On April 8, 2024, millions across North America paused to watch a rare and awe-inspiring celestial event. A group of scientists was there, prepared to track bird behavior during the total solar eclipse.



The researchers discovered that birds fell unusually quiet. This behavior, however, only occurred in areas where the sun was almost completely obscured.



The research was led by scientists from <a href="https://www.loggerhead.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Loggerhead Instruments</a> and the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the <a href="https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a>.



The experts analyzed data from 344 Haikubox devices (small, community-powered acoustic monitors spread across the continent). This was the first large-scale study to use the Haikubox network for scientific analysis. 



A neural network detected changes in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-songs-human-speech-common-vocal-genetic-origin-syrinx/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bird vocalizations</a> while controlling for human interference.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-did-birds-go-silent">Did birds go silent?</h2>



“Anecdotal evidence has long suggested that birds fall silent or exhibit nighttime <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-behavior-productivity-being-directly-impacted-by-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">behaviors</a> during a total solar eclipse,” said Dr. David Mann, lead author of the study and researcher at Loggerhead Instruments.



“Our study shows that, on average, birds do get quiet during and just after totality, but we also learned that this behavior is strongly linked to the degree of darkness experienced."



The findings confirmed that birds generally reduced their vocal activity during totality - but only in areas where the eclipse brought more than 99% obscuration. This threshold made all the difference.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bird-reactions-to-the-eclipse-varied">Bird reactions to the eclipse varied </h2>



Interestingly, not all birds responded the same way. Even birds of the same species behaved differently at different locations. 



For example, black-capped <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chickadees-are-genetically-inclined-to-have-a-remarkable-memory/">chickadees</a> in New York remained silent well after totality. The same birds in Vermont became more vocal during and just after the darkest moment.



Other examples were just as varied. Some American robins in Kentucky continued singing through the eclipse.



In contrast, pine siskins in Maine fell completely silent. These site-to-site variations left researchers with more questions than answers.



“The variability in bird responses and site differences was fascinating,” said Dr. Mann. "We really don’t know why birds had such different responses to the total darkness during the eclipse." 



"Despite examining factors like temperature, cloud cover, and wind speed, we found no significant relationship with changes in vocalization rates." 



"This strongly suggests that the sudden total darkness and associated changes in wind and temperature were the primary drivers of the observed behavioral shifts.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-human-noise-out-of-the-data">Keeping human noise out of the data</h2>



One key feature of the study was its effort to isolate the human factor. Haikubox data that may have been influenced by people nearby was adjusted accordingly.



This helped ensure the birds’ behavior was truly in response to the eclipse and not to excited human activity.



“Our first, quick look at Haikubox data just a few hours after the eclipse showed a large dip in bird vocalizations around the time of peak totality,” said Dr. Mann.



“When we dove deeper into the data and removed any sites where humans may have influenced the birds’ behaviors, we found a much more complicated story. People were pretty excited about the <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/total-solar-eclipse-captured-from-one-million-miles-away/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">total solar eclipse</a>, and their celebrations likely affected the birds’ reactions.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-monitoring-nature-using-sound">Monitoring nature using sound</h2>



The Haikubox platform is built on the idea that everyday people can help monitor the natural world using sound. 



Each device records local bird vocalizations and uploads them to a central database. It’s a non-intrusive way to gather wildlife behavior data at scale, and it doesn't require a team of observers in the field.



“In a time when technology often pulls us away from the natural world, Haikubox does the opposite - it fosters a deeper connection to it. By combining AI technology with a love for the environment, Haikubox helps people engage with nature in a modern and educational way,” noted Dr. Mann.



This passive acoustic monitoring allows scientists to study how animals respond to natural events across large areas - without disrupting them.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-learning-from-bird-behavior">Learning from bird behavior</h2>



Beyond eclipses, the study may have broader implications for understanding how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/habitat-and-evolution-shape-the-unique-sounds-of-birds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a> react to sudden changes in light.



“Our findings can inform future research on the impacts of light pollution and sudden changes in light levels on bird behavior," noted Dr. Mann.



“Furthermore, it proves that when we combine the power of community science with clever technology, we can learn amazing things about wildlife without disturbing them, which may inform future continental-scale studies."



The researchers hope this will inspire more people to get involved in community science. More participants also means expanding the listening network.



“Passive acoustic monitoring is a terrific tool for gathering data about animal behavior, and regular folks play an important role in widening our listening network,” said Dr. Mann.



“Putting a Haikubox in your yard helps us add to the already 1 billion acoustic recordings we’ve gathered. Our community is enabling tomorrow’s scientific discoveries.”



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-025-94901-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scientific Reports</a>.



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Darkness at noon: What the 2024 eclipse revealed about bird behavior

On April 8, 2024, millions across North America paused to watch a rare and awe-inspiring celestial event. A group of scientists was there, prepared to track bird behavior during the total solar eclipse. The researchers discovered that birds fell unusually quiet. This behavior, however, only occurred in areas where the sun was almost completely obscured. The research was led by scientists from Loggerhead Instruments and the K. Lisa Yang Center for Conservation Bioacoustics at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The experts analyzed data from 344 Haikubox devices (small, community-powered...

When I was 6 or 7, a package came for me. I awaited it breathlessly, having never received more than a card in the mail. It’s contents would complete the gift my mother had given me … for Christmas or my birthday, I don’t remember. Since both were in winter, I’d had to wait several months until Chicago weather conditions relented and shipping conditions were safe. You see, the contents of the package were alive. 

Some may remember having received their own Grow a Frogs—distributed by a company that I was mildly surprised to learn <a href="https://www.growafrog.com/">still exists</a>. The idea was this: a loving relative purchased a kit at a science supply store and then placed an order for the tadpole that would inhabit the tiny plastic tank. It would then metamorphose into a full grown frog, given the proper care. It was, really, just a more advanced incarnation of Sea Monkeys. 

