Scientists have long pondered how evolution resulted in the development of both herbivores and carnivores. To understand this, it is important to clarify what type of food did extinct vertebrates eat. But how can we know what the diets of these creatures were?&nbsp;



While in living animals we can directly observe what they feed on, in the case of extinct species researchers must rely on morphological or chemical information supplied by fossils.&nbsp;



Now, a research team led by professor Thomas Tütken from <a href="https://www.uni-mainz.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz</a> (JGU) has compiled a reference framework of isotope compositions for modern reptiles. This dataset stands to improve our ability to identify the diets of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-secrets-of-the-evolution-of-prehistoric-reptiles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ancient reptiles</a>, including dinosaurs.



“This reptile reference framework is a convenient toolbox that will enable us to better reconstruct the diet of extinct animals, such as dinosaurs,” Tütken explained. “A set of comparable data of this kind has not previously been available.”&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-diverse-diets-of-modern-reptiles">Diverse diets of modern reptiles </h2>



Today's reptiles showcase a remarkable range of diets, from strictly plant-based to exclusively carnivorous. Many also exhibit specialized feeding preferences, such as the marine iguana in the Galapagos, which eats only algae, or chameleons, which subsist solely on insects.&nbsp;



Gila monsters prefer eggs, while top predators like the saltwater crocodile and the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/komodo-dragons-have-iron-tipped-teeth-to-rip-apart-flesh/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Komodo dragon</a> feed entirely on meat. “This diversity makes it difficult to reconstruct the nutritional habits of extinct animals,” Tütken said.



The oldest known ancestors of modern reptiles lived more than 300 million years ago; for instance, the 315-million-year-old Hylonomus resembled a lizard. These early reptiles often bore skulls, jaws, and teeth indicative of insectivory.&nbsp;



The point in geological history when they transitioned from insect-eating to purely carnivorous or herbivorous diets remains unclear.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-geochemical-reference">Building a geochemical reference</h2>



In creating their new framework, Tütken’s team examined 28 modern reptile species by measuring calcium and strontium isotopes in their bones and teeth, which offer chemical clues about what these animals eat.&nbsp;



“To obtain a wide spectrum for comparison, we selected reptiles with pronounced herbivorous or carnivorous behavior, and we also included those with specialized dietary preferences,” Tütken noted. The list included alligators, monitor lizards, chameleons, and more.



Focusing on calcium isotopes, the researchers highlighted the ratio of calcium-44 to calcium-42. They observed a clear trend in which these isotope concentrations decreased at every step in the food chain.&nbsp;



“Overall, the values are highest in insectivorous reptiles, clearly differentiating these from animals with other feeding behaviors,” said lead author Michael Weber, a paleontologist at JGU.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-detecting-unique-feeding-patterns-nbsp">Detecting unique feeding patterns&nbsp;</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forest-biodiversity-benefits-from-large-herbivores-like-elephants-and-moose/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Herbivores</a> showed lower isotope ratios, while carnivores presented the lowest levels. This approach even allowed them to detect unique feeding patterns, such as the algae diet of marine iguanas and the egg-based diet of other reptiles. The team also examined stable strontium-88 to strontium-86 ratios.&nbsp;



“We set up the first extensive reference system of stable strontium isotopes as a dietary proxy. The results for strontium are largely consistent with those for calcium isotopes in respect of the various nutritional forms,” explained study co-author and paleontologist Katrin Weber.&nbsp;



However, strontium is more vulnerable to alteration over time, making calcium isotopes the more reliable measure for extinct species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-comparing-reptiles-to-mammals">Comparing reptiles to mammals</h2>



In analyzing these isotopes, the researchers discovered that reptiles show greater calcium isotope variability than <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-mammals-have-evolved-over-66-million-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mammals</a>, even under similar dietary regimes.&nbsp;



This phenomenon is believed to stem from physiological differences, and it illustrates why mammal-based data cannot directly determine the diets of prehistoric reptiles such as dinosaurs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-teeth-wear-patterns-and-animal-diets">Teeth wear patterns and animal diets</h2>



Beyond chemical traces, the scientists also investigated the mechanical wear patterns on modern reptile teeth, collecting data in collaboration with Dr. Daniela Winkler at <a href="https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kiel University</a>.&nbsp;



Scratches on tooth surfaces reveal whether an animal consumed tough materials such as shells or bones, or softer foods.&nbsp;



When combined with isotope data, these wear patterns can distinguish faunivores that ingested abrasive substances from those relying on soft food sources.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-discovering-the-diets-of-extinct-species">Discovering the diets of extinct species</h2>



“In order to understand and interpret the data for chemical and mechanical patterns of nutritional behavior from fossil finds, we first had to determine the corresponding information for related modern species with their known dietary preferences,” said Tütken.



