Captive tigers in the U.S. now outnumber those living in the wild. According to estimates from the World Wildlife Federation, about 5,000 of these big cats reside in the U.S., mostly owned by private citizens.&nbsp;



Despite their large numbers, the health and genetic diversity of this captive population remain a mystery, posing significant questions for conservationists.&nbsp;



Could these privately owned tigers help stabilize or restore wild tiger populations, or are they too genetically compromised to be of value? Are they purebred or inbred, or do they exhibit characteristics favored in the illegal trade?



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-captive-tigers-nbsp">Protecting captive tigers&nbsp;</h2>



In a recent study, experts at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Stanford University</a> set out to address these questions. The findings provide a new tool that both conservationists and law enforcement can use to protect captive tigers and prosecute those responsible for their mistreatment.



“We're trying to leverage genomic technology to be useful in a conservation context - there are so few tigers. We won't get a second chance if they go extinct,” said lead author Ellie Armstrong, a PhD student at Stanford.



Armstrong conducted this research as part of her doctoral studies in biology at Stanford, working with co-advisors and co-authors Elizabeth Hadly and Dmitri Petrov. 



The team initially became interested in captive tigers after studying the genetic impact of isolation on wild tiger populations.



“We were conducting a large study on wild tiger populations and leveraged these data to address the issue of captive tigers in the United States,” Armstrong said. “It was a bit unbelievable, at first, that you could have a tiger living right next door and not know it.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-enormous-number-of-captive-tigers-nbsp">Enormous number of captive tigers&nbsp;</h2>



Through a partnership with <a href="https://tigersinamerica.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Tigers in America</a>, Armstrong and her team discovered that an enormous number of tigers live outside accredited facilities.&nbsp;



Many of these tigers were bred for animal encounters, performed in circuses, or were trafficked as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exotic-pets-threaten-ecosystems/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">exotic pets</a>. However, the team had no idea of their genetic makeup or origin.



The lack of official data on these so-called “generic” tigers (due to their unknown origin) presented a major hurdle. Although documentaries like Tiger King and The Tiger Next Door increased public awareness, accessing these animals for scientific study remained a challenge.



“There was so much hearsay associated with this captive population, and a lot of it contradicts itself,” noted Armstrong. 



“People said, 'All of the cats are really inbred,' or 'All of the cats are genetically diverse.' We had no idea what to expect and thought that genomic technology could help us answer some of these questions.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetics-of-generic-tigers-nbsp">Genetics of generic tigers&nbsp;</h2>



Through relationships with sanctuaries that had rescued generic tigers, Armstrong and her team were able to gather samples and collect data on the animals, including their rescue locations.&nbsp;



The researchers collected samples from 154 generic tigers and compared them with 100 wild tiger samples from the <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Center for Biotechnology Information</a> (NCBI) database.



With this data, they developed a reference panel to distinguish individual tigers and identify their genetic ancestry, similar to popular genetic ancestry tests for humans.&nbsp;



“When we do 23andMe, we're not sequencing the whole genome - we're sequencing a portion of it that informs us about your health and ancestry,” Armstrong explained. “That's what we want to be able to do, but for tigers.”



The genetic database developed by the researchers has uses beyond conservation efforts. It can also assist law enforcement in prosecuting crimes related to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/experts-are-using-forensic-science-to-fight-wildlife-trafficking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wildlife trafficking</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-prosecuting-wildlife-crimes">Prosecuting wildlife crimes</h2>



The <a href="https://www.fws.gov/what-you-need-know-about-big-cat-public-safety-act" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Big Cat Public Safety Act</a>, which went into effect on December 20, 2022, ended private ownership of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-cat-brain-research/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">big cats</a> as pets and placed restrictions on breeding, commerce, and possession of certain species, including tigers.&nbsp;



However, the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a> still has storerooms full of confiscated tiger pelts, bones, teeth, and other materials that are difficult to identify without a clear way to trace their origins.



