Every year, millions of birds migrate in search of warmer climates to escape the harsh winter. However, this seasonal journey does not necessarily help birds conserve energy as previously thought, according to a recent study from the <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior</a> (MPI-AB). 



By implanting miniaturized loggers into wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-blackbirds-get-sick-it-takes-weeks-for-them-to-recover/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">blackbirds</a>, scientists were able to record detailed measurements of the birds' heart rates and body temperatures every 30 minutes, from fall until the following spring. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-no-overall-energy-advantage-nbsp">No overall energy advantage&nbsp;</h2>



The study offers an unprecedented look into the true energetic costs of both migrating and staying in place. The data also uncovered an unexpected energy-saving mechanism used by blackbirds before migration begins.



“We never expected to discover that birds gain no overall energy advantage by escaping cold winters,” said Nils Linek, a first author of the study and researcher at MPI-AB.&nbsp;



“It was a longstanding textbook assumption that animals spend less energy by migrating to warmer places, but our findings have shown that these savings don’t add up. Rather, the energetics of migration is far more complex and interesting than theory predicted.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-measuring-energy-expenditure-of-blackbirds-nbsp">Measuring energy expenditure of blackbirds&nbsp;</h2>



Migration is a spectacular example of how animals adapt to changing seasons, but the fundamental question of why animals migrate has long puzzled scientists.&nbsp;



Part of the challenge has been the difficulty of studying the physiology of free-living animals over extended periods.&nbsp;



In this study, researchers from MPI-AB and <a href="https://www.yale.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Yale University</a> made a significant breakthrough by using sensors that measured the energy expenditure of blackbirds over the course of a full year, including their migration. 



They then paired this physiological data with energy modeling to calculate the predicted energetic costs of regulating <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/koalas-can-predict-hot-days-and-adjust-their-body-temperature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">body temperature</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-blackbirds-save-up-energy-for-their-journey">Blackbirds save up energy for their journey</h2>



The data showed that migrating blackbirds conserved substantial amounts of energy in preparation for migration by lowering their metabolism three weeks before departing. This adjustment may offset the energy costs of the migratory flights.&nbsp;



“They are essentially turning down their internal thermostat, allowing them to save energy for the journey ahead,” explained Linek.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predicted-energy-surplus-nbsp">Predicted energy surplus&nbsp;</h2>



Yet, once the birds reached their warmer wintering areas, they did not seem to reduce their overall daily energy expenditure as expected.



“This was not what we anticipated,” said co-first author Scott Yanco, a scientist at the Yale Center for Biodiversity and Global Change.&nbsp;



“The energy modeling we did in the study predicted that migration should definitely create an energy surplus because of the substantially reduced cost of keeping warm in milder climates.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-hidden-costs-in-overwintering-sites-nbsp">Hidden costs in overwintering sites&nbsp;</h2>



The mystery remains: where did this predicted energy surplus go? “We can only speculate at this point, but we suggest that there may be other physiological adaptations or hidden costs that migrant blackbirds face in their milder overwintering sites,” said Linek. 



“These might include factors such as the need to maintain vigilance in new environments, immune functions, or unknown stressors that offset the thermal advantage they should have experienced.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-partially-migratory-blackbirds">“Partially migratory” blackbirds</h2>



The researchers conducted their study in southern Germany, where blackbird populations are “partially migratory.” This means that while some blackbirds migrate south to regions like Spain and France, others remain in Germany throughout the year.&nbsp;



To track both migrant and resident birds, the researchers implanted heart rate and body temperature loggers into 120 wild blackbirds. These devices recorded data continuously from September until May.&nbsp;



Additionally, the team used radio transmitters to monitor the departure and return of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-migratory-birds-navigate-with-such-accuracy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">migratory birds</a>. Over one million data points were analyzed to compare the physiological differences between the two groups.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tracking-blackbirds-in-remarkable-detail-nbsp">Tracking blackbirds in remarkable detail&nbsp;</h2>



“Using physiological data, we were able to see in remarkable detail how birds undertake and experience migration,” said co-author Tamara Volkmer, a doctoral student at MPI-AB.&nbsp;



“We could observe everything from the migratory flight itself to how they recovered afterward and what they did over the winter. By recording long-term, detailed energy measurements, we could glimpse the hidden costs of their impressive round trip.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-drivers-of-migration-nbsp">Evolutionary drivers of migration&nbsp;</h2>



The findings suggest that migration, despite its risks and challenges, does not result in energy savings in warmer climates. This raises new questions about the evolutionary drivers of migration.&nbsp;



“This could have implications for our understanding of migration and its underlying mechanisms across different bird species,” Linek explained.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-broader-implications-of-the-study-nbsp">Broader implications of the study&nbsp;</h2>



The study also has broader implications for predicting how species will respond to future <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/migratory-birds-are-struggling-to-adapt-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">climate changes</a>.