“As a result, we now have a reference frame for comparison that enables the precise diet assessment and thus a more accurate reconstruction of the feeding habits of extinct species.”



The study forms part of a larger initiative led by Tütken, who in 2016 received an ERC Consolidator Grant to examine the feeding habits of early land vertebrates.&nbsp;



By combining geochemical and mechanical evidence, Tütken’s team has created an essential resource for scientists to unravel the mystery of what ancient reptiles - and possibly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-tracks-discovered-on-uks-dinosaur-highway/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dinosaurs</a> - might have eaten, guiding us toward a deeper understanding of evolutionary history.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2002" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.



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Reptiles provide new clues about the diets of extinct animals

Scientists have long pondered how evolution resulted in the development of both herbivores and carnivores. To understand this, it is important to clarify what type of food did extinct vertebrates eat. But how can we know what the diets of these creatures were?&nbsp; While in living animals we can directly observe what they feed on, in the case of extinct species researchers must rely on morphological or chemical information supplied by fossils.&nbsp; Now, a research team led by professor Thomas Tütken from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU)...

Billions of people in both developed and developing nations benefit daily from wildlife for food, medicine, and energy, as well as for recreation, inspiration and many other critical contributions to human well-being. Unfortunately, the biodiversity crisis - which threatens millions of animal and plant species with extinction - is currently accelerating, severely endangering both wildlife and their important contributions to human life.&nbsp;



In this context, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-draws-attention-to-individual-animals/">World Wildlife Day</a> (WWD), celebrating the beauty, diversity, and invaluable benefits of the flora and fauna that surround us, is an occasion to fight against biodiversity loss and increase conservation efforts globally. WWD - celebrated on March 3 and marking the birthday of the <a href="https://cites.org/eng">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora</a> (CITES), a multilateral treaty to protect endangered wildlife established on this date in 1973 - is an important reminder to continue fighting against wildlife crime and human-induced species loss which, besides damaging nature, have multiple economic, environmental, and social impacts.



This year, WWD will be celebrated under the theme “<a href="https://www.wildlifeday.org/">Partnerships for wildlife conservation</a>” and aims to honor all forms of collaboration to protect nature, ranging from small groups of individuals posting photographs online to increase awareness of threatened species to large-scale, intergovernmental conservation efforts to protect such species from extinction.&nbsp;



Experts will focus on two main sub-topics related to this year’s theme: 1) creating partnerships to conserve marine wildlife, which is currently facing even more severe problems than terrestrial life, and 2) engaging with the business and finance sectors to acquire funding for protecting wildlife. Although business has long been seen as an exploitative and unsustainable affair, if we are to reverse the massive biodiversity loss our planet is currently facing, successful partnerships for conservation with various businesses is essential both for acquiring sufficient funding to protect wildlife and for ensuring the sustainability of business and industrial operations.



By marking the 50th anniversary of CITES – an organization that currently grants protection to over 37,000 species of animals and plants - this year’s WWD will celebrate the invaluable services this institution provided, and its crucial role in the formation of many partnerships contributing to wildlife and biodiversity conservation. To help safeguard the majestic and diverse non-human life surrounding us, and thus protect the future of life on Earth, UN agencies, private sectors organizations, and non-governmental organizations must intensify their collaboration by sustaining existing partnerships, as well as building new ones.



—



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 Wildlife Day highlights the need to protect nature

Billions of people in both developed and developing nations benefit...

After analyzing over 300,000 hours of flight data from 18 different species, researchers have learned more about how seabird species cope with powerful winds.



The study revealed that birds like the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/albatrosses-put-their-partners-needs-before-their-own/">albatross</a>, who live in windier conditions on the Southern Ocean, fly faster than tropical birds, such as the red-tailed tropicbird. This finding was not surprising, since flying faster than the wind is essential for navigation.



However, the question remains about how both birds navigate intense tropical storms. Dr. Emily Shepard of <a href="https://www.swansea.ac.uk/">Swansea University</a> explains:



“The situation becomes more complicated when we start to consider what happens in storms because the strongest wind speeds occur over the tropics, not the Southern Ocean. So, while albatrosses can fly in almost all conditions they experience, tropical species must have strategies to cope with cyclones, when winds may be twice what they are able to fly in. This adds to other evidence that tropical seabirds are likely to show long-range avoidance of extreme events.”



Surprisingly, the researchers found that some albatrosses avoided tropical storm winds, even though they flew in similar wind speeds in other scenarios.&nbsp;



For example, there was the case of an Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross who encountered a storm and avoided the 68 km/h wind speeds by flying in the eye of the storm, where wind speeds were 30 km/h for 12 hours.



