The forests and fields of North America hold secrets that even motion-sensitive cameras can't always reveal. Among those secrets are weasels - small, swift, and almost invisible to modern wildlife monitoring.



These elusive predators have slipped through digital traps for decades, making scientists wonder whether their silence signals absence or simply stealth.



It’s not just curiosity that drives this concern. Weasels, as small mustelids, play vital roles in ecosystems. They control rodent populations and serve as prey for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-2025-a-global-call-to-protect-nature/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">larger animals</a>. 



Understanding where they thrive or vanish can reveal larger patterns of ecological change. But until recently, researchers lacked a clear method to study their population numbers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-challenge-of-monitoring-weasels">Challenge of monitoring weasels</h2>



Camera traps work well for large mammals. Deer, bears, and even coyotes often stroll past, triggering a flurry of images. But weasels are a different story. 



Their bodies are small and they move fast. They often live in habitats with thick cover, making them almost invisible, even when present.



Roland Kays is a research professor at <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North Carolina State University</a> and scientist at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences.



“We’re a little worried about the weasels,” said Kays. "We don’t see them very often, but it’s difficult to tell if they’re actually gone or if they’re just so sneaky that we can’t find them."



"We decided that we needed to better understand the best method to detect them. There wasn’t a great consensus on that.”



The lack of consensus led Kays and a group of researchers to try something new. Instead of relying on luck, they decided to identify the best <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-conservation-day-2024-saving-species-from-extinction/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bait</a> - and the best method - for attracting weasels to camera traps.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-designing-a-massive-survey">Designing a massive survey</h2>



Between January 2022 and April 2023, the scientists launched one of the largest camera-trap bait studies ever done for mustelids.



The team placed 486 cameras across 122 clusters in 14 U.S. states, focusing on areas where weasels were previously recorded or where habitat conditions seemed ideal.



Each site hosted a set of four trail cameras, positioned close enough to give weasels a full choice of lures while minimizing overlap between camera zones.



The researchers tested various bait types. These included red meat, raw chicken, cat food, and scent-based lures like anise oil, salmon oil, and a commercial product called Weasel Super All Call. 



In 2023, they switched fully to meat baits after finding weak results from scent lures alone the year before.



The bait wasn't just thrown on the ground. It was secured in cages to prevent theft by other <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-era-in-wildlife-conservation-how-ai-will-help-protect-elephants/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animals</a>. One new method, a cage-within-a-cage system, eventually proved highly successful in stopping bait robbers like raccoons and coyotes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-the-weasels-preferred">What the weasels preferred</h2>



“There is a huge variety of scent lures available, and trappers often make their own from all kinds of ingredients,” noted Kays. “As it turns out, however, just having a chunk of meat works the best.”



Red meat emerged as the top performer. It tripled the chance of weasel detection compared to scent lures alone. 



Short-tailed weasels especially loved red meat, showing up twice as often at those <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-secretly-reshape-landscapes-in-powerful-ways/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">bait</a> stations than at sites with chicken or cat food. When salmon oil was added to the red meat, results improved even further - especially for short-tailed weasels.



In the southern U.S., long-tailed weasels appeared more frequently at chicken-baited sites. They also arrived faster. On average, it took just 14.5 days for a chicken-baited camera to record a long-tailed weasel, compared to nearly 40 days with red meat.



Cat food, by contrast, was the least effective. It took over 27 days to attract weasels - if it attracted them at all.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-least-weasel-may-be-in-trouble">The least weasel may be in trouble</h2>



Of all the weasel species in North America, the least weasel remains the most mysterious. The study detected only four individuals in total - one in 2022 and three in 2023.



Their scarcity raises conservation alarms. Researchers have suggested that the least weasel may be the most endangered of the group, with one study estimating a 54% decline in this species' habitat over the past century.



Even in targeted areas, where previous records or ideal habitats existed, least weasels barely registered. This highlights the need for specialized monitoring tools, such as enclosed camera traps like the Mostela, which have had some success in limited trials.



“Now that we have an understanding of the best ways to lure the weasels, we can be more confident in the findings of our surveys,” Kays said. 



“When we have sites where we don’t detect them, we can be much more assured that they aren’t just in hiding, they’re really just not there at all.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-activity-patterns-and-behavioral-clues">Activity patterns and behavioral clues</h2>



The study also revealed new insights into how different weasel species behave. Short-tailed weasels were active both day and night - an unusual pattern that differs from past observations in Europe and Canada.



