SECORE International has developed a coral seeding method that utilizes assisted reproduction - breeding corals to help restore reefs. This approach has been implemented across the Caribbean through a network of training and partners.&nbsp;



A recent study confirms that the coral seeding method is making a significant impact: during the severe 2023 heatwave in the Caribbean, young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-corals-and-reefs-are-showing-surprising-resilience-as-global-waters-warm/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">corals</a> that were bred through SECORE's efforts remained healthy, while many wild corals bleached and died.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coral-seeding-in-the-caribbean-nbsp">Coral seeding in the Caribbean&nbsp;</h2>



The summer of 2023 brought devastation to many coral reefs in the Caribbean Basin. An unprecedented <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-heatwaves-escalate-coral-bleaching-threats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">heatwave</a>, both in intensity and duration, hit the region, leading to widespread coral bleaching. 



With high seawater temperatures persisting, many corals were unable to recover and perished.&nbsp;



However, during this time of crisis, a hopeful discovery was made by SECORE’s Restoration Coordinator in Mexico, Sandra Mendoza Quiroz.&nbsp;



While conducting a routine dive to monitor their outplanted corals, she found that the young corals they had bred were healthy, standing out among the bleached and dying reefs.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-assisted-reproduction-and-coral-survival">Assisted reproduction and coral survival</h2>



Similar findings were reported by SECORE’s team in Curaçao, where another species of bred coral had withstood the heat.



“We were excited to observe this pattern showing another benefit of using assisted coral recruits in restoration,” said Margaret Miller, research director of <a href="https://www.secore.org/site/home.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SECORE</a>.



The team in Curaçao and Mexico, working with Coralium Lab at the <a href="https://www.unam.mx/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México</a>, collected data on the health of various species and groups of outplanted corals. 



The experts reached out to partners across their Caribbean Restoration Network, including the Dominican Foundation for Marine Studies, the <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/caribbean/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Conservancy in the Caribbean</a>, and Reef Renewal Foundation Bonaire. 



Together, the researchers confirmed that young corals bred for restoration were significantly more resistant to bleaching compared to their wild counterparts across six coral species at 15 reef sites in five different Caribbean nations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-coral-seeding-builds-resilience-nbsp">Coral seeding builds resilience&nbsp;</h2>



This study marks the first scientific evidence that corals restored using natural reproduction methods demonstrate greater resistance to extreme sea temperatures than wild or fragmented corals.



Miller, who has been breeding corals in the Caribbean for over 30 years, expressed optimism about the findings.&nbsp;



“These results provide a lot of encouragement and confirmation that restoration using assisted coral recruits can play an important role in orchestrating coral persistence into our warmer future,” said Miller.&nbsp;



“Nonetheless, truly securing the future of coral reefs is absolutely dependent on humankind’s success in controlling global warming.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-producing-millions-of-coral-embryos-nbsp">Producing millions of coral embryos&nbsp;</h2>



<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reef-sounds-the-melodic-key-to-coral-restoration/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coral restoration</a> methods have evolved significantly in the past decade. Traditionally, corals were propagated by breaking fragments off source colonies and growing them in nurseries before manually transplanting them onto the reef. 



Today, SECORE’s coral seeding approach, which breeds corals specifically for restoration, is widely implemented throughout the Caribbean.&nbsp;



This method involves collecting coral spawn from wild corals, fertilizing the eggs and sperm in a controlled environment (either on a boat or beach), and producing millions of coral embryos.&nbsp;



The coral larvae are grown in ocean enclosures and settled on special substrates before being outplanted onto the reef.



Each generation of corals that reproduces naturally receives a new combination of genes, enhancing their ability to adapt.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-importance-of-the-new-breeding-efforts">Importance of the new breeding efforts</h2>



The study revealed that the young corals produced through breeding showed greater resistance to bleaching than adult coral colonies and fragments.&nbsp;



However, due to the recruitment failure of many reef-building species in the Caribbean, natural offspring are rare, which further underscores the importance of SECORE’s breeding efforts.



Dirk Petersen, the founder of&nbsp; SECORE, is thrilled with the study’s positive results.&nbsp;



“Our coral seeding approach is an important contribution to help coral reefs deal with climate change,” said Petersen. “Our investment over the past five years to build a large network for coral restoration in the Caribbean has paid off.”&nbsp;



“This network not only produces and outplants tens of thousands of corals every year but could also immediately assess how these corals responded to this unprecedented heatwave. Our priority is now to further scale efforts to the ecosystem level.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-chance-for-coral-reefs-to-survive">A chance for coral reefs to survive</h2>



Coral restoration, however, is not a solo endeavor. It requires collaboration across various disciplines, from science and engineering to on-the-ground implementation.&nbsp;



The process involves logistics, effectiveness, and thorough training, and must be grounded in strong management strategies that engage local communities.&nbsp;



While coral restoration is crucial, it alone cannot solve the broader challenges posed by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-study-provides-answers-to-how-coral-reefs-can-survive-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate change</a>. Still, it provides vital time to help coral populations survive in the face of environmental pressures.