Armstrong’s team has already received requests from the agency to apply their research in identifying confiscated materials.&nbsp;



“We'll be working with law enforcement to try to apply this in a forensic context to prosecute wildlife crimes like those seen in Tiger King, monitor the populations in the U.S., and track the illegal trade,” Armstrong said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urgent-applications-of-the-research-nbsp">Urgent applications of the research&nbsp;</h2>



Using only a small portion of a genome, this reference panel can allow wildlife agencies to determine the ancestry of confiscated samples with limited DNA.&nbsp;



“That's been the most rewarding part of this research - we know that this work mattered and has immediate future applications.”



The research also sheds light on the genetic makeup of captive tigers in the U.S. Contrary to widespread rumors, these tigers do not show signs of extensive <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/inbreeding-can-actually-be-beneficial-for-some-species-in-the-long-run/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">inbreeding</a> relative to wild tiger populations.&nbsp;



However, they also do not maintain pure subspecies ancestry, as is the case with zoo-bred tigers or wild tigers. Instead, these generic tigers are a mix of different tiger subspecies.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-diversity-in-captive-tigers-nbsp">Genetic diversity in captive tigers&nbsp;</h2>



Armstrong and her team also found that the non-zoo captive tiger population does not possess more genetic diversity than their wild counterparts.



“This absence of unique genetic diversity in captive tigers means that there will be no 'genetic rescue' of wild tigers with individuals now in captivity,” said Elizabeth Hadly, one of the study’s co-authors. 



“In other words, the genetic diversity of wild tigers is all that evolution has to work with going into the future.”



Since DNA is the only way to distinguish between tiger subspecies, Armstrong believes the reference panel could be used to identify individual tigers with pure subspecies ancestry if tiger management and conservation efforts ever included releasing captive animals into the wild.



“This technology is usually a 'for fun' thing for humans, to find out more about your genetic ancestry, but we can use genomics in a very serious way to help our wildlife populations thrive in the wild and keep them from being exploited,” Armstrong concluded.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2402924121" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.



Check us out on <a href="https://www.earth.com/earthsnap/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EarthSnap</a>, a free app brought to you by <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/eric-ralls/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Eric Ralls</a> and Earth.com.



-----

Could captive tigers help restore wild populations?

Captive tigers in the U.S. now outnumber those living in the wild. According to estimates from the World Wildlife Federation, about 5,000 of these big cats reside in the U.S., mostly owned by private citizens.&nbsp; Despite their large numbers, the health and genetic diversity of this captive population remain a mystery, posing significant questions for conservationists.&nbsp; Could these privately owned tigers help stabilize or restore wild tiger populations, or are they too genetically compromised to be of value? Are they purebred or inbred, or do they exhibit...

A type of stony coral common in the Indo-Pacific region is more resistant to ocean acidification than previously thought, according to a new study.

"For stony corals, we're fairly confident that the acidification issue is exaggerated,"  said Paul G. Falkowski, professor at <a href="http://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University-New Brunswick</a>. "They're more resilient than we give them credit for." 

The corals use protein to create rock hard skeletons, Falowski said. 

“They will probably make rock even as the ocean becomes slightly acidic from the burning of fossil fuels,” the professor said.

Researchers used several high-tech imaging methods to show that stony coral use acid-rich proteins to build rock-hard skeletons made of calcium carbonate minerals

“What we're showing is that the decades-old general model for how corals make rock is wrong," Falkowski said. "This very careful study very precisely shows that corals will secrete proteins, and the proteins are what really forms the mineral and the proteins are very acidic, which will surprise a lot of people."

The researchers found that random nanoparticles are deposited in coral microenvironments enriched in organic material. The nanoparticles accumulate and form stony structures made of calcium carbonate - known as aragonite - by growing crystals. Imaging results show that coral acid-rich proteins are the main drivers.

