In the vast, featureless expanse of the open ocean, sardines rely on their collective behavior to survive against predators such as the striped marlin.&nbsp;



A recent study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s42003-024-07267-2" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Communications Biology</a>, has delved into the predator-prey interactions between sardine shoals (Sardinops sagax caerulea) and striped marlins (Kajikia audax).



The research uncovers how sardines use self-organized maneuvers to evade predators - and how predators exploit these strategies.



The study was conducted by a team of scientists from the <a href="https://www.scienceofintelligence.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence” (SCIoI)</a>, <a href="https://www.hu-berlin.de/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin</a>, the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), and the University of Cambridge.



The team utilized computational modeling and aerial video footage to analyze these behaviors.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sardine-survival-strategy-the-fountain-effect-nbsp">Sardine survival strategy: The “fountain effect”&nbsp;</h2>



One of the most striking maneuvers observed during attacks is the “fountain effect.” This collective response emerges when a sardine shoal splits into two subgroups, creating an arched trajectory around the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-predator-found-in-one-of-the-deepest-parts-of-the-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">predator</a> before rejoining behind it. 



This pattern is an effective defensive mechanism that helps sardines outmaneuver faster, less agile predators.



The fountain effect not only allows prey to evade attacks but also enables the separated subgroups to reunite, preserving the benefits of group cohesion.&nbsp;



According to the experts, the fountain effect helps slower-moving prey to outmaneuver the fast but less maneuverable predator. This also allows the separated subgroups to rejoin after the attack - retaining the benefits of belonging to a larger group - and to be fully prepared for the next attack.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sardines-maximizing-their-survival-chances">Sardines maximizing their survival chances</h2>



Despite its advantages, the fountain effect comes with trade-offs. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/japanese-sardines-may-be-signaling-major-shifts-in-the-ocean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sardines</a> face a balance between distancing themselves from the predator and minimizing the time it takes to regroup. 



The researchers’ simulations revealed that the optimal “prey-fleeing angle” is 30 degrees, which maximizes survival chances but increases the time required for the shoal to recover its cohesion.



Lead researcher Palina Bartashevich is an expert in collective behavior at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin.&nbsp;



“Using agent-based computer simulations, we discovered that there is an optimal ‘prey-fleeing angle’ of 30°, which not only produces a fountain-like pattern at the collective level but also maximizes individual survival chances independent of the attack direction,” explained Bartashevich.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“But we also showed that this comes at a cost: the group takes longer to recover after an attack.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-marlins-work-around-the-sardines-strategy">Marlins work around the sardines’ strategy</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/striped-marlin-demonstrate-the-advantages-of-group-hunting/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Striped marlins</a> capitalize on this delay by attacking from the sides, a strategy that disrupts the group’s cohesion and isolates individual prey. 



The study confirmed that side attacks were the most effective for marlins, as they increase the time it takes for the group to reassemble.



The researchers observed distinct differences in sardine behavior based on the direction of the marlins’ attacks. Side attacks often triggered the fountain effect, causing the shoal to split and regroup.&nbsp;



Conversely, back attacks led to more cohesive evasive movements, with the entire group fleeing in a single direction rather than splitting.



“With our predator-prey computer model, we were able to predict that if the prey in the group uses the mentioned optimal fleeing angle of 30°, predators are more effective in attacking from the side of the school,” Bartashevich explained.&nbsp;



“That’s because attacking from the sides represents the best compromise between getting close to the prey and increasing their splitting time, making it an efficient strategy for a predator balancing both objectives at the same time.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-constant-battle-between-predator-and-prey">Constant battle between predator and prey</h2>



The study highlights the dynamic and adaptive nature of predator-prey interactions. Sardines use collective behaviors to enhance their chances of survival, while marlins refine their hunting techniques to counter these defenses. This ongoing evolutionary arms race underscores the complexity of life in the ocean’s open waters.



By combining computational modeling with real-world observations, the researchers were able to provide new insights into the strategies used by both predators and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-predator-prey-feast-ever-seen-in-the-ocean-enormous-quickly-altered-food-chain/">prey</a>.&nbsp;



“Our simulations, as explained above, provide a plausible explanation as to why the prevalence of both side and back attack directions and the observed prey response can be the case, suggesting that there is an ongoing arm wrestle between predators and prey in the strategies they use to improve their own success at the expense of the other,” Bartashevich concluded.



