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...

Dr. Alex Taylor of the <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/">University of Auckland</a> has been studying New Caledonian <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ravens-crows-corvid-intelligence/">crows</a> for years, documenting how the birds can use tools to perform elaborate tasks. Dr. Taylor and her colleagues have now demonstrated that these birds can construct their own tools from memory and even refine them over time.

New Caledonian crows are the only non-human species known to craft their own tools. Other animals use tools in the wild, but the crows actually refine stick tools by adding a hook for pulling insects such as spiders out of their hiding places.

Prior to this study, it was a mystery if the crows were learning their crafting ability from other crows and if the designs were being gradually modified.

“We were trying to understand why the tool designs of New Caledonian crows appear to have increased in complexity in the wild, when these birds don't appear to copy each others' behaviors, teach each other or have language,” said Dr. Taylor.

“Put simply, how could these birds faithfully copy their tool designs from one generation to the next and then improve them when they don't appear to copy?”

The research team, led by Sarah Jelbert of the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>, used a reward system to train eight crows to drop different sizes of paper into a vending machine. Rewards were only given for a specific size of paper.

After the crows had been conditioned to recognize what size of paper they needed to succeed in earning a reward, they were given a large piece of blank cardboard which gave no indication of the targeted paper sizes.

The researchers were surprised to find that the crows ripped the cardboard into pieces that resembled the ideal size.“We had no idea if the crows could do this,” said Dr. Taylor.


According to the experts, this shows that the crows were able to form a mental image of their tool designs.

“Tool-making New Caledonian crows show some hallmarks of cumulative culture; but this claim is contentious, in part because these birds do not appear to imitate,” wrote the study authors.

“One alternative hypothesis is that crows’ tool designs could be culturally transmitted through a process of mental template matching.

“That is, individuals could use or observe other crows’ tools, form a mental template of a particular tool design, and then reproduce this in their own manufacture - a process analogous to birdsong learning.”

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

Crows are smarter than you think and can build tools from memory

Dr. Alex Taylor of the University of Auckland has been...

Researchers at the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/">University of Adelaide</a> have identified three new species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wasps-communicate-food-nearby/">wasp</a>. One of the discoveries is a parasitoid wasp that preys on caterpillars, injecting its eggs into the host. The baby larvae eat their way from the inside out of the caterpillars and repeat the same process as adults.

There are thousands of species of wasps, beatles, worms, and flies that are parasitoids. The biology of parasitoidal behavior has inspired science fiction movies, and the new parasitoid wasp was named Xenomorph after the highly-aggressive alien species featured in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien. 

“Dolichogenidea xenomorph acts as a parasite in caterpillars in a similar way that the fictional Alien creature does in its human host,” explained lead researcher and PhD student Erinn Fagan-Jeffries.

“The wasp is also black and shiny like the alien, and has a couple of weird traits for the genus - so xenomorph, meaning ‘strange form,’ fits really well.”

Parasitoid wasps help to regulate populations of their insect hosts, and have been used to help farmers control caterpillars.

The researchers collected D. xenomorph from Queanbeyan, New South Wales, and in southern Australia, and they speculate that the species is widely distributed across Australia.

“We collected over 500 wasps from a particular subfamily, from all over Australia, and determined that there were more than 200 different species just in that relatively small number of specimens,” said Professor Andrew Austin, who supervised the study.

“There are currently only 100 species described in this subfamily for Australia, so we’ve at least doubled the number of known species. It’s important to document our biodiversity so that we can make informed conservation decisions about our environment. Some of these wasps may potentially be useful biological control agents for pests, but we just don’t know about them yet.”

D. xenomorph has an exceptionally long ovipositor, which is the sharp-tipped organ used by the females to inject their eggs into a host. This particular species preys on a type of moth caterpillar that feeds on Eucalyptus leaves.


“At less than 5mm in length, Dolichogenidea xenomorph might seem to lack the punch of its fearsome namesake. But size is relative; to a host caterpillar, it’s an awesome predator,” said Fagan-Jeffries.