Reader: if you were one of these lucky kids, I hope your initial experience was less traumatizing. What arrived that spring day was a small baggie of blue water, more suited to holding illicit substances than a living amphibian larvae. Bobbing in the murky cerulean liquid—which appeared to have been scooped from the bottom of a urinal—was a deliquescing comma-shaped form. The only thing growing from that tadpole was some kind of aquatic mold. My Grow a Frog was unambiguously deceased. Early pet ownership is nothing if not an object lesson in mortality. 

A phone call and a week or two later, another package arrived. 

This one, which contained an identical baggy of water, contained the promised larvae, squirming and ramming against its plastic prison. This <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tadpoles-regenerate-tails-cell/">tadpole</a> would, indeed, grow into an African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), so named for the unique claws on the first three toes of its hind legs, unique to the species. Within months, the translucent blob had sprouted legs, absorbed its tail, and become a tiny, web-footed creature with the charming habit of shoving food into its mouth with its front legs. In retrospect, I believe it was a female due to its protuberant genitalia, though I can’t be sure. I dubbed her Jetsam. From there, she continued to grow, eventually reaching the size of my palm.

One day, while I was cleaning her tank, something awful happened. Jetsam, who had been comfortably ensconced in a glass of water, made a run for it. For a predominantly aquatic creature, she made impressive progress across the laminate of the kitchen counter and launched herself into the kitchen sink. I grabbed for her and, for a moment, had her in my fist. But, with surprising force, she squelched her way from my grasp and disappeared down the drain. Impressive on an evolutionary level, to be sure. How many of her wild conspecifics had executed similar maneuvers when faced with the fish and birds that prey upon them in their native southern Africa? But, for a first grader, it was desolating. I’d failed my poor pet and allowed her to be sucked into the horrors of the suburban Chicago sewage system.

In hysterics, I conveyed the situation to my parents through a film of snot and tears. My father, ever the pragmatist, proceeded to remove the u-bend pipe beneath the sink. A deluge of solidified grease and other unspeakable things poured from the pipe into the bucket below. And, finally, miraculously, my frog plopped into the putrid mess, apparently unphased.

Such is the indomitable constitution of the African clawed frog (Xenopus sp.), a genus recently discovered to <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0142823">contain close to 30 species</a>, many of them difficult to differentiate. Xenopus laevis and Xenopus tropicalis are the most-studied. Largely aquatic, this amphibian has nonetheless managed to invade most continents and has proven adept at overland travel provided that the surrounding environment is not too arid. Transported across the world due to its utility as a laboratory animal, and, latterly, as a novelty pet, it has adapted to a wide variety of habitats. Native to southern Africa from Angola to Namibia, <a href="http://www.gt-ibma.eu/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/10-2012_Measey-et-al_Ongoing-invasions-of-the-African-clawed-frog.pdf">it has invaded</a> some 15 countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. Like the American bullfrog  (Lithobates catesbeianus) and the cane toad (Rhinella marina), the African clawed frog has proven to be an amphibian cosmopolitan.

It all started when in 1930 it was discovered by scientist Lancelot Hogben that Xenopus laevis could be used to test for human pregnancy. When injected with the urine of a pregnant woman, which contains the hormone chorionic gonadotropin, female frogs would begin to lay eggs and males would produce sperm. Within the next decade, enormous numbers of clawed frogs were sold to laboratories for use in such tests. Initially wild-caught specimens met the demand, but the species proved easy to breed in captivity, further facilitating its takeover of the pregnancy test industry. Xenopus also proved to be a useful model organism and ultimately became one of the most studied animals in the world. Xenopus tropicalis was the first amphibian to have its genome sequenced <a href="https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/first-frog-genome-sequenced">in 2010</a>.

By the 1960s, more advanced (and less horrifying) means emerged for determining whether a woman was in the family way. (I mean, really, can you imagine how different sitcoms would be if the ingenue had to stick a syringe into a frog to determine whether or not she was expecting?) Having outlived their usefulness, innumerable Xenopus were dumped into nearby waterways to fend for themselves. For them, this was probably all to the good. I’d certainly rather live out my life in a ditch than spend my days dodging hypodermics full of pee. 

For the environment, and the native organisms inhabiting those waterways, not so much. African clawed frogs are voracious eaters and nightmarishly fecund to boot, producing upwards of 30,000 eggs at a time. And they can do this several times over a season. They are particularly well-adapted to colonization of man-made bodies of water that have few other occupants. In these cases, they may subsist through cannibalism of their own tadpoles, which are capable of feeding on microscopic organisms as small as viruses and can thus extract nutrients from even relatively lifeless cesspools.

[caption id="attachment_1873921" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/african-clawed-frog.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1873921" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/african-clawed-frog.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="391" /></a> Image Credit: Brian Gratwicke[/caption]

In natural bodies of water, they can seriously impact the survival of native species. Their adaptable nature allows them to thrive in all sorts of waterways. Though they prefer the still waters of ponds and lakes, they can inhabit flowing streams and rivers as well and can even tolerate extremely brackish water. Persistent populations exist in California and Arizona and they have been found in nine other states, including those with harsh winters. A specimen was found in a nearly frozen pond in Colorado in 1990 despite having evolved in a hot climate. They have also invaded the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico and Chile with varying degrees of success. In arid climates such as that of Arizona, the frogs typically remain in the bodies of water to which they were originally introduced, and may even survive periods of drought by burrowing into the mud for up to eight months. In damper climates that allow them to avoid dessication, they may migrate overland in large groups.

