If you've ever watched songbirds squabble at a backyard feeder, you've seen a small glimpse of the competition animals face for limited resources. 



While some species seem to be constantly at odds, others - even those that appear quite similar - manage to coexist in surprising harmony.



For decades, a classic theory from the field of ecology has suggested that forest-dwelling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/two-genes-are-responsible-for-the-rapid-diversification-of-warblers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warblers</a> share trees by using different parts of them. 



Now, a new study adds a modern twist to that idea and shows it may be more complicated than it seems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-revisiting-a-classic-idea">Revisiting a classic idea </h2>



The research, conducted by scientists at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Penn State</a> and the American Bird Conservancy, revisits an influential idea that was first proposed by ecologist Robert MacArthur in the 1950s.



MacArthur observed that several species of warblers could live in the same tree without crowding each other out, simply by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-social-networks-greatly-influence-their-food-choices/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">foraging</a> in different zones - some near the trunk, others at the tips of branches, and at varying heights.



This concept has been a staple in biology textbooks ever since. But thanks to DNA analysis and decades of fieldwork, the new study suggests that the story goes deeper.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-close-look-at-species-interactions">A close look at species interactions </h2>



Study co-author David Toews is the Louis Martarano Career Development Professor of Biology in the Penn State Eberly College of Science.



“MacArthur suggested that we needed to look more closely at species interactions. We wanted to revisit this idea with modern technology, using molecular methods and an evolutionary perspective that weren’t available in MacArthur’s time," explained Professor Toews.



"This allowed us to not only directly quantify their diet, but also better understand how warblers are partitioning their habitat and how what we see today may have been shaped by competition over the warbler’s evolutionary history.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-analyzing-bird-competition">Analyzing bird competition </h2>



The team observed 13 warbler species that nest in northeastern New York forests during the summer. 



Over 20 years, the researchers tracked where in the trees each bird preferred to forage - how high up they searched, how dense the foliage was, and how close they stayed to the trunk.



The experts also collected fecal samples during five breeding seasons to analyze what the birds were eating.



Using a technique called fecal meta-barcoding, they could extract insect DNA to identify prey species. Alongside this, they studied the physical traits of each bird, including size and beak shape, using public databases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-songbird-foraging-behaviors">Songbird foraging behaviors </h2>



The findings showed that each bird species did indeed forage in slightly different ways. "The implication from MacArthur’s study is that, if the birds are foraging in different areas of the tree, then they are eating different things,” said Professor Toews.



“MacArthur tried to test this using data from his colleagues, who attempted to analyze fragments of insects from stomach contents, but this was biased toward fragments that weren’t digested, and they were extremely difficult to identify."



"Now, we can extract DNA from fecal samples and use a technique called fecal meta-barcoding to see which insect species have been eaten by birds.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pressures-over-evolutionary-timescales">Pressures over evolutionary timescales </h2>



While the birds' movements and strategies differed clearly - smaller species tended to hover more, and those with longer legs stayed closer to the ground - their diets were surprisingly similar.



Eliot Miller, BirdsPlus Index Manager at the American Bird Conservancy, noted that a bird's and shape are products of many pressures operating over evolutionary timescales.



“But numerous studies, including our own, show that chief amongst these pressures is foraging behavior,” said Miller.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-subtle-differences-in-songbird-diets">Subtle differences in songbird diets</h2>



The DNA analysis revealed that although the warblers fed on thousands of insect and spider species, there was a great deal of overlap in their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-plantations-limit-native-birds-diets/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">diets</a>.



“The birds we studied collectively consumed thousands of arthropod species, and there was a considerable amount of overlap in their diets,” said Professor Toews.



“The differences in diet were quite subtle, and we found that closely related species had more similar diets. This suggests that MacArthur’s emphasis on diet may have been partially misplaced, though the general idea of portioning their resources by foraging in different parts of the trees is sound.”



Many birds were simply taking advantage of what was available. Professor Toews noted that more than 75% of fecal samples contained the most common insect in the area, a snipefly, and more than half of the samples contained a common, invasive leaf weevil.



This kind of opportunistic feeding may suggest that while <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/competition-limits-the-ranges-of-tropical-mountain-birds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">competition</a> shaped the songbirds’ physical traits and foraging strategies, diet may not have played as strong a role in pushing species apart.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-migration-and-competition">Bird migration and competition </h2>



“Because of the notable differences in foraging behavior, we believe that competition has shaped how these species forage today, as well as how they evolved to forage over evolutionary time,” Miller said. 



“But we don’t see many differences in diet, so it’s likely that other forces may have more directly influenced warbler evolution. It is worth noting that these birds migrate to Central and South America over the winter, so competition for resources in those locations as well as the stress of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-benefit-from-social-networks-during-migration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">migration</a> may also shape the traits we see today.”



