Evolution drives all biological change. It shapes every lifeform we know, including birds. Charles Darwin laid its foundation with natural selection, explaining how organisms adapt and survive through generations.



Recent advances in genetics and bioinformatics have pushed our understanding far beyond Darwin’s notebooks. One question still haunts the scientific world: What really drives <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/evolution-itself-found-to-be-evolving-as-life-constantly-learns-to-adapt/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">novelty</a> in evolution? 



A new study by researchers at the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Copenhagen</a> offers a fresh approach and some surprising answers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-makes-evolution-tick">What makes evolution tick</h2>



DNA changes lie at the center of evolution. These changes fuel the dazzling variety of life around us. Sometimes, they produce traits that surprise us. Other times, they lead to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-animal-will-replace-humans-as-earths-dominant-species-this-scientist-has-an-idea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mutations</a> behind deadly viruses.



That’s why understanding DNA’s shifting patterns isn’t just scientific curiosity. It matters for protecting ecosystems. It matters for predicting health threats.



"Basically, we showcase a method to extract information from genomes and reveal the forces driving biological novelty with unprecedented detail," said David Duchene, a professor in the Department of Public Health at the University of Copenhagen.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-birds-as-evolution-s-case-study">Birds as evolution’s case study</h2>



The team used birds as their main study group. Why birds? They’re the most diverse group of vertebrates - 10,000 species strong.



"We used birds as our study subject. With 10,000 known species, they are the most diverse class of vertebrates and uniquely suited for exploring <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hidden-chapter-in-human-evolution-revealed-through-genetics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">evolutionary phenomena</a>. With our method, we were able to identify key factors that influence how these bird lineages and their thousands of genes evolve," explained Duchene.



Their method identified four key evolutionary factors: clutch size, gene biochemistry, chromosome size, and leg length. Duchene says these results break the idea that one trait, like flying or singing, steers a group’s evolution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-evolution-depends-on-many-traits">Bird evolution depends on many traits</h2>



"Our study tells us that you will find much nuance as to the drivers of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/evolutions-many-solutions-nature-finds-multiple-paths-to-success/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">novelty</a> once you look at multiple lineages and genes in detail. The biochemistry, chromosomes, and various aspects of lifestyle all play distinct roles in bringing about novelty," said Duchene.



It’s not one factor but many. The research shows how each piece, from gene makeup to physical traits, helps shape the tree of life. This view gives experts a better toolkit for tracking changes across different organisms.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-clues-to-the-next-pandemic">Clues to the next pandemic</h2>



The findings stretch beyond birds, offering deeper insight into evolution across many forms of life.



The method could help scientists track how diseases evolve. It could help understand how plants respond to climate change. And it could point to what we risk losing in our current biodiversity crisis.



According to Duchene, the findings can be applied to a variety of contexts, such as understanding how diseases adapt to human demographics or climate conditions.



"The same principles that help us decode the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-model-esm3-creates-new-protein-that-simulates-500-million-years-of-biological-evolution/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diversity</a> of birds could also be used to investigate the genetic changes driving everything from pandemics to species adaptation in shifting ecosystems," said Duchene.



"This method could tell us: What is special about what we are losing in the current biodiversity crisis? What exactly made those animals so novel and unique, and what have they taught us about evolution such that we might want to preserve them?" 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-evolution-and-the-study-of-life">Bird evolution and the study of life</h2>



Every extinct species takes with it a chapter of evolution’s story. Understanding why those species were unique helps us grasp the full scale of what’s being lost. 



It also shows us what we must protect - not just for the sake of nature, but for future discoveries about life itself.



With this new approach, scientists can now map the drivers of evolution more clearly than ever before. The tools used to decode bird diversity may soon help us understand the rise of new diseases or the disappearance of key species. 



The study invites a shift in thinking - from seeing evolution as a slow and distant process to recognizing it as something dynamic and ongoing.



