Twelve million years ago, vast herds of rhinoceroses grazed the lush grasslands of what is now the North American Midwest. These barrel-bodied creatures - ancient rhinos known as Teleoceras major - flourished across the region, often gathering in large numbers near waterholes.



Today, a new <a href="https://www.uc.edu/news/articles/2025/04/uc-study-finds-evidence-that-prehistoric-rhinos-lived-in-huge-herds.html">study</a> from the University of Cincinnati (<a href="https://www.uc.edu/?utm_source=gmb&amp;utm_medium=organic" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UC</a>) reveals they weren’t just occasional visitors to these sites - they likely lived and died in close-knit herds, much like modern hippos.



As a result, the research sheds new light on one of North America's most extraordinary fossil sites: Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park in northeast Nebraska. 



Over 100 rhinoceroses left fossilized remains at this site, along with camels, horses, and other animals - all of which perished in the aftermath of a massive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-viruses-found-in-yellowstones-hot-springs-are-1-5-billion-years-old/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yellowstone</a> supervolcano eruption.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unraveling-an-ancient-rhino-mystery">Unraveling an ancient rhino mystery</h2>



Since the park’s discovery in 1971, scientists have puzzled over why so many animal,s including rhinoceroses, were found clustered in the same place. Did they come from miles away, fleeing the growing disaster of falling ash? Or had they been living there all along?



“We found they didn’t move very much,” said Clark Ward, lead author of the study and a UC graduate. “We didn’t find evidence for seasonal migration or any evidence of a response to the disaster.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-from-rhino-teeth">Clues from rhino teeth</h2>



Ward, now a doctoral student at the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Minnesota</a>, used isotopic analysis of fossilized ancient rhino teeth to track their movements and environmental conditions.&nbsp;



With guidance from co-authors and advisers Brooke Crowley at UC and Ross Secord at the <a href="https://nebraska.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Nebraska</a>, Ward analyzed ratios of strontium, oxygen, and carbon isotopes - atomic fingerprints that can reveal everything from diet and rainfall to landscape use.



“By studying carbon in the animal, we can reconstruct carbon in the environment to understand what kinds of vegetation lived there,” Ward explained.



“We can use [oxygen] to reconstruct how wet or dry the environment was,” he added. “And strontium tells us where the animal was foraging because the ratio of isotopes is related to the soil and supporting bedrock.”



Together, these isotopic clues suggest the rhinos were long-term residents of the area, not migrants drawn by a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/natural-disasters-are-on-the-rise-but-hazard-plans-are-inadequate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">natural disaster</a> or seasonal food shifts. It appears they simply lived - and ultimately died - in the place they called home.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-supervolcano-s-lethal-reach">A supervolcano’s lethal reach</h2>



The mass death was triggered by ash from one of Yellowstone’s ancient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/yellowstone-supervolcano-eruption-study-sparks-new-debate-on-where-and-when-it-will-erupt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">supervolcano</a> eruptions. The Yellowstone hotspot has erupted often over 12 million years, spreading ash hundreds of miles away.



“That ash would have covered everything - the grass, leaves, and water,” Ward said. “The rhinos likely weren’t killed immediately, like the people of Pompeii. Instead, it was much slower. They were breathing in the ash, and they likely starved to death.”



In contrast to the sudden catastrophe of volcanic pyroclastic flows, which instantly buried victims in ancient cities like Pompeii, the Ashfall rhinos suffered a slower, agonizing fate.



The ash settled into the landscape like snow, rendering food and water sources toxic or unusable. Over time, the animals succumbed to inhalation of ash and eventual starvation.



Fossils show scavenging by bone-crushing dogs, which came after the animals died. Ancient tracks from these 100-pound carnivores, along with tooth marks on bones, support this conclusion.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-creatures-in-ancient-herds">Social creatures in ancient herds</h2>



Teleoceras major was a one-horned rhino with a short, squat body and stubby legs. Like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/missing-data-on-hippos-could-push-them-closer-to-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hippos</a>, these rhinoceroses were grazers who likely spent much of their lives near water. Their massive size offered protection from predators, but their calves would have been vulnerable to attack.



The study’s findings have answered one long-standing question: Did these rhinos live alone or in groups? The presence of so many individuals, including adults and juveniles, supports the idea of herd behavior.



Rhino expert John Payne, who spent his career working with Sumatran rhinos in Malaysia, said the conclusion fits the species’ biology.



“I am not surprised that the analyses very strongly suggest that Teleoceras major lived in herds, given that this animal resembles the modern hippopotamus in form, and hippos live in herds of several tens of animals - with several herds in one geographical area,” Payne said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-science-comes-full-circle">Science comes full circle</h2>



For Ward, the study has a personal significance. As a child, he visited Ashfall Fossil Beds and later returned as an intern to help with fossil preparation and visitor education.



