Florida’s wetlands are home to two striking and often confused waterbirds - the&nbsp;anhinga&nbsp;and the&nbsp;double-crested cormorant. Both are expert divers that rely on their feet to propel themselves underwater. They are commonly seen perched on branches or docks with their wings spread wide to dry.



However, despite their similar appearances and behaviors, new research from the&nbsp;University of Miami&nbsp;reveals that these birds are quite different in their&nbsp;physiology, hunting techniques, and metabolism.



A research team led by&nbsp;Jeff White, a recent&nbsp;biology doctoral graduate, spent months studying these species to understand their unique adaptations.



The findings, which build on earlier work by ornithologist&nbsp;Oscar "Bud" Owre, offer fresh insights into these fascinating birds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-anhingas-and-cormorants-hunt">How anhingas and cormorants hunt</h2>



To the casual observer, anhingas and cormorants might seem interchangeable. 



Both <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/habitat-and-evolution-shape-the-unique-sounds-of-birds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a> dive beneath the water’s surface in search of fish and then emerge to dry their fully soaked feathers in the sun. However, their approaches to foraging and movement in the water set them apart.



Cormorants&nbsp;are&nbsp;aggressive hunters. They&nbsp;chase&nbsp;their prey with&nbsp;strong, rapid movements, often diving deep and pursuing larger fish. Their ability to consume more oxygen allows them to sustain this high-energy hunting style. 



"Cormorants have a really large muscle in their leg and are able to really prioritize storage of oxygen in their leg muscles," explained White, who is affiliated to the <a href="https://welcome.miami.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Miami</a>. This muscle adaptation gives them an edge in deep-water environments, including&nbsp;coastaland&nbsp;oceanic waters.



In contrast, anhingas are stealthy ambush <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-wings-have-a-surprising-effect-on-island-biodiversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">predators</a>. Rather than chasing fish, they wait patiently in shallow water, camouflaged among vegetation, until their prey swims close enough for a lightning-fast strike.



This sit-and-wait strategy is common among ambush predators like herons and alligators, but it is unusual among diving birds. By minimizing movement, anhingas conserve energy and use less oxygen than cormorants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-they-stay-underwater">How do they stay underwater? </h2>



Both species dive for about&nbsp;two minutes at a time, but their bodies handle oxygen storage differently. Unlike ducks and other diving <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/more-than-100-bird-species-have-been-lost-for-over-a-decade/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a>, anhingas and cormorants&nbsp;fully wet their feathers. 



This reduces buoyancy and allows them to stay underwater more easily. However, their methods of&nbsp;oxygen management&nbsp;vary.



"They both must hold their breath to dive, so we observed how each of these species convert their oxygen stores into energy in the swimming and flying muscles," noted McCracken, a co-author of the study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-oxygen-use-of-anhingas-and-cormorants">Oxygen use of anhingas and cormorants</h2>



Cormorants store&nbsp;most of their oxygen in their leg muscles, which power their&nbsp;aggressive swimming style. These&nbsp;large, oxygen-rich muscles&nbsp;allow them to&nbsp;generate bursts of speed&nbsp;and maneuver swiftly to catch prey. This trait aligns them more with deep-diving seabirds like penguins.



Anhingas, on the other hand, rely on neutral buoyancy, meaning they neither sink nor float. This allows them to remain motionless under the water without needing to swim to stay in place.



"They are the only aquatic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/terror-bird-phorusrhacid-discovery-was-largest-meat-eating-bird-of-its-time/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bird</a> I know of that can sit underwater without having to swim to stay in place," said White. This&nbsp;passive diving adaptation&nbsp;is&nbsp;unique among aquatic birds&nbsp;and helps anhingas hunt with minimal energy expenditure.



Additionally, anhingas have a&nbsp;low metabolism, which means they require&nbsp;less oxygen to generate energy. While cormorants prioritize storing oxygen in their muscles, anhingas make efficient use of the oxygen in their blood.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flight-differences-soaring-vs-powerful-wingbeats">Flight differences: Soaring vs. powerful wingbeats</h2>



Beyond their diving behaviors, the two species differ in&nbsp;flight mechanics. 



Cormorants are&nbsp;strong fliers. Their powerful wing muscles allow them to&nbsp;fly quickly and with sustained flapping, making them more agile in the air. This strength is necessary since they often travel between freshwater and saltwater environments in search of food.



