Protecting wildlife while managing forests has always been a challenge. In California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, forest managers face difficult decisions as they try to prevent destructive wildfires without harming the birds and other species that call these forests home.



Traditional monitoring methods require significant time and effort, making it hard to collect enough data to guide <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-forests-are-struggling-to-keep-pace-with-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">conservation efforts</a>.



Now, scientists have introduced a breakthrough solution. Using thousands of microphones and advanced machine learning, researchers have developed a way to track forest birds over vast landscapes.



This innovative approach offers an unprecedented level of detail, providing valuable insights that help balance conservation with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dead-wood-removal-can-save-forests-from-future-wildfires/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forest</a> management. 



A new study highlights how bioacoustic technology can revolutionize wildlife monitoring and support better decision-making for the future of these forests.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-capturing-bird-sounds">Capturing bird sounds </h2>



Researchers at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics led this study, which analyzed more than 700,000 hours of bird sounds. 



The team deployed microphones at 1,600 sites, covering around six million acres of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-forests-rose-again-after-the-planets-most-extreme-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forest</a>. The goal was to track ten important bird species, including owls and woodpeckers, which serve as indicators of forest health.



These species provide crucial information about changes in the environment. By listening to their calls across different locations, scientists can assess how forest conditions impact wildlife.



"The amount of coverage that gives us and the idea of what's happening with species at so many different locations allow for really powerful inference to be drawn from the network," said study lead author Kristin Brunk.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-machine-learning-and-wildlife-monitoring">Machine learning and wildlife monitoring</h2>



To analyze the massive amount of recorded data, scientists turned to BirdNET, a machine-learning algorithm designed to identify bird calls automatically. This system allows researchers to recognize different species and understand how their presence relates to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/natures-climate-solutions-mixed-forests-store-more-carbon/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environmental conditions</a>.



The study examined how factors such as tree density and canopy cover influence bird populations. These are the same variables that forest managers consider when making conservation decisions. The ability to connect bird activity with habitat conditions provides an essential tool for guiding land management strategies.



By mapping where different birds live, researchers can help forest managers make more informed choices. This is especially important as they work to reduce wildfire risks through controlled burns and forest thinning. Without careful planning, these activities could unintentionally disrupt bird populations.



"We're able to understand bird populations in the context of the forest conditions that are going to be actively manipulated by the management community to hopefully restore some resilience to this system," said Connor Wood, lead researcher at the <a href="https://www.birds.cornell.edu/ccb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cheaper-forest-bird-tracking">Cheaper forest bird tracking</h2>



Monitoring wildlife over such a large area would be nearly impossible using traditional methods. Conducting field surveys requires a significant investment of time and resources. In contrast, passive acoustic monitoring offers a more efficient and cost-effective solution.



"If you think about what the cost would have been to get that amount of information by having biologists collecting data across the landscape… the cost effectiveness can't really be matched," Brunk noted.



This system enables continuous, long-term monitoring without the need for large field teams. The data collected can also be used to track changes in bird populations over time, offering a deeper understanding of how forests evolve under different management strategies.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-forest-bird-monitoring">Forest bird monitoring </h2>



The success of this study goes beyond California’s Sierra Nevada. The researchers believe that bioacoustic monitoring can be applied to other regions facing similar conservation challenges. 



By adapting this technology, scientists and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/future-forests-which-tree-species-can-survive-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">forest</a> managers worldwide can gain better insights into wildlife populations and habitat conditions.



"It's sort of a blueprint for how passive acoustic monitoring can inform management," said Brunk.



This approach is particularly valuable in areas where human access is difficult. Remote forests, protected reserves, and even urban green spaces could benefit from passive monitoring. 



The ability to gather large amounts of data with minimal human disturbance makes this a promising tool for conservation efforts around the world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-of-forest-and-wildlife-protection">Future of forest and wildlife protection</h2>



The integration of cutting-edge technology with conservation practices represents a major step forward. Listening to the sounds of the forest can help scientists understand how bird populations respond to changes in their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/forests-are-still-fighting-climate-change-against-all-odds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">environment</a>.



"By combining new technologies with practical management needs, we're creating tools that can help protect both forests and wildlife during a time of rapid environmental change," said Wood.



The research was conducted in collaboration with the U.S. Forest Service, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Oregon State University, University of California-Merced, and Chemnitz University of Technology. This partnership highlights the increasing role of technology in conservation.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/fee.2843" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</a>.