“Our Caribbean Training and Capacity Building Program has turned out to be a successful model, which we urgently need to take to other regions across the world,” Petersen said.&nbsp;



In his view, as extreme weather events continue to increase in frequency and severity, regions beyond the Caribbean will also be affected.&nbsp;



“Restoration measures are best implemented at an early stage to strengthen the reefs. Once degradation has reached a critical level, restoration becomes much more challenging,” said Petersen.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-expanding-coral-restoration-efforts">Expanding coral restoration efforts</h2>



SECORE is now expanding its efforts globally. In 2023, the organization hosted its first training session for participants from U.S. jurisdictions in the Western Pacific and plans to establish a team in Mauritius by the end of the year.&nbsp;



This new base will serve as a hub for restoration training in the Indian Ocean. “Restoration truly is a cooperative effort - let’s all work together to give these valuable ecosystems a future!” Peterson concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0309719" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLoS ONE</a>.



-----



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‘Coral seeding’ increases resistance to extreme heatwaves

SECORE International has developed a coral seeding method that utilizes assisted reproduction - breeding corals to help restore reefs. This approach has been implemented across the Caribbean through a network of training and partners.&nbsp; A recent study confirms that the coral seeding method is making a significant impact: during the severe 2023 heatwave in the Caribbean, young corals that were bred through SECORE's efforts remained healthy, while many wild corals bleached and died. Coral seeding in the Caribbean&nbsp; The summer of 2023 brought devastation to many coral...

A new study has found that older children who abuse animals are much more likely to have been abused in early childhood. The researchers determined that this behavior is far less common among girls, and is a stronger indicator of child abuse compared to boys.

“Reports of girls abusing animals are less prevalent than boys, and there is some suggestion that girls who do report that they abuse animals are more likely to be part of a wider abuse,” wrote the researchers.

As many as 44 percent of children abuse animals at some point during their childhood, and the study authors explained that this may be a low estimate considering a lot of this abuse is not acknowledged or reported.

Animal abuse among younger children can often be a way of exploring their surroundings, but abuse by children over the age of ten is much more concerning because it may be the result of abuse within the family.

Previous studies have found that children are three times as likely to have been physically abused themselves when they are physically aggressive at five years old, while abusive behavior among 12-year-olds is linked to five times the likelihood of a history of abuse.

According to the study, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kids-behavioral-issues-parents/">children</a> who witness violence between their parents are around three times as likely to abuse animals.

The study authors pointed out that the term “animal abuse” is associated with a wide variety of motivations and behaviors.

“Differences of opinion exist on what constitutes abuse to an animal, and which animals should be included inside the definition,” they wrote. “For example, should it be restricted to just large vertebrate companion animals, such as dogs and cats, or include smaller animals, such as rodents or birds, or even insects.”

The experts concluded that additional research is needed to identify which types of animal abuse are more indicative of abuse within the family.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://adc.bmj.com/pages/">Archives of Disease in Childhood</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Kids who abuse animals are likely to have been abused themselves

A new study has found that older children who abuse...

“Just keep swimming,” pipes Dory, the spritely blue tang in the film Finding Nemo—over and over again. Her mantra amusingly invokes the longstanding perception of fish as dimwitted automatons, with little motivation beyond keeping themselves afloat, locating food and mates, and avoiding predators. 

Because they have more primitive brains than higher vertebrates such as mammals and birds, the reactions of fish to their environments were long viewed as mere “fixed action patterns.” That is: their actions and reactions were thought to be simple, coded responses without any real basis in cognition. There was no “thought” behind their actions, just hard-wired instinct. 

Though decades of research have slowly chipped away at this notion, most people still probably view fish as unintelligent and even incapable of feeling pain. The Nirvana song “Something in the Way” makes this explicit: “It’s okay to eat fish/’Cause they don’t have any feelings.” While this article will not concern itself with the ethics of fish consumption, it will delve into the evidence contradicting the latter point. 