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Dance of survival: How sardines outsmart striped marlins in the open ocean

In the vast, featureless expanse of the open ocean, sardines rely on their collective behavior to survive against predators such as the striped marlin.&nbsp; A recent study, published in the journal Communications Biology, has delved into the predator-prey interactions between sardine shoals (Sardinops sagax caerulea) and striped marlins (Kajikia audax). The research uncovers how sardines use self-organized maneuvers to evade predators - and how predators exploit these strategies. The study was conducted by a team of scientists from the Cluster of Excellence “Science of Intelligence” (SCIoI), Humboldt-Universität...

For over 25 years, drug hunters have been searching for the source of eleutherobin - a natural chemical which has shown promise for treating cancer in initial trials. Now, a research team led by the <a href="https://healthcare.utah.edu/">University of Utah Health</a> has discovered that easy-to-find soft <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-coral-communities-are-doing-better-than-expected/">corals</a> (flexible corals resembling underwater plants) produce this elusive compound. By identifying this source, as well as the corals’ DNA code for synthesizing the chemical, scientists were already able to begin recreating this potentially therapeutic compound in the laboratory.



Soft corals are known to harbor thousands of chemical compounds that could act as anti-inflammatory agents, antibiotics, and other types of drugs. In the 1990s, marine scientists found that a rare coral near Australia carried eleutherobin, a chemical used by corals as a defense against predators. Laboratory investigations showed that this compound could also act as a potent inhibitor of cancer cell growth. However, for over two decades, scientists could not manage to find the chemical in the quantities needed for drug development.



The researchers analyzed samples from soft corals living off the Florida coast to find out whether their genetic code carried instructions for making the compound. Although they did not initially know what the instructions for making the chemical should look like, they searched for regions of coral DNA that resembled genetic instructions for similar kinds of compounds from other species.&nbsp;



After programming lab-grown bacteria to follow coral DNA instructions specific to the soft corals, the microorganisms appeared able to replicate the first steps of producing this potential cancer therapeutic. This proved not only that soft coral are major sources of eleutherobin, but also that this precious compound could be easily manufactured in the laboratory.



“This is the first time we have been able to do this with any drug lead on Earth,” said study senior author Eric Schmidt, a professor of Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Utah Health. “These compounds are harder to find but they’re easier to make in the lab and easier to take as medicine.”



Professor Schmidt and his team hope that, in the near future, drugs derived from these compounds could be given as pills with a glass of water, rather than by injection or other more invasive means.



“My hope is to one day hand these to a doctor,” said study lead author Paul Scesa, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Utah Health. “I think of it as going from the bottom of the ocean to bench to bedside.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41589-022-01027-1">Nature Chemical Biology</a>.



----



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

Chemical found in soft corals could be used to treat cancer

For over 25 years, drug hunters have been searching for...

Wandering salamanders can parachute and glide from some of the world’s tallest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-value-of-trees-far-exceeds-their-commercial-value/">trees</a>. According to a new study published by Cell Press, the salamanders manage to do this by using postures much like those used by skydivers to slow and control their fall.



“Although hundreds of species of lungless salamanders are known to climb, aerial behavior had not been described,” said study lead author Christian Brown, a doctoral candidate at the University of South Florida.



“Our investigation of aerial behavior revealed that highly arboreal species of salamanders, especially the wandering salamander (Aneides vagrans), reliably engage in parachuting and gliding to slow and direct their descent.”



Brown said that since the first time he read about wandering salamanders in National Geographic magazine, he could never stop thinking about them. Years later, he found that the amphibians would jump from his hand before quickly assuming skydiving postures. Brown set out to investigate whether this behavior takes place in nature.



Using a series of wind-tunnel experiments, the researchers observed that salamanders parachuted consistently, and were able to slow their vertical speed by up to 10 percent while falling. About half of the time, the animals also used their tail and torso when gliding at non-vertical angles.