Anhingas, by contrast, are less suited for continuous flapping. Instead, they&nbsp;soar and glide, using&nbsp;thermals&nbsp;(rising air currents) to stay in the air with minimal effort. This flight style is similar to&nbsp;hawks and vultures, rather than the rapid, flapping flight of cormorants.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-the-research">Significance of the research</h2>



While this study sheds light on anhingas and cormorants, its implications&nbsp;reach far beyond ornithology. Understanding how these birds&nbsp;manage oxygen&nbsp;could offer insights into&nbsp;human physiology, exercise science, cardiovascular health, and metabolism.



"There might be benefits to understanding how other species can generate energy without oxygen," White noted. Some medical conditions and athletic performance studies could benefit from&nbsp;learning how these birds use oxygen efficiently.



Additionally, this research helps scientists&nbsp;better understand metabolism. Different species process nutrients and oxygen in distinct ways, and the anhinga’s ability to function&nbsp;with minimal oxygen use&nbsp;is a&nbsp;fascinating case study.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-on-anhingas-and-cormorants">Future research on anhingas and cormorants</h2>



Despite this latest research, anhingas remain one of the least studied aquatic birds. Jeff White hopes to continue his work to uncover more about their unique adaptations. He realized that scientists know surprisingly little about these birds, especially compared to other diving species.



Future studies could explore how anhingas achieve&nbsp;neutral buoyancy, allowing them to stay underwater without sinking or floating. Researchers also want to examine their&nbsp;metabolic rates&nbsp;to understand how they survive on lower oxygen levels compared to other diving birds. 



Additionally, studying their&nbsp;evolutionary adaptations&nbsp;could reveal how they developed their distinct physiological traits over time.



Anhingas’ unique energy conservation and oxygen use strategies could also help scientists learn more about metabolism in other animals, including humans. Further research will help unravel the mysteries of this remarkable waterbird.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-new-perspective-on-florida-s-waterbirds">New perspective on Florida’s waterbirds</h2>



For those who frequent Florida’s lakes, swamps, and coastal waters, the anhinga and the double-crested cormorant are&nbsp;familiar sights. Yet, beneath their seemingly similar exteriors, these birds have evolved&nbsp;very different strategies for survival.



Cormorants are the&nbsp;powerful, fast-moving predators, excelling in deep-water hunting and flight. Anhingas are&nbsp;masters of stealth and efficiency, conserving energy and using their&nbsp;neutral buoyancy&nbsp;to ambush prey.



Next time you see one of these birds perched with wings outstretched, take a closer look. The&nbsp;mystery of their adaptations&nbsp;is still unfolding, and there’s much more to learn about these remarkable waterbirds.



The study is published in the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00360-024-01593-x" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Comparative Physiology B</a>. 



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Florida’s waterbirds: Expert divers with bold hunting techniques

Florida’s wetlands are home to two striking and often confused waterbirds - the&nbsp;anhinga&nbsp;and the&nbsp;double-crested cormorant. Both are expert divers that rely on their feet to propel themselves underwater. They are commonly seen perched on branches or docks with their wings spread wide to dry. However, despite their similar appearances and behaviors, new research from the&nbsp;University of Miami&nbsp;reveals that these birds are quite different in their&nbsp;physiology, hunting techniques, and metabolism. A research team led by&nbsp;Jeff White, a recent&nbsp;biology doctoral graduate, spent months studying these species to understand their...

During long migrations, birds will risk their safety for a nap when needed. Most <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/metal-pollution-personality-changes/">songbirds</a> have to make rest stops to recharge and build up their energy during long migrations. In a new study, researchers have discovered that the birds essentially risk their lives for some good sleep when they need it the most.

According to the study authors, birds that are low on fat reserves will tuck their heads under their feathers for deeper sleep. Even though this is a more restful sleeping position, it slows their reaction to the sound of danger. 

On the other hand, birds who did not need sleep as badly were found to sleep with their head facing forward, untucked, and more alert.

"We discovered that migratory birds trade off safety for lower energy expenditure," said lead author Leonida Fusani. "If they sleep with their head tucked in the scapular feathers, they enter a sort of deeper sleep that is associated with lower energy consumption but exposes them to a higher predation risk."

"Consequently, birds in good condition sacrifice some energy to sleep more safely with the head untucked, whereas birds in poor condition sacrifice vigilance to save energy while sleeping unsafely tucked in."

