The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the world’s rarest marine mammal, with fewer than 10 surviving in the wild. It faces grave challenges, from illegal fishing nets to black-market demand for totoaba swim bladders. 



Experts worry that this unique creature could disappear before most people even learn it exists.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vaquitas-a-species-in-peril">Vaquitas: A species in peril</h2>



<a href="https://seashepherd.org/2024/06/11/2024-vaquita-survey/#">Populations</a> of this small porpoise have plummeted at an astonishing rate since the late 1990s.



Vaquitas inhabit the northern Gulf of California, and are restricted to an area of roughly 1,500 square miles (3,900 square kilometers). This small region, combined with the pressures of organized poaching activity, has given vaquitas little <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/endangered-lemurs-millions-of-years-of-diversity-at-risk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">room for recovery</a>. 



Jamie Knaub from Florida Atlantic University (<a href="https://www.fau.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FAU</a>) and her colleagues believe that drastic measures are necessary to preserve any record of these animals for generations to come.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-rescuing-a-rare-vaquita-skeleton">Rescuing a rare vaquita skeleton</h2>



A complete <a href="https://fox5sandiego.com/news/local-news/photos-san-diego-researchers-scan-rare-skeleton-of-worlds-smallest-endangered-porpoise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vaquita skeleton</a> in the United States is hard to find. Such a specimen recently appeared at SeaWorld San Diego, with ties to the San Diego Natural History Museum.&nbsp;



“We are delighted to collaborate with likeminded organizations to make our collections as useful and accessible as possible,” said Phil Unitt, curator of birds and mammals at the San Diego Natural History Museum.&nbsp;



“A complete skeleton of a vaquita is an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/public-concern-over-species-extinctions-fades-quickly/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">extremely rare specimen</a>, so we’re thrilled to learn its replica will be available to the public.”



<a href="https://www.fau.edu/newsdesk/articles/fau-high-school-opens-one-of-a-kind-owls-imaging-lab.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">FAU’s High School Owls Imaging Lab</a> carried out micro-CT scans on the skeleton. Knaub transported it back to Florida as precious carry-on luggage.&nbsp;



She spent 165 hours conducting high-resolution scans, gathering nearly three terabytes of data. When finished, Knaub carefully returned the vaquita remains to SeaWorld.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-high-hopes-for-the-tiniest-porpoise">High hopes for the tiniest porpoise</h2>



Researchers are eager to share 3D scans of this delicate skeleton on the <a href="https://www.morphosource.org/docs/about" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MorphoSource</a> online repository. The goal is to let educators and researchers worldwide access and learn from the files.&nbsp;



With vaquitas vanishing at a high rate, preserving their anatomy through digital replicas could be the only way to keep them on the radar.&nbsp;



“At the rate that vaquita’s are disappearing, it’s extremely important to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/are-we-failing-the-worlds-most-threatened-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">preserve</a> as much about this species as we can. They are very elusive and not many physical specimens from this species exist,” said Knaub.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-education-and-replication-efforts">Education and replication efforts</h2>



The experts hope that these skeleton scans, once turned into models, can be placed in museums or classrooms. Brittany Aja Dolan from SeaWorld San Diego, who pushed this plan forward, wants everyone to see the small porpoise up close.&nbsp;



“We hope that by creating replicas, which will be available worldwide, and hopefully on display at SeaWorld San Diego in the near future, everyone will have the opportunity to learn about the world’s most endangered marine mammal and what we can all do to help,” explained Dolan.



Some genetic <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abm1742" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">research</a> suggests the surviving vaquitas retain enough diversity to bounce back if threats cease. However, rapid action is crucial.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preserving-vaquita-data-for-future-research">Preserving vaquita data for future research</h2>



FAU’s advanced imaging technology captured the skeleton’s intricate details. 



The lab’s <a href="https://www.microphotonics.com/what-is-micro-ct-an-introduction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">micro-CT machine</a> is known for its ability to scan minute structures within skeletal fragments. Knaub, along with her mentors, previously used similar equipment to study thresher shark vertebrae, a study that is published in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.231473" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Society Open Science</a>.&nbsp;



The same techniques have now preserved the precise shape of each vaquita bone, thus mapping out a piece of history that might soon be gone if illegal nets continue to harm the species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-unique-laboratory-environment">A unique laboratory environment</h2>



FAU’s Owls Imaging Lab attracts student researchers from across various disciplines. This facility contains tools like scanning electron microscopes and microtomes, and offers early exposure to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-is-tracking-endangered-animal-habitats-from-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">high-level projects</a>.&nbsp;



“The primary aim of our open-access research hub is to create a dynamic environment that promotes meaningful collaborations between our students and university mentors," said Tricia Meredith, director of research for FAU’s on-site lab schools.



