Creatures,Of,The,Cambrian,Period,,Underwater,Scene,With,Anomalocaris,,Opabinia,

A new investigation of tiny Cambrian shells has sparked excitement among experts who study how life changed when animals, both predators and prey, first expanded in number and variety. 



The research, published in&nbsp;Current Biology, focuses on shell fragments from a small animal related to brachiopods.



These ancient remnants come from the ocean covering what is now South Australia. The shells are dotted with tiny perforations that some unknown marine creature must have made about 517 million years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cambrian-waters-and-shells-of-prey">Cambrian waters and shells of prey</h2>



The <a href="https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2024/07/revisiting-the-cambrian-explosion-s-spark" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cambrian Explosion</a> was a phase in Earth’s history when many animal groups appeared in the fossil record in a short span of time. 



It began roughly 541 million years ago, and it introduced an incredible diversity of organisms that possessed shells, spines, and other protective structures. Yet specialists have questioned how these defense features developed so quickly.&nbsp;



Did <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-predator-prey-feast-ever-seen-in-the-ocean-enormous-quickly-altered-food-chain/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">predators force prey</a> to reinforce their shells and adapt? Or did environmental changes spark widespread new traits in ocean life? 



After puzzling over these questions for decades, experts are now pointing to new shell damage as possible proof of a rapid back-and-forth struggle between attackers and the creatures they targeted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shell-holes-reveal-predator-prey-interactions">Shell holes reveal predator-prey interactions</h2>



This fresh look at the shells was spearheaded by <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Russell-Bicknell" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Russell Bicknell</a> of the American Museum of Natural History. 



Bicknell joined forces with colleagues from the <a href="https://www.une.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of New England</a> and <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Macquarie University</a> to study the tiny armor of a Cambrian species called <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288292290_New_data_on_the_sclerite_morphology_of_the_tommotiid_species_Lapworthella_fasciculata" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lapworthella fasciculata</a>.&nbsp;



The shell fragments ranged from a little larger than a grain of sand to something about the size of an apple seed. Researchers spotted more than 200 pieces with punctures that look as if a worm-like or snail-like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/danger-zones-climate-change-is-altering-predator-prey-dynamics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">predator</a> produced them. 



Over time, the shells appear to have become thicker and stronger, which suggests a quick answer by L. fasciculata to defend itself.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evidence-reveals-attacks-on-shelled-prey">Evidence reveals attacks on shelled prey</h2>



The team examined the fossil remains across different points in <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/cambrian" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cambrian</a> history. They found that holes in the shells gradually rose in frequency while the shell walls became tougher in a short window.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/fossil-shells_Lapworthella-fasciculata_Cambrian_credit-Bicknell_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/fossil-shells_Lapworthella-fasciculata_Cambrian_credit-Bicknell_1s.webp" alt="Examples of Lapworthella fasciculata shells (under scanning electron microscope) from the Mernmerna Formation, Flinders Ranges, South Australia, showing holes made by a perforating predator. Scale bars represent 200 micrometers. Credit: R. Bicknell, et al (2025) Current Biology" class="wp-image-1956329"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Examples of Lapworthella fasciculata shells (under scanning electron microscope) from the Mernmerna Formation, Flinders Ranges, South Australia, showing holes made by a perforating predator. Scale bars represent 200 micrometers. Credit: R. Bicknell, et al (2025) Current Biology</figcaption></figure>



“Predator-prey interactions are often touted as a major driver of the Cambrian explosion, especially with regard to the rapid increase in diversity and abundance of biomineralizing organisms at this time. Yet, there has been a paucity of empirical evidence showing that prey directly responded to predation, and vice versa,” said Bicknell.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unexpected-speed-of-adaptation">Unexpected speed of adaptation</h2>



Scientists have long suspected that early animals developed new defenses to keep up with evolving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frogfish-lure-their-prey-with-a-built-in-fishing-rod-and-bait/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">predators</a>. This shift is frequently described as an arms race because each improvement from one side pushes the other side to respond.&nbsp;



The remarkable part is how swiftly L. fasciculata managed to boost its shell thickness. In a few generations, the predator must have increased its ability to break through stronger shells.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Paleozoic-Era" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> from 1987, early <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Paleozoic-Era">Paleozoic</a> life underwent several bursts of diversification, partly driven by escalating attacks in marine environments.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-shells-big-implications">Tiny shells, big implications</h2>



The tiny shells open a window into the daily struggles of creatures that once lived in shallow seas filled with new forms of life. 



