Every year, humpback whales in the southeastern Pacific make a long and difficult journey. They travel up to 10,000 kilometers from Central and South America to their feeding grounds in Antarctica.



But how do they know when it's time to leave? According to new research, these whales rely on both real-time changes in their environment and long-term memories of past ocean conditions to time their migrations.



The study, led by scientists from <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">McGill University</a>, used eight years of satellite tracking data collected between 2009 and 2016. The team tracked 42 humpback whales tagged near Costa Rica, Panama, and Ecuador.



By following the whales' movements southward to Antarctica, the researchers hoped to understand what cues triggered their annual <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/noise-pollution-is-increasingly-disrupting-whale-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">migration</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-whales-use-memory-to-time-their-journey">Whales use memory to time their journey</h2>



The study revealed that whales respond to local cues such as sea surface temperature and food availability.



But they don’t rely solely on current conditions. They also seem to remember when food was most abundant in the Southern Ocean during previous years.



That memory, combined with what’s happening around them, helps them decide when to go.



“They seem to know that changes happening in their immediate environment are linked to conditions thousands of kilometers away,” said Professor Virginie Millien. “This allows them to fine-tune their migration, so they arrive just as their food supply peaks.”



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humpback-whale-reproduction-is-linked-to-krill-abundance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Krill</a>, a small crustacean, is the whales’ main food source in Antarctica. Each year, krill populations bloom during a specific seasonal window. 



For centuries, whales have timed their migration to match this pattern. But that rhythm is now being disrupted.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-can-whales-keep-up-with-climate-change">Can whales keep up with climate change?</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/krill-face-a-double-whammy-of-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Warmer oceans</a> and changes in sea ice are beginning to shift the timing of the krill bloom. Even though whales are adjusting their departures, climate change may be moving too fast for them to keep up.



“We don't know how long they'll be able to keep up,” said Millien. “Every year since 2016 has been the warmest on record, and that pattern is speeding up. At some point, their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blue-whales-memories-feeding-sites/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">memory-based</a> strategy may no longer work.”



The study also revealed notable differences in how males and females migrate. Male humpbacks tend to travel more quickly and take direct paths. 



In contrast, females - especially those with calves - stick to the coast. Their route is slower but possibly safer, giving their young time to rest and stay away from predators.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-delicate-balance-of-marine-ecosystems">Delicate balance of marine ecosystems </h2>



These findings have important implications for conservation. As ship traffic increases along coastal routes, so do the dangers whales face.



Collisions with vessels and disturbances to their migration corridors can have serious effects on whale populations.



“This research provides the data needed to inform conservation efforts,” said Hector Guzman of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. “It's not just about protecting whales; it's about preserving the delicate balance of marine ecosystems.”



The researchers emphasize the need to safeguard migration routes and feeding zones, especially as the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-a-warming-climate-will-change-the-humpback-whales-diet/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate continues to shift</a>. Protecting these areas doesn’t just benefit whales - it supports the entire marine food web.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-whales-matter-more-than-ever">Why whales matter more than ever</h2>



Whales are amazing animals that help keep oceans and seas healthy. As they move, whales consume food and excrete waste - assisting with the distribution of nutrients in the water body.



This enables the growth of phytoplankton and other microscopic plants which take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. Thus, whales make a direct contribution to the food webs of the ocean and the climate on land.



Their existence also boosts biodiversity, creating new feeding opportunities for other marine creatures that depend on nutrient-rich zones. 



If whale populations are decimated, the productivity of the ocean will decline. As waters undergo more drastic changes, the survival of humpback whales is crucial.



Observations of humpback whales provide researchers with insights into the limits of ecosystem resilience and the measures needed to prevent collapse. From this perspective, protecting whales becomes a priority, along with assessing the overall health and stability of the oceans.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-87489-4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>.



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Whales in hot water: Will climate change disrupt their migration?

Every year, humpback whales in the southeastern Pacific make a long and difficult journey. They travel up to 10,000 kilometers from Central and South America to their feeding grounds in Antarctica. But how do they know when it's time to leave? According to new research, these whales rely on both real-time changes in their environment and long-term memories of past ocean conditions to time their migrations. The study, led by scientists from McGill University, used eight years of satellite tracking data collected between 2009 and 2016. The...

A team of researchers at the <a href="https://www.elte.hu/en/">Eötvös Loránd University</a> (ELTE) has demonstrated that dogs are sensitive to the preferences of humans, but usually follow their own desires. The study was designed to investigate whether dog behavior is influenced or guided by human preferences.

The experts report that while fetching behavior remained unaffected by what humans wanted most, dogs still took the preferences of their owners into serious consideration. When a person expressed excitement over an object, the dogs were found to focus their gaze on it.

Even though the dogs still chose their own preferred objects when they had the option to fetch, they seemed to clearly perceive the preferences of their owners. It has been challenging for experts to determine whether dogs are actually aware of the human emotions that they are known to pick up on so well.   

"There is no shortage of attempts to unveil the putative mind-reading abilities of dogs, but no single study has been convincing enough on its own, so over the years we have broken down the big question into smaller, more tangible goals," said study co-author Dr. Ádám Miklósi.

One of the main goals has been to investigate how dogs respond to expressions signaling the preferences of humans. 

