While sexual reproduction is the predominant strategy among animals, some species have evolved the ability to reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis. In these species, females can produce offspring without mating.&nbsp;



However, even in predominantly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-asexual-ants-maintain-genetic-diversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">asexual species</a>, rare males occasionally appear. What remains unclear is whether these males retain reproductive functions or if they are merely evolutionary remnants. 



Understanding this question could provide crucial insights into the evolution and persistence of reproductive strategies in nature.



A new study, published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ecy.4522" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecology</a>, addresses this mystery by examining the rare males of Ramulus mikado, a species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stick-and-leaf-insects-have-all-evolved-the-same-basic-body-parts/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">stick insect</a> in Japan where parthenogenetic reproduction is the norm. 



The research was led by assistant professor Tomonari Nozaki from the <a href="https://www.nibb.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">National Institute for Basic Biology</a>, professor Kenji Suetsugu from <a href="https://www.kobe-u.ac.jp/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kobe University</a>, and associate professor Shingo Kaneko from <a href="https://english.adb.fukushima-u.ac.jp/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Fukushima University</a>.



The results provide compelling evidence that these males, despite their mating attempts, have completely lost their reproductive function.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-males-with-no-reproductive-function">Males with no reproductive function </h2>



The researchers closely studied the behavior and physiology of these rare males and found that, although they actively engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-birds-trick-their-way-into-mating-by-removing-testosterone-from-their-bodies/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mating</a> with females, they did not contribute genetically to the next generation. 



Genetic analysis confirmed that no male-derived genes were passed on to the offspring, indicating that these males are effectively sterile.



The findings revealed that, although the males display typical stick insect morphology and mating behaviors, they do not produce functional sperm. This means that sexual reproduction cannot be restored in the species, even in the presence of males.&nbsp;



Interestingly, female reproductive organs associated with sexual reproduction showed signs of degeneration, further suggesting that the species has been evolving without sexual reproduction for a long time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-finding-rare-males-to-study">Finding rare males to study</h2>



One of the major hurdles in conducting this study was obtaining specimens of these rare males.



“In fact, we have never personally encountered a male R. mikado in the wild, despite extensive field collections of stick insects across Japan,” Suetsugu said. “To overcome this, our research team collaborated with museums and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/citizen-scientists-gain-a-stronger-connection-with-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">citizen science</a> groups, successfully collecting seven males over four years.”



The collected males were then observed in controlled conditions, where their mating behavior was recorded. Additionally, researchers conducted detailed morphological and histological analyses to examine their reproductive anatomy.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-loss-of-reproductive-traits-in-males">Loss of reproductive traits in males</h2>



The study raises important questions about the long-term evolutionary trajectory of asexual species.



“Surprisingly, the rare males of this stick insect have completely lost their reproductive function,” Kaneko remarked.



“Unlike female sexual traits, the loss of male sexual traits is generally thought to take an extremely long time. In many other species, even rare males often retain their reproductive capabilities.”&nbsp;



“Our findings suggest that R. mikado has relied solely on parthenogenesis for such an extended period that even neutral mutations have accumulated, leading to the complete loss of male reproductive traits.”



This suggests that once a species becomes fully dependent on parthenogenesis, the re-emergence of sexual reproduction may become impossible. Over time, genetic changes accumulate that further reinforce the asexual mode of reproduction, making the reversal to sexual reproduction unlikely.



“This study demonstrates that parthenogenesis in R. mikado has become irreversible. Although asexual reproduction is often considered evolutionarily short-lived due to the lack of genetic recombination, our previous research estimated that this species has persisted for hundreds of thousands of years," said Nozaki.



"How has R. mikado managed to survive for such a long time? This remains an intriguing mystery for future research."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-term-viability-of-asexual-reproduction">Long-term viability of asexual reproduction</h2>



Biologists have long debated the evolutionary fate of asexual organisms. Many studies suggest that asexual reproduction, while advantageous in the short term, can be an evolutionary dead end due to the absence of genetic recombination.&nbsp;



Without recombination, harmful mutations can accumulate, and the population may struggle to adapt to environmental changes or resist emerging pathogens.