"We know that wind-adapted birds like albatrosses fly in very strong winds. What surprised me the most was that even these species avoid strong winds from time to time, and that they can do so by flying into the eye of the storm," said study first author Elham Nourani of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.



“As a result of the climate crisis, storms will become more frequent and stronger. So, the question is how seabirds will be impacted by this. Understanding the wind speeds that different species can operate in is a key part of this. What seems like an extreme wind to a tropical species is what an albatross encounters on a near-daily basis, so our definition of extremes needs to vary depending on the species we are talking about.”



This study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.068">Current Biology</a>.&nbsp;



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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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Seabirds have different strategies to survive storms

After analyzing over 300,000 hours of flight data from 18...

A team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/">Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization</a> (CSIRO) in Australia has discovered that sheep who undergo shared stressful events tend to huddle together afterwards, resembling the ways in which humans tend to bond after sharing traumatic events. These findings shed new light on how animals deal with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-gives-animals-a-survival-advantage-but-only-to-a-point/">stress</a> and open pathways for improving their well-being.



The experts gathered 70 adult female sheep which did not know one another and divided them into seven subgroups of ten ewes each. While some of these groups were exposed to various types of stressful events - such as being herded by a dog, being collared and held by a human, being transported in a trailer, or being subjected to crutching (the process of removing wool from their legs and tail with electric clippers) - others were not.



Afterwards, all the sheep were fitted with GPS devices to track their movements and were herded into a shared pasture. While at the beginning, the sheep who became acquainted prior to their division into subgroups herded together, shortly after they began to leave the newly formed groups and gather together with the sheep with which they partnered during the stressful events. By contrast, the sheep that were not exposed to stressful events remained in their original groups.



“We found they did start to spend time with those sheep they had shared the stress with compared to other sheep they didn’t know and didn’t have any kind of shared experience with,” said study senior author Dana Campbell, an expert in Animal Behavior at CSIRO. “We’re not sure of the communication mode, but yes, there seems to be something. It really points to how clever they are.”



These findings suggest that people should not underestimate the complexity, capability, and social intelligence of sheep. Moreover, the results could help farmers better understand how animals develop relationships and thus improve their well-being by allowing them to bond.



“Social bonding following a shared stressful experience aligns with human social relationships and increases our understanding of how animals perceive their conspecifics in relation to stressful environmental change,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0396">Current Biology</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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Sheep bond after sharing stressful experiences

A team of scientists led by the Commonwealth Scientific and...

Macro,Closeup,Of,Sarracenia,Flowers,Colorful,Leaves,,Carnivorous,Trumpet,Pitcher

Gall wasps are small insects that lay eggs on plants and, when the larvae hatch out, they secrete chemicals that induce the plant to form galls. These are atypical, tumor-like growths of tissue that bulge out from a leaf, stem or root, depending on where the adult laid her eggs. The galls grow to envelope the larvae which derive shelter, protection and nourishment from living inside the lump of tissue.&nbsp;



There are more than a thousand species of gall wasps, each one specializing on one particular species of host <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-harness-plant-energy-to-improve-solar-panels/">plant</a>. Although scientists have long known about gall-inducing insects and their life cycles, the mechanism by which the larvae actually induce a host plant to develop galls is not yet understood. In fact, the induction of plant galls is considered the most complex association between insects and plants in the natural world.



Galls are mostly dully colored and match the tissues of the plants on which they form. But the galls that are induced by one species of cynipid wasp (Amphibolips nubilipennis) on the leaves of red oak trees look like tiny, juicy fruits. Wondering what would protect these structures from being eaten by other herbivores, scientists from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> investigated the chemical composition of these fruit-like galls.&nbsp;



In previous research, galls have been found to have an accumulation of tannins on their surface, which protects them against being eaten. After all, the tiny larva that manipulates the plant to produce the gall in which it hides, does not wish to be consumed. Tannins seem to deter some insects from eating galls by decreasing the efficiency of protein digestion in their guts. The researchers used high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to analyze the chemicals found in translucent oak galls (TOGs).&nbsp;



Their results, published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0513">Biology Letters</a>, were quite surprising. The tiny wasp larvae induce the plant host to produce acids that have a pH of between 2 and 3, making them as acidic as lemon juice. Any herbivore that attempted to eat one of these translucent galls would be in for rather a sour shock. In fact, the interior of the gall is just as acidic as the fluid produced by pitcher plants to dissolve their insect prey.&nbsp;



“This is exciting because it represents a novel defense system, one we haven’t seen before,” said Antoine Guiguet, an entomologist at Penn State and lead author on a paper about the new discovery.