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Every bird song can help scientists make smarter forest decisions

Protecting wildlife while managing forests has always been a challenge. In California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, forest managers face difficult decisions as they try to prevent destructive wildfires without harming the birds and other species that call these forests home. Traditional monitoring methods require significant time and effort, making it hard to collect enough data to guide conservation efforts. Now, scientists have introduced a breakthrough solution. Using thousands of microphones and advanced machine learning, researchers have developed a way to track forest birds over vast landscapes. This innovative...

Understanding how individuals change their behaviors as they age is useful for research on many different animal species, including humans. By clarifying the consequences of senescence for aging individuals, such studies could also provide new insights into how societal structure and function might change as the population ages. 



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> has now studied a population of aging female wild red <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deer-migration-is-driven-by-springtime-vegetation-patterns/">deer</a> on the Isle of Rum in Scotland. The analysis revealed that aging deer become less sociable with age and tend to adopt a life of solitude in their advancing years.



“We found that deer’s social networks shrink as they grow old and begin associating less with others,” said study lead author Greg Albery, a biologist at Oxford. “This ‘social aging’ appears to be driven by older individuals choosing to live in more isolated locations and engaging with fewer other deer within these sparser areas.”



Dr. Albery and his colleagues applied novel social network analysis methods to a large, 46-year-long dataset containing observations of over 3,500 female deer over their lifetimes. As these deer grew older, they began interacting with fewer conspecifics within their home ranges, and often shifted their locations to less populated areas of their habitat. Moreover, they had smaller home ranges, farther away from the center of the population, in areas of lower density with lower-quality grazing opportunities.



“This new evidence of social aging in the wild shows the value of long-term datasets. By tracking many individuals simultaneously over their entire lives, we can understand how and why their social associations with one another change over time,” said study senior author Josh Firth, a professor of Biology at Oxford.



Further research is needed to clarify why aging deer become less social. The scientists currently hypothesize that social aging is driven by a combination of multiple factors, including moving to areas that are easier for older individuals to forage in, and changing their behavior to become more socially selective in their relationships with other deer. Applying the scientific methods employed in this study to other long-term data sets of wild animals will help generate a broader view of the fundamental rules that govern aging and social behavior in natural populations.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41559-022-01817-9">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.&nbsp;



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

Red deer become less sociable with age

Understanding how individuals change their behaviors as they age is...

When humans suffer heart attacks and don’t receive treatment quickly enough, heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) are damaged by the lack of oxygen and begin to die off. Afterwards, scar tissue forms, and - since we cannot produce more cardiomyocytes - the heart can no longer pump as well as before. A new study led by <a href="https://www.mdc-berlin.de/">Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association</a> (MDC) has found that things are very different in animals such as the zebrafish, which can regenerate organs, including their hearts.



In their laboratory, the scientists simulated myocardial infarction injuries in the hearts of zebrafish and, by using single-cell analyses and cell lineage trees, tracked the regeneration of the cardiomyocytes. At the beginning, these injuries caused an inflammatory response - just like in humans – followed by scarring from connective tissue cells known as fibroblasts.



“Surprisingly, the immediate response to the injury is very similar. But while the process in humans stops at that point, it carries on in the fish. They form new cardiomyocytes, which are capable of contracting,” said study senior author Jan Phillip Junker, an expert in Developmental Biology at MDC. “We wanted to identify the signals that come from other cells and help drive the regeneration.”



The analysis revealed three new types of fibroblasts that activated several genes that are responsible for forming proteins, such as connective tissue factors like collagen 12. The scientists identified two sources of temporarily activated fibroblasts: the outer layer of the heart (the epicardium) and the inner layer (the endocardium). However, the cells that produce collagen 12 were found only in the epicardium.



In future studies, the researchers aim to explore in more depth the genes that the temporarily activated fibroblasts read especially often, in order to shed more light on how they promote the regeneration of heart tissue and help form new blood vessels that supply the heart with oxygen. Better understanding these processes could help scientists create medicine to stimulate heart regeneration in humans too.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41588-022-01129-5">Nature Genetics</a>.&nbsp;



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

Zebrafish regenerate their heart tissue after injury

When humans suffer heart attacks and don’t receive treatment quickly...