Nature still holds many secrets. But thanks to this work from the University of Copenhagen, we are one step closer to understanding how life continues to surprise, survive, and evolve.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08777-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



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Decoding evolution: How birds can help us prevent pandemics

Evolution drives all biological change. It shapes every lifeform we know, including birds. Charles Darwin laid its foundation with natural selection, explaining how organisms adapt and survive through generations. Recent advances in genetics and bioinformatics have pushed our understanding far beyond Darwin’s notebooks. One question still haunts the scientific world: What really drives novelty in evolution? A new study by researchers at the University of Copenhagen offers a fresh approach and some surprising answers. What makes evolution tick DNA changes lie at the center of evolution. These...

In one of the largest international studies of its kind, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.czs.org/brookfield-zoo/home">Brookfield Zoo</a> in Illinois are working to assess the health and wellbeing of dolphins and other marine mammals in captivity. 

While the quality of care at many zoos is often top-notch and dedicated zoologists, trainers, and handlers work to ensure their animals are receiving everything they need, there has been increasing concern that animals <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giraffe-dies-after-it-falls-trying-to-get-food-from-zoo-visitor/">don't belong in captivity</a>. 

This study is hoping to provide a detailed framework for assessing an animal's health and wellbeing in captivity as well as show that zoos allow animals to thrive. 

The researchers plan to analyze biomarkers including blood, gastric, fecal and respiratory samples. Data on 290 Indo-Pacific dolphins, 20 beluga whales, eight Pacific white-sided dolphins from 44 accredited aquariums and zoos in seven countries are included in the study.

Some of the animals in the study have been equipped with sensors to track speed and movement. The sensors will help show the researchers how much of their tank the dolphins utilize and how they navigate their surroundings. 

Overall, data from the sensors, veterinary exams, surveys, samples, and video footage will be analyzed by the researchers, according to the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-zoo-dolphin-welfare-study-20190201-story.html">Chicago Tribune</a> which reported on the massive undertaking, 

“When you think about animal care and welfare, there’s the art and the science to it,” Lance Miller, vice president of conservation science and animal welfare research, told the Chicago Tribune. &nbsp;“I think 30 years ago it was more of an art form. You had a lot of people with a lot of great knowledge because they had worked with the animals for so long. What we do now is we don’t try to take away from that art, but we try to use science to kind of mesh the two.”

One challenge of assessing wellbeing is that beyond stress indicators, how do you define the happiness of another animal, like a dolphin?

Researchers warn that our tendencies to anthropomorphize may not reflect the realities of how an animal is fairing in captivity.

However, the very real concerns remain that no matter how well cared for an animal is in captivity, it’s still being raised outside of its natural habitat and in some cases not able to travel the long distances they would in the wild. &nbsp;

If the researchers can find a way to quantify and accurately assess wellbeing, it might help put those concerns to rest or encourage more zoos to transition captive marine mammals to natural sanctuaries that more closely mirror their natural habitat. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Are captive dolphins kept healthy?

In one of the largest international studies of its kind,...

Beginning in 2014, researchers from the <a href="https://marinescience.ucdavis.edu/bml/about">University of California, Davis Bodega Marine Laboratory</a> watched as warm-water jellyfish, crab, fish, dolphin, and sea turtle species traveled northward from the waters of Baja California and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tunnels-us-mexico-border/">Mexico</a>, and ended up outside of their lab, located on the coast just north of San Francisco. These species were escaping the 2014-16 marine heatwave, and until this point, the majority of them had never been located this far north before.

In fact, as stated in their study published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, the researchers found that of the 67 rare, warm-water species that were sighted in California and as far north as Oregon, 37 had never travelled so far north. One such creature was the striated sea butterfly, which had never been sighted north of Baja.

"Against the backdrop of climate change, we hope southern species will track northward because that's necessary for their persistence and survival," said lead author and <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">UC Davis</a> Professor of Ecology and Evolution, Eric Sanford. "It's perhaps a glimpse of what Northern California's coast might look like in the future as ocean temperatures continue to warm."