In contrast, long-tailed weasels were mostly nocturnal or crepuscular, showing peak activity at dawn and dusk.



These activity patterns have practical implications. If researchers know when weasels are likely to appear, they can time camera placements and checks more effectively. 



It also offers clues about predator-prey dynamics, as prey animals may adjust their own schedules to avoid these hunters.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-why-bait-matters">Why bait matters</h2>



Getting the bait right was only half the battle. The researchers quickly learned that non-target species - especially raccoons and opossums - loved the bait too. Red meat and chicken were often stolen, reducing the time that bait remained in front of cameras.



In southern sites, bait theft was particularly high. This lowered detection rates. When cameras lost their bait early, they became less attractive to passing weasels. 



In contrast, northern sites experienced less bait theft. That could explain why red meat worked so well in the north, where short-tailed weasels live.



The addition of salmon oil helped keep sites attractive even after the meat disappeared. Its strong scent lingered, possibly drawing in curious weasels until the bait was replenished. Cameras baited with salmon oil recorded detections in just 6.5 days, compared to 22 days without the oil.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-building-a-better-monitoring-system">Building a better monitoring system</h2>



This study provides a crucial step toward standardizing how we monitor small carnivores like weasels. With clear bait preferences identified, wildlife agencies can now deploy cost-effective, reliable surveys over large areas.



The best approach? Use red meat or chicken, depending on the region. Add salmon oil for stronger scent cues. Protect the bait using a cage-within-a-cage system. Place cameras in areas with prior weasel activity or suitable habitat. And check the traps monthly during winter, when meat lasts longer and bear activity is low.



Large-scale, standardized surveys like this can finally reveal what decades of anecdotal data couldn’t - the locations where weasels still thrive, and those where they don’t, and how their numbers change over time.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-a-new-way-to-track-weasels">A new way to track weasels</h2>



Despite their size, weasels carry ecological weight. They matter. This study, which was published in <a href="https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/wsb.1580" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wildlife Society Bulletin</a>, helps bring these predators out of the shadows.



The research team included experts from over 20 universities and wildlife agencies, and was led by corresponding author Scott M. Bergeson of <a href="https://www.pfw.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Purdue University Fort Wayne</a>. Funding came from the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, a cornerstone of American conservation.



Thanks to their work, weasels are no longer invisible. We can now track their paths, confirm their presence, and protect what remains - one camera trap at a time.



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Weasels are vanishing - or are they just too sneaky to spot?

The forests and fields of North America hold secrets that even motion-sensitive cameras can't always reveal. Among those secrets are weasels - small, swift, and almost invisible to modern wildlife monitoring. These elusive predators have slipped through digital traps for decades, making scientists wonder whether their silence signals absence or simply stealth. It’s not just curiosity that drives this concern. Weasels, as small mustelids, play vital roles in ecosystems. They control rodent populations and serve as prey for larger animals. Understanding where they thrive or vanish can...

The 75 million-year-old claw of an extinct dinosaur has a sheath formed of keratin – just like modern birds such as the ostrich.

The finding was reported by a research team from <a href="https://www.ncsu.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">North Carolina State University</a> in the journal <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.

The claw came from a bird-like dinosaur, Citipati osmolskae, that lived during the Cretaceous Period in what is now the Gobi Desert along the border of China and Mongolia. The dinosaur was killed when a sand dune collapsed, researchers said. 

It was unlucky for the extinct dinosaur, but not for researchers: the rapid burial led to remarkable preservation of the C. osmolskae’s remains.

Though the fossil was uncovered 20 years ago, researchers studying the specimen recently spotted what appeared to be a keratin sheath. Microscopic examination and molecular scans showed that it was indeed a keratin sheath, and that it was structurally similar to the claw sheaths of modern birds.

In modern birds, beta-keratin – a substance found only in reptiles and birds, but similar to the material that forms human finger- and toenails – serves to protect each claw, making them harder and more useful tools in defense and hunting.
<ol>
 	<li> osmolskae was a feathered oviraptor (a type of flesh-eating dinosaur) with a long neck, short tail, and crest on its head totalling about 10 feet in length. The specimen examined by the North Carolina State team was probably guarding its nest when it was killed, the scientists said.</li>
</ol>
In addition to revealing a link between Cretaceous Period dinosaurs and modern birds, the study found that the rapid collapse of the sand dune on the dinosaur led to calcium being incorporated with the fossil remains. The calcium appears to have played a major role in the preservation of the original molecules of the remains, allowing scientists to get a better idea of the oviraptor’s physical structures, scientists said. 