"By providing opportunities for hands-on teaching, innovative demonstrations, experimentation, and robust data collection, the hub seeks to enhance the educational experience and advance research excellence.” 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-looking-beyond-the-brink">Looking beyond the brink</h2>



Those involved in the vaquita project see it as a chance to save the species in some form, even if the real animals fade away. There is also motivation to rescue any remaining individuals in the Gulf of California.&nbsp;



Organizations like FAU, SeaWorld San Diego, and the San Diego Natural History Museum keep shining a light on this small porpoise, stressing that the vaquita’s future rests on determined human intervention.&nbsp;



Until effective solutions disrupt the illegal fishing trade, digital scans and educational displays might be the closest many of us will ever come to encountering the vaquita in real life.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://phys.org/journals/royal-society-open-science/">Royal Society Open Science</a>.



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Vaquitas may disappear before most people know they exist

The vaquita (Phocoena sinus) is the world’s rarest marine mammal, with fewer than 10 surviving in the wild. It faces grave challenges, from illegal fishing nets to black-market demand for totoaba swim bladders. Experts worry that this unique creature could disappear before most people even learn it exists. Vaquitas: A species in peril Populations of this small porpoise have plummeted at an astonishing rate since the late 1990s. Vaquitas inhabit the northern Gulf of California, and are restricted to an area of roughly 1,500 square miles (3,900...

In the South Gobi Province of Mongolia in 2011, four <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/snow-leopards-return-brink-extinction/">snow leopards</a> were discovered dead and without a clear cause of death. This discovery led to the assembly of an international team of researchers who would set out to investigate possible zoonotic pathogens that could derail conservation efforts.

The snow leopard is a threatened and highly vulnerable species that lives in the mountain ranges of Central Asia. There may be as few as 4,000 of these big cats in the wild, and their numbers are still declining. 

This species faces many threats, including poaching, habitat loss, climate change, and conflict with herders. The possibility that snow leopards could also be facing an epidemic of a deadly disease was of major concern to the conservation community.

Between 2008 and 2015, a team of researchers from the Snow Leopard Trust and Snow Leopard Conservation Foundation captured 20 snow leopards, and determined that all but one appeared to be clinically healthy. These cats were tested for multiple zoonotic pathogens, of which several were detected. These included Coxiella burnetti, which can cause Q fever in humans and infect livestock; Leptospira species, which are transmittable to people and can lead to life-threatening infections, and Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that is able to infect any warm-blooded animal and cause toxoplasmosis. Ticks found on these leopards also contained many types of potentially zoonotic bacteria.

“A disease epidemic could be devastating to wild snow leopards due to their low numbers and many other threats to their existence,” says Carol Esson of <a href="https://www.jcu.edu.au/">James Cook University</a> in Australia, lead author of the paper. “Although the zoonotic pathogens identified in this study did not appear to cause illness to the snow leopards in the short term, they have caused illness in other wild cats. And so, there is now a need to establish surveillance to monitor for potential longer-term disease impacts on this vulnerable population.”

This initial study, published in <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ziee20/current">Infection Ecology &amp; Epidemiology</a>, will be an important reference for the health of snow leopards as surveillance efforts continue. 

Along with benefiting this big cat species, further knowledge of these disease that are able to infect humans and livestock will serve to help the nomadic communities that live in these areas. 

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Pixabay

Snow leopards face threat of disease epidemic that could spread to humans

In the South Gobi Province of Mongolia in 2011, four...

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tyrannosaurus-rex-big-run/">Tyrannosaurus rex</a>, who is famous for being a deadly carnivore, was likely assisting in the widespread dispersal of fruit seeds. A recent report in <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a> suggests that T Rex was inadvertently planting fruits across the landscape in its droppings after devouring plant-eating animals.

Plants produce brightly-colored, seeded fruits to entice herbivores to eat them and disperse the seeds in their waste. Carnivores also become seed dispersers after consuming the herbivores.