“To observe salamanders, which are generally associated with ponds and streams, in the air is a bit unexpected in and of itself,” said Brown. “Most surprising to us was the exquisite level of control that the more arboreal salamanders had in the vertical wind tunnel. Wandering salamanders were especially adept and seemed to instinctively deploy skydiving postures upon first contact with the airstream."



“These salamanders were not only able to slow themselves down, but also used fine-scale control in pitch, roll, and yaw to maintain upright body postures, execute banking turns, and glide horizontally. This level of aerial control was unexpected because these salamanders do not seem to possess conspicuous features for aerial control.”



Brown said what he finds most noteworthy is that the salamanders, and presumably other animals, don’t necessarily need flashy control surfaces such as webbing or skin flaps to parachute and glide. He wonders what other animals might have hidden skydiving abilities. 



“Scientists have barely scratched the surface in studying the redwood canopy ecosystem and the unique fauna it has shaped through evolutionary time,” said Brown. “With the climate changing at an unprecedented rate, it is vitally important that we collect more data on animals like wandering salamanders so we may better understand, protect, and preserve this delicate ecosystem.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.



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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

Some salamanders use skydiving postures to parachute out of trees

Wandering salamanders can parachute and glide from some of the...

Children who grow up in a large family, or with a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cannabis-poisoning-in-pets-is-on-the-rise/">pet</a> dog, may have some protection from Crohn’s disease, according to a new study from the <a href="https://gastro.org/">American Gastroenterological Association</a>.



Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that affects around half a million people in the U.S. It most often develops in young adults, people who smoke, and those with a close family member who has irritable bowel syndrome. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain and weight loss. Treatments currently aim to prevent symptom flare-ups through diet modification, medication, and surgery.



“Our study seems to add to others that have explored the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ which suggests that the lack of exposure to microbes early in life may lead to lack of immune regulation toward environmental microbes,” said study senior author Dr. Williams Turpin, a research associate with Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto.



An environmental questionnaire was used to collect information from nearly 4,300 first-degree relatives of people with Crohn’s disease enrolled in the Crohn’s and Colitis Canada Genetic, Environmental, and Microbial (CCC-GEM) project.&nbsp;



The research team analyzed several environmental factors, including family size, pet dogs or cats, the number of bathrooms in the house, living on a farm, drinking unpasteurized milk and drinking well water. The analysis also included age at the time of exposure.



The results showed that exposure to dogs from ages 5 to 15 was linked to healthy gut permeability and balanced microbes in the gut and the body’s immune response. These factors are all likely to help protect against Crohn’s disease. In other age groups that had exposure to dogs, similar effects were observed.



Interestingly, the research team did not find the same association with pet cats. “It could potentially be because dog owners get outside more often with their pets or live in areas with more green space, which has been shown previously to protect against Crohn’s," said Dr. Turpin.&nbsp;



The findings also suggest that living with three or more family members in the first year of life was associated with microbiome composition later in life. It is not yet clear why dog ownership or living in a larger family provides protection from Crohn’s.



The gut microbiome is believed to play an important role in many health conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, colorectal cancer, diabetes, and high blood pressure.



Dr. Turpin and his colleagues hope their work can help physicians when diagnosing patients with Crohn’s disease to help determine risk.&nbsp;



The research will be presented at <a href="https://gastro.org/digestive-disease-week-ddw/">Digestive Disease Week</a> (DDW) 2022.



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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

Children with pet dogs have a lower risk of Crohn’s disease

Children who grow up in a large family, or with...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/">British Ecological Society</a> has found that targeted conservation measures are needed to protect bumblebees. Of the 24 bumblebee species found in the UK, one third are listed as species of conservation concern, threatened by loss and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forest-degradation-is-a-major-cause-of-bird-population-declines/">degradation</a> of nesting and feeding habitat.&nbsp;



For the investigation, the researchers used 10 years of data from the Bumblebee Conservation Trust’s BeeWalk scheme collected by citizen scientists. The study provides the most detailed overview of bumblebee habitat requirements across the UK.



The data from the BeeWalk scheme was combined with land cover data, climate date and detailed observer-collected habitat data. This allowed the researchers to look at associations between 14 UK bumblebee species and types of habitat.