The fact is, recent research has demonstrated that in all likelihood, fish do feel pain. Studies have shown that <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/content/218/7/967">mid and forebrain regions display different reactions</a> to painful stimuli than to non-painful stimuli. And fish have been proven to possess nociceptors—the nerves necessary for perceiving pain. A <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159117300072#!">2017 University of Liverpool study</a> showed that when pain-relieving drugs were administered to larval zebrafish, they stopped reacting to painful stimuli, and when the drugs were removed, avoidant behavior resumed, suggesting that their pain pathways are in some respects similar to those of higher animals. 

Goldfish were demonstrated to avoid areas in their tanks where electric shocks were previously administered in a <a href="https://www.appliedanimalbehaviour.com/article/S0168-1591(05)00180-2/abstract">2006 study at Queen’s University of Belfast</a>, supporting the notion that they are capable of learning to avoid pain. And <a href="https://www.appliedanimalbehaviour.com/article/S0168-1591(07)00364-4/abstract">goldfish even learned to avoid such areas when food was present</a> per a 2008 study, indicating an ability to weigh the costs and benefits of two powerful stimuli. 

Fish have also demonstrated incredibly sophisticated cognitive processes once thought to be the exclusive province of mammals and perhaps birds. Investigations have shown that the spectrum of animal intelligence is far broader and more complex than previously thought. While fish do not form highly complex societies and alter their environments in the exact manner of humans, they do in fact display the key signifiers of cognitive ability—memory formation, learning, the ability to solve problems.

Fish inarguably possess more primitive brains than mammals, lacking a neocortex. But then again, so do birds. And their sentience is far less controversial. Some scientists have even argued that the primitive brains of fish possess structures similar to those responsible for cognition in higher vertebrates. 

Behavioral studies are perhaps more compelling in demonstrating this, though. Fish have clearly discriminated quantities in the lab. <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-55920-001">Guppies</a> (2018; University of Padova) and <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-017-1143-1">cleaner wrasses</a> (2017; University of Neuchâtel) have both been shown to be able to select a screen with a larger number of dots if a reward is offered. In a <a href="http://eprints-phd.biblio.unitn.it/2833/">2018 study</a> at the <a href="http://eprints-phd.biblio.unitn.it/2833/">University of Trento</a>, zebrafish preferred shoals with larger numbers of fish, suggesting a level of discernment by choosing safety in numbers. 

Fish can even learn by observation. Archerfish learned how to hit a target by watching other archerfish in a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098220601013X#!">2006 study</a> by the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S096098220601013X#!">University Erlangen-Nürnberg</a>, and in a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/nature05511#author-information">2007 study at Stanford</a>, cichlids were shown to avoid conflicts with stronger males by watching them compete for mates. They can even recognize other fish. Shoaling behavior is known to be more efficient among fish that know each other. Cleaner wrasses, which pick parasites off of other reef fish, have been <a href="https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&amp;lr=&amp;id=gNNB2_y5z8EC&amp;oi=fnd&amp;pg=PA146&amp;dq=info:CiE9brEdSn4J:scholar.google.com&amp;ots=f1REoUPCxL&amp;sig=V82pN-2_85jPjfqP74wInviYzgc#v=onepage&amp;q=cleaner%20fish&amp;f=false">observed prioritizing fish that they have serviced before</a>. They have demonstrated a capacity for memory as well. Goldfish fed from different colored tubes remembered the color of the tube that dispensed their food a year after the initial experiment. 

One compelling study conducted at the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10164-016-0462-z">University of South Florida</a> in 2016 claims that manta rays, which have what are considered to be the most complex brains of any fish, were able to pass the so-called mirror test, in which an organism is able to recognize itself in a mirror. The great apes, elephants, dolphins, and a few species of birds have also passed the test. Some are skeptical that the behavior demonstrated by the manta rays as they viewed their reflections actually indicates self-recognition, suggesting that it may have instead been simple curiosity. Such debates underscore the reality: there is no true objective measure of sentience and consciousness.

Researchers have noted that the resistance to the idea that fish are sentient is rooted in the anthropocentric principle. That is: due to cultural factors, notably Christian religion, which gives man “dominion” over the beasts and birds and fishes, we humans view ourselves as inherently superior to our fellow residents of Earth. Add to that the misconception that evolution is a progressive process—moving inexorably toward higher intelligence—and we have a recipe for a view of our fellow creatures that places us at the pinnacle of intelligence and sophistication. In this schema, all other animals reside on lower tiers of the pyramid. 

This hierarchy serves the additional purpose of justifying the actions of industry and science—if fish are in fact sentient, the way they are treated in harvesting and in experiments would have to be adjusted. Some scientists advocate the use of the precautionary principle—making these changes even in the absence of definitive proof of sentience with the assumption that that proof is forthcoming. A 2010 EU directive has already employed that to some extent in regard to the treatment of fish in lab settings. 