Now, his name is attached to groundbreaking research from the same site that once inspired his curiosity.



“I’m honored and privileged to have my name in science attached to the site,” he said. “As someone who used to go to Ashfall as a kid, it’s come full circle.”



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



Though Teleoceras major is extinct, studies like this reveal ancient ecosystems and modern species’ responses to threats.



The broader implications of the research go beyond rhinoceroses. By studying how ancient animals responded to environmental change, scientists can better predict the impact of climate disruptions today. 



Whether it’s ash, mercury, or climate change, the past remains a vital key to our future.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-94263-z" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Scientific Reports</a>.



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Ancient graveyard reveals that rhinos once lived in 'super-herds'

Twelve million years ago, vast herds of rhinoceroses grazed the lush grasslands of what is now the North American Midwest. These barrel-bodied creatures - ancient rhinos known as Teleoceras major - flourished across the region, often gathering in large numbers near waterholes. Today, a new study from the University of Cincinnati (UC) reveals they weren’t just occasional visitors to these sites - they likely lived and died in close-knit herds, much like modern hippos. As a result, the research sheds new light on one of North America's...

Climate change is causing some animals to age more rapidly, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.fecyt.es/en">Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology</a>. As a result of rising temperatures, ectotherms including <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/shellfish-are-moving-away-from-safety-as-the-ocean-warms/">fish</a>, amphibians, and reptiles will experience a rise in their body temperature that will have serious consequences, including accelerated growth and aging. 

Ectotherms cannot actively control their internal temperature, which is regulated by their surroundings, and the organisms are highly susceptible to environmental changes. Some ectotherms are already growing too fast and struggling with the thermal stress of prolonged heat.

"Heat waves take animals out of their thermal preferences, to the point even of reaching their temperature tolerance limits. The longer and more frequent the heat waves, the greater their impact on the physiology of ectotherms," said study co-author Germán Orizaola.

In collaboration with an international team of scientists, Orizaola reviewed relevant studies on the effects of rising temperatures on ectotherms. The results of the analysis indicate that the animals will age faster as the climate warms.

"Higher growth rates will generate physiological imbalances in ectotherms, increasing, for example, oxidative damage to the proteins and DNA, which may also affect the telomeres, the repeated sections of non-coding DNA located at the ends of chromosomes," explained Orizaola.

"As telomeres protect DNA, the faster the telomeres are lost, the faster the cells degrade and the body ages. This clear link between climate change and aging is described for the first time in our article."

According to Orizaola, if the life expectancy of individuals in a population is reduced, their ability to produce offspring may be compromised. With shorter lifespans, ectotherm populations will have a much harder time recovering from natural disasters such as droughts, floods, and heat waves. Furthermore, population losses have cascading impacts on other species, potentially throwing off the balance of entire ecosystems as certain predators or prey decline.

"This is a field that has barely been explored so far, but everything indicates that it could be another of the possible problems facing wildlife that is exposed to climate change," said Orizaola. He said that a better understanding of the effects of the climate crisis on ectotherm aging could help experts develop better conservation and management programs.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Heat stress accelerates aging in fish, amphibians, and reptiles

Climate change is causing some animals to age more rapidly,...

A new study from <a href="https://www.fv-berlin.de/">Forschungsverbund Berlin</a> describes how dams are compounding the impacts of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-arctic-is-transitioning-into-an-entirely-different-climate/">climate</a> change on river fish. When faced with stressful environmental conditions, fish can potentially move to more suitable habitats. The researchers set out to investigate the extent to which dams may restrict the movement of both native and non-native fish under different climate scenarios. 

"Understanding how global change and connectivity will jointly modify the distribution of riverine species is crucial for conservation biology and environmental management," wrote the study authors.

"However, little is known about the interaction between climate change and fragmentation and how movement barriers might impede native species from adjusting their distributions versus limit the further spread of alien species."

The researchers modeled the distribution of 11 native and five alien fish species in the Ebro River, located within the Mediterranean region of Spain. To examine how a lack of connectivity may interfere with access to future suitable habitats, the team considered 10 climate change models using various algorithms. 

"The Ebro River is particularly vulnerable and threatened by climate change and species invasions. In addition, the Ebro River is fragmented by over 300 dams and many smaller barriers, which makes it even worse for the native fish species," said study co-author Professor Emili García-Berthou.

The analysis showed that the most pronounced biodiversity changes, including losses of native fish and gains of alien species, are expected in the lower and mid reaches of larger Ebro River tributaries. According to the study, alien species such as eastern mosquitofish, wels catfish, and common carp will become much more prevalent. The majority of species are projected to shift their range in an upstream direction.