A wide range of differences was found between the species and the types of habitat they are associated with. This suggests that a one-size-fits-all approach to conservation will not protect all species,&nbsp; and that conservation efforts need to be carefully tailored.



The experts identified the kinds of habitat that could be used for conservation. Arable areas were found to be important for rare species like the large garden bumblebee (Bombus ruderatus), the largest species in the UK. Whereas large areas of semi-natural land, like moorland, were important for species such as the moss and the brown-banded carder bees (Bombus muscorum and Bombus humilis), and the bilberry bumblebee (Bombus monticola).



“Our results suggest that reversing the loss of semi-natural areas such as wetlands may be the single most generally effective action for bumblebee conservation, while improving habitats in urban and arable areas could benefit particular rare species. As one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world it’s really important that we better protect our native species and habitats in the UK," said Dr. Penelope Whitehorn of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, who led the study.



"Our study highlights the value of citizen science for understanding bumblebees and their habitats. Citizen science also gives everyone a chance to contribute to protecting these species.”



The study also identified the different habitats of individual bumblebees. The queens and males were associated with areas of scrub, bracken and herbs - habitats that are good for nesting. By contrast, workers were more commonly associated with hedges and lanes, suggesting that these areas are valuable for providing food.



“Bumblebees need areas with lots of flowers available from March right through to September/October. Bees lose this vital resource when habitats are lost entirely because they’re either built on or changed into other environments or degraded through things like pesticide use," explained Richard Comont.



As with many studies that rely on volunteers, the researchers did detect biases. Namely, a bias towards urban areas as volunteers selected sites to monitor bumblebees that were close to where they live. However, the scale of volunteer efforts still covered a wide range of landscapes, allowing for statistically robust findings.



“We’d like to find out why different species are associated with different habitats, so we can create and preserve the right conditions for them in the future," said Dr. Whitehorn. "We also need to better understand how shifting climate and land uses might affect bumblebees and their habitats.”



This study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652664">Journal of Applied Ecology</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

Multiple habitats must be protected to save bumblebees

A new study from the British Ecological Society has found...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a> has found that nighttime <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/light-pollution-has-increased-almost-everywhere/">light pollution</a> can interfere with the extraordinary navigational abilities of monarch butterflies, which often travel from Canada to Mexico during multigenerational migrations. Since artificial nightlights interfere with butterflies’ circadian rhythms, the animals often become disoriented and fly when they should be resting.



Scientists have long known that light pollution can significantly disrupt normal circadian rhythms and sleep-wake cycles of both wildlife and humans. For instance, previous studies have shown that city lights interfere with the navigation of animals such as baby sea turtles, which mistake the artificial lights for the glow of the moon on the ocean, and head out of the water when they should in fact be hatching.&nbsp;



While researchers have already investigated in great depth the effects of light pollution on birds and other animals that migrate at night, animals that migrate during the day, such as the monarch butterflies, have received far less attention.



Although the erratic, circuitous movements taking them to and fro across gardens or orchards can make it difficult to imagine that these creatures are able to stick to a rigid flight plan, their mass migrations across entire continents is a clear proof that they have remarkable navigational capacities.&nbsp;



For instance, millions of monarch butterflies living east of the Rocky Mountains leave their summer breeding grounds in southern Canada and northern US, and travel as much as 4,000 kilometers to overwintering sites across Mexico. They can take up to five generations during this cross-continent journey, which is made possible by amazingly precise internal clocks that tell them where to orient themselves in relation to the position of the sun.



Yet, researchers have now found that monarchs exposed to nighttime light pollution – such as street lamps above their tree roosts – can experience a phase shift, making their bodies think that it’s either earlier or later than it really is. “It’s like jet lag,” said study senior author Patrick Guerra, an assistant professor of Biology at the University of Cincinnati. “Essentially, their sense of time is disturbed.”&nbsp;



By conducting controlled laboratory experiments that simulated and isolated the effects of light trespass perturbation on the monarchs, Professor Guerra and his team found clear evidence that light pollution disrupts the animals’ day-night cycle. Thus, if we want to be hospitable to these beautiful creatures, we should protect them from exposure to nightlights. “It’s something to think about if you’re making a pollinator garden or if you want to be eco-friendly,” Guerra&nbsp;advised.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2022.104310">iScience</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Light pollution disorients monarch butterflies