The researchers wondered how small migratory songbirds cope with sleep deprivation. To investigate, they analyzed the sleeping patterns of Garden Warblers at a stopover site in the Mediterranean.

At night, the Garden Warblers in poor physical condition slept with their head turned and covered in their feathers. The researchers demonstrated that this behavior is associated with lower respiratory and metabolic rates. By tucking their heads, the birds lose less heat. 

While conserving their energy, however, the birds became much less vigilant. For example, when the sleeping birds were exposed to the sound of crunching leaves, the birds with covered heads were slower to respond than birds whose heads were facing forward.During long migrations, birds will risk their safety for a nap when needed

"We did not expect to find such a strong difference between the two sleeping postures in terms of metabolic rate - the amount of energy required to fuel the bird's physiological functions," said study co-author Andrea Ferretti. 

"Although there was good reason to think that birds reduce heat loss by tucking their heads in their feathers, we were surprised to see that they actually reduce their alertness when sleeping in this position."

The findings suggest that migratory songbirds may benefit from stopover habitats that not only provide sufficient food, but which are also conducive to undisturbed sleep, said Fusani.

The team will continue to study the physiological basis of birds' decision making during migration. "Migratory songbirds appear to be very well suited for studying the role of sleep in both brain and body maintenance," said Ferretti.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current 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: Shutterstock/PavlovaSvetlana

During long migrations birds will risk their safety for a nap when needed

During long migrations, birds will risk their safety for a...

At least 228 million years ago, an ancient reptile species roamed the massive southern supercontinent known as Gondwana.

The land mass would someday split to become Africa, India, Australia, South America and Antarctica. The reptiles – known as sphenodontians – would eventually go extinct, for the most part, although one living descendant species still lives in New Zealand.

But a jaw and some skull bones discovered in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil is changing what paleontologists and other scientists thought they knew about the diverse sphenodontians – lizards and snakes that lived during the time of the dinosaurs.

The fossils belonged to a member of Clevosaurus hadroprodon, a newly described species about the size of a gecko. The ancient reptile species lived during the late Triassic and early Jurassic periods, and is now the oldest known member of the Clevosauridae family.

But the fossils held some surprises for researchers.

"Clevosaurus hadroprodon is an important discovery because it combines a relatively primitive sphenodontian-type tooth row with the presence of massive tusk-like teeth that were possibly not for feeding, but rather used for mate competition or defense. If correct, this means that non-feeding dental specializations predated changes in the sphenodontian dentition related to feeding strategies. This is a very exciting discovery." co-author Dr. Randall Nydam of <a href="https://www.midwestern.edu/">Midwestern University</a> said.

Until this discovery, scientists had believed that the tusk-like teeth had developed later.

“This feature is typically observed only in later sphenodontian lineages," lead author Dr. Annie Schmaltz Hsiou of the <a href="https://www5.usp.br/">University of São Paulo</a> said. 

The new fossils from the ancient reptile species also hint that sphenodontians may have seen early diversification in separate areas of Gondwana – one that would become South America, and another that would become India.

The team described the newly discovered species in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-48297-9">Scientific Reports</a>. Funding for the research was provided by the <a href="http://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/index_eng.asp">Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Fossils found in Brazil were from ancient reptile species

At least 228 million years ago, an ancient reptile species...

Enormous cave bears roamed throughout prehistoric Europe for more than 100,000 years, munching on the plant life that grew on the continent.

All that changed when modern humans arrived in the region. A new genetic study hints that humans played a large role in cave bears going extinct.

The cave bears – about the size of a modern grizzly – died off during the last glacial maximum about 26,000 years ago. That led some researchers to suspect the ice age led to their extinction, but new research indicates that humans may have left the population weak and vulnerable.

The clue was in the bears’ DNA. Dr. Verena Schünemann of the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> and a team of researchers studied mitochondrial DNA from 123 different bears. They discovered that, about 40,000 years ago, the genetic diversity of the species dropped drastically, pointing to a declining population.

“There [were] still a few around, but there is this massive loss of diversity,” Schünemann said.

The decline came right around when modern humans moved into Europe, displacing the Neanderthals that lived alongside the cave bears. The researchers suspect that they claimed the caves where the bears hibernated, leaving them homeless. Since the bears preferred caves near the plants they are, this may have also cut them off from abundant food sources.