Study senior author Jesko Partecke is a group leader at MPI-AB who has been studying blackbird migration for two decades.



“Understanding the physiological underpinnings of migration means that we can better forecast which species may adapt, which may alter their migratory patterns, and which may face greater risks as the world continues to warm,” said Partecke.&nbsp;



As climate change progresses, this research could prove essential in understanding how migratory species will cope with shifting environmental conditions, potentially altering migration strategies or even leading to the disappearance of certain migratory behaviors.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-024-02545-y" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>, 



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Blackbirds reveal the true energy costs of migrating

Every year, millions of birds migrate in search of warmer climates to escape the harsh winter. However, this seasonal journey does not necessarily help birds conserve energy as previously thought, according to a recent study from the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior (MPI-AB).  By implanting miniaturized loggers into wild blackbirds, scientists were able to record detailed measurements of the birds' heart rates and body temperatures every 30 minutes, from fall until the following spring.  No overall energy advantage&nbsp; The study offers an unprecedented look into the...

Tequila has gone to the bats. Thanks to companies’ focus on distilling more bat-friendly tequila, one endangered species is making a big comeback.

The endangered species list has included the  lesser long-nosed bat for years. The flying mammal feeds on nectar from cactus flowers – including the agave cactus used to make tequila – and other desert plants in Mexico, Arizona and New Mexico.

It first made it onto the endangered species list more than three decades ago. Since then, biologists, volunteer bat lovers, and tequila producers have teamed up to help monitor and rebuild the bat population.

For a decade, Arizona volunteers have used hummingbird feeders to monitor the bats. This helped biologists find the bats, capture them, and release them with radio transmitters to find their roosting sites.

Federal land managers in the U.S. have also joined in the efforts, taking flowering cacti into account when planning, and protecting caves used for roosting from humans.

But the major success might have flown out of reach if it weren’t for bat-friendly tequila.

Tequila companies in Mexico have made a huge effort to practice more sustainable harvest and cultivation practices when they grow agave cacti, among long-nosed bats’ favorite food. That meant more safe food sources for the bats. It benefited farmers, too, since the bats are key pollinators.

Now, some producers are even marketing their tequila as “bat-friendly.”

At one time, scientists and volunteers were only able to account for about 1,000 bats with 14 roosting locations. Now, about 200,000 lesser long-nosed bats live in the wild.

All in all, the efforts have been successful. Now, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed removing the bats from the endangered species list. Mexico already delisted the bat in 2015.

“The proposed delisting of the lesser long-nosed bat is a great achievement for all that have been involved in recovery efforts for this species,” Jim deVos, assistant director of wildlife management at the <a href="https://www.azgfd.com/">Arizona Game and Fish Department</a>, said in a <a href="https://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/">statement</a>. “Many entities in both the U.S. and Mexico have worked tirelessly toward recovery and this announcement stands as testimony that dedicated efforts and sound management practices can lead to recovery of endangered species.”

Bat-friendly tequila is helping one endangered species recover

Tequila has gone to the bats. Thanks to companies’ focus...

Here at <a href="http://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a>, we always like to highlight some of the incredible work being done by nature and wildlife non-profit organizations all around the world. Today, in our regular “Your World” feature, we celebrate the top non-profit Instagram feeds dedicated to big cats.

&nbsp;

C.A.R.E. - Care Rescue Texas (non-profit, Texas)
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BPDaQRVjSAk/" target="_blank">Allucia amidst the peet prints. Snow day 2015. 📷: @heidiberrykrahn</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by C.A.R.E. (@carerescuetexas) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2017-01-09T18:14:17+00:00">Jan 9, 2017 at 10:14am PST</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

&nbsp;

Panthera (non-profit, New York)
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 32.8703703704% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BOgZe9LAHLU/" target="_blank">Breaking News: cheetahs are sprinting toward extinction, according to a new study from ZSL (@officialzsl), Panthera and WCS (@thewcs) only 7,100 cheetahs left in the wild, urgent action is needed--now. Find out more [link in bio]. #cheetah #cheetahs #bigcat #bigcats #wildcat #wildcats #wildlife #conservation #breakingnews</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by Panthera (@pantheracats) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2016-12-27T03:54:08+00:00">Dec 26, 2016 at 7:54pm PST</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

