Octopuses have long fascinated scientists with their intelligence, camouflage abilities, and unique biology. 



These remarkable creatures continue to surprise researchers, revealing new secrets about their evolutionary past. One of the most intriguing mysteries has been the question of how octopuses determine their sex.



Scientists at the University of Oregon recently identified a sex chromosome in the California two-spot octopus. This discovery confirms that cephalopods, a group that includes squid and nautiluses, rely on chromosomes for sex determination. 



The research also suggests that this chromosome has existed for at least 480 million years, making it one of the oldest known sex chromosomes in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/turquets-octopus-dna-tells-scientists-that-west-antarctic-ice-sheet-collapse-is-close/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animal kingdom</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sex-chromosome-in-octopuses">Sex chromosome in octopuses</h2>



“Cephalopods are already such interesting creatures, and there are so many things we’re still learning about them, especially in neuroscience,” said Gabby Coffing, a doctoral student at the <a href="https://www.uoregon.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Oregon</a>. 



“This is just showing one more interesting thing about them: They have really ancient sex chromosomes.”



The findings, published in the journal Current Biology, provide new insights into the genetic history of octopuses and their relatives. Understanding this ancient sex determination system could help scientists uncover more about how these intelligent <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-octopus-day-the-intelligent-creatures-of-the-sea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">creatures</a> evolved.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sex-determination-varies-across-species">Sex determination varies across species</h2>



Sex determination is not the same for all animals. While humans and most mammals rely on the X/Y chromosome system, other species follow different methods. 



In turtles, sex depends on the temperature at which the eggs incubate. Some fish determine sex using a single gene rather than a whole chromosome. 



Even in humans, sex chromosomes are not always straightforward. Gene mutations or extra sex chromosomes can lead to biological variations that do not fit into a simple male or female category.



Cephalopods have long posed a challenge for genetic research. They are not standard laboratory animals like mice or fruit flies, making it difficult for scientists to study their genetics in depth. 



Although researchers have sequenced the genomes of some octopus <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/octopus-suckers-the-future-of-underwater-adhesives/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a>, they still struggle to link specific genes to particular traits. The discovery of an octopus sex chromosome marks a major breakthrough in understanding how these animals develop and reproduce.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unique-sex-chromosome-in-female-octopuses">Unique sex chromosome in female octopuses</h2>



The research team at the University of Oregon made an unexpected discovery when sequencing the DNA of a female California two-spot octopus. 



Among its 30 chromosomes, one stood out because it contained only half the usual amount of genetic material. This anomaly had not appeared in previous studies of male octopus DNA.



“This particular chromosome had half the amount of sequencing data, which indicated there was only one copy,” Coffing explained. “Then as we explored that more, we reached the conclusion that we must have stumbled upon a sex chromosome.”



This finding suggested that female octopuses carry a unique chromosome that males do not. The scientists needed to confirm their discovery by comparing it with data from other cephalopods. 



If this chromosome appeared in multiple species, it would indicate an ancient and consistent pattern of sex determination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-sex-chromosome-exists-in-other-cephalopods">Sex chromosome exists in other cephalopods</h2>



The team analyzed genomic data from other octopus species and found similar evidence of this unique chromosome. 



The experts also detected the sex chromosome in squid, a species that diverged from octopuses between 248 and 455 million years ago. More surprisingly, they identified traces of it in the nautilus, a mollusk that split from the octopus lineage approximately 480 million years ago.



“This indicates that their common ancestor had this similar sex determination system,” Coffing said.



Most sex chromosomes change rapidly over time because they play a crucial role in reproduction. However, this cephalopod sex chromosome appears to have remained stable for hundreds of millions of years. 



This suggests that octopuses and their relatives have relied on this system without significant evolutionary changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-comparing-ancient-sex-chromosomes">Comparing ancient sex chromosomes</h2>



While the octopus sex chromosome is one of the oldest known, other ancient sex chromosomes exist in nature. 



Some plants, like mosses and liverworts, evolved their sex chromosomes early in Earth’s history. Insects also have sex chromosomes that date back about 450 million years, though these have changed considerably over time.



The discovery in octopuses challenges the idea that sex chromosomes always evolve quickly. It suggests that some systems remain stable if they continue to work effectively over long periods. Cephalopods seem to have found a genetic formula for sex determination that has stood the test of time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mystery-of-the-missing-w-chromosome">Mystery of the missing W chromosome</h2>



One question remains unanswered: how exactly does the sex determination system work in octopuses? Scientists initially suspected that octopuses might have a system similar to birds and butterflies, where males have two identical chromosomes (ZZ) and females have one of each (ZW).



Kern and his team searched for a W chromosome in female octopuses but didn't find one. This leaves open the possibility that octopuses follow a different system in which males have two copies of a single chromosome (ZZ), while females have only one (Z).



Researchers still need more evidence to confirm how octopus sex chromosomes function. While this study has solved one piece of the puzzle, many questions remain.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-secrets-of-the-octopus">Secrets of the octopus </h2>



Octopuses continue to be one of the most enigmatic creatures in the ocean. Their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-octopus-has-mastered-the-art-of-multispecies-hunting/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">intelligence</a>, problem-solving skills, and unique genetics set them apart from most other animals. 



The discovery of an ancient sex chromosome adds another layer to their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-animal-will-replace-humans-as-earths-dominant-species-this-scientist-has-an-idea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evolutionary story</a>. For now, researchers know that this octopus sex chromosome has been around for nearly half a billion years. However, the exact mechanics of how it works remain uncertain.



As scientists continue to explore cephalopod genetics, they will uncover more about how these fascinating animals developed their extraordinary traits.