"We knew that dogs respond to humans signaling their preference, but in previous studies, the dogs' own priorities were not accounted for. In particular, we did not know how conflicting preferences between the dogs and the owner influence the behavior of dogs," said study lead author Eniko Kubinyi. "18-month-old children recognize that their own preference might differ from that of others and they understand how desire can be inferred from emotional expressions, but 14-month-olds do not. We wanted to test where dogs are on this scale."

Kubinyi explained that fetching was clearly not a good choice to measure dogs' sensitivity to the preferences of others - for several reasons. 

"Since their own favorite object was in reach, the dogs had little incentive to factor in the owner's choice in their responses. We assumed that if the same objects were out of reach, they would stimulate what appears to be 'showing' behavior in the dogs and they would direct more attention towards their owners' pick, thereby also weakening the affordance provided by their preferred object." 

To test out their theory, the researchers placed toys and bracelets up on a windowsill where the dogs could not reach them. A group of 51 dogs witnessed their owner displaying happy expressions toward either the toy or the bracelet, and disgusted faces at the other. The researchers measured how long the animals would gaze at their human's preferred object.

"In this case, the dogs looked at the favored toy when their owner had previously responded to it with a happy face. In the other group they looked the same amount of time at the bracelet and the toy," explained study co-author Ivaylo Iotchev. 

The findings confirm that the owner's preference affected the dog's behavior. Kubinyi said that it is not clear whether this influence is the result of inferred and shared representations.

"We have not found conclusive evidence that dogs, similarly to one and a half.year-old toddlers, understand the subjectivity of the desire, i.e., that different people can have different attitudes toward the same object," explained Kubinyi.

"If they indeed infer the owner's preference, they might not understand fetching as an act of offering an object to a human, or response inhibition, an important aspect of cognitive control, was not sufficiently strong to overwrite the animals' own preference." 

"What is certain, is that this study is the first to show that dogs are sensitive to their owners' choice even though they prefer to fetch their favorite toy when it is in reach."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://reports.frontiersin.org/reports/frontiers-in-psychology-report.html">Frontiers in Psychology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dogs take their owners' preferences into consideration

A team of researchers at the Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE)...

Researchers at the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_of_Exeter">University of Exeter</a> have investigated the dynamics of fighting among animals. The team identified various factors that groups of animals take into consideration before they decide if they are ready and willing to take on their rivals. 

When individuals get into one-on-one fights, they look at certain aspects such as the size and strength of their opponent, as well as the outcome of recent fights. At the same time,  the animals weigh the value of the potential reward against the risk that is involved.

According to the study authors, previous research has largely overlooked the complexity of group conflicts. It has been widely accepted that larger groups will win a battle, but this is not always the case.

The researchers explained that factors like the strength of individual members, group cohesion and teamwork, and the location of the conflict are factors that animals use to evaluate the situation. 

"Any potential fight - whether between humans or animals - gets more complex if there are multiple individuals on each side," said study lead author Dr.  Patrick Green. "Groups may assess both the importance of whatever they're fighting about, and a range of factors about their own group and the opponent."

"Research on dyadic (one-on-one) fights has developed an advanced framework on 'assessment' - how animals gather information and decide whether to fight, how much effort to put in, and if and when to give up."

"However, studies on group contests among social-living animals haven't generally focused on assessment. Understanding more about this can teach us not only about evolution, but also about conflict in humans."

While the larger of two social groups is often dominant in a battle, the study highlights other influential factors as well. For example, smaller groups of grey wolves that have more males can overcome larger groups. 

Motivation also plays a role. Meekrats can win fights with fewer grown individuals simply because they are so motivated to gain a better territory for raising pups.

Turtle ants, which have multiple nests, have been observed defending nests that have narrower entrances, suggesting they are willing to fight when the odds of winning are greater. 

Studies of chimpanzees show that in times when there is more conflict with other social groups, the males within a group become less aggressive toward each other. This indicates that social cohesion is useful at times when fights are likely to break out.

"Researchers have spent years wondering about the extent to which individual fighting animals use 'assessment' - effectively, sizing their opponent up," said study co-author Professor Mark Briffa. "In this paper, we explore the scope for groups of rivals to do a similar thing." 

"This could be a possibility in many examples across the animal kingdom where individuals work collectively, such as battles between rival groups of ants or even warfare between rival groups in humans."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/trends/ecology-evolution/home">Trends in Ecology &amp; Evolution</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

Animals consider a range of factors before fighting

Researchers at the University of Exeter have investigated the dynamics...

Millions of birds set out on a migratory journey each year in the fall, and many birds molt their feathers before they head out. A team of scientists at <a href="https://www.mtu.edu/">Michigan Technological University</a> (MTU) has investigated the connection between feather color changes and migrations.

Molt is important for replacing worn feathers to prepare for flight, and also serves as the catalyst for feather changes that could ultimately determine whether birds find mates and reproduce.

Study co-author Jared Wolfe is an assistant professor in MTU's College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science and is one of the founders of the Biodiversity Initiative.

"We're really blessed here, as nature lovers and birdwatchers, that we have lots of species of warblers here, which come in blues, greens, red and yellows," said Professor Wolfe. "These brightly colored birds migrate and nest here and then leave for the winter. Everyone is so focused on the coloration, but the mechanism of the change of coloration is the process of molt, of replacing feathers."

The researchers analyzed birds species to compare the distances they travel to the extent of molt. 