The proteins function at a pH (a measure of acidity and alkalinity) of about 8.5 to 7, and "that environment, to them, is still perfectly fine," Falkowski said.

The ocean normally has a pH of 8.1 or 8.2, and in the coming century or so that may drop to 7.8, but stony corals will still be able to make rock.

However, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/great-barrier-reef-coral-loss-worse/">corals</a> overall face several environmental threats over the long-run: potentially deadly bleaching from global warming and rapid temperature changes; nutrient pollution; the physical destruction of coral reefs; and ocean acidification linked to carbon dioxide emissions, Falkowski said.

Ocean acidification is reducing levels of calcium carbonate minerals in many areas, which will likely hamper the ability of some organisms to create and maintain their shells, he added.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://newbrunswick.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers University-New Brunswick</a>

Image: Kevin Wyman/Rutgers University

Why stony coral are more resilient to climate change

A type of stony coral common in the Indo-Pacific region...

Humans, like chimpanzees, console their threatened peers out of empathy, according to a new study.

Consolation is generally defined as an uninvolved bystander initiating friendly contact with a victim of aggression. Previous research has suggested that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/voluntary-sharing-children-happy/">children</a> and chimpanzees show empathy to their peers, but there is little research on consolation in human adults.

The authors analyzed real life television footage of 249 people present in the immediate aftermath of 22 commercial robberies. They investigated whether the social closeness (for example, age similarity or being employees of the same business) and gender of the victim and the bystander affected the likelihood of physical consolation behaviour, such as a touch on the arm or a hug.

Social closeness, rather than physical proximity, was important in determining if a bystander would console a victim, which is consistent with the theory that bystanders console victims when they empathize with them. While females were more likely to console a victim, both male and female victims were equally likely to be consoled. A victim in a more threatening situation was more likely to receive consolation.

“Unique surveillance camera observations from contexts of real-life violent crimes show that human adults provide victims with consolation in ways similar to what is observed among chimpanzees," said study lead author Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard of the <a href="https://www.nscr.nl/en/">Netherlands Institute for the Study of Crime and Law Enforcement.</a>

Comparative research across different species can provide insight into the mental lives of animals, and should have implications for practices in behavioral science and animal research, the authors said. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>

Humans and chimpanzees exhibit similar signs of empathy

Humans, like chimpanzees, console their threatened peers out of empathy,...

For years, evolutionary biologists have believed that animal misfits that find themselves in competition with better-adapted locals will always struggle. Just like if you entered into a tennis tournament with a ping-pong paddle – not many people would expect you to do well.

However, a group of researchers at the <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a> have recently discovered that in some circumstances, misfits actually thrive when surrounded by a large number of their native cousins. 

“One hundred years of evolutionary theory is built around the idea that immigrants from one population dropped into another population of the same species don’t do well,” says Daniel Bolnick, primary investigator of the study published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nature/index.html">Nature</a>. “Such immigrants are usually rare, and we have found that sometimes their rarity provides a competitive edge.”

The specific species the researchers studied was the three-spined stickleback, a small fish that lives in lakes and streams in Vancouver, British Columbia. Bolnick and his team studied two populations of this species. One group lived in a lake while the other was found in a nearby stream. The two groups differed in their overall size, immune traits, body shape, and defense against predators.

Previously, evolutionary theory would lead one to believe that moving the lake fish into the stream would cause them to have a competitive disadvantage compared to the native stream fish. But when the researchers performed experiments placing varying numbers of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/zebrafish-insight-human-hearing-loss/">fish</a> from one habitat into the other, they discovered that the misfits actually thrived.

The researchers observed the fish in underwater cages, finding that survival had less to do with where the fish was from and more to do with how many fish of their type were in the cage. They found that in both habitats, the fish that were in the minority survived better than the fish that were in the majority.