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

Pterosaur,Scene,3d,Illustration

With gigantic wings that reach 10 meters in length, the Quetzalcoatlus was the largest flying species to have ever lived. One of the most exciting moments of the new Jurassic Park sequel, Jurassic World Dominion, is when one of these giant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mystery-solved-pterosaurs-had-colorful-feathers/">pterosaurs</a> swoops down and attacks the heroes’ aircraft.&nbsp;



However, researchers from <a href="https://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/">Nagoya University</a> suggest that the movie gets it wrong. By undertaking aerodynamic analysis, the experts have demonstrated that Quetzalcoatlus would not have been able to fly more than a short distance.&nbsp;



The research team compared the ability of extinct giant flying creatures and modern birds to soar using wind and air currents in an energy-efficient way..



There are two types of soaring: thermal soaring, which uses updrafts to ascend and glide, such as eagles and frigatebirds; and dynamic soaring, which uses wind gradients over the ocean, as in the case of albatrosses and petrels.&nbsp;



The performance of thermal and dynamic soaring was calculated for four extinct species and compared to the performance of present-day birds. The research team found that the famous Pteranodon of Jurassic Park III fame likely excelled at soaring using updrafts over the sea, similar to modern frigatebirds.



However, the study found that Quetzalcoatlus was not suited for soaring flight even when atmospheric density parameters were changed. This was largely due to the proportions of its large wings and large body size resulting in poor performance.



“This suggests that the wind conditions under which Quetzalcoatlus could conduct sustainable thermal soaring were limited," explained the study authors&nbsp; Although it had previously been thought that Quetzalcoatlus was a proficient thermal soarer able to cover 10,000 miles without touching the ground, our studies show that its thermal soaring abilities were below that of modern birds."&nbsp;



"We suppose that&nbsp; the flight styles of Quetzalcoatlus and other similar sized pterosaurs were similar to those of the kori bustard that is a short-range flyer and spend most of their time on land.”&nbsp;



The experts also looked at two extinct giant birds, Argentavis magnificens, the heaviest flying bird that ever existed, and Pelagornis sandersi, which had the largest known wingspan. Here, a surprising discovery was found. Like previous studies which showed that Argentavis was suited to thermal soaring, the results of the current study found that Pelagornis was suited to thermal soaring, (despite previous studies that thought the bird used dynamic soaring).



While these findings were released too late to improve Jurassic World Dominion, the results will likely change the way extinct giant birds and pterosaurs are portrayed in future sequels.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/pnasnexus">PNAS Nexus</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

Jurassic Park was wrong about how fast pterosaurs could fly

With gigantic wings that reach 10 meters in length, the...

A new strategy using technology like satellites and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/drones-can-help-monitor-the-health-of-remote-seabird-colonies/">drones</a> can provide key information to protect pollinators. The researchers examined innovative ways of using these techniques to track the availability of flowers. When combined with behavioral studies, this could help us see the world through the eyes of insects.



The flowers that are available to insects can vary, and human activities are changing landscapes in ways that affect pollinators. The University of Exeter researchers hope their findings can help better understand these changes, leading to better conservation.



"Recent advances in drone and satellite technology have created new opportunities," said lead author Dunia Gonzales, from the <a href="https://psychology.exeter.ac.uk/research/centres/crab/">Centre for Research in Animal Behaviour</a> at the University of Exeter.



"Drones can now give us fine details of a landscape - on the scale of individual flowers - and combining this with satellite imagery, we can learn about the food available to pollinators across a large area."



"Along with behavioral studies of insects, this will help us understand the threats they face and how to design conservation programmes.”



Pollinator species, including wild bees, provide key services such as pollinating food crops. Sadly, many pollinator species are in decline.&nbsp;



The research team believes that their work can help protect the great diversity of pollinator species that play vital roles in our ecosystems. This is more urgent now than ever before, as the impacts of climate change on pollinator behavior and habitats are unknown.



"Up to now, most research using satellites has focussed on large-scale agricultural landscapes such as oilseed rape, maize and almond farms," said Gonzales. "We highlight the need to study landscapes with complex communities of plants and pollinators."



