Ever pondered the extraordinary migratory journeys of birds? 



These feathered wanderers traverse thousands of kilometers, exhibiting an incredible knack for endurance and navigation that almost seems magical. 



In past research, the stars, the Sun and the Earth's magnetic field have all been implicated as means by which birds find their way to faraway places.



A recent study has shed new light on how birds use the magnetic field to navigate, and the findings challenge previously held beliefs.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-science-behind-bird-migration">The science behind bird migration</h2>



The research was conducted by scientists from <a href="https://www.bangor.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bangor University</a> in Wales, and focused on the migratory behavior of Eurasian reed warblers, which are small songbirds.



The study presents an intriguing hypothesis: these birds employ only the Earth's magnetic dip and variation to identify their position and set their direction.



This revelation is a significant stride away from the conventional belief that all aspects of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earths-magnetic-field-is-shifting-and-putting-navigation-at-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Earth's magnetic field</a>, particularly total intensity, are essential to precise navigation. 



For years, it was believed that birds carry a 'map-and-compass' navigation system. They identify their location using this "map," and the "<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/migratory-bats-use-earths-magnetic-field-as-a-compass/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">compass</a>" aids in maintaining the correct direction towards their destination.



However, the precise nature of this 'map' has always been a topic of debate.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-birds-respond-to-virtual-displacement">How birds respond to virtual displacement </h2>



The experiment involved subjecting the warblers to "virtual displacement."



The birds experienced artificially adjusted values of magnetic inclination (the dip angle of the field lines) and declination&nbsp;(the difference between the direction to the geographic and magnetic poles).



This simulation created the illusion of a geographic relocation while maintaining a consistent total magnetic intensity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-birds-use-certain-cues-to-navigate">Birds use certain cues to navigate</h2>



The results were nothing short of astonishing. Despite the simulated relocation, the birds recalibrated and redirected their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-geese-adapt-by-finding-a-new-migratory-route/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">migratory routes</a> as though they were in an entirely different location. 



This behavior suggests that birds can determine their position and direction using only certain magnetic cues, even if other aspects of the magnetic field, such as total intensity, remain unchanged.



"What's interesting is that these findings reveal that the birds don't necessarily need all components of the Earth's magnetic field to determine their position. They can rely solely on inclination and declination, which are also used in compass orientation, to extract their location," explained Professor Richard Holland, the study's leader, who specializes in animal behavior. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-understanding-of-how-birds-navigate">New understanding of how birds navigate</h2>



These findings indicate that birds are equipped with a sophisticated and adaptable internal navigation system.



This system allows them to adjust to environmental changes, even in situations they've never encountered before.



"It remains to be seen whether birds use the total intensity of the Earth's magnetic field for navigation in other contexts, but what we've shown is that these two components - magnetic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-birds-know-when-its-time-to-stop-migrating/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">inclination</a> and declination - are enough to provide positional information," stated Prof. Holland.



This study carves out exciting avenues for further research into animal navigation. It sets a solid foundation for broader biological studies, including into how animals decipher and interact with their environment.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-advantage-of-magnetic-navigation">Evolutionary advantage of magnetic navigation</h2>



This newfound understanding of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-migration-is-influenced-by-social-relationships/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bird migration</a> and navigation raises questions about how these magnetic cues evolved and why they became central to avian migration.



The ability to rely on magnetic dip and variation could provide birds with a reliable, all-weather navigation system that ensures their survival across vast distances.



Unlike visual landmarks or celestial cues, magnetic fields are constant and unaffected by weather, providing an advantage in conditions where other methods might fail.



The evolutionary benefits of this specialized navigation system are immense. Birds that migrate successfully are better equipped to find food, suitable climates, and breeding grounds, thereby enhancing their chances of survival and reproduction.



This adaptability suggests that magnetic navigation may have been a critical trait for birds that traverse unpredictable environments, such as oceans or dense forests, where visual or auditory landmarks are scarce.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-the-study">Broader implications of the study</h2>



Moreover, understanding the mechanics behind this capability opens doors to potential applications in biomimicry and navigation technologies. 



Researchers may one day harness the principles behind avian magnetic navigation to develop new, eco-friendly navigation tools or improve current systems used in aviation and marine transport. 



This study highlights how much we still have to learn from nature's most seasoned travelers.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.1363" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.



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Birds navigate using clues from Earth's magnetic field

Ever pondered the extraordinary migratory journeys of birds? These feathered wanderers traverse thousands of kilometers, exhibiting an incredible knack for endurance and navigation that almost seems magical. In past research, the stars, the Sun and the Earth's magnetic field have all been implicated as means by which birds find their way to faraway places. A recent study has shed new light on how birds use the magnetic field to navigate, and the findings challenge previously held beliefs. The science behind bird migration The research was conducted by...