These surprising results were due to the “immigrants” ability to go undetected by certain threats, as Bolnick explains: “You come in and you eat something nobody else around you eats, so you aren’t competing for food. The local parasites don’t know what to do with you because you have an unfamiliar immune system. So you’re better off than the residents.”

However, previous evolutionary theory was not completely dismissed. The researchers noted that being less adapted to the environment led to some negative effects on the newcomers. But overall, the study showed that there are circumstances where the benefits of being new can outweigh the setbacks of being less-adapted. The study determined that immigrants in these populations actually passed on their genes at a higher rate than the natives.

Bolnick believes this research may have implications in the protection and restoration of endangered species. Efforts to transplant corals from one location to another in order to slow down coral reef decline is often unsuccessful, Bolnick thinks this new addition to evolutionary theory can help with that: “My advice to someone doing any restoration work is that they can't just consider how well matched immigrants are to the local habitat,” he says. “They also need to consider how the immigrants’ rarity affects their survival and reproduction.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.utexas.edu/">University of Texas at Austin</a>

How fish prove that misfits sometimes thrive on new turf

For years, evolutionary biologists have believed that animal misfits that...

As every human (and animal) knows, love can be a complex thing to understand and explain, but scientists have gotten one step closer. <a href="http://www.emory.edu/">Emory University</a> researchers have located the area of the brain in prairie voles that causes them to bond for life with their mates.

The study, published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, could help efforts to treat human emotional disorders such as as autism, the university said.

"Prairie voles were critical to our team's findings because studying pair bonding in humans has been traditionally difficult," said Elizabeth Amadei, study co-lead author. "As humans, we know the feelings we get when we view images of our romantic partners, but, until now, we haven't known how the brain's reward system works to lead to those feelings and to the voles' pair bonding."

Previous work with prairie voles demonstrated that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lack-sleep-eat-brain/">brain</a> chemicals, such as oxytocin and dopamine, act within the medial prefrontal cortex and nucleus accumbens to establish a pair bond. The Emory team set out to find the precise neural activity leading to a pair bond. 

The researchers used probes to listen to neural communication between the two brain regions and then analyzed activity from individual female prairie voles as they spent hours socializing with a male - a cohabitation period that normally leads to a pair bond.

The researchers discovered that during pair bond formation, the prefrontal cortex, an area involved in decision-making, helps control the rhythmic oscillations of neurons within the nucleus accumbens, the central hub of the brain's reward system. This suggests a functional connection from the cortex shapes neurons activity in the nucleus accumbens.

"It is remarkable there are neural signatures of a predisposition to begin huddling with the partner,” said study co-author Larry Young. “Similar variation in corticostriatal communication could underlie individual differences in social competencies in psychiatric disorders in humans, and enhancing that communication could improve social function in disorders such as autism." 

The results identify an important reward circuit in the brain that is activated during social interactions to facilitate bond formation in voles.

"Now, we want to know if oxytocin regulates functional connectivity and how circuit activity changes the way the brain processes social information about a partner," said senior author Robert Liu, associate professor in Emory's Department of Biology.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.emory.edu/">Emory University</a>

New study unravels how the brain processes love

As every human (and animal) knows, love can be a...

Spotted owls live under the canopy of full-grown forests and benefit from many features of mature woods. However, the landscapes of western forests are shifting due to climate change and decades of fire suppression. A new study reveals that wildfire can benefit spotted owls by reshaping the land to their advantage.

Fire plays an important role in forest ecosystems. In many cases, forest fire improves wildlife habitats. A new study from <a href="http://www.americanornithologypubs.org/loi/cond">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a> analyzes the foraging patterns of the California Spotted Owl in Yosemite National Park, and reveals that fire is an integral part of their habitat use. 

Stephanie Eyes of the Yosemite National Park Service teamed up with her colleagues in an effort to discover how the California Spotted Owl responded to an environment impacted by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/preparing-new-era-wildfires/">wildfire</a>. Between 2010 and 2012, the researchers tracked 13 owls on eight territories of the park using radio transmitters. The team wanted to observe how foraging patterns changed in the aftermath of wildfire.