While a consensus on the sentience of fish is a ways off, it is fair to say that they aren’t just filets with fins, bobbing around in the depths without a care in the world.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Fish cognition: Why Dory isn’t as dumb as she seems

“Just keep swimming,” pipes Dory, the spritely blue tang in...

According to a new study from the <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a>, fish that are friendlier are more likely to end up caught on a fishing hook. The researchers also found that removing the most sociable fish from the lake could result in drastic changes for the fish left behind.

“There's a reason everyone's first fish is bluegill,” said study lead author Michael Louison. “They are social fish, forming big groups around structures close to shore. It seemed like their social behavior and their aggression would be super important in terms of angling vulnerability.”


The experts stocked up an experimental pond with bluegill from a hatchery and tagged the fish for identification. 

“They had been living in a natural lake environment,” said Louison. “They had to find food and avoid predators in that environment. So they were 'real fish.'”


Louison and a colleague fished the pond with typical methods used for catching bluegill over the course of five days. When a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/inland-fishery-harvests-underreported/">fish</a> was caught, its identification number was documented.


At the end of the week, the pond was drained and 38 of the fish were assigned to a test group. Half of the fish had been caught at least once, while the others had never been caught.

To investigate the sociability of the fish, the team split a fish tank in half with a glass divider. A test fish was placed on one side and six random bluegills from the pond were placed on the other.

“We were looking at how much time this fish spent hanging out right next to the divider trying to associate with the fish on the other side,” said Louison. "You'd expect a social fish to be hanging out close to the glass a lot, whereas you'd expect a non-social fish to be further back."

The experiment revealed that fish who had been caught spent significantly more time near the divider than fish who had never been caught, and multiple trials confirmed these findings.

The teem tested to see if aggression was also a factor that drove fish to take the bait more often, but no link was found.

The researchers speculated that removing the most sociable fish from a population could change the structure, at least on a temporary basis.

Study co-author Cory Suski is an associate professor in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences.


“Broadly speaking, for animals living in groups, social individuals are really important. They help spot predators, find prey, and transmit information about these things to the rest of the group,” said Professor Suski.


Study co-author Jeffrey Stein is a fish ecologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey.

“Our previous research has shown that removing fish with certain characteristics - like parental quality or even overall vulnerability to angling - has potential to change the character of a population," said Stein.

“Understanding how characteristics like sociability affect vulnerability to angling can lead to more effective management of high-quality recreational fisheries.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/animal-behaviour">Animal Behaviour</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Friendly fish are more likely to get caught

According to a new study from the University of Illinois,...

It’s that time of year to watch one of nature’s most fascinating light shows - not the Northern Lights - this show is courtesy of fireflies. For those of you lucky enough to have encountered fireflies on a summer evening, you know it is nothing short of magical. Whether as a child or adult, these small creatures induce wonder and delight. What makes these bugs so captivating? At first glance, they almost appear as a reflection or trick of the eye, and then, almost as if orchestrated by a ballet company, a handful to thousands of the fireflies rise from the surrounding shrubs and begin a whimsical dance. 

This spectacular sight is the result of flight and bioluminescence combined. Want to learn more about fireflies and what makes them so special? Read on for fun facts and how to help attract these beautiful fairy-like insects: 
<ul>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">The firefly, or sometimes known as lightning bug, is actually not a special fly but rather belongs to the beetle family Lampyridae. Lampyridae in Latin appropriately means “shining fire”. </li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Fireflies use light to communicate. A very unique characteristic in comparison to most animals which use sound. </li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Primarily the light signals are to attract a mate. Male fireflies light up quickly and continuously flash in hopes of attracting a female firefly. The females generally stay lower to the ground in the safety of plants and signal back to the male whose lightshow they find favorable. She also uses light to signal to the male and the brightness of her flash corresponds with her level of interest in the male. </li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">Photocytes in the fireflies abdomen produce the light through a 100% efficient chemical reaction of luciferin and luciferase when exposed to oxygen. The firefly controls this reaction by managing the flow of oxygen to its abdomen- this turns the light on and off. Hues of yellow, green, and blue are possible amongst different species. </li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">There are 2,000 species of fireflies around the world (except Antarctica) and each has its own unique light qualities that vary depending on sex.</li>
 	<li style="font-weight: 400;">The flashing can also be used as a warning signal to ward off predators. The bugs actually have a very bitter taste to most predators which is another deterrent that helps protect them. </li>
</ul>
Enamored with these shining bugs? You can help attract fireflies to your backyard by planting low trees and shrubs. Fireflies appreciate the shade for daytime shelter. They also like tall grassy meadows, extra long blades of grass are a good perch for them. The bugs also need a good water source so adding a small bird bath to your garden could increase the occurrence of seeing them. 