Yet, the persistence of R. mikado challenges this assumption. If this stick insect species has survived for hundreds of thousands of years without sexual reproduction, it raises the question of what mechanisms allow it to maintain<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/butterflys-rapid-expansion-led-to-lower-genetic-diversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> genetic diversity</a> and adaptability. 



One possibility is rare genetic mutations that provide variation even in the absence of recombination. Another explanation could be environmental stability, where selective pressures have remained relatively constant, reducing the need for genetic diversity.&nbsp;



There is also the potential for cryptic mechanisms of genetic exchange, such as occasional hybridization events with related species - though no evidence of this has been found in R. mikado.



These possibilities open new avenues for research into the sustainability of asexual reproduction in nature.



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



The study on R. mikado is part of a broader effort to understand how parthenogenetic species evolve and persist. Future research may focus on identifying the genetic changes responsible for male sterility and exploring whether other parthenogenetic stick insect species have undergone similar irreversible transitions.



Additionally, scientists are interested in investigating how R. mikado avoids the pitfalls associated with asexual reproduction, such as genetic stagnation and vulnerability to environmental shifts. Comparative studies with other stick insect species, both sexual and asexual, could provide valuable insights into these evolutionary dynamics.



By continuing to study rare cases like R. mikado, researchers hope to unravel the complexities of reproductive evolution and better understand the forces shaping <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-are-the-biggest-drivers-of-biodiversity-loss/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity</a> in nature.



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Some male insects have lost the ability to reproduce but still have sex

While sexual reproduction is the predominant strategy among animals, some species have evolved the ability to reproduce asexually through parthenogenesis. In these species, females can produce offspring without mating.&nbsp; However, even in predominantly asexual species, rare males occasionally appear. What remains unclear is whether these males retain reproductive functions or if they are merely evolutionary remnants.  Understanding this question could provide crucial insights into the evolution and persistence of reproductive strategies in nature. A new study, published in the journal Ecology, addresses this mystery by examining the...

Western monarch butterflies are reaching unprecedented levels of endangerment, and their populations are much lower than previously realized. Eastern monarch conservation has been a subject for many environmentalists, policy makers, and scientists, but now, according to new research, the western monarch is doing much worse. 

Monarch population decline can be traced to habitat degradation, pesticide use, and climate change, but the exact cause of why the western monarchs are dying off is uncertain. 

Cheryl Shultz, an associate professor at <a href="https://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/">Washington State University, Vancouver</a> and the lead author of the study, found that there just 300,000 Western monarchs who winter in California, where before, in the 1980’s, there were millions of them. 

“This study doesn't just show that there are fewer monarchs now than 35 years ago. It also tells us that, if things stay the same, western monarchs probably won't be around as we know them in another 35 years,” said Schultz. 

The western monarch risks <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaur-extinction-event-darkness/">extinction</a> over the next few decades if policies and conservation efforts are not put into place soon. 

Western monarchs spend winter in forested groves in coastal California and spend spring and summer in Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah, and then return back to California in the fall. 

It was California residents who first noticed that monarch butterfly populations were diminishing, as fewer and fewer were recorded in their traditional overwintering sites. 

Schultz gathered data from monarch butterfly counts going back to the 1980’s. The counts came from volunteers, from butterfly enthusiasts, and from the Xerces Society's Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count. 

The research confirmed what the California residents feared and found that the butterflies were declining in population levels. 

The decline is so extreme that the U.S Fish and Wildlife service is debating whether to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species. 

“The hard part of being a conservation biologist is documenting species declines. The exciting part is figuring out how to help declining species recover. In the 20th century, we brought bald eagles back from the brink of extinction by limiting use of DDT. If we start now, we can make the 21st century the era in which monarchs return to our landscapes,” said Elizabeth Crone, a <a href="https://www.tufts.edu/">Tufts University</a> professor and co-author on the study. 

These findings will hopefully help preserve and revive western monarch populations, as well as shed further light on the effects of climate change and habitat degradation through man-made infrastructure and pesticide use. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Western monarch butterflies could soon go extinct

Western monarch butterflies are reaching unprecedented levels of endangerment, and...