The heatwave was caused by a collision between “The Blob” of warm water that made its way down the Pacific coast from the Gulf of Alaska and an El Nino event that originated near the equator and worked its way up to California. The 2014-16 heatwave was one of the longest marine heatwaves on record.

[caption id="attachment_1869523" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/chocolate-porcelain-crab.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869523" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/chocolate-porcelain-crab.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="405" /></a> Chocolate porcelain crab, Image Credit: Jackie Sones/UC Davis[/caption]

Because this heatwave lasted for such a long time, southern species had the opportunity to travel northward and were even aided by north-flowing current reversals from Monterey Bay.

Some species headed south once the waters cooled post-heatwave. However, others have stuck around. The sunburst anemone, the chocolate porcelain crab, a brittle star, and some barnacle species are all seemingly staying in Northern California for the long haul.

Experts believe migration like this is a good indicator of how species will adapt to warming oceans as a result of climate change.

"Before our very eyes, we're seeing the species composition shift to more warm-water southern animals in just the 14 years I have been at the Bodega Marine Laboratory," said Sanford. "That's a barometer of change for these ecosystems."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main image credit: Jackie Sones/UC Davis

Marine heatwave pushed unprecedented number of species northward

Beginning in 2014, researchers from the University of California, Davis...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> (UBC) have discovered that honey samples can be used to measure environmental pollution. When <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/honeybees-solving-basic-math-problems/">bees</a> hunt for pollen and nectar near their hives, they pick up trace amounts of elements such as lead. As a result, these elements can be detected in the honey produced by the bees. 

Scientists at the UBC's Pacific Centre for Isotopic and Geochemical Research (PCIGR) analyzed honey samples from six Metro Vancouver neighborhoods, testing for lead, zinc, copper, and other elements. In addition, the team used lead isotope analyses to pinpoint where the lead originally came from. 

“The good news is that the chemical composition of honey in Vancouver reflects its environment and is extremely clean,” said study lead author Kate E. Smith, who is a PhD candidate at PCIGR. “We also found that the concentration of elements increased the closer you got to downtown Vancouver, and by fingerprinting the lead we can tell it largely comes from manmade sources.”

The experts found that the honey collected in Metro Vancouver was well below the worldwide average for heavy metals like lead. For example, an adult would have to consume more than two cups of honey every day to exceed safe lead levels. 

The study also revealed that the concentration of lead increased in areas with heavy traffic and industrial activity, while levels of manganese appeared to increase near areas with more agricultural activity and pesticide use. 

The isotope analysis showed that the lead could not be traced to any local, naturally-occurring sources. 

“We found they both had fingerprints similar to aerosols, ores and coals from large Asian cities,” said study senior author Dominique Weis. “Given that more than 70 per cent of cargo ships entering the Port of Vancouver originate from Asian ports, it's possible they are one source contributing to elevated lead levels in downtown Vancouver.”

The research was carried out in partnership with Hives for Humanity, which is a local non-profit that creates urban beekeeping job opportunities for people in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside.

“One of the exciting parts of this study is that it bridges science with community interests,” said Smith. “Honey sampling can easily be performed by citizen scientists in other urban centres, even if they lack other environmental monitoring capabilities.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natsustain">Nature Sustainability</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: Hives for Humanity

Honey from city bees can be used to trace environmental pollutants

Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have discovered...

Pugs, bulldogs, French bulldogs, Pekingese, and Boston Terriers may be some of the most popular dog breeds for pet owners, but the short muzzles that give these dogs their lovable looks also contribute to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/breathing-trouble-pugs-french-bulldogs-tough-predict/">breathing problems</a>. 

Brachycephalic dogs or “short-headed dogs” are prone to respiratory issues and at risk of developing Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS).

It was thought that specific muzzle shape was the leading cause behind BOAS but Norwich Terriers, a breed of dog with a regular muzzle length, is also prone to respiratory issues. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/">University of Edinburgh</a> have discovered that flat faces alone do not lead to breathing problems but that a genetic mutation in both brachycephalic and non-flat faced dogs can lead to swelling in the airways. 