The researchers are planning future studies to look more closely at what warblers eat during their time in the tropics and how the nutritional value of their food might vary. 



This could offer deeper insight into how competition and migration shape these songbirds beyond their breeding grounds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-more-nuanced-view-of-coexistence">A more nuanced view of coexistence</h2>



“MacArthur was right in that these warblers are partitioning their habitat in fine ways, but it’s a little more complex than he originally thought,” said Professor Toews.



“People often observe competitive interactions between species at their bird feeders, and studies like this show how these kinds of interactions that happened hundreds or thousands of years ago can shape the species we see today.”



The takeaway? Even birds that seem to get along may be playing out a long, slow competition - one that stretches across trees, continents, and generations.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2025.0001" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biology Letters</a>.



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Bird competition: How warblers share trees without fighting

If you've ever watched songbirds squabble at a backyard feeder, you've seen a small glimpse of the competition animals face for limited resources. While some species seem to be constantly at odds, others - even those that appear quite similar - manage to coexist in surprising harmony. For decades, a classic theory from the field of ecology has suggested that forest-dwelling warblers share trees by using different parts of them. Now, a new study adds a modern twist to that idea and shows it may be more...

Slow-moving wildlife protection process puts many species at risk. Hundreds of animal species are currently at risk due to a slow-moving wildlife protection process for international wildlife trade that can take up to two decades to complete, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

"New trends in wildlife trade can develop quickly, with some species going from common to near extinction in just a few years," said co-author Eyal Frank, an assistant professor at the <a href="https://harris.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy</a>. "A policymaking process needs to respond quickly to new information in order to prevent extinction for hundreds of animals and plants. That's why it's absolutely critical that policymakers allow science to inform a speedy protection process."

Frank and co-author David Wilcove of the <a href="https://environment.princeton.edu/">Princeton University Environmental Institute</a>, examined 958 species on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List that are endangered due to international trade. Of those, they found that 28% of these species are not protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the main international establishment for preventing species extinction via international wildlife trade.

Furthermore, Frank and Wilcove found that 62% of those species protected by CITES had to wait as long as 19 years to be granted protections. Other species that have been on the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/seven-bee-species-put-endangered-species-list/">Red List</a> for 24 years are still waiting for that protection to be granted. And yet, somehow 36% of species gained CITES prior to being on the Red List

"CITES and the Red List are two of the most important tools we have to save wildlife threatened by international trade. It's vital that these two institutions work together closely and quickly to stop the killing," Wilcove said.

In May, international wildlife authorities will meet at the CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP) to vote on wildlife trade restrictions. Wilcove and Frank’s findings will hopefully draw necessary attention to the need for a faster protection process. Otherwise, species waiting for protection may transition from being endangered to being extinct.

Frank and Wilcove suggest that any nation that is a member of CITES advocate for Red List species threatened by international trade be protected. Therefore, if and when new species in need of protection are presented to CITES, a vote can be held promptly.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Slow-moving wildlife protection process puts many species at risk

Slow-moving wildlife protection process puts many species at risk. Hundreds...

Pollinators existed long before flowers, new research suggests. Which came first, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossils-butterflies-existed-flowers/">flower or the pollinator</a>? 

The mutually beneficial relationship between angiosperms (flowering plants) and pollinating insects is the result of millions of years of coevolution. 

Angiosperms evolved special adaptations to attract pollinators, who in turn became masters at gathering nectar and spreading pollen. 

But as far as which came first, a new study is shedding insight on some of the Earth's earliest pollinators which evolved long before flowers started blooming. 

The research, published in the journal Gondwana Research, shows that early insects likely first pollinated gymnosperms like conifers until flowering plants evolved in the Cretaceous period.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.paleo.ru/museum-en/audioguide/">Borissiak Palaeontological Institute</a> in Russia focused on a late Jurassic insect, the Archocyrtus kovalevi fly, which was first described in 1996. 

After examining the specimen, the researchers found that it contained an extremely long proboscis which the fly would have used to suck up nectar from plants. The drinking straw-like mouthpart was nearly twice as long as the insect itself. 

Previously it was assumed that the appendage was actually the imprint of a piece of vegetation in a fossil of the specimen, but the researchers realized it was actually a body part. 

Archocyrtus kovalevi is about 40 million years older than the emergence of angiosperms, and so the discovery of its nectar-sucking proboscis is remarkable. 

“Finding a fossil insect of that age with such a wonderfully long proboscis is like finding a caveman with an AK-47,” Alexander Khramov, the lead author of the study, told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2199471-pollinators-may-have-evolved-40-million-years-before-flowers-existed/??utm_medium=NLC&amp;utm_source=NSNS&amp;utm_campaign=2019-0412-GLOBAL-NSDAY&amp;utm_content=NSDAY">New Scientist</a>. 

The long proboscis may have aided the insect as it gathered up nectar from gymnosperm cones. 