Ticks are major harbingers of diseases for humans and animals that spread Lyme disease and other sicknesses. Like all parasites, ticks are also an important part of the ecosystem, and balance is the key. But according to a new study, climate change affecting host animals could cause tick populations to soar with devastating consequences. 

The study was conducted by <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">University of California, Santa Barbara</a> researchers and found that both tick populations and tick-borne diseases could increase in the coming years due to both climate change and decreasing wildlife populations

“Our research suggests that large mammal conservation may prevent increases in tick abundance and tick-borne disease risk. These results are timely and relevant in light of widespread wildlife declines and unpredictable regional climatic shifts in a steadily warming world,” said Georgia Titcomb, the study’s lead author and a graduate student from the UC Santa Barbara Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Biology. 

The researchers used a long term exclosure experiment to study how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/protect-bees-managing-ticks/">tick</a> populations would fare in environments with differing herbivore animal numbers. Exclosure can refer to any area that is fenced in or isolated to avoid the entry of certain animals. 

The researchers isolated four different plots in the <a href="http://www.mpala.org/">Mpala Research Centre in Kenya</a> for their experiment. The first plot excluded most herbivores except rodents, the second plot allowed small and medium sized herbivores like hares, and the third excluded only giant herbivores like giraffes and elephants, the fourth was the control plot and had no exclusions. 

For a little over a year, the researchers monitored each plot and conducted monthly hour long tick drags. 

In the plots where there were fewer herbivores, there were more ticks. Some months even showed an increase of 360 percent in tick populations where all large wildlife were excluded from the area. 

Climate change continues to threaten habitats and animal populations, especially large herbivores who are necessary for keeping tick populations in check. And an increase in tick populations means an increase in tick borne pathogens. 

The study highlights the necessity of conservation efforts specifically targeted to hinder the effects of wildlife loss due to climate change. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Tick populations set to increase with climate change

Ticks are major harbingers of diseases for humans and animals...

Bees hold pollen in the perfect place for plants.  Pollen is an important part of plant reproduction and acts a food source for the pollinator’s young. Bees are easily considered nature’s most important pollinator, and as such, their declining populations have caused serious concern. Now, new research has proven a long held hypothesis that even after grooming, pollen stays on the bee’s body in the perfect location for plants to receive it.

Plants rely on the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-is-altering-the-life-cycles-of-bees-and-plants/">bees</a> for reproduction, but the primary objective for the bee is to feed its young. The “safe sites” that bees can’t groom on their bodies are an effective way to ensure that some pollen will make its way to a plant’s reproductive system. 

To prove the hypothesis on these safe sites, researchers from the <a href="https://www.uni-duesseldorf.de/home/en/">Heinrich-Heine-University</a> in Germany, led by Petra Wester, conducted two experiments on Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris bees. The research was published in the open access-journal, <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0182522">Plos One</a>.

First, the researchers put individual Bombus terrestris bees in covered glass jars that contained a mix of pollens. As the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/people-know-little-bees/">bee</a> flew around the jar it would coat itself in pollen. 

The bee was then moved to a clean jar where it could groom itself, and the researchers recorded the amount of pollen that remained on the safe sites. 

For the second experiment the researchers put the two types of bees in indoor cages with flowers, where the anthers (the part of the flower that produces pollen) and the stigmas (the part of the flower where pollen germinates) were marked with fluorescent dye. 

The researchers could see which parts of the bees were in contact with the flower’s reproductive organs by noticing the transfer of dye on the bees. 

Both bee groups had similar safe sites, with most of the pollen left over on the waist, the dorsal parts of the thorax, and the abdomen.  The second experiment also showed that these safe sites were where the flowers made contact with the bees. 

“For the first time, we experimentally demonstrated the position, area and pollen amount of so-called safe sites at the body of honeybees and bumblebees,” said Wester. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Bees hold pollen in the perfect place for plants

Bees hold pollen in the perfect place for plants.  Pollen...

Sneezing may be part of a democratic voting system in endangered African wild dogs, according to a new study.