The octopus has revealed one of its secrets, but it still holds on to many more.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(25)00005-3" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Sex chromosome discovered in octopuses is 480 million years old

Octopuses have long fascinated scientists with their intelligence, camouflage abilities, and unique biology. These remarkable creatures continue to surprise researchers, revealing new secrets about their evolutionary past. One of the most intriguing mysteries has been the question of how octopuses determine their sex. Scientists at the University of Oregon recently identified a sex chromosome in the California two-spot octopus. This discovery confirms that cephalopods, a group that includes squid and nautiluses, rely on chromosomes for sex determination. The research also suggests that this chromosome has existed for...

While many people describe dogs as man’s best friends, Dr. Anna Machin – an evolutionary anthropologist at the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> -&nbsp; has argued at the <a href="https://www.cheltenhamfestivals.com/science">Cheltenham Science Festival</a> that the relationship between dogs and their owners is even stronger. She said that the bonds many owners form with their pets are as close as that between parents and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/children-who-play-team-sports-have-fewer-mental-health-problems/">children</a>.&nbsp;



For instance, in 2014, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.massgeneral.org/">Massachusetts General Hospital</a> (MGH) has found that mothers’ brains showed a surprisingly similar response when viewing pictures of their babies and their dogs, suggesting that they were experiencing the same type of emotions.



&nbsp;According to one of the <a href="https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2014/10/mothers-brains-show-similar-responses-to-her-baby-and-her-dog/">study</a>’s authors, Lori Palley, Assistant Director of Veterinary Services at MGH, “levels of neurohormones like oxytocin — which is involved in pair-bonding and maternal attachment — rise after interaction with pets, and new brain-imaging technologies are helping us begin to understand the neurobiological basis of the relationship, which is exciting.”



In other words - as Dr. Machin recently put it when describing the findings of this study - “when we look at the brains of humans with their dogs, we see the fingerprint of love and we also see the parenting areas of the brain light up.”&nbsp;However, she admits that there might be a difference in intensity, suggesting that parents “would probably rescue the kid first in a fire.”



According to scans of dogs’ brains, this feeling of love seems to be reciprocated. Moreover, when interacting with humans, dogs have been found to produce beta endorphins – a type of chemicals that play a fundamental role in social bonding, and many of them exhibit strong feelings of loss at the death of their owners.



However, according to Dr. Machin, there are differences between how love is experienced and how it manifests itself in the case of humans versus dogs. “Obviously they don’t have the reflective elements of love, as far as we know, when you dwell upon your relationship, you daydream about your relationship. If dogs daydream, it’s probably about sausages.”



---



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

Dogs are like surrogate children to their owners

While many people describe dogs as man’s best friends, Dr....

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-meadows-remove-plastic-debris-from-the-ocean/">Seagrass meadows</a> are often used as a fishing habitat across the Indo-Pacific region, sustaining millions of households. A new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096456912200223X?via%3Dihub#!">Ocean &amp; Coastal Management</a> has found that seagrass fisheries provide a reliable safety-net for the poor since they are characterized by a high abundance of fish and other animals and provide large catches for fishermen.&nbsp;



The scientists conducted interviews with people relying on fishing from 147 villages across Cambodia, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia, and were surprised to find that the majority of the persons they spoke to preferred seagrass meadows as fishing habitats.&nbsp;



“Seagrass was the most common habitat used for fishing. Nearly half of all households we talked to preferred fishing in seagrass over other habitats such as coral, mangroves, open ocean, mud and rock for example,” said study lead author Benjamin Jones, a doctoral student at the <a href="https://www.su.se/cmlink/stockholm-university">University of Stockholm</a> and director of <a href="http://www.projectseagrass.org/">Project Seagrass</a>, a nonprofit organization focused on the conservation of seagrass ecosystems.&nbsp;



“This was surprising because most people think of reef fisheries as the key tropical small-scale fishery, but we show that its actually engagement in seagrass fisheries that are much more characteristic of households.”



When asked why they preferred seagrass, most fishermen expressed a general feeling of reliability: due to the major ecological role seagrass meadows play by providing valuable nursery habitats with many places for fish to hide and grow, there is always an abundance of fish present there. However, reliance on seagrass appeared to be also influenced by household income.



“Household income had two different effects. On one hand, poorer households were less likely to own&nbsp;motorboats. These were reliant on seagrass as they were unable to fish elsewhere, seagrass is close to shore and easy to access without a motor. On the other hand, wealthier households were more likely to own certain types of fishing gear that incentivized them to use seagrass due to high rewards and low effort requirements. These were static fishing fences that don’t require a fisherman to be present,” explained Jones.



“Our results highlight the need for empirical household scale data for management of seagrass meadows,” added study senior author Leanne Cullen-Unsworth, the Director of Research and Resources at Project Seagrass. “People use and value seagrass for many different reasons so safeguarding seagrass is vital to ensure that all people, all of the time, have equitable and equal access to the resources seagrass provides,” she concluded.



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

Seagrass meadows are very reliable fishing grounds

Seagrass meadows are often used as a fishing habitat across...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/domestic-cats-kill-hundreds-of-millions-of-animals-each-year/">Cats</a> go a bit crazy in the presence of catnip (Nepeta cataria) and its Asian counterpart, silver vine (Actinidia polygama). They roll on it, rub their bodies on it, chew it, lick it and play with it. It appears that cats are completely intoxicated by these plants, which induce a bout of this strange behavior that may last as long as 15 minutes. However, new research indicates that their behavior may not be as crazy as it looks.&nbsp;



Previous research has indicated that the leaves of catnip and silver vine plants contain chemicals known as iridoids that act as insect repellents. The unusual but characteristic response that cats have to these plants, including rubbing the head and face on the leaves and rolling on them, has the effect of coating the body in iridoids - which repel mosquitoes and other pests that can potentially transmit diseases. But the reason that cats lick, chew and otherwise damage the plant leaves as part of this characteristic behavioral response has remained a mystery.