Infections by parasites and pathogens can affect not only a host’s physical and physiological wellness, but also its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/for-some-walking-boosts-cognitive-function/">cognitive</a> functioning. There are numerous examples, across many different animal taxa, which illustrate changes to cognitive performance during times of infection or illness. We have to think no further than the “brain fog” experienced by some COVID-19 sufferers, especially those with long-haul symptoms.&nbsp;



As climate change alters the distribution of pathogens and wild animals, it is likely that animals will come into contact with a range of new pathogens and will experience infections from these sources. If these infections lead to cognitive impairment then this may influence the animals’ ability to adapt and succeed in the changing world. In particular, if pathogens affect an animal’s ability to learn, remember, or make decisions, this may compromise the fitness of populations in the wild at a time when they need to call on all these skills to adapt to new conditions.&nbsp;



A review of the effects of infection on cognitive function, published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/home">Trends in Ecology &amp; Evolution</a> finds that, although scientists are well aware that disease impairs cognitive function in many different species, the mechanisms and consequences for fitness are not well understood. One of the obstacles is that different cognitive abilities are tested in infected animals, using different forms of tests, different types of infections and different host species.&nbsp;



This review, written by four US researchers, aims to bring together ideas from the fields of cognitive ecology and disease ecology in order to examine evidence for infection-linked cognitive impairment. In addition, the authors considered why certain pathogens bring about change in cognition and what the ecological and evolutionary implications of this may be, particularly as populations of wild animals face changes to their habitats.



The study authors, including Dana Hawley and Kendra Sewall from Virginia Tech and Anne Leonard from the University of Nevada, said that cognitive impairment could contribute to population declines, particularly for species that rely heavily on learning and memory for foraging or other important functions. “Impaired cognitive performance could compromise the ability of some animals to exploit urbanized and other rapidly changing habitats, where problem solving may be particularly important.”



The experts found a lot of evidence in the scientific literature for infection-linked cognitive impairment, albeit that this evidence was very variable, across host and pathogen taxa, and across cognitive abilities. For example, bumblebees infected with the trypanosome Critidia bombin showed impaired performance on learning tasks, and American crows naturally infected with the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni showed a reduced ability to solve problems. This effect was also recorded for female blue tits infected with the blood protozoan Plasmodium.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The researchers determined that pathogens could impair cognitive performance either directly or indirectly, and either in the short term or over longer periods. Direct effects involved neurological damage caused by pathogens that infect the central nervous system. For example, West Nile virus, feline immunodeficiency virus, Ebola virus and coronaviruses may manifest as meningitis, encephalitis and myelitis, all of which can have long-term cognitive impacts.&nbsp;



Indirect impairment of cognitive function in diseased animals can arise from such consequences as malnutrition (when a sick animal cannot forage effectively or loses motivation to forage), missing out on social contacts and missing out on learning opportunities through being absent and ill. In addition, infections can change the gut microbiome of a host, which can lead to impaired digestion or absorption of nutrients. Furthermore, immune responses, such as inflammation, can also impede a foraging animal’s success.&nbsp;



The timing of infection in an animal’s life may also have significant consequences. For example, young canaries that are infected with&nbsp;Plasmodium&nbsp;when they are learning songs might have a reduced song repertoire and complexity as adults.&nbsp;



The authors state that cognitive abilities are crucial for animals to be able to collect, retain and act on information relating to their survival. Therefore, impairment of cognitive performance due to disease could have widespread ecological consequences for populations of wild animals. As climate changes lead to habitat alterations, wild animals will need all their cognitive skills to adapt and survive, and this against a backdrop of increased pathogen proliferation in warmer conditions.



“In a century characterized by global changes that accelerate pathogen emergence, while simultaneously favoring cognitive flexibility, there is an urgent need to better understand the interactions between animal cognition and infection, and their potential consequences for wild populations," said the researchers.



The experts call for increased attention to be paid to this topic, saying: “One challenge in all studies of cognitive ecology is the scarcity of comparable data across taxa. Understanding how infection affects specific cognitive abilities will require research across a wider breadth of hosts and pathogens, targeting analogous aspects of cognition (e.g., spatial learning; problem solving; general versus specialized cognitive abilities), and standardizing experimental paradigms to the extent possible.”



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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

Animals with infections are less able to adapt and survive

Infections by parasites and pathogens can affect not only a...

Climate change is causing a mass <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-likely-contributed-to-earths-largest-mass-extinction/">extinction</a> that has not been seen in recorded history. For birds, this biodiversity loss has implications beyond species extinction risks. 



New research published by <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell Press</a> has found that the loss of numerous bird species will decrease morphological diversity among the remaining birds at a rate greater than species loss alone. 



The study reveals which birds could be lost, and the regions most susceptible to homogenization. Emma Hughes, a bird researcher at the University of Sheffield, has spent her career examining broad morphological traits in birds. 



“I began to wonder what will happen with global change. So, not only how traits are currently distributed globally, but what might happen to morphological and phylogenetic diversity under the global extinction crisis,” said Hughes.



“As species go extinct you expect the traits that they represent to also be lost. But what we found was that with morphological diversity, the traits were lost at a much, much, much greater rate than just species loss could predict. This is really important because that can lead to a major loss of ecological strategies and functions.”



