iron ore deposit - 1

Many people find themselves disoriented when the clocks shift for the seasonal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/daylight-saving-time-has-little-influence-on-heart-health/">time change</a>. Our internal alarms can take days to settle, which may leave us feeling off-balance.



Some <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0317028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">experts</a> have been investigating how sled dogs in Ontario, Canada, respond to that same disruption. 



They found that these working animals were so tied to their daily routine that it took them by surprise when handlers arrived an hour later than usual.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-animals-clocks-and-routines">Animals, clocks, and routines</h2>



We rely on Daylight Saving Time <a href="https://aa.usno.navy.mil/faq/daylight_time" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(DST)</a> to optimize daylight hours, yet not all creatures can adapt quickly. Sled teams in this recent study had been on strict schedules that revolved around the time of sunrise.



"I wasn't expecting any differences between the two groups [of dogs]," said <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Lavania-Nagendran" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lavania Nagendran</a>, a lead <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0317028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">researcher</a> at the <a href="https://www.utoronto.ca/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Toronto</a>. She later explained that the working animals were tightly synchronized to their early start time.



Researchers placed <a href="https://global.epson.com/products_and_drivers/sensing_system/what_are_accelerometers/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">accelerometers</a> on the dogs' collars to record their activity before and after the clocks went back. The team observed that, on the first morning of the shift, these animals were moving around about an hour earlier than usual.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-pet-dogs-and-everyday-life">Pet dogs and everyday life</h2>



In contrast, household companions of similar breeds showed no similar upheaval. Their extra hour of rest seemed to slip by without a fuss.



"Not all animals can just switch up their schedule based on human influences, [like changing the clocks]," said Ming Fei Li, the <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0317028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">co-lead researcher</a>.



"When we've spoken to pet owners, everyone comments that, with that hour change, their dog or cat is up in the morning, going crazy, waiting to be fed," said Li, who observed no clear shift for household animals. She explained that their data contradicted the usual anecdotal complaints from owners.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-helping-animals-adjust-their-clocks">Helping animals adjust their clocks</h2>



Experts have long <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23477947/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">noted</a> that people might experience fragmented sleep for up to a week after time adjustments. 



Disrupted rest has even been linked to a spike in serious <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11152980/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">road crashes</a> right after clocks change.



This project is among the first to measure how domesticated canines respond to abrupt clock changes. 



Within just a day, the group of working dogs returned to their usual schedule, while the pets barely seemed to notice any difference.



Handlers with strict timetables might consider shifting routine times in small increments before the official clock change. This gentle approach could <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/probiotics-help-overweight-dogs-shed-pounds/">help dogs</a> feel less rattled when sunrise no longer coincides with mealtime.



Pets with flexible routines may not need any special changes. Their behavior often shows surprising resilience when humans tamper with the daily clock.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-does-any-of-this-matter">Why does any of this matter?</h2>



<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1004016" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Researchers</a> wonder how these findings might apply to wolves, given that dogs diverged from wolf ancestors thousands of years ago. 



It remains unclear whether wild canines would show the same one-day scramble to adjust, or be more resistant to the adjustment.



This question has sparked conversations about how domestication shapes an animal's internal clock. Most of our modern dog breeds share a genetic link with wolves but have adapted to human routines.



Early domestication likely favored animals that were comfortable living alongside humans. Over time, that compatibility included an ability to sleep and wake in sync with caregivers.



Future studies might explore whether wild relatives can handle abrupt time shifts or if they struggle to reset their daily rhythms. Answers to that could reveal new insights into canine adaptability.



Comparisons across species also show how biology and environment blend to shape behavior.<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-are-evolving-to-fit-the-modern-lives-of-humans/"> Dogs live </a>in a human-made world, so their responses to clock changes might differ from those of truly wild cousins.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-keeping-an-open-mind">Keeping an open mind</h2>



Every dog is unique, and some may adapt more easily to seasonal schedule changes than others. External factors, like mealtime and exercise, can influence an animal's natural cycle.



Working animals rely on consistent daily patterns, from feeding times to training sessions. That routine could amplify their surprise when the clock switches overnight.



Pet dogs, in contrast, might lounge for an extra hour if no one is nudging them awake. Their laid-back lifestyle often shields them from abrupt schedule disruptions.



Experts note that minor tweaks to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dog-walking-improves-mobility-and-prevents-falls-in-older-adults/">mealtimes and walks</a> can smooth out this transition. Spreading those adjustments over a few days offers dogs a gentler shift in routine.



Such small steps may prevent confusion, especially for dogs that thrive on a predictable morning schedule. Even a half-hour move can be enough to avoid an early wake-up call.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-body-clocks-animals-and-humans">Body clocks, animals, and humans</h2>



These observations add another layer to our understanding of how work-oriented and companion animals experience abrupt changes in their day-to-day flow and highlight the subtle effects of shifting external cues. 



While many dogs seem to roll with life's shifts, an hour can still feel monumental when every meal, walk, and training session is truly anchored to a tightly orchestrated timetable.