When looking for fireflies it’s easy to remember that they enjoy conditions similar to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/engineered-mosquitoes-eradicate-malaria/">mosquitos</a> - damp, dim, and moderate weather are all important conditions to consider! Fireflies also prefer to be the strongest light source around, they are most commonly found away from cities and light pollution and in yards without much lighting around the home or streets. Right after the sun sets May through July is the best time to search for fireflies. 

Hopefully these facts and tips help encourage you to seek out your next natural lightshow. It won’t be anything short of stunning! 

--

By <a href="mailto:bianca@earth.com">Bianca Vierra</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Your summertime guide to enjoying the magic of fireflies

It’s that time of year to watch one of nature’s...

A team of experts led by <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> has been investigating whether protecting the carbon storage of tropical forests will also protect biodiversity. The researchers have found that investments designed to prevent carbon losses will be the least effective in safeguarding wildlife across the most ecologically valuable <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-north-american-forests/">forests</a>.

In these particular regions, up to 77 percent of species remain vulnerable when conservation efforts are focused solely on protecting carbon stocks. 

“Securing tropical forest carbon should remain a central conservation objective,” said study co-lead author Dr. Gareth Lennox.

“Not only will this slow climate change but it also has the potential to safeguard the unique and irreplaceable wildlife that inhabits these ecosystems. However, to ensure that those species survive, biodiversity needs to be treated as a priority - alongside carbon - of conservation efforts.”

More than a third of the the world's terrestrial carbon is stored in tropical forests, which is why these regions have become an important target of international efforts to mitigate climate change and have attracted billions of dollars in funding.

Tropical forests are also the world's most biodiverse ecosystems, harboring more than two-thirds of Earth's land species. 

The researchers wanted to understand how projects focused on protecting carbon stocks may affect biodiversity. The international team spent 18 months measuring the carbon content and species richness of plants, birds, and dung beetles in 234 tropical forests across the Brazilian Amazon.

For the first time, carbon and biodiversity levels were assessed in forests that ranged from minimally-disturbed by human activities to those recovering after vegetation had been completely cleared.


The analysis of this data confirmed that more carbon would mean more biodiversity in severely damaged forests. The study also revealed that, where human impacts were less intense, more carbon would not lead to more species.

*The changing relationship between carbon and biodiversity across forests that have suffered different kinds of human disturbances explain our findings,” said co-lead author Dr. Joice Ferreira. 

“As cleared and highly disturbed sites recover from the effects of agricultural use and severe wildfires, biodiversity also recovers. However, this linkage between carbon and biodiversity breaks down mid-recovery.” 

“The result: Forests with the greatest carbon content do not necessarily house the most species, meaning carbon-focused conservation can miss large swathes of tropical forest biodiversity.”

According to study co-author Dr. Toby Gardner, carbon and biodiversity conservation efforts must be combined for the best results.

“Although trade-offs are inevitable, conflicts between carbon and biodiversity can be reduced by more integrated planning,” said Dr. Gardner.

“By considering carbon and biodiversity together, we found, for example, that the number of large tree species that can be protected can be increased by up to 15% relative to a carbon-only approach for just a 1% reduction in carbon coverage.”

Study co-author Professor Jos Barlow explained why climate change mitigation requires the protection of biodiversity. 

“Biodiversity and climate change are inextricably linked in tropical forests. A warming climate and changing rainfall patterns will lead to the extinction of many tropical species, while it is within tropical biodiversity itself that forest carbon resides,” said Professor Barlow.

“Species-poor forests will eventually become carbon-poor. Therefore, tackling the climate crisis requires that both tropical forest carbon and tropical forest species are protected together.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</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: A. Lees

Saving tropical forest carbon stocks won’t protect biodiversity

A team of experts led by Lancaster University has been...

Images of two small polar bear cubs playing with a large piece of black plastic were captured along the coast of the Norwegian archipelago Svalbard, which is located about halfway between the North Pole and and Norway.

A group of scientists, artists, photographers,  and filmmakers recently completed a sailing expedition and campaign called <a href="https://twitter.com/sail4seas?lang=en">Sail Against Plastic</a>. The team set out to investigate and document <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-crisis-antarctic/">plastic pollution</a> in the Arctic Ocean.

The black plastic waste appearing in the pictures sticks out like a sore thumb among the pristine landscape of Svalbard, an island located hundreds of miles from Europe. Svalbard is so remote that humans are outnumbered by polar bears.