Diversity loss is most likely to affect birds with extreme features. The size and shape of birds are widely variable, ranging from the giant, flightless ostrich to the tiny hummingbird. The study suggests these types of birds have the greatest risk of extinction.&nbsp;



“We do find strong evidence to support the hypothesis that the largest and smallest species are likely to be most at risk of extinction," said Hughes.



With climate change, certain regions are also more likely to be left with homogenized populations.&nbsp;



“The Himalayan mountains and foothills are at particular risk, and it's likely that the loss of trait diversity will be considerable,” said Hughes. “The dry and moist forests of south Vietnam and Cambodia are also vulnerable.”



The researchers are hopeful that their work will help people understand how biodiversity loss will change the world.&nbsp;



“The global extinction crisis doesn't just mean that we're losing species. It means that we are losing unique traits and evolutionary history, including species that could confer unique benefits to humanity that are currently unknown.”



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

Birds could rapidly lose the traits that make them unique

Climate change is causing a mass extinction that has not...

An international team of researchers has uncovered six new species of miniature frogs in Mexico, which is a country that is well known as a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-biodiversity-crisis-is-actually-worse-than-we-thought/">biodiversity</a> hotspot.&nbsp;



The new species - found in the states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Jalisco - are now considered some of the smallest frogs in the world. None of the miniature frogs exceed 15 millimeters (0.6 inches) in length.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, the tiny size of the frogs can be explained by pedomorphosis, a process in which species retain juvenile characteristics as they mature. Over time, the frogs began breeding earlier and earlier in their development. This ultimately made them so small they can fit on a Mexican coin.



Study co-author Eric Smith, a professor of Biology at <a href="https://www.uta.edu/">UT Arlington</a>, believes these species have eluded us for so long because of a common bias found in conservation.



“Biodiversity research tends to focus on big, charismatic animals and can neglect smaller species,” said Professor Smith. “Because of this, these little frogs went undetected for a very long time.”



The frogs have a small range and are threatened by habitat loss. “These creatures inhabit a very narrow range among the leaf litter on the mountainsides,” explained Professor Smith. “If you hike too far too quickly, you could miss them completely.”



Hence, now that they have been discovered, the work of protecting them begins. The researchers hope to have them classified as endangered.&nbsp;



Beyond protecting the species the team has already identified, Professor Smith wants to explore other regions. He said that despite the progress they’ve made identifying new species, more research is needed to understand the diversity of miniature amphibians in Mexico.



“Our sampling efforts are limited in western Mexico and east of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, but we are already aware of more new species from this group that need to be described.”



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://bioone.org/journals/herpetological-monographs/volume-36/issue-1/0733-1347-36.1.1/Miniaturization-in-Direct-Developing-Frogs-from-Mexico-with-the-Description/10.1655/0733-1347-36.1.1.full">Herpetological Monographs</a>.



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

Frogs found in Mexico are among the world's smallest

An international team of researchers has uncovered six new species...

Instead of swimming freely in the ocean, garden <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-hunting-behavior-observed-among-electric-eels/">eels</a> anchor themselves into burrows in the sandy seabed, staying in one place for most of their lives. Their heads face against the flow of the current as they strike at zooplankton drifting by. Until recently, scientists knew little about how these fascinating creatures feed.&nbsp;



Now, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.oist.jp/">Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University</a> (OIST) has investigated for the first time the feeding behavior of garden eels in a laboratory setting, and revealed how these animals make use of their burrows, and change their posture and movements in response to strong currents, allowing them to feed in a wider range of flow speeds than many free-swimming fish.



“Free-swimming fish can shelter from currents by hiding in cracks and crevices in the reef,” said study lead author Kota Ishikawa, a doctoral student in Marine Biophysics at OIST. “But garden eels are stuck in a more exposed area, with only their own burrows for shelter, so they’ve had to develop their own unique strategies for dealing with strong currents.”



In their laboratory, the scientists recreated typical conditions by making a flume with a sandy bottom, containing several portable burrows, each of them housing a single spotted garden eel, Heteroconger hassi, a species commonly found in Okinawa. After adding zooplankton to the water, they used cameras to capture the motion of the garden eels as they fed at four different flow rates (0.1, 0.15, 0.2, and 0.25 m/s).&nbsp;



The experiment revealed that, as the current increased, the eels retreated farther into their burrows and focused their strikes on zooplankton which passed closer by. “This is a really important adaptation, as faster currents require more energy to move in,” Ishikawa explained.



However, as the current increased in speed up to 0.2 m/s, the retreat into burrows did not stop the eels from feeding at a rapid pace, due to the fact that more zooplankton drifted by in the given amount of time, thus offsetting the eels’ behavioral changes. Moreover, due to the shorter strike distance, the eels were more successful in catching their prey. At higher flows, the eels adopted a more curved posture, enabling them to reduce the amount of drag on their bodies by around 57 percent, which helped them conserve energy.