"Birds that go farther distances replace more feathers," said Professor Wolfe. "Sun is the primary reason feathers degrade, and harsh environments. In northerly latitudes in the summer, it's sunny all day. As the birds move south, tracking the sun, they are maximally exposing themselves to sun all year."

Birds need bright, beautiful feathers to attract others. Plumage reveals the health and age of birds to their potential mates.

"Bright plumages are signals of habitat quality in the tropics," said Professor Wolfe. "Acquiring mates is based on a signal of habitat quality from the wintering grounds. Undergoing a second molt on the wintering grounds before migrating north allows the birds to become colorful. Color is a signal to potential mates in places like the Midwest what jungle wintering habitats are like."

What the birds experience during the winter months has an influence on how colorful they become, which ultimately affects how successful they are at breeding.

Growing bright feathers is energetically costly, and a bird that has a better quality wintering habitat with an abundance of food and shelter will be able to produce brilliant plumage. Just like humans seeking out houses to live in, birds seek out the best possible habitats.

"The best habitats offer resource stability over time, versus poorer quality habitats which are variable month-to-month, year-to-year."

The researchers found that adjusting the time it takes Amazonian birds to complete their annual molt affects how they forage. For example, the white-plumed antbird in Brazil eats insects that are trying to outrun army ants. "Its molt is crazy slow; it takes an entire year," said Professor Wolfe. He noted that the bird essentially lives in a constant state of molt, dropping one feather at a time.

The antbirds have huge home ranges that overlap with multiple army ant colonies. They spend a lot of time flying around the jungle in search of the ants. When they molt wing feathers, it creates gaps in their wings and compromises their ability to fly, which is why they have a very slow molt. 

"A single feather at a time to minimize gaps thereby improving their ability to fly and maintain large home ranges," said Professor Wolfe. "This unique adaptation has made the white-plumed antbird the slowest-molting songbird on Earth."

The study showed that not all birds return to the same molting grounds every year. This contradicts the assumption that birds benefit from completing their annual molt in a familiar location. Professor Wolfe said that it appears there isn't much of a relationship between molting activity and what he calls "site fidelity."

"Until our research, it had remained a mystery whether or not migratory songbirds return to the same site to molt," said Professor Wolfe. "This is an important question because there is growing evidence that mortalities accrued after the breeding season - during molt, migration and overwintering periods - is responsible for the continued loss of migratory songbirds. In fact, bird abundance has decreased by 29% since 1970. Understanding where and why birds molt is an important step towards protecting vulnerable populations of songbirds."

The experts analyzed 31 years of bird banding data from northern California and southern Oregon to measure the site fidelity of 16 species of songbird during molt. While the researchers did find that breeding activity strongly correlated with site fidelity, molt did not appear to influence a bird's decision to return to a particular place or not. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/auk">The Auk: Ornithological Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists explore why and where birds molt their feathers

Millions of birds set out on a migratory journey each...

The compounding effects of climate change and human development have spoiled the natural habitats of most mammals, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/migratory-birds-rely-on-spring-greening-which-is-now-changing-with-the-climate/">birds</a>, and amphibians by an average of 18 percent. A new study from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> suggests that the geographical ranges of animals will continue to shrink worldwide, and that nearly a quarter of these ecosystems will be lost by the end of the century. 

The researchers analyzed changes in the geographical ranges of nearly 17,000 species over more than three centuries. The team used this data to predict future changes under 16 different scenarios.

A diverse range of species is needed to perform critical ecosystem functions from pest regulation to carbon storage. The vulnerability of any given species to extinction is strongly impacted by the size of its geographical range. In order to develop effective conservation strategies, experts need to understand how ranges have changed in the past and how they will change in the future.

"The habitat size of almost all known birds, mammals, and amphibians is shrinking, primarily because of land conversion by humans as we continue to expand our agricultural and urban areas," said study first author Dr. Robert Beyer.

The impacts are disproportionately distributed, with some species more severely affected than others. For example, an alarming 16 percent of species have lost over half of their estimated historical range, and this number of species could grow to 26 percent in the coming decades. 

More recently, the most significant losses of geographical ranges were found in tropical areas. Up until about 50 years ago, most agricultural development was in Europe and North America. Since then, large areas of land have been converted for agriculture in the tropics.

"The tropics are biodiversity hotspots with lots of small-range species. If one hectare of tropical forest is converted to agricultural land, a lot more species lose larger proportions of their home than in places like Europe," said Dr. Beyer.

"Species in the Amazon have adapted to living in a tropical rainforest. If climate change causes this ecosystem to change, many of those species won't be able to survive - or they will at least be pushed into smaller areas of remaining rainforest. We found that the higher the carbon emissions, the worse it gets for most species in terms of habitat loss."

The clearing of land for agricultural and urban development and climate change are the main drivers of the decline in geographical range sizes, and two of the biggest threats to global terrestrial biodiversity.

Study lead author Andrea Manica is a professor in the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge.

"Whether these past trends in habitat range losses will reverse, continue, or accelerate will depend on future global carbon emissions and societal choices in the coming years and decades," said study lead author Professor Andrea Manica.

"While our study quantifies the drastic consequences for species' ranges if global land use and climate change are left unchecked, they also demonstrate the tremendous potential of timely and concerted policy action for halting - and indeed partially reversing - previous trends in global range contractions. It all depends on what we do next."

The study is the published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The geographical ranges of most animals are shrinking worldwide

The compounding effects of climate change and human development have...

