Bats have evolved to display a variety of different skills, such as plucking insects off leaves or hovering over flowers to drink nectar. Despite their diverse behaviors, one question has always lingered: why don't we see any flightless bats?



There are birds that waddle along riverbanks like ostriches, or spend their lives by the sea like the wandering albatross. But why not bats?



The answer to this question might have just been found by a group of researchers at Cornell University.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bat-bird-evolution-paradox">Bat-bird evolution paradox</h2>



It is important to understand that the evolutionary pathways of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fruit-bats-can-remember-the-past-and-plan-for-the-future/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bats</a> and birds are markedly different.



The evolution of bats' wings and legs is tightly coupled, which seems to have limited them to fewer ecological niches than birds. A surprising finding was that the opposite is true for our feathered friends.



"We initially expected to confirm that bat evolution is similar to that of birds, and that their wings and legs evolve independently of one another. The fact we found the opposite was greatly surprising," said Andrew Orkney, postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Professor Brandon Hedrick.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flight-evolution-in-birds-and-bats">Flight evolution in birds and bats</h2>



The concept of wings and legs evolving independently makes intuitive sense, considering they perform different functions. 



Prior research had suggested that the origin of flight in vertebrates required forelimbs and hindlimbs to evolve independently, thereby allowing them to adapt to their distinct tasks more effectively. 



So, comparing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-bats-navigate-noisy-world/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bats</a> and birds presented an ideal situation to test this idea. Since they do not share a common flying ancestor, birds and bats are independent examples to study flight evolution.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bats-evolve-differently">Bats evolve differently</h2>



The research team measured the wing and leg bones of 111 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/disappearance-of-bats-linked-to-a-rise-in-infant-deaths/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bat species</a> and 149 bird species from around the world. The analysis included X-rays of museum specimens and new X-rays of bat specimens stored at the <a href="https://www.cornell.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cornell University</a> Museum of Vertebrates.



A stark contrast in the evolution of these two flight capable creatures was noted. In both bats and birds, the shape of the bones within a species' wing (handwing, radius, humerus) or leg (femur and tibia) was found to be correlated - meaning that within a limb, bones evolve together. 



However, the correlation across legs and wings was significantly different in bats and birds. While bird species showed little to no correlation, bats displayed a strong one.



Essentially, in bats, forelimbs and hindlimbs did not evolve independently. When the wing shape changes (either increases or decreases) the leg shape follows the same trend.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-ecological-implications-of-bat-morphology">Ecological implications of bat morphology</h2>



The coupled evolution of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/international-bat-appreciation-day-the-crucial-role-of-bats-in-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bats</a>' wings and legs has profound ecological implications. Bats are predominantly adapted to aerial niches, which constrains them mainly to environments where flight is advantageous. 



This is in contrast to birds, whose limb independence allows them to occupy diverse habitats, ranging from arid deserts to aquatic environments.



The morphological constraints on bats mean that evolutionary pressures have favored adaptations which enhance aerial agility and efficiency, such as echolocation and varied wing shapes.



Consequently, bats have become specialized fliers, excelling in niches that demand proficient maneuverability and speed. 



However, this specialization may come with trade-offs, limiting their ability to exploit non-aerial ecological niches compared to the more versatile birds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-future-research-directions">Future research directions</h2>



The discoveries from this research open avenues for further investigation into the evolutionary biology of flight.



Understanding how bone morphology influences ecological roles can provide deeper insights into the evolutionary constraints and drivers that shape species diversity. 



Future studies could explore the genetic and developmental factors underpinning the tight coupling between bat wings and legs. Additionally, research could focus on comparative studies across more vertebrate groups to dissect the underlying evolutionary mechanisms that enable or restrict limb independence. 



Such inquiries not only enhance our comprehension of evolutionary processes but also aid in conservation strategies by predicting how species may adapt to changing environments. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-bats-evolved-to-stay-airborne">Bats evolved to stay airborne</h2>



The researchers acknowledge that the coupled evolution of wing and leg in bats could limit their capacity to adapt to new ecologies. However, this discovery has stirred interest in other areas. 