“If they lose that, they also lose their feeding possibilities,” Schünemann said.

That shrunken population – with fewer opportunities for food and shelter – simply couldn’t survive the frigid climate, even though they’d survived cold periods before, the researchers believe.

“They might have survived if there wasn’t this decline before,” Schünemann said.

The extinction of the cave bears is the clearest European example of modern humans wiping out a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-extinction-megafauna/">megafauna species</a>, the researchers said.

The researchers' work has been published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-47073-z">Scientific Reports</a>.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> staff writer

In prehistoric Europe, cave bears lost out to invading humans

Enormous cave bears roamed throughout prehistoric Europe for more than...

For cats, eating grass is a behavior held over from earlier generations, according to a new study. 

Eating grass can make our four-legged friends throw up. Even though <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-recognize-name/">cats</a> don’t need to purge thanks to modern veterinary care, early on in their evolution, this was a necessary measure to help prevent intestinal parasites. 

The cat’s ancestors used grass to help get rid of parasites contracted from eating infected rodents.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/">University of California School of Veterinary Medicine</a> conducted the study and surveyed 1,021 cat owners. 

The survey was taken online, and the participants observed their cat’s eating habits for at least three hours a day. 

While a majority of the cats, 71 percent, did eat grass at one point or another, nearly 91 percent didn’t throw up after. It appeared that the cats ate grass because they wanted to, not because they were feeling unwell. 

In other words, it may simply be an instinctive behavior. 

For your pet cat, eating grass is likely just a normal part of their routine, like grooming themselves or scratching on a scratching post.

An earlier <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288656215_Why_do_dogs_and_cats_eat_grass">2008 study</a> found that the same was true for dogs who ate grass. While eating grass can induce vomiting, researchers Benjamin Hart found that dogs often ate grass regardless of how they felt.  

“Given that virtually all wild carnivores carry an intestinal parasite load, instinctive plant-eating would have an adaptive role in maintaining a tolerable intestinal parasite load, whether or not the animal senses the parasites,” the study’s authors wrote. 

The findings were published in the journal Science and presented at the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.applied-ethology.org/">International Society for Applied Ethology</a> in Norway. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/KDdesignphoto

Why do cats eat grass if it makes them sick?

For cats, eating grass is a behavior held over from...

Experts have genetically reconstructed the history of the cave bear and found that it was likely humans, and not colder climate conditions, that drove the species to extinction about 24,000 years ago during the Last Glacial Maximum.

The scientists analyzed genome data using the bones of 59 cave bears that were uncovered across sites in Italy, France, Spain, Poland, Germany, Serbia, and Switzerland.

The team identified a population decline 50,000 years ago that corresponded with the arrival of ancient humans in eastern Europe. An even sharper decline followed about 10,000 years later, which coincides with the spread of Homo sapiens throughout <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-europe-wetter/">Europe</a>. 

The cave bear, or Ursus spelaeus, lived during the Ice Age alongside animals like the cave lion, woolly rhino, and the woolly mammoth. Even though it was as big as a polar bear, the cave bear was an herbivore. The males weighed an average of 1,000 pounds, while the females weighed about half as much.

The current study may finally settle the long debate of whether the bears were wiped out by a cooling climate that drastically reduced their food supply or if humans were to blame. 

[caption id="attachment_1876621" align="aligncenter" width="633"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/cave-bear.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1876621" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/cave-bear.jpg" alt="" width="633" height="300" /></a> Image Credit: University of Zurich/Matteo Romandini[/caption]

According to paleogeneticist Verena Schuenemann, the steep population decline that was pinpointed by the analysis predated the climate cooling associated with the last Ice Age. In addition, the cave bear population had remained stable for long time periods and had endured many other cooling episodes. 

“There is more and more evidence that modern humans have played a determinant role in the decline and extinction of large mammals once they spread around the planet, starting around 50,000 years ago,” explained biogeologist Hervé Bocherens.

“This happened not just by hunting these mammals to extinction, but by causing demographic decline of keystone species, such as very large herbivores, that led to ecosystems’ collapse and a cascade of further extinctions."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: DeAgostini

Humans were likely responsible for the extinction of the European cave bear

Experts have genetically reconstructed the history of the cave bear...