For the curious, the official study was published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0317028" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">PLoS One</a>.



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Pets and animals face internal chaos when you mess with their body clocks

Many people find themselves disoriented when the clocks shift for the seasonal time change. Our internal alarms can take days to settle, which may leave us feeling off-balance. Some experts have been investigating how sled dogs in Ontario, Canada, respond to that same disruption. They found that these working animals were so tied to their daily routine that it took them by surprise when handlers arrived an hour later than usual. Animals, clocks, and routines We rely on Daylight Saving Time (DST) to optimize daylight hours, yet...

We felt the truck rocking and looked at each other, concerned. We were in South Dakota, parked near the edge of a bison heard wandering across and around a road. One of the furry animals had passed us in the truck and now was behind the cab, rocking the whole truck a little. Bison are large, strong and dangerous. I looked in the mirror to get a view of the animal and laughed. The bison was licking the truck. It had snowed not long ago, the roads were salted and the Bison was licking salt from the bed of the truck we were sitting in. It’s rare to see bison, much less hundreds of bison wandering the prairie as they must in the past. Moving to South Dakota opened a world of grass, a place of Bison and we were thrilled to be there.

We drove back through Custer’s wildlife loop to see the bison when they were calving, my partner smiled to see them, calling them little cheese puffs. They did look like cheese puffs, with orange-ish fur puffed out over their bodies. The babies ran and jumped like any young animal, thrilled to be alive and young.

We hiked in Wind Cave National Park, Jewel Cave National Monument and Badlands National Parks, all great places to see Bison. We walked through enormous prairie dog towns and spotted burrowing owls. We howled back at coyote packs and listened for their yippy reply. We hiked in snow and sun; we slept in a tent.

The Bison’s survival has depended on a complete change of policy and practice for both the American government as well as its citizens. Bison were once plinked away by the millions for hides or simply to decimate Native peoples. While killing bison, many commercial hunters poisoned the carcasses after they were skinned, indiscriminately killing eagles, foxes, coyotes, wolves, mountain lions, bears and more. Bison were a hated symbol of the wild, of enemy cultures of everything not brought under the rule of government.

Things changed when it was almost too late for the Bison. Bison were bred by ranchers in the west and the American Zoological Society at New York’s Bronx Zoo. Now zoo animals, Bison were reintroduced to places like Yellowstone and Wind Cave. Bison were stamped into nickels, the flipside of a stereotypical ‘Indian’ head.

Bison are now the official national mammal of the US. What was once the symbol of the ‘other’ has become one of our own cherished national symbols. The problem is the bison was never our symbol for the taking. The National Bison Legacy Act, which designated the Bison as our national mammal had Native American support. So, in a way the symbol of the Bison was given, not taken. I would argue it was given in the same way a treaty may be signed by the defeated: with no other option viable.

Before the Bison could be thought of as a symbol of the United States by officials, it had to be stripped of the original mythological trappings. For centuries, before white settlers set foot on American shore, bison were fraught with symbolic power. Bison were literally life to many Native American tribes. Beyond being a source of food, shelter and materials, Bison nourished Native American spirit. Tatanka is the Lakota word for Bison or Bison bull. A literal translation of Tatanka is more like, ‘He who owns us’. Tankafund.org elaborates, saying that for traditional Lakota, you cannot say what you own because the Bison owns you.

The deep cultural and ecological connection between Bison and many Native Americans is what lead to near annihilation of the Bison. If the US could smash the Bison, they could smash the plains Indians. Eventually of course a sort of peace was reached between the federal government and native peoples. Native American groups were pushed into small reservations and fed with rations from the government. Bison for a while were forgotten.

Over time things changed, the actually history of hatred and destruction was forgotten. Things were romanticized. Native Americans became a romantic, noble race who fought valiantly for freedom. Native Americans became a symbol of a west that never was to a people who have never had any love for them. Bison too became something different. With the destruction of most of what could be called wilderness imminent across North America, we became nostalgic. Bison had been tamed, herded up and redistributed into fenced parks. Why not make them a national symbol?

The problem is that by making the Bison the national symbol of the US, we declared a unity between the federal government and the enemies of the government. The US and state governments within it are still rather ambivalent about wolves, which play their own important role in Bison ecology. The same is true of bears, mountain lions, coyotes, prairie dogs and many, many more. The government still leases out prime bison habitat for cattle ranching.

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/animals/american-bison-bison-bison/">Bison</a> as official symbol, like many American promises is one that still must be kept. Equality was an American byword for a long time before women could vote, before African Americans and Native Americans could vote. I hope as a symbol the bison with a shake of shaggy head can lead us to a place where the Bison can be what it’s really always been: a wild animal.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/bison.png"><img class="aligncenter wp-image-988061 size-full" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/bison.png" alt="" width="536" height="355" /></a>

--

By <a href="zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bison: An American survival story

We felt the truck rocking and looked at each other,...

There were only an estimated 200 Sumatran rhinoceroses living in the wild by 2011, making this species one of the most endangered on the planet. After sequencing the first-ever genome of a Sumatran rhinoceros, an international team of researchers has found that the threat of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-island-nations-climate-change/">extinction</a> to this species began nearly one million years ago.