The images may not come as a surprise to many activists and environmentalists who have been warning about the alarming extent of plastic pollution across our planet's oceans.

Claire Wallerstein was part of the Sail Against Plastic team, which spent 10 days investigating the water and air quality on the isolated beaches of Svalbard.

“We were very lucky to be invited to take part in this unique expedition, and had an amazing time seeing Arctic wildlife, stunning glaciers and experiencing 24-hour sunlight,” said Wallerstein.


“However, it was also a very sobering experience to see just how much plastic is making its way to this incredibly remote and apparently pristine environment.”

Wallerstein explained that the beaches were not so different from those in more populated regions.

“What we found on the beaches was sadly not so very different from what we find back home,” she said. “There was plenty of fishing waste, but the saddest thing was just how much of the waste blighting the Arctic is the same old disposable detritus of our daily lives – plastic bottles, cotton bud sticks, cigarette ends, wet wipes, polystyrene and food packaging.”

The team searched for both large plastics and microplastics in the water. They also tested the air for microplastic fibers and cleaned up beaches. Plastics were found on every beach that the group surveyed, and some of the waste had traveled over long distances. 

Flora Rendell-Bhatti is a researcher from the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>.

“As plastic pollution breaks down it is harder to identify the sources of the fragments and fibers by eye,” said Rendell-Bhatti. “Our microplastic net sampled the surface waters in areas where there is currently little research.”

“Once the samples are analyzed back in the UK, this data will indicate the levels of microplastic pollution in Arctic waters around Svalbard.”

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Kevin Morgans/<a href="https://swns.com/">SWNS.com</a>

Polar bear cubs seen playing with big piece of plastic pollution

Images of two small polar bear cubs playing with a...

The Louisiana black bear has qualified as an endangered species in recent years, only coming off the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s</a> list briefly back in 2016. The bears’ population is closely monitored, with many individuals fitted with radio collars. Through the use of these radio collars, the Louisiana state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries were able to determine that a bear had been shot and killed by a hunter last fall. Needless to say, there is no hunting season for black bears in Louisiana.

According to a report by <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/07/11/hunter-fined-10-000-killing-black-bear-louisiana/775467002/">USA Today</a>, Ronald J. Kimble, a 30-year-old from Lettsworth, Louisiana, was hunting on the grounds of the Richard K. Yancey Wildlife Management Area last November, when he fatally shot a four-year-old Louisiana black bear. A “mortality signal” was sent out by the radio collar the bear was wearing, alerting a biologist within the state’s Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Agents were able to trace the signal, which led them to the deceased bear. They determined that it had been shot twice with a large caliber weapon.

Two months later, agents found Kimble hunting within an area the bear frequented, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/07/11/hunter-fined-10-000-killing-black-bear-louisiana/775467002/">USA Today</a> reported.. When he was questioned, Kimble admitted to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/trump-hunting-bears-wolves/">killing</a> the bear with a .270 rifle. He told investigators that he thought the black bear was a wild hog, which is why he shot and killed the bear. Kimble was arrested for taking the bear during a closed season, as well as charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. He was ordered by the court to pay $10,000 in assessed restitution, as well as $250 in attorney fees – his hunting and fishing licenses were also revoked until he pays the full amount. 

Whether or not Kimble truly thought he was shooting a wild hog, it’s an important lesson that hunting should be done with extreme caution. If you’re going to shoot something, make sure you know exactly what you’re shooting before pulling the trigger. And most obvious of all, don’t hunt animals out of season – especially those that were recently endangered.

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By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Louisiana hunter fined $10,000 for killing endangered black bear

The Louisiana black bear has qualified as an endangered species...

The soldiers in an army ant colony may be bigger than other ants in the group, but it turns out their brains are relatively small for their size because of the limited number of tasks they need to perform. 

Researchers led by <a href="http://drexel.edu/">Drexel University</a> examined different army ant colonies to see if the ants with more demanding jobs had larger brains despite their size. 

Army ant soldiers are massive compared to other worker ants in the nest but their size is necessary for defending the colony and fighting. 

Because of their limited tasks compared to workers who attend to the colony, transport food, and care for the queen and her babies, the researchers hypothesized that brain development is also limited for soldiers. 

The team compared total brain size and body size for 109 workers and 39 soldiers from eight different species and subspecies of army ants. 

“To compare different types of ant castes - soldiers and other workers - we took advantage of the dramatically distinct soldier class of workers in Eciton army ant colonies,” said Sean O'Donnell, the lead author of the study. “Soldiers are morphologically distinct - they are bigger than their nest mates - but also behaviorally distinct: they have a simpler behavioral repertoire. Our findings support the idea that the simple behaviors of soldiers allow for reduced investment in brain development.”