Global warming could have dire consequences for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-species-of-pterosaur-had-a-long-skinny-beak-for-hunting/">species</a> that depend on a stable food supply at specific times of the year. If warming takes place too quickly, these species may not have enough time to adapt. This could be precisely the case for great tits as the larvae they depend on for survival are hatching earlier, according to a new study. 

"If the changes happen too fast, species can become extinct," said study first author Emily Simmonds, an associate professor in the Department of Biology at <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/">Norwegian University of Science and Technology</a> (NTNU).

The researchers investigated how great tits may be affected if the availability of larvae changes in the spring. These birds depend on an abundant supply of larvae to feed their young. If this supply peaks earlier in the spring than usual, there may be a lack of food for the hatchlings.

Spring is arriving earlier and winters are becoming warmer. This causes some trees to sprout their leaves early, which prompts the larvae that feed on the plants to hatch out earlier. "When the climate changes, the interactions between different species changes too," said Professor Simmonds.

In collaboration with experts at the University of Oxford, the researchers used population models to estimate the consequences of different climate scenarios for great tits. The team wanted to identify the tipping point at which the changes would happen too fast for the great tit to modify its behavior and keep pace with the hatching larvae.

Due to genetics, great tits have varying abilities to adapt to different conditions. For example, an earlier supply of larvae can be advantageous for great tits that hatch their young earlier in the spring. This advantage can be transferred to the next generation of birds and they will hatch their young earlier in the season as well. 

For this strategy to work, however, the great tits have to evolve fast enough and be flexible enough to keep up with the behavior of their prey.

"Given conditions with big greenhouse gas emissions, the great tits won't always be able to keep up with the changes in the larvae supply," said Professor Simmonds.

In the worst case scenario, the researchers found that entire populations of great tits will simply disappear by the end of this century because they cannot find enough food for their young.

"This could happen even if the great tits are also modifying their behavior faster in a rapidly changing environment. The larvae might be changing even faster than the great tits," said Professor Simmonds. 

The tipping point for populations of great tits, or the point at which they will not have a chance of survival, will be reached if larvae begin hatching 24 days earlier compared to when they hatch now. According to the researchers, this threshold even applies to populations that appear to be completely stable today.

"It could be that the apparent stability today is hiding a future collapse," said Professor Simmonds. "The good news is that the populations will be able to survive scenarios with lower or medium warming trends."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14610248">Ecology Letters</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Great tits can adapt to climate change, but only to a point

Global warming could have dire consequences for species that depend...

Animals in the Arctic are shifting their behavior to keep pace with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-has-officially-arrived-in-the-black-forest/">climate</a> change. The research is based on data collected from more than 200 studies which tracked the movements of thousands of Arctic animals over the last three decades. 

The database combines the work of ecologists from all over the world. Study co-lead author Gil Bohrer is a professor of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering at <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">The Ohio State University</a>.

"What we ended up with is this massive dataset that can tell us how the behavior of animals is evolving in the face of climate change," said Professor Bohrer.

In the Arctic, the average temperatures have increased about 2.3 degrees Celsius since the 1970s. The researchers found that the cumulative effects of earlier springs, warmer winters, melting sea ice, and human development have transformed the behavior of native Arctic animals. 

Professor Bohrer said that collecting the data in one place was important. Without the database, it would be difficult for scientists to quantify the long-term effects of climate change and human activities on Arctic animals.

"Ecologists are doing the best they can, but often, movement track data would be lost - researchers retire or move to other positions, the hard drive ends up getting lost, the research notebook is misplaced or thrown away, and then that data is gone," said Professor Bohrer. "And animal tracking is very hard to do, so a research project might cover a handful of animals, maybe 10s at the most. Each animal-movement tag costs hundreds -- and sometimes thousands - of dollars, and you need to catch the animal and follow it. It's a lot of work and a lot of money."

Three separate analyses of the data show large-scale shifts in the movement of golden eagles, bears, caribou, moose, and wolves. The behavioral changes could impact the ability for these species to eat, mate, and survive.

The first study compared the movements of more than 100 golden eagles from 1993 to 2017. The experts found that immature birds migrating north in the spring arrived to the region earlier after a mild winter, which suggests that warmer temperatures are prompting the eagles to migrate sooner. On the other hand, adult golden eagles did not change their migration patterns. According to the study authors, this could have consequences for nesting and chick survival.

The second analysis tracked more than 900 female caribou from 2000 to 2017. The study revealed that northern herds are giving birth earlier in the spring, while the calving dates of southern populations have not changed. The early spring is associated with more extreme variation in weather patterns, posing some serious risks. For example, heavy snowfall events in the late spring snow could be fatal for calves born earlier in the season.

The third study monitored the speed of bear, caribou, moose, and wolf movement from 1998 to 2019. These species were found to move at different speeds depending on seasonal temperatures and precipitation. The investigation revealed that moose and caribou moved more in days with higher temperatures, while their predators moved less. The findings suggest that it will be more difficult for herbivores to avoid predators as temperatures continue to rise.

"I'm really excited about how this work shows what you can learn from comparing data across populations on a very large scale," said study co-author Elie Gurarie of the University of Maryland. "I would say this is an early example of what we might call global animal movement ecology. We're increasing our ability to monitor the pulse of animal populations across the Earth and ask big picture questions about what it means."