“It’s so fascinating because this is an animal using chemistry to force a plant to do its bidding,” said John Tooker, professor of entomology at Penn State and co-author on the study. “It's really a parasitic manipulation. The insect gets the plant to make the exact food it needs, which explains the nutritional hypothesis for why galls evolved, but undoubtedly, it has to be combined with a defense aspect, because if you have a good food source, other things are going to want to eat it.”&nbsp;



“We know that pH this low is rare in plants generally,” said Tooker. “And the pH that we measured was close to the acidic nature of what’s inside a pitcher plant, which is about the same as a lemon. We are hypothesizing that the role of this is defense. Anything that wants to bore in there would be deterred by that acidic environment.”



The researchers investigated the organic acids present in the oak gall tissue in more depth and compared them with acids found in other galls and in certain fruits. They found that malic acid, a common acid in apples, represents 66 percent of the organic acid detected in the oak galls. The concentration of malic acid was twice as high as in other galls – and twice as high as in apples.&nbsp;



“Malic acid is a fundamental component of the metabolism of cells, so it’s there within the oak, within all plant and animal cells, just at a low concentration,” said Guiguet. “What’s amazing is that this wasp is capable of inducing its accumulation in the storage compartment in plant cells, called a vacuole.”



With a pH level of between 2 and 3, the translucent oak gall is among the most acidic plant tissues measured to date. Until this discovery, only citrus fruit tissues were known to be capable of this extreme acidity, he explained. The researchers hypothesize the wasp could have developed acidic galls as an alternative strategy to the tannin accumulation observed in most other oak galls.&nbsp;



But unlike tannins, acidic environments could also prove an efficient deterrent of parasitoid wasps, which are the main enemies of cynipid wasps. The parasitoid wasps use a long, needle-like ovipositor to bore through a gall and lay an egg on the unsuspecting resident larva. When the parasitoid wasp egg hatches, it proceeds to eat the resident larva, all the while living protected inside the gall that the victim induced. The researchers hypothesize that the acidic environment inside the oak gall may damage the ovipositor and deter parasitoid wasps from laying their eggs there.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The molecular mechanism by which cynipid wasps induce galls remains a mystery,” said Guiguet. “Now we have added to this mystery by showing they have evolved with capability of altering pH.”



The authors conclude that the “accumulation of organic acid in gall tissues is convergent with fruit morphology and may constitute a new defensive strategy against predators and parasitoids.”



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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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Wasps create an acidic environment to deter predators

Gall wasps are small insects that lay eggs on plants...

Nearly half of the <a href="https://www.defence.gov.au/">Australian Defense Force</a> (ADF) members who transition from the forces to civilian life experience mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, or even suicidal thoughts, and almost a quarter of them are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Now, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a> (UniSA) has found that assistance <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/test-predicts-best-guide-dogs/">dogs</a> used in conjunction with traditional therapies provide the most effective treatment outcomes, with almost 90 percent of veterans reporting improvements in their PTSD, anxiety, and depression one year after being matched to an assistance dog provided by the&nbsp;<a href="https://clubrunner.blob.core.windows.net/00000050056/en-ca/files/homepage/operation-k9/Operation-K9-Flyer.pdf">Operation K9 Program</a>.



The experts used self-reported measures, clinical assessments, and face-to-face interviews with veterans to investigate the value of assistant dogs over time. The analysis revealed that an assistance dog was often seen as a “life changer” and constant companion, and helped returned veterans increase their social interactions. “For many veterans, an assistance dog gave them a sense of purpose and a reason to live,” said study senior author Miranda Van Hooff, an adjunct associate professor of Allied Health &amp; Human Performance at UniSA.



Veterans argued that assistance dogs helped them “reclaim their life,” by offering them independence and a way of managing their fluctuating emotions and other mental issues. Some of the participants described their dog as a “comfort or security blanket,” and one of them said he was a recluse for many years before being matched to an assistant dog. “Now, every day is an adventure, giving me something to look forward to,” he reported.



By demonstrating the power of human-animal relationships, these findings are of particular relevance to policymakers and mental health professionals. “Previous studies have shown that existing treatments for post-traumatic stress among returned veterans are not ideal, with high dropout rates and poor adherence,” said lead author Melissa Sherman, a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at UniSA.



“This study provides clear evidence that assistance dogs can play a key role in a veteran’s recovery from post-traumatic stress and other mental health conditions, supporting existing treatments.”