For instance, it raises questions about the evolution of pterosaurs, an extinct group of flying reptiles that had membranous wings akin to those of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bats-can-ramp-up-their-heart-rate-to-900-beats-per-minute/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bats</a>. 



With pterosaurs being significantly more diverse than either birds or bats, this research might shed some light on the factors behind their evolutionary prowess.



Following their discovery, the researchers have now redirected their focus to the evolution of bird skeletons.



"While we showed that the evolution of birds' wings and legs is independent, and it appears this is an important explanation for their evolutionary success, we still don't know why birds are able to do this or when it began to occur in their evolutionary history," said Orkney.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02572-9" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.&nbsp;



-----



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Why didn't bats evolve to walk on land like birds?

Bats have evolved to display a variety of different skills, such as plucking insects off leaves or hovering over flowers to drink nectar. Despite their diverse behaviors, one question has always lingered: why don't we see any flightless bats? There are birds that waddle along riverbanks like ostriches, or spend their lives by the sea like the wandering albatross. But why not bats? The answer to this question might have just been found by a group of researchers at Cornell University. Bat-bird evolution paradox It is important...

Your circadian rhythm guides your body through 24 hours, telling you when you feel most awake and most asleep. Most life forms on Earth – including bacteria, plants and animals – have a circadian clock guiding them through each day and night.

But what makes them tick?

Dr. Andy LiWang of the <a href="https://www.ucmerced.edu/">University of California, Merced</a> has been studying circadian rhythm – specifically, the circadian clock of blue-green colored cyanobacteria. Using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, he and his lab have studied certain proteins in the cyanobacteria move hour by hour, and seem to regulate the bacteria’s circadian rhythm.

"And now it's becoming clear that the same is true for [animal] clocks," LiWang said in a press release.

Dubbed circadian clock proteins, the proteins from cyanobacteria are unique because they can be studied in a test tube without live cells. With the help of adenosine triphosphate, the scientists were able to create a circadian clock that ran for weeks, giving them an extensive look on how circadian rhythm works.

"We also examine how the proteins wiggle, flex, and shape-shift, because these motions ... are also critical to their biological function," LiWang said.

His lab also worked with X-ray crystallographer Dr. Carrie Partch at the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a> to produce high-resolution images of the microscopic proteins. 

"A big surprise for us was the extent to which internal motions of circadian clock proteins dictate ... their function," LiWang said. "Static X-ray crystal structures of individual proteins, mostly solved by other labs, were invaluable to our work but told only part of the story."

While the cyanobacteria’s circadian clock proteins have offered a new glimpse into how circadian rhythm works, more research is needed, LiWang said. They’re not identical to the clock proteins of plants, animals or humans, but they should share some similarities, he said.

"Because clock proteins need to keep time, there should be some basic principles of biological timekeeping shared between all clocks regardless of whether the proteins are the same or not," he said.

<a href="https://plan.core-apps.com/bpsam2018/abstract/598979c882021290aae09439cc42e19d">His lab’s work</a> will be presented at the <a href="https://www.biophysics.org/2018meeting/">62nd Biophysical Society Annual Meeting</a>, held this week in San Francisco. 

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Tiny proteins offer huge insight into how circadian clock ticks

Your circadian rhythm guides your body through 24 hours, telling...

Coffee production is actually good for the birds, too. A team of scientists set out to determine which type of coffee bean farms are the most beneficial to forest wildlife. The researchers investigated the relationship between bird diversity and the two primary coffee types, Arabica and Robusta.

<a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a> Associate Conservation Scientist Dr. Krithi Karanth teamed up with experts at <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> and the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a> to investigate bird diversity on coffee plantations in the Western Ghats mountain region of India. 