The sexual anatomy of marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-mammals-are-vanishing-in-the-uk/">mammals</a> is difficult to understand fully because we cannot be present when these animals mate underwater in the world’s oceans. And when scientists do get hold of dead specimens, their sexual organs are usually shriveled and not in a life-like state.&nbsp;



However, in a study published today in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>, researchers from Mount Holyoke College, the University of Florida and Texas A&amp;M University report on their detailed examination of the structure and neurology of the clitoris in female bottlenose dolphins. They explain that female dolphins have a very obvious clitoris that sits at the entrance to the vagina but that there has been little study of this organ or of female sexual pleasure in nature, in general.&nbsp;



The researchers became curious about the function of the clitoris while studying the evolution of vaginas in dolphins. The position of the clitoris in a dolphin’s vagina would make stimulation during copulation likely, and thus the researchers questioned whether the structure of the organ in dolphins would reveal evidence that it functions to produce sensations of pleasure.



“Every time we dissected a vagina, we would see this very large clitoris, and we were curious whether anyone had examined it in detail to see if it worked like a human clitoris,” said study&nbsp;first author Professor Patricia Brennan. “We knew that dolphins have sex not just to reproduce, but also to solidify social bonds, so it seemed likely that the clitoris could be functional.”



Dolphins are among the few mammalian species that are involved in sexual behavior at times when they cannot conceive. This has led to the hypothesis that dolphins may be sexually active not only in the name of reproduction, but also because this brings them pleasure.&nbsp;



Brennan and colleagues examined the clitoris from each of 11 female dolphins that had died naturally. They analyzed the shape and configuration of erectile bodies within the organ, as well as the nature and pathways of nerves that ran through the tissues. Their results supported the hypothesis that female dolphins have a functional clitoris that helps to make the sexual experience pleasurable.&nbsp;



“Just like the human clitoris, the dolphin clitoris has large areas of erectile tissue that fill up with blood,” said Professor Brennan.



The erectile tissue changes shape as dolphins mature, which suggests that it acquires a function that is associated with being an adult. Their studies also show that the clitoris body has large nerves and many free nerve endings right underneath the skin, which is much thinner there than in the adjacent skin. They also found genital corpuscles much like those previously described in the human clitoris and penis tip, which are known to be involved in the pleasure response.



Overall, Professor Brennan says that the erectile bodies in dolphins are “surprisingly similar” to the shape of the erectile bodies in humans.



“Since the entire pelvis of dolphins is so different to humans, it was surprising to see how similar the shapes were. Also, the size of the nerves in the clitoris body was very surprising. Some were larger than half a millimeter in diameter.”



This research helps to remedy the situation that the general anatomy of the clitoris in female mammals has often been inadequately or inaccurately described in the past, and the deep structures of the organ have historically been overlooked. In fact, even the human clitoris wasn’t fully described until the 1990s.&nbsp;



“This neglect in the study of female sexuality has left us with an incomplete picture of the true nature of sexual behaviors,” said Professor Brennan. “Studying and understanding sexual behaviors in nature is a fundamental part of understanding the animal experience and may even have important medical applications in the future.”



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer&nbsp;

Female dolphins have a clitoris that provides sexual pleasure

The sexual anatomy of marine mammals is difficult to understand...

Ecological interactions are often not simple or straightforward in nature. Instead, they commonly represent trade-offs between different processes so that the best compromise is reached in the end.&nbsp;This is exactly what scientists from the <a href="https://www.ice.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology</a> found when they investigated the choices made by female tobacco hawkmoths (Manduca sexta) when laying their eggs. 



The hawkmoths did not always make the obvious choice when placing their eggs on the leaves of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-plants-cause-a-global-loss-of-floristic-uniqueness/">plants</a> that would provide food for the larvae, once they hatched. Previous research had shown that tobacco hawkmoths avoid laying their eggs on plants where they smell the feces of other hawkmoths. “This is apparently their way of avoiding food competition. Therefore, we wondered whether the moths also avoid plants infested by other herbivorous insects,” explained study first author Jin Zhang.



In the lab, the researchers gave female hawkmoths a choice between laying their eggs on sacred Datura plants (Datura wrightii) that were infested with three-lined potato beetles (Lema daturaphila) or Datura plants that had no potato beetles. Both adult and larval potato beetles feed on the leaves of this plant, and the researchers hypothesized that the hawkmoths would avoid plants where potato beetles were present in order to ensure the maximum supply of food for their offspring.&nbsp;



But the hawkmoth females surprised the researchers by laying their eggs, preferentially, on the leaves of Datura plants that already hosted numerous potato beetles.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“To be honest, we were a little frustrated at first because we had expected the experiments to confirm our initial hypothesis, namely that egg-laying tobacco hawkmoths avoid food competitors,” explained study leader Markus Knaden.



“In our case, however, the unexpected observation suddenly made sense when we realized that beetle-infested plants smell quite differently and that parasitoid wasps, which often use plant odors to find their host insects, are less efficient at detecting tobacco hornworms on beetle-infested plants."