"This work has given us a baseline to understand the large-scale picture so we can get a sense of how animals and environments are really interacting across species and across space as the environment changes."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Arctic animals are changing their behavior in a warming climate

Animals in the Arctic are shifting their behavior to keep...

In a new study, researchers have observed that crown-of-thorns starfish can actually find their way home after a long night of feasting on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-great-barrier-reef-has-lost-half-its-corals-in-two-decades/">corals</a>. The research suggests that healthy tropical reefs with an abundance of Acropora corals encourage the overindulgent behavior of crown-of-thorns starfish. 

The study is the first of its kind to show that  crown-of-thorns starfish have the ability to find their way home, but only when their surrounding community is well-stocked with corals. 

The experts documented this behavior on the Great Barrier Reef, where the starfish were seen emerging from their shelters in the afternoon, feeding on coral throughout the night, and returning home at dawn.

Study lead author Dr. Scott Ling is a senior lecturer at the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies at the University of Tasmania.

"The crown-of-thorns starfish often partied all night, slept-in and only those with a well-stocked larder found their way home - so it's very much a teenager model of behavior," said Dr. Ling.

"Their preferred prey is Acropora corals," said study co-author Professor Morgan Pratchett from the <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/">ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies</a>. "When populations of Acropora dropped, the starfish didn't return home. Their behavior is directly linked to the local abundance of Acropora."

Acropora corals have served as an important reef-building species for the past two million years. These fast-growing corals are the building blocks of reefs across the world.

The study findings indicate that healthy reefs with a high cover of Acropora corals are the target of crown-of-thorns aggregations and outbreaks. The starfish are known for preying on large swaths of coral reefs, and these outbreaks have caused widespread and sustained coral loss throughout the Indo-Pacific region.

Using time-lapse photography, the researchers tracked the movements of 58 starfish in the northern and southern Great Barrier Reef during an outbreak in 2015. When Acropora corals were unavailable, the starfish were typically homeless and roamed up to 20 meters per day.

"Unlike sea urchins that can switch diet once they overgraze kelp forests, results of the time-lapse monitoring indicate that the starfish will consume available Acropora and ultimately eat themselves out of house and home before dispersing in search of new feeding grounds," said Dr. Ling.

Previous crown-of-thorns outbreaks were documented on the Great Barrier Reef in 1962, 1979, 1993, and 2009. The combined threat of mass-bleaching and crown-of-thorns outbreaks could have catastrophic consequences for coral reefs.

"By better understanding the behavior of these starfish we can help prevent and control their outbreaks, which will help alleviate the pressures on coral reefs," said Professor Pratchett.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rspb">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Crown-of-thorns starfish stay up all night to overindulge

In a new study, researchers have observed that crown-of-thorns starfish...

Arthropods are invertebrates that have a segmented body, an exoskeleton, and paired jointed appendages. Bees, spiders, crustaceans, and other arthropods have been among the most abundant and successful <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/wild-animals-are-moving-to-the-suburbs/">animals</a> on Earth since the Cambrian Period more than 500 million years ago. 

Arthropoda is the largest phylum in the animal kingdom, making up more than 80 percent of all species. Despite the fact that arthropods are so ubiquitous, however, there is still much that is not known about how they evolved and what their ancestors looked like. The answers to these questions have puzzled scientists for more than a century.

In a new study from the <a href="http://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, researchers have discovered a shrimp-like fossil with five eyes. The new species, which is now known as Kylinxia, was discovered in Yunnan Province in southwest China. The specimen has provided experts with critical insight into the early evolutionary history of arthropods. 

"Kylinxia is a very rare chimeric species. It combines morphological features from different animals, which is analogous to 'kylin,' a chimeric creature in traditional Chinese mythology," said study co-author Professor Diying Huang.

"Owing to very special taphonomic conditions, the Kylinxia fossils exhibit exquisite anatomical structures. For example, nervous tissue, eyes and digestive system - these are soft body parts we usually cannot see in conventional fossils," said study co-author Professor Fangchen Zhao.

Kylinxia shares distinctive features with true arthropods, such as a segmented trunk and jointed legs. However, the species also shares the morphological characteristics present in very ancestral forms, such as the bizarre five eyes of Opabinia and the iconic raptorial appendages of Anomalocaris - a giant ancestral form of arthropod.

Anomalocaris reached up to two meters in body length and was a top predator in the Cambrian ocean. Huge differences between Anomalocaris and true arthropods have indicated that there is a large evolutionary gap between the two types of this phylum. According to the researchers, this gap has become a crucial "missing link" in the history of arthropods.

After conducting detailed anatomical studies of the Kylinxia fossils, the experts found that the species had small predatory appendages in front like those in the mouth of spiders, as well as the antennae of Mandibulata - a subdivision of arthropods including bees. This led the team to the conclusion that the first appendages in Anomalocaris and true arthropods had the same structure. 

"Our results indicate that the evolutionary placement of Kylinxia is right between Anomalocaris and the true arthropods. Therefore, our finding reached the evolutionary root of the true arthropods," said study co-author Professor Maoyan Zhu.

"Kylinxia represents a crucial transitional fossil predicted by Darwin's evolutionary theory. It bridges the evolutionary gap from Anomalocaris to true arthropods and forms a key 'missing link' in the origin of arthropods, contributing strong fossil evidence for the evolutionary theory of life," concluded study first author Dr. Han Zeng.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Study reveals the origin of spiders, bees, and other true arthropods

Arthropods are invertebrates that have a segmented body, an exoskeleton,...