However, since the study was limited by the lack of a control group of veterans with mental health issues not receiving assistant dogs and the small number of participants due to the cost of breeding, training, and matching dogs, further research is needed to assess whether these findings hold for larger cohorts.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043607">International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health</a>.&nbsp;



—



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



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Assistance dogs improve mental health of veterans

Nearly half of the Australian Defense Force (ADF) members who...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/judge-us-reconsider-canadian-lynx-habitat/">Canada lynx</a> are famous for their long, black ear tufts and their amazing ability to hunt almost ghost-like across deep snow. While in the past this predator’s habitat extended from Alaska and Canada south into most of the Northern United States, currently the Canada lynx can only be found in several disjunct populations in Maine, Montana, Minnesota, Idaho, Colorado, and Washington.&nbsp;



However, according to a <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> (WSU)-led recent survey of Canada Lynx occupancy and density in the Glacier National Park in Montana, this region is home to over 50 specimens, residing across most of Glacier’s 1,600 square-mile area, although at lower densities than in the core of their range further north.



“The population in the park is still substantial and exceeded our expectations,” said study senior author Dan Thornton, a wildlife ecologist at WSU. “Our results suggest the park could provide a much-needed climate refuge for the cats in the future.”&nbsp;



Surveying lynx populations usually happens in the winter, when researchers can use bait to lure the animals to live traps. However, since Glacier is a highly difficult region to access in the wintertime, the scientists set up an array of 300 motion-sensitive cameras about a kilometer apart on hiking trails across much of the natural reserve, including some of its most remote areas. The recordings revealed that lynx are currently distributed not only across most of the park, but also at lower elevations. Thus, Glacier could turn out to be extremely important from a conservation point of view, possibly providing this endangered species a haven as climate continues to warm.



“The main question regarding the lynx’s survival is climate change. They are a cold-adapted species that needs deep snow. In Glacier at least, they have a lot of room to move up in elevation as the climate warms,” Thornton explained.



An important methodological innovation of the study was the use of cameras on both sides of trails in order to identify specific individuals based on their distinctive coat markings. “Lynx have pretty subtle markings compared to other cats and only on the inside of their front legs,” said lead author Alissa Anderson, a recent WSU master’s graduate. “So, we set up cameras on either side of the trail to attempt to get pictures of these markings that we could then use to identify individual cats in an area.”&nbsp;



Despite difficulties such as poor lighting, vegetation, or image blur, this method allowed the researchers to link approximately 75 percent of the photographed lynx to specific individuals. Then, by combining the results of the park-wide occupancy survey with density analysis, they estimated an overall population of about 1.28 lynx per 100 square kilometers of terrain. In future studies, the scientists aim to apply similar techniques to survey populations of Canada lynx in other regions, such as the entire Washington state.



“The methodological contribution of this study is really important in the sense that it gives us a better way to get at the number of individual lynx, which is really important for understanding recovery and how a population is doing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has to develop a recovery plan for the cats so the more information you have on the status of the population the better,” Thornton concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22383">Journal of Wildlife Management</a>.&nbsp;



—



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



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Canada lynx may need a climate refuge to survive

Canada lynx are famous for their long, black ear tufts...

A team of researchers from <a href="https://carleton.ca/">Carleton University</a> and the <a href="https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/">Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a> has found that social birds tend to be less dominant and competitive than solitary birds. The researchers used a large citizen science dataset of interactions among <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-flocks-social-relationships/">birds</a> foraging at backyard feeders in order to examine the relationship between sociality and dominance.



“We found that species’ sociality was inversely related to dominance,” explained study lead author Ilias Berberi, a PhD student in Biology at Carleton. “Using data collected from thousands of bird-watching volunteers, we measured the sociality of different species based on their typical group size when seen at bird feeders. Though some species are often found in groups, others tend to be loners. When we examined their dominance interactions, we found that more social species are weaker competitors. Overall, the more social bird species are less likely to evict competing species from the feeders.”



The scientists examined over 55,000 competitive interactions among 68 common bird species at backyard feeders, collected through <a href="https://feederwatch.org/">Project FeederWatch</a>, a Cornell Lab initiative which uses data collected by volunteers to monitor feeder birds from November to April every year.&nbsp;



Although the investigation revealed a lower level of competitiveness in the case of social species such as the House Finch, the American Goldfinch, or the Pine Siskin, the experts found that such birds often gain the upper hand when members of their own species are with them, managing to successfully displace less social birds like the Northern Mockingbird or the Red-bellied Woodpecker.



“Being a social species certainly has its advantages,” said study co-author Eliot Miller, a postdoctoral researcher in Ornithology at the Cornell Lab. “Social species appear better defended against predators, and also may benefit from increased foraging efficiency.”