Researchers in Japan have now conducted experiments to test whether damaging the leaves of catnip and silver vine by chewing, crumpling and tearing them has any effect on the chemicals that they release, and therefore on their efficacy in protecting cats from insect pests.&nbsp;



Cats have such an unusual reaction to catnip and silver vine, the world over, that lead author Masao Miyazaki, an animal behavior researcher at Iwate University, felt he had to investigate the phenomenon further. “Even in the famous musical ‘Cats’ there are scenes where you see a cat intoxicate another cat using catnip powder."&nbsp;



Miyazaki began his career in veterinary medicine and developed an interest in how chemicals, such as pheromones, drive companion animals’ instinctual behaviors. Catnip and silver vine leaves contain the compounds nepetalactol and nepetalactone, amongst others, which are iridoids that have an insect repellent effect.&nbsp;



The research team started by measuring the concentration and composition of these iridoids in the space above intact leaves, and leaves that had been chewed or crumpled. They used gas chromatography/mass spectrometry for this and found that physical damage to silver vine and catnip leaves promotes an immediate emission of these plant compounds.&nbsp;



“We found that physical damage of silver vine by cats promoted the immediate emission of total iridoids, which was 10-fold higher than from intact leaves,” said Miyazaki.



Not only were more iridoids released by the leaves of both plants, but the chemical composition of the iridoid cocktail released from silver vine leaves also changed. “Nepetalactol accounts for over 90 percent of total iridoids in intact leaves, but this drops to about 45 percent in damaged leaves, as other iridoids greatly increase,” said Miyazaki. “The altered iridoid mixture corresponding to damaged leaves promoted a much more prolonged response in cats.” &nbsp;



According to the results, changes in both the amount of plant iridoid emission (both plant species) and composition (silver vine only) induced significantly longer response behavior by the cats, which included increased self-anointing (rubbing and rolling) that has the effect of transferring plant iridoids onto the cat’s fur.&nbsp;



To test if the felines were reacting to these compounds specifically, the cats were given dishes with pure nepetalactone and nepetalactol. “Cats show the same response to iridoid cocktails and natural plants except for chewing,” said Miyazaki. “They lick the chemicals on the plastic dish and rub against, and roll over on, the dish.”



“When iridoid cocktails were applied on the bottom of dishes that were then covered by a punctured plastic cover, cats still exhibited licking and chewing even though they couldn’t contact the chemicals directly. This means that licking and chewing is an instinctive behavior elicited by olfactory stimulation of iridoids.”



Lastly, the researchers tested the insect repellent properties of the iridoid cocktail from damaged catnip and silver vine leaves against Aedes albopictus, a common mosquito in Japan and China. This species of mosquito is a vector of Dirofilaria immitis, which infects the heart and pulmonary arteries of dogs and cats. Samples of iridoids representing extracts from intact and damaged leaves were introduced to groups of 18 - 26 mosquitoes in acrylic boxes, and the percentage of mosquitoes that moved away from the source and sought refuge in a small shelter about 15 cm away from the source was recorded after 10 and 20 minutes.&nbsp;



The results indicated that the iridoid cocktails from damaged leaves were more effective at repelling the insects than were the intact leaves. The effect of damaged silver vine iridoids was more rapid and occurred at lower concentrations of the cocktail, but the iridoids from damaged catnip leaves also had an effect, albeit at a stronger concentration and over a longer period of time.&nbsp;



The experts conclude that the physical damage of the plant leaves by the cats enhances the release of iridoids that are repellent to arthropods such as mosquitoes. This destructive behavior, in combination with enhanced rubbing and rolling activity, has the effect of enhancing the transfer of iridoids to the cats’ fur.&nbsp; In this manner, the cats obtain stronger chemical pest defense from the leaves of these plants. Their study also provides an insight into how humans could also use plants to obtain potent natural repellents against pest insects.



Next, Miyazaki and his team want to understand which gene is responsible for cats’ reaction to catnip and silver vine. “Our future studies promise to answer the key remaining questions of why this response is limited to Felidae species, and why some cats don’t respond to these plants,” said Miyazaki.



The results of the study are published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/fulltext/S2589-0042(22)00726-X">iScience</a>.



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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

Cats know how to use catnip as a potent insect repellent

Cats go a bit crazy in the presence of catnip...

In a collaboration between BP Angola and deep sea researchers, a survey of wildlife was carried out near pipelines being installed off the coast of West Africa.



“We have a long-running collaboration with BP in Angola to use survey imagery material for science,” explained study co-author Andrew Gates of the National Oceanography Centre.



The research shows that there was an immediate increase in animal life near where the pipes were installed.&nbsp;



“In a short space of time the installation of a pipeline led to increases in the abundance and diversity of marine life in most areas,” said study co-author Daniel Jones. “We believe this could be related to the pipeline providing shelter and trapping organic matter that the animals feed on.”



“It was also surprising to see the huge amount of litter, which consisted of plastic bags, bottles and aluminum cans, as this is a remote area ranging from 700 to 1,400 meters deep.”



The footage was collected using a remote operated vehicle, a type of submarine that is roughly the size of a car and controlled by a cable running to a ship above.&nbsp;



“We realized as soon as we saw the footage that it would allow us to explore how the marine life changed after the introduction of a pipeline. Doing this sort of survey is very difficult and expensive, so we were pleased to be able to make use of the footage to understand the deep-sea biology a bit better. This adds real value to video footage originally collected to inspect the pipeline."