The feeding rate of the eels hit its peak at just under 0.2 m/s, proving that these animals are adapted to feed at a wider range of flow speeds than free-swimming reef fish (which have a peak rate of about 0.15 m/s). “We can see that their unique strategy of retreating into the burrows and reducing their strike distance really pays off when dealing with strong currents,” Ishikawa concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.243655">Journal of Experimental Biology</a>.&nbsp;



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

Study reveals the secret feeding strategies of garden eels

Instead of swimming freely in the ocean, garden eels anchor...

A new study led by the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> (U-M) has found that, regardless of their tiny brains, paper wasps (Polistes fuscatus) are capable of learning abstract concepts. Even more surprisingly, these wasps were also able to transfer what they learned through <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/music-sparks-strikingly-similar-visuals-among-people-of-the-same-culture/">visual</a> training into a different sensory modality: the olfactory sense.



In a series of previous studies, U-M evolutionary biologist Elizabeth Tibbetts and her colleagues have shown that paper wasps have an amazing capacity to learn, remember, and make social distinctions about others. For instance, they can recognize individuals of their species by variations in their facial markings, and they behave more aggressively towards wasps with different markings. Moreover, these wasps seem to have surprisingly long memories, basing their actions on what they remember of previous social interactions, and are able of transitive inference – a behavior resembling logical reasoning.



In the current study, the experts used laboratory tasks to test whether the wasps can learn and apply one of the most basic abstract concepts – the idea of sameness and difference. The wasps were trained to distinguish between pairs of visual or olfactory stimuli – two colored pieces of paper, two pictures of wasp faces, or two chemical odors – which were either identical or different. While one pair of stimuli was associated with a mild but unpleasant electrical shock, the other one was not.&nbsp;



Afterwards, the insects were exposed to new pairs of stimuli and tested on their capacity to avoid electric shocks by selecting the “correct” pair. Strikingly, trained wasps made the correct choice over 80 percent of the time. “Our findings show the wasps learned the general concept of sameness and difference and applied it to new samples and new types of stimuli,” said Professor Tibbetts. “Abstract concepts are thought to be associated with high levels of cognitive sophistication, so there has been much interest in which species can form and use them. This is the first time anyone has shown that wasps can form abstract concepts.”&nbsp;



“Remarkably, wasps applied the concept of sameness and difference across sensory modalities, as they transferred concepts learned in the visual domain to the odor domain,” added study first author Chloe Weise, a former master’s student at U-M. “Therefore, our results illustrate that Polistes are able to master abstract interrelationships between stimuli.”



Although several species of vertebrates such as primates, pigeons, crows, parrots, dolphins, and ducklings are able to form abstract concepts, paper wasps are only the second invertebrate species (after honeybees) that were capable to do this. Further research is needed to clarify the mechanisms by which they perform this amazing feat, and compare them to those employed by other species.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1156">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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

Paper wasps can form abstract concepts

A new study led by the University of Michigan (U-M)...

A new study suggests that the face of an owner can provide positive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/social-support-can-lower-stress-levels-in-orphaned-elephants/">social</a> reinforcement for dogs. This theory was tested by gathering a group of dogs and presenting them with two choices: a video showing their owner's face and a food reward or a video which showed the back of the owner’s head with the same food reward.&nbsp;



"It is increasingly assumed that domestication has equipped dogs with unique socio-cognitive skills, which raises the possibility of intriguing parallels between the social motivational systems of the two species. However, the positive incentive value of human facial stimuli is a largely unexplored area," explained the study authors. "Here, we investigated whether the owner's face serves as a social reinforcer."



Anna Kis, who studies canine behavior, has found many interesting test results about man’s best friend. For instance, one investigation revealed that - like humans - dogs experience sleep disturbances with less time in deep sleep after a stressful day.&nbsp;



Another study considered the effect of oxytocin on canine social cognition. The research team found that positive interaction with humans can increase oxytocin levels in dogs. Meanwhile, dogs living in shelters exhibit increased levels of cortisol, which is the hormone associated with stress.



For the current study, Kis wanted to understand whether seeing a human caregiver's face could&nbsp; influence a dog in a two-way choice task. Overall, 19 males and 20 females dogs watched both videos. The participating dogs showed a significant selection bias toward food placed next to their owners' faces.&nbsp;



Previous research, and of course, the experience of any pet owner, has shown that dogs find social interaction with humans intrinsically rewarding. These results are in line with previous studies which suggest that dogs perceive neutral human faces as positive rather than negative.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/iscience/home">iScience</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

Dogs gain positive reinforcement from their owner's face

A new study suggests that the face of an owner...