For the study, the researchers screened 400 Norwich Terriers, assessing the airways, larynx, and tissues surrounding the airways. A genome-wide association allowed the researchers to identify a mutation in the ADAMTS3 gene, which is linked to edema, or swelling of the tissues around the airways. 

Edema in Norwich Terriers is common and causes Upper Airway Syndrome, which is similar to BOAS. 

The gene mutation was also present in French and English bulldogs, showing that genetic variations may be behind breathing problems once thought attributable to skill shape alone. 

“We conclude that there are additional genetic risk factors, that if inherited, will likely lead to airway disease in dogs regardless of their face shape,” said Jeffrey Schoenebeck, an author of the study. “The challenge ahead is to integrate these ideas, and implement sensible breeding practices and treatments that consider various health risks including those presented by the mutation of ADAMTS3.”

The breakthrough findings, published in the journal PLOS Genetics, could help veterinarians screen for the mutation in at-risk dogs and lead to better breeding practices.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Marcia A. Sessions

Genetic mutation could explain breathing problems in terriers and bulldogs

Pugs, bulldogs, French bulldogs, Pekingese, and Boston Terriers may be...

2016 California blue and fin whale tagging season

Researchers at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> have discovered that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/blue-whales-lower-pitch/">blue whales</a> locate productive feeding sites by relying on their memories instead of depending on environmental cues. 

The experts analyzed records of whale migration and ocean conditions in the California Current Ecosystem. They found that blue whales match the timing of their migration to the historical timing of krill production almost perfectly, rather than matching their movement based on the annual availability of krill.

The findings suggest that blue whales rely on their memory to return to sites where prey has been historically abundant. The results also indicate that it may be difficult for the whales to adapt to ecosystem changes that result from climate change.


Study lead Briana Abrahms is a research ecologist with the <a href="https://swfsc.noaa.gov/">NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center</a> in Monterey, California.

“We know that many species that migrate on land, from caribou in the Arctic to wildebeests in the Serengeti, enhance their survival by carefully adjusting the pace and timing of their migrations to find food as it becomes seasonally available along the way, rather than just migrating to get from point A to point B,” said Abrahms.

She noted that blue whales seem to embrace this same strategy, which is enhanced by their memory. 

“These long-lived, highly intelligent animals are making movement decisions based on their expectations of where and when food will be available during their migrations.”

The study was focused on ten years of tagging data that showed the daily movements of 60 individual blue whales. They compared these observations with satellite-based measurements of ocean productivity.

“We think that blue whales have evolved to use historical migration routes and timing that put them in proximity to the most predictably high production feeding areas and then make minor adjustments based on local conditions,” said study co-author Daniel Palacios.

“There are various time scales of events that could change the timing of phytoplankton blooms - and thus the availability of the whales' preferred prey, krill, including La Nina and El Nino events and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. But the whales' strategy of relying on memory and historic timing at least gets them into ‘the Goldilocks zone.’”

Around 2,500 of the world's 10,000 blue whales can be found off the western coast of the United States. Known as the eastern North Pacific population, the majority of these whales spend the summer and fall in the waters off Santa Barbara and San Francisco, which puts them in danger of ship strikes.

Abrahms explained, “We still have a lot to learn about how large animals navigate in the ocean, how they find good habitat and how they are affected by human activities and environmental changes.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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: Oregon State University

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Blue whales depend on their memories to find the best feeding sites

Researchers at Oregon State University have discovered that blue whales...

Researchers at <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a> have discovered that dogs often take on the same personality traits as their owner. The study revealed that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/larger-dogs-more-intelligent/">dogs</a> are like humans in that they have personalities that are shaped over time.  

“When humans go through big changes in life, their personality traits can change. We found that this also happens with dogs - and to a surprisingly large degree,” said study lead author Professor William Chopik. ‘We expected the dogs' personalities to be fairly stable because they don't have wild lifestyle changes humans do, but they actually change a lot. We uncovered similarities to their owners, the optimal time for training and even a time in their lives that they can get more aggressive toward other animals.”