Previous studies have shown that shade-grown <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coffee-nuts-heart-health/">coffee</a>, which is typically Arabica, promotes significant levels of biodiversity.Now that coffee production is globally shifting toward Robusta, experts are concerned this may be detrimental to wildlife because this coffee requires a more intensive cultivation process with direct sunlight.

The study revealed that Arabica bird populations were more species rich, but the researchers were surprised to find that Robusta also provided substantial biodiversity benefits. In addition, Robusta was found to support large populations of several sensitive bird species.


The study authors identified a total of 79 forest-dependent species living in the coffee plantations they surveyed, including three threatened species. These farms also promote mammal, amphibian, and tree diversity.

“Coffee farms already play a complementary role to protected areas in a country like India where less than four percent of land is formally protected,” said Dr. Karanth. 

“Therefore, building partnerships with largely private individual and corporate land holders will provide much needed safe-passage and additional habitats for birds and other species.”
Indian Robusta receives relatively high flavor ratings by coffee experts and commands a price premium. Furthermore, farmers use less pesticides in the Robusta farmlands, which are more disease-resistant.

“An encouraging result of the study is that coffee production in the Western Ghats, a global biodiversity hotspot, can be a win-win for birds and farmers,” said lead author Charlotte Chang.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">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: Manish Kumar

Coffee production is actually good for the birds, too

Coffee production is actually good for the birds, too. A...

A new study has found that two families of extremely venomous Australian spiders are more closely related than previously thought. 

First believed to be distantly related, spiders from the Atracinae and Actinopodidae families are actually close cousins, according to research published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

Previously it was thought that the Atracinae Australian funnel-web spiders and the Actinopodidae eastern Australian mouse spider shared a common ancestor, but the two species diverged from this over 200 million years ago.

Funnel-web spiders and mouse spiders more closely resemble other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arachnids-spiders-scorpions/">spiders</a> further down the family tree which is why the two families were not considered close.

Researchers led Marshal Hedin, a biologist from <a href="https://www.sdsu.edu/">San Diego State University</a>, were unconvinced that the two spider families were as far apart as their taxonomy indicated because of how similar their venom was. 

Bites from both spiders can be treated successfully with the same anti-venom. 

“The funnel-webs always were an uncomfortable fit in their taxonomic place,” said Hedin. “I could see the writing on the wall.”

In order to test their hypothesis that the two families were closely related, the research team and biologists from New Zealand and Argentina collected spiders from both families in Australia. Museum specimens, as well as specimens from Hedin's own collection, were examined as well. 

The researchers then used these specimens to sequence the spiders’ genomes to find similar genetic patterns. 

The results showed that not only are funnel-web spiders and mouse spiders closely related, but the researchers also discovered three new taxonomic families of spiders during the study. 

One exciting implication is potential development of a new antivenom that can work for bites from a variety of closely related species. The research could also aid in the creation of insecticides due to the venom properties of funnel-web spiders. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Marshal Hedin

The world’s two most venomous spiders are closely related

A new study has found that two families of extremely...

Each year, millions of birds are killed by flying into <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wind-turbines-harm-birds-100-miles-away/">wind turbines</a>, airplanes, or other human-made structures.

Birds can also be a nuisance to farmers and cause food shortages by eating crops. 

In order to reduce the risk of bird fatalities and unfortunate bird-human interactions, John Swaddle, a behavioral biologist at<a href="https://www.wm.edu/"> William &amp; Mary College,</a> is working on two acoustic-based technologies that could deter birds from unwanted areas and stop them from flying into structures. 

Swaddle and his colleagues are developing a Sonic Net and an Acoustic Lighthouse, and presented these in a session at the annual meeting of the <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science. </a>

Captive zebra finches are being used to test the effectiveness of the technology, and Swaddle emphasizes the importance of understanding bird behavior first and foremost in order to safely keep them away from at-risk areas. 

Sonic Nets and Acoustic Lighthouses both use sound to warn or keep birds away. A Sonic Net, which is already in commercial development, works by transmitting a frequency that interrupts bird communication.