Tobacco hornworms, the larvae or caterpillars of tobacco hawkmoths, are heavily parasitized by the wasp&nbsp;Cotesia congregate, which lays its eggs in the caterpillars. Up to 90 percent of these caterpillars are parasitized by wasps and die shortly after the wasp larva hatches. Female hawkmoths therefore need to consider not only the available food supply for their larvae, but also their potential exposure to this parasitic wasp species.



The experts analyzed the odor given off by Datura&nbsp;plants when they carry an infestation of three-lined potato beetles compared to the odor emitted when there is no infestation. They found that infested plants produce more alpha-copaene in the in their odor when the beetles and their larvae are present. Interestingly, these three-lined potato beetles coat themselves with their own feces, possibly as a means of deterring would-be predators and parasites.&nbsp;



The research team then tried to establish how exactly the tobacco hawkmoth females detect the presence of the molecular substance alpha-copaene. Of the 70 potential chemical receptors present in the hawkmoths, the researchers identified a single one, Or35, as the odorant receptor activated by alpha-copaene. They suggest that this receptor is probably involved in the moth’s choice of where to deposit its eggs.



Next, the experts tested the choices made by the wasps (Cotesia congregate) that parasitize tobacco hawkmoth caterpillars. They found that the wasps preferred the odor of plants on which tobacco hornworms were feeding, but they also avoided the odor of plants that were infested with potato beetles. These results were confirmed by assays in an experimental tent containing&nbsp;Datura&nbsp;plants infested by tobacco hawkmoths only, or by tobacco hawkmoths and potato beetles together. Wasps also avoided plants with beetles in this setting.



The findings indicate that female tobacco hawkmoths, when choosing where to lay their eggs, weigh up the benefit for their larvae of having no food competition against the disadvantage of being parasitized by the wasps. Although tobacco hornworms develop more slowly on plants that are additionally infested by beetles, the mother moths accept this disadvantage when laying their eggs. The advantage of protecting their offspring from parasitic wasps must therefore outweigh the disadvantage of food competition. Such cost-benefit trade-offs play a significant role in many ecological interactions.&nbsp;



“Our results show that in nature, simple explanations are often not sufficient. Tobacco hawkmoths do not only have to take into account whether a plant is a good food substrate for their offspring, but also whether potential competitors are already present, and whether the presence of these competitors could even help to hide [their offspring] from predators,” concluded study co-author Bill Hansson.



The researchers will focus future studies on the reasons why&nbsp;Datura&nbsp;plants emit different odors depending on the insects that feed on them. They plan to use interdisciplinary approaches that also consider, for example, the role of microorganisms in these complex interactions, and hope to uncover further exciting aspects of the multifaceted interactions between living organisms.



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



---



By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Complex factors determine where hawkmoths lay their eggs

Ecological interactions are often not simple or straightforward in nature....

New research led by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> has found that pheasants’ heads cool rapidly as they prepare to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hyenas-make-faces-when-they-want-to-play-fight/">fight</a> due to a stress response during which blood runs to the body’s core. Their heads then heat up again afterward, as normal blood flow is restored.



The researchers used thermal cameras to watch juvenile pheasants (six or seven weeks old), and see how their temperature changed during aggressive interactions that often occur in order to establish the “pecking order” - a term coined by the Norwegian zoologist Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe over a century ago to describe the dominance hierarchy characterizing many animal species.&nbsp;



"Thermal cameras provide a unique opportunity to non-invasively measure dynamic changes in physiological state over a short period of time," explained study co-author Dr. Mark Whiteside, a behavioral ecologist and applied ethologist at the <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">University of Plymouth</a>. "Using this technique we were able to measure responses to aggressive interactions, in semi-natural environments, in real time."



The researchers found that both the instigator and the recipient of the aggression grew more cool-headed before a fight due to a stress response common in multiple animal species, which is crucial in relocating the blood flow in parts of the body core where it is more useful during a fight.



"We were surprised that both individuals in these aggressive encounters followed a similar pattern of cooling and heating," said&nbsp;study lead author Dr. Tim Fawcett, an expert in Animal Behavior, Evolution, and Behavioral Ecology at the University of Exeter.



"We expected that a fight would be more stressful for the pheasant on the receiving end of the aggression, and therefore that we'd see a stronger response in them. We can't say for certain what causes this pattern, but it could be that maintaining a place at the top of the pecking order is just as stressful as being at the bottom."



While both male and female pheasants followed a similar pattern of cooling and heating before and after a fight, the scientists found that females were cooler on average. Further research is needed to fully understand these gender differences.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rstb">Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B</a>.



---



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

Pheasants’ heads literally cool off as they prepare to fight

New research led by the University of Exeter has found...