"The Ebro River system is home to several endemic species that exclusively occur on the Iberian Peninsula," said study lead author Johannes Radinger. "These species are particularly imperilled by barriers that limit movements in response to climate change. Whether dams can effectively prevent the spread of alien species is questionable. In fact, the establishment of alien fishes is often facilitated by the changed flow and habitat conditions that result from damming rivers."

The findings show that fish communities in highly fragmented rivers will face significant biodiversity shifts and species losses alongside climate change. 

"Effective conservation of fishes should focus on the restoration of habitats and the natural flow regime, improvements of connectivity for native species and the control of alien species, particularly the prevention of further introductions," wrote the researchers.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dams will prevent some river fish from surviving climate change

A new study from Forschungsverbund Berlin describes how dams are...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a> has exposed the shocking impacts of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/disease-spreading-mosquitoes-are-thriving-near-humans/">human</a> disturbances in the Neotropics over the last 500 years. More than half of all medium and large Neotropical mammals have vanished since the region was first colonized in the 1500s.

The researchers determined that the overwhelming decline in Neotropical mammal diversity is tied to human activities such as overhunting and land use changes associated with agriculture and development. 

The Neotropical region is made up of Central and South America, including the Caribbean. The investigation was focused on animal surveys conducted over the past 30 years at more than 1,000 Neotropical study sites. This information was compared with baseline data going back to the Colonial era.

The findings draw on a collection of 1,029 mammal assemblages, in which species typically co-existed a few kilometers from each other, across 23 countries in the Neotropics.

The study produced clear evidence that human activities and disturbances are the primary cause of local species extinctions. Major land use changes associated with farming, logging, and fires have devastated many habitats, and these impacts are worsened by overhunting.

"Our findings can be used to inform international conservation policies to prevent further erosion of, or restore, native biodiversity," said study co-lead author Dr. Juliano André Bogoni. "Further conservation efforts should be mobilized to prevent the most faunally-intact biomes, such as Amazonia and the Pantanal wetlands, from following in the footsteps of 'empty ecosystems' that are now typical of historically degraded areas such as the Brazilian Atlantic Forest and the Caatinga."

"This includes effective implementation and law enforcement in existing protected areas, and curbing political pressures to either downgrade or downsize these areas. Greater investment should be allocated to more effective control of illegal hunting, particularly commercial hunting, deforestation, and anthropogenic fires, as well as ensure that fully implemented protected areas are working."

The team analyzed local losses of 165 species of medium to large-bodied mammals that had been surveyed across the Neotropics. On average more than 56 percent of the local wildlife within mammal assemblages across the Neotropics had been wiped out. The lowland tapir and white-lipped peccary suffered the most losses.

"Sound resource management should be sensitive to the socioeconomic context, while recruiting rather than antagonizing potential local alliances who can effectively fill the institutional void in low-governance regions," said study co-lead author Professor Carlos Peres.

"Hominins and other mammals have co-existed since the earliest Paleolithic hunters wielding stone tools some three million years ago. Over this long timescale biodiversity losses have only recently accelerated to breakneck speeds since the industrial revolution."

"Let us make sure that this relentless wave of local extinctions is rapidly decelerated, or else the prospects for Neotropical mammals and other vertebrates will look increasingly bleak."

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

Centuries of human activities have taken a toll on Neotropical mammals

A new study from the University of East Anglia has...

Chimpanzees become more flexible in their behavior in order to adapt to unpredictable conditions. A team of experts at the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> set out to investigate how different environments may affect the behavior and cultural <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mountain-formation-led-to-an-explosion-in-plant-diversity/">diversity</a> of chimpanzees that belong to the same species.

Behavioral flexibility allows nonhuman primates, as well as other large-brained species, to use cognition and innovation to adapt to uncertainty and changing ecological conditions. This helps to explain why humans have evolved to become so remarkably adaptable.

"Higher rates of behavioural innovation and large brain size correlate with markers of technical, cultural and social intelligence," wrote the study authors. "Species with larger brains are also found in habitats that are more seasonal and are thus able to survive during times of resource scarcity."  

"Collectively, this research suggests that larger-brained species have greater innovative capacities and are better able to adapt and survive in novel, or more variable environments."

Chimpanzees exhibit a number of diverse behaviors that are found in some wild populations yet absent in others. These behaviors include tool use for communication; foraging on insects, algae, nuts, or honey; and thermoregulatory practices like bathing in pools or using caves in extremely hot environments. 

Sme chimpanzee behaviors are learned socially, which means that they are considered cultural traditions among certain groups.