In addition, the researchers observed that, although social species have fewer competitive interactions with other species, they tended to compete more among themselves.&nbsp;



“Overall, these results demonstrate that sociality can influence competition in ecological networks. More social species have decreased competitive ability as individuals, but they may gain competitive ability in groups,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1894">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</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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Social bird species are less competitive

A team of researchers from Carleton University and the Cornell...

Protected natural areas in the UK are struggling to halt declines in insects and <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/spiders-are-using-their-webs-to-extend-their-hearing/">spiders</a>. Protected habitats including nature reserves, Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) and Special Areas of Conservation have long been a key tool in conservation efforts.



A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006320722004372">new study</a> collating records for 1,230 invertebrate species between 1990 and 2018 suggests that protected areas can still experience biodiversity decline.



Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/">UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology</a> (UKCEH) found that while protected areas were richer in species than unprotected areas, both have suffered similar rates of decline in native insects and spiders over the past 30 years. In particular, the study found severe declines among pollinators, such as bees and hoverflies.



“We see parallel trends for invertebrates in both protected and unprotected areas,” said Dr. Rob Cooke, lead author of the study. “It is worrying, as you would expect species to show more positive trends in protected areas.”



The researchers used data from invertebrate recording schemes that contained observations of ants, bees, hoverflies, ladybirds, spiders and wasps. The team examined changes in biodiversity throughout the study period.



The results showed that there were almost double the number of rare species in protected areas compared to unprotected parts of the UK. These trends remained stable in both protected and unprotected areas, suggesting that rare species benefit from conservation efforts. However, strong declines were found for common species, especially in protected areas.



The study showed that between 1990-2018:



<ul><li>Occupancy of all invertebrates in protected areas declined by 12.8% while in unprotected areas it declined by 11.5%.</li><li>Pollinators declined by 17.5% in protected areas and 20.3% in unprotected areas</li><li>Common species declined by 12.8% in protected areas and 6% in unprotected areas</li></ul>



“Protected areas are often designated specifically to help rare species. But the more common species appear to be falling through the cracks. It should serve as a warning as today’s common species can be tomorrow’s rare species," said Dr. Cooke.



The experts suggest more can be done, such as evidence-based policies, targets and management focused more on the effectiveness, rather than just the coverage of protected areas. The research team is optimistic that this signals an opportunity to strengthen protected areas and better conserve biodiversity.



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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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Protected areas are failing to safeguard biodiversity

Protected natural areas in the UK are struggling to halt...

A new study led by thy <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has revealed that flamingos prefer to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-birds-and-bees-flock-to-gardens-with-rare-plants/">flock</a> with individuals they are compatible with. The research suggests that flamingo societies are more complex than what was previously realized.&nbsp;



In a collaboration with experts at the Wildfowl &amp; Wetlands Trust (WWT), the team analyzed the personalities and social behavior of Caribbean and Chilean flamingos.&nbsp;



"This research aimed to document how personality traits (aggressive, exploratory, submissive) influence the social network structure of highly social animals in a captive environment," wrote the study authors.



"Data were collected from separate flocks of captive Caribbean (Phoenicopterus ruber) and Chilean flamingos (Phoenicopterus chilensis) to identify relationships between birds and examine opportunities for social support."



The researchers found that birds of both species were more likely to spend time with flamingos that shared similar personalities.



“Our previous research has shown that individual flamingos have particular ‘friends’ within the flock,” said Dr. Paul Rose. “In this study, we wanted to find out whether individual character traits explain why these friendships form. The answer is yes - birds of a feather flock together."



“For example, bolder birds had stronger, more consistent ties with other bold birds, while submissive birds tended to spend their time with fellow submissive flamingos.”



Study co-author Fionnuala McCully said that, like humans, flamingos appear to carve out different roles in society based on their personality.&nbsp;



“For example, we observed groups of aggressive birds which attempt to dominate rivals and tend to get in more fights."



“Meanwhile, the role of submissive birds may be more complex than simply being lower down the pecking order – they may be using a different approach to get what they need."



“The various different personality groups provide social help to their members, for example by supporting each other in the many squabbles that take place in flamingo flocks," said McCully.



Among the Caribbean flamingos, personality types were associated with certain social roles within a group. This was not the case, however, among the Chilean birds. Further research is needed to understand these behavior patterns.



“Our findings need further investigation, both to help us understand the evolution of social behaviour and to improve the welfare of zoo animals," said Dr. Rose. “But it is clear from this research that a flamingo's social life is much more complicated than we first realised.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-29315-3">Scientific Reports</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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Flamingos of a feather flock together

A new study led by thy University of Exeter has...