The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17550998">Molecular Ecology Resources</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: Erinn Fagan-Jeffries

Bizarre parasitic wasp named after the movie Alien

Researchers at the University of Adelaide have identified three new...

Leprosy is not a disease that makes headlines as much these days because scientific advances and treatments have largely demystified it. 

In years prior, leprosy, or Hansen’s Disease, was considered so dangerous and infectious that those who were diagnosed with the disease were quarantined to <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/05/when-the-last-patient-dies/394163/">leper colonies</a>. 

Leprosy is still contracted today, and it can cause permanent nerve damage and disfigurement, although according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/leprosy/index.html">Centers for Disease Control</a>, people diagnosed with leprosy can still work and lead active lives during treatment. 

Some cases of leprosy in the southern United States have been linked to armadillos who carry the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/red-squirrels-britain-infected-leprosy/">Mycobacterium leprae bacteria</a> that causes leprosy.

Researchers from <a href="https://www.colostate.edu/">Colorado State University</a> conducted a study to see if nine-banded armadillos who also live in the Brazilian Amazon transmit leprosy to local communities that hunt and eat  armadillo.

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE, and results show that 62 percent of armadillos in the Brazilian Amazon test positive for the leprosy bacteria and people in that region face an increased risk of contracting the disease. 

For the study, the researchers conducted surveys of armadillos in the Pará state in the Brazilian Amazon and DNA was extracted from the spleens of 16 armadillos in the area. 

Residents of Belterra, a small town in Para, were asked about how often they come in contact with armadillos and if they frequently ate them a source of protein. The Belterra residents also had blood drawn to test for leprosy antibodies. 

Ten of the sixteen armadillos included in the study were infected the leprosy bacteria and seven out of 146 survey responders from Belterra were diagnosed with leprosy. A majority of the individuals questions for the study had higher levels of leprosy antibodies.

Those with the highest levels of bacteria in their blood reported that they ate more of the animal’s meat than their neighbors. 
“Since armadillos occur at very high numbers in many rural areas in Brazil and the new case detection rate in humans has been considered hyperendemic in the Amazon region for a long time, it is extremely likely that the introduction of M. leprae in armadillos due to interactions with infected humans is not a recent event,” the researchers said.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gnail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Amazonian armadillos carry and transmit leprosy

Leprosy is not a disease that makes headlines as much...

The brains of domesticated rabbits are different than those of their wild counterparts, and a new study found that the changes make pet rabbits less fearful of humans and contact. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.uu.se/">Uppsala University</a> in Sweden conducted a study to compare raised domestic and wild rabbits. The findings were published in the journal PNAS. 

Domestic rabbits are able to thrive alongside humans because their amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex, the areas of the brain responsible for fear processing, are distinctively different from wild rabbits. 

Both wild and domestic rabbits were used for the study, and the researchers scanned the rabbits’ brains with magnetic resonance imaging to see if domestication had any effect on brain shape and activity. 

The researchers found that domestication radically changed the areas in the brain that sense fear and the amygdala was smaller compared to the scans of the wild rabbits. 

The domesticated rabbits also had larger medial prefrontal cortices, which is the area controls an animal’s response to fear. 

These changes make sense because domestic rabbits must learn to interact with humans who provide food and shelter, whereas wild rabbits need to keep on high alert to avoid predators. 

Domestic rabbits were also slower to react due to less white matter in their brain. 

“In a previous study we reported that genetic differences between wild and domestic rabbits are particularly common in the vicinity of genes expressed during brain development,” said Miguel Carneiro, a leading author of the paper. “In the present study, we decided to use high-resolution MRI to explore if these genetic changes are associated with changes in brain morphology.”

The study sheds insight on how the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-domesticated-america-10000-years/">process of domestication over time can </a>change an animal’s brain shape and inherent evolutionary survival instincts. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Domestication has shrunk the brains of pet rabbits

The brains of domesticated rabbits are different than those of...