Another potential explanation for the insect is that angiosperms evolved sooner than fossil records show, but the researchers think this is probably not the case. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pollinators existed long before flowers, new research suggests

Pollinators existed long before flowers, new research suggests. Which came...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a> have conducted the first statistical analysis of shark attacks worldwide using data collected over a 55-year period from 1960 to 2015. The experts found that even though the number of shark attacks has increased over time, the risk of shark attacks remains low.

In 2015, there was a spike in the number of shark attacks in North Carolina. Study lead author Stephen Midway, an assistant professor in LSU’s Department of Oceanography &amp; Coastal Sciences, wanted to know if this rate of attack was unusual or if it was normal. 


“I was curious what the likelihood of shark attacks is in a certain number of years at different places around the world. While shark attacks are often reported in numbers, we factored in the regional human populations to determine the rate of shark attacks worldwide. I think this information could contribute to a more scientifically grounded discussion about sharks in general and help with the management and conservation of them,” said Professor Midway.

The team investigated specific regions within the United States, Australia, and South Africa that had the highest number of shark attacks. The researchers found that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sharks-adapted-changing-world/">shark</a> attack rates, although extremely low, have doubled over the past 20 years in highly populated regions such as the eastern coast of the U.S. and Southern Australia.

“As development increases along the coast and in beach communities, more residents and tourists frequent these waters. With more people in the water, the chance for a shark attack increases. However, I must stress the fact that not all places across the globe saw an increase. And even in the places where we saw an increase, the chances were still one in several million.”

From 1960 to 2015, there were 1,215 reported shark attacks in the United States, which mostly resulted in minor skin injuries comparable to a dog bite. Over the 55 years, there were 24 fatal attacks.

“Humans have always demonized sharks because they are elusive and live in an environment that's not native to us - the sea,” said study co-author George Burgess of the University of Florida. “We would like people to know that these shark attack events need to be put into perspective whenever they occur. This study helps us step back and look at the big picture.”

Professor Midway added, “We ought to think of the risk of a shark attack like we would think of the risk of a car accident. For example, we don't assess our personal risk of getting into a car accident by the national statistics on car accidents year over year. We think about our specific car, the weather, the road conditions and other very local factors.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The risk of shark attacks remains low and varies by region

Researchers at Louisiana State University have conducted the first statistical...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> have analyzed the future economic conditions that would result from achieving the Paris Agreement’s global warming target compared with the current rate of warming, which is referred to as a “business as usual” scenario. They found that limiting <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dietary-changes-slow-global-warming/">global warming</a> to 1.5 degrees Celsius would protect millions of tons of fish caught by fisheries and billions of dollars in annual revenues.

The study also revealed that upholding the Paris Agreement would result in benefits for 75 percent of maritime countries, and the largest gains would be made in developing countries.

“Achieving the Agreement's target could increase global fishers' revenues by $4.6 billion annually, seafood workers' income by $3.7 billion, and reduce household seafood expenditures by $5.4 billion,” said study lead author Professor Rashid Sumaila. “The largest gains will occur in developing country waters, such as Kiribati, the Maldives and Indonesia, which are at greatest risks due to warming temperatures and rely the most on fish for food security, incomes and employment.”

The researchers determined that a scenario with limited warming would increase the total mass, or biomass, of the highest profiting fish species by 6.5 percent, with an average increase of 8.4 percent in the waters of developing countries.

“Larger fish biomass and higher ocean productivity means higher catch potential, so with the exception of Europe, all continents will benefit from the Paris Agreement,” said study co-author Travis Tai. “Countries in places like northern Europe, on the other hand, stand to gain more fish as they move towards the poles in search of colder waters under global warming. They will gain less if we limit warming, but in many cases, the losses are buffered by increases in fish prices.”

For example, if warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Russia is projected to see reduced catches by 25 percent, including lower biomass of pollock and cod.

“However, a projected 19 percent increase in fish prices, known as 'price effect,' should result in a negligible overall loss of less than two percent in fishers' revenues in Russia,” said study co-author William Cheung. “Conversely, for the U.S., fishing revenues are expected to decrease by eight per cent due to price effects but will be offset by a 21 per cent increase in catch potential.”


On a global scale, fisheries provide approximately 260 million jobs and many of these are in large developing countries. Furthermore, seafood products are a critical source of income for many developing countries.

“A steady supply of fish is essential to support these jobs, food sovereignty, and human well-being,” said Professor Sumaila. “Adapting to existing climate change effects and implementing the Paris Agreement is crucial for the future of the planet's ocean fisheries, while facing the growing challenges of supporting healthy and peaceful societies into the future.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://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

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: BANITAtour / Pixabay

Fisheries could lose billions of dollars from global warming

Scientists at the University of British Columbia have analyzed the...

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...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"] Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected...

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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