These findings add weight to the idea that confrontation between small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-octopus-has-mastered-the-art-of-multispecies-hunting/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">predators</a> and their prey influenced the rapid spread of protective traits, such as tougher shells, in the early Cambrian.&nbsp;



A thickened shell could have meant the difference between living and becoming a snack. Some scientists propose that these predator-prey interactions may have shaped early marine communities more than previously assumed.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-filling-gaps-in-the-fossil-record">Filling gaps in the fossil record</h2>



Fossils from the Cambrian are not always easy to interpret. 



Soft-bodied creatures rarely fossilize well, and skeletal fragments often appear in fragments scattered through sedimentary rock. Many experts have struggled to figure out exactly which predators might have roamed these waters.&nbsp;



The punctured shells from L. fasciculata provide valuable clues because they are preserved well enough to show unmistakable signs of drilling or piercing. 



These marks are a real boost to understanding how shells and predatory tools advanced in lockstep.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-it-matters-for-today-s-shelled-preys">Why it matters for today’s shelled preys</h2>



Shell protection still matters in modern oceans, from clams to snails. When researchers look at how Cambrian animals beefed up their shells, they see patterns that may match modern dynamics. 



Crabs, for instance, often feed on shelled prey, and those prey can shift their own growth strategies in response.&nbsp;



Looking at these ancient shells confirms that this tug-of-war between attacker and defender is nothing new. While more discoveries are needed, the takeaway is that even half a billion years ago, survival hinged on how well an organism handled the never-ending threat of becoming someone else’s lunch.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-connections-to-broader-evolutionary-questions">Connections to broader evolutionary questions</h2>



Fossil shells tell us that the Cambrian Explosion’s rapid spread of animal life involved a tense duel between those doing the hunting and those trying to avoid it. 



This new research highlights that predation is more than a violent encounter; it is a potent force pushing creatures to adapt in surprising ways.&nbsp;



Scientists will likely hunt for similar evidence in other early animal groups. Future work may close gaps in our knowledge of who attacked whom in those ancient seas and how quickly the defenders responded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960982224016476" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Current Biology</a>.



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Shell fossils reveal ancient predator-prey battle 517 million years ago

A new investigation of tiny Cambrian shells has sparked excitement among experts who study how life changed when animals, both predators and prey, first expanded in number and variety. The research, published in&nbsp;Current Biology, focuses on shell fragments from a small animal related to brachiopods. These ancient remnants come from the ocean covering what is now South Australia. The shells are dotted with tiny perforations that some unknown marine creature must have made about 517 million years ago. Cambrian waters and shells of prey The Cambrian Explosion...

The future of the koala is threatened by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/illegal-cannabis-farms-infringe-on-crucial-animal-habitats/">habitat</a> loss and climate change. A less well-known threat to the iconic Australian animal is the Koala retrovirus, or KoRV.&nbsp;To gain a better understanding of KoRV, scientists at the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a> set out to investigate how it was transmitted.&nbsp;



"A conserved retrovirus, koala retrovirus (KoRV)-A, is present within the genome of koalas in most Australian populations," explained the researchers. "Additional divergent sequences and subtypes are thought to be exogenously transmissible and more pathogenic."



Study co-author Keith Chappell, an associate professor at the <a href="https://www.uq.edu.au/">University of Queensland</a>, said the virus predisposes koalas to chlamydia and other diseases, and is having a large impact on wild populations across Queensland and New South Wales.



"The virus causes immune depletion, likely making it much harder for koalas to cope with these other, already-detrimental environmental stressors," said Professor Chappell.



"By sequencing variations of the virus DNA in 109 captive koalas, we finally revealed how the virus spreads - from mother to joey."



"It seems that transmission between mother and joey likely occurs due to close proximity, via a joey's exposure to a mother's potentially infectious fluids, like their milk."



"Mothers were sharing their virus variants three times more than fathers, suggesting this is the dominant pathway of spread for the virus.”



By identifying the pathway of transmission from mother to offspring, the research provides unique insight into conservation and captive breeding programs.&nbsp;



"This work will be highly informative for koala conservation, as it suggests that captive breeding programs focused on mothers that have a low amount of retrovirus variants, could result in healthier animals for release," explained lead researcher Briony Joyce.



"Also, we propose that antiretroviral treatment -- if shown to be safe in koala and effective against KoRV -- could be used specifically in mothers during breeding seasons to prevent transmission."



"This work helps pave the way for evidence-based conservation, increasing koala resilience to help them cope with a changing and challenging environment.”



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



---



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

Deadly koala virus passed from mothers to their joeys

The future of the koala is threatened by habitat loss...

Roughly half of the world’s 100 million parrots currently lives in zoos, breeding facilities, and homes. A new study published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2021.1952">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a> found that many of these captive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-altered-their-behavior-during-lockdowns/">birds</a> suffer from mental health issues caused by an insufficient amount of stimulation. These findings suggest that the more intelligent a bird is, the more needs it has in captivity. 