The new analysis suggests that Sumatran rhinoceroses have been endangered since around the middle of the Pleistocene. The researchers explain that this insight is useful in placing the current status of the species’ population into a broader ecological and evolutionary context.

"Our genome sequence data revealed that the Pleistocene was a roller-coaster ride for Sumatran rhinoceros populations," said study co-author Herman Mays, Jr., of <a href="http://www.marshall.edu/">Marshall University</a>.

By the end of the Pleistocene, many large mammals had suffered from the invasion of continental mammals into Southeast Asia, and from rising sea levels that swallowed much of mainland Asia. The Sumatran rhinoceros population peaked at the onset of the mammal invasion, approximately 900,000 years back.

"Their population bottomed out and never showed signs of recovery," said Mays.

As their habitats were fragmented from rising sea levels, the Sumatran rhinoceros populations continued to shrink. Today, habitat loss and hunting are still putting pressure on the remainder of this species.

The researchers estimate that the Sumatran rhinoceros population peaked at an estimated effective population size of around 57,800 individuals about 950,000 years ago. According to the genome analysis, the effective population size was reduced to only about 700 Sumatran rhinos by 9,000 years ago. 

The findings of the study indicate a major shift in the ancient climate, which reduced the genetic diversity of Sumatran rhinos and left them more susceptible to additional strain.

"The Sumatran rhinoceros species is hanging on by a thread," said study co-author Terri Roth. "We need to do more to save it."

The study is published in the journal <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

Image Credit: Tom Uhlman

The Sumatran rhinoceros began its decline one million years ago

There were only an estimated 200 Sumatran rhinoceroses living in...

A newly unearthed skeleton is bringing unexpected information to light about marine reptiles known as plesiosaurs. Scientists have been examining what is thought to be the oldest known plesiosaur fossil, and have determined that these ancient reptiles may have emerged 50 million years earlier than previously realized. 

Experts believe that the earliest plesiosaurs had advanced limbs that took to the water like wings in the air. Over 200 million years ago, the reptiles foraged in the open seas using “underwater flight" similar to that of sea turtles.

The remains provide the very first evidence that plesiosaurs existed in the Triassic period, dating back around 201 million years. The fossil was discovered by paleontologists from the <a href="https://www.uni-bonn.de/the-university">University of Bonn</a> in a clay pit outside of Bonenburg, Germany.

Study co-author Professor Martin Sander told <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html">MailOnline</a>, “The beds from which the skeleton came from was dated by fossil shells and by a chemical signal as latest Triassic. I could not believe that there was a plesiosaur from the Triassic, given that these animals had been studied by paleontologist for nearly 300 years, and never was there one older than Jurassic.”


The new species was named Rhaeticosaurus mertensi by the research team. Plesiosaurs had smaller bodies with four pointed flippers and tiny heads on long necks. The new specimen was 7 feet 7 inches long, and growth marks in its bones suggested it was warm-blooded and young.

Professor Sander explained to MailOnline how the unique species of plesiosaurs may have dodged <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-species-persist/">extinction</a> at the end of the Triassic period.

“Plesiosaurs evolved warm-bloodedness, enabling them to live in the open ocean, removed from the bad environmental conditions that made life difficult in shallow, coastal waters at the end of the Triassic,” he said.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

New species of Plesiosaurs survived mass extinction event

A newly unearthed skeleton is bringing unexpected information to light...

A skylight above where I was working with dinosaur bone casts buzzed with movement. At first I assumed that an insect had strayed inside the workshop building with the summer breeze through the open doors. Looking closer I saw bright, metallic feathers. A hummingbird was flying desperately against the square of sun and sky set in glass above me. I looked around hoping to find a way to rescue the bird, not knowing exactly how to help. The hummingbird became more exhausted then I’ve ever seen another of his kind. The bird paused, sitting on the lip below the skylight, wings drooped and then flew against the glass, only to collapse again on his perch. I walked into the other room of the workshop and found an insect net leaning against the wall, undoubtedly to remove unwanted arthropods without killing them. Carefully I climbed up a ladder and quickly scooped the tiny bird into the net. I moved as fast as possible towards the door and opened the net outside, smiling as the hummingbird zipped away past the surrounding bushes.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hummingbirds-pack-pounds-flying-south/">Hummingbirds</a> are a common sight in Western Colorado where I once lived but are easy to miss, zipping by before many notice them. I’m sure most Colorado residents would be greatly surprised to learn that as many as 12 species have been found in there state. Hummingbirds would surprise many by where they are and aren’t. Most people think of hummingbirds as exotic tropical animals but they’ve been found in every US State –except Hawaii. <a href="Hummingbirds.net">Hummingbirds.net</a> reports 4 species for Alaska and only three species in New York. The New York Times reported the paradox of finding more hummingbirds in highly populated parts of New York, where city parks and potted plants attract them than in more rural areas.

