For centuries, humans have shaped the traits of domesticated animals to meet their needs. From larger cows producing more milk to dogs bred for specific temperaments, selective breeding has transformed species in remarkable ways. Recent research on German pigs has revealed just how quickly these changes can occur.



A team from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (<a href="https://www.uni-halle.de/?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MLU</a>) has found that German domestic pigs have experienced dramatic skull modifications within a century. 



Their snouts have shortened, and their foreheads have flattened, traits that were not intentionally selected. The findings provide fresh insight into the unintended <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/old-and-wise-animals-are-essential-for-the-survival-of-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">consequences</a> of breeding practices.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-century-of-change-in-pig-breeding">A century of change in pig breeding</h2>



Pigs have been an essential part of human agriculture for thousands of years. Over time, their appearance has shifted significantly, influenced by both natural and human-driven factors. 



In Germany, the early 20th century marked a turning point in pig breeding, as demand for pork increased dramatically. Farmers prioritized traits such as rapid growth, high fertility, and efficient meat production.



"The demand for pork in Germany increased significantly at the beginning of the 20th century, and breeders were encouraged to optimize their animals. They needed them to grow quickly, provide good meat, and be fertile," explained Dr. Renate Schafberg, Head of the Domestic Animal Collection at MLU.



To understand the impact of these breeding efforts, Dr. Schafberg worked with Dr. Ashleigh Haruda from Oxford University to analyze 135 pig skulls from different time periods.



The study included two domestic breeds - Deutsches Edelschwein and Deutsches Landschwein - as well as wild boars, which served as a control group. The results revealed a striking transformation in domestic pigs, while wild boars showed no comparable changes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-surprising-skull-modifications">Surprising skull modifications</h2>



One of the most significant findings of the study was the extent of skull changes in domesticated pigs. Their snouts became notably shorter, and their foreheads lost their outward curve. These modifications occurred in both domestic breeds, despite the fact that they were raised separately.



"We didn’t expect such pronounced differences to appear within a span of only 100 years," said Dr. Schafberg. The fact that both breeds experienced similar changes suggests that the modifications were not the result of direct selection for skull shape.



"These changes occurred even though breeders did not select the animals specifically for their skull shape, as this trait was not important for breeding. Instead, the changes appear to be an unintended by-product of selecting the desired traits," noted Dr. Schafberg.



This discovery highlights how the pursuit of specific breeding goals can lead to unforeseen alterations in an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-animal-will-replace-humans-as-earths-dominant-species-this-scientist-has-an-idea/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animal</a>’s physical structure.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-could-diet-play-a-role">Could diet play a role?</h2>



While breeding practices played a major role in shaping the skulls of domestic pigs, another factor may have contributed: diet. 



Nutrition is a key influence on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sheep-have-been-intertwined-with-humans-for-over-11000-years/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">growth and development</a> of animals. Modern pigs are primarily fed high-protein pellets designed to support rapid growth and efficient meat production.



By contrast, wild boars continue to consume a varied diet, including roots, nuts, and small animals. Their skulls have remained unchanged over the past century, suggesting that their natural feeding habits have helped maintain their original features. 



The study raises intriguing questions about the relationship between diet and physical evolution in domesticated animals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-power-of-human-influence">Power of human influence</h2>



The findings demonstrate the remarkable speed at which human intervention can shape animal species. While many assume that significant evolutionary changes take millions of years, selective breeding can accelerate these processes dramatically.



"Charles Darwin assumed that long periods of time - millions of years - are required for major changes to take place. Our work is further proof that humans can greatly accelerate this process through selective breeding," said co-author Dr. Frank Steinheimer, Head of the Central Repository of Natural Science Collections at MLU.



These insights have broader implications for agriculture and animal husbandry. As selective breeding continues to shape domesticated animals, researchers must consider the potential consequences, both intended and unintended. 



The study serves as a reminder that even small changes in breeding practices can have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-are-moving-north-and-breeding-earlier-in-a-changing-climate/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lasting effects</a> on animal physiology.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pig-breeding-may-continue-in-the-future">Pig breeding may continue in the future</h2>



As the global demand for meat continues to grow, breeding practices will likely continue to evolve. Understanding how these methods impact animal development is crucial for ensuring sustainable and ethical farming. 