The scientists believe that some of the creatures captured on film may be new species to science, but it is usually impossible to identify deep sea animal species by video. The scientists hope to return to collect specimens soon.



"In conclusion, this study demonstrates that the installation of a pipeline may cause considerable changes in the fauna in some areas of the continental slope," wrote the researchers. "These changes are very depth dependent and likely depend on both the nature of the community and the potential for trapping of organic matter by the pipeline."&nbsp;



"It is likely that the results presented here are only an early stage in a succession of ecological change resulting from installation of a pipeline in deep water, with later stages largely unknown."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science">Frontiers in Marine Science</a>.



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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

Pipeline installation boosts diversity of seafloor animals

In a collaboration between BP Angola and deep sea researchers,...

The spread of various parasites is one of the main drivers of population decline in both managed and wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-bacteria-enhances-memory-in-bees/">bees</a>. Many of these parasites are transmitted by the shared use of flowers, turning these major sources of nourishment into potential disease hotspots. 



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a> has found that the shape of flowers has the biggest effect on how parasites are transmitted to bees. According to the experts, such findings may help stakeholders plant flowers that are less dangerous for pollinators.



The scientists examined the common eastern bumblebee (Bombus impatiens) and a gut parasite called Crithidia bombi in order to clarify how flower traits, such as the size, shape, and number of flowers, played roles in three steps that usually lead to parasite transmission from flowers to bees: feces deposition on flowers, survival of the parasite on flowers, and the acquisition of the parasite by a new bee host.



“Of the flower traits we measured, floral shape was the best predictor of parasite transmission to bees,” said study lead author Mario Simon Pinilla-Gallego, a former doctoral student in Applied Ecology at NC State University.



“Wide and short flowers – like black-eyed Susans and coneflowers – reduce the survival of the parasite on flowers, but at the same time they collect more bee feces, and bees are more likely to come in contact with and acquire the parasite on these types of flowers,” explained study senior author Rebecca Irwin, a professor of Applied Ecology at the same university.



Identifying floral traits and flower species which have lower rates of parasite transmission to bees could help stakeholders select flower mixes that promote bee health, while offering them the floral resources they need.



In future research, the scientists aim to take into consideration other factors, such as how often and how long bees visit flowers, the behavior of bees while foraging, and environmental factors which could change the effects of particular floral traits.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.3730">Ecology</a>.&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

Flower shape influences parasite transmission to bees

The spread of various parasites is one of the main...

Northern elephant seals occur in the eastern Pacific and commonly breed on islands off the coast of California. They have been recorded diving to great depths in order to forage for their favorite <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/robots-reveal-how-fish-hunt-down-unpredictable-prey/">fish</a> and squid, and scientists have long wondered how they locate their prey in the blackness of the deep ocean.&nbsp;



Sunlight does not penetrate very deeply into ocean water so elephant seals that dive deeply will not be able to see their prey. Some marine organisms do emit bioluminescence, and it has been postulated that the large eyes of the seals are adapted for detecting this source of light. However, not all potential prey species are bioluminescent, and this form of light is very feint in the great dark abyss anyway.&nbsp;



Toothed whales make use of echolocation or biosonar to detect prey in the darkness, but elephant seals do not have these adaptations. They do have spectacular whiskers, however, that have been studied in the past in order to understand their function. Known as “vibrissae”, these thick,&nbsp;mobile facial whiskers are powerful sensory organs used to detect vibrations. The word “vibrissae” comes from the Latin word “vibrio” which means “to vibrate.”&nbsp;



Previous studies have investigated the functioning of isolated whiskers, proposed artificial models, and observed whisker use on captive animals. But until now, researchers have not understood the movement and function of the mammals’ facial whiskers in their natural environment because of the challenges of observing the seals when they forage in the dark depths. In a new study, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, researchers have now used tiny video loggers to record exactly what goes on with a seal’s whiskers as it searches for prey in the depths.



The researchers placed small video loggers on free-ranging female northern elephant seals, choosing elephant seals in particular because of their highly sensitive whiskers. These seals have the highest number of nerve fibers per whisker of any mammal. The researchers mounted the video loggers on each seal’s cheek to observe how the seal moves and uses the whiskers in front of its mouth as it searches for food in the dark ocean. Northern elephant seals feed mostly on pelagic fish and squid, but will forage on the ocean floor as well.



Each data logger had an LED red/infrared-light flash that enabled the researchers to see in the dark depths, and to observe what the seal did with its whiskers as it searched for and approached its prey. The light was not visible to the seal and so the procedure did not disturb the animal in its quest to find food.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The cameras showed that the seals moved their whiskers forwards and backwards a lot as they approached prey. With their whiskers extended forward, ahead of the mouth, they were able to detect very slight movements of the water and locate prey in this way. They performed rhythmic whisker movement, extending and retracting their whiskers, to search for hydrodynamic cues in the water just ahead of their mouths. Terrestrial mammals do a similar thing when they are searching their environments for odors and information.



The team took into consideration the possibility that light provided by the bioluminescence in some prey might help the seals in their hunt for food. But their findings reveal that, while bioluminescence is important, the seals’ sensitive whiskers are the primary method the mammal uses to find its prey.



The seals’ whiskers allow them to search for, pursue, and capture prey. “Our findings solve a decades-long mystery about how deep-diving seals locate their prey without the biosonar used by whales, revealing another mammalian adaptation to complete darkness,” said Taiki Adachi, project researcher at the National Institute of Polar Research / Assistant Project Scientist of University of California, Santa Cruz.&nbsp;



This research complements earlier whisker studies conducted on mammals in captive conditions, and it propels forward the field of sensory ecology of foraging. “The next step is conducting comparative field studies on other mammals to better understand how whisker-sensing shapes natural behavior in each mammalian species under different environments,” said Adachi.