According to scientists at the <a href="https://en.unisi.it/">University of Siena</a>, at least 40 dolphins have been killed by a measles-like cetacean mobillivirus. The virus causes <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dolphins-dead-stranded-gulf/">dolphins</a> to lose weight and eventually attacks the brain and internal organs. Tests on affected dolphin carcasses have also confirmed the presence of virus-linked chemicals that prohibit the dolphins’ immunity to fight off the disease.

Experts believe the virus has become more potent due to pesticide pollution.

“We are powerless in the face of this virus,” Federica Fratoni, environment commissioner for the Tuscany region, said in a written statement to DailyMail.com. “But we could do a lot about another problem highlighted by the analysis of tissues and organs taken during the autopsies.”

“Note the high levels of DDTs and PCBs, old generation polychlorinated biphenyls also used as insecticides and still present in the Mediterranean Sea,” she continued. “These products can have an immunosuppressive effect and therefore may have contributed to the spread of the disease and its effects.”

Fratoni and other officials in the area are urging Italy to join the 2001 Stockholm Convention, which bans the use of persistent organic pollutants. Italy is currently the only European country that has not yet signed the pact.

The same virus killed off an estimated 800 dolphins off the East Coast of America in 2013. It even caused the death of four whales. The last time the virus affected dolphins off the coast of Italy was back in 1987. Then, it claimed about 740 dolphin lives.

Italian officials agree it’s time to rethink their position on joining the 2001 Stockholm Convention.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/sergioboccardo

Measles-like virus is killing off dolphins off Italian coastline

According to scientists at the University of Siena, at least...

Fossil leg bones belonging to a newly described species of giant penguin dating back to the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/co2-emissions-56-million-years/">Paleocene Epoch</a> were discovered in New Zealand. 

New Zealand was once home to several giant species millions of years ago including the giant eagle, the world’s largest parrot, and several species of large penguin. 

Crossvallia waiparensis, though, may have towered over them all, according to a new study published in the journal<a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03115518.2019.1641619"> Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. </a>

The leg bones were discovered in an area called the Waipara Greensand fossil site in North Canterbury, New Zealand in 2018 by Leigh Love, an amateur paleontologist. 

The Waipara Greensand has been a hotbed for penguin fossils from the Paleocene Epoch.

After the fossils were uncovered, researchers from the <a href="https://www.canterburymuseum.com/">Canterbury Museum </a>and the <a href="http://www.senckenberg.de/root/index.php?page_id=5256">Natural History Museum </a>in Frankfurt analyzed the fossils and found they belonged to a new species, Crossvallia waiparensis. 

The previously unknown species would have stood even taller than Emperor Penguins, measuring five feet, two inches, and weighing nearly 200 pounds. 

Crossvallia waiparensis is one of the oldest known species of penguin ever discovered, and the find is helping shed light on what conditions were like in New Zealand during the Paleocene Epoch. 

The researchers theorize that the reason C. waiparensis was so giant was that the penguins were able to thrive in an ocean free of major predators. After the extinction of dinosaurs and marine reptiles, prey was abundant.

“The oceans were ripe for the picking with the lack of mega predators,” Paul Scofield, a co-author of the paper and senior curator at the Canterbury Museum, told the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/c15df5d85b6646b0b1287177bc91e1d8">Associated Press</a>. “It looks like what was going on was that penguins were just starting to exploit that niche.”

C. waiparensis is the fifth species of penguin described from fossils that were found that Waipara site and the second species of giant penguin discovered dating back to that time. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Canterbury Museum

Newly described species of extinct penguin was 5 feet tall

Fossil leg bones belonging to a newly described species of...

This summer, the movie Crawl joined the ranks of other animal horror blockbusters from the lineage of Jaws. As someone with an interest and love of alligators and a soft spot for horror flicks, I was guardedly excited to watch Crawl. 

The film focuses on a father and daughter with a troubled relationship (along with their adorable dog Sugar) and follows the normal format of a horror film. The movie starts with Haley Keller (Kaya Scodelario) at a University of Florida swim practice where she loses a race. It seems like this is foreshadowing of her faceoff with killer alligators and this idea is only reinforced by her father calling her an ‘apex predator’ as an encouragement throughout the film. 