If a bird can’t hear another’s warning, then there is no way to know if predators are close by, and the Sonic Nets create an uncomfortable space that the birds will not want to reside near. 

The nets have already proven successful in keeping birds away from agricultural operations. 

Acoustic Lighthouses, on the other hand, are a newer development and work as a warning system.

Birds are typically looking down when they fly, so they often don’t see structures until it's too late. But the lighthouse emits a sound that alerts the bird and focuses its attention upward to see what's in front of it in time to slow down and change course. 

“All that's missing is the brake-screeching sound,” said Swaddle. “A slowing bird's altered posture will naturally cause it to look up, see danger ahead and alter course -- once it hears the signal. It's a bit like someone texting while they're driving," he said. "If you honk your horn at them, they'll look up.”

Acoustic Lighthouses could also be an important addition to the race for renewables energy. Wind turbines equipped with a warning system could ensure the preservation of bird populations and reduce the risk of collision fatalities. 

Both technologies that Swaddle outlined in his session have the potential to reduce bird-human interactions while still maintaining bird populations. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Acoustic technologies could reduce bird collisions

Each year, millions of birds are killed by flying into...

It was over five years ago but it seems so very recent.  I spent the Fourth of July in a small boat out on the ocean with the other man who was monitoring fishing in a small bay on Afognak Island in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-alaskan-hunters-advanced/">Alaska</a>.  We sat in the small boat with an even smaller outboard motor, sipped beer and just took in our surroundings.  The weather was cold for those used to Fourth of July further south but it was pleasant.  All around us, the air and sea were full of life.  

Puffins took off from the water with frantically beating wings, skimming the sea surface even longer than a duck on a pond.  Puffin wings are tiny, an evolutionary compromise between swimming and flying.  To me, puffins with their bright beaks and manic flapping always resemble clowns on the wing.  Puffins can administer surprisingly nasty bites though.  I remember from my time helping with sea bird research on Middleton Island in Alaska, researchers fear of the bird’s beak. 

Gulls seemed to be flying everywhere on that preternaturally bright, cool summer day, flying with more grace and noise than the puffins.  Most people have memories of gulls from childhood.  I know I was encouraged to feed gulls pieces of bread on the beach as a kid (a practice I think shouldn’t be encouraged as it’s not good for birds).  There is more than one gull in Alaska and other northern regions, including Black-legged Kittiwakes, Red-Legged Kittiwakes, Glaucous-Winged Gulls, and Ring-Billed Gulls.  I’m certainly no expert on gulls but I have personal experience working with black-legged kittiwakes and glaucous-winged gulls.

The kittiwakes were part of a research project which involved feeding a portion of the nesting population fish additional to those they caught.  Surprisingly, the chicks which benefited from extra fish, took longer to grow and leave the nest, not being rushed into finding their own food by necessity.  Generally the kittiwakes were pretty ruthless, fighting over nest spots and pushing off other bird’s eggs and chicks to fall great distances just to lay their own eggs.  In one case I watched a new pair of birds force parents with a chick nearly fledged off their nest.  It seemed like the chick was doomed to death until the interlopers started feeding the chick as if she were their own.  

I have no such nice story for the glaucous-winged gull.  As a volunteer I collected data on nesting glaucous-wings on a rocky beach spotted with ferns and short bushes.  The glaucous-winged gulls are exceedingly territorial and will kill a chick or adult that strays unknowingly into another bird’s territory.  I was told that once a volunteer was taking measurements on a large glaucous-wing chick when the chick vomited another chicks disembodied leg onto the volunteer’s boot.  The leg still had a band placed on its ankle for research.  However violent and uncaring the glaucous-winged gull may appear though, it’s important to note that their violence has a lot more desperate purpose than our own.  It’s hard to imagine any gull killing another for religion, money or a fit of anger but solely for the cold reality of survival of the fittest.  