Ocean warming, acidification, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lakes-are-losing-oxygen-much-faster-than-oceans/">oxygen</a> depletion and other changes are impacting marine animals, and these impacts include the displacement of some fish species. To understand these changes, an international team of scientists led by <a href="https://www.uni-kiel.de/en/">Kiel University</a> (CAU) has created an environmental model of the warm period 125,000 years ago (Eemian interglacial) using sediment samples from the Humboldt Current system off the coast of Peru.&nbsp;



The research shows that the warming of the Humboldt Current could have far-reaching consequences, and that ocean warming is a major threat to the world's fish supply.&nbsp;



The experts found that under warmer conditions, smaller goby-like fish dominated the environment, while important food species such as anchovies were pushed back. The results are independent of management or fishing practices in the region.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"The conditions of this past warm period that we were able to reconstruct from our samples can definitely be compared to the current development and put in context with future scenarios," said study first author Dr. Renato Salvatteci.&nbsp;



"According to this, there is a clear regime shift towards smaller fish that feel more comfortable in the warm, lower-oxygen conditions. We conclude from our results that the effects of human-induced climate change may have a stronger influence on the evolution of stocks in the region than previously thought."



The area off the coast of Peru is one of the world’s most important fisheries, supplying roughly eight percent the total global catch of marine species. Around ten percent of the world’s anchovies are caught in this region, with much of them being processed into fish meal for aquaculture projects abroad. Smaller fish are better able to survive in warmer, less oxygenated water. The research shows that ocean warming in the Humboldt Current upwelling area may soon reach an irreversible tipping point. Beyond this threshold, commercial fisheries that are an important part of the global food supply chain could start to collapse.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



"In contrast to the present-day anchovy-dominated state, the last interglacial was characterized by considerably smaller (mesopelagic and goby-like) fishes and very low anchovy abundance," wrote the study authors.



"These small fish species are more difficult to harvest and are less palatable than anchovies, indicating that our rapidly warming world poses a threat to the global fish supply."



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



---



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

Ocean warming threatens the global fish supply

Ocean warming, acidification, oxygen depletion and other changes are impacting...

The Omicron variant has already spread all over the world, causing an enormous number of infections in many countries, including all-time records in the US, UK, Australia, and many places in Europe. Although it appears to be <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-is-surging-but-may-cause-less-severe-illness/">milder</a> than previous coronavirus variants, its high <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-high-transmissibility-and-chance-for-reinfection/">transmissibility</a> - as well as its ability to partly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omicron-partial-immune-evasion-after-vaccination/">evade</a> antibodies gained after prior infection or vaccination - could still lead to high rates of hospitalization and deaths.



One of the most puzzling aspects of this variant is the high number of mutations that it acquired compared to previous strains such as the wild-type virus first found in Wuhan in 2019. Since Omicron is clearly not a direct descendent of other variants of concern such as Alpha, Beta, or Delta, scientists want to know where this variant originated and how it managed to gain such an extraordinary contagiousness.



One of the hypotheses regarding Omicron’s origin is that it started circulating in mid-2020 in a location without much genetic monitoring or testing capacity (possibly an African country), and that a year and a half later it managed to pick up so many mutations that it practically “exploded onto the scene” in November, in South Africa’s Gauteng province. However, this theory is unlikely considering that such a contagious coronavirus strain would have probably been noticed much earlier.



Another hypothesis is that one of SARS-CoV-2’s previous variants (or perhaps even the Wuhan wild-type) has infected a severely immunocompromised person (possibly an untreated HIV patient). The virus was not lethal, but remained in the individual's body long enough to acquire a vast number of mutations. The most troubling question with this theory, however, is how the variant was not spread by this person sooner.



A new study published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1673852721003738">Journal of Genetics and Genomics</a> is offering a fascinating alternative hypothesis. According to a research team led by the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, the rapid accumulation of mutations in the Omicron variant that enabled its fulminant global outbreak suggests that its proximal origin may have been an animal rather than a human host - most likely mice.



“The molecular spectrum of mutations acquired by the progenitor of Omicron was significantly different from the spectrum for viruses that evolved in human patients&nbsp;but resembled the spectra associated with virus evolution in a mouse cellular environment,” the study authors wrote.



“Furthermore, mutations in the Omicron spike protein significantly overlapped with SARS-CoV-2 mutations known to promote adaptation to mouse hosts, particularly through enhanced spike protein&nbsp;binding affinity&nbsp;for the mouse cell entry receptor.”&nbsp;



Thus, it seems highly possible that, at some point during 2020, the virus jumped from humans to mice, where it rapidly accumulated this staggering number of mutations, then jumped back into humans towards the end of 2021, “indicating an inter-species evolutionary trajectory for the Omicron outbreak.”



If this hypothesis will turn out to be true, it will add to the evidence that the hope of a final eradication of SARS-CoV-2 becomes increasingly less probable the more we learn about this virus. While animal populations remain susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection, there is always the possibility that the virus will spill back into humans at some point, probably in highly mutated forms. And whether these new strains will turn out to be more or less pathogenic will most likely be a matter of pure luck (or bad luck), an evolutionary gambit.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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

Did the Omicron variant jump to humans from mice?

The Omicron variant has already spread all over the world,...