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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

Whiskers help seals hunt in the darkness of the deep ocean

Northern elephant seals occur in the eastern Pacific and commonly...

A study from the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> has utilized new technology to help determine the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/assisted-migrations-could-help-species-survive-climate-change/">migration</a> patterns of mastodons. By analyzing isotopes from a mastodon's tusk, the researchers determined that he died in northeast Indiana, nearly 100 north miles from his cold season home territory.&nbsp;



Study first author and paleoecologist at the University of Cincinnati, Joshua Miller, explained why this study is special. "The result that is unique to this study is that for the first time, we've been able to document the annual overland migration of an individual from an extinct species."&nbsp;



To explore the migration patterns of the mastodon, they used new isotope technology and a new model developed by Miller and colleagues, to analyze the growth rings found in the mastodon's tusk. They were able to extrapolate where the animal was during adolescence and the last few years of his adult life before his death at 34 years old.&nbsp;



"You've got a whole life spread out before you in that tusk," said study co-lead author Daniel Fisher."The growth and development of the animal, as well as its history of changing land use and changing behavior - all of that history is captured and recorded in the structure and composition of the tusk."&nbsp;&nbsp;



So, about 13,200 years after his death, the Buesching mastodon still had a story to tell. The researchers believe he stayed close to the matriarchal herd in central Indiana until he became an adolescent.&nbsp;



Once on his own, he traveled more, covering around 20 miles per month. The mastodon also seemed to move with the seasons, including his summer range in what is now northeastern Indiana. Here, they believe he sought mates.&nbsp;



"Every time you get to the warm season, the Buesching mastodon was going to the same place - bam, bam, bam - repeatedly. The clarity of that signal was unexpected and really exciting," explained Miller.&nbsp;



The researchers aim to get their hands on more mastodons in the hopes of learning more about these ancient giants.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

Chemical analysis sheds light on mastodon migration

A study from the University of Michigan has utilized new...

European storm petrels are tiny <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seabirds-are-damaging-their-health-by-eating-plastic/">seabirds</a> that are long-lived and have a low reproductive rate. There are two subspecies; H. p. melitensis breeds on islands in the Mediterranean Sea and H. p. pelagicus breeds on several European islands in the Atlantic. Because they are very small, mostly darkly colored and fly fairly fast, they are difficult to observe at sea, even to establish the most basic data such as the subspecies involved. This means that not much is known about the lives of storm petrels when they are not at their breeding colonies on offshore islands.



A recent study published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1474919x">International Journal of Avian Science</a>&nbsp;(IBIS) sheds new light on the migratory patterns of the storm petrel populations that breed in the western Mediterranean. This has been facilitated by the use of tiny geolocators, fixed to the legs of ten adult birds as they went about their lives between breeding seasons. The results contradict what was previously known about the species and highlights the fact that geolocator data can be crucial to improving knowledge about the seasonal distribution, migration and at-sea activity patterns of small seabird species.



The study was led by the researchers Raül Ramos and Teresa Militão, members of the Group on Seabird Ecology of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ub.edu/portal/web/biologia">Faculty of Biology</a>&nbsp;and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (<a href="http://www.ub.edu/irbio/">IRBio-UB</a>). Among the participants in the study are Ana Sanz-Aguilar and Andreu Rotger, from the University of the Balearic Islands and the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB).&nbsp;



Until recently, the information available suggested that most individuals of the Mediterranean subspecies remain within the Mediterranean Sea basin during the non-breeding period.&nbsp;



“Data from ring recoveries and open-sea sightings on board suggested that the Atlantic subspecies could migrate towards the southern waters of the African continent. In the Mediterranean subspecies, biogeochemical data and geolocation data indicated that most of the wintering took place in this sea,” explained Raül Ramos, a lecturer in the<a href="https://www.ub.edu/dyn/cms/system/workplace/editors/editor.jsp">&nbsp;Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences.</a>



In order to track the movements of storm petrels that breed on islands in the western Mediterranean, the researchers fastened a light-level geolocator onto one of the lower legs (tibia) of each of ten adult storm petrels caught at night at their nests. The devices, which weigh no more than 0.8 grams, collect data on solar intensity every five minutes. The locators also collect information on seawater conductivity and temperature.&nbsp;



Nine of the ten birds fitted with geolocators were recaptured a year later when they returned to the same breeding colonies, and eight of the devices were in working order. This allowed the researchers to identify where the birds had been throughout a complete migratory cycle.&nbsp;



The results showed that, contrary to expectations, all the tracked individuals spent at least part of the non-breeding period in the Atlantic Ocean, indicating that this ocean is far more important as a non-breeding area than was previously thought, at least for the European storm petrels breeding in the Western Mediterranean.&nbsp;



“The results allow us to better understand the activity patterns of seabirds throughout the wintering season – [in other words] when they fly and when they rest in the water – information that was previously unknown,” said study first author Teresa Militão.



Although the main feeding areas of this species during the period between breeding seasons are still unknown, the data from the study indicates that, in the case of the population studied, it feeds mainly in the Atlantic, in a marine area that extends from the Canary Islands to the south of Iceland, explained the researchers. “The results contrast with the case of the Maltese storm petrel, which maintains its main wintering area in the central Mediterranean.”



Migratory species such as the European storm petrel move around between distant areas during their non-breeding season to take better advantage of local food resources or to find the most suitable habitat or climate.&nbsp;



“The extrinsic and intrinsic factors that determine the different migration patterns of the European storm petrel are still not well understood. According to the first results of the study, some extrinsic factors, such as oceanic conditions, could favor the migration of the population studied towards the North Atlantic, which would then take advantage of the productive oceanic waters during the wintering period,” said Raül Ramos.