&nbsp;

Central Florida Animal Reserve (non-profit, Central Florida)
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 28.125% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BL6UucSDy96/" target="_blank">Slow motion #lion yawn from Cunsi the #lioness. Look at those teeth and that jaw span! #teamcfar #snugglysunday http://www.cflar.org</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A video posted by Central Florida Animal Reserve (@cflarbigcats) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2016-10-23T15:58:38+00:00">Oct 23, 2016 at 8:58am PDT</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

&nbsp;

NW Boreal Forest Lynx Project (non-profit, Colorado)
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 50.0% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BL-lGNSDoaJ/" target="_blank">On Saturday we captured this male Lynx and placed a satellite collar on him. This collar is programmed to collect and transmit 6 GPS locations and activity rates each day. The data this collar collects and sends to us via satellite is used to better understand behavior, movement rates, habitat use, home range characteristics, and potential social interactions. Photo by @dashfeier Dash Feierabend. #wildlifeconservation #lynx #canadalynx #satellitecollar #borealforest #alaska #thelynxproject</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by NW Boreal Forest Lynx Project (@thelynxproject) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2016-10-25T07:38:39+00:00">Oct 25, 2016 at 12:38am PDT</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

&nbsp;

Snow Leopard Trust (non-profit, Washington)
<blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 658px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="7">
<div style="padding: 8px;">
<div style="background: #F8F8F8; line-height: 0; margin-top: 40px; padding: 33.2407407407% 0; text-align: center; width: 100%;"></div>
<a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BNNHo18j4i8/" target="_blank">We're thankful for snow leopards and most importantly all of your support over the years! Happy Thanksgiving! #snowleopardtrust #happythanksgiving</a>
<p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A photo posted by Snow Leopard Trust (@snowleopardtrust) on <time style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;" datetime="2016-11-24T19:41:14+00:00">Nov 24, 2016 at 11:41am PST</time>

</div></blockquote>
<script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>

&nbsp;

Your world: top non-profit Instagram feeds dedicated to big cats

Here at Earth.com, we always like to highlight some of...

Suraj the elephant spent many of his 45 years on Earth chained up in a tiny, dark room in a temple located in the Indian state of Maharashtra. He was kept dehydrated and malnourished while held as an attraction for temple visitors. That is, of course, until a year ago, when Suraj was finally saved by wildlife rescue workers. 

According to <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/">Yahoo News</a>, when <a href="http://wildlifesos.org/">Wildlife SOS</a> (WSOS) volunteers found Suraj, he was living in “solitary confinement in a 20 foot by 20 space with tight spiked chains on all four limbs… 24/7, from dawn to dusk.”

The rescue effort turned out to be no easy operation. According to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ushome/index.html">Daily Mail UK</a>, WSOS workers needed an armed team of more than 70 law enforcement officials to settle a stand-off with 200 temple supporters. 

Emancipation was only the first step in Suraj’s road to recovery. At the time of his rescue, Suraj was in such rough shape from his years in captivity that a crane was needed to lift him onto his feet. While he has made incredible progress since then, many of Suraj’s health problems have continued to require daily care from the WSOS team. 

"You can't undo 50 years of abuse in just a few weeks," said Rhea Lopez, WSOS Elephant Campaign Manager. "But over the first few months at the center, we've gotten to know Suraj — experiencing his first taste of freedom, his capacity to forgive, and his absolute joy in little things. It's rewarding and just completely indescribable."

"It's amazing to see the progress Suraj has made in the last year," added Nikki Sharp,  Wildlife SOS Executive Director. "Sometimes it's hard to imagine the amount of pain and loneliness he endured for so many years. We can't return him to the wild from where he was taken, but we can give him some joy in his life. Seeing him doing so well makes us more motivated to help others in a similar situation as he was."

Suraj the elephant has since been named one of <a href="http://time.com/">Time magazine</a>’s Most Influential Animals of 2016. According to Daily Mail UK, he now spends his days “strolling free, foraging, investigating new smells and sounds.” Suraj also allegedly loves peppermint, peanuts, and papaya.

--

Photo courtesy of <a href="http://wildlifesos.org/blog/an-update-on-suraj-the-one-eared-elephant/">Wildlife SOS</a>

Suraj the elephant: a harrowing story of survival

Suraj the elephant spent many of his 45 years on...