The study showed that the owls primarily foraged near their roosts and along the edges of patches of burned forest. The owls preferred the fire-induced edge habitats, and chose the largest burned patches available. On the other hand, they dodged the interiors of the most severely burned patches. 

"Maintaining a complex mosaic of forest patches with smaller patches of high severity fire can help sustain California Spotted Owls in the greater landscape," said Eyes. "What's unique about our study is that we investigated fires that burned within the natural range of variation, so it paints a picture of how owls used a burned landscape before the onset of today's large stand-replacing fires." 

The team hopes the study can be used as a reference for future forest management programs that may focus on prescribed burns and fuel reduction efforts. More research will be conducted to determine how habitat fragmentation caused by forest fires impacts the livelihood of spotted owls. 

"This paper provides new radio telemetry data on how owls use home ranges that have had recent wildfires," explained R.J. Gutiérrez, an expert on the habitat use of spotted owls. 

"Eyes and her colleagues provide a new piece of the puzzle about how owls respond, and they show that this response can be complex. More importantly, because their work occurred within a national park, it will serve as a 'natural control' that can be compared with other owl-fire studies occurring on managed forests," concluded Gutiérrez.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="http://www.americanornithologypubs.org/loi/cond">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</a>

Image Credit: S. Eyes

How forest fires create beneficial habitats for spotted owls

Spotted owls live under the canopy of full-grown forests and...

The origin of the mammalian auditory ossicles is an intriguing part of evolutionary history. Ancestral fish adapted three bones - the malleus, incus, and the stapes - which replaced a structure that supported the jaw. Located in the middle ear of mammals, these tiny bones are responsible for transmitting sounds. A study was developed to find out if the jaw malformation of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/zebrafish-social-support/">zebrafish</a> could give scientists information about human hearing loss.

<a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a> PhD student Camilla Teng, who is the first author of the study, teamed up with fellow scientists to determine if the genetic change that causes jaw malformation in zebrafish may trigger hearing defects in mice and humans. The study, published in Scientific Reports, enlisted the help of clinical experts in radiology, audiology and genetics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC and Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Nearly half of patients who suffer from a condition known as Alagille Syndrome, or AGS, experience hearing loss. Sensorineural loss, which has been often associated with AGS, results from inner ear or auditory nerve dysfunction. The team wanted to determine how much of the hearing loss in AGS patients can also be attributed to conductive hearing loss, which is when sound is obstructed while traveling through the middle ear. 

The researchers focused their study on JAG1 and NOTCH2, two genes that are mutated in most patients suffering from AGS. Researchers applied the mutations to mice, which led to defects in the incus and stapes bones and also led to hearing loss. 

In a separate experiment, they conducted hearing tests on 44 AGS patients to determine if the loss was sensorineural, conductive, or mixed. The scientists found that conductive hearing loss was the most common, and impacted one-third of the patients. This was the outcome they expected, based on their research. 

The results of CT scans of five AGS patients, however, revealed surprising information. The scientists identified a group of diverse structural defects in the middle ear that had unpredictable effects on hearing. For example, only one of the scanned patients had a stapes defect that could be directly tied to conductive hearing loss.

"Our study highlights a mostly overlooked phenotype of Alagille Syndrome," said Teng. "If patients are aware of possible conductive hearing loss earlier in life, then they can more promptly seek medical aids for an improved quality of life."

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a>

Zebrafish give new insight into human hearing loss

The origin of the mammalian auditory ossicles is an intriguing...

Survival isn’t always the sole factor considered when birds decide where to build their nests, a new study says.

Easy access to the nests and maximizing the survival of fledglings after they leave the nests are also contributing factors, according the <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a> study of Bachman’s Sparrow nests.