Scientists will need to explore the long-term effects of breeding choices, considering not only productivity but also the health and well-being of animals.



The study was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (<a href="https://www.bmbf.de/EN/Home/home_node.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">BMBF</a>) and the European Research Council (<a href="https://erc.europa.eu/homepage" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ERC</a>). 



The research offers a compelling look at the complex relationship between human influence and animal evolution, shedding light on the ways in which farming practices shape the very biology of domesticated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-conservation-day-2024-saving-species-from-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">species</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241039" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Society Open Science</a>.



-----



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Selective breeding has dramatically sped up the evolution of pigs

For centuries, humans have shaped the traits of domesticated animals to meet their needs. From larger cows producing more milk to dogs bred for specific temperaments, selective breeding has transformed species in remarkable ways. Recent research on German pigs has revealed just how quickly these changes can occur. A team from Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) has found that German domestic pigs have experienced dramatic skull modifications within a century. Their snouts have shortened, and their foreheads have flattened, traits that were not intentionally selected. The findings...

A team of scientists at the <a href="http://www.uky.edu/UKHome/">University of Kentucky</a> successfully assembled the genome of the axolotl, a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/decline-giant-salamander/">salamander</a> species that is able to regenerate almost every part of its body. Having access to the complete genome may help scientists figure out regeneration in humans.

“It's hard to find a body part they can't regenerate: the limbs, the tail, the spinal cord, the eye, and in some species, the lens, even half of their brain has been shown to regenerate," said Randal Voss, a professor in the <a href="https://scobirc.med.uky.edu/">UK Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center </a>about the axolotl.

Voss and his colleague Jeramiah Smith, an associate professor in the <a href="https://bio.as.uky.edu/">UK Department of Biology</a>, adapted a classical genetic organization method called “linkage mapping” to efficiently assemble the massive axolotl genome in the correct order — a vital process necessary for understanding how the axolotl genome compares to the human genome. This is the first instance that a genome of this size has been properly assembled and organized.

"Just a few years ago, no one thought it possible to assemble a 30+GB genome," Smith said. "We have now shown it is possible using a cost effective and accessible method, which opens up the possibility of routinely sequencing other animals with large genomes."

Using the assembled axolotl genome, Voss and Smith identified a heart defect-causing gene, which thusly provides a new model of human disease.

"Biomedical research is increasingly becoming a genetically-driven enterprise," Voss explained. "To understand human disease, you have to see be able to study gene functions in other organisms like the axolotl."

He continued, "Now that we have access to genomic information, we can really start to probe axolotl gene functions and learn how they are able to regenerate body parts. Hopefully someday we can translate this information to human therapy, with potential applications for spinal cord injury, stroke, joint repair...the sky's the limit, really."

Voss and Smith’s work will appear in the February issue of <a href="https://genome.cshlp.org/">Genome Research</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Studying salamanders could open the door to human regeneration

A team of scientists at the University of Kentucky successfully...

A report from <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/">New Scientist</a> has revealed that a previously unknown animal was discovered in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/china-gene-edited-babies-illegal/">China</a> among 600-million-year-old rocks. The unnamed creature dates back further than Dickinsonia, a mysterious organism that was named Earth's oldest animal just last year. 

Discovered by Professor Zhenbing She of the <a href="https://en.cug.edu.cn/">China University of Geosciences</a>, the animal precedes Dickinsonia by more than 40 million years. Dickinsonia was described from pancake-shaped fossils that date back to the Ediacaran period around 558 million years ago. 

While all of the primitive Ediacaran creatures vanished 541 million years ago, the newly discovered animal is believed to be related to modern-day comb jellies.

“The origin and earliest evolution of animals is a fascinating question that has puzzled scientists for many decades,” said Professor She.

According to New Scientist, the fossils were found in a drill core from the Doushantuo Formation in southern China. The fossils stood out to Professor She and his team because they were shaped like a jellyfish.


Under the microscope, the scientists saw what appeared to be muscle tissue, tentacles, nerve cells, mucous layers, gonads, and cilia.

Professor She announced his findings at the <a href="https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/">Geological Society</a> meeting in London last week, where he said that the features of the new animal are very similar to those of the comb jelly phylum Ctenophora. 

Professor She explained that the cilia clusters look like structures called ctenes that are used by comb jellies to swim. He also pointed out that the fossils most closely resemble the living genus of comb jellies known as Pleurobrachia, or sea gooseberries.