The researchers also assessed monthly variations in primary productivity in the Mediterranean and in the Atlantic areas visited by the tracked storm petrels to understand whether this was a factor that influenced movement patterns. They concluded that birds potentially were moving from the Mediterranean feeding grounds (during breeding season) to the Atlantic feeding grounds in response to low levels of productivity in the Mediterranean during the winter. Low levels of primary productivity would affect the abundance of the ichthyoplankton that is the preferred prey of storm petrels.



Information from the data-loggers also allowed the scientists to understand more about the at-sea activity patterns of the birds. The data confirmed that the European storm petrel is a nocturnal species during the non-breeding period, as has been found previously in the breeding season. Birds spend most of the daylight time on the water and fly mainly during the night.



“During the entire winter period, the species spends more time resting in the water during the day than at night. This tells us that the species forages mainly at night, and probably feeds on zooplankton and small fish that migrate to the sea surface at that time,” said Militão.



Furthermore, in the early part of the non-breeding season, most of the tracked birds spent more time on the water during the night than they did in the latter part of the non-breeding period. This increase in time spent on the water, when they should normally have been flying around in search of food, could indicate that the birds were possibly still molting some of their flight feathers.&nbsp;



The study authors noted that their research improves the state of knowledge about the ecology of these birds and their distribution during their life cycle. “Knowing the wintering areas of this species will help to identify the environmental variables that condition its distribution,” they said.



Studies such as this one are crucial to understanding the different threats to species at different times of their life cycles.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“On land, during the breeding season, the European storm petrel is threatened by the introduction of invasive predators, such as cats or rats, which prey on eggs, and by the destruction or modification of nesting habitats," said the researchers. "In the open ocean, light pollution from ships or oil stations, climate change and extreme weather events such as cyclones or tornadoes also affect the survival of these small seabirds, which should be protected."



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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

Tiny data-loggers help track Europe’s smallest seabird

European storm petrels are tiny seabirds that are long-lived and...

A research team led by the <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a> (ELTE) in Hungary has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-did-dogs-become-mans-best-friend/">dogs</a> are capable of creating a multi-modal, or multisensory mental image of their familiar objects. When thinking about an object, dogs imagine the object’s different sensory features, such as the way it looks or the way it smells.



The scientists’ starting hypothesis was that the senses dogs use to identify objects, such as their toys, reflect the ways these objects are represented in their minds.&nbsp;



“If we can understand which senses dogs use while searching for a toy, this may reveal how they think about it,” explained&nbsp;study lead author Shany Dror, a doctoral student in Ethology at ELTE. “When dogs use olfaction or sight while searching for a toy, this indicates that they know how that toy smells or looks like.”



In a previous study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-93581-2">Nature</a>, scientists discovered that only a few gifted dogs were able to learn the names of objects. “These Gifted Word Learner dogs give us a glimpse into their minds, and we can discover what they think about when we ask them - Where is your Teddy Bear?” said study co-lead author&nbsp;Dr.&nbsp;Andrea&nbsp;Sommese, a postdoctoral researcher in Comparative Cognition at ELTE.



In their new study, Dr. Sommese and her colleagues trained three Gifted Word Learner dogs and 10 regular family dogs – which are incapable of learning the names of their toys – to fetch a toy associated with a reward. During the training, the dogs received treats and were praised by the experimenters when choosing that toy instead of a few other distractor toys. In a next step, the researchers observed how the dogs searched for the toy, both when the lights were on and off. While all dogs managed to successfully select the right toy in both light and dark conditions, it generally took them longer to find it in the dark.



In a second experiment, in which only the Gifted Word Learners participated, the scientists aimed to find out what these dogs thought about when hearing the name of the toy. “Revealing the senses used by the dogs to search for the named toys gave us the possibility to infer what these dogs imagine when they hear, for example, Teddy Bear,” said study co-author&nbsp;Claudia&nbsp;Fugazza, an expert in Cognitive Ethology and Dog Behavior at ELTE.



The Gifted dogs were successful in finding the toys named by the experimenters in both the light and dark conditions, suggesting that, when they hear the name of the toy, they can recall the object’s different sensory features and can use this “multisensory mental image” to identify it.



“Dogs have a good sense of smell, but we found that dogs preferred to rely on vision and used their noses only a few times, and almost only when the lights were off,” explained study co-author Adam&nbsp;Miklósi, the head of the Department of Ethology at ELTE. “Dogs sniffed more often and for longer in the dark. They spent 90 percent more time sniffing when the lights were off, but this was still only 20 percent of the searching time.”



These findings suggest that, when dogs play with a toy, even just briefly, they pay attention to its different sensory features and register this information using multiple senses.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-022-01639-z">Animal Cognition</a>.&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

Dogs create multisensory mental images of their toys

A research team led by the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)...

During the time of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-largest-megaraptor-discovered-in-argentina/">dinosaurs</a> in the Late Triassic, variations in the abundance and diversity of plant and vertebrate animal species cannot be causally related to the climate changes that occurred during that period. This is the conclusion of a new study led by the <a href="http://www.conicet.gov.ar/">National Scientific and Technical Research Council</a> in Argentina (CONICET) and the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> in the United States.



By analyzing multiple independent lines of evidence drawn from sedimentology, clay mineralogy, and geochemistry, the researchers explored changes in paleoclimatic conditions, such as mean annual temperatures and precipitation, within the Ischigualasto Formation – a collection of fossil-rich sedimentary rocks deposited by rivers and streams during the late Triassic period (about 231 to 226 million years ago) in what are now the San Juan and La Rioja provinces in Northwestern Argentina. Although the scientists managed to identify a clear change from warmer and drier to more temperate and humid conditions, no concurrent major changes could be identified in the fossil record.