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Extinct dinosaur rocked keratin in claws eons before modern birds

The 75 million-year-old claw of an extinct dinosaur has a...

Male chimpanzees are better fathers than husbands – they’d rather hang around with their children than their lovers.

“Co-parenting” may be a fashionable term these days to describe friendly exes who raise their kids together as a team, but it turns out humans didn’t invent that move. According to new research, male chimps tend to be very invested in their offspring, despite not cultivating any kind of lasting relationship with the mother.

Until now, chimpanzees were thought to be promiscuous animals who may not even recognize their own kids. But new research shows that male chimpanzees spend time with non-mating female chimpanzees who look after their offspring. The father chimps also spend time grooming and caring for their young.

Lead author of the paper “Chimpanzee Fathers Bias Their Behavior Toward Their Offspring,” Carson Murray collected long-term data from Gombe Stream National Park in Tanzania and examined patterns based on 17 father chimpanzees and 49 mother-infant pairs to determine if the fathers could recognize their offspring. The research showed the males associated with the mothers of their offspring in infancy and interacted with their offspring more than expected.

"As anthropologists, we want to understand what patterns could have existed early in human evolution that help explain how human behavior evolved," said Murray. “This research suggests that males may sometimes prioritize relationships with their offspring rather than with potential mates. For a species without pair-bonds where it was assumed fathers didn't know which infants were their own, this is an important finding."

That male chimpanzees prioritized parenting over mating came as a surprise to many who previously assumed the primates were mostly motivated by sex. Chimpanzees are humankind’s closest living relative, so the research also contributes to the large anthropological question of why human fathers invest so much in their own offspring.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Male chimpanzees better fathers than husbands

Male chimpanzees are better fathers than husbands – they’d rather...

Prehistoric Mosasaur fossil was once an enormous menace roaming the warm Antarctic seas 66 million years ago hunting giant prey.

Scientists discovered the four-foot-long skull of a <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667116303123">new mosasaur species</a> on Seymour Island off the coast of Antarctica in 2010. The fossil remains of the prehistoric sea monster indicates it is the largest species of mosasaur to have lived in the Southern Hemisphere.

Mosasaurs were gargantuan sea lizards that hunted the reptilian ancestors of whales and other large sea creatures. Fossil specimens have been found <a href="http://oceansofkansas.com/about-mo.html">throughout the world</a>, from the United States and Canada to Europe, the Middle East, Africa and beyond. Several partial sets of juvenile remains have been discovered off the coast of Antarctica since 1998.

But the mosasaur that once owned the skull discovered in 2010, dubbed Kaikaifilu hervei after Mapuche legends of a sea monster named Kai-Kai Filu that battled a giant land-based reptile, is about twice the size of other fossilized skulls found in the region. K. hervei is believed to have been 33 feet long.

While the leviathan was alive, the Antarctic seas would have been much warmer. It likely hunted marine reptiles similar to modern whales. The whale-like reptiles, known as pleisosaurs, were abundant in the Antarctic waters. 

Like modern whales, mosasaurs like K. hervei appear to have been descendants of land-based creatures that returned to the ocean and evolved to live there.

The mosasaurs disappeared at the end of the Cretaceous Period, around the time of a suspected asteroid impact in Mexico that triggered a mass extinction. 

This prehistoric mosasaur fossil helps paleontologists gain a better understanding of biological diversity in the Southern Hemisphere prior to that extinction event, and how it developed differently from similar creatures in the Northern Hemisphere.

The newly discovered species was described by researchers in the journal <a href="http://www.journals.elsevier.com/cretaceous-research">Cretaceous Research</a>.

---

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Prehistoric Mosasaur fossil found, tells story of gigantic sea menace

Prehistoric Mosasaur fossil was once an enormous menace roaming the...

MEOW! Meet an ancient sabertooth cat the size of a polar bear.

Discovery of an ancient skull in northwestern China has offered new information about a prehistoric sabertooth cat that was roughly the size of a polar bear, according to scientists.

Machairodus horribilis lived during the Late Miocene, about 5.3 to 11.6 million years ago, said the researchers from the <a href="http://english.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, who rediscovered the fossil that was originally found in the Longjiagou Basin but left in storage for decades.

The skull is about 15.7 inches long, indicating the ancient sabertooth cat was a little over 10 feet long and weighed about 892 pounds, according to <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309409331_A_skull_of_Machairodus_horribilis_and_new_evidence_for_gigantism_as_a_mode_of_mosaic_evolution_in_machairodonts_Felidae_Carnivora" target="_blank" rel="noopener">researchers’ findings</a>. 