“It was a very interesting talk - it seems like they have some very interesting biological creatures preserved,” Emily Mitchell from the University of Cambridge, who attended the conference, told New Scientist. “If these fossils are comb jellies, they may have been part of a surprisingly complex ecosystem.”

The full, exclusive report from New Scientist can be found <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24132142-700-exclusive-600-million-year-old-blobs-are-earliest-animals-ever-found/??utm_medium=NLC&amp;utm_source=NSNS&amp;utm_campaign=2019-0124-GLOBAL-NSDAY&amp;utm_content=NSDAY">here</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image: Stock image of a modern sea gooseberry

Organism found in Chinese rocks may be Earth’s earliest known animal

A report from New Scientist has revealed that a previously...

The most recent influenza pandemic occurred in the years 2009-2010, and was caused by the H1N1 strain – which is considered to be relatively mild. But this “relatively mild” strain of flu resulted in the deaths of roughly half a million people around the globe. However, when compared to historic pandemics such as the Spanish flu in 1918 – which killed 50 million – the damage caused by the H1N1 pandemic does seem rather minimal.

Despite our distance from major influenza pandemics, it stands to reason that researchers and healthcare professionals do all they can to prevent these viruses from spreading. One of the major fears currently is that a deadly flu strain could jump from wild birds into humans through the poultry we raise and eat. The strain could then potentially mutate into a pandemic airborne form, which may spread more easily between humans.

Now, new research details how British scientists are developing gene-edited chickens, designed to be completely resistant to flu, in an effort to stop the next deadly pandemic. The first batch of transgenic chicks are scheduled to be hatched later this year at the Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, according to Wendy Barclay, a professor of virology at Imperial College London and co-leader of the research. 

Researchers altered the birds’ DNA using the widely-publicized new gene editing technology called <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/harmful-effects-crispr-gene-editing/">CRISPR</a>. The edits made remove parts of a protein (ANP32) that the flu virus needs to survive, which then makes the chickens completely flu-resistant. In making these chickens resistant to influenza, this process could lead to us forming a buffer between humans and wild birds. “If we could prevent influenza virus crossing from wild birds into chickens, we would stop the next pandemic at source,” says Barclay. 

Barclay has teamed up with scientists at Roslin Institute for this research. Ironically, Roslin is where scientists first cloned Dolly the sheep, so it’s really no surprise they are in the mix on another study that involves manipulating DNA. 

Despite the researcher’s belief in the effectiveness of this gene-editing approach, Barclay knows that one of the biggest hurdles could be poultry producers’ concerns about public acceptance of these transgenic chickens. “People eat food from farmed animals that have been altered by decades of traditional breeding,” she says. “But they might be nervous about eating gene edited food.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Scientists create flu-resistant chickens to prevent the next pandemic

The most recent influenza pandemic occurred in the years 2009-2010,...

With zoonotic diseases, the concern is often which viruses we can catch from an animal. Rarely do we hear about animals being <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vaccine-protect-chimps-ebola-virus/">infected by the same diseases as humans</a>. 

But a little less than two years after it was discovered that chimpanzees in Uganda were dying from the “common cold,” researchers from the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> identified two more human respiratory viruses infecting communities of chimps in the same region.

A team of researchers, led by Tony Goldberg, an epidemiologist and professor at UW-Madison, studied chimp communities suffering from two simultaneous outbreaks of respiratory viruses between 2016 and 2017. 

The researchers published their findings in the journal Emerging Microbes and Infections.

One group, the Ngogo community, lost 25 chimpanzees and 44 percent of the 205 members in the community became infected during the outbreak. 

Another smaller group, the Kanyawara community, had a larger percent of chimpanzees who were infected but none of the chimpanzees in the Kanyawaya community died. 

The researchers were able to collect the bodies of recently dead chimpanzees in Uganda’s Kibale National Park before they had decomposed which allowed them to conduct a rare post-mortem comparison between the two chimp communities. 

The team discovered that the Kanyawara chimps had become infected by the parainfluenza virus 3, while the Ngogo chimps had become infected by the metapneumovirus. 