In 2015, researchers at the <a href="http://www.sussex.ac.uk/">University of Sussex</a> created the Equine Facial Action Coding System (EquiFACS) to identify all of the possible facial expressions that can be made by horses. 

“Until now, there has been no methodology available that documented all of the facial movements of the horse, allowing a record of all potential facial configurations,” wrote the study authors.

“However, EquiFACS provides a comprehensive list of all the facial movements that horses can produce, which can be used to document facial expressions across a wide range of contexts.”

The original FACS was developed for use in humans, and was later applied to a number of different primates and domestic animals such as chimpanzees, orangutans, dogs, and cats. 

“EquiFACS is the first attempt to develop this system for an animal with laterally placed eyes and an elongated face,” said the researchers.

The team dissected a horse’s head to examine its facial muscles and observed the behavior of 86 horses ranging in breed and age. They logged this detailed data into the system to represent any possible expressions.

Overall, the researchers identified 17 different facial expressions that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/horses-sense-human-emotions/">horses</a> can produce, which is only 10 less than humans.

The team examined some of the most common looks made by horses such as the “lip pucker” and the “jaw drop,” and analyzed what emotions may be represented by these expressions.

Study co-author Professor Anne Burrows said that there is growing evidence to suggest that animals intentionally communicate with each other and also with humans.

“It makes sense because humans domesticated these animals, but it’s fascinating,” said Professor Burrows. “The literature on dogs is so extensive but it seems to be spreading out to other domestic animals as well.”

A study conducted earlier this year by the team revealed that horses have the remarkable ability to recognize emotions in humans through expressions and vocal tones. 

“What we’ve found is that horses can not only read human facial expressions but they can also remember a person’s previous emotional state when they meet them later that day - and, crucially, that they adapt their behavior accordingly,” said study co-lead author Professor Karen McComb. “Essentially horses have a memory for emotion.”

The 2018 study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Horses make facial expressions and scientists are decoding them

In 2015, researchers at the University of Sussex created the...

Giant panda conservation is probably the most visible species conservation in the world today. The birth of a giant panda baby seems only to be usurped by the birth of the royal baby – and even then, there were likely a lot less people involved in that process compared to a giant panda birth. In China, this animal is a cultural icon, but conservation of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/panda-habitats-shrinking-splintered/">giant panda</a> faces criticism over its associated cost. 

Between 1990 and 2010, China’s National Conservation Project for the Giant Panda and Its Habitat (NCPGPH) doubled panda habitat. By 2010, more than 33,000 km2 had been established for 67 panda reserves, covering over half of suitable panda habitat. Needless to say, this incurred quite a cost – but was it worth it?

Luckily, a new study published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a> has found that panda conservation actually has significant value that extends beyond protection of the pandas themselves. The study finds that the panda’s protection as an umbrella species generates 10 to 27 times as much value as it costs to maintain the current reserves. Additionally, the findings suggest that it actually could be worth expanding these reserves and increasing other investments into natural capital in China. 

“Many detractors have argued that spending valuable resources on panda conservation is wasteful,” says Fuwen Wei of the <a href="http://english.cas.cn/">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>. “Our analysis contradicts this view and demonstrates clearly the great value of the panda, both for its cultural and intrinsic value and for the ecosystem services provided by panda reserves.”

The researchers used the Common International Classification of Ecosystem Services framework for their analysis. This includes three parts: provisioning services, regulatory services, and culture. For provisioning services, panda reserves are valued by locals as areas for growing crops, raising animals, procuring water supplies, and harvesting firewood and useful plants. Important regulatory services provided by panda reserves include the hydrologic benefits of managing precipitated water runoff, sediment retention, nutrient retention, and carbon sequestration – among others.