An international team of researchers led by Ammie Kalan and Hjalmar Kühl analyzed data collected at 46 field sites through the Pan African Programme: the Cultured Chimpanzee (PanAf). They studied 144 chimpanzee social groups to gain a better idea 0f which environmental conditions promote the acquisition of more behavioral traits.

The researchers examined habitats that were seasonal, as well as habitats where forest cover has repeatedly changed over the last thousands of years. The study revealed that environmental variability was positively associated with greater  chimpanzee behavioral and cultural diversity. 

"Chimpanzees experiencing greater seasonality, living in savannah woodland habitats and located further away from historical Pleistocene forest refugia were more likely to have a larger set of behaviors present," said Kalan. 

"Since the behaviors we examined are largely considered cultural, we could further infer that environmental variability also supports cultural diversification in chimpanzees."

The study will continue to provide fascinating insights into the emergence of chimpanzee population diversity. 

"While we have learned a lot about the relationship between environmental variability and chimpanzee behavioral diversity in this study, there may be other demographic and social factors that have also played an important role in the process of behavioral diversification," said Kühl.

"With continued efforts to study and compare chimpanzee populations at large numbers, I am convinced that many more exciting discoveries will be made in the future that will provide further insights into the mechanisms of behavioral diversification in chimpanzees, but that will help us to also better understand our own evolutionary history."

The study is 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

Chimpanzees respond to dynamic environments by learning new behaviors

Chimpanzees become more flexible in their behavior in order to...

In collaboration with experts from 14 universities and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/drones-are-a-growing-threat-to-waterbirds/">bird</a> conservation organizations, researchers at <a href="http://www.lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> have observed a very rare migration pattern that is used by common swifts known as chain migration. 

Common swifts are the most mobile terrestrial birds in the world, which likely explains why they have adopted a unique migration strategy that gives them constant access to food.

When common swifts are not breeding, they spend 24 hours a day airborne. This means that the birds are essentially flying for a total of ten months out of the year.

To remain constantly mobile, the birds must have a steady supply of food for energy. They use a chain migration strategy that puts them in the right place at the right time for the greatest availability of insects. 

"Our study is very significant for understanding how organisms, in this case the common swift, can migrate from one part of the world to another, where access to food is much better at a given time," said study lead author Professor Susanne Åkesson.

The researchers tracked 102 common swifts from 11 different European populations that have a nesting range from Swedish Lapland in the north to Spain in the south. The birds were tagged with tiny devices to track their precise location at various times of the year.

The study revealed that common swifts that nest in northern Europe arrive in sub-Saharan Africa four to six weeks later than the swifts that nest in southern Europe. By this time, the southern European swifts have already migrated even further south. 

The clever foraging pattern used by swifts is referred to as chain migration, which is different from the much more common pattern known as leap-frog migration. When bird populations arrive in an area at the same time, those that arrive first claim the territory, which forces other groups to leap-frog over the occupied area and fly further south.

The researchers explained that swifts cannot claim a territory in the same way as birds that spend more time on the ground.

"The core reason why the common swift engages in chain migration, whereas almost all other birds such as songbirds, ducks, geese and waders have leap-frog migration patterns, can probably be found in the amount of time they spend airborne. The common swift is unique in spending ten months in the air," said Professor Åkesson.

"I think it is amazing that they know where food is to be found and when they should head for that specific location. They migrate over continents in such a way as to ensure continuous access to food and thereby to survive - they have a lifespan of over 20 years."

Until now, chain migration had only been observed in two species: the sharp-shinned hawk and the northern gannet.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15585646">Evolution</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Common swifts use a unique migration strategy to support their grueling lifestyle

In collaboration with experts from 14 universities and bird conservation...

What gives some <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/animals-have-a-biological-switch-that-prepares-them-for-seasonal-changes/">animals</a> a "sixth sense" that allows them to detect the Earth's magnetic field? According to a new study from the <a href="https://www.ucf.edu/">University of Central Florida</a>, the answer may be much more simple than what was expected. 

Some animals sense the invisible lines of the magnetic field for navigation. For example, sea turtles can make long migrations over hundreds to thousands of miles to return to the beach where they were born. 

Additional animals that sense Earth's magnetic field include birds, fish, and lobsters. Despite 50 years of research, scientists have yet to define the mechanism which underlies this ability. 

"The search for a mechanism has been proposed as one of the last major frontiers in sensory biology and described as if we are 'searching for a needle in a haystack,'" said study co-author UCF Professor Robert Fitak. 

In collaboration with experts in the United Kingdom and Israel, Professor Fitak has proposed a new theory that a symbiotic relationship with magnetotactic bacteria is what gives animals a magnetic sixth sense. These bacteria orient themselves along the lines of Earth's magnetic field using organelles called magnetosomes that contain magnetic crystals.