“This was really shocking,” Goldberg said in a UW-Madison <a href="https://news.wisc.edu/human-respiratory-viruses-continue-to-spread-in-wild-chimpanzees/">news release</a>. “At the time, we were convinced that the same virus must have been causing both outbreaks, especially considering that the outbreaks were happening at exactly the same time.”

Both viruses are common in humans. 

“These are very common human viruses that circulate worldwide and cause ‘the sniffles’ in kids,” said Goldberg. “In people, they are no big deal unless the patient has asthma or another underlying condition.”

But for the chimpanzees, it’s a different story, and these common cold viruses are causing more severe symptoms. 

In 2013, researchers discovered that the human cold virus rhinovirus C was infecting chimps in Uganda, but this new study shows that chimps are susceptible to a wide range of respiratory viruses that originate in humans. 

“So, it seems like a plethora of common and mostly benign respiratory viruses of people can be transmitted to chimps in this part of the world, causing disease and sometimes death,” said Goldberg. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Richard Wrangham

Chimps in Uganda dying from common human viruses

With zoonotic diseases, the concern is often which viruses we...

Wildlife poaching has long been a threat to many threatened and endangered species throughout the world. As populations of targeted species continue to decline, technology has increasingly been used as a tool to combat poaching.

<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-41672803/drones-are-being-used-to-protect-elephants-and-rhinos-from-poachers">Drones</a> are being used in Africa to watch over wild elephant and rhino populations and <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/new-anti-poaching-technology-leads-to-dozens-of-arrests-of-wildlife-criminals-in-africa">infrared cameras</a> have already resulted in the arrest of dozens of poachers. But now, in an effort to protect sea turtles, fake GPS eggs are being used to track the movement of poachers.

There are seven species of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-sea-turtle-species/">sea turtles</a>, all of whom face pressures from poaching. All but one species of sea turtle is listed as Vulnerable or higher on the IUCN Red List. The elusive Flatback turtle is listed as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List but is listed as Vulnerable under the Australian Commonwealth’s Endangered Species Protection Act, according to <a href="https://www.seeturtles.org/flatback-turtle/">See Turtles</a>.  

Despite protection under national and international laws, sea turtles are heavily poached for their meat, shells and eggs. Turtle eggs are considered a delicacy, aphrodisiac or even a bar snack in some places. Their shells can be used to make jewelry and souvenirs. In the last 100 years,<a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/8005/12881238#threats"> millions</a> of Hawksbill turtles have been killed for the tortoiseshell trade alone.

Without intervention, poaching could result in the extinction of our ocean’s sea turtles. That is where the fake GPS eggs come in. Paso Pacifico, a non-profit that works to conserve ecosystems along Central America’s Pacific slope, has developed a unique product called the InvestEGGator, a GPS tracking device that looks and feels like a real sea turtle egg. 

The non-profit works in Central America, where sea turtle egg poaching is common. Hawksbill turtles in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Ecuador and Leatherback turtles in Mexico, Costa Rica and Nicaragua are among the<a href="https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/import/downloads/ci_threatened_turtlemap_final.pdf"> world’s 11 most threatened sea turtle populations.</a> It is believed that poachers destroy more than 90% of sea turtle nests on many Central American beaches.

The GPS eggs are placed in real sea turtle nests for poachers to grab. Once the poachers take the tracking devices, Paso Pacifico can receive information on poachers’ smuggling routes. 

“Armed with that information, we intend to work with authorities to dismantle egg trafficking, both domestically and internationally,” the group says on their<a href="http://pasopacifico.org/project/investeggator-sea-turtle-eggs/"> website</a>.

“If you're deploying eggs on several beaches in a country, and let's say they all end up going to the same neighborhood or the same block, then that suggests maybe a very centralized network with a couple of really key players,” Kim Williams-Guillén, who works for Paso Pacifico, explained in a<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/cracking-down-on-poaching-with-3d-printed-fake-turtle-eggs"> PBS interview</a>.

The eggs have the potential to provide important insight into the movement of poachers and traffickers who sell the products in the illicit wildlife market. In addition, the eggs may also help locals, some of whom may be poachers themselves. 

Paso Pacifico hires locals to work as rangers who patrol the beaches and collect scientific data. The ranger jobs provide an alternative for individuals who may rely on poaching for an income. In this way, the ranger program is not only helping to watch over sea turtles but transform individuals from poachers to guardians.