Among the best-studied of the invasive populations are those in California, where the Mediterranean climate has allowed the species to spread to multiple locations since it was first discovered there in 1968. In the Golden State, the frogs may pose a threat to a number of endangered species, including the tidewater goby (Eucyclogobius newberryi), the three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), and the California red-legged frog (Rana aurora draytonii), as well as to the near threatened western spadefoot toad (Spea hammondii). The species has also been implicated in declines of the western toad (Anaxyrus boreas) in some areas. This is likely due to its taste for the <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/3250/?utm_source=TrendMD&amp;utm_campaign=PeerJ_TrendMD_0&amp;utm_medium=TrendMD">eggs of other amphibians</a>, a welcome supplement to a diet comprised largely of aquatic invertebrates. Voracious predators, swarms of the frogs are capable of dismembering even larger food items using their hind legs. It is perhaps a small comfort that this brutal technique is most frequently used on carrion rather than on living prey.

Perhaps even more concerning than its consumption of native species is the fact that, along with the American bullfrog, the clawed frog appears to be one of the main vectors of chytridiomycosis (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis), a fungal disease that has devastated amphibian populations world-wide. A <a href="https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/10/12/03-0804_article">2004 analysis</a> of preserved specimens found evidence of the fungus dating as far back as 1938. The disease causes thickening of the skin, which frogs and other amphibians use in osmotic regulation. Infection is fatal to many species and has caused a number of extinctions. Interestingly, the African clawed frog appears to be unaffected. The tadpoles <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0191537">may even eat the zoospores</a>. 

I’m thus doubly glad that Flotsam didn’t succeed in her jailbreak. Had she survived her journey through the sewers—not unlikely given the dauntless nature of the species—she may have unwittingly become a web-footed Typhoid Mary. In fact, she lived another 10 years, alongside another frog and an equally intrepid feeder goldfish in a tank on my desk. The species has reached ages of up to 25 in captivity; her untimely demise was the result of a toxic slow-release feeder tablet intended to tide her over during a family vacation. A tragic end, to be sure, but at least she lived a life free of intravenous insult.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Main Image Credit: Brian Gratwicke

Quantum leap: The invasion of the African clawed frog

Atmospheric oxygen leads to the development of fingers over webbed digits. The presence of webbed fingers on an animal typically indicate that the species either lives in an aquatic environment, or gets around by gliding through the air, as these are where webbed fingers have an advantage. On land, free fingers allow us and many other species to grasp objects and move around easily. But how does the developing body decide whether its fingers should be webbed or free? 

New research published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/developmental-cell/home">Developmental Cell</a> has found that during embryo development, some animal species detect the presence of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/evolutionary-booms-oxygen-levels/">atmospheric oxygen</a>, which causes the removal of interdigital webbing.Atmospheric oxygen leads to the development of fingers over webbed digits

Amphibians and amniotes – which includes mammals, reptiles, and birds – can have webbed digits. Amniotes rely on interdigital cell death to form fingers, while amphibians have differential growth patterns between the digits and the areas between them, known as interdigital regions. The researchers found that removal of the interdigital membrane through cell death by amniotes depends on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Embryos are only able to produce ROS when they are exposed to sufficient oxygen levels during their development.

Because high oxygen levels are able to cause cell death in frogs, the researchers believe that this mechanism is shared by both amphibians and amniotes. 

“But amphibians do not employ cell death to shape their interdigital regions; it is the difference in growth rate between the digital and interdigital regions that will determine their final proportions,” explains Mikiko Tanaka of the <a href="https://www.titech.ac.jp/english/">Tokyo Institute of Technology</a>. “We think that interdigital cell death appeared in amphibians only as a by-product of the high oxygen levels, a first step in this evolutionary process. This new step eventually was integrated to the limb development and became essential to shape the limbs of modern amniotes.”

The study led by Tanaka involved analyzing embryos from a number of species. When oxygen levels were changed for chicken embryos – an amniote with interdigital cell death – this directly affected the number of dying cells. When oxygen levels were increased for African clawed frog embryos, interdigital cell death was induced, which is out of the norm for this amphibian.

[caption id="attachment_1873848" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Interdigital-Cell-Death-in-Tetrapods-.jpeg"><img class="wp-image-1873848" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Interdigital-Cell-Death-in-Tetrapods-.jpeg" alt="" width="650" height="231" /></a> How interdigital cell death and environmental oxygen are correlated in various tetrapods. Image Credit: Cordeiro et al. / Developmental Cell[/caption]

In an effort to expand their evolutionary perspective, the research team also studied cell death and ROS in the Japanese fire-bellied newt and the coqui frog. Similar to the African clawed frog, the Japanese fire-bellied newt had not interdigital cell death, but coqui frogs did have cell death in their interdigital regions. But one important distinction is that, unlike the other two amphibians, coqui frogs grow as terrestrial eggs and breathe oxygen from the air. “This way, we show both experimentally and comparatively that interdigital cell death is correlated with life history strategy and oxygen availability in tetrapods (four-legged vertebrates),” Tanaka says.

While these findings being related to ROS is interesting, particularly because ROS is usually considered a detriment in aging and fertility, Tanaka also explains that “while both amniotes and amphibians can have either free or webbed fingers, they are formed in different ways in these two groups. The new developmental mechanism acquired by amniotes – interdigital cell death – allowed for the evolution of a great variety of limb shapes, such as the lobed fingers of coots, and even removal of some fingers in horses and camels.”

For future research, the researchers want to figure out exactly which pathways are regulated by ROS during development. They also are looking to discover how cell death became a key part of the limb development of amniotes. Furthering our understanding of these processes could help us gain insight into how drugs that combat excessive ROS production (i.e. ethanol, phenytoin, and thalidomide) may cause development defects.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Paikong

Atmospheric oxygen leads to the development of fingers over webbed digits

Atmospheric oxygen leads to the development of fingers over webbed...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> are reporting that migratory hoverflies are critical for pollination and controlling crop pests as many other <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/insects-extinct-century/">insects</a> decline. 