The researchers not only present evidence from past studies to support their theory, but also introduce some new evidence of their own. Professor Fitak mined one of the largest genetic databases of microbes, known as the Metagenomic Rapid Annotations using Subsystems Technology database, to examine cases where magnetotactic bacteria were found to be present in animal samples.

According to Professor Fitak, previous microbial diversity studies have often focused on large patterns of the presence or absence of bacteria phyla in animals rather than specific species.

"The presence of these magnetotactic bacteria had been largely overlooked, or 'lost in the mud' amongst the massive scale of these datasets."

For the first time, Professor Fitak determined that magnetotactic bacteria are associated with many animals, including penguins, loggerhead sea turtles, bats, and Atlantic right whales. While the researchers are not sure where the magnetotactic bacteria are present within the animals, they said that it could be associated with specific nervous tissue in the eye or brain.

"I'm working with the co-authors and local UCF researchers to develop a genetic test for these bacteria, and we plan to subsequently screen various animals and specific tissues, such as in sea turtles, fish, spiny lobsters and birds," said Professor Fitak.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rstb">Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Bacteria may give sea turtles their magnetic "sixth sense"

What gives some animals a "sixth sense" that allows them...

The growing pressures of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/scientists-reconstruct-66-million-year-record-of-earths-climate/">climate</a> change and human activities pose the most immediate threat to Mediterranean and tropical species, according to a study from <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a>. In many cases, land use changes are wiping out habitats that could otherwise offer protection from rising temperatures. 

The research is shedding new light on the fact that extinction risks are not evenly distributed, and imminent declines in tropical diversity will far exceed biodiversity losses in other parts of the world. 

Study lead author Dr. Tim Newbold is an expert in the UCL Centre for Biodiversity &amp; Environment Research. 

"Tropical areas are expected to see the greatest expansions of agriculture in the coming decades, and are already seeing new temperature extremes," did Dr. Newbold.

"Coupled with the fact that data on biodiversity are often biased towards more temperate regions, our findings suggest that global biodiversity declines may be even worse than leading experts are predicting." 

"Urgent action is needed to prevent biodiversity losses and extinctions, particularly in tropical and Mediterranean areas which have some of the most diverse ecological communities on the planet."

The researchers analyzed data on more than 47,000 plant and animal species at thousands of sites in 91 countries. They wanted to compare the amount of wildlife in the most disturbed urban environments to the number of species in moderately disturbed or undisturbed natural areas. The team also investigated how wildlife will respond to climate change and where plants and animals may survive. 

The study showed that there was substantially lower biodiversity in more disturbed environments, especially in Mediterranean and tropical regions. The experts also found that the animals which are the most sensitive to climate warming are found in tropical forests, tropical grasslands, and Mediterranean areas.

Some of the species of concern that are most threatened include the eastern gorilla in the African tropics and Hermann's tortoise in the Mediterranean, both of which are critically endangered by habitat loss and will soon have to face the additional strain of climate change.

In tropical regions, the researchers predict that with each degree of climate warming, the number of species will decline locally by 10 to 13 percent.

Plants and animals in tropical regions are exposed to less pronounced seasonal changes, which makes them especially vulnerable to climate change because they have not had to adapt to a wide range of temperatures. In tropical and Mediterranean areas, many species are already living near the upper temperature limit that they can tolerate, according to the study.

"We found that areas facing the greatest biodiversity threats from climate change and land use were often the same areas, which is even more concerning as these two pressures can interact to make environments even more inhospitable. For example, heavily modified landscapes often have less canopy cover which would otherwise moderate extreme temperatures," said Dr. Newbold.

Dr. Newbold is also a co-author of the World Wildlife Fund's <a href="https://livingplanet.panda.org/">Living Planet Report</a> published this month. The report reveals that biodiversity has declined most in the Tropics since 1970. 

"Conservation efforts alone will not be enough to save endangered and vulnerable animals and plants," said Dr. Newbold. "Governments, private companies and consumers will all need to act now to curb climate change and to mitigate land use pressures that destroy habitats."

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

&nbsp;

Mediterranean and tropical species may vanish at alarming rates

The growing pressures of climate change and human activities pose...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a> are shedding new light on the behavior of an endangered fish in California. The study suggests that steelhead trout do not rely on environmental cues to decide when to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mastodons-migrated-over-extreme-distances-in-response-to-climate-change/">migrate</a>, but instead listen to their internal clock.

Professor Michael Booth has been studying the migration patterns of steelhead trout, a subpopulation of rainbow trout,  that make their way to the Pacific Ocean to hunt and feed until they return to freshwater streams to spawn.