A team of researchers led by Tetsuro Yoshikawa at the <a href="https://www.nies.go.jp/index-e.html">National Institute for Environmental Studies</a> set out to investigate if the carnivorous dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period may have been seed dispersers. 

The team analyzed data on the body weight and diet of 51 living bird species that are the closest living relatives of T. rex. Using this information, the experts developed a computer model to estimate how long seeds persist in a bird’s gut before being excreted.

The model enabled the researchers to predict how long seeds may have remained inside of a T. rex. The study revealed that seeds would likely have persisted for five to seven days before passing through the digestive system.

According to Yoshikawa, the fact that T. rex was highly mobile means that the dinosaur dispersed seeds across a large area. Yoshikawa told New Scientist that further research is needed to understand T. rex’s role in seed dispersal. “Our result is a first step to the modelling, and the estimates for dinosaurs are quite rough.”

Yoshikawa added that the model could be improved with more information on the type of seeds that were consumed and with a better understanding of T. rex’s diet.

The study is published in the <a href="http://www.oikosjournal.org/">Oikos Journal</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tyrannosaurus rex ate meat but also accidentally planted fruit

Tyrannosaurus rex, who is famous for being a deadly carnivore,...

Since 1970, Earth’s wildlife populations have declined by 60 percent. The <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/">World Wildlife Foundation</a> (WWF) recently released its <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/living-planet-report-2018">Living Planet Report</a> for 2018 and it has revealed some startling findings. 

Human activity is prompting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/population-declines-underway-extinct/">extinction rates like never before</a>, and global wildlife populations have dropped by 60 percent in 40 years. The biggest threats to biodiversity and species’ survival have been overfishing and deforestation. 

Our consumption of natural resources, greenhouse gas emissions, and sprawls of urban and agricultural development are causing drastic declines in mammal, bird, fish, reptile, and amphibian populations around the world. 

According to the report, in the past 30 years, Earth has lost about half of its shallow water corals. One-fifth of the Amazon, one of the most richly biodiverse regions on Earth, has been lost over the past 50 years. 

90 percent of seabirds have plastic in their stomachs today, and African elephants in Tanzania have declined by 60 percent due to ivory poaching. 

According <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/29/health/wwf-wildlife-population-report-intl/index.html">CNN</a>, in Borneo, 100,000 orangutans were lost between 1999 and 2015 

The window of time we have to act and reverse catastrophic declines is quickly closing in. 

“This report sounds a warning shot across our bow,” said Carter Roberts, the president and CEO of <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/living-planet-report-2018">WWF-US</a>. “Natural systems essential to our survival—forests, oceans, and rivers—remain in decline. Wildlife around the world continue to dwindle. It reminds us we need to change course. It’s time to balance our consumption with the needs of nature, and to protect the only planet that is our home.”

“We are the first generation to know we are destroying our planet and the last one that can do anything about it,” Tanya Steele, the WWF Chief Executive in the UK, added in a statement. 

Humanity is reliant on Earth’s resources, but the report shows how poorly we are managing them. 

The WWF has called for a global deal to help conserve biodiversity on Earth. 

196 nations that are part of the <a href="https://www.cbd.int/">Convention on Biological Diversity</a> have been urged to consider developing conservation targets to help stem the tide of wildlife loss. 

“If we want a world with orangutans and puffins, clean air and enough food for everyone, we need urgent action from our leaders and a new global deal for nature and people that kick starts a global program of recovery,” Steele told the <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6331433/Wildlife-populations-plummeting-face-human-activity-report-warns.html">Daily Mail.</a>

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Since 1970, Earth’s wildlife populations have declined by 60 percent

Since 1970, Earth’s wildlife populations have declined by 60 percent....

Mountain birds are on a rising “escalator to extinction,” according to a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

It’s been theorized that as climate change makes local habitats inhospitable, some species will <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rising-temperatures-species-mountaintops/">navigate to higher ground </a>where conditions are more favorable. 

Finding real-world confirmation that climate change is driving species to higher altitudes has been challenging, but researchers from <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell</a> and the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> had a rare opportunity to compare mountain bird populations in Peru based on a 1985 survey. 

The study proves what researchers and climate models have predicted, that climate change is driving local bird species towards extinction. 