"These vary from place to place – and using satellites and drones together is a good way to learn about these local differences.”



The paper is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>. The article is part of a special issue called "What sensory ecology might learn from landscape ecology" edited by Brazilian researchers.



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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

Drones can assist efforts to save bees and other pollinators

A new strategy using technology like satellites and drones can...

Baby sea <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/thousands-of-sea-turtles-still-dying-on-the-east-african-coast/">turtles</a>, including leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), typically hatch at night. The young leatherbacks use the difference of light reflecting off the sea to orient themselves. It’s because of this method of navigation that turtles which hatch near inhabited areas often crawl toward the light from buildings and away from the ocean.&nbsp;



While trying to find the ocean, leatherback babies sometimes crawl in circles. This "circling" behavior depletes energy and leaves the young turtle at greater risk of being picked off by a predator such as a crab or gull.



To understand why circling happens in leatherbacks, researchers at <a href="https://www.fau.edu/">Florida Atlantic University</a> first studied how sensitive the babies are to light. The scientists determined that compared to hard-shelled loggerhead sea turtles, leatherbacks are 10 to 100 times less sensitive to light.



The research, which was published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/animal-behaviour">Animal Behaviour</a>, revealed that leatherback circling increased when there was a new moon and the night sky was at its darkest. On the other hand, loggerheads rarely circled, even when they had little light to guide their way. The results are surprising because while leatherbacks feed during both day and night, loggerheads are known to only be active during daylight hours.          



“Leatherback eyes are less sensitive to all wavelengths of light than loggerheads, and during a dark night, they experience difficulty in determining the location of the seaward horizon,” said study first author Samantha Trail.



“Even so, leatherback hatchlings eventually crawl to the sea, even during new moon. It just takes them longer because they stop occasionally to circle, which we think enables them to re-evaluate, and eventually confirm, the correct crawl direction.”



The real question is why leatherback turtles would remain less sensitive to light when it's so important for their survival. From an evolutionary perspective this is a major cost.&nbsp;



The scientists theorize that leatherbacks haven’t evolved more light sensitivity because their difference in vision has other benefits. Perhaps having less light sensitive eyes allows them to better find prey, mates or suitable habitat - which is possible because loggerheads live in different parts of the ocean.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Baby leatherbacks are blind to the ocean

Baby sea turtles, including leatherbacks (Dermochelys coriacea), typically hatch at...

Humans rely on a variety of cues to identify their friends, including their voices and smiles, or the way they talk. Biologists have long known that dolphins too can form close friendships with their conspecifics, and they can identify their friends by their unique whistles. Now, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/">University of St Andrews</a> in Scotland has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthpedia-articles/are-bottlenose-dolphins-really-that-smart/">bottlenose dolphins</a> also rely on a very surprising cue to recognize their pals: the taste of their urine.



The researchers conducted a series of experiments on captive dolphins at the <a href="https://dolphinquest.com/">Dolphin Quest</a> facilities in Hawaii and Bermuda, where they knew which dolphins were familiar with each other based on who had lived together for at least five years. By pouring both familiar and unfamiliar urine samples into a pool, they discovered that dolphins spent about three times longer investigating the familiar urine than the unfamiliar one.



“We still know very little about how the sense of taste works in dolphins,” said study senior author Vincent Janik, a professor of Biology at the University of St Andrews. “Other studies have shown that they lost a lot of the common tastes that we find in other mammals such as sour, sweet, umami, or bitter. But they have unusual sensory cells on their tongue that are probably involved in this detection of individual tastes of other animals.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



“It is likely that dolphins use a lipid taste receptor to identify urine cues in their fellow dolphins,” added study lead author Jason Bruck, an assistant professor of Physical and Social Ecology at the <a href="https://www.sfasu.edu/">Stephen F. Austin State University</a> in Texas, who conducted this research during a fellowship at the University of St. Andrews.&nbsp;



In order to test whether dolphins had a paired understanding of other dolphins’ cues – if their whistles and urine were connected in their minds – Professor Bruck and his colleagues performed an “expectation violation” experiment, in which they exposed dolphins to incorrect urine-whistle combinations.&nbsp;