While working at the United Water Conservation District, Professor Booth set out to investigate which factors drive steelhead trout to make the trip to the Pacific Ocean. He based his analysis on 19 years of records from a designated fish trap on southern California's Santa Clara River. The trap is part of a diversion off the river where fish can be counted and relocated downstream when necessary. 

Professor Booth found that steelhead trout migration was triggered by more hours of daylight in the spring rather than by environmental factors like precipitation.

The Santa Clara River is one of the largest coastal watersheds in southern California, but sections of the river often dry out completely. This isolates some fish in upstream tributaries until the seasonal rains return.

"The Santa Clara River is a massive desert river," said Professor Booth. "The river channel is braided with sand and gravel. It's about 1,000 feet wide in its lower sections and it's always changing."

Some trout remain in cold-water mountain streams throughout their entire lives, spawning and dying close to where they hatched. Meanwhile, others experience physiological changes that allow them to tolerate the salty water of the Pacific Ocean. 

Professor Booth explained that there are great genetic benefits to making the dangerous trip to the Pacific Ocean. For example, steelhead trout grow much faster in the ocean compared to trout in freshwater streams. He added that steelhead trout have the advantage in passing on their genes to subsequent generations when they return to spawn.

"A 3-year-old resident trout might be a foot long, but a steelhead might be 3 feet long. Their fecundity is directly related to size. So the bigger the fish, the more eggs it can make. There's a really strong genetic advantage to making more babies."

The study authors recommend limiting the extraction of water from the Santa Clara River during the migration months of mid-March to May. In addition, Professor Booth said the water flow in the river should be maintained to allow late migrating steelhead to return upstream. The opportunities for trout to migrate may become further limited due to climate change. 

"There are a lot of challenges in the Santa Clara River. The water levels go up and down. This river has a massive sediment load. During a big storm, the river bed can erode 20 feet. The water looks like a smoothie coming downstream."

Professor Booth said steelheads likely wait for sediment-choked river water to settle before migrating. He theorized that heavy rains triggered the steelhead's movement to the ocean, since this would get the water flowing again.

"We thought the fish would migrate when the river was flowing and wouldn't migrate in years without storm events," said Professor Booth. "It turned out that wasn't the case. They migrated regardless of whether the river was flowing to the ocean."

The study is significant because it could inform decisions about water use. Knowing what months are crucial for steelhead migration could help wildlife managers avoid conflicts. "It's really hard for a water manager to decide this is when we can and can't divert water if you have no data on when the fish are migrating."

For fish that miss the narrow window to navigate the Santa Clara while it's running, there are few practical solutions, said Professor Booth.

"This is a very wicked problem. The water available is dependent on rain, snowfall and the recharge of the groundwater," he said. "We can avoid taking water from the river or reducing extractions but there isn't an extra water source to make the river flow during droughts."

According to Professor Booth, steelhead trout will persist in the Santa Clara River, at least for now. "Steelhead are very resilient. They've been holding on for a while."

The study is published in the <a href="https://afspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15488675">North American Journal of Fisheries Management</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Steelhead trout follow their instincts, not environmental cues

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati are shedding new light...

The absence of sea otters is accelerating the impacts of climate change on Alaskan reefs, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.bigelow.org/">Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences</a>. Explosive numbers of sea urchins are devastating Alaskan kelp forests along with the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/ocean-acidification-could-cause-coral-reefs-to-fall-apart/">reefs</a> that have supported them for centuries.

After the Aleutian sea otter became functionally extinct in the 1990's, the local sea urchins have run rampant with no natural predators in this region of the North Pacific. 

The researchers discovered that these sea urchins, who have already leveled dense kelp forests, are now busy grinding down coral-like reefs that are built by the red alga Clathromorphum nereostratum.

"We discovered that massive limestone reefs built by algae underpin the Aleutian Islands' kelp forest ecosystem," said study lead author Douglas Rasher. "However, these long-lived reefs are now disappearing before our eyes, and we're looking at a collapse likely on the order of decades rather than centuries."

Clathromorphum produces a limestone skeleton that gradually forms a complex reef over hundreds of years which supports many diverse marine species. Now that urchins have devoured the kelp forests, they are scraping through the reef and consuming the alga. Boring their way through the alga's protective layer is much easier than it should be as a result of climate change.

"Ocean warming and acidification are making it difficult for calcifying organisms to produce their shells, or in this case, the alga's protective skeleton," said Rasher. "This critical species has now become highly vulnerable to urchin grazing - right as urchin abundance is peaking. It's a devastating combination."

Like tree rings, the calcified alga reef contains bands of annual growth. By examining these marks under a microscope, the researchers were able to track urchin grazing in the past. They found that this destructive activity had coincided with the past recovery and recent collapse of sea otter populations. The analysis also revealed that grazing rates have recently accelerated in correlation with rising ocean temperatures.