Paso Pacifico continues to refine the InvestEGGator in the hopes of making the technology available for widespread use. The technology may be able to help other species such as birds whose eggs are smuggled for the wildlife trade.

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Fake GPS turtle eggs are being used to help track wildlife poachers

Wildlife poaching has long been a threat to many threatened...

The analysis of 250 million-year-old fossils has led to the discovery of a marine reptile that resembled a duck-billed platypus. Eretmorhipis carrolldongi existed in shallow seas during the Triassic period, and hunted for prey by relying on its sense of touch using a platypus-like bill.


In addition to having a cartilaginous bill, Eretmorhipis was about 70 centimeters in length with a rigid body, small head, and tiny eyes. The creature also had four flippers for swimming and steering, with bony plates along its back.

Study co-author Professor Ryosuke Motani is a paleontologist at the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a>. He explained that Eretmorhipis was previously known only from partial fossils without a head.

“This is a very strange animal,” said Professor Motani. “When I started thinking about the biology I was really puzzled.”

The two new fossils revealed that the animal's skull had bones that would have supported a bill of cartilage. Just like the modern platypus, there is a large hole in the bones in the middle of the bill.

[caption id="attachment_1866047" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/marine-animal.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1866047" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/marine-animal.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="525" /></a> Image Credit: Gianluca Danini[/caption]

In the early <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/new-pterodactyl-species-triassic/">Triassic</a>, the region in China where the Eretmorhipis fossils were found was covered by a shallow sea that was around a meter deep. Underneath, a carbonate platform extended for hundreds of miles. The remains were recovered at what would have been deeper holes, or lagoons, in the platform. 

While there are no fossils to show what Eretmorhipis ate, it likely fed on shrimp, worms, and other small invertebrates, according to Professor Motani. He said that the creature’s long, bony body likely meant that it was a poor swimmer. “It wouldn't survive in the modern world, but it didn't have any rivals at the time.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/scientificreports">Scientific Reports</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Gianluca Danini

Strange marine animal from the Triassic had a platypus-like bill

The analysis of 250 million-year-old fossils has led to the...

A new study published by the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> may help to explain why toxic methylmercury concentrations in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/record-payment-tuna-ocean-fish/">tuna fish</a> vary across different geographic regions. The researchers have mapped the regional variations in an effort to examine the biological, environmental, and ecological factors that are driving these fluctuations. 

Methylmercury is highly toxic form of mercury that can cause damage to the central nervous system in humans. Methylmercury is known to accumulate in the aquatic food chain, potentially leading to greater concentrations in fish that are higher up on the food chain, including tuna. 

Mercury compounds are released into the atmosphere from natural sources, such as volcanoes and human activities like gold mining. When these compounds reach the ocean, natural bacterial reactions convert them into methylmercury.

The scientists focused their investigation on bigeye, yellowfin, and albacore tuna captured in a region known as the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (WCPO). For most of the samples, the researchers found that methylmercury levels were below food safety guidelines.

The study also confirmed previous findings from other ocean regions that body size is the primary factor in determining contamination within a species. Bigger fish accumulate a higher concentration of methylmercury in their tissues compared to smaller fish. Furthermore, the experts determined that this concentration is affected by sea-surface temperature and the depth of the ocean layer in which tuna feed. 

Based on their findings, the team developed a model to help predict methylmercury levels in tuna. The model was found to be accurate for WCPO, as well as for the North Central and Central Equatorial Pacific Oceans, but underestimated levels in fish from the Eastern Equatorial Pacific Ocean. The researchers explained that the research could help in assessing the risks and benefits of eating tuna caught in a particular location.


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a>.
--
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why do some tuna contain toxic mercury levels, while others don’t?

A new study published by the American Chemical Society may...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-krill-ocean-acidification/">Krill</a> are a key food source for many marine animals including whales, penguins, seabirds, seals, and fish. Krill are small, shrimp-like crustaceans that swim in vast swarms that are sometimes dense and wide enough that they can be viewed from space, according to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/group/krill/">National Geographic</a>.

Unfortunately, Antarctic krill populations appear to be declining. A new study has found that climate change is driving Antarctic krill southward and changing species distribution which could have an irreversible impact on the Southern Ocean food web.

The study was led by researchers from the <a href="https://www.pml.ac.uk/">Plymouth Marine Laboratory</a> and the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a> and published in the journal Nature Climate Change.