The researchers also found that a dog’s personality can predict many important life outcomes, such as how close they become with their owners, their biting behavior, and chronic illness.

Professor Chopik surveyed the owners of more than 1,600 dogs of 50 different breeds that were anywhere from a few weeks to 15 years old. The owners were asked to evaluate their dog's personalities and to answer questions about the dog's behavioral history. In addition, the owners answered questions about their own personalities.

“We found correlations in three main areas: age and personality, in human-to-dog personality similarities and in the influence a dog's personality has on the quality of its relationship with its owner,” said Professor Chopik. “Older dogs are much harder to train; we found that the 'sweet spot' for teaching a dog obedience is around the age of six, when it outgrows its excitable puppy stage but before it's too set in its ways.”

Individuals who were extroverted rated their dogs as more excitable and active, while owners who reported more negative emotions rated their dogs as being fearful and less responsive to training. People who rated themselves as being agreeable rated their dogs as being less fearful and less aggressive toward people and animals.


“There are a lot of things we can do with dogs - like obedience classes and training - that we can't do with people,” said Professor Chopik. “Exposure to obedience classes was associated with more positive personality traits across the dog's lifespan. This gives us exciting opportunities to examine why personality changes in all sorts of animals.”

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-research-in-personality">Journal of Research in Personality</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dogs tend to adopt the same personality traits as their owners

Researchers at Michigan State University have discovered that dogs often...

According to a new study from researchers at the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a>, two species of mountain lions located in California’s Santa Ana and Santa Monica Mountains are at risk of going extinct within 50 years. This is because of the lions’ low genetic diversity and heightened mortality rate, which keeps the population unstable. Mountain lion mortality is oftentimes caused by humans, however, environmental upset due to wildfires and lack of prey can also be blamed for the drop in numbers.

"It's easy to read our paper as yet another pessimistic story about wildlife threatened by human actions — and in a sense that is true," said lead author John Benson from the <a href="https://nebraska.edu/">University of Nebraska</a>. "However, there is also a more optimistic message in that our model predicted that these populations can persist with relatively modest increases in landscape connectivity. 

“If we can maintain healthy populations of mountain lions — a species that roams widely and requires such large spaces — here in greater Los Angeles, that bodes well for our ability to conserve large carnivores anywhere," Benson continued within the report, published in <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19395582">Ecological Applications</a>.

Currently, the two <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mountain-lions-afraid-humans/">mountain lion</a> species in question are living in a heavily human-populated area and are isolated by highways and other development. Benson and his colleagues used population viability modeling to predict the rate of extinction based on genetic and demographic risk factors.

The first issue at hand is lack of genetic diversity due to the lions’ isolation. Inbreeding depression — a phenomenon in which survival and reproduction of specific animals decline due to low genetic diversity — is expected to worsen within the next 50 years.

[caption id="attachment_1869999" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/mountain-lion.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1869999" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/mountain-lion.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="433" /></a> Image Credit: National Park Service[/caption]

"Our research has shown that the mountain lions in the coastal Santa Ana Mountain Range are primarily put at risk by restriction of their movement across Interstate 15, and their high mortality rates from vehicle collisions and being killed after they have killed unprotected pets or livestock," said co-author T. Winston Vickers, an associate veterinarian at the <a href="https://www2.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/whc/">University of California, Davis Karen C. Drayer Wildlife Health Center</a>. "Efforts are underway with highway engineers to improve wildlife crossing structures or build new ones on both the I-15 and 101 freeways to enhance movement into and out of both mountain ranges."

Although large carnivore conservation is plausible, it takes effort, money, and hard work from the humans living within the urbanized areas. The researchers state that increasing connectivity between these two species can make a massive difference for both populations.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main image Credit: Johanna Turner

Southern California mountain lions at risk of extinction within 50 years

According to a new study from researchers at the University...