[caption id="attachment_119344" align="alignleft"]<img class="size-thumbnail wp-image-119344" src="http://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/cat-150x150.jpg" alt="An ancient sabertooth cat fossil from the Late Miocene was rediscovered in northwestern China that was as big as a polar bear." width="150" height="150" /> An ancient sabertooth cat fossil[/caption]

However, despite its enormous size, M. horribilis most likely hunted smaller prey than later prehistoric sabertooths like Smilodon, a younger Ice Age cousin. Though M. horribilis had long, serrated fangs, it was unable to open its mouth as widely. 
M. horribilis, which lived about 8.3 million years ago, would only have opened its mouth to about a 70 degree angle, similar to modern lions. The skull also showed some cranial characteristics that in some ways are more similar to pantherine species than later sabertooths, researchers said.
Preservation of the skull allowed the scientists to determine where muscles would have attached and reconstruct the large cat’s bite.

Despite its large bite, the scientists believe M. horribilis was still a successful hunter, able to overpower its prey with its enormous size.

The research team asserts that the rediscovery offers scientific support for the theory of mosaic evolution: the idea that some body parts or systems evolve independently of others and at different rates across related species. 

M. horribilis appears to have grown larger in size than other, related machairodont (sabertooth) cats which evolved a wider bite that allowed them to hunt larger prey, according to the study published in the journal <a href="http://english.ivpp.cas.cn/sp/PalAsiatica/vp_intr/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vertebrata PalAsiatica</a>.

Ancient sabertooth cat found in northwestern China big as a polar bear

MEOW! Meet an ancient sabertooth cat the size of a...

White Sands lizard quickly adapts white skin to avoid extinction.

Lizards in New Mexico’s White Sands National Park have been forced to make a very specific adaptation in order to avoid extinction.

The national park features enormous gypsum dunes for hundreds of miles with bright, white sands. In order to avoid being wiped out by predators, lizards have developed white skin, a stark contrast to their typical browns and greens.

What is especially remarkable is the extremely fast pace with which the adaptation is occurring: the change is so significant that scientists think the lizards may even become a new species.

Dr. Bree Rosenblum and her team from Berkeley University, in conjunction with the National Science Foundation (NSF), are currently studying the rapid adaptation of the lizards in White Sands National Park. According to Rosenblum, understanding this evolution is as important as ever, given how many species are currently facing possible extinction.

The lightening complexion of the lizards is due the Mc1r gene, which reduces the amount of melanin in the lizards’ skin, making it appear whiter.

White Sands lizard quickly adapts white skin to avoid extinction

White Sands lizard quickly adapts white skin to avoid extinction....

Wild animals lead longer lives in zoos! Most animals’ life expectancy is longer when kept in the safety of zoos, according to a new report.

The study, conducted by researchers from the <a href="http://lyon-university.org/" target="_blank">University of Lyon</a> and the <a href="http://www.uzh.ch/en.html" target="_blank">University of Zurich</a> and published in <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/" target="_blank">Scientific Reports</a>, confirmed what scientists have suspected for some time: most animals survive longer in the safety and relative comfort of a zoo than in the wild.

In the past, data has not been available on the lifespans of animals in the wild, but new studies and monitoring of free animals offered researchers data in the form of a population of wild creatures with known ages. They analyzed the lifespans of wild and zoo-kept animals from more than 50 species of mammals.

The findings? More than 80 percent of mammals survive longer in zoos than in the wild. This was true even of carnivores, according to study co-author Marcus Clauss, professor of nutrition and biology of zoo and wild animals at the University of Zurich. All 15 of the carnivore species they studied had longer lifespans in the zoo.

Small animals lead longer lives in captivity as well, particularly those that are at risk of being hunted by predators.

However, animals that faced fewer threats and lower mortality in the wild had lifespans that were about the same or even sometimes shorter while in captivity. 

The zoo protects the other animals in the study from threats, from predators to starvation, that shorten their lifespans, but with animals that face few threats, there's not as much for the zoo to protect them from, Dr. Clauss said. 

The study was based primarily on historical zoo and wildlife data, according to the researchers, because they studied only cohorts of animals that were already dead. It doesn't take into account current animal care methods used by zoos, or how modern practices may affect animals’ lifespans. 