Using numerous studies, the researchers estimated the value of all these services, and found a median estimate of US$632 per hectare per year. This means that the 67 panda reserves create a value of between US$2.6 and US$6.9 billion per year. Obviously, these figures are encouraging news for those that wish to continue and expand panda conservation efforts.

“Now, we know that the system of reserves and protections [for pandas] are working to reverse the panda’s decline and that these efforts have benefits for society and nature at large,” Wei says. “This should provide added motivation for people to continue backing panda conservation to bring about the eventual recovery of the species.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Panda conservation can generate billions of dollars in value

Giant panda conservation is probably the most visible species conservation...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.northwestern.edu/">Northwestern University</a> have found that climate change will likely cause mason bees to become locally extinct in Arizona and other warm climates.


Study lead author Paul CaraDonna is an assistant professor of Plant Biology and Conservation and a research scientist at the <a href="https://www.chicagobotanic.org/">Chicago Botanic Garden</a>.


“The projected temperatures appear to be pushing this species up against its physiological limits,” said Professor CaraDonna. “This is evidence that we might see local extinction in the warmer parts of this species' range, which is pretty sobering.”

This particular species of mason bee, also known as the “blueberry mason bee,” is native to northern Mexico and the western <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/urban-trees-vanishing-us/">United States</a>. It is a solitary bee that builds its nest inside of dead tree stumps. 

The blueberry mason bee is a primary pollinator of manzanita shrubs in the wild, which means that the bee’s effect on the ecosystem is likely underestimated.

“Native pollinators are a really important part of what makes nature run smoothly,” said CaraDonna. “It's estimated that close to 90 percent of all flowering plants benefit from animal pollination. That ends up at around more than 300,000 plant species worldwide.”


The researchers conducted a field experiment over the course of two years, setting up three different types of nesting environments in Arizona's Santa Catalina Mountains. 

One-third of the nests were painted black to absorb more radiant heat in order to simulate the hotter climate that is predicted to begin in 2040. To represent the climate of the 1950's, one-third of the nests were painted with a white, reflective paint. The remaining nests were treated with a transparent coat of paint as a control group.


“It's pretty low-tech, but it works,” said CaraDonna. “The field site is so remote that something more high-tech with solar panels or a power source was out of the question.”

In nests that simulated the past and current climates, the bees went through normal stages of early development, metamorphosis, and adult diapause. 

The bees in the warmer nests, however, experienced many alarming changes including extremely high mortality rates. In the first year, 35 percent of the bees died, while 70 percent of the bees were lost in the second year. On the other hand, only around two percent of bees died in the other groups.

The bees exposed to the warmer temperatures emerged from diapause for over 50 days, but only 10 to 15 days is typical. This group of bees also developed smaller bodies and had lower body fat.

“For insects, size is a big deal,” said CaraDonna. “Bigger is usually better. It means you have greater energy stores, which essentially means you can weather more storms. As a bee, that means you are likely able to reproduce more, which has implications for the stability of the population.”


CaraDonna speculates that the mason bees may move farther up into the mountains to cooler climates as the temperatures rise, but this will take them away from the manzanita plants, which are their main source of food.

“This mason bee is probably one of the best pollinators for this plant species, so if you take away the pollinator, you might take away the plant in the longer term,” said CaraDonna. “We need to understand how nature works and see how it responds to important sources of variation. Otherwise, we don't have the ability to keep it safe.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652435">Functional Ecology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change will drive bees to local extinction in some places

Researchers at Northwestern University have found that climate change will...

Researchers have analyzed the DNA of dogs and wolves to look for the genes that separate the vicious, nocturnal animals from the friendly, easy-going companions. 

Dr. Amanda Pendleton is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Human Genetics at the <a href="https://umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a>. Working in the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Kidd, her team has been reviewing current domestication research and analyzing the dog genome to get a better understanding of evolution and disease among the species. 