A recent investigation into deer populations across the eastern United States has revealed that coyotes do not affect deer numbers on a large scale. The study revealed that the establishment of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/eastern-coyotes-wolves/">coyote</a> predators in new areas has not affected the number of deer available for hunters. 

Study co-author Roland Kays is a wildlife biologist at the <a href="https://naturalsciences.org/">North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences</a> and North Carolina State University.

"With wolves and cougars extinct in most of the eastern U.S., white-tailed deer have become abundant, sometimes overabundant,” said Kays. “Coyotes moved in as the new top predator of the east, but they aren't nearly as effective deer hunters as wolves, so there's been a lot of controversy about whether these medium-sized predators can really limit deer populations at large scales.”

Some previous studies which involved experimentally removing coyotes showed that deer numbers increased, while others showed no effect. For the current study, the researchers analyzed deer population trends from 1981 to 2014 using data from 384 counties across six eastern states. 

“Our study is unique because it's the first to link coyote presence to changes in deer population at a large scale,” said Bragina. “Getting the big-picture of the interactions between these species helps inform the management practices of these species by hunting agencies.”


Using hunting records from state wildlife agencies, the team looked for changes in the number of deer harvested after coyote arrival and establishment in an area. The experts found a general increase in the number of harvested deer in all states, and found no consistent crash in harvest numbers following coyote arrival.

“We see direct evidence of coyote predation on deer when looking at coyote scat or even spotting them with camera traps carrying off deer fawns,” said study co-author Chris Deperno. “Though coyotes are known to kill adult deer, predation is focused primarily on vulnerable individuals that are sick, injured or in late stage pregnancy. Predation of healthy adults is uncommon.”

The researchers explained that this dynamic could potentially change as coyotes are becoming more prevalent across the eastern United States. In addition, future habitat changes may influence how these species interact.

The study is published in <a href="https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19372817">The Journal of Wildlife Management</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The spread of coyotes in the eastern US hasn’t affected deer numbers

A recent investigation into deer populations across the eastern United...

Cat Island, otherwise known as Aoshima, Japan, became a social media sensation a few years ago as a result of its vast number of cat inhabitants. With over one hundred cats on the island, cats outnumber people<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2015/03/a-visit-to-aoshima-a-cat-island-in-japan/386647/"> six to one</a>.

Aoshima is a mile-long, unpretentious fishing island, previously unknown to travelers. But then <a href="http://www.therakyatpost.com/world/2015/03/03/its-raining-cats-and-tourists-on-aoshima/">cats were introduced</a> onto the island to help reduce the mice population. Without proper spay/neuter programs in place, the cat population and, subsequently, the number of tourists grew.

Aoshima is not the only tourist destination beloved for their cat population; places such as Athens and Jerusalem are also known for their feline companions. While the cats can be seen as a unique way to bring tourists into an area, their welfare may be jeopardized without the necessary care.

An animal activist who visited Aoshima observed cats living in a worrying state. According to her<a href="https://petcentral.chewy.com/pet-parenting-pet-stories-visiting-japans-cat-islands/"> post on Chewy.com</a>, roughly one-third of the cats were young kittens with untreated upper respiratory infections. She notes that the locals have adopted a hands-off approach towards the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cats-friendly-cues-humans/">cats</a>, preferring for nature to take its course rather than provide the cats with medical care.

A three-year <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10888705.2017.1379401">study</a> of outdoor cats living in Onomichi, Japan also found a high number of cats living in poor health. In the first year of research, half the outdoor cats were in poor physical condition. By the third year, many of the cats living in poor conditions had disappeared, likely dying from illness.

Travelers who quickly visit the cats for a few photos before heading on to the next attraction may not pick up on the signs of poor welfare. Additionally, the sick cats may hide from tourists while the healthy cats socialize, distorting tourists’ perceptions of the cats’ welfare. If travelers do see cats in a distressed state, they may be disheartened by the experience and be less likely to visit the destination again,<a href="https://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-stray-cats-dogs-tourism.html"> research shows</a>.

