes, competition and cooperation within the group.



Ostriches parent through cooperation. Groups breed in a communal nest and individuals take turns to incubate the eggs. This cooperative breeding comes at a price – there can be tough competition for mates and for whose eggs get incubated.



“As the importance of our results applies not only to ostriches, but also to other organisms that form groups, the results could help us to improve our understanding of the evolutionary driving forces behind the emergence of group living and cooperation,” concluded Melgar.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.77170">eLife</a>.



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

Male ostriches are driven by competition, not cooperation

In social groups, male and female ostriches are affected differently...

Pollinator populations are rapidly declining all around the world, causing a vast variety of plant species to vanish too. In North America, for instance, some pollinator species have fallen by over 95 percent along with many native plants, while in some parts of Europe, wild pollinator diversity has more than halved, and a third of bee, butterfly, and hoverfly species are currently facing extinction. Due to this worrisome global situation, better methods to monitor pollinators are urgently needed.&nbsp;



Now, a team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.curtin.edu.au/">Curtin University</a> in Australia has examined DNA traces – known as “<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmental-dna-can-help-track-endangered-species/">environmental DNA</a>” (eDNA) - left by animal pollinators on native flora in the Helena and Aurora Range in western Australia, and were surprised to discover traces of not only insect pollinators, as expected, but also mammal and bird ones. While highlighting the benefits of using eDNA to examine the interaction between plants and their pollinators, these findings suggests that the range of pollinators may be larger than previously thought.



“We know the significant role that animal pollinators play in the reproduction of about 90 percent of flowering plants, but this crucial relationship is under threat as many of these species are experiencing declines across the globe,” said study lead author Joshua Newton, a PhD student in Molecular and Life Sciences at Curtin. “That means effective pollinator monitoring methods are now more important than ever before, as we search for new, fast, and accurate ways of safeguarding the future of endangered flora.”



The analysis of eDNA helped scientists identify five mammal species (including the western pygmy possum), eight bird species (including singing honeyeaters and yellow-throated miners), and 57 arthropod species (including several moth species previously unknown to act as pollinators). The native flowers that attracted the greatest diversity of animal visitors were the larger, more generalist species Banksia arborea (commonly known as Yilgarn dryandra) and&nbsp;Grevillea georgeana.



“We were especially pleased to find evidence of a western pygmy possum visiting a flower because at the time it was the first eDNA metabarcoding based identification of an interaction of a mammal or bird species with flowers, to our knowledge,” said study co-author Bill Bateman, a wildlife biologist at Curtin.



“This finding shows us that the eDNA metabarcoding of flowers offers a more complete set of floral visitors and may prove an effective tool for monitoring rare plant species that are growing in remote regions, receive relatively few pollinator visits, or are visited by cryptic animal species.”



The use of eDNA is currently in the early stage of application in terrestrial systems, but soon it may help identifying not only pollinators, but also multiple other species - such as pests or invasive spies - that interact in various ways with plants.



“eDNA offers an opportunity to explore and monitor ecosystems at multiple levels - not just what we are able to easily see, hear, and identify under a microscope,” concluded senior author Paul Nevill, a molecular ecologist at Curtin.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26374943">Environmental DNA</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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Environmental DNA can help monitor pollinators

Pollinator populations are rapidly declining all around the world, causing...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> has found that even small aquatic organisms such as mussels play a crucial – yet often underappreciated - role in protecting and building <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coastal-ecosystems-are-important-carbon-sinks/">coastal ecosystems</a>. These animals serve as “ecosystem engineers” - organisms that directly or indirectly drive habitat construction and control the availability of resources for other organisms.



“As sea levels rise, coastal ecosystems have to adapt and evolve to changing conditions,” said study lead author Sinéad Crotty, an expert in Ecosystem Restoration and Environmental Engineering at Yale. “This study shows that small and innocuous animals that live within an ecosystem can play a critical role in helping coastal systems persist in the face of climate change.”



For instance, mussels (Geukensia demissa) help keeping rivers and streams clean by absorbing heavy metals and filtering harmful silt and particulates as they breathe and feed in aquatic ecosystems. Moreover, their shells provide habitat and nesting sites for a variety of insects, small fish, and plants. Finally, through their feeding process, they also deposit large amounts of material on marsh surfaces, thus helping marshes grow through a process called “accretion,” which refers to the natural action of sand, soil, and silt washing up to the land from rivers or the seashore.



The experts designed a series of experiments to examine mussels’ impact on accretion from small, local scales to whole landscape scales, with the largest one involving the relocation of over 200,000 mussels from one landscape to another and measuring changes to the marsh elevation over a period of three years. “We found that, in reality, the effects of mussels are far greater than predicted by the models, and occur at large, landscape scales,” Crotty reported.