Murres are a little-known arctic and subarctic bird.  The name Murre actually comes from the French word for penguin.  It’s a strange comment on the history of exploration that the southern penguins would be known by the French before the northern Murre but the name appears apt.  Murres are black backed and white bellied.  Common Murres and Thick-billed Murres are hard to discriminate between, being so similar in appearance.  Murres seem so fragile, laying their single egg directly on cliffs with no plants to pad them.  Indeed many times hungry gulls will pull the nesting Murre off egg or chick to relentlessly feed.  Later in the summer one can see Murre father teaching their single chicks to swim and fish.  If a Murre isn’t taught these vital skills by his/her father, they won’t survive.  

Throughout Alaska and the northern oceans as a whole there is an abundance of amazing avian forms.  There are snake-necked Pelagic Cormorants with stubby webbed feet and lovely diving abilities found in Alaskan waters.  Rhinoceros Auklets are similar to puffins with smaller bills topped in a tiny ‘horn’, burrowing into soft cliffs by the sea where they nest.  There is the exotic beauty of the red-necked phalarope.  To those from Minnesota it might come as a surprise that the Pacific Loon winters sometimes on the open ocean; the same is true of Common Loons.  Black Oyster Catchers with their telltale long orange bills forage along rocky coasts where they nest.  Ducks include the bright Harlequin Duck, more monochromatic Bufflehead and the Long-Tailed Duck. 

The oceans of the north are chock full of abundance, a writhing mass of life in summer and seemingly empty in the winter.  Birds, fish and mammals move together in complex patterns, eating and being eaten by microbes and each other.  Life in the north seems to live in bursts, birds you watched hatch from eggs are fledging in what seems a breathlessly short period.  The demands of weather demand much but on that Fourth of July, when I luxuriated in a boat, life was good for bird and man. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Earth.com exclusive: Sea birds of the north

It was over five years ago but it seems so...

Octopuses and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cuttlefish-monitor-water-vibrations/">cuttlefish</a> are known for their amazing camouflage abilities, and new research has identified the neural circuits that make those abilities possible. 

While some species can change color to blend into their surroundings, cuttlefish and some octopuses are able to change texture and shape, even sometimes disguise themselves as different marine wildlife. 

"We've seen dozens of examples of these animals suddenly appearing from nowhere, as if they have thrown off an invisibility cloak. How they do this has long remained a mystery," said Trevor Wardill from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge. </a>

Wardill and a team researchers from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/external-affiliations/marine-biological-laboratory">Marine Biological Laboratory at the University of Cambridge </a>were able to examine the cuttlefish and are closer to understanding how the species can change the texture of skin. 

The study was published in the in the Journal iScience. 

Cuttlefish have chromatophores all over their skin, which are tiny muscular organs that change color in response to a signal from the brain. Another set of organs called papillae can give the skin different textures which help the  species change shape. 

The chromatophores and papillae respond to a brain signal, and the researchers found the root of signal is in the stellate ganglion. The giant axon system in the stellate ganglion contains the motor neurons that control the papillae.

The researchers were able to understand how nerve impulses in the giant axon system worked because of its large size. 

Interestingly, this neural circuitry is comparable to the same processes that control skin iridescence in squids, which led the researchers to question if cuttlefish and squid evolved from a common ancestor that used iridescence or shape-shifting papillae. 

The research is an important step in understanding the camouflaging abilities of cuttlefish, and could aid in the development of different materials that mirror the texture and shape change in cephalopods. 

“This research on neural control of flexible skin, combined with anatomical studies of the novel muscle groups that enable such shape-shifting skin, has applications for the development of new classes of soft materials that can be engineered for a wide array of uses in industry, society, and medicine,” said Roger Hanlon of the Marine Biological Laboratory.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Why cuttlefish are so good at camouflage

Octopuses and cuttlefish are known for their amazing camouflage abilities,...