The researchers monitored a total of 132 Bachman's Sparrow nests in two regions of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/huge-wind-farm-being-built-in-north-carolina-2/">North Carolina</a>, the Coastal Plain and the Sandhills.

In the Coastal Plain, sparrows favored low grass density and greater woody vegetation density, while birds in the Sandhills selected intermediate grass density and greater tree basal area. However, none of these features turned out to be related to nest survival.

Instead, they are likely due to differences in the available plant communities, easy access to nests or survival of fledglings once they leave, the study said. These factors may warrant further investigation, the authors added.

The Bachman’s Sparrow is a vulnerable songbird dependent on regularly burned longleaf pine forests in the southeastern United States.

One of the most  difficult aspects of the study was finding the nests.

"Bachman's Sparrows are notoriously secretive and don't easily give up the location of their well-hidden nests," said the study leader, Jason Winiarski. "Eventually, we stumbled upon a technique of patiently watching adult sparrows at a distance that allowed the birds to behave normally, while being close enough for us to just barely see where they landed with food or nest material.”

<a href="http://www.purdue.edu/">Purdue University's</a> John Dunning, an expert on Bachman's Sparrow ecology who was not involved with the research, called it “remarkable” that the authors were able to track down so many of the sparrow nests. 

“As someone who has searched and searched for nests of this species, it is really hard," he said.

The results show the importance of management in longleaf pine ecosystems, Dunning said.

“The study shows how consistent management of vegetation structure through the use of prescribed fire remains the most important management and conservation strategy to support breeding populations of Bachman's Sparrow," he said.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.americanornithology.org/">American Ornithological Society</a>

Image Credit: J. Carpenter

How sparrows decide where to build their nests

Survival isn’t always the sole factor considered when birds decide...

Analysis of an animal’s mouth shape and function can reveal a lot about their diet. Scientists have known this since Charles Darwin first postulated the theory of evolution using the different beak shapes of finch species on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-galapagos-islands-are-struggling-from-the-growth-of-ecotourism/">Galapagos Islands</a>. 

A new study from <a href="https://www.brown.edu">Brown University</a> has once again confirmed this idea, but this time in ducks and geese instead of finches. Researcher Aaron Olsen, a postdoctoral researcher at Brown, explains, “This is the most comprehensive look to date at the relationship between diet and beak shape.”

Waterfowl in particular have very unique beaks, as they tend to be more curved and have a large diversity of shapes. In his study, Olsen wanted to figure out what accounts for this diversity. He imagined that diet likely played a significant part, but he wanted to achieve a deeper analysis than scientists that simply compare dietary categories with beak caliper measurements.

Olsen measured the three dimensional beak shape of 136 species of waterfowl - including two extinct species, one of which dated back tens of millions of years. Along with these measurements, he gathered detailed data from a vast research literature on the diet of each bird species.

“What this analysis asks is, ‘What are the patterns of correlation between these two datasets?’,” Olsen says. “What's nice about that is you are going in a little bit naively about the relationship between the two.”

Ultimately, the mathematical result showed a strong correlation between beak shape and dietary preferences. The correlation was so strong, that Olsen believes diet likely dominates any other influencer for beak shape that other researchers have demonstrated - such as preening or shedding body heat. However, Olsen does believe these factors also play a role in defining beak shape.

In analyzing this data, Olsen has hypothesized that early ancestors of modern ducks, geese, and other waterfowl were actually more duck-like. He believes that geese-like beaks are a newer phenomena, though they evolved several times in several different locations.

Despite the strong correlation his data shows, Olsen is open to inviting further research that may prove otherwise. “I would love to see someone publish a paper and argue the opposite,” he said. And isn’t that what good science is all about?

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.brown.edu">Brown University</a>

Image Credit: Aaron Olsen

Duck, duck, goose study reveals beak shape determined by diet

Analysis of an animal’s mouth shape and function can reveal...