“This study provides the first empirical evidence that intelligent animals can struggle in captivity,” said lead author Georgia Mason, the director of University of Guelph’s <a href="https://www.uoguelph.ca/ccsaw">Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare</a>. “Some species seem to adapt well to captivity, but maybe some should not be kept unless you have lots of time and creativity.”



Dr. Mason and her colleagues examined an early 1990s survey on captive breeding success involving over 30,000 birds in the United States, and created an online survey about 1,400 parrots from 50 species. The team wanted to investigate the rates of stereotypic behavior or other types of abnormal activity (such as biting cage bars, chewing or eating their own feathers, or rote pacing in their cages).



By using methodological frameworks from evolutionary biology that allowed them to identify inherited traits that predispose species to risk, the research team found that parrot species whose natural diets involve nuts, seeds, or insects were more likely to chew or eat their feathers.&nbsp;



According to Dr. Mason, such abnormal behavior might be caused by parrots’ evolved needs to manipulate and crunch foods with their beaks, or by the lack of some particular nutrients found in their natural diets.



“We don’t know which is the most important to feather-plucking birds. So ideally owners should provide naturalistic food items intact so that parrots really have to break their way in and do extractive foraging as they do in the wild,” she advised.



Moreover, the larger the brains parrots had, the more psychological problems they seemed to experience in captivity. While species such as cockatiels, Jandaya parakeets, or yellow-naped Amazons typically thrive in domestic settings, large-brained and more intelligent parrots like Nanday parakeets, monk parakeets, and some cockatoos suffer more from mental health issues.



Thus, greater intelligence, which is clearly a benefit in the wild, seems to hinder parrots’ capacity to adjust to captivity. Such birds might need more cognitive stimulation (through naturalistic environments, puzzle, or other means), as well as foods that are more complicated to handle in order improve their mental health.



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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

Smart parrots need more stimulation in captivity

Roughly half of the world’s 100 million parrots currently lives...

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are important pollinators of flowering plants but have come under increasing pressure in recent times due to habitat loss, pesticide use and the emergence of diseases. Recent evidence suggests that flower-rich <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/backyard-gardens-have-reversed-migrations-among-blackcaps/">gardens</a> in towns and cities may play an important role in providing food to bees and in the conservation of these pollinators. 



In the past, it has been difficult to assess the extent to which urban flower patches provide resources to honeybees because the majority of the gardens are on private property and are not easily accessible. Similarly, it is challenging to determine the floral species richness in agricultural lands where small patches of wildflowers provide important food in a sea of otherwise unappetizing crop fields. This makes it impossible to quantify accurately the resources available to bees in the two habitat types.



In a recent study, researchers from Royal Holloway University and Virginia Tech used the characteristic waggle dance, displayed by honeybees when they return to the hive, to determine the distance bees travel to find suitable food. Using this method, they established that bees foraging in rural or agricultural areas had to travel farther to find food than did bees that foraged in urban settings.



"In this study, we overcame the hurdles of assessing floral resources by getting the bees themselves to&nbsp;tell&nbsp;us where to find food," said Professor Elli Leadbeater. "Calculating the distance to forage indicated by the waggle dances provides a real-time picture of current forage availability, from the bees’ own perspective.”



When a bee returns to its hive after a successful foraging trip, it displays a waggle dance on the hanging honeycomb to communicate information about available food to the other bees. The dance takes the form of a figure of eight, with the duration of the central run indicating the distance to the food and the angle indicating the direction.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The researchers decoded 2,827 waggle dances from 10 western honeybee colonies in London and 10 in surrounding agricultural areas in Kent, Surrey and other counties. This information allowed the researchers to map out where the bees had been to collect their food. They calculated that bees in urban areas had an average foraging distance of 492 meters, whereas bees in agricultural areas traveled an average of 743 meters to their food.



“Our findings support the idea that cities are hotspots for social bees, with gardens providing diverse, plentiful and reliable forage resources. In agricultural areas, it is likely harder for honeybees to find food, so they have to go further before they find enough to bring back to the hive,” explained Professor Leadbeater.



The researchers also found no difference in the amount of sugar collected by the urban and rural bees during their foraging trips. This indicated that the rural bees were not travelling further in order to access remote, nectar-rich sources of food; they were simply traveling further because there is less available food in agricultural areas.&nbsp;&nbsp;



In terms of bee conservation, the authors of the study warn that urban areas make up such a small percentage of total land cover that they will not be sufficient to support bee populations suffering from food paucity in areas dominated by intensive agriculture.