African wild dogs in Botswana were monitored by an international team working at the <a href="https://www.bpctrust.org/">Botswana Predator Conservation Trust</a>. Dr. Neil Jordan from the <a href="https://www.ecosystem.unsw.edu.au/">University of New South Wales Centre for Ecosystem Science</a> in Sydney, Australia, and the study’s lead author, noticed how the dogs gathered together in social rallies before going off to hunt again. During these rallies, Jordan also noticed the dogs sneezing.

“I wanted to better understand this collective behavior, and noticed the dogs were sneezing while preparing to go,” said Jordan. 

Jordan and his research team theorized that the sneezing was then used as a sort of voting system, where more sneezes meant that the majority of pack agreed it was time to head out and hunt again. Fewer sneezes among the group meant that the pack wasn’t ready yet. 

The researchers observed and recorded 68 social rallies from five different African wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/reason-dogs-friendly-love/">dog</a> packs in Botswana. There was an increase in sneezes among the groups just before the dogs would head off to hunt, indicating that sneezing was used as a sort of communication.

“The more sneezes that occurred, the more likely it was that the pack moved off and started hunting. The sneeze acts like a type of voting system,” said Jordan. 

Pack hierarchy also factored into the voting process among the dogs, as not all votes had the same weight. 

“We found that when the dominant male and female were involved in the rally, the pack only had to sneeze a few times before they would move off. However, if the dominant pair were not engaged, more sneezes were needed - approximately 10 - before the pack would move off,” said Reena Walker from <a href="https://www.brown.edu/">Brown University</a>, first author of the study.

African wild dogs are not the only pack animals to engage in these sort of social behaviors, but the sneezing voting system sheds new light on different forms of communication in animals. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

African wild dogs use sneezing as a democratic voting system

Sneezing may be part of a democratic voting system in...

New research published in the journal Nature Climate Change shows a bleak future for many marine invertebrates living around Antarctica as climate change continues to impact the globe. 

Over the next few decades, the average global temperature is predicted to rise by .04 degrees, and scientists are starting to see the effect that this warming will have on the ecosystems around the Antarctic sea floor. 

As the Antarctic sea floor warms, the species who have thrived in those cold waters will be drastically impacted by habitat degradation.

A research team from the<a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/"> British Antarctic Survey</a> used the new ORCHESTRA program, funded by the UK’s <a href="http://www.nerc.ac.uk/">Natural Environment Research Council </a>(NERC) to conduct the study. 

ORCHESTRA, which stands for Ocean Regulation of Climate by Heat and Carbon Sequestration and Transports, is an expansive project that uses data collection, analyses, and computer simulations to measure and better understand how the Southern Ocean will be impacted by climate change. 

The researchers used ORCHESTRA to create various computer models to see how the native invertebrates around <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/massive-volcanic-range-antarctica/">Antarctica</a> would fare as waters warmed and found that 79 percent of native species would be negatively affected and lose habitat.

The researchers point out that while initially, a slight temperature rise might seem beneficial, in the long run, it will prove costly to many marine species. 

“While a few species might thrive at least during the early decades of warming, the future for a whole range of invertebrates from starfish to corals is bleak, and there's nowhere to swim to, nowhere to hide when you're sitting on the bottom of the world's coldest and most southerly ocean and it's getting warmer by the decade,” said lead author Dr. Huw Griffiths.

The research team analyzed 963 seabed species of the Antarctic sea floor and of those, 577 could face a habitat reduction due to climate change. Some of the 577 species could even lose as much 40 percent of their normal habitat. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Cath Waller

Warming Antarctic sea floor will cause costly habitat degradation

New research published in the journal Nature Climate Change shows...

A new study from <a href="https://www.usu.edu/">Utah State University</a> reveals that the majority of people are completely unaware of the broad diversity of bees. While most are aware that bees are a critical component of plant life, they are unfamiliar with species of bees and other pollinators beyond honeybees.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotics-responsible-bee-deaths/">Honeybees</a> are disappearing in alarming numbers, due in large part to habitat loss and contaminants from pesticides. Bee populations are also declining due to a phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder, a mysterious event where the majority of worker bees do not return to the colony. 

Lead author Joseph Wilson teamed up with Matthew Forister of the <a href="https://www.unr.edu/">University of Nevada-Reno</a> and Utah State University graduate Olivia Messinger Carril to determine how much is generally known bees.