What’s going on in the world today? Plenty. In your daily dose of Earth news for January 9, 2017, you'll find a new nature miniseries, tips on algae growth, potential uses for earwax, and more.
<h2>Earth news for January 9, 2017:</h2>
<h4>BBC launches ‘Spy in the Wild’</h4>
With “Planet Earth II” over, nature fans are looking for their next fix. “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfdrQL5Ff-A">Spy in the Wild</a>” aims to provide it. The new <a href="http://bbc.co.uk/">BBC</a> documentary conceals cameras in lifelike robots, and sends them to watch animals in their natural habitats.

Maybe they're a little too lifelike. In the first episode, a robot disguised as a langur monkey successfully infiltrates a group in India. When the robot was dropped from a height, the monkeys began mourning, producers said.

The miniseries airs in the UK beginning Thursday. In the U.S., the first episode will run February 1 on <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/">PBS Nature</a>.
<h4>Could earwax be the next big tech innovation?</h4>
Scientists at the <a href="http://www.gatech.edu/">Georgia Institute of Technology</a> have taken on a new – and sort of disgusting – project: figuring out a technological use for earwax.

The project was inspired after her boyfriend had water trapped in his ear by an earwax plug, doctoral student Alexis Noel said. She wondered how the earwax was able to allow the water in, then trap it so effectively, and mentioned it to Dr. David Hu. They decided to take on the problem.

Using earwax from pigs, sheep, rabbits, and dogs, they began testing its properties and trying out different uses. They’ve found that earwax is made up pretty consistently across species.

They also found that it has excellent filtering properties. As earwax collects dust, it traps it. When too much dust is trapped, the earwax crumbles and falls away, and new wax is formed.

While they’re still studying exactly how earwax is formed, the researchers already see potential uses in tech. One idea would be to create a biomimetic adhesive surface for ventilation systems in robotics and other machinery.
<h4>Colorful new flatworm species discovered in Brazil</h4>
Scientists have found three new land-based species of flatworm in the Araucaria forest of Brazil. Flatworms are invertebrates, and also predators that hunt other invertebrate species.

The Araucaria is part of Brazil’s Atlantic Rainforest and is considered to be a hotspot of flatworm diversity, the scientists wrote in their article in <a href="http://zookeys.pensoft.net/articles.php?id=11093">ZooKeys</a>, an open access journal. The three new species belong to the genus Cratera.
<h4>In forests, Missouri bees prefer darker flowers</h4>
Bees prefer darker colors in cool climates, at least when it comes to flowers. That’s what scientists at <a href="https://www.slu.edu/">St. Louis University</a> discovered while observing how native bee species interact with birds foot violets.

In most cases, the bees prefered the concolor morph, in which all five petals of the flower are light in color. In sunny locations, the concolor morph far outnumbers the bicolor morph, which has two dark purple petals and three light ones.

But in shady, wooded areas, the bicolor morph makes up about half of the flower population. Bees in these areas always land on the darker petals to feed, the researchers found. Testing revealed darker petals were warmer.
<h4>Scientists at UC Irvine find a new method for recycling greenhouse gases</h4>
A team of researchers from <a href="https://uci.edu/">University of California, Irvine</a> has discovered a new method for dealing with carbon dioxide: using it to help produce biofuel.

The bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii can be used to convert carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide. Though toxic in enclosed spaces, carbon monoxide can be used to produce biofuels and chemical products. Their findings were published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/nchembio/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nchembio.2245.html">Nature Chemical Biology</a>.
<h4>Biodiversity of algae is important in biofuel production</h4>
<a href="https://www.umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a> researchers studying algae-derived biocrude have found that when raising algae, biodiversity is important. They found that growing a wide variety of algae reduced crop failure and gave a better return on investment. While their research was conducted indoors in tanks, that will be true in outdoor tanks or ponds, too, the researchers said.

The research is being funded by a $2 million, four-year grant from the <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/">National Science Foundation</a>.
<h4>Scientists explore link between rainfall in West, Rocky Mountain air quality</h4>
When the western U.S. suffers from a drought, Rocky Mountain air quality suffers, too, scientists at the <a href="http://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> found.

That’s because drought sparks more wildfires, which creates haze in the Rockies, the scientists said. Haze can be evaluated with instruments that measure aerosol optical depth – the amount of aerosols between the sensor and the sun.