“Conservation efforts should be directed towards increasing the amount of non-crop flowers in agricultural areas, such as wildflower strips," said Professor Leadbeater. "This would increase the consistency of forage available across the season and landscape as well as minimize bees’ reliance on small numbers of seasonal flowering crops.”



She also emphasized that because the study focused on honeybees only, the findings do not necessarily apply to all bee species. “While we can potentially extrapolate our results to some wild bees, such as generalist bumblebee species, our results should not be used to imply that this pattern will hold for all bee species. For many solitary bees, the existence of specialist host plant species or nesting sites will be important in determining whether cities are valuable habitats.”



The study is published in the British Ecological Society’s <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652664">Journal of Applied Ecology</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

Dancing bees reveal that urban gardens are a good source of food

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are important pollinators of flowering plants but...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.210976%C3%A2%E2%82%AC%C5%BD">Royal Society Open Science</a> found that some dogs possess exceptional capacities, being able to learn up to 12 new toy names in a week, and remember them for at least two months. While it has long been known that dogs can easily learn action words, scientists have just recently found that some gifted dogs can also learn the names of objects.



“We know that dogs can easily learn words that are linked to actions, such as “sit” or “down.” But very few dogs can learn names of objects” explained&nbsp; Shany Dror, a leading researcher in the&nbsp;<a href="https://familydogproject.elte.hu/?fbclid=IwAR1wqdu2LjNJoQ0Z32DRSlIKL8zrvdK-0Qlyd3s3ZxkYWLcXligpwvGjY6Q">Family Dog Project</a> at <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a>. “For more than two years we searched around the world for dogs that had learnt the names of their toys, and we managed to find six.”



These amazingly gifted Border Collies – Gaia (Brazil), Max (Hungary), Nalani (the Netherlands), Rico (Spain), Squall (Florida), and Whiskey (Norway) – managed to learn over 28 words each, with some of them knowing even more than 100.



In a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-93581-2">previous study</a>, researchers found that these dogs were capable to learn a toy name with a remarkable speed, after hearing it only four times. However, according to the head of the research team Dr. Claudia Fugazza, “with such short exposure, they did not form a long-term memory of it.”&nbsp;



In this new study, the scientists wanted to find out whether dogs are capable of long-term learning too, and asked their owners to try to teach them up to 12 toy names per week. “It turned out that, for these talented dogs, this was not much of a challenge. They easily learned between 11 to 12 toys,” said Dror. After testing the dogs one, and two months later, the researchers found that they still remembered the words.



Although the dogs that were tested were all Border Collies, through the <a href="http://geniusdogchallenge.com/">Genius Dog Challenge</a> project, scientists discovered other gifted dogs too, including a German Shepherd, a Pekingese, a Mini Australia Shepherd, and a few mixed-breed dogs.



According to co-author Adam Miklósi, head of the Department of Ethology at Eötvös Loránd University, “gifted dogs are especially interesting because they show that also among other species there are individuals that are uniquely talented. With the help of these dogs, we hope to better understand the factors that contribute to the development of talent.”



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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

Some dogs have exceptional learning capacities

A new study published in the journal Royal Society Open...

The virtues of spiders’ silk have been extolled since ancient times when the Greeks and Romans apparently used bandages of spider <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/snake-eating-spiders-live-on-every-continent-except-antarctica/">web</a> to help staunch bleeding and heal wounds, cuts and scrapes. 



In the past decade, many studies have investigated the antimicrobial properties of spiders’ silk in order to back up the myth with empirical findings. Some studies have confirmed antimicrobial activity, while others have rejected it. In short, the topic has become a bit of a tangled web.



“Spider silk has always been admired and almost has a mythical status,” said Trine Bilde, a professor of Biology at <a href="https://international.au.dk/">Aarhus University</a> in Denmark. “It’s one of these myths that seems to have become ‘established’ by ‘belief’ and not by strong empirical support.”



In the light of this contradictory evidence, a team of researchers set out to assess the antimicrobial properties of different types of silk from seven species of spiders. They tested whether the silk would affect various types of bacteria, namely Gram-negative Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas putida, and Gram-positive Bacillus subtilis, using direct contact or diffusion disc assays.&nbsp;



Having silk with antimicrobial properties could possibly benefit spiders in two ways. Firstly, it may protect the spiders and secondly, it may protect the silk itself. Spiders often hide in burrows that are lined with silk, and their eggs are always encased in silk structures.&nbsp;



In particular, social spiders that live in large groups may be protected from the spread of pathogens by antibiotic silk. These spiders have weakened immune systems from inbreeding, so they are especially vulnerable to infection. However, Professor Bilde and her team of researchers found no evidence of antimicrobial activity in the silk of social spiders.&nbsp;



“We were unable to detect antimicrobial activity of social spider silk, regardless of method or microbe, and this made us curious about why other studies were able to,” said Professor Bilde. “We then started scrutinizing the papers reporting antimicrobial activity in fine detail and became aware of methodological shortcomings.”