The study has revealed that up to four billion hoverflies migrate to and from Britain each year, and that these numbers have remained largely stable over the last decade. 

Recent studies have found that more than 40 percent of insect species worldwide are threatened with extinction, which jeopardizes the important ecosystem services they provide like the pollination of crops.

"The number of migrating hoverflies coming and going over Britain was much higher than we had expected," said Dr. Karl Wotton. "They are widely considered to be the second most important pollinators, after bees."

"They are especially important pollinators of wildflowers, soft fruits and brassica crops, and their larvae prey on various species of aphids - which are the key crop pest in Europe. This dual role makes them uniquely beneficial to humans."

Migrating hoverflies, which have only a month-long life span, arrive in Britain in the spring and their descendants leave when the summer ends.

"We are net exporters of hoverflies," said Dr. Jason Chapman. "Each female can lay up to 400 eggs and, though many die as eggs or larvae, the departing population in autumn is larger than that arriving in spring."

"As well as their vital pollinating and aphid-eating roles, migrating hoverflies provide food for a range of predators, including birds."

The researchers studied the movements of hoverflies using radar data. They discovered that the hoverflies wait for favorable winds before migrating between Britain and mainland Europe.

"Migrating insects are generally bucking the trend of decline that we're seeing with many other insects," said Dr. Chapman. "Their mobility is probably a key part of this, as it allows them to move on to find the best habitats."

"Hoverflies are also generalists - the adults feed on many kinds of pollen and the larvae eat many aphid species. Considering that many beneficial insects are seriously declining, our results demonstrate that migrant hoverflies are key to maintaining essential ecosystem services."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Will Hawkes

Migrating hoverflies play an important role as other pollinators vanish

Scientists at the University of Exeter are reporting that migratory...

Why do zebras have such distinctive stripes? New research shows that a zebra’s black and white stripes are just one part of a cooling mechanism that helps regulate body temperature.

It’s long been thought that the zebra’s coat has something to do with keeping it cool. 

But now for the first time, researchers Alison Cobb and zoologist Dr. Stephen Cobb have discovered how after having the chance to study wild zebras in their natural habitat near the equator.

The two reported their findings in a new study in the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00222933.2019.1607600">Journal of Natural History.</a>

Allison and Stephen Cobb monitored and collected data from two zebras, a stallion and mare, in Kenya. 

Throughout different parts of the day, the researchers took temperature readings on the different stripes of the zebras and examined the sweat of the animals.

Zebras like all horses sweat as a means to keep cool and past research has shown that members of the horse family use a protein called latherin to help sweat move to the tips of the hairs on the coat

Latherin makes sweat frothy which in turn speeds up evaporation.

In this study, the researchers found that zebras can raise the hair on their black stripes, proving that there is more to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stripes-zebras-cool-sun/">zebra’s temperature control</a> than just coat color.

“It was not until years later that we got the opportunity to collect some field data from zebras in Africa, when we also noticed their ability to raise the hairs of their black stripes, while the white ones lay flat,” said Allison Cobb, the lead author of the study. It was only much more recently, when the role of latherin was discovered in helping horses sweat to keep cool, that it all began to fall into place.”

With the hairs on end, the researchers say that the stripes help with heat transfer and that the stripes differ in temperature depending on both color and time of day.

During the middle hours of the day, the researchers recorded temperatures on the black stripes that were 12 to 15 degrees Celsius hotter than the white stripes.

The researchers also tested the temperatures of a zebra hide that was left out in the sun and found that the black stripes continuously heat up, whereas on the living zebras, the black stripes stopped heating up at a certain point.

It’s the three components, latherin in the sweat, the stripe colors, and the hair raising that work together to keep the zebra cool.

The air flow throughout the zebra’s coat may also help keep flies from landing on the zebra to bite them.

“The solution to the zebra’s heat-balance challenge is cleverer, more complex and beautiful than we’d imagined,” Allison said. “Of course, there is much more work to be done to gather evidence and fully understand how the stripes help zebras control temperature, but I am 85 now, so that’s for others to do.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Volodymyr Burdiak

Zebra stripes may help control body temperature

Why do zebras have such distinctive stripes? New research shows...

For honey bees, pollen collection varies depending on the season. Honey bees are one of nature’s most important <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/better-city-greenspace-pollinators/">pollinators</a>, but aside from helping plants reproduce, honey bees depend on pollen for healthy offspring and colony survival. 

In a new study, researchers from <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/">Texas A&amp;M University</a> have discovered that pollen availability and diversity changes depending on the season.

Protein-rich pollen is vital for a healthy bee brood, but if nutrient-poor pollen is only available during certain seasons, it could adversely impact bee colonies. 

For the study, the researchers placed pollen traps at hive entrances in both urban and suburban areas in California, Texas, Florida, and Michigan. The pollen traps passively collected pollen from foraging honey bees returning to the hive. 

In total, the researchers collected and sampled pollen from 394 sites, taking pollen samples during different months from 2014-2015 to get a feel for pollen and seasonal variability. 

The pollen grains were identified down to the family, genus, and species when possible, and the researchers found that honey bees in California have the most diverse range of pollen grains to harvest. 

Honey bees in Texas have the lowest diversity of grains to collect. Not surprisingly, pollen was abundant in spring, but only a few plant groups provided pollen all year round.For honey bees, pollen collection varies depending on the season 

Legumes, oaks, daisies, and roses were the most popular sources of pollen in all four states. 