“We conclude that variations in the abundance and diversity of species, as recorded by their first and last appearances in the fossil record, are better explained by preservation and sampling biases than by changes in climate,” said study lead author Adriana Mancuso, a paleontologist at CONICET.



“What we see is that how many specimens collected from each interval of the sequence, and the chemical and physical characteristics that allow greater or lesser preservation of the remains of animals and plants, were significant factors. These two factors, collection and preservation, have more influence on the increase or decrease of abundance and diversity than the climate changes recorded.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



However, Dr. Mancuso and her colleagues managed to identify a relationship between climatic variations and two groups of reptiles: the rhynchosaurs, a group of herbivorous early archosauromorphs, and pseudosuchians, a type of crocodilian-line archosaurs. “We did find that the abundance of rhynchosaurs and extinction of a few pseudosuchian species appear to coincide with a climate shift,” said study co-author Randall Irmis, a paleontologist at the University of Utah.



This study highlights the importance of an explicit framework for testing hypotheses about the correlation between the fossil record and climatic changes. “In addition to the contribution on the relationship of biotic and climatic events in the Ischigualasto Formation, the work provides a methodological framework to test climate-biota associations, highlighting the data gaps that must be filled, and makes new testable predictions that can be tested in future studies,” Dr. Mancuso concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.883788/full">Frontiers in Earth Science</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

Climate did not impact dinosaur abundance in the Triassic

During the time of dinosaurs in the Late Triassic, variations...

A new study has revealed that one in seven rhinoceroses in a South African national park has been infected with a pathogen that causes bovine tuberculosis (bTB), known as Mycobacterium bovis (M. bovis).&nbsp;The study is the largest ever conducted on free-ranging rhinos. 



The findings demonstrate the potential for diseases to disrupt conservation efforts. If unaddressed, this could lead to increased risks to human health.&nbsp;The study tested samples from 437 rhinos, collected from 2016 to 2020 in Kruger National Park. 



The results revealed the presence of M. bovis infection in an estimated 15.4 percent of rhinos. These results are crucial to supporting conservation efforts that protect the already vulnerable rhino population.&nbsp;



To aid conservation efforts, scientists with the Animal TB Research Group in SU’s Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, developed a novel diagnostic test to detect M. bovis infection in rhinos.



These results are also relevant in the United States, where bovine TB is occasionally found in domestic cattle and other livestock. It can travel by carrier species such as white-tailed deer, and it has reached endemic status among deer, bison and elk in parts of North America.



“There are examples of bovine tuberculosis in wildlife systems throughout the world,” said study senior author Dr. Carmel Witte. “In the United States, spillover of infection from cattle has spread to white-tailed deer in Michigan. This, in turn, can create spillback of infection into livestock, and carries a risk of spread to other wildlife and people.”



The presence of infection however, does not mean animals are diseased or dying. Professor Michele Miller, who leads the Animal TB Research Group and is the National Research Foundation (NRF) South African Research Chair in Animal TB, said most rhinos can contain the infection if they are otherwise healthy. Much like when humans are infected with COVID-19 and are asymptomatic.&nbsp;



“The infected rhinos are harboring the bacteria, but their immune system is keeping it in check. They are not losing weight or coughing, and if you looked at a group of 400 rhinos, you wouldn’t be able to pick out those that are infected. They can potentially live for years with infection if it is contained," said Professor Miller.&nbsp;



“Tuberculosis tends to be a disease that manifests over long periods of time, and when you compound an infectious disease with events such as climate change and unprecedented mortality due to poaching of endangered animals, it is cause for concern."



Monitoring rhinos, as well as other animals, can help understand long-term impacts of the infection and prevent further disease spread among wildlife.&nbsp;



This research is just as important from a human health perspective. For example, to help avoid the next pandemic, livestock and wildlife should be monitored for pathogens that could spread to humans.



The findings did not surprise the research team, as bovine TB is prevalent in at least 15 other species in Kruger - one of Africa’s largest reserves.



&nbsp;“While this pathogen may not appear to drastically impact the health of rhinoceros individuals, it has significant implications for conservation management decisions,” explained Rebecca Dwyer, lead author of the study.



“For example, tuberculosis testing in KNP rhinoceroses that are earmarked for translocation for conservation reasons can increase confidence of minimal risk of spread to other susceptible individuals at their destinations.”&nbsp;



South African rhinos face other threats such as poaching, habitat loss and drought. This makes it important to translocate them where they can be kept safe.&nbsp;



“But bovine TB is a controlled veterinary disease, so once our research group, in partnership with SANParks, found bovine TB in Kruger rhinos in 2016, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) imposed movement restrictions to prevent spread of infection to other populations.” said Professor Miller.&nbsp;



By doing so, a barrier was created to prevent the rhinos from moving to other national or private reserves. Additional benefits were realized, such as conservation, as Kruger has historically been an important source population of rhinoceros for other conservation strongholds in South Africa and other African countries.&nbsp;



These findings are important for the conservation of all species, as the spread of pathogens has important consequences for many species, and the ecosystem as a whole.&nbsp;



Follow this link to the full article in PNAS: <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2120656119">https://www.pnas.org/doi/pdf/10.1073/pnas.2120656119</a>&nbsp;



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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

Rhinos show that diseases can disrupt conservation efforts

A new study has revealed that one in seven rhinoceroses...

Prey often avoids predators by fleeing in seemingly random directions. Scientists have hypothesized that this unpredictable and sporadic behavior may help prey animals escape. Now, research published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">PNAS</a> has tested this theory.