But, the situation does not have to be so murky. Communities can embrace the outdoor cats as a tourist attraction to better enable them to care for the animals.

The small, mystical town of Kotor, Montenegro is home to many outdoor cats who are often found lounging on the cobbled streets. The locals have welcomed the cats and travelers can find plenty of cat souvenirs sold at shops across the town. Kotor even has a <a href="http://catsmuseum.org/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=83&amp;Itemid=271&amp;lang=en">cat museum</a> that showcases items such as cat artifacts and postcards. The small admission fee is used to feed and care for the cats.

For residents of Kotor, the cats seem to bring a sense of pride and community. They are even considered a symbol of the city by some.

“The cats all look healthy, well-cared for – not what you would imagine from strays. On closer inspection, you can spot bowls of food and water left by shop owners and restaurant staff, and you can find the most confident cats lounging on the laps of tourists, purring for affection,” Culture Trip<a href="https://theculturetrip.com/europe/montenegro/articles/bizarre-history-kotors-fascination-cats/"> notes</a>.

In Kotor, cats and tourism are intertwined in a way that benefits both the travelers and locals. But not all relationships between cats and tourism are positive.

In some cases, outdoor cats may clash with tourists. The beachside resort El Dorado Royale in Mexico had a large number of cats who hung out around the resort. Guests began to complain about the cats howling at night and acting bold, according to<a href="https://fearfreehappyhomes.com/mexican-resort-goes-all-out-for-feral-cats/"> Fear Free Happy Homes</a>. 

In the face of this tricky situation, the resort took a creative route. They spayed and neutered the cats to control the population and invited a local animal welfare organization to open up a cat café at the resort. The cats even received their own bungalows modeled after the hotel rooms at the resort.

As for the cats on the island of Aoshima, local papers<a href="https://soranews24.com/2018/02/24/japans-most-famous-cat-island-moving-towards-plan-to-spay-neuter-all-of-its-kitty-inhabitants/"> reported</a> last year that the cats were being cared for by an animal welfare organization and the city had designated funds for spay and neuter.

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By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

The complex relationship between outdoor cats and tourism

Cat Island, otherwise known as Aoshima, Japan, became a social...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a> shows that like birds, alligators analyze and chart sound location via neural maps. 

This similar hearing method between bird and reptile is most likely due to their prehistoric common ancestors. The University of Maryland’s Distinguished University Professor of Biology Catherine Carr, along with her colleague from the <a href="https://www.tum.de/en/">Technische Universität München</a>, Lutz Kettler, made the discovery. 

Their findings appear March 18th in the <a href="http://www.jneurosci.org/">Journal of Neuroscience</a>.

Birds and <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/american-alligators-6-million-years-older-previously-believed/">alligators</a> are both descendants of the archosaur, a creature that came before the dinosaurs, about 246 million years ago. The archosaur eventually evolved into two separate species — one that led to the creation of alligators, and another to dinosaurs. 

The archosaur-spawned dinosaurs that didn’t die out during the mass extinction event 66 million years ago, evolved into modern day birds.

"Our research strongly suggests that this particular hearing strategy first evolved in their common ancestor," Carr explained. "The other option, that they independently evolved the same complex strategy, seems very unlikely."

Carr and Kettler outfitted 40 anesthetized American Alligators with headphones and played tones to measure the response of the alligators’ nucleus laminaris, the structure located in their brain stems responsible for processing auditory signals. The researchers found that alligators form neural maps similar to barn owls and chickens. 

"We know so little about dinosaurs," Carr said. "Comparative studies such as this one, which identify common traits extending back through evolutionary time add to our understanding of their biology."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Ruth Elsey Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries

Alligators and birds have similar hearing thanks to dinosaur ancestors

A new study from the University of Maryland shows that...