“A study like this where you have historical data you can go back to and compare is very rare,” Mark Urban, director of the Center of Biological Risk at the<a href="https://uconn.edu/"> University of Connecticut</a>, told the<a href="https://www.apnews.com/a4465873dd1f44c1b07bf315caef2493"> Associated Press</a>. “As long as the species can disperse, you will see species marching up the mountain, until that escalator becomes a stairway to heaven.”

The 1985 study served as a crucial baseline for the recent research, and in 2017 a team of researchers followed the same methods of the earlier study to survey over 400 species of birds in southeastern Peru.

Forty foot nets were used to catch and release tropical birds, and microphone boxes placed on the mountain were used to record the chirps of different bird species. 

Between the earlier survey and the study conducted in 2017, temperatures in the mountain area of Peru rose an average .76 degrees Fahrenheit, and this increase was enough to shift populations to new latitudes. 

“We found that the bird communities were moving up the slope to reach the climate conditions to which they were originally adapted,” Benjamin Freeman, the lead author of the new study told the Associated Press. “Near the top of the mountain, the bird species moved higher by 321 feet (98 meters), on average.”

According to Freeman, temperature is the largest influencing factor for these tropical birds. 

Unfortunately, while the birds are moving up to increase their odds of survival, it’s rapidly increasing their odds of extinction and eight species have already completely disappeared from the mountain. 

“Once you move up as far as you can go, there’s nowhere else left,” said John W. Fitzpatrick, a study author and director of the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. “On this particular mountain, some ridgetop bird populations were literally wiped out. We should expect that what’s happening on this mountaintop is happening more generally in the Andes, and other tropical mountain ranges.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Warming temps have mountain birds climbing towards extinction

Mountain birds are on a rising “escalator to extinction,” according...

This dinosaur species didn’t have teeth, so it used its powerful jaws. Scientists in Mongolia have discovered a new oviraptorosaur species that lived around 100 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous. Gobiraptor minutus, named after the Gobi Desert where it was found, resembled a huge chicken with no teeth. 

The lack of teeth suggests that the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-dinosaur-species-huge-spikes/">dinosaur</a> would have been an herbivore, but a team of experts led by <a href="http://www.useoul.edu/">Seoul National University</a> has concluded that Gobiraptor minutus ate both plants and animals. To compensate for a lack of teeth, the dinosaur was equipped with powerful, enlarged jaws that were likely used to crush eggs, seeds, mollusks, and other hard items for feeding. 

The incomplete fossil skeleton of Gobiraptor was found at a site known as the Nemegt Formation.  According to palaeontologist and study lead author Professor Yuong-Nam Lee, histological analysis of the femur revealed that the individual was “likely a juvenile.”


Oviraptorosaurs typically grew up to 11 feet in length and weighed up to 500 pounds with long legs, huge feet, and claw-tipped arms. 

Even though many oviraptorosaur skeletons have been found in China and Mongolia, their diet and feeding strategies have remained a mystery. Among this diverse group of dinosaurs, Gobiraptor minutus is distinctive because of its extra thick jaw structure. 

“A new oviraptorid dinosaur Gobiraptor minutus from the Nemegt Formation is described here based on a single specimen that includes incomplete cranial and postcranial elements,” wrote the study authors.

“The unique morphology of the jaw and the accordingly inferred specialized diet of Gobiraptor also indicate different dietary strategies may be one of important factors linked with the remarkably high diversity of oviraptorids in the Nemegt Basin.”

The study is published in the journal in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Do Yoon Kim

This dinosaur species didn’t have teeth, so it used its powerful jaws

This dinosaur species didn’t have teeth, so it used its...

<div id="titlewrap"></div>
Planet Earth faces an extinction crisis and, depending on the scientist you ask, may be in the midst of a "<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-hunted-6th-extinction/">sixth mass extinction</a>." Last month, a U.N. report banged the alarm bells with a forecast of up to 1 million species lost due to human activity. Those disappearances, in turn, would bring tremendous losses for human civilization. 

From billions of dollars in unpollinated crops to a spiritually devastating planet devoid of our natural companions, extinctions could rob humanity of much of what it needs to survive and thrive. 

"The diversity of species are responsible for the benefits that humans get from the environment, and the benefits are immense," said Nick Haddad, a <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a> biologist who studies insect conservation. "If we lose the biodiversity that's projected, a million species, then, it's unclear how human civilization can function." 