Two main methodological issues were identified. Some of the past studies had not adequately controlled for contamination of silk samples by bacteria, while other studies had not controlled for the effects of the solvent used to extract the spiders’ silk. The studies may have been compromised for either of these reasons.



Using improved experimental procedures, the researchers found no evidence of antimicrobial activity in the samples of silk that they tested. Since they only tested silk from seven spider species, they cannot rule out silk with antimicrobial properties from other, untested species. However, their results do cast doubt on previous investigations.&nbsp;



“Rather than assuming that spider silk is antimicrobial, we should now assume that it isn’t,” said Professor Bilde. “We can still test the idea in new species and with new organisms, but with a more cautious starting point.”



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



---



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

Antimicrobial property of spiders’ silk is a myth

The virtues of spiders’ silk have been extolled since ancient...

The Eastern massasauga rattlesnake is threatened. As with many endangered species, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/inbreeding-is-more-common-today-than-45000-years-ago/">inbreeding</a> was an unfortunate part of the snake’s recent history. When scientists investigated the impact of inbreeding on the rattlesnakes, they found something surprising.&nbsp;



The team sequenced the genes of 90 Eastern massasauga rattlesnakes and found fewer dangerous mutations than expected. For comparison, the researchers analyzed the genetics of 10 near relative, western massasauga rattlesnakes.&nbsp;



“This is something that has been reported very recently in other endangered species, but it’s the first time it’s been shown in a reptile," said study senior author Professor H. Lisle Gibbs of <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">The Ohio State University</a>.



"We always worry about genetics and the loss of variation and what it means to be in a small population in which there’s lots of inbreeding. At least in this species, maybe it’s not such a big deal."



"From a conservation perspective, perhaps we can downplay genetics and say ecology – such as habitat restoration – is more important.”



The Eastern massasauga rattlesnake lives in small populations throughout a fragmented habitat, where a breeding population may be as small as 30 individuals. Typically, dangerous mutations accumulate in small populations of any sexual organism.&nbsp;



“Through years and years of study, we know that most populations are isolated, like little natural zoos scattered throughout the landscape," said Gibbs. "Due to habitat degradation, we’ve known they show little variation – but we’ve never actually looked at variation in genes that code for things that matter to a rattlesnake.”



It seems that the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake was already well adapted to living in small populations. The Western massasauga rattlesnake, on the other hand, showed a history of living in a more connected, larger population of snakes in its genetics.&nbsp;



The western species had more negative mutations in its genome but was protected from them because it was unlikely that two snakes with the same mutation would breed. With only one copy of a mutation, an individual is protected by a good copy of the same gene. It appears that Eastern massasauga snakes - through their long history of living in small, isolated populations - were purged of their dangerous mutations.&nbsp;



The interesting results help prioritize habitat restoration over the introduction of new genes for the protection of the threatened rattlesnakes. It may also help scientists rethink what it means to live in a small population.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1365294x">Molecular Ecology</a>.



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

Inbreeding is not a problem for the Eastern massasauga rattlesnake

The Eastern massasauga rattlesnake is threatened. As with many endangered...

Globe skimmer dragonflies (Pantala flavescens) are too small to be fitted with radio or GPS tracking devices like birds. Researchers, however, suspect the little insects might be doing something very birdlike - <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/surprising-insights-into-the-migrations-of-arctic-terns/">migrating</a> thousands of miles. In 2009, marine biologist Charles Anderson hypothesized that the globe skimmers were migrating from India to East Africa, and scientists are now testing that hypothesis. 



The research team closely examined the physiology of the dragonflies, calculating how long one could fly with the calories carried in its small body. The scientists then looked at wind currents and other meteorological data. Interestingly, the researchers found that it was possible for the globe skimmer dragonflies to be crossing the Indian Ocean from India to Africa.&nbsp;



“Our study shows that this migration from India to East Africa is actually possible," said Johanna Helund of <a href="https://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a>. "However, the globe skimmer dragonfly can’t manage it using only the fat it can store in its body. It also requires favorable winds and these are present during certain periods of the year.”