Tiktaalik is an iconic fossil species of lobe-finned fish discovered by scientists in 2004, on Ellesmere Island&nbsp;in&nbsp;Nunavut, Arctic Canada. What set this extinct species apart was that, in addition to having typical fish characteristics like gills, scales and fins, it also had some features of tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates), like strong bones in the fins that would have enabled it to support its weight on land. Tiktaalik’s combination of features are thought to show the&nbsp;evolutionary transition&nbsp;between swimming <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clownfish-adapt-their-size-to-fit-their-environment/">fish</a> and their descendants, the four-legged vertebrates.



Some people have jokingly admonished Tiktaalik for dragging itself out of the water and giving rise to four-legged land vertebrates. After all, if Tiktaalik had not done this, humanity would not be around today to endure the ravages of disease, war and modern life. And now it seems that a new fossil fish, found at the same time and in the same area as Tiktaalik, shows evidence of opting to return to living in open water, rather than taking the terrestrial option.



Scientists from the laboratory of Neil Shubin, PhD, who co-discovered&nbsp;Tiktaalik&nbsp;in 2004, now describe a fossil species that closely resembles&nbsp;Tiktaalik&nbsp;but has features that made it more suited to life in the water.&nbsp;The fossil remains include the fish’s partial upper and lower jaws, portions of its neck, and its scales. In addition, a complete pectoral fin is also present and this where the differences from Tiktaalik are obvious.



Qikiqtania wakei&nbsp;had a pectoral fin with a distinct humerus bone that lacked the ridges indicating muscles and joints that would have enabled it to walk on land. Instead,&nbsp;its upper arm was smooth and curved, more suited for a life of paddling underwater.&nbsp; The uniqueness of the arm bones of&nbsp;Qikiqtania&nbsp;suggest that it returned to paddling the water after its ancestors began to use their appendages for walking.&nbsp;



“At first we thought it could be a juvenile&nbsp;Tiktaalik, because it was smaller and maybe some of those processes hadn’t developed yet,” Shubin said. “But the humerus is smooth and boomerang shaped, and it doesn’t have the elements that would support it pushing up on land. It’s remarkably different and suggests something new.”



Shubin, who is the Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a>, found the fossil&nbsp;days before&nbsp;Tiktaalik&nbsp;was discovered, at a site about one mile east on southern Ellesmere Island in the territory of Nunavut in northern Arctic Canada. The name&nbsp;Qikiatania&nbsp;comes from the Inuktitut word Qikiqtaaluk or Qikiqtani, the traditional name for the region where the fossil site is located. The species name&nbsp;wakei&nbsp;is in memory of the late David Wake, an eminent evolutionary biologist from the University of California at Berkeley.



Shubin and his field partner, Ted Daeschler from the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, collected the specimens from a quarry after spotting a few promising looking rocks with distinctive, white scales on the surface. But they sat in storage, mostly unexamined, while the team focused on preparing&nbsp;Tiktaalik.



It was fifteen years before postdoctoral researchers Justin Lemberg and Tom Stewart put one of the larger blocks of rock through a CT scanner and realized it contained what they thought was a fossilized pectoral fin. Unfortunately, it was too deep inside the rock to get a high-resolution image and they would have to remove parts of the block to get closer to the fin. And then came COVID, and laboratories were forced to close down.&nbsp;



“We were trying to collect as much CT-data of the material as we could before the lockdown, and the very last piece we scanned was a large, unassuming block with only a few flecks of scales visible from the surface,” said Lemberg, who is now doing cultural resource management fieldwork in Southern California. “We could hardly believe it when the first, grainy images of a pectoral fin came into view. We knew we could collect a better scan of the block if we had the time, but that was March 13th, 2020, and the University shut down all non-essential operations the following week.”



The scientists were able trim pieces off the block and send it for another CT scan within a few months, and this time the resulting images were much clearer, revealing a nearly complete pectoral fin and upper limb, including the distinctive humerus bone. Their exciting results are published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“That’s what blew our minds,” Shubin said. “This was by no means a fascinating block at first, but we realized during the COVID lockdown when we couldn’t get in the lab that the original scan wasn’t good enough and we needed to trim the block. And when we did, look at what happened. It gave us something exciting to work on during the pandemic. It’s a fabulous story.”