Aerosols in the Rockies went up when the west was in a drought, according to the study published in the journal <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa510a/meta;jsessionid=5E21027595D39B0B34BD2C5716CCDC9D.c4.iopscience.cld.iop.org">Environmental Research Letters</a>.
— January 9, 2017

Earth news daily: January 9, 2017

What’s going on in the world today? Plenty. In your daily...

Marine biologists are taking a fresh look at the effects of a little-understood ocean danger. Not sharks or deep-sea predators – they’re studying ocean acidification and its effects on sea snails.

As the Earth’s oceans takes in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, their pH level falls and they become more acidic. Many scientists credit ocean acidification to increased greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Beyond that, though, they don’t know much about how acidification affects underwater wildlife.

So a team of scientists from the <a href="http://www.uquebec.ca/">University of Quebec</a>, the <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">University of Plymouth</a>, the <a href="http://www.pml.ac.uk/">Plymouth Marine Laboratory</a>, and the <a href="http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/">University of Birmingham</a> decided to find out.

Ocean acidification, or OA, does play at least some role in altering some species’ behaviors, they said.

“In several marine invertebrate species, [ocean acidification] has been shown to exert significant effects on organismal life history, ecology and behaviour, and on fundamental physiological processes, resulting in imbalances in acid-base status, a reduction in aerobic scope and a shift in energy budget allocation,” they wrote in the <a href="http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms13994">new study</a>.

The goal was to find out how much of a role it plays, and how marine creatures adapt to those changes.

In 2010, they launched a project to study Littorina littorea, a common sea snail. They sampled six different populations in the North Atlantic, near Europe’s coast. The sea snails ranged from warm to subpolar waters.

Samples were moved to a lab at the University of Plymouth, where scientists separated them into tanks mimicking sea conditions. The tanks had different pH levels ranging from 8.0, current levels, to 7.6, the predicted levels for the year 2100.

In the more acidic tanks, the snails showed a number of effects. The harsher water conditions ate away at their shells, especially the sea snails from colder waters.

Further ocean acidification could shift the snails’ range to warmer climates, the researchers found.

Still, they cautioned that their study looked only at one species.

“More generally, our study points to the fact that information from single population studies should be used with caution when aiming at predicting species global responses to global drivers,” they wrote. “As a consequence, we may be currently over- or underestimating the impact of different environmental changes in different climatic regions, with this having important implications for the development of directives and policies to promote the preservation of marine biodiversity under the ongoing global change.”

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>. Funding was provided by the <a href="http://www.nerc.ac.uk/">Natural Environment Research Council</a>.

New study looks at how ocean acidification affects sea snails

Marine biologists are taking a fresh look at the effects...

As sea ice near the North Pole melts, polar bears already face the threat of disappearing habitat. Now a study shows they face another: Arctic pollution.

A new analysis by researchers from the <a href="http://www.unimib.it/go/102/Home/English">University of Milano Bicocca</a> and <a href="https://www.muni.cz/en">Masaryk University</a> found that persistent organic pollutants pose a much higher risk to polar bears than to other Arctic predators.

“Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are chemicals that remain intact in the environment for long periods, travel long distances, accumulate in living organisms, and are toxic to humans and wildlife,” the researchers wrote in their <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/etc.3671/abstract">analysis</a>.

Persistent organic pollutants don’t easily degrade through biological, chemical, or light-based processes. In short, once they’re in the environment, they tend to stick around. The most famous persistent organic pollutant is likely DDT, which was used as an insecticide; many POPs are pesticides or insecticides.

The researchers decided to look into how these compounds affect wildlife in the Arctic Circle.

They looked at how POPs – particularly concentrations of 19 chemicals – affect Arctic cod, ringed seals, and polar bears. They also looked at both adult animals and their young offspring.

The analysis looked at studies over the past several years on both Arctic pollution and on the three specific animal species.

The researchers found that the pollutants pose only a low risk for seals. For polar bears, though, the risk is two orders of magnitude higher than the safety threshold. For polar bear cubs being fed with contaminated milk, the risk is three orders of magnitude higher.

For the fish, there was not enough data from all years to give a complete picture.

“The present study indicates a very high potential for toxic effects at least at the top levels of the Arctic food web, particularly for a top predator such as the polar bear and for its offspring,” the researchers wrote.

Arctic pollution can cause a number of health problems in the vulnerable polar bears. Possible effects of exposure to POPs include neurological damage, changes to the endocrine system, and changes to reproduction.