The scientists said that most animals, whether bird or insect, use favorable winds to migrate. They noted that climate change will hurt the globe skimmer migrations, as well as other animal migrations.&nbsp;



The research is important in showing the amazing lives of other animals as well as the interconnectedness of the global ecosystem. Beyond that, it comes closer to solving a specific mystery of where the dragonflies are going when they fly from the coast of India or East Africa.&nbsp;



“We have got a lot closer to solving the mystery of how a tiny dragonfly, which only weighs 300 milligrams, can cross 2 000 kilometers of open sea," said Hedlund.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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

Dragonflies may migrate across the Indian Ocean

Globe skimmer dragonflies (Pantala flavescens) are too small to be...

Domestic cats may be natural hunters, but a new study from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> shows that they still get most of their food from people. The results of the study indicate that cats go <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-threatens-seal-hunting-in-alaska/">hunting</a> out of instinct rather than hunger. 



"Predation of wildlife by domestic cats Felis catus presents a threat to biodiversity conservation in some ecological contexts," wrote the study authors.



"The proportions of wild prey captured and eaten by domestic cats and thus the contributions of wild prey to cat diets are hard to quantify. This limits the understanding of any impacts of cats may have on wild animal populations and confounds analyses of the effects of interventions aimed at reducing wildlife killing."



To investigate what cats had been eating, the researchers used forensic evidence from their whiskers. An analysis of stable isotope ratios revealed that about 96 percent of their diet came from food provided by their owners, while just three or four percent came from eating wild animals. 



"When food from owners is available, our study shows that cats rely almost entirely on this for nutrition," said study lead author Dr. Martina Cecchetti.



"Some owners may worry about restricting hunting because cats need nutrition from wild prey, but in fact it seems even prolific hunters don't actually eat much of the prey they catch."



"As predators, some cats may hunt instinctively even if they are not hungry - so-called 'surplus killing' - to capture and store prey to eat later."



The researchers also tested different measures that are used to prevent domestic cats from killing wild prey, including bells, Birdsbesafe collar covers, and meat-rich diets. Susan Morgan is the Chief Executive of Songbird Survival, which funded the research.



"This study reassures owners of cats who hunt that the motive to hunt is instinctive, not driven by nutritional needs," said Morgan.



"Furthermore, pet owners can help us reverse the shocking decline in songbirds via three simple, 'win-win' steps: fit collars with a Birdsbesafe cover; feed cats a premium meaty diet; play with cats for five to ten minutes a day to 'scratch that itch' to hunt."



"In the UK, we've lost half our songbirds in 50 years, but we can all help to stem this tide."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.3737">Ecosphere</a>.&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

Domestic cats go hunting out of instinct rather than hunger

Domestic cats may be natural hunters, but a new study...

The discovery of a million-year-old <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossilized-tooth-diet-giant-ground-sloth/">tooth</a> is the earliest evidence to date of giant hippos in the UK. In a new study, scientists have matched the tooth to an extinct species of hippo called Hippopotamus antiquus. The massive animals, which weighed around three tons, ranged across Europe in warm periods during the Ice Age.



The tooth was uncovered during excavations at Westbury Cave in Somerset, led by Neil Adams, a PhD researcher in the Centre for Palaeobiology Research at the <a href="https://le.ac.uk/">University of Leicester</a>. The researchers found that the fossil is over one million years old. This beats the previous record of the oldest hippo in the UK by at least 300,000 years.



“It was very exciting to come across a hippo tooth during our recent excavations at Westbury Cave. It is not only the first record of hippo from the site, but also the first known hippo fossil from any site in Britain older than 750,000 years," said Adams.&nbsp;



“Erosion caused by the coming and going of ice sheets, as well as the gradual uplift of the land, has removed large parts of the deposits of this age in Britain. Our comparisons with sites across Europe show that Westbury Cave is an important exception and the new hippo dates to a previously unrecognized warm period in the British fossil record.”



There is a major gap in the fossil record in Britain between about 1.8 and 0.8 million years ago - a time when early humans were arriving in Europe. The new study suggests that there were periods of time that were warm and wet enough to allow hippos to migrate all the way from the Mediterranean to southern England.



“Hippos are not only fabulous animals to find but they also reveal evidence about past climates. Many megafaunal species (those over a tonne in weight) are quite broadly tolerant of temperature fluctuations but in contrast, we know modern hippos cannot cope with seasonally frozen water bodies," explained study co-author Professor Danielle Schreve of Royal Holloway.



“Our research has demonstrated that in the fossil record, hippos are only found in Britain during periods of climatic warmth, when summer temperatures were a little warmer than today but most importantly, winter temperatures were above freezing.”



According to the study, the Westbury Cave hippo was likely to have lived during a particularly warm period around 1.1 to 1.0 million years ago.



The study is published in the <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10991417">Journal of Quaternary Science</a>.



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

Million-year-old tooth is the earliest evidence of hippos in the UK

The discovery of a million-year-old tooth is the earliest evidence...