And the blame for those extinctions lies at the feet of humanity itself, due to habitat destruction, overharvesting, climate change and other anthropogenic pressures, May's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/1-million-species-extinction/">report</a> emphasized.

The study tasked hundreds of scientists with examining thousands of studies on extinction. (The UN published a <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/sites/default/files/downloads/spm_unedited_advance_for_posting_htn.pdf">summary</a> from the report in May; the full report will arrive later this year.)  Along with the top-line prediction on species loss, the report examined trends in 18 categories of nature's contributions to humans. And aside from the production of some resources, like energy and lumber, all those contributions have declined and stand to fall further with species loss, the report found. 

"There has been an increase in crop production and an increase in various types of material production," said Stephen Polasky, coordinating lead author on the report's section on nature's contributions and a <a href="https://umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a> ecologist. "But virtually all the others — pollination and those regulatory services, the decline in the ability to filter air and water, the sort of more nonmaterial, cultural, spiritual services — all of those have declined."

$577 Billion in Crops

Even those increases in production come with obvious trade-offs, like the conversion of forests to cropland. Farmers can also trace better crop yields to pesticide use, which ironically contributes to loss of the insect pollinators crucial to agriculture.

Such pollinator loss puts "between $235 billion and $577 billion" of annual agricultural production at risk globally, the report said. These insects face threats not only from pesticide use, but also habitat loss, producing the so-called "<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/27/magazine/insect-apocalypse.html">insect apocalypse</a>," Haddad said. And insect losses are indeed dire. 

For example, "the western monarch butterfly's populations have dropped by 97%," Haddad said. "I mean this is literally on the verge of total loss."

Studies have also linked tremendous agricultural losses to the disappearance of pest predators, said Gerardo Ceballos, an ecologist at Mexico's <a href="https://www.unah.edu.hn/">Universidad Nacional Autónoma</a> and a visiting professor at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford</a>. "By losing the bats in a particular area, just in an island," he said, "it will cost something like $1 billion in insect[-related] losses of crops."

Beyond crops, food resources could also dwindle with the collapse of fisheries from overfishing, pollution and other causes.

A Blow to Human Health

Mass extinction has financial implications beyond agriculture, too. 

"Tourism to protected areas generates an estimated $600 billion annually," Polasky said. 

And the planet's biomass provides a valuable climate-change protection by storing, or sequestering, carbon — 5.6 gigatons per year, worth $840 billion annually, Polasky said.

"Global warming is produced not only by the use of fossil fuels but also by losing the ecosystems that maintain this balance," Ceballos said. "And so we're losing so many tropical and other forests because of human activities that we are losing the capability to maintain a stable climate." 

From 2010 to 2015, according to the U.N. report, about 79 million acres of "primary or recovering forest" vanished.

Well-functioning ecosystems, with diverse species, also crucially balance and clean our air and water, Ceballos added. And human health leans on species diversity in the doctor's office, too, as 25 to 50% of drugs, including 70% of cancer drugs, come from or are inspired by nature, Polasky said. Future species loss means, potentially, the loss of as-yet-undiscovered drugs.

Lost Connections

Extinction happens within the context of massively complicated ecological webs, and so the causes and effects can be equally complex. One species' loss can amplify the pressures on another, as seen, for example, when tree loss increases flooding, making waterways silty and unlivable for fish. 

Ceballos also gave the example of prairie dogs. Once considered a pest, their populations fell as the government paid bounties to hunt them. Studies later showed that the rodents maintained grasslands by removing invasive species and burrowing in soil. Lost grasses, in turn, deprived bison (and domestic cattle) of feeding grounds.

The interconnected losses of species diversity, in fact, could compound so greatly that the effects destroy far more than a few industries, Ceballos said. The production of tens of millions of climate refugees, the further loss of the ability to adequately feed the planet, and other effects could mean the end of human civilization — if nothing is done, he said.

"We're losing so many species at such a high rate that we are collapsing the whole environmental system that produces our well-being," he said. "And that basically will mean the end of civilization as we know it."

Scientists alerting the world about the dangers of species loss point out, too, that we should care for reasons beyond the practical and self-focused. Our fellow species wouldn't deserve to die at our hands, even if the threat to us weren't so dire, Ceballos said.