Not only did the researchers find that krill are shifting towards the South Pole, but the further north you go, the steeper the declines in krill density.

The shifts are bad news for the many species that rely on krill, and the study shows that krill distribution predictions based on environmental changes are coming true.

Researchers have been collecting data on Antarctic Krill since the 1920s. At first, the data was meant to help inform whale conservation efforts but the researchers identified an interesting trend in krill distribution in the data.

The researchers say that from the 1980s onwards, the data shows clear changes in distribution and density in Antarctic krill populations.

“Our results suggest that over the past 40 years, the amount of krill has, on average, gone down, and also the location of the krill has contracted to much less of the habitat,” Simeon Hill, a lead author of the study, told <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-46953652">BBC News</a>. “That suggests all these other animals that eat krill will face much more intense competition with each other for this important food resource.”

Krill feed on phytoplankton, and the distribution changes likely have a lot to do with the krill’s search for abundant food and a more hospitable habitat with more sea ice.

The late 80s saw a climate oscillation called the Southern Annular Mode which produced warmer temperatures and reduced sea ice coverage.

According to the BBC, the Southern Annular Mode is one of the main drivers of krill distribution changes in recent years. The researchers also found changes in krill size. 

“And that's because the population has increasingly become dominated by older and larger animals,” Hill told BBC News. “This is a result of a decline in the number of krill entering the population - what we call juvenile recruitment.”

The study shows how sensitive the Antarctic ecosystem is to climate change and calls for stronger climate change mitigation to protect the Southern Ocean food web from collapsing as krill get more scarce.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Changes in Antarctic krill numbers could disrupt an entire food web

Krill are a key food source for many marine animals...

A new study has found that the flashy feathers which make peacocks so noticeable to one another may actually help them to hide from predators in the wild. According to the experts, many of the animals that pose the biggest threats to <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/male-peacocks-courtship-display/">peacocks</a> lack the color vision to detect the brilliant colors of the tail feathers. 

The research team pointed out that while a peacock’s feathers would dramatically stand out to humans, large cats and stray dogs only have two color receptors, which would make the feathers blend into the natural surroundings.

“Feathers perceived by humans to be vividly colorful are often presumed to be equally conspicuous to other mammals, and thus to present an enhanced predation risk,” wrote the researchers.

“However, many mammals that prey on adult birds have dichromatic visual systems with only two types of color-sensitive visual receptors (one sensitive to ultraviolet light), rather than the three characteristic of humans and four of most birds.”

This means that a male peacock could show off its tail feathers for mating purposes without getting the attention of predators.

The study was focused on how peacock tail feathers would appear to predators and to other peacocks. The team also used multispectral imaging and reflectance spectroscopy to compare the appearance of color against green vegetation.

The investigation confirmed that the feathers would look very different to mammals than to other peacocks.

“When viewed by tetrachromatic birds against a background of green vegetation, most of the feathers studied had color and brightness contrasts similar to values previously found for ripe fruit,” wrote the study authors. 

“By contrast, when viewed by dichromat mammalian predators, the color and brightness contrasts of these feathers were only weakly detectable and often did not reach detection thresholds for typical viewing distances.”

The study is published online at <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/">bioRxiv.org</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How a peacock may use its flashy feathers to evade predators

A new study has found that the flashy feathers which...

Researchers have found previously unknown colonies of two native <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hawaiian-forest-birds-endangered/">Hawaiian bird species</a> on the island of Oahu. The discovery of Newell's Shearwaters and Hawaiian Petrels comes as a welcome surprise to conservationists after habitat loss and other threats have dramatically driven down the numbers of these two populations. 

Between 1993 and 2013, Newell's Shearwaters declined by 94 percent and Hawaiian Petrels declined by 78 percent. Both bird species were thought to have disappeared entirely from Oahu in the late 1700s.

A team led by Lindsay Young of the <a href="https://pacificrimconservation.org/">Pacific Rim Conservation</a> used a spatial model based on elevation, forest cover, and illumination to identify potential suitable breeding habitat for both bird species on Oahu. In 2016 and 2017, the researchers deployed acoustic recording units across the island to listen for bird calls at 16 different sites. They were surprised to detect the presence of petrels at one site and shearwaters at two sites.