The <a href="https://www.iucn.org/">International Union for Conservation of Nature</a> estimates that there are only about 26,000 polar bears living today, all of them in the Arctic. They’re listed as vulnerable on the <a href="http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22823/0">IUCN Red List</a>.

The researchers urge officials around the world to take steps to prevent contamination of the Arctic with POPs.

“The present results also provide insights for international stakeholders into the need for further implementation of mitigation measures … to avoid global pollution problems that could only be solved over generations,” they wrote.

The analysis was published in the journal <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1552-8618">Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry</a>.

Arctic pollution is posing a new threat to vulnerable polar bears

As sea ice near the North Pole melts, polar bears...

A team of scientists from Brazil and five other South American countries has undertaken a census of the continent’s jellyfish types – 958 in all.

Jellyfish come in all kinds. Some are so tiny they’re almost microscopic; some are nearly a yard in diameter. Some glow in the dark, some are poisonous, and most trail long tentacles. Many are stunningly beautiful. In some cases, their gelatinous forms are all they have in common.

The census, which may be the largest ever conducted for jellies, sought to record every single South American species.

Some interesting facts shared in the census:
<ul>
 	<li>The most toxic jellyfish species are found in the class Cubozoa, also called box jellyfish. While several species of box jellies have a toxic sting that can cause death, they don’t attack humans. Any contact is unintentional.</li>
 	<li>The species Chrysaora lactea, found off the coast of Brazil, has gained international attention due to its blooms.</li>
 	<li>Some jellyfish types begin life as polyps attached to the ocean floor. They bud, and the bud frees itself from the polyp to become a free-swimming jelly. Dipurena reesi is one example. Others in the class Staurozoa never leave the ocean floor.</li>
</ul>
Altogether, the census lists more than 950 different types of jellyfish from 800 different species.

The research team conducted a thorough examination of research into jellyfish species and field data from all over South America. They also visited zoological museums and aquariums with jellyfish to find out where their species were collected.

In addition to offering up plenty of information for jellyfish fans and marine biologists, the census helps bring attention to areas of South America where conservation is needed.

Their research is being collected into a database that will be updated as more of the continent is explored and more information is collected.

The census was published in the journal <a href="http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/">Zootaxa</a>. The project was part of a project funded by the <a href="http://www.fapesp.br/en/">São Paulo Research Foundation</a>.

Brazilian researchers compile data on more than 900 jellyfish types

A team of scientists from Brazil and five other South...

The story of the city mouse and the country mouse may be truer than we thought. A new study has found that plants and animals that live in urban areas are being changed by city life.

The <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2017/01/01/1606034114.full">analysis</a>, led by Dr. Marina Alberti of the <a href="http://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a>, looked at 1,600 cases around the world. They found that animals and plants living in cities showed changes in body size along with changes in behavior and reproduction habits compared to their country cousins.

“Humans challenge the phenotypic, genetic, and cultural makeup of species by affecting the fitness landscapes on which they evolve,” Alberti and her co-authors wrote in the analysis. “Recent studies show that cities might play a major role in contemporary evolution by accelerating phenotypic changes in wildlife, including animals, plants, fungi, and other organisms.”

For example, one 2008 study found that wildlife and plant populations exposed to human activity – especially activity in which humans alter the natural world, such as overharvesting or pollution – show faster rates of evolutionary change.

The researchers looked at another study that recorded changes in the behavior of crows and ravens in response to human behavior. That 2005 study found that social species with the ability to create and evolve their own “culture,” such as crows, can adapt and change that culture to take advantage of city life.

Alberti and her fellows used their “meta-analysis” to try to piece together the role that urbanization as a whole, rather than just individual human behaviors, plays in plant and animal evolution. That included widespread habitat modification like paved roads, street lights, and tall buildings; social interactions among species and between animals and humans; and disturbances of the natural ecosystem like flooding (though flood prevention or damming rivers) or pollution.

“By explicitly linking urban development to traits that affect ecosystem function, we can map potential eco-evolutionary implications of emerging patterns of urban agglomerations and uncover insights for maintaining key ecosystem functions upon which the sustainability of human well-being depends,” they wrote.

The analysis was published in <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

City life may influence plant and animal evolution

The story of the city mouse and the country mouse...

This winter, several sightings of the mysterious and rare lynx have been reported across Colorado. Last week, one such lynx was spotted parading through the Purgatory resort in southwestern Colorado. Photos and tweets quickly began to flood social media with accounts of the exciting appearance.