“We convinced ourselves that previous studies found many genes not associated with being a dog but with being a breed dog.” said Dr. Pendleton. She explained that breed dogs, which mainly emerged around 300 years ago, are not fully representative of the genetic diversity found in dogs around the world

The researchers collected DNA from wolves, ancient dogs buried around 5,000 years ago, and from 43 so-called village dogs. They used statistical methods to separate genetic changes associated with the development of specific breeds from those that resulted from early domestication efforts.

Overall, the study identified 246 possible genetic domestication sites, most of which had not yet been identified. Further analysis revealed that these genes influenced brain function, development, and behavior. 

Furthermore, the genes found by the experts appeared to support what is known as the neural crest hypothesis of domestication. 

“The neural crest hypothesis posits that the phenotypes we see in domesticated animals over and over again - floppy ears, changes to the jaw, coloration, tame behavior - can be explained by genetic changes that act in a certain type of cell during development called neural crest cells, which are incredibly important and contribute to all kinds of adult tissues,” explained Dr. Pendleton. 

One gene in particular called RAI1 stood out as the study's highest-ranked gene.

“RAI1 is a good entry point into studying brain function because its mutation results in a brain disorder,” said Dr. Shigeki Iwase. 

“Studies suggest that this protein controls the expression of several genes involved in circadian rhythms. One of the unique features in these conditions is the problem these patients have with sleep.” 

The alteration of this gene may help explain why domesticated <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-domesticated-america-10000-years/">dogs</a> are not nocturnal creatures like most wolves. 

Some of the other genes identified in Dr. Kidd’s lab correspond with human syndromes that result from the improper development of neural crest cells, including facial deformities and hypersociability. For this reason, dog genetics can provide valuable insight into human development as well.

“We are using these changes that were selected for by humans for thousands of years as a way to understand the natural function and gene regulatory environment of the neural crest in all vertebrates,” said Dr. Kidd.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/">BMC Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What makes dogs so compatible to hang out with humans?

Researchers have analyzed the DNA of dogs and wolves to...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.royalholloway.ac.uk/">Royal Holloway University</a> have found that bee colonies actually thrive in urban areas. Bumblebees that relocated to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reduce-congestion-city-taxis/">city</a> produced more offspring and grew populations around three times larger compared to those in rural areas.

A team including PhD student Ash Samuelson set out to discover why bees move into urban areas in the first place.

“We found that bumblebee colonies placed in agricultural areas produced significantly fewer reproductive offspring than those in villages or city sites,” said Samuelson.

“This means that these colonies would be less able to pass their genes onto the next generation. We also found that agricultural colonies were smaller and had less stored food, which may have contributed to the lower reproductive success.”

According to the experts, threats such as pesticides, land-use changes, parasites, and disease may have made city gardens and green spaces much safer habitats for bumblebees. The widespread loss of wildflowers and crops is also pushing bees out of their traditional habitats.

Study co-author Dr. Richard Gill is a senior lecturer in the Department of Life Sciences at <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/">Imperial College London</a>.

“Understanding how human-induced land use change affects bumblebees is vital in developing the best mitigation strategies to protect our future pollination service providers,” said Dr. Gill.

“These results suggest that we may need to focus more attention on supporting bumblebees in areas of heavy agricultural practices.” 

The team captured 176 foraging queens from Windsor Great Park and relocated them across 114 sites in and around London. 

The bumblebee colonies in the city showed many improvements, including an increase in the amount of food stored, more offspring, and a greater ability to avoid parasites. 

The 10-week study is believed to be the first of its kind to demonstrate a link between reproductive success and urbanization.


“Reductions in forage availability in modern agricultural landscapes have been identified as a potential major driver of bee population declines,” wrote the study authors.

“Accordingly, we found less stored pollen and nectar in agricultural colonies than in city or village colonies, suggesting forage availability may be a contributing factor to poor performance at agricultural sites.”

Currently, the Ministry of Justice and the Environment Agency are collaborating with the charity Buglife to identify sites where wildflower habitats could be cultivated including prisons and seawalls.