“We were doing a statewide survey for these species for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of recovery action planning, but Oahu was not initially included as one of the sites to survey, since evidence suggested they weren't there,” said Young. “Since we're Oahu-based, we thought we would at least put a few recording units out to see if there was anything. And we were surprised, to say the least, that we not only had calls detected, but detected both species across two years.”

According to the researchers, the birds may be the last survivors of remnant breeding populations on Oahu, or young birds from other islands searching for mates and breeding sites.

“Either way, it gives us hope that we will be able to use social attraction - that is, using calls and decoys - to attract them nest on an island where they were once abundant,” said Young. 

The study is published in <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/content/condor-ornithological-applications">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer
Image Credit: Lindsay Young

Endangered birds found unexpectedly on the island of Oahu

Researchers have found previously unknown colonies of two native Hawaiian...

Centrosaurus pair

Everyone knows or thinks they know of T. Rex and Velociraptor sp. from popular portrayals in movies and books like Jurassic Park.  We’re accustomed to these examples of dangerous predatory dinosaurs but those of us seriously interested in dinosaurs know they’re just the tip of the iceberg.  

Large raptors like Utahraptor and other Tyrannosaurids like Albertosaurus of Canada or Teratophoneus of the Grand Staircase-Escalante barely start to fill out a history of almost 200 million years occupied by the likes of Allosaurus and even giant birds (technically dinosaurs) like Moas.  It’s a history that spans the whole globe as well. Predatory Tarbosaurus lived in Mongolia with Velociraptor, theropod (two legged predator) dinosaurs have been found in South America and Africa.  A few theropod fossils have been found in Australia and even Antarctica as well. But now, a new chapter in the history of predator dinosaurs has been discovered.

As <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/largest-predatory-jurassic-dinosaur/">we reported</a> last month, researchers working in the Italian Alps have discovered what so far is the oldest example of a ceratosaurian.  Ceratosaurians are the oldest clade of theropod dinosaurs, perhaps best known by the horned Ceratosaurus as well as the Dilophosaurus that played an important role in Jurassic Park.  Both of these examples have strange head gear, the crest on top of the Dilophosaurus (sorry but the neck frill was pure Hollywood invention) and a horn on the nose of the Ceratosaurus.  

As the oldest of theropods, it’s possible that these dinosaurs were the ancestors of all theropod dinosaurs but it’s impossible to say for sure at this point.  According to the <a href="http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/saurischia/ceratosauria.html">University of California Museum of Paleontology</a>, Ceratosaurians were very bird-like that scientists believe first evolved during the Triassic, a period that started about 225 million years ago.  Despite this, no examples of Ceratosaurians have been found earlier than the Jurassic. 

The new dinosaur discovered in Italian Alps is still a Jurassic dinosaur of about 198 million years ago but it’s the oldest of its type found so far.  Other theropod dinosaurs close to the same age are rare and often incomplete. Other old theropod dinosaurs from Europe include incomplete discoveries like a pelvis, vertebrae and femur found in England and a 40% complete Dracoraptor skeleton from Wales. 

The new dinosaur has been named Saltriovenator zanellai and is not only older than any other Ceratosaurians found so far, it also seems to represent the largest predator dinosaur that old known to science. The dinosaur is about 25 million years older than previously known large theropod dinosaurs.  This is also the first Jurassic dinosaur fossil found in Italy. The find was <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/5976/">just recently published</a> but the fossil was found by an amateur fossil hunter at a quarry back in 1996.

It seems from bite marks left by invertebrates on the bones that the dinosaur died and was nibbled at in the ocean, it likely drifted into before eventually being covered in sediment and fossilized in an area that slowly became part of the Italian Alps.  

The dinosaur is estimated to have weighed 1 ton, measuring 7.5 meters in length when alive and was armed with sharp serrated teeth similar in form and function to other theropod dinosaur teeth as well as living Komodo dragons.  Uniquely S. zanellai has three fingers rather than four as would be expected and seems to have some features common to later dinosaurs mixed with those of earlier dinosaurs.  

The new dinosaur is important in showing the state of dinosaur evolution at that time.  Despite the probability of Ceratosaurians in the Triassic, we know very little about these early theropod dinosaurs.  The end of the Triassic represented a major extinction much less famous than the one that killed off dinosaurs. So the beginning of the Jurassic represent a time when new forms were evolving and filling niches left open by the earlier extinction event. 