During a major hurricane, Haley ignores posted flood warnings and drives past road closures to check on her father Dave (Barry Pepper) after a call from her worried sister. The family dog Sugar leads Haley to the darkest, creepiest part of the home she grew up in – the crawl space. Shortly after descending the stairs to the crawl space, Haley is challenged by an enormous alligator that smashes through the stairs as if they were matchsticks. The rest of the film is a violent struggle for survival with vicious alligators as the house slowly floods during the Category 5 hurricane.

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/florida-men-alligator-attacks/">alligators</a> are center to the film although dialogues and flashbacks try to bring some depth to the characters and story. Technology has made the alligators in the film incredible looking, if not always really accurate looking. Most people have never seen the inside of a live alligator’s mouth but I have, it’s really a yellowish off-white color. In the movie, the alligator’s mouths seem a bit more of an expected reddish color. 

Minor details like this only highlight how real the alligators in the film look, though. Director Alexandre Aja revealed in an interview with <a href="https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3572094/alexandre-aja-explains-importance-using-cgi-alligators-crawl-interview/">Bloody-Disgusting</a> that although some old fashioned props were used, the alligators were almost entirely CGI. That said, there are many surprising details that seem outlandish but are somewhat keeping with alligator behavior. 

In one scene, several alligators tear a person apart, seeming to cooperate with each other. Despite their selfish, dim-witted reputation, alligators have been known to <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/herpetology/links/cooperative-feeding">cooperate</a> while hunting and feeding. In another scene, one alligator seems to almost purposefully scare Haley towards another. This behavior is also similar to real life. In his book <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=HFktAgAAQBAJ&amp;q=Pig#v=snippet&amp;q=Pig&amp;f=false">Dragon Songs</a>, biologist Vladimir Dinets tells of observing two crocodiles (behaviorally similar) hunting a pig. One crocodile burst from the water in front of the pig walking along a nearby trail. The startled pig ran backwards and slipped into the jaws of another waiting crocodile. Dinets also tells of watching alligators work together while hunting catfish in the US. 

But there were other details in Crawl that seemed inaccurate and out of place. In one scene, Haley is trying to make her way out of the crawl space through an overflow drain pipe, near the entrance of the pipe, she encounters alligator eggs. She accidentally breaks one of the eggs revealing a yellow, completely undeveloped yolk. An underwater shot also reveals a baby alligator near the ‘nest’. Perhaps the scene is used to subtly encourage a bit of empathy for the viewer, making the savage killing of humans more understandable. Maybe the alligators are trying to feed young, or protect a nest. 

Yet, the nest isn’t very realistic. The hurricane season and the alligator nesting season overlap sufficiently for the timing to make sense but the ‘nest’ looks like a pile of unprotected eggs. Alligator eggs depend on rotting vegetation to supply incubation warmth and are usually not far from water, certainly not typically under a house. It’s also odd that the alligators that hunt so ferociously aren’t near the nest to protect it, typical behavior. 

The most obvious odd detail is the mis-match between undeveloped eggs and fully hatched babies. Most alligator nests hatch over a shorter period than suggested in the film. Of course, the most glaring inaccuracy in the alligators is their vicious hunting of humans and unending appetite. 

It’s true that alligators sometimes pose a real threat to humans but they don’t continuously hunt for whoever they can find, as the film suggests. Alligators also have much smaller appetites than their large size suggests, as their ‘cold blooded’ metabolisms actually allow long periods of fasting. Increasing alligator aggression seems necessary to drive the plot of Crawl along but it clashes oddly with the nest scene.

Over the course of the film, limbs are lost, many background characters including gas station looters and policemen are eaten by the never-satisfied alligators. Along with the reptiles, another rarely commented upon danger continues to build in the form of a hurricane and the attendant flood. <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/crawl-climate-change-alligator">GQ</a> suggests that hidden in the flood waters are the secret monster of the film. The encouragement that Haley’s dad uses throughout the film that she’s an apex predator suggests that perhaps humans are the most dangerous animal after all.

The hurricane waters seem to sweep the alligators along and trap the humans with them, this seems like a horror movie norm – a storm trapping the characters in a dangerous building. When you consider the question - What caused the hurricane? - the situation becomes more complicated. 

It may not be the intention of the film makers but it’s easy to see humanity in the swirling impersonality of the hurricane. After all, climate change is predicted to increase the rate and severity of storms and Florida in particular is in danger of slipping under rising sea levels. Climate change is never uttered in the film but viewed from this angle, Crawl joins the ranks of other eco horror films like The Happening. Perhaps, like most deadly encounters with wild animals in the real world, humans created the horrible scenario in Crawl. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer     

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com </a>

Image Credit: Ghosthouse Pictures

‘Crawl’ offers mixed depiction of alligators and a larger environmental message

This summer, the movie Crawl joined the ranks of other...