A recent statement from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) laid out a plan to permanently remove 19,000 wild horses and burros from public land, The <a href="https://americanwildhorsecampaign.org/">American Wild Horse Campaign</a> (AWHC) issued a response, criticizing the Biden administration for utilizing an "unscientific" management plan.&nbsp;



The AWHC points out that there are already 58,000 wild horses and burros in government holding pens, and adding to this number is unlikely to help matters.&nbsp;



The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has already concluded that roundup removals are counterproductive. Instead of lowering populations, these roundups lead to artificial population growth. Instead, the NAS recommends birth control vaccines to control equid populations. “It is extremely disappointing that the Biden Administration has chosen to pursue the unscientific policy of mass roundups for the management of our nation’s iconic, federally protected wild horse and burro populations," said the AWHC statement.



"The mass removal of these cherished animals from our public lands won’t solve any of the pressing environmental problems facing our public lands today, but it will cost taxpayers billions of dollars - and the lives of far too many horses and burros.”



As it now stands, wild horses occupy a mere 12 percent of BLM managed land, outnumbered by commercial grazing livestock. These farm animals damage the land and contribute to climate change as well as compete with wild horses and other animals for resources.&nbsp;



AWHC and other organizations such as the Sierra Club push for removal of these animals as a way to combat climate change and make room for other creatures.&nbsp;



The statement by AWHC ends on a high point, wishing that the BLM will change its tactics under the new leadership of Tracy Stone-Manning.



“As part of the FY22 House and Senate Interior Appropriations bills, a portion of BLM’s annual budget was allocated toward fertility control vaccines and directed the BLM to implement fertility control as a step away from costly and inhumane roundups," said the statement.



"We hope that the new leadership at the BLM will take this opportunity to change course toward truly scientific and sustainable management that will protect and preserve America’s wild horses and burros and the public lands they call home.”



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

America's wild horse removals are counterproductive

A recent statement from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)...

A recent study published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/jfb.14970">Journal of Fish Biology</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/as-oceans-warm-up-smaller-species-of-fish-will-dominate/">fish</a> become sexually active and spawn for the first time in response to growth-induced respiratory stress. Thus, the prevailing predictor of maturation in fish appears to be a redirection of energy from growth to reproduction.



Researchers from the <a href="https://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> and the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> (UBC) estimated the ratio of oxygen consumption at maximum size and mean size at first maturity in 200 fish populations spanning 133 species of fishes. They found that fish reach adulthood when this ratio is approximately 1.40.



“The consistency of this ratio across the species we looked at – and other species studied in the past or now being studied – supports the idea that reproduction is initiated by changes in the balance between oxygen supply and demand,” explained study senior author Dr. Daniel Pauly, the principal investigator of UBC’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.seaaroundus.org/">Sea Around Us&nbsp;</a>initiative.



“Maturation and spawning appear to be induced when the supply of oxygen relative to the weight of individual fish declines. Thus, growing fish gradually become oxygen-limited, and there is a threshold, now identified, which tells them that it’s time to respond to external stimuli for maturation and spawning.”



According to Dr. Pauly’s “Gill Oxygen Limitation Theory (GOLT),” the oxygen supply of fish gradually declines as their weight increases because their gills (the organs used to extract oxygen from the water) are two-dimensional surfaces which cannot keep up with the development of their three-dimensional bodies. At a certain point, fish’s growth leads to a decline in gill surface area, which causes a critical level of oxygen supply. “This triggers the hormonal cascade that pushes fish to respond to environmental stimuli to mature and spawn,” said Dr. Pauly.



“Being able to corroborate with empirical evidence that respiratory stress is what prompts fish to reach first maturity when they do is a nice achievement,” added study co-author Dr. Cui Liang, a researcher in Oceanography at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. “This has important implications for aquaculture practitioners, who have long known the importance of dissolved oxygen in fish production.”&nbsp;



Moreover, according to the scientists, the study findings can also be used explain why fish stressed by rise in sea temperature and deoxygenation caused by climate change may tend to reproduce at smaller sizes.&nbsp;



---



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

Respiratory stress is linked to the sexual maturation of fish

A recent study published in the Journal of Fish Biology...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> has found that dairy farmers from the Northeast U.S. can reduce the environmental impact of their practices and maximize their revenues by double cropping and injecting manure into the soil instead of broadcasting it. These findings are particularly important in the context of ongoing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-can-slow-global-warming-but-they-cannot-stop-it/">global warming</a> which exacerbates nutrient pollution and lengthens the growing season.



According to scientists, warmer conditions will induce increased ammonia volatilization from manure, as well as more frequent and severe storms that will cause phosphorous runoff. Thus, new strategies are urgently needed to limit nitrogen and phosphorous losses from crop fields, and subsequent environmental pollution.