 It seems that Saltriovenator zanellai is just one example of an explosion in the diversity of Ceratosaurians spreading across the world.  Examples of other dinosaurs from Morrocco, South Africa, Massachusetts, Antarctica and elsewhere seem to reflect this interpretation of dinosaur evolution.  In <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/5976/">their paper</a>, the scientists, Cristiano Dal Sasso​, Simone Maganuco and Andrea Cau describe the importance of the find to dinosaur paleontology, 

“…In this context, the discovery of a new specimen from the Sinemurian of Italy is extremely relevant as it is among the oldest Jurassic theropods, it is larger than all other pre-Aalenian theropods (see Skeletal reconstruction and body size section, below) and it improves our knowledge on some of the macroevolutionary patterns that would have characterized the evolution of Theropoda during the Jurassic. It also represents the first dinosaur skeleton from the Italian Alps, the first of Jurassic age, and the second theropod skeleton found in Italy...”

In the evolution of birds more generally, this find also represents a new piece of information on the formation of bird hands (and eventually wings).  The fossil shows that long before evolving into wings, the arrangement of bones in dinosaurs were for grasping and struggling with prey. Today, we’re more accustomed to thinking of living dinosaurs (birds) as having no real hands at all but wings, flippers or nearly useless vestiges.  While munching on hot wings or watching birds sitting on a wire, it’s interesting to reflect on the amazing power of evolution over mind boggling lengths of time. 

It’s likely that older Ceratosaurian dinosaurs are still hidden somewhere waiting to be found.  Paleontology itself is a speculative science relying on necessarily incomplete physical evidence and hypotheses based on the best of this evidence.  This discovery if anything verifies what scientists have thought about the origins of theropod dinosaurs, showing that they were evolved into something similar to what we expect later in geologic history by the Jurassic.  Scientists speculate that they may have existed even earlier than that. This discovery also shows that Europe played an important role in the evolution of theropod dinosaurs and opens up new possibilities of where to look for them.

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: Lucas Attwell

Meet the oldest large predatory dinosaur ever found

Everyone knows or thinks they know of T. Rex and...

A subglacial <a href="https://www.earth.com/image/operation-icebridge-returns-to-antartica/">Antarctic</a> lake buried beneath a kilometer of ice contains the remains of ancient life that have been preserved for thousands of years. 

Researchers that drilled into Lake Mercer to study the lake and collect sediment samples found carcasses of crustaceans, a tardigrade, and even preserved plant material in the mud collected from the lake floor. 

The discovery was part of the <a href="https://salsa-antarctica.org/concept-and-purpose/">Subglacial Antarctic Lakes Scientific Access</a> expedition which used a high-pressure water drill to melt a small hole through the thick layer of ice that sits above Lake Mercer. 

This is the first time that the lake has ever been explored in depth, as previously, radar and remote sensing technology were the only way to access the lake. 

After cleaning mud off a water temperature instrument, David Hardwood, a micro-paleontologist who was part of the SALA expedition, examined the mud under a microscope, according to a release from <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>.

Hardwood found diatom shells and crustacean carcasses that looked relatively new. 

“It looked really fresh,” Hardwood told Nature. “Like something that had been living.”

Lake water samples that were collected were also analyzed and revealed that the lake was teeming with bacteria and had plenty of oxygen to support life. 

At first, Hardwood was concerned that the equipment used to measure the water temperature might have been contaminated, and so the SALA team cleaned the equipment and dropped it back in the lake for another test. Again, Hardwood found ancient animal remains. 

The ancient signs of life are both exciting and puzzling for the researchers who discovered them, according to Nature.

It is unclear how the carcasses, shells, and microbes got there in the first place, especially since some of the ancient species discovered used to live on or near land.

One potential theory is that the creatures originated from ponds in the Transantarctic Mountains near Lake Mercer and a period of warming washed sediment and organic material into the lake which was then covered by ice as temperatures shifted. 

The next step for the SALA researchers is to carbon date the organic material found in the mud, which could help show exactly how and when the different animals ended up in Lake Mercer. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Billy Collins/SALSA Science Team/Nature

Ancient fossils found preserved in Antarctic subglacial lake

A subglacial Antarctic lake buried beneath a kilometer of ice...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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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...