Some species change the color of their coat to match the seasons and avoid predators. In fact, 21 species of mammals and birds, including weasels and rabbits, have white coloring in the winter, and then their coat then changes to brown in the summer. 

This ability is crucial to the species’ survival, but <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/african-savannahs-climate-change/">climate change</a> has caused winters to be milder, arrive later, and spring melts to come earlier each year. 

Animals who change their coats to white to blend in are out of place and easily spotted in areas affected by warmer winters. 

Snowshoe hares, for example, have experienced higher mortality rates in areas with less snow than usual, and with the increasing impacts of climate change, population decline is predicted to worsen.  

However, some species have evolved to where they don’t change their coat color in places with typically milder winters. 

A team of researchers led by L. Scott Mills, a professor from the <a href="http://www.umt.edu/">University of Montana</a>, examined this kind of adaptive evolution to see if  evolution could rescue species in at-risk areas who continue to change their coat color despite the surroundings. 

Their findings were published in the journal Science and could reduce the risk of population loss and decreased biodiversity in the wake of climate change. 

“Weasels in the southern U.S. and mountain hares in Ireland, for example, have evolved to remain brown year-round," said  Mills said. "This is a genetic adaptation to retain camouflage in areas where snow is intermittent or sparse.” 

The researchers identified areas that could potentially foster adaptive evolution or “evolutionary rescue” in at-risk species. These areas have both brown and white animals coexisting in winter. 

The fact that there are individuals with both brown and white coats in winter is important to possible evolutionary rescue. 

“These areas hold the special sauce for rapid evolutionary rescue,” said Mills. “Because they contain winter-brown individuals better adapted to shorter winters, these polymorphic populations are primed to promote rapid evolution toward being winter brown instead of white as climate changes.” 

The results show that it could be possible to help save several species from population decline caused by climate change through adaptive evolution. However, the researchers note that the solution should not be seen as a replacement for climate change mitigation 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: L.S. Mills research photos by Jaco and Lindsey Barnard

Animals who camouflage with the season affected by climate change

Some species change the color of their coat to match...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University</a> have confirmed a link between increased pollination and a larger number of wild pollinator species. The experts are reporting that more species of wild bees are needed for vast regions of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/crops-confuse-global-warming/">crops</a> to thrive.

The study was focused on 48 farms in New Jersey and Pennsylvania over the course of several years. The team collected and identified more than 100 species of wild bees that were observed pollinating crop flowers. Over half of the species examined were needed for pollination on at least one of the farms.


“Our results confirm the importance of biodiversity in keeping the planet habitable for human beings, at least if our findings apply to other ecosystem functions as well,” said lead author Rachael Winfree.


According to scientists, wild pollinators provide as much as half of the crop pollination that takes place worldwide. The role of wild pollinators may be more important now than ever before with declining populations of domestic honey bees in North America. 

“I like to think of this as a real-world question,” said Winfree. “These are real farms and real farmers, and each farmer needs his crops pollinated. The answer turns out to be, that when you require that all farms are pollinated, you need an order of magnitude more bee species than has been needed in experiments.”


In earlier studies, Winfree offered recommendations for farmers and land managers who want to promote a greater presence of wild species for crop pollination.

“Farmers can plant fallow fields and road edges with flowering plants, preferably plants whose flowering periods are different, because wild pollinators need to be supported throughout the growing season,” said Winfree. “They can reduce pesticide use and avoid spraying during crop bloom when more bees are in the crop field.”

While many controlled experiments have demonstrated that increased pollination results from more species, this is one of the first studies to confirm this connection in nature.

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</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: Rutgers University, Rachael Winfree

More species of wild bees means more crops for humans

Researchers at Rutgers University have confirmed a link between increased...

An international team of researchers has found that nearly 150,000 orangutans disappeared in Borneo between 1999 and 2015. The study revealed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/orangutans-utilizing-medicines/">orangutans</a> vanished as result of habitat loss from deforestation, but were also killed in direct human conflict.