Just two weeks prior, two rare lynx were spotted along a mountain highway in Molas Pass, located 15 miles north of the Purgatory resort. The pair appeared to be a mother and daughter. 

"My heart just about busted out of my chest when I realized what I was seeing," Dontje Hildebrand told the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/9c1439096d4a4e739b254153f577c4df/Ski-run-surprise:-Lynx-stroll-past-crowds-in-rare-sightings">AP</a>. 

Lynx are medium-sized wild cats that have short tails, tufted ears, and broad paws that allow them to walk across the snow with ease. They typically grow to be 3 feet long and weigh about 30 pounds.

Lynx are native to Colorado, but were nearly wiped out in the 1970s due to overhunting. But in 1999, the state began reintroducing the wild cats by relocating a limited population from Alaska and Canada. It has been estimated that roughly 50 to 250 lynx live in the wild in Colorado today, generally in the southwestern portion.

According to <a href="http://cpw.state.co.us">Colorado Parks and Wildlife,</a> exact population figures are difficult to calculate because lynx can be so hard to find. But the increasing frequency of lynx sightings is an encouraging sign that the animals are settling into the area with increasing comfort following their reintroduction.

Still, lynx have remained an endangered species in the continental United States since 2000, according to the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a>. The state of Colorado uses mounted automated cameras to track which areas lynx settle into.

Lynx are not seen as a threat to humans, said a spokesman from Colorado Parks and Wildlife. But because of their unpredictable nature, humans are discouraged from feeding or approaching them.

Rare lynx sightings reported across Colorado

This winter, several sightings of the mysterious and rare lynx have...

A second red panda has died at the <a href="http://www.elmwoodparkzoo.org/">Elmwood Park Zoo</a> in Norristown, Pennsylvania, located just outside of Philadelphia. The red panda, a 2-year old male named Shredder, died Wednesday of heart disease brought on by an enlarged heart and thickened heart walls.

Shredder was the second of triplets to die. His older sibling, Clinger, died in December 2015 of encephalitis related to a brain parasite. Zoo officials are examining the surviving sibling to confirm that he is in good health.

The red panda species has been listed as endangered since 2008, with less than 10,000 red pandas alive in the wild across the globe. Populations continue to decrease primarily due to habitat loss and poaching.

The red panda triplets came to the Elmwood Park Zoo from the <a href="https://nationalzoo.si.edu/conservation">Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute</a> in Washington, D.C.. According to the institute, red pandas and giant pandas are not that closely related, though they do share a name. 

Red pandas are native to the eastern Himalayas and southwestern China. The mammals are also known as red bear-cats due to their ambiguous features, which include reddish-brown fur, long, thick tail, and a cat-like physique. They can also be mistaken for raccoons due to the white badges around their face.

Red pandas can be difficult to study because they are generally nocturnal and also very shy. As a result, exactly population figures can be tricky to determine.

Second endangered red panda dies at Philadelphia zoo

A second red panda has died at the Elmwood Park...

The famous killer whale Tilikum has died, SeaWorld announced Friday. Tilikum was the orca star of the documentary “Blackfish,” which examined the whale’s capture near Iceland and captivity in Florida. He was also linked to three deaths during his life, two at SeaWorld’s Orlando location.

While the official cause of Tilikum’s death will not be known until after biologists conduct a necropsy, the whale was being treated for a bacterial lung infection he couldn’t seem to shake, the water park said in a <a href="https://seaworldcares.com/tilikum">press release</a>.

“Like all older animals, Tilikum had faced some very serious health issues,” the press release said.

Tilikum was captured off of the coast of Iceland when he was about two years old, in 1983. He was sent to live at an aquarium in British Columbia, Canada, with two older female orcas.

In 1991, Tilikum was involved in the death of a young marine biology student and part-time trainer. One of his fellow whales at Sealand of the Pacific, Nootka IV, had been involved in a number of attacks on trainers. In this attack, eyewitnesses said Tilikum pulled Keltie Byrne into the tank, then all three whales prevented her from leaving, tossed her around, and repeatedly submerged her.

Not long after Byrne’s death, Tilikum and the other two orcas were sold to SeaWorld, and Tilikum became the Orlando location’s orca star.

He was involved in two deaths in Orlando: Daniel Dukes, a park visitor who evaded security and snuck into Tilikum’s tank overnight, and trainer Dawn Brancheau.