Coral bleaching is one of the major consequences of climate change, and is affecting some of our most diverse ecosystems – coral reefs – all around the world. Bleaching occurs when water temperatures rise, causing corals to expel algae from their tissue in response to stress from negative environmental pressures. Without this algae, the corals starve.

Researchers have recently discovered that nearshore corals at the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve (HBNP) on O’ahu, Hawaii are at risk of coral bleaching as seawater temperatures around the world continue to rise. Between 2014 and 2015, they found that 47% of reef flat corals at HBNP bleached overall and 9.8% of corals died in these locations.

The findings of the research team, which was led by the late Dr. Paul Jokiel of the <a href="http://www.himb.hawaii.edu/">Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology</a>, found that temperature is the most influential factor in coral bleaching events at HBNP. 

These warmer ocean temperatures that are devastating reefs worldwide are related to significant increase in global carbon emissions over the past several decades. As the researchers explain, regardless of past and current efforts to prevent bleaching from occurring, carbon will continue to be absorbed by the ocean and thus water temperatures will continue to rise.

Jokeil’s Coral Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (CRAMP) has been collecting data from the HBPN since 1999. Analysis reveals that there was a significant decrease in shallow <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hawaii-ban-sunscreens-reefs/">coral</a> cover as far back as 2002.

The geography of the bay in the Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve is such that it separates the shallow nearshore from the deeper seaward regions, as it stretches from one end of the bay to the other. The barrier it provides, along with its two channels, have significant impacts on how cool water is carried from the open ocean to the shore, as well as how the water exits the bay.

The patterns of this water flow were a major part of the study, as the researchers attempted to understand why bleaching was more significant in certain areas of the bay. They determined that bleaching was most devastating in the areas where water would pool and warm for long periods of time. Areas that had more of a circulation pattern experienced less bleaching.

If living coral tissue continues to decline, the reef will erode and will no longer be able to provide shelter and food to the diverse sea life that calls the reef home. 

Dr. Ku'ulei Rodgers explains, “Global climate change poses a direct threat to the biological sustainability of the protected reefs of Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve and a clear economic and cultural threat to the state of Hawaii.”

If global warming continues and causes coral bleaching to increase, we will lose some of our most diverse and spectacular ecosystems.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://peerj.com/">PeerJ</a>

Coral bleaching wreaking havoc at popular Hawaiian destination

Coral bleaching is one of the major consequences of climate...

Under President Trump’s newly proposed budget, wild horses captured throughout the U.S. West would be sold without guarantee that the animals won't be resold for slaughter.

The proposal, designed to save $10 million, would gut nearly a half-century of protection for an icon of the American West and could send thousands of free-roaming mustangs to foreign slaughterhouses for processing as food.

“This is simply a way to placate a very well-funded and vocal livestock lobby," Laura Leigh, president of the nonprofit protection group Wild Horse Education, said about the plan.

Livestock interests don't want the region's estimated 59,000 mustangs competing for precious forage across more than 40,000 square miles of rangeland in 10 states managed by the <a href="https://www.usa.gov/federal-agencies/bureau-of-land-management">U.S. Bureau of Land Management</a> (BLM), according to critics of the proposal.

For years, the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and other interests have been urging the BLM to allow sales of wild horses for slaughter to free up room in overcrowded government corrals for the capture of more animals.

Doug Busselman, executive vice president of the Nevada Farm Bureau, blamed the stalemate on the "emotional and anti-management interests who have built their business models on preventing rational and responsible actions while enhancing their fundraising through misinformation."

Presidents George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama also grappled with the spiraling costs of managing the nearly 60,000 horses on the range and 45,000 others in U.S. holding pens and contracted private pastures.

Over the past eight years, the BLM's wild-horse budget has more than doubled - from $36.2 million in 2008 to $80.4 million in 2017.

Trump's proposal anticipates the $10 million savings would come through reducing the cost of containing and feeding the animals. The savings also would include cutbacks involving roundups and contraception programs.