In a new study from the <a href="https://gorillafund.org/">Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund</a>, scientists have used five decades of data to investigate how <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/how-you-use-social-media-affects-your-sense-of-happiness/">social</a> behavior may be affecting the population growth rate of mountain gorillas. The study revealed that violent encounters between groups with overlapping home ranges dramatically slowed the growth rate of a Virunga gorilla population. 

"This is one of the few studies to demonstrate the considerable impact that social behavior can have on whether or not a population grows," said study co-lead author Dr. Winnie Eckardt.

Around 600 of the estimated 1,063 remaining mountain gorillas live in the countries of Rwanda, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the Virunga Mountains. Across a 430-square-kilometer area of forest, conservation measures have more than doubled the Virunga gorilla population since the 1980s.

By 2006, the Virunga study population was composed of three large groups that each had multiple silverbacks. These groups were much larger than average, ranging from 25 to 65 gorillas with up to eight silverbacks, but were very stable.

However, when young silverbacks started challenging the older group leaders, things became unstable. The three groups separated off into 11 groups that now occupied a relatively small region. Movement and expansion into new areas was limited by surrounding agricultural fields, as well as by the presence of other gorillas.

The eleven groups now faced higher overlap in their home ranges and more violent encounters. While trying to impress females, male mountain gorillas often target the males and infants of other groups. As a result of this type of conflict, infant mortality increased by 57 percent and the annual population growth rate dropped from 5.05 percent to 2.37 percent among the Virunga subpopulation.

"Before 2007, we would talk about intergroup encounters for months because they were so rare," said Dr. Eckardt. "After that, they began to happen with such frequency that we could hardly keep up with documenting them."

The findings suggest that it is the density of groups rather than the density of individuals that plays a bigger role in regulating population growth. 

"Scientists often talk about how many individuals an environment can hold, also known as carrying capacity," said study co-author Jean Paul Hirwa. "But what these data clearly show is that for social species, this number can depend on how the animals chose to organize themselves. For example, 100 gorillas living in three groups, as we saw in the 2000s, likely require less space than 100 gorillas living in 10 groups."

"The Virunga gorilla population has been increasing for almost 40 years, but its habitat has not. As the gorilla density reaches unusually high value, scientists fear that between-group aggression and stress will significantly affect the welfare of the animals," said study co-author Dr. Damien Caillaud.

The research also highlights the challenges for the broader Virunga mountain gorilla population. There are currently other mountain gorilla subpopulations in the region that look similar to the study group when it had high growth rates, large sizes, and multiple males.

"This study highlights the value of long-term data in understanding the ever-changing population dynamics of a species, which is ultimately linked to its conservation," said study co-author Dr. Tara Stoinski, CEO of the Fossey Fund. 

"Mountain gorillas are an incredible conservation success story, but their population is very small - just over 1,000 individuals. Our hope is that improving our understanding of what factors are influencing the population's growth will aid in developing effective conservation strategies."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Violent clashes have lowered the Virunga gorilla population

In a new study from the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund,...

Human development has impacted the genetic diversity of lions. Human activities have notably damaged the genetic diversity of lions in the last century. Experts at the <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/">Texas A&amp;M University</a> College of Veterinary Medicine &amp; Biomedical Sciences have found clear genetic changes in lion populations that are tied to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/top-predators-face-the-most-imminent-threat-from-habitat-loss/">habitat</a> fragmentation. 

When groups of the same species are isolated from each other, there is a lack of genetic flow that can have long-term consequences for the overall health of the species. 

"I was surprised at what we found - surprised and disappointed, because it's not what I wanted to see," said study co-author Dr. James Derr. "I really wanted to be able to tell everyone that the management we've been doing for the last 100 years is perfect and to keep doing what we've been doing and everything will be fine. But that's not the take-home lesson; unfortunately, that's not the story we can tell."

The researchers set out to examine whether the genetic structure of lion populations has changed over the last 100 years.

The study was focused on existing DNA data from modern lions that lived between 1990 and 2012. To obtain genetic data from historical populations, study co-author Dr. Caitlin Curry used DNA extracted from the preserved remains of 143 lions that lived between 1880 and 1949.

Both the modern and historical DNA datasets represent the same geographical range from India to Southern Africa. This type of analysis, which compares data from the same region at different times, is called a spatiotemporal study.

Female lions tend to stay close to where they were born, while male lions travel great distances to find new prides. This means that males are responsible for the movement of genes in the population, which promotes a high level of genetic diversity within the species.

The rapid growth of human development across Africa has increasingly limited the movement of lions through barriers such as cities, fences, and farms. These barriers prevent male lions from traveling over the great distances they once freely roamed. 

According to study co-author Dr. Curry, while lions are still genetically diverse right now, the results in the DNA were more pronounced than she expected.

"In the historical population, you couldn't easily identify where a lion was from based on its nuclear DNA. This is due to high historical levels of gene flow across the population," said Dr. Curry. "But in the modern population, you can determine the general area, or sub-population, for most of the lions. But, even with sub-populations being more isolated, the overall level of genetic diversity is still considered high across all lion populations."

However, the restricted movement of lions could gradually lead to much lower levels of genetic diversity, which comes along with health consequences.