Qikiqtania&nbsp;is slightly older than&nbsp;Tiktaalik&nbsp;but not by much. The team’s analysis of its position on the tree of life places it, like&nbsp;Tiktaalik,&nbsp;adjacent to the earliest creatures known to have finger-like digits. But even though&nbsp;Qikiqtania’s distinct pectoral fin was more suited for swimming, it wasn’t entirely fish-like either. Its curved paddle shape was a distinct adaptation, different from the jointed, muscled legs or fan-shaped fins we see in tetrapods and fish respectively today.



Unfortunately for Qikiqtania, its own adaptation ultimately did not help it to survive in the evolutionary race – we do not see evidence of this type of pectoral fin adaptation in today’s fish. However, the find does help us to understand that there was a diversity of different forms around in ancient times and that most of them ended up becoming extinct. Animal evolution can’t be explained in terms of a straight line that connects prehistoric forms to living creatures today. The story of&nbsp;Qikiqtania&nbsp;shows that some animals stayed on a different path that ultimately didn’t work out.&nbsp;



“Tiktaalik&nbsp;is often treated as a transitional animal because it’s easy to see the stepwise pattern of changes from life in the water to life on land. But we know that in evolution things aren’t always so simple,” said Stewart, who will be joining the faculty at Penn State University this summer. “We don’t often get glimpses into this part of vertebrate history. Now we’re starting to uncover that diversity and to get a sense of the ecology and unique adaptations of these animals. It’s more than simple&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

Fossil fish from Tiktaalik’s time chose life in the water

Tiktaalik is an iconic fossil species of lobe-finned fish discovered...

In a paper recently published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>, an international team of scientists found that more than 70 percent of the most diverse <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/environmental-stability-helped-ocean-biodiversity-flourish/">ocean</a> regions are threatened due to warming water.



“Our research shows that locations with exceptionally high marine biodiversity are the most exposed to future oceanic warming, making them particularly vulnerable to 21st century climatic change," explained study lead author Dr. Stuart Brown from the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/">University of Adelaide</a>’s Environment Institute.



“This is because species living in these biodiverse regions are generally ill-equipped to respond to large changes in temperature.”



Using past ocean warming rates and predicted rates, researchers determined where plants and animals would need to migrate to survive.



“In many cases this will require moving distances beyond the oceanic regions that these species evolved in and are adapted to, at rates of movement rarely seen for marine life," said Dr. Brown.



“While we have known for some years that recent human-induced climate change is affecting marine life through shifts in species distributions and abundances, the spatial pattern of exposure to past and future fast rates of ocean warming has been unclear," said study co-author Damien Fordham.



“By showing that areas of high marine biodiversity are disproportionately exposed to future warming, our results provide important new information for deriving and strengthening conservation actions to safeguard marine biodiversity under climate change."



People have a lot to lose, and so do other animals. The most at-risk areas are home to coral reefs that provide manatee and fish habitats. Reefs also buffer our coasts from the ravages of intense storms.



According to Fordham, we must start thinking about how we will negotiate warming oceans and biodiversity.&nbsp;



“Actions that strengthen ecological and evolutionary resilience to climate change should be a priority. These could include improving fisheries management, assisting the movement of species, and the expansion of well-managed, climate-smart marine protected areas.”



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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

Warming threatens the ocean’s most diverse regions

In a paper recently published in Global Change Biology, an...

Warm-bloodedness, or endothermy, is one of the most fascinating traits that arose sometime during the evolution of vertebrates. Early vertebrates, including fish and amphibians, were all cold-blooded, or ectothermic, meaning that they did not regulate their body temperatures but rather reflected the ambient temperature of their surroundings. But more modern vertebrates (birds and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/many-small-mammals-in-the-uk-tested-plastic-positive/">mammals</a>) use metabolic heat to keep their temperatures constant. When, in evolutionary time, this change occurred, is a topic of great interest for scientists.&nbsp;



There are several different forms of evidence for endothermy in dinosaurs - including their bone structure and largish brains, their distribution in colder regions, and their ability to move relatively fast. However, none of this evidence is conclusive. Now, in a new study published in&nbsp;the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, scientists suggest an interesting relationship between metabolic rate and the size of vertebrate ear canals that may help shed light on the time when ancient mammal ancestors became warm-blooded.



Evidence of endothermy does not fossilize easily. Most dinosaur fossils don’t record the skin covering, which might be hair or feathers if the animal were warm blooded. The fossil record also does not indicate whether most dinosaurs behaved in a way that matched an active, warm-blooded metabolism or a slow, cold-blooded one.&nbsp;



A team of researchers, led by scientists from London’s Natural History Museum, the University of Lisbon’s Instituto Superior Técnico, and the Field Museum in Chicago have discovered that animals’ inner ears may provide an indirect clue about their body temperatures.