Temperatures are rising faster in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-biodiversity-will-get-a-boost-from-rising-temperatures/">Arctic</a> than the global average, and this is affecting seasonal patterns of behavior in many species of animals. For migratory species that breed in the Arctic during summer, this is especially significant since the timing of migration, arrival and breeding is critical. Add to this the fact that migratory species may be experiencing increased anthropogenic pressures along their travel routes, and it becomes clear that times are very challenging for these animals. 



Species may respond by changing the timing of their migration and breeding, by extending their breeding range or altering their migration route. Some migratory species may remain to breed in traditional wintering areas, while others end up becoming vagrants in response to climate change. Mostly, these processes of adaptation take time to become established but a new study on pink-footed geese (Anser brachyrhynchus) has recorded a relatively rapid adjustment of behavior in response to climate change.



Traditionally, pink-footed geese breed in Svalbard in summer and then migrate southwards, via a narrow corridor along the west coast of Norway, to their wintering grounds in western Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium. However, many pressures and disturbances along this flyway over the past decades have made it less and less attractive to the geese. These include organized scaring by farmers at key stopover sites, agricultural crop changes and new hunting regulations that allow more geese to be harvested.&nbsp;



In a new study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.065">Current Biology</a>, researchers suggest that in response to these anthropogenic pressures, pink-footed geese have found a new migration route and breeding location which is almost 1,000 kilometers away from their original summer stomping grounds in Svalbard. Each year, more and more geese join the individuals flying to the new summer grounds, including geese of other species. The new population of pink-footed geese now numbers over 4,000 individuals.



“It is extremely fascinating to witness such rapid evolution of new breeding grounds and migratory route by a bird species that is regarded as being very traditional in its behavior and site use,” said Jesper Madsen of Aarhus University in Denmark. “It gives some hope for ‘ecological rescue’ at times of very radical environmental changes due to climate change and, more broadly, global change.”



“We observe a new distinct population of birds in the making, in real time,” he added. “This is very rare to observe. The speed of the development is astonishing.”



Madsen’s team has been studying Norway’s Svalbard population of pink-footed geese for more than 35 years. They’ve kept tabs on the population size and demographic variables, using a systematic marking and resighting program. About 20 years ago, they started getting reports of geese turning up on migration in Sweden and Finland, which were confirmed as members of the Svalbard population.



This long-term population monitoring and Capture-Mark-Recapture (CMR) program has enabled the researchers to follow the establishment of the new migration route from an early phase. In the 1990s, single individuals or small flocks of pink-footed geese were reported by the goose counting networks in southern Sweden during autumn and spring, and in western Finland during spring. Since the early 2000s, however, observations of flocks have become more regular and numbers have increased in both countries.&nbsp;



The new route takes birds from the wintering grounds in western Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium, via the west coast of Finland, to new breeding grounds on Novaya Zemlya, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean off the coast of Russia. As part of the monitoring program, some birds are fitted with marked neckbands and some with GPS tags, enabling scientists to map the locations of birds and even document nesting behavior in the new breeding areas.&nbsp;



“It was a real surprise to see that half of the marked individuals in Oulu [Finland] migrated northeast to Novaya Zemlya in north Russia,” said Madsen. “From the tagging information we could not only follow their new path but also got indications that females were breeding there. This site is around 1,000 kilometers east of the traditional Svalbard breeding grounds.



“It was also cool to observe that geese from the traditional flyway have turned up on the new route and seemed to have switched. Hence, social learning and following individuals from the new route has been an important phenomenon, which also explains how this development could be so fast.”



In their report, the researchers detail the abrupt formation of the new migration route and population of pink-footed geese over the course of 10 to 15 years. The population has grown over time due to successful breeding and high survival rates, combined with continued immigration of geese from the old route to the new one.



This development has only been possible due to the fact that rising temperatures have made the environment in Novaya Zemlya suitable for geese to inhabit in summer. While the new population is not genetically or demographically isolated yet, the researchers note that it does already qualify as a separate population. The researchers suggest that cultural transmission has enabled the species to colonize a new breeding area rapidly, and to establish a totally new migratory route, including new stopover and wintering sites.&nbsp;



The new route does have some disadvantages, Madsen says. For instance, it’s longer. But the researchers suspect the benefits of the new route and breeding grounds outweigh any downsides. The findings in geese show the importance of social learning when it comes to adapting to a changing planet, Madsen notes, especially in social animals, including birds but perhaps also in hoofed ungulates, wolves, and whales.



“At this time, when climate change and other human activities threaten many species, not least the Arctic ones, social learning can be a behavior that can provide advantages to avoid some negative impacts, at least in the short term,” said Madsen.