"In our recent survey, 99 percent of our respondents said bees are critical or important, yet only 14 percent were able to guess within 1,000, the actual number of bee species in the United States," said Wilson. "Most people estimated around 50 species of bees, while the correct number is about 4,000 known species."

Participants were also shown images of varied insects for the study. Many individuals had a difficult time identifying the bee species, and most were unable to do so.

"A challenge with lack of knowledge about bees is you can't protect what you're not aware of," said Wilson. "We could be losing species or causing decline and not even know it."

Wilson pointed out that public education could help gain much-needed support for bee conservation efforts. "Education and outreach are key to understanding bee declines and protecting our pollinators,” he explained.

"The U.S. Postal Service recently released its 'Protect Pollinator' series, which features only the European honeybee and the monarch butterfly," said Wilson. “A social media commenter observed that using these two species on a campaign to protect pollinators is akin to focusing on chickens to save birds. It's a pretty good comparison, actually."

The findings of the study are published in the online edition of <a href="http://www.frontiersinecology.org/">Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Most people know very little about bees

A new study from Utah State University reveals that the...

Scientists used to believe that facial recognition was an innate ability that humans and primates were simply born with. Macaques, the most widespread group of primates aside from humans, are monkeys whose brain structure and development closely mirror humans. Prior research had shown that young macaques form neuron clusters that respond to facial recognition in the superior temporal sulcus region of the brain.

But a new study from <a href="https://hms.harvard.edu/">Harvard Medical School</a> tells a different story. The research, published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, shows that facial recognition is not a born trait, but rather, is developed over time. Moreover, the absence of seeing different faces at an early age stunts the regions of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/decisions-two-regions-brain/">brain</a> responsible for facial recognition. 

Being exposed to different faces at an early age “installs” the necessary programs in the brain that then respond to facial recognition. 

The research was led by neurobiologist and Harvard Medical School professor Margaret Livingstone, post doctoral fellow Michael Arcaro, and research assistant Peter Schade.

The team raised two separate groups of macaques to better understand facial recognition in the brain. The first group of macaques had a regular upbringing and were raised with their mothers, and spent time with their human handlers and other young macaques. 

When the macaques in this group were 200 days old, the researchers used MRI technology to map out the active areas of the brain in charge of face, hand, object, and body recognition. The researchers found that the macaques exposed to many different faces had equal recognition areas active in their brains. 

The second group of macaques were raised solely by humans, and the macaques were not allowed to see faces, as their handlers wore welding masks while socializing, bonding, and feeding the macaques. 

The brains of the macaques who had grown up in this environment, devoid of facial recognition, showed an absence in the part of the brain responsible for faces. 

The researchers say this could explain why people with autism struggle with facial recognition, because of direct facial avoidance at key developmental stages.

The research could also help scientists better understand and possibly treat prosopagnosia, a cognitive disorder that causes “face blindness,” or the inability to differentiate between faces. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a>, Staff Writer

Facial recognition is not innate, but developed over time

Scientists used to believe that facial recognition was an innate...

As the tundra gets warmer and plants adapted for its harsh, cold environment struggle to survive, grazing reindeer and other animals may actually help protect them.

So says a new study from <a href="http://www.umu.se/english">Umeå University</a> in Sweden, where researchers visited tundra meadows with grazing herds and small, plant-eating animals like voles and lemmings, then looked at meadows without these animals.

"We found that the warming increased the number of species in plots that were grazed, because it enabled small tundra plants to appear and grow there. But when we fenced reindeer, voles and lemmings out, vegetation became denser and the light was limited. As a result, many small and slowly-growing plant species were lost," said Dr. Elina Kaarlejärvi, the study leader.

The grazing reindeer and their other herbivorous cohorts ate tall, wide-leaved species that blocked sunlight from other plants growing in the meadows. The result was actually a healthier, more diverse range of plant life in the unfenced meadows. 

Earlier studies assumed that plant species would die out and diversity would wither in the tundra due to warming. However, the voles, lemmings and reindeer seem to counteract that, allowing small and slow-growing species to have an equal opportunity at survival.