The study, published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0217294">PLOS ONE</a>, provides insight in bee foraging and seasonal variations in pollen availability which could help gardeners and city planners make proactive choices to ensure that bees have plentiful access to protein-rich pollen year round when possible. 

“This study describes the seasonal and geographic variation of floral sources of pollen for honey bees in urban and suburban landscapes, giving us for the first time a comprehensive look at some of the most important plants for honey bees in developed areas, and serves as a foundation for studies related to honey bee nutritional ecology in urban settings,” the researchers said. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/TippaPatt

For honey bees, pollen collection varies depending on the season

For honey bees, pollen collection varies depending on the season....

‘Real-life Loch Ness Monster’ fossil discovered in Antarctica. You don’t have to go too far back in sailing lore to find mention of all manner of sea monsters waiting in the deep to prey upon those daring enough to brave the open ocean.

While most of these monsters are only found in the pages of fiction, the ocean has housed some of the most mysterious and giant marine animals ever to swim, walk, or crawl on Earth. 

For proof, look no further than the elasmosaur, one of the largest <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/06/fossil-sea-monster-found-antarctica-heaviest-of-its-kind-elasmosaurs/">Plesiosaurs</a> of the Cretaceous period. The elasmosaur was a giant marine reptile with a long giraffe-like neck and four flippers that were quite at home in the chilly waters around the Antarctic. 

In a remarkable discovery that took years of painstaking excavation, researchers have finally uncovered one of the largest and heaviest known elasmosaurs, first found on Seymour Island in 1989. 

The discovery was initially made by William Zinsmeister from <a href="https://www.purdue.edu/">Purdue University</a> who happened upon the fossil remains near the Antarctic Peninsula, but lacking funds he was unable to dig further. 

The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instituto_Ant%C3%A1rtico_Argentino">Argentine Antarctic Institute</a> took up the dig, but the harsh weather conditions and remote location made excavations challenging. 

Researchers finally unearthed the elasmosaurid in its entirety in 2017, and it’s the most complete reptile fossil ever found in Antarctica, according to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2019/06/fossil-sea-monster-found-antarctica-heaviest-of-its-kind-elasmosaurs/">National Geographic</a>. 

“For years it was a mystery ... we didn’t know if they were elasmosaurs or not,” José O’Gorman, a paleontologist with the National Scientific and Technical Research Council of Argentina told National Geographic. “They were some kind of weird plesiosaurs that nobody knew.” 

Weighing a massive 15 tons during its lifetime, the specimen is the heaviest elasmosaur yet discovered, but researchers are most intrigued by the ancient reptile’s age. 

The 70 million-year-old fossil dates back to the end of the Cretaceous period proving that elasmosaurs were thriving 30,000 years before the mass extinction of the dinosaurs. 

The full discovery was detailed in the journal Cretaceous Research.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: New Dinosaurs/Juan

‘Real-life Loch Ness Monster’ fossil discovered in Antarctica

‘Real-life Loch Ness Monster’ fossil discovered in Antarctica. You don’t...

To most, rabbits are just rabbits. To those who think for a moment, there are obviously wild rabbits and the domesticated variety found in pet and farming supply stores. In reality, rabbits and hares collectively make up family Leporidae which contains roughly 62 species.

<a href="https://www.wideopenspaces.com/hop-getting-know-rabbits-hares-north-america/">Wide Open Spaces</a> reports that there are 15 species of rabbits and hares in North America alone. There are jackrabbits and cottontails, of course. There is also the snowshoe hare that changes its coat to suit the season. Then, there is the smallest rabbit in North America, the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis). 

Pygmy rabbits as a species can be found throughout sagebrush habitats (sagebrush makes up most of their diet) in the Great Basin, found in parts of California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. 

Washington’s pygmy rabbits are separated geographically from the rest of the species, and so are special in their own right. Fossil evidence suggests that the Washington pygmy rabbits have been separate from the other pygmies for thousands of years but were once much more widespread across the state, according to the <a href="https://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/00275">Washington Department of Fish and Game</a>. 

Because of their unique geography, the pygmy rabbits of Washington state are referred to as Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits. Recent research shows that the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit have been genetically isolated from other pygmy rabbits for at least 10,000 years, but their isolation made them vulnerable as well as unique. 

By 1990, Washington State listed their pygmy rabbits as threatened, and then in 1993 they were reclassified as endangered. The <a href="https://www.fws.gov/wafwo/articles.cfm?id=149489590">US Fish &amp; Wildlife Service</a> reports that by 2001 the entire pygmy rabbit population of Washington State was thought to consist of a single rabbit colony of less than 50 individuals. By 2004, the Washington pygmy rabbits were extinct in the wild. Fortunately, the rabbits still remained alive as a species in captivity, awaiting a comeback. 

<a href="https://blog.nature.org/science/magazine/pygmy-bunnies-rabbits-brink-washington-endangered-species-mammals-sage-restoration/">Nature Conservancy Magazine</a> reports that in 2001, all of the pygmy rabbits that could be found in Washington were captured, a mere 16 individual rabbits. Unfortunately, initial captive breeding didn’t go well for the little rabbits, so after long consideration, closely related rabbits were introduced into the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbit gene pool. Idaho pygmy rabbits were included in the breeding program, while biologists still carefully maintained 75% of genetics from the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits. 

The new rabbits increased birth rates and the program was successful enough that 20 rabbits were released on land owned by Washington state in 2007. All 20 of the initially reintroduced rabbits were killed by predators. Since that time, the breeding has been converted to a semi-wild breeding program with rabbits kept outside in a predator fenced enclosure, supplied with water and sometimes rabbit food (allowing them to also eat natural vegetation). Between 2011 and 2016, almost 1,800 rabbits have been released into the wild. 