While the dolphins did not pay much attention in the case of mismatches, when they encountered a correct urine-whistle pair, they explored the area for an average of 10 seconds longer. These results suggest that dolphins can identify conspecifics by taste alone, but can also integrate information from acoustic and taste inputs.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Future research is needed to clarify the mechanisms through which dolphins use gustatory cues to identify their conspecifics, and to investigate how commercial and industrial chemicals might affect dolphins’ “urine cuing.”&nbsp;



“We may find that oil spills, chemical runoff and other human effects can impede the dolphins’ natural ability to chemically signal to one another. This might prevent males from identifying reproductively capable females or diminish dolphins’ abilities to recognize individuals through honest signals,” Professor Bruck concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abm7684">Science Advances</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

Dolphins recognize their friends by the taste of their urine

Humans rely on a variety of cues to identify their...

Caring for insects as pets may sound strange, but thousands of people all over the world already have praying mantises and other stick <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-have-found-a-terrifying-decline-in-flying-insects/">insects</a> as pets, according to a new report from <a href="https://pensoft.net/">Pensoft Publishers</a>.



Praying mantises are gaining popularity and fueling a largely unknown market. They are sold at fairs and pet markets, or collected in the wild and then reared by amateurs or professionals.&nbsp;



Some are elegant, with flower-like coloration (the Orchid Mantis, Hymenopus coronatus), and some resemble Pokémons (the Jeweled Flower Mantis, Creobroter wahlbergii). Surprisingly, some of these creatures can even be cuddled (the Giant Shield Mantis Rhombodera basalis).



When selecting an insect as a pet, features such as shape, size, colors, and behaviors are considered. Customers also shop for species that are rare or easy to care for.&nbsp;



It is important to understand how this market, which is largely unregulated, is changing. This could be crucial to conserve rare species and promote awareness of their habitat and place in the ecosystem.



Now, researchers have published a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3897/jor.31.71458">first overview</a> of the praying mantis pet market. The research team includes Roberto Battiston of Museo di Archeologia e Scienze Naturali G. Zannato (Italy), William di Pietro of the World Biodiversity Association (Italy) and entomologist Kris Anderson (USA).&nbsp;



The study authors surveyed 200 hobbyists, professional sellers in the mantis community from 28 different countries. The results showed that the targets of this market are indeed predictable. The typical mantis breeder or enthusiast is 19 to 30 years old, prefers beautiful species over rare ones, and is willing to spend over $30 per insect.&nbsp;



The researchers identified buyers as “mostly curious enthusiasts with poor knowledge of the market dynamics and the laws behind it, even if they seem to generally care about their pet.”



But the data suggests the trade is not always legal. One out of four instances lack permits or transparency from the seller. To ensure these species are conserved in nature, the researchers emphasize that collaboration between scientists and the insect pet community should be considered.&nbsp;



The biology, distribution, and threats to insects are largely unknown. Many species are still waiting to be discovered. This is a big limit to conservation, since you cannot protect what you don’t know.



“Hobbyists and pet insect enthusiasts are producing and sharing a huge quantity of observations on the biology and ecology of hundreds of species, even rare or still undescribed ones, a priceless heritage for the scientific community,” said the researchers.&nbsp;



“Strengthening the dialogue between them, promoting a white market over a black one, may be a crucial help for the conservation of these insects, fundamental parts of the biodiversity of our planet, that are replacing our traditional pets at home.”



The research is published in the <a href="https://jor.pensoft.net/">Journal of Orthoptera Research</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

Praying mantises are becoming more popular as pets

Caring for insects as pets may sound strange, but thousands...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/acv.12788">Animal Conservation</a> has provided the first global evaluation of all terrestrial vertebrate species that have not been declared <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pink-pigeons-need-a-genetic-rescue-to-survive-extinction/">extinct</a> in order to identify which of these species have not been spotted for at least 50 years, and are thus considered to be “lost,” but perhaps not yet fully extinct. By reviewing information on 32,802 species from the IUCN Red List, the experts have identified 562 such lost species.



The IUCN considers a species as extinct “when there is no reasonable doubt the last individual of a species has died,” and declared a total of 311 terrestrial vertebrate species as extinct since 1500. However, according to the study authors, extinction declarations are rare, partly due to inherent uncertainties in knowing when the last individual of the species has died. 