The researchers say they hope one day to observe the geese in their new breeding grounds in Russia. For now, they’ll keep an eye on the future development of the new population using GPS-tracking devices and remote sensing of the new environment.



—



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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Arctic geese adapt by finding a new migratory route

Temperatures are rising faster in the Arctic than the global...

Blue whales, the largest living creatures on Earth, nearly went extinct due to whaling practices of the 20th century. They remain listed as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/california-spotted-owl-officially-listed-as-endangered/">endangered</a> under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Due to their low population numbers, scientists are finding more ways to protect blue whales.



In 2018, researchers from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a>, including Dawn Barlow and Leigh Torres, discovered that a population of pygmy blue whales (B. m. brevicauda) in South Taranaki Bight, New Zealand &nbsp;is genetically distinct from other Blue Whale populations.



To be classified as a resident species and gain more protection, the experts needed to show that this unique whale population was breeding in the area.&nbsp;



The researchers placed five underwater microphones, or hydrophones, on the ocean floor. They were able to collect near-continuous data between 2016 and 2018.



“Unlike many other baleen whales, this population stays in this region year-round,” explained Barlow. “That means we can monitor what they are doing from one location. Listening is an effective way to do that.”



“Although no one has actually documented blue whales mating – it is hard to observe that directly – the increase in song during the expected time of mating is a strong indication of breeding in New Zealand waters,” said Torres. “Our study adds more evidence that these are resident New Zealand blue whales.”



The researchers also found a link between environmental conditions and behavior. They found that the 2016 heat wave affected the whales’ feeding behavior and possibly their breeding behavior.&nbsp;



“During the marine heatwave, feeding-related calls were reduced, reflecting poor foraging conditions during that period,” said Barlow. “But we also saw changes in vocalizations in the next breeding period, an indication that they put less effort into reproduction following a period of poor feeding conditions.”



The data is critical to the future protection of blue whales, considering warmer oceans may reduce their reproductive activity.&nbsp;



“We have come so far in 10 years in our knowledge of these blue whales - from not knowing this population existed to now understanding their year-round use of this region for feeding, mating and nursing,” said Torres. “New Zealanders should be excited and proud that their country is home to its own unique population of blue whales. We hope our work helps Kiwis manage and protect these whales.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.9770">Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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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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Warming oceans may reduce blue whale reproduction

Blue whales, the largest living creatures on Earth, nearly went...

Scientists have long known that browsing by large animals such as moose, which consume a high number of plants that would otherwise act as carbon sinks, could be an overlooked source of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/land-carbon-stores-are-increasingly-destabilized/">carbon</a> emissions. Now, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/">Norwegian University of Science and Technology</a> (NTNU) has found that moose can greatly reduce carbon storage in clearcut sites. This reduction in sequestered carbon is equivalent to as much as 60 percent of the annual fossil fuel carbon emissions from a region.&nbsp;



“Moose are an ecosystem engineer in the forest ecosystem, and strongly impact everything from the species composition and nutrient availability in the forest,” said study co-author Gunnar Austrheim, an ecologist at NTNU. “A grown animal can eat 50 kilograms of biomass each day during summer.”



Since moose prefer to eat young deciduous trees such as birch, rowan, and willow, the young saplings that would usually sprout in a forest after a timber company clearcuts an area never get the change to grow and thus bind up CO2 in their trunks, leaves, and roots at maturity. “It was really a surprise to see how much moose can influence vegetation growth, the carbon cycle, and the climate system,” said co-author Xiangping Hu, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/web/indecol/industrial-ecology-programme">Industrial Ecology Program</a> (IndEcol) at NTNU.



“One of the biggest unknowns that we have in our understanding of the climate system and the carbon cycle is potentially the effect of larger animals, and how they interact with carbon storage in vegetation,” added co-author Francesco Cherubini, the director of IndEcol.



“This study gave us a great opportunity to quantify this effect. We have some numbers that we can relate to the regional carbon budget, and which actually show the importance of large animals like the moose.”



Although previous research has found that moose can be of help to the forest industry – since, by thinning out the deciduous trees they reduce the competition to species preferred by the industry, such as pines or spruce – the current findings suggest that these animals may negatively impact biodiversity and the climate. However, the researchers hope to find a right balance between moose numbers and how forested lands are managed in order to limit excess carbon emissions, boost biodiversity, and increase forest productivity.



“I think as we get more of an understanding of how all these different things are interrelated, land managers could come up with an optimal plan. That could be a much needed win-win solution for climate, for biodiversity, and for timber value,” Cherubini concluded.



The study is published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2022JG007279">Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences</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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Moose contribute to global warming

Scientists have long known that browsing by large animals such...

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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 



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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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



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

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