"All these plants and animals have been our companions since we started our journey as humanity 3 million years ago," Ceballos said. "We are in large part what we are because of all them."

Stay tuned to <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> for a follow-up on solutions to the extinction crisis.

--

By <a href="mailto:michael.dhar@gmail.com">Michael Dhar</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/JMP_Traveler

One million species gone: What humanity stands to lose

Planet Earth faces an extinction crisis and, depending on the...

How to keep stink bugs out of your home during winter. Researchers from <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a> and the <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">United States Department of Agriculture</a> have found that brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys) cannot enter into slits less than 3 millimeters wide and holes less than 7 millimeters wide. This evidence can help homeowners safeguard their houses against stink bugs during the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/warmer-winter/">winter</a>, when the critters are seeking shelter from the cold.

"The way people talk about H. halys, you'd think they could get into just about anything," said study leader Benjamin Chambers, Ph.D., a graduate of <a href="https://biobuild.mlsoc.vt.edu/">Virginia Tech's BioBuild program</a>. "As it turns out, the slits they can get through are pretty small, but not so small as I thought."

To come to this conclusion, published February 13th in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jee">Journal of Economic Entomology</a>, Chambers conducted a series of tests where he put 30 brown marmorated stink bugs in a sealed box. The box had several slashes or holes on the top of varying widths. When a heat source was placed below the box, the stink bugs would attempt to exit via the varying slits and holes.

Most stink bugs were able to successfully exit through 8 millimeter holes and 4 millimeter slits. However, only one male stink bug was able to crawl through the 7 millimeter hole. None were able to pass through the 3 millimeter-wide slit. This was mostly because the width of the stink bugs made it impossible for them to enter these small crevices and holes.

"We now know how small of an opening is not a concern for H. halys," Chambers said. "Once you're below a rigid 3-by-7 millimeter opening, you won't see many getting through."

However, homeowners must take structural needs into account when safeguarding against stink bugs. “Opening size is also relevant in selecting screen or mesh being placed over vents,” Chambers continued. “If ventilation is already near the design minimum, selecting too fine a mesh could interfere with the proper function of those vents.”

Chambers also found that stink bugs aggregate around other long-dead, dried-out stink bugs. Therefore, cleaning out areas that contain stink bug corpses may prevent stink bugs from settling into crevices. Chambers also suggested that seeding stink bug traps with corpses may prove to be effective, however, more testing is needed.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Mohammed El Damir, Bugwood.org, CC BY 3.0 US

How to keep stink bugs out of your home during winter

How to keep stink bugs out of your home during...

Fish have nervous system receptors that respond to pain in a “strikingly similar” way to other mammals, according to a new review. 

The research, published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2019.0290">Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B </a>and authored by Dr. Lynne Sneddon, the Director of Bioveterinary Science at the <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/">University of Liverpool</a>, calls into the question the way people handle and kill fish. 

Nociception describes the ability to detect harmful stimuli. Nociceptors are found throughout the skin, bones, and muscles. While nociception in mammals has been well established, there is considerable debate about the extent to which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fish-cognition-dory/">fish feel pain</a>. 

Because fish have a single-layered forebrain, researchers have questioned whether or not fish feel pain in the way that humans or other vertebrates with complex brains might. 

According to Dr. Sneddon, studies have shown that aquatic vertebrates will avoid dangerous areas for days even if it means going without food. 

Goldfish given an electric shock in an area of their tank will avoid that area and starve themselves in the process rather than risk another shock. 

Another indicator that fish feel pain is that a perch will cut back on feeding after being caught on a hook because it is too painful to eat.

Dr. Sneddon also cites examples of fish seen hyperventilating or rubbing their bodies against different objects as if to self-soothe. 

Imagine stubbing your toe or getting a paper cut. It’s instinctual to hold or rub the sore area. Now, mounting evidence is showing that fish respond in similar ways to their injuries. 

“When subject to a potentially painful event fishes show adverse changes in behaviour such as suspension of feeding and reduced activity, which are prevented when a pain-relieving drug is provided,” said Dr. Sneddon. “When the fish’s lips are given a painful stimulus they rub the mouth against the side of the tank much like we rub our toe when we stub it.”

The review also found that fish respond to painkillers. Zebrafish, for example, have been shown to resume their normal swimming patterns after being exposed to hot water once a pain reliever was added to their tank. 