"Over the last 100 years or so, we have restricted the natural movements of many species," said Dr. Derr. "This isolation leads to reduced gene flow and ultimately may result in reducing genetic diversity to a level that threatens the survival of local populations."

The African cheetah serves as an example of what happens with a lack of genetic diversity. Based on DNA evidence, scientists believe that cheetahs have suffered two large bottleneck events that have rapidly shrunk the gene pool. Today's cheetah population has difficulty breeding, faces serious health issues, and struggles to fight off new diseases. 

For lions, however, this fate can still be avoided in lions. The study findings provide clear evidence of the genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation and isolation, and this evidence can be used to protect lions. 

"This should not be a disheartening story but rather one of hope," said Dr. Curry. "Yes, we see a decrease in genetic diversity across lion populations over the past century. But, currently, compared with other mammalian species, lion genetic diversity is still considered high across all lion populations."

"With responsible management focused on giving prides enough space to breed and allowing males to move more freely between isolated pockets, it is possible to increase the genetic diversity and reduce population subdivision across lion populations."

Multiple projects have begun reintroducing lions back to areas they once roamed, and wildlife conservation programs are increasingly focused on coexistence strategies.

"The positive take-home message is now that we've documented this and we understand it, policies can be tailored to manage these populations differently," said Dr. Derr. "We know now that you can't treat all lions the same. Now we have the responsibility to manage these animals, and many other managed wildlife species, in ways that better reflects their current biology."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe">Molecular Biology and Evolution</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Human development has impacted the genetic diversity of lions

Human development has impacted the genetic diversity of lions. Human...

Ants swallow acid that is secreted by their poison glands to improve their gut microbial communities and prevent <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cats-can-fight-off-sars-cov-2-with-no-symptoms-of-infection/">infection</a>. According to a new study from <a href="https://www.uni-halle.de/?lang=en">Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg</a> (MLU), the acidic environment that ants create in their stomach can kill harmful bacteria that is ingested with food, which reduces their risk of getting sick.  

"Animals continuously encounter microorganisms that are essential for health or cause disease. They are thus challenged to control harmful microbes while allowing the acquisition of beneficial microbes. This challenge is likely especially important for social insects with respect to microbes in food, as they often store food and exchange food among colony members," explained the study authors.

Numerous species of ants have a special gland in their abdomen that produces formic acid. Dr. Simon Tragust said that scientists have long assumed that the acid was used for the sole purpose of warding off predators like insects and birds. In a previous study, however, Dr. Tragust showed that ants can also use formic acid to disinfect their brood and prevent the spread of harmful fungi. 

The current investigation was based on the observation of some puzzling behavior. "Whenever ants swallow food or water, they start cleaning their hindquarters afterwards," said Dr. Tragust. He explained that this behavior did not seem to be linked to digestion, considering that they cleaned their hindquarters even after they had only consumed water. 

After conducting several experiments, the team discovered that the ants were disinfecting themselves on the inside. "When the ants were able to access the acid, their chances of survival increased significantly after eating food enriched with pathogenic bacteria," said Dr. Tragust. 

Given that ants pass food from their mouth to the mouths of their nest mates, the benefits of cleaning were found to extend beyond the individuals. If the ant passing food around had previously ingested the acid, the recipients had a lower risk of getting sick. According to Dr. Tragust, this behavior may reduce the spread of infection within the ant colony.

"In addition to improving their own survival, the ability of donor ants to access their poison also improved the survival of receiver ants without access to their poison following trophallactic exchange of pathogen-contaminated food," wrote the study authors.

"Acidic crop lumens might therefore act as a barrier to disease spread in formicine ant societies, alleviating the cost of sharing pathogen contaminated food and counteracting the generally increased risk of pathogen exposure and transmission associated with group living."

The findings also provide new insight into why some ants have very few bacteria in their digestive tracts. "Acid swallowing acts as a filter mechanism, structuring the ant's microbiome," explained Dr. Tragust. He said that acidic stomachs are only known to occur in humans and a few other vertebrates. Humans produce acid directly in the stomach, but the results are the same - the stomach acid kills germs in food and influences the gut microbiome.

The researchers conclude that the ability of formicine ants to access their own poison and filter out the harmful microbes they ingest may help to explain the ecological and evolutionary success of this group of insects.

The study is published in the <a href="https://elifesciences.org/">eLife</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ants swallow their own acid to avoid getting sick

Ants swallow acid that is secreted by their poison glands...

The earliest evidence for mammal social behavior dates back to the Age of Dinosaurs, according to a new study led by paleontologists at the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> Burke Museum of Natural History &amp; Culture. This evidence is tied to the discovery of a small mammal that lived during the Late Cretaceous period.

The previously unknown species was part of an <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plankton-began-hunting-their-own-food-to-survive-a-mass-extinction-event/">extinct</a> group of rodent-like mammals known as multituberculates. The new mammal has been named Filikomys primaevus, which translates to "youthful, friendly mouse." 

The fossils examined for the study are the most complete mammal fossils ever found from the Mesozoic era in North America. The analysis suggests that F. primaevus engaged in group nesting and burrowing behavior, and possibly lived in colonies. 

Dating back about 75 million years, the fossils were recovered from a dinosaur nesting site called Egg Mountain in modern-day western Montana.

The excavation produced skulls and skeletons of at least 22 F. primaevus individuals that were typically clustered together in groups of two to five. About 13 individuals were found in the same rock layer within a 30 square-meter area. 