For the study, researchers at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> observed robotic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-is-wiping-out-large-bodied-fish-in-the-amazon/">fish</a> with pre-programmed escape patterns that were either predictable or unpredictable. These robot prey fish were then presented to predatory blue acara cichlids. The robots initially remained still, like a prey fish momentarily paralyzed by fear. Then, the robots fled.&nbsp;



“Using robotic prey allowed us to present individual predators with one of two prey escape strategies: ‘predictable’ prey which repeatedly escaped in the same direction from one interaction with the predator to the next, or ‘unpredictable’ prey which escaped in random directions," explained study lead author Dr. Andrew Szopa-Comley.



The predators seemed to quickly adjust to the different types of prey robots. With the predictable prey, the predators adjusted their own speed upon approach, speeding up if the prey was expected to flee directly away but maintaining a slower speed for prey that fled sideways.&nbsp;



Interestingly, these speed adjustments were done from memory of past encounters, before the prey even moved. Unsurprisingly, the predators didn’t adjust their speed when approaching unpredictable prey.&nbsp;



The strange part of the results is that predators had very similar levels of success whether encountering an unpredictable prey robot or a predictable one. This flies in the face of the hypothesis that unpredictable behavior aids in escape.&nbsp;



“Our results suggest that the predators in our study were able to overcome the potential downsides of facing prey which behave unpredictably. From the prey’s point of view, this raises the question of whether unpredictable behaviour is as widely beneficial as was originally thought," explained study senior author Dr. Christos Ioannou.



The study shows how important it is for a predator to be able to adjust its own behavior to the success of the hunt or the failure of the hunted.&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

Robots reveal how fish hunt down unpredictable prey

Prey often avoids predators by fleeing in seemingly random directions....

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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

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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?

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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

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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



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 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Dublin, the capital and largest city of Ireland. Beyond its pub culture, Dublin is known as a modern culinary destination and a UNESCO City of Literature.



"Dublin is located near the midpoint of Ireland’s east coast in the province of Leinster. The city, which covers an area of around 115 square kilometers, is bordered by the Dublin Mountains, a low mountain range to the south, and is surrounded by flat farmland to the north and west," says ESA.



"The city straddles the River Liffey, which rises in the Wicklow Mountains and flows around 80 kilometers eastwards through the city of Dublin, in which it is canalised and bordered with quays. It then empties into Dublin Bay, an arm of the Irish Sea."



Dublin has an abundance of green spaces, including one of the largest enclosed public parks in any European capital city. Phoenix Park, which was originally formed as a royal hunting park in the 1660s, includes 707 hectares of green space.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain. The image was captured by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission.



"Together with the provinces of Huesca and Teruel, Zaragoza formed the old kingdom of Aragon. Its capital, also called Zaragoza (not visible in this image) is home to around half of Aragon’s population," says ESA.



"The Ebro River can be seen winding its way through the province from west to east in this image. Between its source in the Cantabrian Mountains in the northwest and its delta on the Mediterranean coast, the Ebro River is fed by more than 200 tributaries as it flows 910 km across much of northern Spain."



Since rainfall is very scarce in this region, irrigation in the Ebro basin is critically important. In the valleys surrounding the Ebro River, many fields are used for growing crops such as corn, wheat, and barley.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> reveals the evolution of the Columbia Glacier in southeastern Alaska. Columbia is among the fastest shrinking glaciers in the world, and the video documents its rapid retreat over the years.&nbsp;



Columbia Glacier is a large, multi-branched calving glacier that flows out of the Chugach Mountains to the Prince William Sound.&nbsp;



According to USGS, Columbia had a long history of stability prior to 1980, with a length 41 miles, and small, short-lived advances or retreats.



In the years since 1980, however, satellite images have captured Columbia’s alarming retreat. By using false-color images, scientists can distinguish between snow and ice, open water, vegetation, and rocky debris on the glacier’s surface.



The series of false-color images featured in today's video were acquired over the span of 35 years. You can see that by 2021, the glacier’s main branch had retreated about 15 miles from its initial position.



The Columbia Glacier has also lost more than 50 percent of its volume, mostly due to calving. <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/nasa-reveals-3d-visual-of-an-atmospheric-river/">NASA</a> reports that while climate change likely started the retreat, mechanical processes kept the disintegration going.



The NASA images are provided by Jesse Allen, Robert Simmon, Joshua Stevens, and Lauren Dauphin using data from Landsat satellites, from the U.S. Geological Survey, and data from MODIS on NASA’s Terra satellite. The structure of Columbia’s moraine played a large role in the stability of the glacier before 1980. 



Like other tidewater glaciers, the Columbia built up a moraine over time, and the mixture of ice and rock functioned like a dam keeping out the sea. It was supported on one end by the shoreline and by the underwater terminal moraine at the other.



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/&nbsp; NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features the Pyrenees Mountains, which form a natural boundary between France and Spain in southwest Europe.



The mountain range is 430 kilometers in length. It stretches from the Mediterranean Sea on the east to the Atlantic Ocean on the west.



At an elevation of 3404 meters, Pico de Aneto is the highest mountain peak in the Pyrenees, and the third-highest peak in Spain. Pico de Aneto is located in the Posets-Maladeta Natural Park, which spans more than 82,000 acres.&nbsp;



"Geological studies have revealed that the Pyrenees Mountains have been around for longer than the Alps, with their sediments first deposited in coastal basins during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras," reports ESA.



"The entire mountain range formed due to the upwelling of large sedimentary rocks by the collision of the Iberian and the Eurasian plate around 100 to 150 million years ago, followed by intense erosion from ice and water."



The western Pyrenees receive more precipitation due to moisture blowing in from the Atlantic Ocean. The mountain range contains many lakes, several small glaciers, and some of the highest waterfalls in Europe.



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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