Suzanne Roy, executive director of the American Wild Horse Campaign, said the plan could put the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/domesticating-wild-horses-genome/">horses</a> on the brink of extinction.

"America can't be great if these national symbols of freedom are destroyed," she said.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_TRUMP_BUDGET_WILD_HORSES?SITE=AP&amp;SECTION=HOME&amp;TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&amp;CTIME=2017-05-25-13-49-02">AP</a>

Trump budget plan would end protection for wild horses

Under President Trump’s newly proposed budget, wild horses captured throughout...

Endangered species around the world are constantly at peril from the illegal hunting of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-missing-poached/">poachers</a>. Scientists have spearheaded numerous national and international efforts to prevent poaching from occurring, but some efforts by scientists may actually be hurting this cause.

In an article written by David Lindenmayer and Ben Scheele, the authors argue against scientific studies that post location data of endangered species. With the increasing accessibility of the internet and widely published journals, these analytic studies may actually be fueling poaching, further threatening the species that researchers are trying to study and protect.

In order to avoid unwittingly contributing to the demise of an endangered species, the authors say that researchers who publish on rare species must “unlearn” parts of the established publishing culture. The publication of rare and endangered species’ location data must become a thing of the past.

Although the authors admit that these restrictions may come with a cost, they believe that the inherent benefit of protecting these species will be more than worth it. Sensitive location data being openly available to anyone with an internet connection is not the proper way to protect species that are already being hunted to extinction for monetary gain.

Similar tradeoffs have been made in other scientific fields. Both paleontology and archeology established restrictions long ago on the publication of paleontological and archeological site locations. They have also promoted government regulations that limit the collection and trade of fossils and artifacts.

In their essay, Lindenmayer and Scheele outline new publication strategies that will allow endangered species to be better protected. In order to achieve the main goal in this research – protecting endangered and rare species – some minor sacrifices will have to be made.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.aaas.org/">American Association for the Advancement of Science</a>

Posting endangered species location data puts them more at risk

Endangered species around the world are constantly at peril from...

Scientists have long thought that mountain and savannah populations of East African honey bees are each distinct sub-species. The honey bees that live in the mountain forests of East Africa are much larger, darker, and less aggressive than savannah bees. They can also fly at lower temperatures and are able to conserve honey when flowers aren’t blooming.

However, a recent study of these different bee populations revealed information about their genomes that has surprised scientists. This comprehensive genome sequencing study of high-altitude honey bees in Kenya revealed new insights into their evolutionary history and the genetic basis of adaptation within these populations.

Researchers sequenced the genomes of 39 bees from two highland and two lowland populations in Kenya. Surprisingly, they found that the genomes of all the populations were actually quite similar, but two distinct regions on chromosomes 7 and 9 revealed consistent differences between high-altitude and low-altitude bees.

The segment on chromosome 7 is the location of receptor genes for octopamine, a neurotransmitter that is important for learning and foraging. Past studies have determined that octopamine plays a role as a signaling molecule in other insects that live in low temperatures and low oxygen conditions.

Researchers believe that having two different lineages diverge from this genetic distinction indicates that these variations have an ancient origin and may have existed in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/varroa-mites-honey-bees/">bee</a> populations before they spread to their mountain and savannah habitats. The research team also found that the bee populations constantly interbred – due to the high degree of similarity in their genomes.

Martin Hasselman of the <a href="https://www.uni-hohenheim.de/en/english">University of Hohenheim</a>, Germany, explains, “…This phenomenon has never been documented in honey bees before. Our results should therefore spur further research into the role of supergenes in environmental adaptation. We are planning now to measure the distribution of these divergent segments in other geographic locations and to elucidate the functional link of these genes with behavior."

More information on this study can be found in the journal PLOS Genetics.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.plos.org/">PLOS</a>

East African honey bees capable of high-altitude foraging

Scientists have long thought that mountain and savannah populations of...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...