It’s not a matter of whether or not fish feel pain as Dr. Sneddon’s review confirms that fish experience pain much in the same way other vertebrates do. However, if fish feel pain, then we need to ensure that our treatment of aquatic vertebrates is ethical and humane. 

“If we accept fish experience pain, then this has important implications for how we treat them,” said Dr. Sneddon. “Care should be taken when handling fish to avoid damaging their sensitive skin and they should be humanely caught and killed.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Rocksweeper

Fish do feel pain, calling into question how humans treat them

Fish have nervous system receptors that respond to pain in...

Wild animals found to experience age-related immunity decline like humans. Researchers led by the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a> have produced the first evidence which shows a clear link between <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/drug-cocktail-aging-process/">aging</a> and weaker immune defense in animals other than humans. The experts found that wild Soay sheep on the remote islands of St. Kilda become much more vulnerable to parasitic worms with age.

In a process called immunosenescence, the human immune system deteriorates throughout adulthood. According to the researchers, this age-related decline in immunity is a huge issue for human health, reducing an older person's ability to fight off viruses and bacteria.

The team believes their study findings could offer new insight into whether humans may also lose the capacity to ward off larger parasites like worms.

"Our work provides the first evidence that deterioration in immune function in old age plays an important role in wild animal populations," said Professor Dan Nussey. "It also provides rare clues from outside the laboratory that our ability to fight worm infection might fade as we age. Most studies of worm infections in humans focus on children and young adults in developing countries, with much less attention paid to older individuals."Wild animals found to experience age-related immunity decline like humans

The researchers analyzed more than 2,000 samples taken across the lifetime of almost 800 Soay sheep. The levels of antibodies which protect the sheep from common parasites in their gut were found to decline in old age. Furthermore, the animals that showed faster deterioration in their resistance to the worms were more likely to die during the following winter.

"With the drive for more efficient farming practices, efforts are being made to extend the productive life-span of livestock species, which means the average age of farmed animals is likely to increase in the future," said Dr. Tom McNeilly. "Studies such as these are critical as they provide important information on the likely consequences of farming older animals in terms of their ability to fight infectious diseases."

The research was conducted as part of a long-term study of Soay sheep that began in 1985. The wild animals have lived on the islands of St Kilda for thousands of years.

"For anyone who visits St Kilda, the Soay sheep are a highlight, being living artefacts of the archipelago's past - a relic from the earliest settlers," said Susan Bain. "I therefore find it fascinating that these castaways from a lost culture still have things to teach us today. This new research shows that there is still a lot more to discover about this ancient breed and their environment."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">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

Image Credit: Martin Stoffel

Wild animals found to experience age-related immunity decline like humans

Wild animals found to experience age-related immunity decline like humans....

Animals can feel empathy, new research shows. Having evolved as a social society that relies on strong community and familial bonds, humans have a remarkable ability to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-chimpanzees-exhibit-empathy/">empathize with the emotions and pain of others</a>. 

We wince when we see someone else get hurt or feel bad when our loved ones experience a loss. But now, for the first time, the ability to empathize and mirror another’s pain has been observed in animals.

When it comes to why we experience empathy, previous research has come up with a potential explanation. 

It’s theorized that the cingulate cortex, a region of the brain activated when we get hurt or experience pain, contains mirror neurons that are easily triggered when we see someone else get hurt. 

In other words, the same region activated by our own pain is also activated when it registers someone else’s pain. 

This theory has remained untested until now as it is impossible to record the activity of single human brain cells or disrupt brain activity in the cingulate cortex. 

To determine if the cingulate cortex is responsible for empathy, researchers from the <a href="https://nin.nl/">Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience</a> turned to rats. 

For the study, published in the journal Current Biology, the researchers monitored the brain activity of a rat as it watched a fellow rat receive a mild shock. 

Rats freeze in response to fear, and when a rat saw it’s neighbor rat get shocked, it also froze in fear showing that rats, similar to humans, experience empathy. 

What’s more, watching another rat experience something unpleasant activated the same cingulate cortex region of the brain that is theoretically triggered in humans who experience empathy. 

Both the rat receiving the shock and the rat watching had similar brain activity which confirms the theory that the cingulate cortex contains mirror neurons. 

The researchers also tested to see what happens when a rat’s cingulate cortex cells were suppressed. 