The inner ears of all vertebrate animals contain tiny canals, filled with fluid, that help them balance. The fluid may be viscose or runny, depending on the temperature of the animal. Ectothermic animals have more viscous fluid because their body temperatures are lower – and associated with this increased viscosity is the fact that the ear canals need to be wider in order for the thicker fluid to move appropriately. Endotherms are warmer and so their ear canal fluid is runnier and requires only narrow ear canals through which to travel.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Until now, semicircular canals were generally used to predict locomotion of fossil organisms. However, by carefully looking at their biomechanics, we figured that we could also use them to infer body temperatures,” said study co-lead author Romain David. “This is because, like honey, the fluid contained inside semicircular canals gets less viscous when temperature increases, impacting function. Hence, during the transition to endothermy, morphological adaptations were required to keep optimal performances, and we could track them in mammal ancestors.”



The researchers compared the sizes of the inner ear canals of 341 animals, including 243 living species and 64 extinct ones. They found that mammal ancestors didn’t develop the kinds of inner ear structures ideal for warm-blooded animals until 233 million years ago, which is nearly 20 million years later than scientists had previously proposed for the evolution of warm-bloodedness.&nbsp;



In addition, they found that when those smaller semicircular canals did show up in the fossil record, they were accompanied by other, rather rapid changes like the evolution of whiskers, fur and specialized backbones in proto-mammals. And these changes all appeared in the fossil record rather rapidly, in evolutionary terms. The evolution of fur and warm-bloodedness at about the same time gives support to the ear canal hypothesis because fur traps the body heat generated by a higher metabolism, helping to keep the body at the high temperature it needs in order to thrive.



“Contrary to current scientific thinking, our paper surprisingly demonstrates that the acquisition of endothermy seems to have occurred very quickly in geological terms, in less than a million years,” said study co-lead author Ricardo Araújo. “It was not a gradual, slow process over tens of millions of years as previously thought, but maybe was attained quickly when triggered by novel mammal-like metabolic pathways and origin of fur.”



Study senior author Ken Angielczyk said that he is excited by how the study helps answer one of the longest-standing questions about the evolution of mammals.



“The origin of mammalian endothermy is one of the great unsolved mysteries of paleontology. Many different approaches have been used to try to predict when it first evolved, but they have often given vague or conflicting results,” said Angielczyk. “We think our method shows real promise because it has been validated using a very large number of modern species, and it suggests that endothermy evolved at a time when many other features of the mammalian body plan were also falling into place.”



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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

Ear canals may reveal when mammals became warm-blooded

Warm-bloodedness, or endothermy, is one of the most fascinating traits...

In a win for biodiversity, scientists from <a href="https://www.gwu.edu/">George Washington University</a> have discovered three new species of black-bellied salamander (Desmognathus quadramaculatus). These new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-in-three-species-could-vanish-this-century/">species</a> inhabit the southern Appalachian mountains in the eastern United States.&nbsp;



The species were hidden in plain sight because they are known as cryptic species, which are species that do not look very different. For more than 100 years, scientists believed the salamanders all belonged to the same group.&nbsp;



“Black-bellied salamanders have been commonly studied for over 100 years,” said lead researcher R. Alexander Pyron.



“In 2002, a cryptic dwarf species was discovered, and, in 2005, DNA evidence began to suggest there were still more. It wasn’t until our NSF-funded research in 2020 that we were able to sequence genome-scale data to figure out there were actually five similar-looking species.”



The researchers began to take a closer look at the black-bellied salamander and noticed slight morphological, genetic, and geographic differences between individuals. Some were different sizes, different shapes, or had their own unique color patterns.&nbsp;



Through genetic analysis, the experts determined that there are five species of black-bellied salamander - three of which were unknown to scientists. The new species are D. gvnigeusgwotli, D. kanawha, and D. mavrokoilius.



Pyron said that black-bellied salamanders have been miscategorized for a long time. “After looking at multiple specimens, we see obvious and substantial phenotypic variation between most lineages.”



“In fact, the name ‘quadramaculatus,’ which was used for over 120 years, is not the correct name for any of these five species. We tracked down the original specimens at museums in Philadelphia and Paris and found that they belonged to a totally separate species. This raises the question of how ‘cryptic’ they ultimately are.”



According to the researchers, this discovery offers opportunities to learn about the new black-bellied salamanders. These cryptic species may have more secrets to reveal.



Image Credit: Todd Pierson, Kennesaw State University



This study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mapress.com/bn/article/view/bionomina.27.1.1">Bionomina</a>.



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

Three new black-bellied salamanders were hidden in plain sight

In a win for biodiversity, scientists from George Washington University...

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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

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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

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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 



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



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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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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