The future for the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits is far from certain though. <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.10/endangered-species-after-nearly-going-extinct-washingtons-pygmy-rabbits-need-room-to-grow">High Country News</a> reports that in 2016, reproduction dropped in the captive rabbits by 75% and disease increased. These downfalls have lead to the methods of captive rabbit breeding being tweaked and rabbit numbers have continued to climb but this in itself leads to a conundrum.         

Unfortunately for the rabbits being bred in captivity, there isn’t a lot of home left for them to come back to. Washington’s shrub-steppe a mix of sagebrush and grasslands is a shattered fragment of what it once was. Agriculture, overgrazing, development and invasive species have destroyed more than half of the shrub-steppe Washington once had. The <a href="https://www.sagegrouseinitiative.com/sagebrush-community/the-habitat/">Sage Grouse Initiative</a> reports that nationwide, only 56% of sagebrush habitat remains in the US. A scientific <a href="http://www.okanogan1.com/ecology/steppeweb/Shrub-steppe-status%20report-KRCG-2013.pdf">paper</a> revised in 2013 found that, of the original 24,437 square miles of sage-steppe habitat in Washington state, only 46.3% remains, 98% of it being destroyed by cropland agriculture. 

There are other major threats to the fragile rabbits as well. <a href="https://www.hcn.org/issues/51.10/endangered-species-after-nearly-going-extinct-washingtons-pygmy-rabbits-need-room-to-grow">High Country News</a> reports that in 2017, a 30,000 acre fire in Washington wiped out most of the rabbits in the area. With such small populations, freak occurrences like fires can hurt the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits more than it otherwise would. The frequency and intensity of fires in the area are also driven partially by large amounts of flammable invasive cheatgrass, changing the natural fire dynamics of Washington’s sage-steppe. Hotter, drier summers also increases the likelihood of fires.

Unfortunately, the reintroduction sites of the Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits are separated from each other by a tangle of houses, roads and fields, preventing the individual reintroduced populations from connecting. The <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/">Nature Conservancy</a> and <a href="https://www.usda.gov/">US Department of Agriculture</a> pay farmers to take land out of production to be used by wildlife, a measure that may help the rabbits. Despite the hardships the rabbits continue to face, their population grow slowly and precariously. 

Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits are important for the land they live in. The rabbits create burrows which in turn help the soil maintain its health. Ideally, an abundance of rabbits would also supply food for an abundance of wildlife like coyotes and raptors. Burrowing owls may use old rabbit burrows as their own homes. In a completely intact sage-steppe ecosystem, the pygmy rabbits would be joined by animals such as wolves and bison, playing a small role in an ancient drama, completing the picture of an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lost-world-american-serengeti/">American Serengeti</a>. 

For many though, this is part of a fanciful dream, not the reality of future ‘progress’ of agriculture and real estate development. This dichotomy of ideas is a schism between minds. There is little reason the rabbits will make a person’s life better in any tangible way. Instead, the reason to protect pygmy rabbits or any species is a reason of morality and passion based on experience. To watch an animal in the wild closely is to glimpse a whole world of experiences, reflexes, even thoughts un-knowable by the human mind. Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits are part of the great unknown mystery of the world we call wild and that in itself is enough reason to protect them.         

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer    

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Randy Bjorklund

Washington’s pygmy rabbits face challenges in their continued recovery

To most, rabbits are just rabbits. To those who think...

An <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/galapagos-islands-invasive-species/">invasive parasite</a> on the Galápagos Islands has found a host in the famed finches that once captivated Charles Darwin, and as a result, the finches’ beaks are changing shape. 

An international team of bird ecology experts from <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a> in South Australia and the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a> discovered that male finch mating calls are getting lower because of the damage to their beaks caused by the parasite Philornis downsi. 

These calls are less appealing to female finches and finches are having a harder time mating and, more specifically, mating with birds of their species. 

“In our newest research, we show that Darwin’s finch males whose nares have been deformed by the parasite had greater vocal deviation - which females didn’t like during mate choice - and had songs with lower maximum frequency,” said Sonia Kleindorfer, a lead author of the study. 

The Philornis downsi larvae burrow into and feast on the beaks of the finches which can cause permanent structural damage and make the nostrils of the finch bigger, the researchers say. 

Medium tree finches are critically endangered, but the infestation has altered the finches’ mating calls in such a way that the researchers found that their calls were indistinguishable from other finch songs. 

“Given that small tree finch and medium tree finch are hybridised on Floreana Island, we suspect that this blurred species-signalling function of song may be partly to blame for the observed reverse speciation that is currently occurring,” said Katharina Peters, a co-author of the study. 

The researchers detailed these findings in a study published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The results show how harmful an invasive parasite can be in a protected ecosystem and biodiversity hotspot like the Galápagos Islands.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Dr Katharina Peters, Flinders University

An invasive parasite is lowering Galapagos finch mating calls

An invasive parasite on the Galápagos Islands has found a...

Less flashy and well known than their counterparts in the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/index.htm">National Park Service</a>, <a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuges/">National Wildlife Refuges</a> play an important role in conservation. 

Parks are designed for human visitors. Roads are built to allow tourists to access camp spots, hiking trails and areas where they may see wildlife or other natural wonders. National Wildlife Refuges, managed by the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">US Fish &amp; Wildlife Service</a>, have many of the same features as well as accommodations for hunters and fishers. But a key difference is that some wildlife refuges also contain large amounts of land that are inaccessible to the public, land meant to be used by wildlife and wildlife managers alone.

<a href="https://www.fws.gov/refuge/Aransas/">Aransas National Wildlife Refuge</a> on the gulf coast of Texas is a perfect example of the theory behind wildlife refuges. Many National Parks have technically no prohibition against going off trail in many areas and most of the land is accessible unless specifically set aside to protect wildlife. Refuges are in a way the opposite – little bits of them are accessible to the general public, the rest being set aside for the wildlife that the refuge was created for. Parks are for people, refuges are for wildlife. 