Not long after the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/two-new-predatory-dinosaurs-found-on-the-isle-of-wight/">discovery</a> of two huge predatory dinosaurs on the Isle of Wight, a team of paleontologists reported that a new species of dinosaur that roamed the territory of present day Brazil 70 million years ago has also been found. The remains of the mid-size <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seahorses-may-be-slow-but-they-are-fierce-ambush-predators/">predator</a>, measuring about 16 feet, were discovered in Monte Alto, in the state of São Paulo, and belong to the abelisaurid family.



The abelisaurids were a family of therapod dinosaurs, measuring between 16 and 30 feet, that roamed the ancient southern supercontinent Gondwana, comprising today’s Africa, South America, Australia, Antarctica, the Arabic peninsula, and India. With their short stubby arms and huge jaws that they relied on to catch and crush their prey, these dinosaurs resembled Tyrannosaurus Rex. Unlike T-Rex though, they had unusually short skulls with horns, bumps, and crests.&nbsp;&nbsp;



During an excavation in 2002, a team of paleontologists led by Fabiano Vidoi Iori, a researcher at the Museum of Paleontology Pedro Candolo, found an isolated therapod pelvis. Afterward,&nbsp;several other bones were unearthed nearby. 



“The bones found were the pelvic bone, three vertebrae, and some that we have not yet identified,” said Iori.&nbsp;“A phylogenetic analysis was done with those (pieces) we identified, which then identified which species the animal belonged to, and also allowed us to see that it was a new animal.”



The paleontologists named the newly discovered dinosaur Kurupi itaata, and argued that, based on its bone structure, it was a medium-sized abelisaurid that was well-adapted to running. “It is possible to infer that in Kurupi such muscles were robust, and could give to the species the ability to cover a large area in search of prey and water in the hostile scenario of the Maastrichtian in the Marília Formation,” explained the study authors.



The scientists believe that this species of dinosaurs lived in an arid environment, which they shared with a large number of Peirosaurid crocodyliforms - dog-like carnivores which populated the Gondwanan landmasses. The discovery of Kurupi itaata marks an important contribution to our knowledge of the Maastrichtian continental fauna of Brazil during the Cretaceous period.&nbsp;



The study was published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0895981121003977#!">Journal of South American Earth Sciences</a>.&nbsp;



Image credit: Júlia d’Oliveira



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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

New dinosaur species discovered in Brazil

Not long after the discovery of two huge predatory dinosaurs...

A 25-million-year-old eagle fossil from Australia is helping to fill in the blanks of Accipitridae <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bowfin-fish-proves-that-evolution-can-be-flexible/">evolution</a>. The new genus and species, Archaehierax sylvestris, is represented by 63 bones - a significant amount for a group that can very easily escape the fossil record.&nbsp;



Most fossils are found because they can weather millions of years worth of all the punishment Mother Nature can dole out. Usually these are sturdiest of skeletal remains - things that decay quickly like soft tissue are quickly lost. Bird skeletons are lightweight and fragile by design - by lightening the animal’s body mass, they allowed dinosaurs to soar.&nbsp;



Consequently, bird fossils can be hard to find, so piecing together their evolutionary history can be a bit tricky.&nbsp;



“With eagles at the top of the food chain, they are always few in number - and so are infrequently preserved as fossils,” said study co-author Professor Trevor Worthy. 



“The foot span was nearly 15 cm long, which would have allowed it to grasp large prey. The largest marsupial predators at the time were about the size of a small dog or large cat, so Archaehierax was certainly ruling the roost."



The fossil site, Lake Pinpa, is now a dry and barren patch of land in the Australian outback, but was once a lush and productive forest. Other fossils from the site include koalas, opossums, and other birds, which were all likely prey items for Archaehierax.&nbsp;



“I have studied this system for many years now, and this is the most exquisite fossil we have found to date," said Worthy.&nbsp;



“The completeness of the Archaehierax skeleton allowed us to determine where it fits on the eagle family tree. It shows a range of features unlike any seen among modern hawks and eagles,” said study co-author Ellen Mathers.&nbsp;



Through a large dataset of extinct and extant accipitrids, the team found that Archaehierax did not belong to any of the living genera or families. "It seems to have been its own unique branch of the eagle family. It’s unlikely to be a direct ancestor to any species alive today," said Mathers.&nbsp;



Despite millions of specimens and over 200 years of European-style academic study, the fossil record provides only small, precious glimpses into the history of life on our planet. From the most alien looking specimens, to familiar feathered friends, every new discovery has the potential to inform the grand evolutionary story.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2021.1966777">Historical Biology</a>.