"By eating tall and wide-leaved plants, reindeer can increase light availability and thus allow more plant species to co-exist and benefit from warmer conditions," Kaarlejärvi said in a press release.

The scientists conducted their research in Kilpisjärvi in northwest Finland. They monitored which plants appeared, flourished, waned or disappeared in both fenced and unfenced meadow plots. They added nutrients to some plots by way of fertilization.

They also constructed small greenhouses in some locations that increased summer temperatures by 1 to 2 degrees Celsius, to see how a further rise in temperatures might affect the tundra. 

The study will be published in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>. 

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Image credit:  Dr. Elina Kaarlejärvi

Grazing reindeer play a vital role in keeping the tundra healthy

As the tundra gets warmer and plants adapted for its...

A new study has revealed that antidepressants are making their way into the Great Lakes and into the organs of fish. This raises concerns about the efficiency of wastewater treatment plants and may affect the stability of marine ecosystems.

Scientists tested the muscles and organs of 10 species of fish in the Niagara River to look for traces of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. They found high concentrations of antidepressant drugs and their remnants in the brain tissue of all 10 species including bass and walleye.

Lead author Diana Aga, a Chemistry professor at the <a href="https://www.cas.buffalo.edu/">University at Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences</a>, said that this alarming discovery may be a serious threat to the environment.

"These active ingredients from antidepressants, which are coming out from wastewater treatment plants, are accumulating in fish brains," said Aga. "It is a threat to biodiversity, and we should be very concerned.”

Study co-author Randolph Singh explained that changes like this have the potential to disrupt the balance between species which keeps the ecosystem stable. Singh pointed out that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chemicals-creating-transgender-fish/">antidepressants</a> found in the fish do not pose a threat to humans, especially in the United States where people do not eat fish organs.

According to the National Center for Health Statistics, the number of Americans taking antidepressants rose by 65 percent between 1999 and 2014. Aga said the wastewater treatment facilities have failed to keep pace with this growth, typically ignoring these drugs and allowing them to be released into the environment.

The research team found the highest concentration of a single compound in a rock bass, which had 400 nanograms of norsertraline per gram of brain tissue. Norsertraline is a metabolite of sertraline, the active ingredient in Zoloft, and over half of the fish tested had high levels of this drug. The rock bass also had a cocktail of other compounds, including the active ingredient of Celexa and remnants of Prozac and Sarafem.

The experts explained that the antidepressants detected in the fish brains had accumulated over time, often reaching concentrations that were several times higher than the levels in the river. Levels of norsertraline, for example, reached concentrations that were often hundreds of times higher than that found in the river.

Aga said further research must be done to determine what amount of antidepressants poses a risk to fish and how the drugs influence their behavior. The study is published in the journal <a href="http://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag">Environmental Science and Technology</a>.
--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antidepressants are getting into fish brains in the Great Lakes

A new study has revealed that antidepressants are making their...

Because climate change affects such a large geographical territory, it’s often difficult for scientists to properly predict how certain ecosystems will respond. Overcoming this challenge has now led a group of researchers at the Rothera Research Station in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/strong-ocean-waves-antarctic-ice/">Antarctic Ocean</a> to warm a small portion of the environment around them, in order to observe localized changes.

The researchers warmed an area of seabed around the station by 1° and 2° Celsius – the global temperature increases expected within the next 50 years and 100 years respectively – and observed the major impacts these temperature changes had on the marine community. By deploying heated settlement panels for the purpose of warming a thin layer of water, they were able to mimic the ocean temperatures one might find in that area just years down the road.

The researchers found that with just a 1°C increase in temperature, a single pioneer species of bryozoan (Fenestrulina rugula) significantly increased its population size. It ended up dominating the community, and causing a reduction in overall species diversity and evenness in just two short months. Another effect was that individuals of a marine worm (Romanchella perrieri) grew to an average size 70 percent larger than their fellow species mates under ambient conditions.

Under a 2°C increase, the organisms’ responses were much more variable. Growth-rate responses to warming varied among species, ages, and seasons. During the Antarctic summer, species generally grew faster with warming. However, differing responses among species were observed in the month of March – when both ambient temperature and food availability for suspension feeders declined.