The longest trail in Aransas is only 1.3 miles long and is also rather flat except for raised observation decks allowing a view over the surrounding flat marshlands. All together there are only 6 of what could be called trails at Aransas National Wildlife Refuge and a 16 mile auto loop road but they give a small glimpse into a beautiful landscape. There is also an ocean fishing pier and a pier into Jones Lake, where ‘Georgie’ the alligator lives and a separate alligator viewing area. 

Jones lake is a large expanse of calm, brown water decorated by the living jewels of darting mosquito fish and adorned with floating Lily pads. Many other fresh water pools at Aransas are just glimpses of water ways lined with cattails and sedges, veiled by thick plant life. Bullfrogs croak loudly from these half-disclosed sloughs, birds sing or titter from deep within. 

Occasionally, the crash of a large animal will bring a visitor’s senses to full alert. I was startled this way on my last visit to Jones Lake. I was walking along the wooden planks of the pier when a splashing, crashing noise of a large animal moving quickly through marsh hit my ears. My mind immediately screamed ‘alligator’ but instead I had startled a deer. Wildlife in Aransas seems to jump from every side as a clumsy human visitor passes by. 

Mustang Lake, another even larger lake, sits near the coast, separated by only a thin slice of land from open ocean. The lake stretches out along a coastal marsh beneath viewing platforms accessible by ramp, where the whole of the land stretches out below like a map. Aransas is part of a patchwork of different habitats, oak savannah, coastal prairie, fresh and brackish wetlands all combining to provide sustenance to an array of biodiversity.    

Frogs leap quickly for water, herons and egrets struggle on large wings into the sky, deer stand on all the roads ready to run. The wildlife viewing at Aransas is spectacular. Wild turkeys strut with their tails fanned in the early morning light, bobcats and javelina are said to be regular if shy visitors. Bicycling the road I came upon a coral snake with the bright markings of a deadly bite painted on its delicate body. The summer months are a time of absence for the most famous residents of Aransas though.

In the cooler months, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/whooping-cranes-marry-sweethearts/">whooping cranes</a> make Aransas National Wildlife Refuge their wintering grounds. Aransas is host to the last wild migratory population of the cranes. The last released official survey for the winter of 2017-18 found 505 whooping cranes in the Aransas area, marking the sixth year in a row that the crane population has grown. Winter is also when most of the tourists come to Aransas to see the endangered crane rather than the alligators that mate and lay eggs in the summer months. Aransas itself was established to protect migratory birds, although it was a happy accident that the refuge turned out to be a strong hold for the whooping crane. In total, 400 species of birds including the whooping crane make use of Aransas. 

Before being made into a refuge, Aransas had a colorful history. Somewhere along the coast of Aransas, there is said to be buried pirate treasure and occasionally mammoth bones are unearthed or washed up by the gulf tides. Crushed sea shells show perfect evidence of a moveable sea level.   

Several units make up Aransas National Wildlife Refuge besides the main unit with its short trails and road. The <a href="https://tpwd.texas.gov/fishboat/boat/paddlingtrails/coastal/port_oconnor/">Matagorda Island</a> is a small barrier island that is home to coyotes, alligators, cranes, Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles and more wildlife. The island has access only by water, with a 25 mile long paddling trail through a marsh being its only tenuous connection to the mainland. 

Matagorda is also one of the few places accessible for camping to the general public, a round trip to the island and back under human power being extremely tedious for a single day. Matagorda and a spider web of other paddling trails near it are managed by <a href="https://tpwd.texas.gov/">Texas Parks &amp; Wildlife</a> despite being part of the National Wildlife Refuge. 

Other units of the refuge are completely inaccessible to the public. Developed areas of parks are often seen as ‘sacrificial zones’. The Grand Canyon village is a good example. The place is a glut of bus clogged roads and camera wielding tourists set to a backdrop of grocery stores, a post office, restaurants and hotels. The inner canyon is the real jewel of Grand Canyon National Park, a place for boaters and backpackers alone. Aransas is like that in a way, yet the secret heart of the place isn’t for humans at all. The jewel of Aransas is saved for alligators, cranes, fish, frogs and the buzz of a million insects.     

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/William Cushman

National wildlife refuges offer land just for wildlife, away from the public

Less flashy and well known than their counterparts in the...

For the first time, researchers have sequenced the genome of the Siberian-hamster, revealing the underlying mechanisms that drive the seasonal breeders to wind down for winter and fatten up during the spring. 

Seasonal breeders like the Siberian hamster can survive cold and harsh winters where food is low by conserving energy, growing a coat of thick hair, lowering their body temperature, and going through a dramatic weight loss during the fall. 

As the days get shorter, the hamster becomes infertile and loses half its body weight by limiting food intake. When the days get longer, the hamster quickly fattens up and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hormones-teenage-behavior/">starts breeding. </a>

These cyclical changes make the Siberian hamster a model organism for studying biological processes dictated by seasonal changes. 

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="https://www.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago</a> found that daylight length alone was enough to prompt the hamster to limit food intake or get ready for breeding. 

The study was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

“We hope this will be a tool for discovery and more research on a really interesting biological puzzle, which is how organisms navigate the energetic landscape of nature over the course of a year,” said Brian Prendergast, a co-author of the research. 

The study was the result of collaborative back and forth between Prendergast, and co-authors Riyue Bao and Tyler Stevenson to examine gene expression, hormone activity, and the hypothalamus in the brain.

The researchers were looking for differences in gene expression during winter and summer. 