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By <a href="http://mailto:rugerpaleo@gmail.com">Alex Ruger</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Eagle fossil represents a unique branch of the family tree

A 25-million-year-old eagle fossil from Australia is helping to fill...

The digestive systems of humans and other animals are home to dense populations of microbes, including bacteria, archaea and fungi. Scientists are still in the process of learning about the functions of these trillions of microbes – they are known to play an important part in the digestion of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-can-be-very-cooperative-until-the-food-gets-scarce/">food</a> and in the efficient functioning of the immune system. We also know that each individual carries a unique combination of microbial species from shortly after birth.



Understanding more about the nature of the gut microbiome in different species can help scientists identify its functions in health and in the ecology of the animals. To this end, biologist Heather Skeen from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>, along with some colleagues, set out to investigate the gut microbiota of Kirtland’s warblers. These small, migratory birds have very specific distributions in both their wintering and summering locations.



“We’ve seen in other animals that microbiomes can be influenced by the places their hosts live. Lots of birds migrate, and they experience different environments at different points of their migratory cycle. We didn’t know how these different environments affected the birds’ microbiomes,” said Skeen.&nbsp;



The researchers selected Kirtland’s warblers because they spend their winters in the Bahamas and migrate to northern Michigan in the spring. While in Michigan, the tiny warblers breed only in young jack pine forest. This means that individual birds could be tagged with radio trackers and followed on their migratory routes.



“We picked Kirtland’s Warblers because there are very, very few species of birds where you would have been able to track individual birds from their non-breeding grounds and then capture them on their breeding grounds,” said Skeen.&nbsp;



Initially, Kirtland’s warblers were captured on their wintering grounds in the Bahamas, using recorded bird calls to lure them closer. Each bird was fitted with a tiny radio tracking device. The warblers themselves have a mass of only one ounce so the tracing devices had to weigh less than 0.02 oz. Once fitted with a device, each bird was enclosed in a wax paper bag for a few minutes, just enough time to evacuate its bowels. The bird was then released and Skeen and colleagues were left to collect the droppings.



A few months later, once the birds had migrated to Michigan, the researchers managed to locate the same birds using the large network of automated radio towers, known as the Motus Wildlife Tracking System. “There were 12 radio towers spread throughout the birds’ breeding range in Michigan, and when one of our birds’ trackers pinged near a tower, we would drive around the range using a handheld radio antenna, looking for the bird,” said Skeen.&nbsp;



“Once we picked up the signal, we got out of the car and walked around, trying to attract the birds using recordings of their songs.” Once one of the tagged warblers was caught in the nets, it was again placed inside a wax paper bag to make its droppings before being released.&nbsp;



In this way, the researchers collected 200 samples of bird droppings from birds that had been caught both in the Bahamas and in Michigan. They then carried out genetic analysis of the microbial genomes to identify which species were present in the birds’ digestive systems.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that the microbes present in the Michigan samples was different from the microbes in the samples from the Bahamas. More importantly, they found that individual birds had different microbes in their digestive tracts depending on where they were when the sample was collected.



“One of the most important parts about this study is that we were able to recapture birds at different portions of the annual cycle in different locations, and we have this one-to-one comparison of the same population and the same individuals and how their microbiomes changed,” said Skeen.&nbsp;



“If we’d tested different individual birds, we wouldn’t have been able to say for sure if the changes we saw were due to location or if they were just differences between populations. Since we were looking at the exact same birds, these results are much more supported.”



The findings of this study, published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1365294x">Molecular Ecology</a>, indicate that bird microbiomes work differently from those of most mammals. The types of microbes found in mammalian intestines are closely tied to the species of mammal and its evolutionary history. With birds, the gut microbiome is more dependent on where the bird lives than on the species of bird involved. “In our study, we found that there are some groups of bacteria that are probably transient – the birds acquire the bacteria from their food, they poop it out, and it’s gone,” says Skeen. “These bacteria don’t colonize the bird, they go in and out.”



“This study shows how much we can learn about even foundational aspects of bird biology, such as migration, from the combination of new and old technologies – fieldwork and following birds in their breeding, migrating, and wintering habitats, to newer technologies of radiotelemetry and next-generation DNA sequencing,” says Hackett, an associate curator at the Field Museum and co-author of the study.



Skeen also states that climate changes may make gut microbiomes additionally important as animals attempt to survive and adapt to changing environments. “An animal’s gut microbiome is an additional level of molecular diversity, and as global climate change alters ecosystems, the gut microbiome might be one of the avenues in which animals can adapt to the changing environment,” says Skeen. “The gut microbiome has its own unique ecosystem, and it’s ripe for discoveries.”



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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

Migratory birds adapt their gut microbes along the journey

The digestive systems of humans and other animals are home...

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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

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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

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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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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