“Although it seems counterintuitive that the ‘unnatural’ environment of a city is beneficial to bees, we have to remember that modern agricultural areas are also very far from the habitats in which these bees evolved,” said Samuelson.

“So while we were surprised by the magnitude of the effect of urbanization on bee colony success, the fact that bees performed poorly in farmland reflects the increasingly apparent realization that intensive agriculture has negative impacts for wildlife.”

The study is published in the <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bumblebees actually thrive living in cities

Researchers at Royal Holloway University have found that bee colonies...

Only found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orangutans-lost-borneo/">orangutan</a> is one of human’s closest living relatives, and has become a symbol for critically endangered species everywhere as their numbers dwindle. But as this symbol of nature’s vulnerability due to human actions, a new study in <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a> states that this ideation of the orangutan overlooks how human actions have fundamentally shaped the orangutan over thousands of years, and impacted conservation efforts in the process.

“It was often assumed that environmental factors like fruit availability were primarily responsible for most features of modern-day orangutans, such as the fact that they usually live at low densities and have a restricted geographic distribution,” says Stephanie Spehar, an associate professor of anthropology at the <a href="https://uwosh.edu/">University of Wisconsin Oshkosh</a>. “However, the orangutan that existed before modern humans arrived in Southeast Asia 70,000 years ago may have been quite different. Our synthesis of fossil, archeological, genetic and behavioral evidence indicates that long-term interactions with humans shaped orangutans in some pretty profound ways.”

In their study, researchers found that orangutans used to be much more abundant and widespread, as orangutan teeth are among the most common animal remains found in China, Thailand, and Vietnam. The species appears to have survived many environmental changes, and potentially lived in a wider range of environments than the modern orangutan we know today.

It also appears that when the orangutan population was significantly reduced roughly 20,000 years ago, the reduction was closely linked to indicators of human impact. Specifically, humans had now developed projectile weapons that made hunting tree-dwelling prey much easier. “It suggests that Paleolithic humans were probably hunting orangutans regularly – and as orangutans reproduce very slowly, it doesn’t take much to put a dent in their populations,” says Spehar.

Given that orangutans are only found on two islands nowadays, it is likely that the ecology and behavior of the species is a result of adaptation to environmental factors and long-term human pressures – especially hunting. And recent behavioral studies suggest that the species’ adaptability could be greater than previously thought. “For example, we always thought that orangutans were mostly arboreal, but when we started putting camera traps in the forest, it turned out that they also walk extensively on the ground in some areas,” says Erik Meijaard, co-director of <a href="http://www.borneofutures.org/about.html">NGO Borneo Futures</a> and co-author of the paper. 

Further research looking into orangutan survivability in heavily human-impacted habitat (i.e. oil palm and forestry plantations) shows that the species is able to adjust their behavior to survive in these areas. “These insights are important, because they show us how even well-studied species can be misunderstood due to our preconceptions,” says Douglas Sheil, a tropical ecologist at the <a href="https://www.nmbu.no/en">Norwegian University of Life Science</a> and co-author of the paper. “This also is a crucial realization for orangutan conservation. If we had known sooner that orangutans survive in selectively logged forests, we could have developed conservation strategies that incorporate these habitats much earlier. This could have saved many thousands of orangutans.”

Luckily, this research shows that orangutans are able to survive in a much larger area of this landscape than once thought. Given that there are only 800 individuals left in fragmented forest areas, it’s important that this new knowledge be applied as soon as possible. The authors of the study are asking for a multifaceted approach to orangutan conservation, which would reduce hunting and increase habitat quality and connectivity in human-dominated areas. This approach would require developing appropriate policies, as well as enforcing existing laws and promoting cooperation amongst the people who can influence the lives of these apes.

“This offers hope,” says March Ancrenaz, director of French NGO <a href="http://www.hutan.org.my/">Hutan</a> and coauthor on the paper. “If we humans manage things correctly, there can be room for the orangutan in the Anthropocene.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: HUTAN/KOCP (Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme)

Long-term interactions with humans changed orangutans forever

Only found on the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the...