“Tilikum’s life will always be inextricably connected with the loss of our dear friend and colleague, Dawn Brancheau. While we all experienced profound sadness about that loss, we continued to offer Tilikum the best care possible, each and every day, from the country’s leading experts in marine mammals,” SeaWorld said Friday.

In 2013, the documentary “<a href="http://www.blackfishmovie.com/">Blackfish</a>” looked at Tilikum’s history, to try and determine why the orca star was involved in three of four known orca-related killings. (The fourth, in Spain, also had connections to SeaWorld Orlando. Keto, the orca who killed a trainer in that case, was born in Orlando.)

The documentary spoke to SeaWorld trainers about their experiences with the orcas. It also looked at claims that orcas in captivity live longer than those in the wild, and attempted to prove that false.

Filmmakers pointed out that captive orcas carried out all known orca attacks that led to death, and most other recorded attacks.

SeaWorld protested the documentary.

“Blackfish employs false and emotionally manipulative sequences concerning the collection and separation of killer whales,” the water park <a href="https://seaworldcares.com/the-facts/truth-about-blackfish/">said on its website</a>. “SeaWorld does not collect killer whales in the wild, and has not done so in over 35 years. Tilikum was not collected by us. And the collections four decades ago were conducted in compliance with federal laws, pursuant to federally-issued permits at that time.”

However, the conversation started by the film led SeaWorld to announce the end of its orca breeding program. It would no longer keep whales enclosed in its water parks after the current generation of orcas, it said.

"Why the big news? SeaWorld has been listening and we're changing. Society is changing and we're changing with it," <a href="https://seaworldcares.com/en/future">the company said</a>.

Tilikum fathered 21 calves, 10 of which are still alive today.

“Tilikum had, and will continue to have, a special place in the hearts of the SeaWorld family, as well as the millions of people all over the world that he inspired,” said President &amp; CEO of SeaWorld Joel Manby. “My heart goes out to our team who cared for him like family.”

SeaWorld announces Tilikum, orca star of 'Blackfish,' has died

The famous killer whale Tilikum has died, SeaWorld announced Friday....

Everyone can see the obvious differences in behavior between adults and juveniles throughout the animal kingdom, and teenage humans can be erratic, indecisive, and unreliable. As it turns out, researchers have found this same behavior in teenage worms.

Scientists at Salk Institute published a study in eNeuro suggesting the adolescent brains of C. elegans mature to more stable adult brains by changing which brain cells they use to generate behavior. Although roundworms are much simpler organisms than humans – with only 302 neurons to humans’ almost 100 billion – the researchers believe their findings may ring true for humans as well. C. elegans are an extremely common species examined for these types of studies, as their basic neurological circuitry has many similarities to ours.

The researchers studied how the worms reacted to the introduction of a food source. The teenage worms meandered and had no urgency in getting to food, if they got there at all. Meanwhile, adult worms usually made a beeline towards the food source. When a repellant was introduced, both worm types moved away from it, demonstrating that the adolescents’ senses aren’t impaired, just different from older worms’.

Laura Hale, a researcher at Salk and first author of the paper, said, “It’s like the younger worms are angsty teens. To watch their behavior, it's as though they say, 'Yeah, I know I'm supposed to go over there but I just don't feel like it.'” 

It’s not as if the adolescent worms have somewhere better to be like a rock concert, house party, or other teenage attraction. Rather, scientists believe this ambivalent behavior allows the young worms to stay flexible to an uncertain world, while adult worms exhibit more efficient behavior for the world they matured in.

The Salk team believes the adolescents’ broad preferences give them evolutionary flexibility in a changing world. If the teenage worms have a strong preference for a certain food but sources of that food are depleted, they will starve. But if they are interested in a variety of food sources, they can adjust their tastes to what is available. Having learned what foods are available, adults can afford to be choosier. Scientists believe the adult behavior results from the combination of neuronal inputs, whereas adolescent behavior results from the firing of just a single neuron pair.

This discovery may provide insight into the basis of neurological development and help us better understand the human brain and disease. Sreekanth Chalasani, associate professor at Salk’s Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory and senior author of the paper, concluded, "These results support the idea that evolution works by making a juvenile plastic to learn a lot of things; then making an adult tuned to take advantage of that learning. Instead of merely being rebellious, teens – both humans and worms – may just be staying flexible to adapt to an unpredictable world."

Even teenage worms can be sullen and angsty

Everyone can see the obvious differences in behavior between adults...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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