"It's well documented that humans are changing Earth's ecosystems by altering the climate and by removing large predators, but scientists rarely study those processes together," said Rasher. "If we had only studied the effects of climate change on Clathromorphum in the laboratory, we would have arrived at very different conclusions about the vulnerability and future of this species. Our study shows that we must view climate change through an ecological lens, or we're likely to face many surprises in the coming years."

Despite the fact that the findings are grim, they offer important insights for addressing the growing issues associated with predator loss and climate change. For example, restoring sea otters could potentially control the urchins and allow the reef to recover. 

"This is exciting because it suggests that resource managers have opportunities to manage large predators in ways that can help slow the rate with which climate change is deteriorating our natural ecosystems," said Rasher. "In the case of Aleutian kelp forests, restoring sea otter populations would bring many ecological benefits, and would also buy us time to get our act together on curbing carbon emissions, before this foundational reef builder is lost."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Loss of sea otters is devastating Alaskan kelp forests

The absence of sea otters is accelerating the impacts of...

A new <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/22221751.2020.1817796">study</a> published by <a href="https://taylorandfrancis.com/">Taylor &amp; Francis Group</a> reports that more cats have been infected by COVID-19 than what was previously realized. The researchers discovered that many cats are fighting off the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/coronavirus-may-attack-the-body-through-the-nose/">coronavirus</a> with naturally developed antibodies, but may still be at risk of re-infection.

Researchers at the Huazhong Agricultural University in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the pandemic originated, collected blood samples and nasal swabs from 102 cats between January and March 2020.

COVID-19 antibodies were detected in 15 of the blood samples, 11 of which were neutralizing antibodies, or proteins that bind to a virus well enough to block the infection.

According to the researchers, none of the cats actually tested positive for COVID-19, displayed obvious symptoms, or died from an infection.

About half of the cats evaluated for the study were in animal shelters, 41 were in pet hospitals, and 15 cats were owned by COVID-19 patients.

The three cats with the highest levels of antibodies were all owned by individuals who had been diagnosed with COVID-19. There was also evidence that some of the cats in shelters and hospitals had been infected by other cats. 

Study lead author Meilin Jin noted that while there is currently no evidence for cat-to-human transmission, precautions should be considered.

"Although the infection in stray cats could not be fully understood, it is reasonable to speculate that these infections are probably due to the contact with SARS-CoV-2 polluted environment, or COVID-19 patients who fed the cats," said Jin.

"Therefore measures should be considered to maintain a suitable distance between COVID-19 patients and companion animals such as cats and dogs, and hygiene and quarantine measures should also be established for those high-risk animals."

Upon analyzing the antibodies present in many of the cats, the researchers found characteristics that implied the cats "remain at risk of re-infection."

The study authors explain that this is a similar transient antibody response to also be observed in humans, and that their study should be used as a "reference for the clinical treatment and prevention of COVID-19".

"We suggest that cats have a great potential as an animal model for assessing the characteristics of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in humans."

The researchers said that further research is needed to establish the route of COVID-19 from humans to cats.

"Retrospective investigation confirmed that all of antibody positive samples were taken after the outbreak, suggesting that the infection of cats could be due to the virus transmission from humans to cats," said Jin. "Certainly, it is still needed to be verified via investigating the SARS-CoV-2 infections before this outbreak in a wide range of sampling."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/22221751.2020.1817796">Emerging Microbes &amp; Infections</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Some cats have developed neutralizing COVID-19 antibodies

A new study published by Taylor &amp; Francis Group reports...

Human activities are responsible for 96 percent of all mammal extinctions in the last 126,000 years, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.gu.se/en">University of Gothenburg</a>. During this time period, mammals have vanished by about 1,600 times the natural rate. The researchers found that this increase in mammal extinctions has been driven almost entirely by human activities, not <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-model-shows-the-indus-civilization-collapsed-due-to-climate-change/">climate</a> change. 

The study suggests that even prehistoric humans had an impact on biodiversity that was more destructive than the largest climate shifts in recent history, including the last ice age.

"We find essentially no evidence for climate-driven extinctions during the past 126,000 years. Instead, we find that human impact explains 96% of all mammal extinctions during that time," said study co-author Daniele Silvestro.

While many experts theorize that abrupt environmental shifts put too much pressure on mammals during prehistoric years, the results of the new study indicate that these mammals were resilient to extreme climate change. 

"However, current climate change, together with fragmented habitats, poaching, and other human-related threats pose a large risk for many species," said Silvestro.

The investigation was focused on a large set of fossils representing 351 mammal species that have disappeared since the beginning of the Late Pleistocene. The fossilized animals included iconic species such as mammoths, sabre tooth tigers, and giant ground sloths. 