Still, the tropics are great places to encounter hummingbirds. I first saw a hummingbird nest sewn with spider silk onto the back of a leaf by a female Hermit hummingbird in the lowland rainforest of Ecuador (subfamily Phaethornithinae). In Jamaica I sat in a bird reserve holding a tiny bottle of sugar water in my hand while the delicately feathered swallow tailed hummingbird (Trochilus Polytmus) ate from it. In the Bahamas while collecting data on parrots, I occasionally saw the buzzing rush of a passing Bahama Woodstar (Calliphlox evelynae).

Later Erin, my girlfriend, and I spent three months as volunteer managers at a nature reserve in Ecuador, where part of our duties was monitoring hummingbirds. Every day we sat by hummingbird feeders and tallied up the visitors. The first few days collecting data on hummingbirds was overwhelming. For the research we had to mark the number and sex of each hummingbird visiting the feeders hung on the porch. We were baffled; Is that a male Brown Violet Ear or a Female White Necked Jacobin? Time with the birds and checking ourselves against the bird books brought more knowledge and finally some confidence. Soon we could sit eating our eggs and toast, sipping coffee and eyeing visiting hummingbirds as if they were old friends. It was in Ecuador that I learned some peculiarities about hummingbirds, not only is there an enormous diversity of hummers, there are more species in the Andes than in the Amazon rainforest. This pattern of diversity is opposite of most other organisms in South America with some exceptions, including moss, which is most diverse in higher elevation cloud forests.

A visiting European professor told us with pride of an Andean hummingbird that drops its heartbeat into a slow torpor every night to survive the horrible cold of the montane environment. Male hummingbirds compete in lekking dances to compete for females but do nothing to help in rearing the young they spawn. Female hummingbirds with babies collect more insects and less nectar to provide proper nutrition for their chicks.

I’ve watched videos of the Sword-Billed Hummingbird feeding chicks, the chicks look like carnival sword swallowers. My own videos of hummingbirds have been disappointing. Photos are small, lacking the dynamic color of moving birds, disappointing. Even seeing a Hummingbird for long unaided in the wild is a rare treat, which is why feeders are so often used. A visiting biology student from Italy told us he liked everything at the reserve except the feeders; he had a point. An old manager’s journal entry told how previous managers had left the feeders unattended for two days because of a minor emergency. Upon return, the managers found the hummingbirds lethargic, hanging around the feeders but with less speed.

In the mornings, the hummingbirds, eager to be fed would dive bomb us. Flying close with angry needle sharp beaks, they threatened, demanding sugar water. The Yellowstone Grizzly Bears come to mind. In recent history the bears fed from dumps in Yellowstone National Park. The close association between food and humans in ursine minds made the bears a dangerous nuisance. Bears were shot. Tourists were mauled. Yellowstone no longer allows bear feeding or unguarded trash. But, hummingbirds aren’t bears.

Reaching the nature reserve required a hike through forest along a muddy trail that could collapse or dissolve in a heavy rain. Puddles were everywhere, logs and rocks were laid as stepping stones through standing water. Vines, fallen branches, palm fronds covered, blocked, framed the trail. On one hike we heard a buzz of sound. Next to the trail hovered a bird we knew from books but a bird that never visited the feeders. Long thin tail feathers flared out at the end. A male Booted Racquet-Tail danced in the dappled sunlight for a moment. The hummingbird zipped away and were left in the mud, smiling.

--

By <a href="zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Earth.com exclusive: Hummingbirds appear where you’d least expect

A skylight above where I was working with dinosaur bone...

An international research group of Brazilian and American scientists has just published a unique study depicting a more focused strategy for monitoring the survival of endangered muriquis monkeys, which live in patches of forests in Brazil. Their study revolved around the “essential question” of what knowledge is needed to help preserve the muriquis. The study focused on identifying population trends and conservation priorities.

Currently, no more than 2,300 muriquis survive in the wild. The species are split into two groups, a northern and southern species. The northern species is believed to have fewer than 1,000 individuals. For the survival of the species, the researchers need an accurate picture of these two different populations. Furthermore, simply counting individuals or breeding pairs was not going to be enough to give an accurate view of the population, the researchers would need to monitor the health of the species as well.

“Population counts at particular sites and in total don’t require a big labor force,” says Karen Strier, a professor of anthropology at the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin – Madison</a> and first author of the study. “But we are usually interested in other factors, such as genetic uniqueness or geographic importance: Could this site be used to make a corridor linking isolated populations to enhance genetic diversity?”

Increased monitoring should help answer more of these questions, according to the researchers. Strier also asserts that knowing the sex ratio and what proportion of females are pregnant – while more time consuming – helps them determine whether a population is growing or declining. 

Strier, who has observed muriquis in Brazil for 35 years, calls them “the most amazing primates in the world. They have a very low rate of aggression, and have been called ‘hippie monkeys.’ Females are independent and promiscuous, males don’t dominate them, and there’s no real hierarchy among males or females. They spend a lot of time hugging and socializing.” 