For soldiers, the antennal lobes and mushroom bodies were smaller than worker ants but their brain size was not much different.

The antennal lobes receive and process olfactory information, which is crucial for finding food and survival and it makes sense that worker ants who gather food for the colony would have larger lobes. 

Ants and many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/queen-bee-dies-successor/">other insects are eusocial </a>which means that within the hive, nest or colony there is a specific caste system and every insect has a role that benefits the group as a whole. 

With army ants, the study shows that brain development that doesn’t serve the colony is unnecessary and deemed too great a cost. 

“We believe this is the first study to explore the possibility of reduced brain investment in social group members, with the evolutionary advantages accruing at the colony level, despite potential cognitive costs to the individuals,” said O’Donnell. “Most previous studies of this kind compared different species or explored which factors could favor increased brain investment at the individual level. Our study explores how a reduction in behavioral capacity, and an associated reduction in brain investment in individuals, could benefit social groups as a whole.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Army ant soldiers have massive bodies but small brains

The soldiers in an army ant colony may be bigger...

Spicy food connoisseurs know that when it comes to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/spicy-food-less-salt/">spicy peppers</a>, the sometimes painful burning sensation is part of the draw. 

Humans are one of the few species on Earth that actively seek out spicy foods as most mammals avoid eating hot peppers and plants because of the pain that comes with them.

Chili peppers and other spicy plants get their heat from a chemical called capsaicin, which is designed to deter animals from eating them. However, a new study found that Chinese tree shrews (Tupaia belangeri chinensis) have evolved to thrive on spicy peppers full of capsaicinoids. 

Researchers from <a href="http://english.kiz.cas.cn/">Kunming Institute of Zoology</a> in China in a new study unlocked the secrets behind the shrew’s tolerance to capsaicin and it has to do with a mutation in the animal’s cell receptors. 

The study was published in the journal<a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/%20journal.pbio.2004921"> PLOS BIOLOGY. </a>

Capsaicinoids trigger a burning sensation by activating an ion channel found on the surface of pain-sensitive cells called TRPV1.

The chemical is meant to act as a defense mechanism by alerting whatever consumes it that the food is dangerous. 

The researchers fed both mice and tree shrews chili peppers which contain capsaicin. The mice reduced the amount of pepper they ate as they realized how hot the food was whereas the shrews were not deterred. 

Even though the mice and shrews had similar levels of TRPV1, the ion channels in shrews were less responsive to the chemical because shrews lacked a single amino acid that was found in the mice. 

This is why tree shrews are unaffected by capsaicin and can feed on foods that other species would find painful. 

The researchers theorize that this mutation developed to allow tree shrews to eat Piper boehmeriaefolium, a plant in their environment that produces heavy amounts of capsaicin. 

“We propose that this mutation is an evolutionary adaptation that enabled the tree shrew to acquire a tolerance for capsaicinoids, thus widening the range of its diet for better survival,” said Yalan Han, the lead author of the study. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Thomas Foley, Unsplash

Chinese tree shrews can eat spicy peppers thanks to a mutation

Spicy food connoisseurs know that when it comes to spicy...

An international team of scientists led by <a href="http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/">Lancaster University</a> is reporting that rats must be eliminated on many tropical islands in an effort to protect coral reefs. Invasive rats are killing off seabirds in large numbers, and the researchers have identified previously undetermined consequences for the coral reefs that surround and protect the islands.

While it has been documented that invasive predators such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rats-major-cities-monitored/">rats</a> have annihilated seabird populations across most tropical islands, the impact that this was having on coral reefs was not known prior to this study.

The team investigated the health of tropical ecosystems in the northern reefs of the Chagos Archipelago.

“Seabirds are crucial to these kinds of islands because they are able to fly to highly productive areas of open ocean to feed,” said study lead author Professor Nick Graham. 

“They then return to their island homes where they roost and breed, depositing guano - or bird droppings - on the soil. This guano is rich in the nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus. Until now, we didn't know to what extent this made a difference to adjacent coral reefs.”

Located in the central region of the Indian Ocean, the Chagos islands were ideal for this study because some of the islands are infested with black rats, while others are completely free of rats. The researchers compared the ecosystems surrounding six islands with rats and six rat-free islands.

The study revealed severe ecological damage caused by the rats that extended beyond the islands and into the sea. The experts found that islands without rats had substantially more seabirds as well as nitrogen in the soil. In the ocean, the increased nitrogen benefited macroalgae, filter-feeding sponges, turf algae, and fish on the adjacent coral reefs.