Rising shipping traffic may lead to more widespread invasive species. As global shipping traffic increases over the next 30 years, so will the distribution of invasive species around the world. The findings of a study from <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a> suggest that the rising demand for shipping will promote the spread of non-native pests even more than the effects of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/nyc-mayor-plans-climate-change/">climate change</a>. 

Study senior author Brian Leung is an associate professor in McGill's Department of Biology and School of Environment.

“Biological invasions are believed to be a major driver of biodiversity change, and cause billions of dollars in economic damages annually,” said Professor Leung. “Our models show that the emerging global shipping network could yield a three-fold to 20-fold increase in global marine invasion risk between now and 2050.”

Shipping accounts for 80 percent of world trade, as well as 60 to 90 percent of the introduction of exotic species into new territories. Ships often transport living organisms through ballast water, which is taken up to stabilize the boat. Creatures are also frequently transported after they attach themselves to the hulls of ships.

“To understand how biological invasions will change, we need to understand how shipping patterns could change,” said study lead author and graduate student Anthony Sardain. “Our study suggests that, unless appropriate action is taken, we could anticipate an exponential increase in such invasions, with potentially huge economic and ecological consequences.”

The researchers pointed out that the costs of biological invasions are being recognized and have led to major policy initiatives like the international Ballast Water Management Convention, which was introduced in 2017.

“While it's too early to gauge the efficacy of the Convention globally, our work suggests it is in the right direction,” said Professor Leung.

Using socioeconomic-growth scenarios developed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the researchers created computer models to project the future rates of global shipping traffic. 

It is not entirely clear how wealth and populations will increase, which leads to uncertainty regarding the potential demand for products from abroad. Due to this uncertainty, the experts determined that the rate of biological invasion could increase by anywhere from 3 to 20 times the current rate. 

“Despite this large range, all scenarios point to an increase in both shipping and invasions,” said Sardain. “That should alert us to the gravity of the situation, and the importance of measures to curtail biological invasions.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natsustain">Nature Sustainability</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

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Rising shipping traffic may lead to more widespread invasive species

Rising shipping traffic may lead to more widespread invasive species....

The digestive systems of some animals, including <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cows-antibiotic-resistant-superbugs/">cows</a>, sheep, antelopes, and deer, depend on gravity to sort out bits of food once they have reached the stomach. In order for this process to work, the stomach must stay in the same position relative to gravity whether the animal is standing up or lying down. 

This explains why cows always lie down on their chests and rarely ever lie down on their sides. With this in mind, experts at the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> theorized that animals who digest their food in a different way would be more likely to lie on their sides. To investigate, the researchers observed 250 mammals resting in more than 30,000 positions. 

The study revealed that the team’s theory was not entirely true, as the body size of the animal was found to be a better predictor of resting position than digestion type. For example, small animals with short legs spend a lot of time lying on their chests.

[caption id="attachment_1870478" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/elephant-resting.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870478" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/elephant-resting.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="366" /></a> Elephant resting, Image Credit: Christian Schiffmann[/caption]

“The shorter the distance of the mid-body to the floor, the more likely the animals are to lie down," said Professor Marcus Clauss.

Bigger animals are more likely to lie completely on their sides, which is more comfortable for their larger legs. However,  large animals such as horses also tend to rest standing up.

Elephants were found to lie on their sides more often than any other herbivore. On the other hand, older elephants avoid lying down because they have a hard time getting back up.

“For that reason it's important that mounds of sand are available to elephants in zoos. If they are propped up slightly when lying down, even older animals can get up much more easily,” explained study co-author and elephant specialist Christian Schiffman.

[caption id="attachment_1870479" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/zebra-resting.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1870479" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/zebra-resting.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> Zebras lie on their chest, Image Credit: Christian Schiffmann[/caption]

Hippos seem to remain flexible and continue to lie on their sides into old age. The kangaroo was the only animal observed in the study that occasionally rests on its back. 

The research is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jmammal">Journal of Mammalogy</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: Christian Schiffmann

Body size influences the resting positions of most animals

The digestive systems of some animals, including cows, sheep, antelopes,...

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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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