The researchers also point out that any population monitoring plans must take feasibility into account. For example, some locations may be impossible to access due to topography or ownership. Another factor important to monitoring decisions is sites that are on the fringe of a species’ habitat. Individuals that are outliers in terms of altitude or longitude may be the first to perish as climate changes. On the other hand, a relatively cool or under populated site in the present may become an important refuge as the climate warms in the future.

With both species of muriquis listed as critically <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/endangered-animals/">endangered</a>, interest in these primate species has been increasing. In fact, some private landowners are even establishing muriqui reserves. Muriquis are also benefiting from the recovery of landscapes that used to be farms and are now abandoned, with nature taking over again. “Seeing the resilience of nature makes me more determined than ever,” says Strier. “We can’t reverse past assaults to the planet, but we can do everything we can to stop them and give the animals and plants a chance to come back.”

These focused monitoring processes detailed in this study – published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a> – are seen by Strier as a foundation for a new generation of scientists. “If somebody wants to know how to promote muriqui preservation, this study would be a roadmap. It gives you an idea where to start, and where to focus. We hope it will also serve as a template for scientists concerned with other endangered animals.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New strategies for saving an endangered species

An international research group of Brazilian and American scientists has...

When tropical forests are converted to land for agricultural use, the result is less rain, more droughts, and deteriorating freshwater ecosystems. And now, surprising new research reveals that the clearing of tropical forests can also lead to negative changes in fish production.

Study lead author Leandro Castello is an assistant professor of Fisheries at <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Tech</a>'s College of Natural Resources and Environment. The researchers set out to investigate how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mining-deforestation-amazon-rainforest/">deforestation</a> along the Amazon River impacts fish yields.

"The conflict between raising cattle and managing fisheries is a concern that is shared with floodplain residents, but there had been no rigorous studies of how loss of forest affects the productivity of floodplain fisheries," explained study co-author David McGrath.

Approximately one-third of the world's wild-caught fish yield comes from tropical regions, and fisheries are critical to this production. The conditions of the area of land adjacent to a river, known as a floodplain, have a major impact on the success of fisheries.

"Floodplain forests can provide structures that protect fish and their offspring, and provide habitat for insects that many fish rely on for food,” said Castello. “Those forests also produce plant material on which fish may also feed.”

Using a study area of 1,000 square kilometers, the researchers collected data on fisheries yields over a 12-year time period. The team also created a map of the region's 1,500 lakes and interviewed local fishermen about fish caught in different areas. By combining this data, the experts determined which areas yielded the most fish.

"We collected roughly 36,000 separate data points that were plotted in order to make a map of where the fish were coming from," said Castello.

Satellite images from NASA allowed the researchers to collect a second data set on habitat features in the study region to examine whether the presence of floodplain forests impacted fish yields.

"Essentially, we wanted to know if fish yields in areas with forested floodplains are greater, the same, or less than areas where forests have been cut down," explained Castello.

"Our results indicated that lakes with floodplain forests provided fishers with greater fish yields," he said. "This allows us to infer that if you cut down the forests, fish yields in those lakes would decrease. Tropical deforestation is not only a terrestrial issue - it can also decrease the number of fish available to some of the world's poorest populations."

The researchers will continue to investigate what other factors affect fisheries yields, but the indications of this particular study are clear.

"You have to protect these habitats if you want to maintain the food production and the income that rivers provide," said Castello. "If we don't protect these areas, we lose the rivers and we lose the fish."

The study is published online in the journal <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-2979">Fish and Fisheries</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Deforestation in the Amazon is lowering fish yields

When tropical forests are converted to land for agricultural use,...

Pet owners often feel that their furry companions are like their children. According to a recent <a href="http://time.com/money/4876151/millenials-homes-dogs-children-marriages/">report</a>, one of the number one motivations for millennials looking to buy a house is so they will have space for their dog. 

<a href="https://www.earth.com/video/dogs-smarter-cats/">Dogs</a> are particularly sensitive to humans and with a loyal nature and seemingly perpetually wagging tail, it can be hard not to infantilize or anthropomorphize canine pets.

Now, new research has found that even though we love our pets like a member of the family, treating them like children can often lead to a misunderstanding of the dog’s natural behaviors and actions. 

It turns out that dogs are much more tuned in to our emotions and moods, but as owners, humans are not nearly as proficient at reciprocating and understanding our dogs. 

The research will be presented at the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures by Sophie Scott, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a>.

Scott’s findings show that dogs have much more emotional intelligence than we think, and our tendency to treat animals like children is detrimental to the animal’s sensibilities. 

According to Scott, we do not view dogs the same way they view us. Research has found that to them, humans have a similar role as an alpha animal would in a hypothetical pack in the wild. 

In an interview with the <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/dogs-take-the-lead-in-reading-mood-t658d2l7x">Times</a>, Scott explained this divide in human-pet relations further by using recent studies where it was proven that dogs do not like to be hugged. 

One such study was conducted by Stanley Coren, a psychology professor and canine expert from the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a>. 