Since similar trends are likely to occur with other fauna engineers, such as worms or bioturbating crabs, including these ecosystem engineers in future modeling and ecosystem management is crucial as sea levels continue to rise.&nbsp;



“This study can help us think through how we prioritize certain marsh areas for protection. Given that mussels are disproportionately important in driving accretion and other ecosystem functions, we should prioritize their protection, or outplanting, as a means to promoting all of their associated benefits,” Crotty concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-36444-w">Nature Communications</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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Aquatic animals protect coastal ecosystems

A new study led by Yale University has found that...

A new study published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLoS Biology</a> reveals that bumblebees learn new “trends” by watching other bumblebees, and that these trends can spread throughout a colony. The study, led by researchers at <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University of London</a>, suggests that social learning plays a significant role in bumblebee <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/eating-behavior-is-influenced-by-the-unconscious-mind/">behavior</a>, particularly when it comes to foraging.



The researchers conducted multiple experiments which involved training “demonstrator” bees to either push a red tab clockwise or a blue tab counterclockwise to open a puzzle box containing a sucrose solution reward. In one experiment, “observer” bees were able to watch their comrades being trained. When it was the observer bees’ turn to perform, they chose the method they had seen the “demonstrator” bees use.



There was also a control group that didn’t include a demonstrator bee. This group rarely managed to open the puzzle box. While the group with demonstrator bees opened 28 boxes per day, the control group opened only one puzzle box.



In a second experiment, “blue” and “red” demonstrators were released into the same populations of bees. The researchers noticed that the bees overwhelmingly used the red method in the first population. However, in the second population, the blue method became more popular. The experts say this demonstrates how trends can develop.



The study authors believe that these findings open up the possibility that bees, like primates and birds, are capable of social learning and perhaps culture.



“Bumblebees - and, indeed, invertebrates in general - aren’t known to show culture-like phenomena in the wild. However, in our experiments, we saw the spread and maintenance of a behavioral “trend” in groups of bumblebees - similar to what has been seen in primates and birds," said study lead author Dr. Alice Bridges.



“The fact that bees can watch and learn, and then make a habit of that behavior, adds to the ever-growing body of evidence that they are far smarter creatures than a lot of people give them credit for," said study co-author Professor Lars Chittka.



"Our research shows, however, that new innovations can spread like social media memes through insect colonies, indicating that they can respond to wholly new environmental challenges much faster than by evolutionary changes, which would take many generations to manifest.”



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



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Bumblebees learn new trends by watching others

A new study published in PLoS Biology reveals that bumblebees...

Diving birds such as puffins and penguins face a higher risk of extinction compared to non-diving birds, according to a study from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the <a href="https://www.bath.ac.uk/">University of Bath</a>. The researchers explained that a highly specialized foraging strategy makes these birds less capable of adapting to changing environments.



"Given the new evolutionary pressures being applied to the world's biodiversity by climate change, understanding if highly specialized taxa are evolutionarily ‘trapped’ in their current niches is of great interest," wrote the study authors.



Dr. Jane Younger and Joshua Tyler studied the evolution of diving in modern waterbirds. They set out to investigate how diving has impacted the morphology of these birds, how the species evolved to increase diversity, and the risk of extinction among waterbirds.&nbsp;



"We show that diving has been acquired independently at least 14 times within waterbirds, and this acquisition is apparently irreversible, in a striking example of asymmetric evolution," said the study authors.



The experts determined that body size evolved differently among waterbirds depending on the type of diving they did. They also found that diving traits were not reversed by evolution.



"Three key diving techniques are employed within waterbirds: wing-propelled pursuit diving (e.g. penguins), foot-propelled pursuit diving (e.g. cormorants) and plunge diving (e.g. gannets)," explained the researchers.&nbsp;



The study revealed that wing divers and foot divers tend to have larger body sizes adapted for swimming. On the other hand, plunge divers tend to be more constrained in their body size, as they were better adapted for flying than swimming.



“Our work shows that rather than being a random process, there are predictable patterns to evolution," said Tyler. “Waterbirds were grouped together as being highly related following genetic analysis of the bird family tree in 2015, so I wanted to investigate how evolving to be able to dive had affected their body shape, niche adaptation and evolutionary diversity."



“For example, penguins are highly adapted for their environment - they have a torpedo body shape that helps them swim fast, but they don’t fly and they can’t move that well on land."



“This means they can’t easily adapt to other environments or types of diet. In contrast, plunge divers like gulls are more generalists - they eat anything from fish to Cornish pasties - and we found they are exploding in diversity."



“Our data show that the specialist birds are in more trouble in terms of future extinction, and may be evolving into an evolutionary dead end.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.2056">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological 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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Diving birds face a greater risk of extinction

Diving birds such as puffins and penguins face a higher...

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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?

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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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" 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 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



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



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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

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