By using the <a href="https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/up-pa/pswmru/docs/integrated-farm-system-model/">Integrated Farm System Model</a> developed by C. Alan Rotz, an agricultural engineer at the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">U.S. Department of Agriculture</a>, scientists simulated several farm management strategies under different climate conditions in order to determine their possible effects on crop yields, nitrogen and phosphorous losses, feed production, sediment erosion, fossil energy use, and production costs.&nbsp;



The researchers found that double cropping and subsurface injection of manure reduced nitrogen losses by 12 to 18 percent and phosphorous losses by 16 to 19 percent, while maintaining and potentially even reducing farm-production costs.



“There’s a lot of interest in double cropping among Northeast dairy farmers,” said study co-author Heather Karsten, an associated professor of Crop Production and Ecology at Pennsylvania State University. “I think farmers are realizing they have a longer growing season, and there are more precipitation events in spring that make getting into the field to do any operation more challenging. Our results demonstrate that adoption of these strategies can help mitigate dairy farm environmental impacts now and even more in the future.”



According to Professor Karsten and her colleagues, reducing projected increases in soluble phosphorous runoff and ammonia emissions caused by warmer temperature and increased levels of precipitation provides a feasible adaptation and mitigation approach for current and future climate change.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0308521X21002791?via%3Dihub">Agricultural Systems</a>.



---



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

Dairy farmers can use strategies to adapt to climate change

A new study led by Pennsylvania State University has found...

Australia has not always been a land with desert and dry, scrubby vegetation at is center. In fact, at the start of the Miocene (23 million years ago), after the continent had broken away from South America and Antarctica and was drifting slowly northwards, it was covered with verdant rainforest. The Miocene was a time of enormous richness and biodiversity in Australia, equal to that found today in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-in-the-amazon-rainforest-hits-new-records/">rainforests</a> of Borneo and the Amazon.



The animals and plants from this time are not well represented from fossil deposits in Australia, but a new fossil site known as McGrath’s Flat has now changed all that. Located in the Central Tablelands in New South Wales near the town of Gulgong, the site contains superb examples of fossilized animals and plants from the Miocene epoch.&nbsp;



A team of Australian and international scientists led by <a href="https://australian.museum/?gclid=CjwKCAiA5t-OBhByEiwAhR-hm-DYGQOrxIK6Sf_SBPKyImc0zY1JAOMKiyjyxw7dcw7fj3o6noNDjxoCouwQAvD_BwE">Australian Museum </a>(AM) and University of New South Wales paleontologist Dr. Matthew McCurry, and Dr. Michael Frese of the University of Canberra have been excavating fossils from the site in secret during the past three years. The experts have discovered thousands of fossilized specimens, including rainforest plants, insects, spiders, fish and a bird’s feather.



Dr. McCurry said the fossils formed between 11 and 16 million years ago and are important for understanding the history of the Australian continent.&nbsp;



“The fossils we have found prove that the area was once a temperate, mesic rainforest and that life was rich and abundant here in the Central Tablelands, NSW,” McCurry said.



“Many of the fossils that we are finding are new to science and include trapdoor spiders, giant cicadas, wasps and a variety of fish,” McCurry said.



“Until now it has been difficult to tell what these ancient ecosystems were like, but the level of preservation at this new fossil site means that even small, fragile organisms like insects turned into well-preserved fossils,” McCurry said.



The exceptional level of preservation from the site has led to its being termed a&nbsp;‘<a href="https://australian.museum/learn/australia-over-time/fossils/how-do-fossils-form/">Lagerstätte’</a>, a term used to denote a sedimentary site that exhibits extraordinary fossils with detailed preservation. The fossils were formed in a type of iron-rich rock called goethite, which is not usually a source of exceptional fossils.&nbsp;



“We think that the process that turned these organisms into fossils is key to why they are so well preserved,” explains McCurry. “Our analyses suggest that the fossils formed when iron-rich groundwaters drained into a billabong, and that a precipitation of iron minerals encased organisms that were living in, or fell into, the water.”



Associate Professor Michael Frese, who imaged the fossils using stacking microphotography and a scanning electron microscope (SEM), said that the fossils from McGrath’s Flat show an incredibly detailed preservation.&nbsp;



“Using electron microscopy, I can image individual cells of plants and animals and sometimes even very small subcellular structures,” Frese said.



“The discovery of melanosomes (subcellular organelles that store the melanin pigment) allows us to reconstruct the color pattern of birds and fishes that once lived at McGrath’s Flat. Interestingly, the color itself is not preserved, but by comparing the size, shape and stacking pattern of the melanosomes in our fossils with melanosomes in extant specimens, we can often reconstruct color and/or color patterns,” Frese explained.



“The fossils also preserve evidence of interactions between species. For instance, we have fish stomach contents preserved in the fish, meaning that we can figure out what they were eating. We have also found examples of pollen preserved on the bodies of insects so we can tell which species were pollinating which plants,” Frese added.



Dr. McCurry said that the fossilized plants and animals are similar to those found in rainforests of northern Australia, but that there were signs that the ecosystem at McGrath’s Flat was beginning to become more arid.