The most dramatic rates of population decline were found in areas where land had been cleared for logging, oil palm production, mining, and paper production. 

However, the experts noted that a larger number of orangutans were missing from unimpaired regions of forest, which indicates that hunting remains a major threat to the species.

Maria Voigt is a researcher at the <a href="http://www.eva.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a> who co-authored the study with colleagues representing 39 international institutions.

“The decline in population density was most severe in areas that were deforested or transformed for industrial agriculture, as orangutans struggle to live outside forest areas,” said Voigt. “Worryingly, however, the largest number of orangutans were lost from areas that remained forested during the study period. This implies a large role of killing.”

The team used data from field surveys that had been conducted over the 16-year study period, and calculated the size of the island’s population based on the number of orangutan nests observed. The experts established a total of 36,555 nests and estimated a loss of 148,500 orangutans, which is about half of the overall population.

The researchers also determined that only 38 of the 64 orangutan metapopulations now include more than 100 individuals, which is the lowest limit considered to be viable. The team used maps of land-cover change to investigate the causes of declining orangutan populations.

A comparison of orangutan and habitat losses showed that land clearance caused the most dramatic rates of decline. On the other hand, a much larger number of orangutans were lost in selectively logged and primary forests. 

The researchers explained that the rates of decline were not as severe in the more intact regions of forest because far more orangutans can be found in these areas. The experts predict that at least 45,000 more orangutans will be lost over the next 35 years.

“Orangutans are flexible and can survive to some extent in a mosaic of forests, plantations, and logged forest, but only when they are not killed,” said co-author Verge Wich. 

“So, in addition to protection of forests, we need to focus on addressing the underlying causes of orangutan killing. The latter requires public awareness and education, more effective law enforcement, and also more studies as to why people kill orangutans in the first place.”

The study is published in <a href="http://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

Nearly 150,000 orangutans lost in Borneo in just 16 years

An international team of researchers has found that nearly 150,000...

A commonly cited story about how rabbits became domesticated has been found to be untrue. Instead, a new study published in the journal Trends in Ecology and Evolution suggests that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-domesticated-10000-years/">domestication</a> of rabbits had no exact origin but happened over a broad period of time.   

The research also has wide implications as it shows how domestication was an ongoing process, and trying pinpoint a single origin in time when an animal was domesticated is not possible. 

Previously, information about the domestication of rabbits was based on the story that says in 600 A.D. Pope Gregory declared that eating fetal rabbits was acceptable during lent and so monks began domesticating the first rabbits. 

However, archeologists from the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> found this wasn’t the case at all, as there is evidence of domesticated rabbits dating back as far as the last ice age.

Researchers Evan Irving-Pease and Greger Larson were testing a method for genetically dating domestication using the molecular clock. 

By comparing the genomes of a domestic animal and a wild one, the molecular clock would show when in time the two converged, which would be when the animal was first domesticated. 

Irving-Pease and Larson tried this method on rabbits, thinking that it would prove that genomes of rabbits diverged in 600 A.D. matching the popular story. Instead, the molecular clock method showed that rabbits were domesticated much earlier, even before domestication existed. 

Their findings complicate the matter of domestication and disprove the theory that rabbits were first domesticated by monks. 

“I had cited it, colleagues of mine had cited it, it's all over Wikipedia, it's all over the web... but it turns out that the modern story is a complete house of cards,” said Larson. “What was really interesting to me then was why nobody's really thought about it or been critical about it.” 

Larson and his colleagues instead suggest that rabbit domestication happened over a long period of time beginning in the paleolithic era. They were hunted and kept in cages, then moved around and eventually bred as pets. 

Trying to pinpoint domestication is an impossible feat for many animals because as the researchers say there’s no “eureka” moment.