“Our collaboration is quite dynamic, like a two-way street,” said Bao. “I would pass the data to him [Stevenson] and ask if a certain pathway made sense. Then he might recognize a certain RNA molecule or candidate gene and ask for more information.”

The researchers were able to narrow their focus to a gene called pomc. 

 “It was the steps that control pomc expression that had been the mystery,” said Stevenson. “The studies we designed served to fill the gaps, and it was simply a matter of connecting the dots.”

It starts with a hormone in the thyroid called T4. As the days get longer, hamsters produce an enzyme that removes the iodine molecule from T4 to turn it into a hormone called T3. T3 controls gene expression of pomc. 

T3 production is what makes the hamsters fertile, and the increased pomc activity causes weight gain. In the fall, T3 production slows, fertility drops, and the hamster loses weight when the pomc gene is switched off. 

“All animals show a level of seasonal biology, humans included. What our findings show, in hamsters, is that thyroid hormones acting in the brain where pomc is expressed provides the long-term regulation of energy balance,” Stevenson said. “What is completely fascinating is that this process evolved in some animals, like hamsters and voles, and not in others, like sheep or humans.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Tyler Stevenson

Hamsters lose weight and become infertile when the days get shorter

For the first time, researchers have sequenced the genome of...

According to a new study published by the <a href="http://global.oup.com/">Oxford University Press</a>, some songbird species benefit from the spread of facilities and equipment used for <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/protect-chaco-canyon-fracking-drilling/">fracking</a>, while other species are adversely affected. 

As the shale gas industry continues to expand, researchers have been documenting the negative consequences that fracking infrastructure may have on native wildlife communities. The current study, however,  is one of the first to analyze the variability among species in their responses to fracking.

The research was focused on the relationship between 27 bird species and their distance from shale gas construction in northern West Virginia from 2008 to 2017. 

The birds were organized into three groups based on their habitats. Forest interior birds, such as the Ovenbird, are found in large areas of mature forests, while early successional birds prefer young forest and shrubland habitats. Human-adapted birds, like the Brown-headed Cowbird, tend to thrive in environments that have been altered by human activities. 

Landscape changes associated with gas infrastructure were tracked over a ten-year period, during which time the footprint of shale gas increased from 42 acres in 2008 to over 432 acres in 2017. Meanwhile, birds were monitored at 142 survey stations. 

The study revealed that forest interior birds decreased by up to 35 percent near gas development, as they avoided both drilling sites and road and pipeline corridors. By contrast, early successional species experienced a boost in population sizes and began to settle along new pipelines and access roads. The Brown-headed Cowbird also showed an increase in numbers across the study site, and was particularly drawn to areas disturbed by fracking.

The study findings suggest that shale gas energy development creates new habitats for generalist and highly adaptive species, yet shrinks the available habitat for birds that depend on mature forests. 

"We hope to find a way to balance our energy needs with maintaining healthy forest ecosystems, which we also depend on for clean air, clean water, carbon storage, and countless other ecological services," said study author Dr. Laura S. Farwell. 

"Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, these birds are early indicators of ecosystem degradation. We hope our research will help inform planning decisions about where to avoid or minimize gas development in order to protect valuable forest resources, both for humans and for other species."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/condor">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</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: Shutterstock/Paul Reeves Photography

Fracking infrastructure is helpful to some songbirds, but harmful to others

According to a new study published by the Oxford University...

When researcher Lainy Day from the <a href="https://olemiss.edu/">University of Mississippi</a> first tested the ability of amphibians and lizards to store a mental map in their brains roughly 20 years ago, it appeared that none were capable of forming complex spatial memories. 

At the time, Sabrina Burmeister of the <a href="https://www.unc.edu/">University of North Carolina</a> thought that Day should’ve tested the memories of poison dart frogs, as these <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/amphibians-risk-extinction/">amphibians</a> can recall the locations of pools of water in the forest canopies where they hatch their tadpoles. 

Now, Burmeister and graduate student Yuxiang Liu have published a study in the <a href="https://jeb.biologists.org/">Journal of Experimental Biology</a> that details their findings in determining whether poison dart frogs (Dendrobates auratus) have spatial awareness. 

The standard for testing spatial awareness of rodents is the use of a Morris water maze, which is a platform submerged in a pool of water and surrounded by objects the animal can use to orient themselves in order to find the platform. 

“We knew that the frogs hate to swim – they are terrestrial after all,” says Burmeister. 

Liu placed a platform 2 cm beneath the water’s surface so that the frogs would be able to sit on the platform while still submerged, then immersed a second platform 0.8 cm below the surface on top in the southeast quadrant. Frogs that were able to locate the smaller platform were rewarded by Liu making the water slightly warmer.

Objects were placed around the walls of the pond to attract the frogs’ attention, including a red flashing light, an artificial yellow flower, a gently spinning blue fan, and green artificial leaves. Each object was located at one of the four points of the compass in order to orient the frogs. 

Over two weeks, Liu repeatedly released the frogs at random locations on the large platform so that they could explore until they were able to reliably locate the shallow platform. Burmeister notes that the amphibians were quick to learn. The researchers then switched the locations of the landmarks, rotating their positions by 180 degrees, and removed the shallow platform. 

When the frogs were released, they now headed for the northwest quadrant, directly opposite of the southeast quadrant where the platform had been previously. This result seems to show that the frogs were using the landmarks to determine where the platform should be.

The researchers concluded that these frogs were using a mental map of the platform’s location relative to the landmarks around the pool. It appears that not all frogs lack the ability to develop a cognitive map, and that mental maps can develop even in the brains of amphibians.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Dirk Ercken

Poison dart frogs are able to develop a mental map

When researcher Lainy Day from the University of Mississippi first...

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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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
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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



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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



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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



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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



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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 



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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



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The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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