Ultimately, the researchers say that these findings hint that climate change may actually have even greater effects on polar marine ecosystems than they had anticipated. 

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Minor increases in Antarctic Ocean temperature have a big impact

Because climate change affects such a large geographical territory, it’s...

Expanding animal grazing areas can have a negative effect on locals ecosystem and native wildlife. Grazing can reduce native plants and animal species by clearing away trees to make way for wider feeding areas for cattle. Now, a new study has found that some birds can adapt to habitat degradation from grazing by changing their diets and eating different available seeds, while others stubbornly stick to their preferred diets and hurt their survival chances. 

Luis Marone from the <a href="http://3sc.unccd.int/the-conference/organizers/argentine-institute-for-arid-zone-research">Argentine Arid Zones Research Institute</a> conducted the study that monitored the diets of seed-eating birds in the South American desert. The research was published in the journal The Condor: Ornithological Applications.  

Researchers gathered soil samples from grazing areas in the Monte Desert in Argentina, which helped Marone and his colleagues get an idea of what seeds were available for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-find-home-smell/">birds</a> to eat. Soil samples collected from the grazing sites contained fewer large grass seeds that many native birds enjoy as a part of their regular diet. 

The researchers also found that two types of birds that were more adaptable to the grazing sites: the Diuca-Finch and Rufous-collared Sparrow. An analysis of the birds’ digestive tracts showed the birds ate what seeds they could, with more forb seeds found in their stomachs. 

But the birds who prefer grass seeds specifically, like the Many-colored Chaco Finch and Ringed Warbling-Finch, did not adjust their diets at grazing sites. 

Understanding how birds and animals adapt to degrading habitats through expanding grazing is important not just for the continued survival of many species, but also for understanding the best farming practices for graziers as meat as livestock are an economic necessity for many.

Choosing which species of grass to sow in grazing areas could mean life or death for some types of birds that are less adaptable. 

“Given that cattle breeders usually sow grass species as fodder, our results should be used for managing cattle stocks with bird conservation in mind by selecting the fodder species that are most consumed by the most specialized seed-eating birds,” said Marone. 

The study is also an important contribution to our understanding of how sometimes the survival of a species can depend on its diet flexibility and willingness to adapt to changing environments.

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Species survival can depend on willingness to adapt to new diets

Expanding animal grazing areas can have a negative effect on...

Tropical grasslands, like the Brazilian Cerrado, are important ecosystems and provide vital grazing areas for many animals. But efforts to reduce deforestation and suppress wildfires are actually backfiring and causing forests to encroach on savannas, much to the detriment of their native wildlife.

It might seem contradictory, that reforestation from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-moisture-predict-wildfires/">fire</a> suppression efforts in savannas are detrimental to conservation. But the expanding tropical forests are actually wiping out many native ant and plant species in the process. 

A study from <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/">North Carolina State University</a> proves that fire suppression efforts are doing more harm than good, as many tropical grassland species just can’t survive in the encroaching forest habitats. Their survival is hindered by the mass foliage coverage a forest provides. 

“Shady conditions are an enemy to these savanna dwellers. Many of these plant species just can't persist in a forest. However, fire suppression has taken root in Brazil, so there is a reluctance to allow fires - even to promote the health of the savanna,” said William Hoffman, a professor of plant and microbial bolio and North Carolina State who is very familiar with the changing biodiversity of the Brazilian Cerrado. 

The study looks at data gathered from the Cerrado in the past 30 years, specifically monitoring the effects fire suppression efforts had on the grasslands. 

The results of the study show that some plant species in the savanna have declined by 27 percent, and ant species have declined by 35 percent, some even declining by 86 percent. 

“These savanna species can't be moved and can't really live anywhere else," said Hoffmann. "This study really highlights the extent to which these species are dependent on their savanna homes,” said Hoffman. 

The study was published in the journal Science Advances and shows a grim reality for the future of tropical savannas affected by fire suppression operations. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Efforts to suppress forest fires backfire on tropical savannas

Tropical grasslands, like the Brazilian Cerrado, are important ecosystems and...

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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



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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



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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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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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



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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



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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