According to an article in the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/04/26/dont-hug-your-dog--it-hates-it-say-animal-psychologists/">Telegraph,</a> Coren analyzed images found on the internet of dogs being hugged looking for signs of distress such as avoiding eye contact, folding its ears away, or keeping its eyes closed. 

Coren found a large majority of the photographs showed that dogs were under stress while being cuddled or hugged.

“The dogs really like being with their owners, they want to be with their owners, but they don't want to be held. It provokes anxiety in them: as an animal, they want to be able to move freely,” Scott told the Times. “Dogs are great at reading us but we are pretty shocking at reading them.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dogs understand humans better than we understand them

Pet owners often feel that their furry companions are like...

Scientists are one step closer to bringing back a long-extinct species known as the Tasmanian tiger, or thylacine. 

Thylacines were officially pronounced extinct in 1986, although the last known thylacine died in 1936. Thylacines were a wholly unique species with distinct striped markings and a jaw that could open up to 120 degrees. 

Tasmanian tigers went extinct for several reasons. Widespread hunting and even government compensation for every thylacine that was killed had the biggest hand in the animal’s downfall. 

But now, a new study has found that the tasmanian tiger’s lack of genetic diversity would have been detrimental long before humans caused the animals went <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rare-species-persist/">extinct</a>. 

The research was led by Andrew Pask, an associate professor at the <a href="http://www.unimelb.edu.au/">University of Melbourne</a>, and published in the journal Nature.

Pask’s team recently tested the DNA of an infant Tasmanian tiger that had been preserved in a jar and locked away in a museum. Genetic sequencing revealed that the species was already at odds with diversity and may have been doomed even before human interference. 

“Even if we hadn't hunted it to extinction, our analysis showed that the thylacine was in very poor [genetic] health,” Pask told <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/12/12/570096984/lack-of-genetic-diversity-may-have-doomed-tasmanian-tiger-scientists-say">NPR</a>. “The population today would be very susceptible to diseases, and would not be very healthy.” 

Interestingly enough, the Tasmanian government did finally step in and attempted to protect the species, but this was days before the last known Tasmanian tiger died from exposure at Hobart Zoo in 1936.

The discovery, while shedding light on the genetic makeup of a long-extinct species, could be the key to bringing back the Tasmanian tiger shortly via cloning. 

“As this genome is one of the most complete for an extinct species, it is technically the first step in bringing the thylacine back,” Pask told <a href="https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/">The Daily Telegraph</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bringing Tasmanian tigers back from extinction

Scientists are one step closer to bringing back a long-extinct...

As workers dig an extension for the Los Angeles Metro subway, they are uncovering the fossilized remains of ancient animals. Some of these fossils, including a mammoth skull weighing hundreds of pounds, date back to the last Ice Age, which ended 10,000 years ago.

Dave Sotero is a spokesman for the <a href="https://www.metro.net/">Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority</a> (MTA). He explained that paleontologists have been present alongside construction workers for all of the subway digs in Los Angeles, starting back in the 1990s with the development of the city’s inaugural line.

“Our crews try to be as mindful as possible to help them do their jobs. We get out of their way,” said Sotero.


Construction on the Wilshire section of the subway, known as the Purple Line, began in 2014, and the first fossils were found two years later. Now, the fossils are appearing frequently, with discoveries including a mastodon tooth, camel foreleg, bison vertebrae, and a tooth and ankle bone from a horse.

The most exciting find, however, is the intact skull of a young Columbian mammoth. Paleontologist Ashley Leger is the field director for <a href="http://www.cogstone.com/">Cogstone Resource Management</a>, the company hired to carry out the fossil excavations.

“They're making sure that they're recovering every single fossil that could possibly show up,” Leger said of her monitoring team. “They call me anytime things are large and we need to lead an excavation.”

About a year ago, Leger received a phone call that led to the best discovery of her career. Leger’s team member said to her, “It looks big.”

The fossil was first thought to be a partial elephant skull. But, after 15 hours of excavation, the team realized they had actually uncovered the enormous skull of a young <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-woolly-mammoths-extinction/">mammoth</a>.

“It's an absolute dream come true for me,” said Leger. “It's the one fossil you always want to find in your career.”

The skull, which weighs a few hundred pounds, is exceptionally rare because both of the tusks are still attached. The young Columbian mammoth was named Hayden, after Hollywood actress Hayden Panettiere.

Leger said that there is a lot to learn from the skull. Investigation of how this animal lived and died can give scientists insight into ancient environmental conditions and also into what the Earth’s climate will look like in the future.

“Every fossil fills a gap,” said Leger. “It tells a story of what came before us, and maybe what’s to come.”

<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/fossil-2.png"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-967944" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/fossil-2-300x165.png" alt="" width="300" height="165" /></a>

[caption id="attachment_967943" align="aligncenter" width="300"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/fossil-1.png"><img class="size-medium wp-image-967943" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/fossil-1-300x182.png" alt="" width="300" height="182" /></a> Photo Credit: Associated Press[/caption]

--

By <a href="mailto:csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Associated Press

LA construction workers find fossils of 10,000 year old creature

As workers dig an extension for the Los Angeles Metro...