“We have been slightly arrogant,” said Irving-Pease. “We know a hell of a lot less about the origins of the things that matter most to us than we think we do.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rabbits have been domesticated much longer than most thought

A commonly cited story about how rabbits became domesticated has...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.wvu.edu/">West Virginia University</a> are reporting that songbird populations in the central Appalachian Mountains are struggling with a greater presence of shale gas development. An investigation has revealed that the nesting success of the Louisiana Waterthrush, in particular, has declined at sites impacted by the extraction of natural gas.

The most rapid growth of hydraulic fracturing in the country is taking place in northwestern West Virginia. Prior to this study, little was known about how this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shale-gas-inefficient-electricity/">shale gas</a> industry boom may be affecting bird populations in the region.

A team of researchers led by Mack Frantz mapped territories of the waterthrush and monitored nests along 14 streams from 2009-2011 and also from 2013-2015. Using aerial photographs and satellite imagery, the experts measured disturbances to both the streams and the forest canopy, and then determined which of these disturbances were caused by shale gas development.

The results of the study showed that nest survival and reproductive success declined as shale gas development expanded. Experts also noted that the size of individual waterthrush territories increased, which indicates that the birds had to range farther in order to access a sufficient amount of resources.

“I hope our findings lead to robust protections of our forested headwater stream ecosystems, which are currently overlooked for regulation despite their critical role in providing nutrients and organic matter downstream, not to mention as an important source for drinking water,” said Frantz. 

“Waterthrushes are a modern-day 'canary in the coal mine,' and there are many more opportunities to study how anthropogenic disturbance affects and entangles food webs at the aquatic-terrestrial interface.”

The study is one of the first to demonstrate that shale gas development can affect songbird reproductive success and productivity. Leesia Marshall is a waterthrush expert who was not involved in the research. 

“This paper should serve as a call for all scientists to redouble efforts across all related disciplines to document the present impacts of shale gas extraction and to develop strategies for mitigation and avoidance of potential impacts in the future,” said Marshall.

The study is published in <a href="http://americanornithologypubs.org/loi/cond">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Songbird nests struggling near fracking sites

Researchers at West Virginia University are reporting that songbird populations...

According to a new study from the <a href="https://www.york.ac.uk/">University of York</a>, carefully managed fire can optimize mammal and bird diversity in African savannas. 

The research, which is the first of its kind to examine the “pyrodiversity" of an entire continent, revealed that this strategy can improve the number of mammal species by 20 percent and the number of bird species by 30 percent with adequate rainfall.

“Fire is often viewed as homogeneous, but in reality there is a range of different fires characterized by variation in size, intensity, season and frequency of burning,” said lead author Dr. Colin Beale. “We found that in wet savanna increasing the range of different types of fire in an area allows a wider number of species to thrive.”

“Fire is widely thought to have a negative impact on the environment, but in African savannas hominids have been setting a variety of fires for around a million years so fire is something the ecosystem has co-evolved with and adapted to.”

The researchers gathered 15 years of satellite data on fires and accessed distribution maps of all the bird and mammal species in protected areas across <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/african-savannahs-climate-change/">Africa's savannas</a>. The study revealed that savannas with abundant rainfall and the most varied types of fire contained significantly more bird and mammal diversity.

The experts found that a range of fire types allowed rare species of birds, such as the Rufous-tailed Weaver and the Black-bellied Sunbird, to cohabitate with more common bird species. The study findings indicate that fires alter the conditions within savanna habitats and increase the availability of nutrients, terrain, and shelter for a greater number of species to thrive.

As a result of the investigation, the researchers hope to provide land managers and conservationists with guidance on how to use carefully managed fire as a tool to boost biodiversity.

“Pyrodiversity is particularly important for biodiversity in wet savanna landscapes, but this isn't the only reason people light fires: different goals require different burning patterns,” said Dr. Beale. “We want to develop tools to help the managers of conservation areas articulate what they want to achieve and help them to use fire to do it.”

The study is published today in <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1461-0248">Ecology Letters</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: Dr. Colin Beale, University of York

Carefully managed fire can improve African savanna diversity

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

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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

[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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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