Around 14 million years ago a sudden change in climate known as the “Middle Miocene Disruption” caused widespread extinctions of Australian fauna and flora. Subsequently, throughout the latter half of the Miocene, Australia gradually became more and more arid, and rainforests turned into the dry shrublands and deserts that now characterize the landscape.



“The pollen we found in the sediment [at McGrath’s Flat] suggests that there might have been drier habitats surrounding the wetter rainforest, indicating a change to drier conditions,” McCurry said.



Professor&nbsp;David Cantrill, Executive Director, Science, at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Victoria said that the variety of fossils preserved, together with an extraordinary fidelity of preservation, allows for unprecedented insights into an important time in Australia’s past, a time when mesic ecosystems still dominated the continent.



“The McGrath’s Flat plant fossils give us a window into the vegetation and ecosystems of a warmer world, one that we are likely to experience in the future. The preservation of the plant fossils is unique and provides important insights into a time period for which the fossil record in Australia is rather poor,” Cantrill said.



Australian Museum Chief Scientist and director of the AM’s Research Institute, Professor Kristofer Helgen said that the fossil site brings to life a picture of outback Australia that we can now barely believe existed.



“Australia is a unique continent biologically, and this site is extremely valuable in what it tells us about the evolutionary history of this part of the world. It provides further evidence of changing climates and helps fill the gaps in our knowledge of that time and region,” Helgen said.



The results of the paleontological investigation by the Australian scientists is published today in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</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

Fossil site in Australia indicates abundant life during the Miocene

Australia has not always been a land with desert and...

A recent study led by the <a href="https://www.uts.edu.au/">University of Technology Sydney</a>, Australia, has found that ocean <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-acidification-disrupts-the-behavior-of-fish-shoals/">acidification</a> – a process mainly caused by carbon dioxide from the atmosphere that is dissolved into the ocean – is a significant threat to a large variety of marine life forms. The study revealed the different effects that ocean acidification had on the energy stores of diatoms, a type of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-profoundly-affect-plankton-communities/">phytoplankton</a> that plays a critical role in marine food chains.



“Primary production in the Southern Ocean is dominated by diatom-rich phytoplankton assemblages, whose individual physiological characteristics and community composition are strongly shaped by the environment, yet knowledge on how diatoms allocate cellular energy in response to ocean acidification (OA) is limited,” wrote the study authors. “Understanding such changes in allocation is integral to determining the nutritional quality of diatoms and the subsequent impacts on the trophic transfer of energy and nutrients.”



By using infrared microspectroscopy – a method usually employed to identify and study chemical substances in liquid, solid, or gaseous forms – the scientists analyzed the macromolecular content of diatoms from a natural Antarctic phytoplankton community that was exposed to ocean acidification caused by a gradient of dissolved carbon dioxide.&nbsp;



“To date, we know little about how ocean acidification will affect the nutritional value of phytoplankton. Our study showed that diatom species exposed to acidified conditions change the way they store excess energy in unique ways,” reported study senior author Dr. Katherina Petrou,&nbsp;an associate professor of Marine Biology at&nbsp;the University of Technology Sydney.&nbsp;



“Our work suggests that ocean acidification will influence the type of energy available at the base of the food web, which ultimately could affect the productivity of our marine ecosystems.”



Dr. Petrou and her colleagues discovered that various species of diatoms acted differently when exposed to environmental stressors such as high concentrations of carbon dioxide. While larger species showed preferential energy allocation toward proteins at high carbon dioxide levels, smaller species increased both their protein and lipid stores.



“If these changes are representative of future Antarctic diatom physiology, we may expect a shift away from lipid-rich large diatoms towards a community dominated by smaller taxa, but with higher lipid and protein stores than their present-day contemporaries, a response that could have cascading effects on food web dynamics in the Antarctic marine ecosystem,” concluded the authors.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.17868">New Phytologist</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

Marine food chains threatened by ocean acidification

A recent study led by the University of Technology Sydney,...

A research team from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> has recently developed an automated method that can reliably identify calls from a family of fish living among <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reef-biodiversity-expected-to-shuffle-but-not-decline/">coral reefs</a>. This method uses data collected by hydrophones and offers an efficient and cheap way of understanding changes in marine environments caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/95-percent-of-ocean-could-become-inhospitable-this-century/">climate change</a> or other human influences.



Hydrophones are underwater microphones that are increasingly being used in the world’s oceans because they work at night, in low visibility conditions, and during long periods of time.



The scientists collected 18,000 hours of acoustic data over 39 months in a tropical coral reef region from the National Park of American Samoa, via a 12-station hydrophone area coordinated by the <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA) and the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/index.htm">National Park Service</a>. The team decided to analyze the distinctive calls of damselfish, which grind their teeth to create clicks, pops, and chirps associated with aggressive behavior and nest defense.