"This has led to the growth of a group of ‘lost’ species that have not been observed in decades or even centuries, yet are not declared extinct, and as such possess an uncertain conservation status," said the researchers.



From the 562 species that are considered lost, the Red List categorizes 75 as “possibly extinct.” Among this list, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-in-five-reptiles-is-currently-at-risk-of-extinction/">reptiles</a> lead the way with 257 lost species, followed by 137 species of amphibians, 130 of mammals, and 38 of birds. Most of these species were last spotted in megadiverse countries such as Indonesia (69 species), Mexico (33), and Brazil (29).



While not surprising, this distribution of lost species is particularly worrying. “The fact most of these lost species are found in megadiverse tropical countries is worrying, given such countries are expected to experience the highest numbers of extinctions in the coming decades,” explained study lead author Thomas Martin from the <a href="https://www.paigntonzoo.org.uk/">Paignton Zoo</a> in the United Kingdom.



According to study senior author Arne Mooers, a professor of Biodiversity at the<a href="https://www.sfu.ca/"> Simon Fraser University</a>, future survey efforts concentrated on the identified “hotspots” where the existence of many species is uncertain are needed to either rediscover lost species or to remove the reasonable doubt that a particular lost species actually still exists. 



“While theoretical estimates of ongoing ‘extinction rates’ are fine and good, looking hard for actual species seems better,” Professor Mooers concluded.&nbsp;



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

More than 500 animal species are lost, but are they extinct?

A new study published in the journal Animal Conservation has...

Recently, a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza – commonly known as bird flu – has been spreading across North America. In order to control such devastating outbreaks, which have the potential of spilling over into humans and other mammals, identifying which bird species carry the virus and how they spread it is highly essential.&nbsp;



A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://vet.tufts.edu/">Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine</a> at Tufts University has now provided a detailed assessment of which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-report-confirms-that-bird-species-are-steadily-declining/">bird species</a> drive avian influenza spillover and global spread.&nbsp;



“The scientific community has become accustomed to speaking about influenza viruses in birds as a group, but birds are an incredibly diverse taxa of animals with&nbsp;different natural history, physiology, and anatomy,” said study senior author Jonathan Runstadler, an expert in infectious diseases and global health at the Cummings School.



According to Professor Runstadler and his team, the lineage of bird flu circulating now in the US originated around 1996 and was first identified in a domestic goose in China. After several mutations, it caused the first big wild bird outbreak in 2005 in a major wetland in central Asia, and was introduced in the US via the Pacific Northwest in 2014, causing major losses to the poultry industry and forcing the culling of over 40 million chickens and turkeys.



“It was a big blow,” said study lead author Nichola Hill, an assistant professor of Biology at the University of Massachusetts Boston, who previously worked in Professor Runstadler’s lab.&nbsp;



“After it ended, we knew that we were between outbreaks and there was a high probability of an outbreak happening again. We felt we needed to look at long-term, historical data to find patterns and determine which birds are really driving global spread. So we compared birds at a finer taxonomic scale than prior studies, such as wild ducks, gulls, land birds, and geese versus domestic poultry like chickens, and we came up with some really interesting findings.”



Historically, duck species such as mallards have been considered super-spreaders of bird flu, infecting both wild and domestic birds. However, other species such as wild geese or gulls are particularly good at amplifying the virus and spreading it widely in animal populations.&nbsp;



While the 2014 outbreak was most likely initiated by ducks which carried the virus via the Pacific, the current outbreak – which already spread through 40 different bird species, including crows, sparrows, owls, and hawks - was possibly brought about by black-backed gulls flying over the Atlantic.



“Knowing that gulls, geese and ducks may be moving this virus in different ways is a big contribution to understanding or eventually modeling with more accuracy how we expect a virus like this to spread. Ultimately, we could put this data into a model that allows us to predict if there’s a virus emerging, when that virus might enter North America, and what bird populations we might target for surveillance to detect it,” Professor Runstadler concluded.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1010062">PLoS Pathogens</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

Experts identify the super spreaders of bird flu

Recently, a highly pathogenic strain of avian influenza – commonly...

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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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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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

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

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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