When I was in high school, my environmental science class took a small voluntary field trip after dark. At night we hiked up rough sand stone canyons dotted with scattered pools of water. We jumped over trickles and scrambled around boulders. Flashlights cut through the darkness everywhere. We made an enormous ruckus. The canyon tree frogs were singing back at us that night too. Unsurprisingly we heard but didn’t see a frog. Canyon Tree Frogs became something mysterious to me after that night; something wild and hidden.

Years later, again on the Colorado National Monument, I was hiking through desert canyon country. I was half catching insects for a college entomology class, half hiking for pleasure. Stopping near an ephemeral desert pool, I watched carefully for water insects. There were darting water beetles beneath the surface, water striders dancing on the top. In the bottom of the pool was also a cluster of small, gooey eggs: frog eggs. In my mind the eggs became Canyon Tree Frog Eggs. I briefly contemplated taking the eggs home and raising them in an aquarium to satisfy my curiosity. I changed my mind though, it would be illegal to take the eggs and I doubted my ability to raise them. The eggs remained a mystery.

This fall my girlfriend Erin and I drove out to Bear’s Ears National Monument. Bear’s Ears is a beautiful piece of desert. Burnt red stone out of a thousand westerns lines the horizon, yellowish stone canyons yawn at your feet. The place feels remote, alien, yet familiar; a dream landscape. We drove for an hour on dirt roads, rutted and punctuated with rock. We parked next to two other vehicles. In one vehicle, a family was getting ready to depart. The man told of finding pottery sherds that he left in the canyon and wondered if we knew of petroglyphs. We didn’t. The man and his wife sipped beer, their young daughter enthused on their trip. The family left; they were the last people we saw for three days.

The hike we chose in Bear’s Ears was Dark Canyon. Remote, wild, rugged, the canyon was both the good and the painful part of freedom. Scrambling down a steep canyon wall covered in scree, we walked broken fragments of crumbling trail. We lost the trail, only to find a small cairn leading us on, into the canyon. Cactus were everywhere, the few junipers were blessings of shade.

The bottom of the canyon was a maze of boulders and shrubs in a dry streambed. We were happy to have descended to the bottom. I still have two bruised toe nails from scrambling down the canyon. We were tired of the madness of carrying our Shih Tzu down class 3 terrain and let her down to sniff around boulders and walk. The trail from the bottom to our campsite wasn’t long.

We slept on the sand beneath a cottonwood tree. We could hear the constant mutterings of a stream by our heads. I thought sometimes I heard snippets of conversation but it was always the stream. Hiking just a little uphill from the stream we became enveloped in eerie silence. The canyon forked, calling us in too many directions for one trip. We pondered the idea of a month spent in this lonely spot.

The first morning, I stumbled towards the stream, empty coffee pot in hand, ready for the morning ritual. By the stream rested a small, greyish amphibian. Before I could stop, the frog leapt and neatly splashed into the stream. The frog swam to the bottom of the clear water and stopped; hiding. I watched for a few minutes and the frog didn’t move. Frogs are adapted to spend long periods of time underwater. Amphibians can even absorb small amounts of oxygen from water through porous skin. I filled my coffee pot and went back to camp.

I wandered down a canyon, quiet, bright, beautiful, a land of shade and sun, sand and rock. I found the tiny fossils of Crinoids or Sea Lilies embedded in stone. Sea Lilies still live in oceans today. I marveled at the beautiful opalescent quality of the fossils and the age and power of the earth. Parts of Utah were once ocean; they may again be ocean one day.

Back at camp there were more frogs near the stream, I got a better look at them. The frogs had long delicate toes ending in rounded cups. Their eyes were bright; a greyish color matching the skin. The frog’s skin was dotted with red specks. I had a growing realization, I looked in our field guide to confirm; these were Canyon Tree Frogs. The frogs swam in the stream, or sat on the banks. We only saw them in the late afternoon or early morning. Canyon Tree Frogs are nocturnal.

Recently <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/national-parks-trump-ghost-teddy-roosevelt/">Donald Trump</a> ordered Bear’s Ears National Monument reduced in size by 85%. The move could open up thousands of acres to mining, to oil and gas, to ranching. The move is a blow to Native American groups, to environmentalists and everyone who loves the outdoors. The Canyon Tree Frog is not endangered. I won’t tell you that Canyon Tree Frogs may hold the cure for cancer or how many mosquitoes they eat. Canyon Tree Frogs are rather ordinary, easily missed, a small, rather cute frog. Canyon Tree Frogs are precious. Other people will tell you of Native American ruins, and fossils, or rare plants and animals. All of these things are important, they all deserve a fight.   Why should you care about one frog? Isn’t the beauty of one frog worth a fight? What we stand to lose is mundane as well as magnificent. We may lose some artifacts. We may lose fossils or an endangered bird. We’ll also lose a lot of mundane things. We’ll lose the quiet sound of a stream alone in the desert. We may lose the desert smell of one juniper or the sticky taste of a piñon nut. We can lose a hundred small, insignificant individual animals. We may lose the croaking, splashing, swimming of half a dozen frogs in a remote desert canyon.