However, the staggering amount of data made it impossible for human beings to thoroughly search through it. “This is such a slow and tedious process,” said study lead author Jill Munger, a research assistant in Marine Ecology at Oregon State University. “I have all this data, and I am just looking at a tiny, tiny portion of it. What’s happening in all the other parts that I haven’t had a chance to listen to?”



At the advice of her brother, Daniel Herrera, a machine learning engineer, Munger and her colleagues built a machine learning algorithm which used an initial set of 4-500 damselfish calls as training data, and afterwards learned to accurately identify 94 percent of damselfish calls.



“We built a machine learning model on a relatively small set of training data and then applied it to an enormous set of data,” Munger explained. “The implications for monitoring the environment are huge.”



This innovative method will increasingly be used by scientists in order to monitor many species of fish in the oceans to assess the impact of climate change or other environmental stressors on marine ecosystems.&nbsp;



“The benefit to observing fish calls over a long period of time is that we can start to understand how it’s related to changing ocean conditions, which influence our nation’s living marine resources. For example, damselfish call abundance can be an indicator of coral reef health,” Munger concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/meps/v681/p197-210/">Marine Ecology Progress Series</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

Scientists use automated method to identify fish calls

A research team from Oregon State University has recently developed...

As the oceans become warmer due to climate change, they will contain less oxygen. The solubility of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/were-there-whiffs-of-oxygen-on-early-earth/">oxygen</a> decreases as temperature increases and so oceanic warming will be accompanied by lower availability of the element. But fish living in warmer waters will have higher energetic demands and associated oxygen consumption. This means that larger fish species will not be able to survive in the oxygen-poor waters of the future because their energy needs will not be met. 



Instead, it is theorized that smaller fish species will become more abundant as climate change pushes up the temperatures of oceanic waters, a situation that could have serious consequences in regions of the world, such as off the coast of Peru, that are currently hotspots for fish production.&nbsp;



In order to understand the possible impact of future climate change on fish abundance, Renato Salvatteci from the Center for Ocean and Society, Christian-Albrechts University, Germany, and colleagues, looked back into conditions during the last interglacial period (130,000–116,000 years before present) when oceanic warming occurred in the Humboldt Current system off the west coast of South America.&nbsp;



The team used a marine sediment core collected off central Peru in 2008, dated it using Oxygen-18 concentrations in benthic foraminifera, and then analyzed samples that fell within the time period for the last interglacial period. They focused particularly on the vertebrae and scales of fish that had been fossilized in these marine sediments and used them to identify the species present and their sizes. 



The findings indicate that the fish fauna present during the previous warm (interglacial) period in the Humboldt Current system was dominated by small, goby-like fishes. This is in comparison with the larger, anchovy-like species that have dominated since the start of the Holocene (11,700 years before present) and that currently drive the region’s incredibly productive modern fishery.&nbsp;



The authors found no evidence of reduction in body size within a fish species during the interglacial period, but rather a replacement of larger species by smaller species, such as gobies, Vinciguerria lucetia (Panama lightfish) and blue lanternfish. They suggest that this shift to smaller fish species was most likely due to the lower oxygen content of the warmer water 130,000 years ago, rather than to changes in food supply. Smaller goby-like fishes have larger gill surfaces in relation to their body volume and can therefore withstand low oxygen water while anchovies, which reproduce in water less than 25oC, probably would have migrated poleward to seek more favorable conditions at that time.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Using the Regional Ocean Modeling System that provides daily, three-dimensional temperature, salinity, sea level and velocity fields over the 2006–2100 time period, the authors were able to ascertain predicted oceanic conditions up until the start of the 22nd century. This modeling system predicted that similar conditions will occur in future to those found to exist during the last interglacial period. For example, future projections show a similar magnitude of warming (about 2o above current temperatures), intensified subsurface oxygen depletion, strengthened vertical density gradients and comparable primary production.&nbsp;



Due to the similarities in environmental conditions between what is predicted later this century and what occurred during the last interglacial period, the researchers see no reason why the same trend in smaller fish species should not also characterize the ocean communities of the future. This would have profound consequences for marine biodiversity but would also pose a threat to fisheries and to those dependent on fish as a source of food and livelihood, worldwide.&nbsp;



In fact, recent studies indicate that the environmental conditions and fish communities in the Humboldt Current system are already progressing toward those of the study’s paleoreconstruction. For example, in the past few decades, mid-water oxygen concentrations have decreased off Peru, the abundance of several warm-water mesopelagic species (like V. lucetia) has increased, and anchovy biomass and landings have steadily decreased.&nbsp;



“Fishery managers, global markets, and other stakeholders will need to develop adaptive strategies to cope with this threat to the Humboldt Current food source while raising awareness regarding similar climate-driven shifts in fish communities elsewhere," wrote Moriaki Yasuhara and Curtis Deutsch in a related Perspective



The study is published by <a href="https://www.science.org/">AAAS</a> in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</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

As oceans warm up, smaller species of fish will dominate

As the oceans become warmer due to climate change, they...

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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?

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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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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