Hawaii has certainly been in the news recently – as it should be, given the severity of the volcanic activity currently taking place on the island of Hawaii (also known as “The Big Island”). The prolonged eruption of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/vog-kilauea-eruption-health-threat/">Kilauea</a> has been devastating to the local ecosystems, but as it turns out, these ecosystems had been struggling long before the volcano erupted.

A new study in <a href="http://www.americanornithologypubs.org/loi/cond?code=coop-site">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a> details the dire state of the bird populations of Hawaii, and presents guidance on what actions should be taken to help the native birds. With 21 species of forest birds left on the islands, almost two-thirds are endangered or threatened. The researchers state that the current conservation status of both wildlife and vegetation on the island is almost entirely due to human activity.

One of the problems with reversing these trends is that both funding and resources are limited, and the actions required to make an impact require a lot of support and coordination. More than 60 stakeholders in Hawaiian bird conservation collaborated to put together a plan of action. This plan is focused on research and management approaches that can begin immediately, with the largest threats being identified as habitat loss, invasive plants, non-native predators, and introduced diseases. Additionally, climate change is projected to exacerbate all of these threats.

“Our challenge in Hawaii is how do we conserve forest birds from multiple threats with just a fraction of the resources needed to fully address all the threats,” says lead author Eben Paxton. “Our solution was to bring researchers and managers together to share ideas, and as a community, identify priority research and management needs necessary to save these unique species. We believe these priorities will help focus resources where most needed and bring together different organizations to work together for the maximum benefit of the birds.”

Since resources are so limited, the stakeholders agreed on eight main priorities and several actions specific to the island of Kauai. Alongside helping Hawaii and its endemic birds, the goal of this report was to make Hawaii a model for other areas that are also in need of major conservation efforts.

The report also suggests enhancing citizen science and captive breeding in Hawaii, paired with continued monitoring and translocations of birds to unoccupied habitat. Unfortunately, only time will tell if these actions are able to save the native bird species of the islands.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Lucas Behnke

Over half of Hawaiian forest birds are endangered or threatened

Hawaii has certainly been in the news recently – as...

Researchers at <a href="http://en.nagoya-u.ac.jp/">Nagoya University</a> have developed a composite material that can mimic the vibrant color changes of chameleons. The material contains crystals and dyes that can be manipulated to change colors and patterns when exposed to visible or ultraviolet light.

Many animals such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/glowing-patterns-chameleons/">chameleons</a> and frogs can shift their colors in response to changes in their environment. While experts have studied this phenomenon extensively, it has not yet been interpreted well enough to be translated into artificial applications.

“This is an exciting stage in this field of study, as we are increasingly able to adapt the color-changing mechanisms that some animals use to artificial devices,” said study first author Miki Sakai. 

“If these artificial color-changing materials can equal or surpass the vibrant displays that some animals such as octopuses and frogs make, it could have exciting applications in the development of new display technologies.”

Inspired by the elaborate color transformations that takes place in the skin cells of certain frogs, the team layered their new material with components that have unique responsibilities.


The dyes, for example, contribute color that can be adjusted by mixing them to different extents. In addition, some of the dyes change color upon exposure to light.

Spherical crystals are also incorporated into the material. Rather than directly influencing the color, the crystals have microscopic structures that interfere with the light. 

Finally, a black pigment and different background colors are integrated into the system to alter the colors displayed by the other components of the material.

“We examined the influences of the different components in the system, such as by changing the size of the crystals, switching the background from white to black, or performing exposure to visible or ultraviolet light,” explained study co-author Yukikazu Takeoka. 

“We found these changes resulted in different colors being displayed across the material, resembling the way in which some organisms can change color in response to various factors in their environment.”

The research is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/16136829">Small</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New material mimics the color transformation of chameleons

Researchers at Nagoya University have developed a composite material that...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

[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?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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"

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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

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