Increasing the abundance of a threatened salmon could have economic benefits. A new study from the <a href="https://www.uoregon.edu/">University of Oregon</a> suggests that increasing the abundance of a threatened species can be very beneficial to people living in the Pacific Northwest. The team found that a two-thirds increase in the average number of coho salmon returning to the Oregon coast each year would generate up to $518 million in economic benefits.

The study has been released just as the U.S. Department of Interior announced that economic impacts must now be considered for listing a species under the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/trump-endangered-species-act/">Endangered Species Act</a> (ESA).

"When we think about actions to protect endangered and threatened species, we often focus on the costs," said study co-author David Lewis. "The benefits of protecting threatened species are difficult to estimate since they are considered to be non-market and arise from the public's values for things like the existence of abundant salmon in the wild. This study gives us a way to evaluate the benefits."

"If an agency is considering a policy or program that would increase the number of salmon by a certain amount, our study translates the benefits for that amount of salmon to a dollar value," added study co-author Steven Dundas.

"This provides evidence of the economic value Pacific Northwest residents place on protecting threatened and endangered species. We can compare it to how much we actually spend on salmon restoration activities, to see if there's a net benefit to more investment."

In collaboration with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, the researchers found that up to $277 million a year could be gained by achieving conservation goals sooner rather than later.

"There are sizable benefits to achieving conservation goals quickly," said Lewis. "That has real implications for conservation programs, showing that there's significant value to the public in up-front investments."

The investigation was focused on surveys that were mailed to 5,000 households in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and northern California in the fall of 2017. The participants were presented with various conservation scenarios and their associated benefits for improving the abundance of Oregon Coast coho salmon. 

The survey respondents were then asked to choose a conservation scenario, which was linked to an annual per-household cost from a combination of additional taxes and higher prices for lumber and agricultural products, ranging from $10 to $350 per year.

"The surveys create a situation for someone to make a decision about a public good - as if increases in salmon abundance were something they could choose off the shelf at the grocery store," said Dundas.

By analyzing the responses, the researchers were able to calculate the average household willingness to pay for salmon conservation, which was multiplied by the number of households in the Pacific Northwest to estimate the overall benefits.

The study is published in the journal <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: Shutterstock/Bill Perry

Increasing the abundance of a threatened salmon could have economic benefits

Increasing the abundance of a threatened salmon could have economic...

Let the celebrations commence! A previously unrecognized species of medicinal leech has been identified by scientists at the Smithsonian’s <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/">National Museum of National History</a>. 

This new species has been given an appropriately exciting name – Macrobdella mimicus, and is native to freshwater wetlands from Georgia to New York.

This new species of worm is described in the <a href="https://www.journalofparasitology.org/">Journal of Parasitology</a> by an international team of museum scientists led by Anna Phillips, the National Museum of National History’s curator of parasitic worms. 

“We found a new species of medicinal leech less than 50 miles from the National Museum of Natural History – one of the world’s largest libraries of biodiversity,” Phillips said. “A discovery like this makes clear just how much diversity is out there remaining to be discovered and documented, even right under scientists’ noses.”

Back in the 1700s and 1800s, doctors used leeches to (unsuccessfully) treat a wide range of conditions. These physicians believed that the leeches helped remove “bad blood” from a patient’s body. Phillips and her colleagues have been exploring the wild world of medicinal leeches in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plant-fossils-cretaceous-period/">North America</a> for years. 

After collecting numerous orange-spotted, olive-green leeches found in a Maryland swamp, Phillips and her team believed they belong to the known species M. decora. But a round of DNA sequencing showed significant differences from the DNA of this species. 

Although this molecular discrepancy was unexpected, it led to the scientists reexamining their specimens. They quickly found a physical difference in this new species that separated it from M. decora – multiple reproductive pores along the bottom of their bodies, known as gonopores and accessory pores, which were located in a different position relative to those on the M. decora. 

The team then went back into the field and found more leeches from South Carolina that had the same accessory pore positioning. 

“Then we sequenced [their DNA], and they all came out more closely related to the leeches we had found in Maryland than to anything else known to science,” says Phillips. 