"These extinctions did not happen continuously and at a constant pace. Instead, bursts of extinctions are detected across different continents at times when humans first reached them," said study co-author Tobias Andermann. "More recently, the magnitude of human driven extinctions has picked up the pace again, this time on a global scale."

The researchers noted that for decades,  scientists have debated the extent of human-driven species extinctions in prehistoric times.

"Regardless of the drivers of Pleistocene extinctions, the human impact in the most recent extinctions is undeniable, and a central question concerns the effect that anthropogenically elevated extinction rates will have on future mammalian diversity," wrote the study authors. "When generating future projections, it is important to consider that past extinction events only constitute a fraction of the true human impact on biodiversity."

"In addition to driving species to global extinction, human activity has led to decreases in population sizes and species ranges for a much larger fraction of mammalian species. Consideration of these trends is included in the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List criteria for evaluating the extinction risk of individual species."

According to the researchers, the current rate of mammal extinctions is likely the largest event of this kind since the end of the dinosaur era. Based on computer simulations, the experts predict that these rates will continue to rise rapidly, potentially reaching 30,000-fold above the natural level by the end of the century if current trends continue. 

"Despite these grim projections, the trend can still be changed. We can save hundreds if not thousands of species from extinction with more targeted and efficient conservation strategies. But in order to achieve this, we need to increase our collective awareness about the looming escalation of the biodiversity crisis, and take action in combating this global emergency," said Andermann. "Time is pressing. With every lost species, we irreversibly lose a unique portion of Earth's natural history."

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

Mammal extinctions are driven almost exclusively by humans, not climate change

Human activities are responsible for 96 percent of all mammal...

Experts have developed new <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-technology-transforms-paper-into-an-electronic-device/">technology</a> to track black rhinos in Namibia and protect the endangered animals from poachers. The interactive software uses advanced algorithms to analyze more than 100 measurements of rhino footprints.

Each footprint left behind by a rhinoceros is as distinctive as a human fingerprint. This means that the images analyzed with the Footprint Identification Technique (FIT) can be linked to specific individuals. 

The images will be digitally archived in a global database, providing conservationists with a new tool to monitor the movements of black rhinos across different protected areas. 

Study co-lead author Zoe Jewell is the co-creator of FIT and an adjunct associate professor in the Nicholas School of the Environment at <a href="https://duke.edu/">Duke University</a>.

"If you find a match, you can identify the individual animal who left the mark and, by plotting the locations of all the other places that mark has been seen, track its movements without disturbing it or coming into close enough contact with it for there to be a risk of animal-to-human viral transmissions," said Professor Jewell.

"It's a cost-effective approach that not only protects the health of the rhino and the human, but also brings a centuries-old tracking skill into the 21st Century."

About 90 percent of all remaining black rhinos live in Namibia, with an estimated population of 2,000 individuals. The rhinos are owned by the government and distributed onto private lands across the country.

In recent years, government efforts to strengthen security have significantly slowed the rate of poaching. However, between 30 and 50 black rhinos are still killed each year for their horns, which sell for more than $60,000 a kilogram on the Asian black market.

"You essentially have these animals with horns worth $100,000 or more that disappear from sight into the Namibian backcountry, making them an almost irresistible target for poachers. Authorities often don't know a rhino that's gone missing has been poached until they find its bones or carcass," said Professor Jewell.

The FIT technology can be used to monitor rhinos in three different ways. This allows scientists, managers, guides, or anti-poaching patrols to use the software to best meet their individual needs and constraints, explained Professor Jewell.

The simplest FIT method compares the heel pattern on a digital image of the footprint to images that are already archived in the database to search for a match. This approach is well-suited to situations where a random footprint is found in the wild.

The FIT software can also be used to survey all footprints throughout a protected area and take measurements from each print to estimate the number of black rhinos that are present. This information is particularly useful for calculating resource needs, such as the number of patrol vehicles, to monitor the animals effectively.

The most advanced option tracks each individual rhino by matching its unique footprint using both FIT and heel-patterns. This method creates an interactive library that anti-poaching patrols can use to search for animals at the highest risk, including those known to frequent areas under threat from poachers.

"FIT is a distillation of the traditional ecological skills of the expert trackers who I have lived and worked with in Africa for many years," said study co-author Professor Sky Alibhai. "Using FIT allows their skills to be used effectively in conservation. This can benefit whole communities."

The researchers are currently working with Namibia's Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism to train land managers, local guides, and anti-poaching agents on how to use the software.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/">PeerJ</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New software will help protect black rhinos from poachers

Experts have developed new technology to track black rhinos in...

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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



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



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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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