If we give Trump even the life of one frog or a hundred, we’ve given too much. We stand to lose so much more. Others will remember Bears Ears in their own way and fight for it. I will remember the Canyon Tree Frogs. I will take my own stand.

--

By <a href="zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Earth.com exclusive: The Canyon Tree Frogs of Bear’s Ears

When I was in high school, my environmental science class...

The Colorado River Delta used to be a historically low-salinity river system that consisted of the huge Colorado River, which flowed into the Northern Gulf of California. Due to the unique freshwater conditions, ecological species evolved and adapted to the low-salinity environment, and are distinct from closely related species in the saltier estuaries in other regions of the Gulf.

However, due to invasive agriculture and domestic activities consuming much of the Colorado River water, the river is now more similar in salinity to the other estuary systems in the Gulf of California. The nature and severity of the impact of this fresh-water loss on the ecosystem and fisheries of the Colorado Delta and Gulf of California is controversial.

A new study in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/">PeerJ</a> finds that there are risks to the unique local biodiversity of the tidal portion of the Delta that were previously unknown. Researchers from the <a href="http://www.ucla.edu/">University of California, Los Angeles</a> (UCLA) analyzed species of silverside fish in a genus that is only found in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rampant-overfishing-gulf-california/">Gulf of California</a>. 

One species, Colpichthys hubbsi, only lives in the Delta and is on the endangered species list due to its restricted range. Through genetic and morphologic analyses, the researchers revealed that this species hybridizes along the western edge of the Delta with Colpichthys regis, a relative of C. hubbsi that is widespread throughout the estuaries in the Gulf. In earlier museum collections, no evidence of hybridization between these species was found.

While the genes from C. regis – the widespread species – were found to be common in the range of the C. hubbsi – the Delta specific species. However, there were no genes from the C. hubbsi found anywhere else in the Gulf. This shows clear evidence of gene movement in one direction between the two species, which may put the Delta species at risk of extinction as its genome is replaced by genes of C. regis.

But it isn’t just one species that is affected by this change in salinity. Other groups of fishes – as well as crabs – appear to have evolved as ecological species unable to leave the Colorado Delta’s ecosystem. These species may also be at risk.

As water extraction continues to accelerate in large river systems around the world, it is likely that the loss of ecological species in deltas and estuaries around the world is also accelerating. Although more work needs to be done to determine the exact causes of species separation, it’s clear that efforts need to be made to slow down the destruction being done to these ecosystems.

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Water removal from Colorado River putting fish species at risk

The Colorado River Delta used to be a historically low-salinity...

Hundreds of marine turtles are killed each year from becoming entangled in waste found in oceans and on beaches, including <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/end-ocean-plastic-litter/">plastic</a> six pack rings that are commonly used for packaging beer and soda cans. 

The rise in plastic marine litter is harming turtles of all species, and a recent worldwide survey reports that 91 percent of turtles found entangled in garbage are dead. The research by the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> also finds that there is a substantially larger impact on hatchlings and young turtles. 

The experts detailed serious wounds from entanglement, ranging from choking to maiming. Some of the surviving turtles were forced to drag debris along with them.

Besides plastic six pack rings, turtles are getting caught up in fishing nets, nylon fishing line, plastic packaging, wooden crates, and many other types of waste. The research is part of a growing collection that is exposing the extent of the threat of plastic pollution to marine animals.


Lead author Professor Brendan Godley says that, as plastic pollution increases, more and more turtles are likely to become entangled.

Death from entanglement has already increased substantially with both marine mammals and birds as well.

Of the 106 experts surveyed on the Atlantic, Pacific Caribbean, Mediterranean and Indian ocean coast, 84 percent said that they had found turtles tangled in waste, including plastic debris and discarded fishing gear.

Overall, the investigation showed that more than 1,000 turtles are likely to die annually due to entanglement. The researchers acknowledge, however, that this figure is likely to be a “gross underestimation” of the actual threat to turtles. Not all dead turtles get stranded on beaches and those that are stranded are not always found. For example, some turtles are taken by local people to eat.

"Plastic rubbish in the oceans, including lost or discarded fishing gear which is not biodegradable, is a major threat to marine turtles,” said Professor Godley. “We found, based on beach strandings, that more than 1,000 turtles are dying a year after becoming tangled up, but this is almost certainly a gross underestimate. Young turtles and hatchings are particularly vulnerable to entanglement.”

"Experts we surveyed found that entanglement in plastic and other pollution could pose a long term impact on the survival of some turtle populations and is a greater threat to them than oil spills. We need to cut the level of plastic waste and purse biodegradable alternatives if we are to tackle this grave threat to turtles' welfare."

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://www.int-res.com/journals/esr/esr-home/">Endangered Species Research</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: Kate Charles, Ocean Spirits

Hundreds of turtles killed by entanglement in ocean trash

Hundreds of marine turtles are killed each year from becoming...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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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



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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



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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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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