Fish were found to be about 50 percent more abundant in the waters adjacent to rat-free islands. In addition, the consumption of algae and dead coral, a replenishing process known as grazing, was over three times higher in the sea adjacent to islands that were free of rats.

“The results of this study are clear. Rat eradication should be a high conservation priority on oceanic islands,” said Professor Graham. 

“Getting rid of the rats would be likely to benefit terrestrial ecosystems and enhance coral reef productivity and functioning by restoring seabird derived nutrient subsidies from large areas of ocean. It could tip the balance for the future survival of these reefs and their ecosystems.”


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nature/">Nature</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tropical islands without rats have healthier coral reefs

An international team of scientists led by Lancaster University is...

The relatively small country of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/kenyan-railway-nairobi-national-park/">Kenya</a> has 110 species of bats, many of which have additional subspecies. While studying the evolutionary history of yellow house bats, or Scotophilus, researchers have discovered two previously unknown species.

Study lead author Terry Demos is a Postdoctoral Fellow at Chicago's <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a>.


“They're cute. They look a lot like the bats you see in Chicago but they're this great yellow color,” said Demos. Yellow bats vary in size and other characteristics, but they are generally small with soft fur.

Yellow bats often take up residence in the cracks and corners of homes in Kenya. “These are bats that live with people - they don't call them house bats for nothing,” said study co-author Bruce Patterson.

Even though they can fly, bats prefer to stay in a specific region and do not fly too far to find a home. This contributes to the large amount of diversity that is found in bats across Africa. 

The team used advanced genetic analysis techniques to distinguish between different species of yellow bats. By comparing all of the DNA sequences, the researchers were able to develop a chart that shows relationships between the species.

The chart, which resembled a family tree, predicted at least two new species of bats.

“These new species are unknown to science,” said Demos. “There was no reason to expect that we'd find two new species there.” 

“It's cool because it says there's a chapter of evolution that no one's stumbled across before,” added Patterson.

In Kenya and other regions across Africa, there are many other species yet to be discovered.


“Africa is understudied, and its biodiversity is underestimated, and it's critical because there are threats to its biodiversity,” said Demos. 

In particular, understanding more about bats can help conservation and local farming efforts, according to Demos. This research provides a framework that can be used to explore bat species in other regions.

“No interesting biological questions are ever fully answered, and progress towards answering them invariably opens up a variety of others,” said Demos.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/journal/ecology-and-evolution#author-guidelines">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Two new species of fuzzy yellow bats identified in Kenya

The relatively small country of Kenya has 110 species of...

The elephant-nose fish – scientific name Gnathonemus petersii – uses electrical signals to navigate through the water and find food, which is a particularly useful skill given that it lives in murky <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-evolve-africa/">African</a> rivers. Since us humans don’t use electricity to find our way in the world, this system can be a bit of a mystery to scientists. But researchers at <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/content/">Columbia University</a> have just found a very cool quirk in this fish’s electric navigation system.

In the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/neuron/home">Neuron</a>, the scientists have published evidence that the elephant-nose fish’s ability to “see” an “electrical image” of its surroundings requires it to filter out the fish’s own electrical interference. 

This fish has two specialized systems to help it sense its surroundings. The passive system is responsible for the tiny electric signatures of everything that lives in its habitat, while an active system voluntarily emits quick pulses of electricity. These electrical pulses are used to both communicate with other fish and allow the individual to sense its environment by producing an electrical image.

“The fish’s own electrical pulses cause large neural responses that interfere with the passive system," says Nathanial Sawtell, a neuroscientist at Columbia University. “Our work shows how changes in neural connections produce negative images to cancel out this interference.”

Earlier studies have postulated that this fish is able to generate these negative images, but this study presents the first evidence of this theory and the functional importance of this trait.

“We needed to determine whether being able to predict its own electrical signals would help the fish better detect environmental cues,” says Sawtell. "So using both neural recordings and behavioral experiments, we showed that these predictions known as negative images actually do help the fish sense external signals related to hunting prey.”

By exposing the fish to a drug that interfered with the formation of negative images, the researchers found that they essentially blinded the fish to external electrical signals. 

“An important part of this work has been the integration of experimental and theoretical approaches to understanding neural circuits,” explains Sawtell. “From here, we’re trying to take the lessons we’ve learned from the electric fish and apply them to related systems, including the mammalian cerebellum and auditory system.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

African fish uses electrical signals to navigate murky waters

The elephant-nose fish – scientific name Gnathonemus petersii – uses...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

[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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...