Phillips then went into the Smithsonian’s parasite collection to analyze dozens more North American leeches. “All of a sudden, I started finding these things everywhere,” she says. These leeches had been found in locations from Georgia to Long Island, New York – with the oldest specimen dating back to 1937.

The historical records from the Smithsonian, along with specimens analyzed from other museums, confirms that the species was not recently introduced to the area and does not represent a newly evolved species. 

“It’s been here this whole time,” Phillips says. “We just hadn’t looked at it in this new way.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Ian Cook

First medicinal leech discovered in North America in over 40 years

Let the celebrations commence! A previously unrecognized species of medicinal...

According to a new study from David Gruber of <a href="https://www2.cuny.edu/">City University of New York</a>, Anomalops katoptron, also called flashlight fish, use <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bioluminescence-animals-glow-dark/">bioluminescent</a> organs located under its eyes to maintain their schools at night.

"Over 25% of fish species exhibit collective schooling behavior, but schooling based on bioluminescent signaling has not previously been demonstrated," Gruber said. He and his colleagues used low-light video to film the flashlight fish at night during three expeditions to the Solomon Islands between 2013 and 2016.

They found that one fish velocity increased past a certain point, a loose group of flashlight fish would transform into a close-knit school, and only a mere few flashlight fish would actually flash their bioluminescent organs to keep the school moving in the right direction.

Based on their observations, the research team was able to create a model to simulate the movement of the flashlight fish schools based on individual fish actions, including cohesion, separation, and alignment, as well as water friction and resistance.

[caption id="attachment_1876513" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/flashlight-fish.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1876513" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/flashlight-fish.jpeg" alt="" width="650" height="265" /></a> Adult flashlight fish, Image Credit: ©J. Sparks, R. Schelly, D. Roje[/caption]

Using the model, the team found that less than 5% of schooling flashlight fish needed to flash their organs for the school to be maintained in dark conditions. And this low number could most likely be explained as a predator-avoidance strategy. 

"Being in the middle of one of these bioluminescing schools was one of the most magical things I've ever experienced as a marine biologist,” Gruber said per the study published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0219852">PLOS ONE</a>. “It was like an Avatar moment as we watched rivers of bioluminescing fish merge like a blue-brick road and flow down the reef."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bioluminescence allows flashlight fish to school at night

According to a new study from David Gruber of City...

New study finds the ‘Nemo effect’ to be inaccurate. After Finding Nemo became a worldwide hit, reports of skyrocketing clownfish sales soon followed. The film’s sequel, Finding Dory, prompted fears that the royal blue tang, another popular character in the movie, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2016/05/18/finding-nemo-wasnt-so-entertaining-for-real-clownfish-now-conservationists-worry-about-finding-dory/">would suffer a similar fate</a>. 

The rise in clownfish purchases spurred by Finding Nemo became known as “the Nemo effect.” However, a new study has found that warnings about consumers influenced by animal movies are unsubstantiated. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> investigated “the Nemo Effect” to find the source of the reports about clownfish sales and to see if animal movies influence consumers. 

“We think these narratives are so compelling because they are based on a clear causal link that is plausible, relating to events that are high profile - Finding Dory was one of the highest grossing animated movies in history,” said Diogo Veríssimo, the lead researcher of the study. 

While animal movies can impact viewers, the researchers found that people are not driven to buy pets but rather seek out information. Animal films even have the power to increase <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hollywood-boost-conservation-efforts/">conservation efforts</a>. 

For the study, the researchers reviewed data from the Google Trends platform to identify search trends, fish purchase data from a major ornamental fish importer and data from 20 aquariums across the US. 

Finding Nemo was far from the first movie to spur a “Nemo Effect” after the fact. Reports of increased demand in certain animals after the Harry Potter films and even Jurassic Park have all alleged that the films prompted consumers to buy certain animals. 

The researchers found no evidence proving this to be the case. 

“Our results suggest that the impact of movies is limited when it comes to the large-scale buying of animals,” said Veríssimo. “There is, however, a clear effect in terms of information-seeking which means that the media does play an important role in making wildlife and nature conservation more salient.”

The research was published in the journal Ambio. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Aleksey Stemmer

New study finds the ‘Nemo effect’ to be inaccurate

New study finds the ‘Nemo effect’ to be inaccurate. After...

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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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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