The researchers noted that the ancient mammal had powerful shoulders and elbows that are similar to those of burrowing animals that exist today. The experts theorize that the ancient animals also lived in burrows and nested together. 

The combination of F. primaevus individuals found clustered together included multiple mature adults and young adults, which indicates that these were truly social groups as opposed to just parents raising their young.

"It was crazy finishing up this paper right as the stay-at-home orders were going into effect - here we all are trying our best to socially distance and isolate, and I'm writing about how mammals were socially interacting way back when dinosaurs were still roaming the Earth!" said study lead author Luke Weaver. 

"It is really powerful, I think, to see just how deeply rooted social interactions are in mammals. Because humans are such social animals, we tend to think that sociality is somehow unique to us, or at least to our close evolutionary relatives, but now we can see that social behavior goes way further back in the mammalian family tree." "Multituberculates are one of the most ancient mammal groups, and they've been extinct for 35 million years, yet in the Late Cretaceous they were apparently interacting in groups similar to what you would see in modern-day ground squirrels."

It was previously assumed that social behavior first emerged in mammals after the mass extinction that killed off the dinosaurs. 

Social behavior was also thought to have initially appeared in the group Placentalia - mammals that carry the fetus in the mother's uterus until a late stage of development, including humans. However, the new fossils show that an entirely different group of mammals was socializing during the Age of Dinosaurs.

"These fossils are game changers," said study senior author Gregory Wilson Mantilla. "As paleontologists working to reconstruct the biology of mammals from this time period, we're usually stuck staring at individual teeth and maybe a jaw that rolled down a river, but here we have multiple, near complete skulls and skeletons preserved in the exact place where the animals lived. We can now credibly look at how mammals really interacted with dinosaurs and other animals that lived at this time."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mammal social behavior dates back to the Age of Dinosaurs

The earliest evidence for mammal social behavior dates back to...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Lake Trasimeno, which is located west of Perugia in central Italy. It is the fourth largest lake in the country. While Trasimeno’s water level varies, it has a maximum depth of approximately six meters.&nbsp;



"In this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image, captured on 6 August 2022, the lake’s emerald green colour is likely due to the presence of phytoplankton. Streaks in the water, particularly visible in the west, indicate the presence of soil and sediments which have been stirred up by winds. Dark colored waters in the southern part of the lake indicate a presence of submerged and floating macrophytes (aquatic plants) as well as algae," says ESA.



"Surrounded by hills on three sides, Trasimeno is subject to heavy storms created by winds, especially from the north and west. There are three islets in the lake: Maggiore, Minore and Polvese (the largest). The lake’s shores are sparsely inhabited with only two popular villages: Castiglione del Lago and Passignano sul Trasimeno."



"Italy is experiencing its worst drought in 70 years which has affected drinking water supplies, hydroelectric power and agricultural production. High temperatures, hot winds and lack of rainfall are the main causes of drought in the Umbrian region which saw Lake Trasimeno’s drop 1.3 m, reaching the limit of the hydrometric zero in July 2022."



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> describes a new self-powered nanosensor that can instantly detect mercury contamination with the tap of a finger.&nbsp;



The oxidized form of mercury can be harmful when it is ingested through contaminated water or food. This makes it necessary for experts to develop sensors that can quickly and accurately detect the presence of mercury.&nbsp;



Zong-Hong Lin and colleagues have now created a triboelectric nanosensor (TENS) that can detect mercury by simply by touching a sample. According to the researchers, their TENS could serve as the basis for similar devices to safely and remotely monitor other pollutants.



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



'The weather of Santiago resembles the Mediterranean climate with dry and warm summers with temperatures reaching up to 35°C (from October to March) and cool and humid winters that can drop to 0°C (from April to September)."



"The city lies in the centre of the country’s central valley around 80 km from the Pacific Ocean to the west and borders Argentina to the east. A tiny part of Argentina is visible in the top-right corner of the image where the mountain crest of the Andes Mountains acts as a divider between the two countries," says ESA.



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Spiral,Galaxy,,Illustration,Of,Milky,Way

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Astronomers at <a href="https://www.jhu.edu/">Johns Hopkins University</a> have created an interactive map of the universe, including the actual position and real colors of 200,000 galaxies. The map allows the public to access data that was previously only available to scientists.



The map was developed using data collected by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey. For over two decades, a telescope in New Mexico was aimed at slightly different locations to capture the night sky.&nbsp;



"Growing up I was very inspired by astronomy pictures, stars, nebulae and galaxies, and now it's our time to create a new type of picture to inspire people," said map creator Brice Ménard, a professor at Johns Hopkins. "Astrophysicists around the world have been analyzing this data for years, leading to thousands of scientific papers and discoveries. But nobody took the time to create a map that is beautiful, scientifically accurate, and accessible to people who are not scientists. Our goal here is to show everybody what the universe really looks like."



"In this map, we are just a speck at the very bottom, just one pixel. And when I say we, I mean our galaxy, the Milky Way which has billions of stars and planets. We are used to seeing astronomical pictures showing one galaxy here, one galaxy there or perhaps a group of galaxies. But what this map shows is a very, very different scale."



"From this speck at the bottom, we are able to map out galaxies across the entire universe, and that says something about the power of science."



The <a href="https://mapoftheuniverse.net/">interactive map</a> is available online, where it can be downloaded for free.



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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