After injected a drug into the rat that hindered the activity of the cells in the cingulate cortex, the researchers found that rats no longer felt empathy or mirrored the pain and fear of another rat. 

The study sheds insight into the underlying mechanisms behind empathy and could help future studies working to understand certain disorders like psychopathy, which are characterized by a lack of empathy. 

“What is most amazing, is that this all happens in exactly the same brain region in rats as in humans,” said Christian Keysers, the lead author of the study. “We had already found in humans, that brain activity of the cingulate cortex increases when we observe the pain of others, unless we are talking about psychopathic criminals, who show a remarkable reduction of this activity.”

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Animals can feel empathy, new research shows

Animals can feel empathy, new research shows. Having evolved as...

An international team of researchers has found that online behavior mimics the natural rhythms of the real world. In particular, the experts discovered that online interest in plants and animals often changes with the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/infectious-diseases-seasonal/">seasons</a>. 

The study was focused on a massive dataset of 2.33 billion views on Wikipedia, which involved 31,715 species over the course of three years. The team identified seasonal trends in the page views of more than 25 percent of the plant and animal species. The timing and extent of this internet activity was found to be an accurate representation of when and where the species were present in the world.

The seasonal interest in Wikipedia pages was found to reflect seasonal patterns in the species themselves. For example, page views of flowering plants had stronger seasonal patterns than those for coniferous trees, which do not have an obvious flowering season. Insects and birds trended more by the season compared to most mammals.

The researchers also identified instances where seasonal patterns responded to cultural events. Wikipedia’s page for the wild turkey showed repeated annual spikes around Thanksgiving and during the dates of the spring hunting season.

“People are becoming increasingly detached from nature and as a result we didn't really expect their activity online to respond to patterns in the natural world,” said study lead author John Mittermeier, who is a PhD student at the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a>. “To see that online activity often correlates strongly with natural phenomena suggests that people are paying attention to the world around them, and from a conservation perspective that is really exciting.”

Professor Richard Grenyer added, “Really widespread, accurate monitoring of all the world's species is still science fiction, unfortunately. But by using these big data approaches we can begin to shortcut some of the more difficult problems, and cut to the core questions in modern conservation: how is the world changing, for which species is it changing the most, and where are the people who care the most and can do the most to help.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Uri Roll

Public interest in plants and animals changes with the seasons

An international team of researchers has found that online behavior...

South American monkeys face extinction risk due to climate change. A new study from the <a href="https://www.stir.ac.uk/">University of Sterling</a> has found that South American monkeys, lemurs, and apes (especially New World monkeys) currently face an “elevated risk of extinction” due to climate change-induced increasing temperatures and habitat changes over the next 30 years. 

"Based on our analysis, it is clear that New World monkeys in particular can be considered highly vulnerable to projected temperature increases, consequently facing an elevated risk of extinction,” said study leader Dr. Joana Carvalho of Stirling's Faculty of Natural Sciences.

The research team looked at 426 species of non-human South American primates and their exposure to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-armed-conflict-risk/">climate change</a> and forecasted their risk for extinction in the year 2050, considering all scenarios (best case — emissions improve — and worst case — emissions increase unchecked).

They found that 86% of Neotropical primate ranges will be exposed to maximum temperature increases of greater than 3°C. And extreme warming of more than 4°C  will likely affect 41% of their ranges, and many of those areas currently house the largest number of primate species.

"Studies that quantify what magnitudes of warming primates are able to tolerate physiologically are lacking,” Dr. Carvalho said. “However, we have reason to believe that extreme temperature increases - as those predicted based on the low mitigation scenario - would most likely surpass the thermal tolerance of many species." 

"Climate-change mitigation measures have not yet been systematically included into on-site management and strategic development of primate conservation,” added senior author Professor Hjalmar Kuehl, a primatologist at the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/index.html">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a>. “Given the timescale on which climate change and resulting impact on primate populations will occur, efforts for integrating climate change mitigation measures need to be enhanced urgently in order to be able to develop and implement appropriate actions."

The team also suggests that human influence on the land within primates’ habitat will only exasperate the dire conditions. 

Cearly, as the authors note, “urgent action” is required in order to ensure the safety and conservation of primate populations in South America, and worldwide.

The findings are published in <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Andrew Park

South American monkeys face extinction risk due to climate change

South American monkeys face extinction risk due to climate change....

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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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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