Researchers also pointed out that longevity alone is not the only ethical consideration to take into account when it comes to keeping animals in captivity.

Wild animals lead longer lives in zoos than in the wild

Wild animals lead longer lives in zoos! Most animals’ life...

Leftovers from insect meals in South America are offering up new information about the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs. 

The leaf fossils discovered in Patagonia, Argentina are helping scientists learn about how ecosystems recovered after an asteroid struck Earth approximately 66 million years ago, ending the Cretaceous Period. 

The fossils offer a unique perspective into the disaster because most of what scientists know about the disaster is from fossils close to the impact site in Chicxulub, Mexico, according to doctoral student Michael Donovan of <a href="http://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a>, who authored the study published Monday in the journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>. 

The leaf-mining insects that munched on leaves in Patagonia were wiped out after the asteroid hit, much like the leaf-mining insects close to the impact site in the western United States. In the area that is now the U.S., however, it took 9 million years for insect populations to recover. In Patagonia, farther from the impact site, it took only 4 million years for insect diversity to bounce back from the die-off.

The scientists' conclusion is based on analysis of 3,646 different leaf fossils from Patagonia. The researchers searched for signs of leaf-mining insects, whose larvae burrow through leaves as they eat, leaving unique patterns and droppings as they go. 

While they found no evidence that any leaf-miners survived the initial impact, nixing the team's original hypothesis that the region south of the asteroid impact had offered some protection from the extinction event, they found signs that new leaf-mining insect species emerged in that regional much sooner than in the U.S. 

The quicker recovery could indicate that South America didn't feel the ground zero effects of the asteroid for as long as North America did. When the asteroid struck, it likely sent up a <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-36377679">massive cloud of debris</a>, blocking the sun and causing global temperatures to drop. 

As plant life rebounded, insect species began to diversify again to fill the niches left behind by the bugs that died out, like the leaf-miners.

The study offers new insight into modern biodiversity; mammal species began expanding and diversifying in the wake of the Chicxulub asteroid impact. The impact is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs and many other species.

Fossils provide clues about mass extinction event

Leftovers from insect meals in South America are offering up...

The concept of Hollywood smiles was created by our reptilian ancestors, says a new report published in <a href="http://www.plosone.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Plos One</a>.

Scientists have come to believe the attractiveness of a nice smile may go back to a time before mammals – along with other features of mammal dentition. For example, types of teeth: mammals have incisors, canines and molars. That goes all the way back to mammals’ reptilian ancestors, the therapsids or “mammal-like reptiles” living more than 205 million years ago.

Paleontologists thought the therapsids’ long canines could be for hunting or fighting, but even herbivores had canine teeth. They could be for defense, scientists speculated – or they could be to attract a mate.

The researchers from <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of the Witwatersrand</a> (Evolutionary Studies Institute and <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/anatomicalsciences/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">School of Anatomical Sciences</a>) in South Africa and the <a href="http://www.esrf.eu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">European Synchrotron Radiation Facility</a> in France point to modern tusked mammals who mainly use their canines as a “display apparatus” to attract mates, such as walruses and muntjac. In those species, sexual selection is an important part of how and why they continue to have large canine teeth despite a diet that makes them unnecessary. 

The scientists used X-ray and CT scanning on fossils of Choerosaurus dejageri, a therapsid that lived 259 million years ago. The species has two “cranial bosses,” or horn-like growths on its upper and lower jaws. The researchers hoped to determine if the bosses were used in combat or if they had been developed to attract mates.

When compared to cranial bosses of another therapsid species known to have engaged in combat, they found key differences: the scans showed that the cranial bosses and C. dejageri’s skull were not strong enough for combat, and the collection of facial nerves would make fighting too painful to be practical. 

The scientists concluded that C. dejageri’s cranial bosses had likely been selected for by generations of mating. The conclusion? Sexual selection for physical traits that have no practical purpose existed before mammals, and could play a larger role in how mammals evolved, and continue to evolve, than scientists previously thought.

Reptilian ancestors may be behind our Hollywood smiles

The concept of Hollywood smiles was created by our reptilian...

Herbivorous mammals have tubbier tummies, new research claims today.

Herbivorous mammals outdo their carnivorous cousins in at least one way: they have bigger guts. So say researchers in a new study published in the <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1469-7580">Journal of Anatomy</a>.

It’s also a trait that may be unique to mammals, they found.

The team of researchers, working with the <a href="http://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> and the <a href="http://www.tu-berlin.de/">Technical University Berlin</a>, studied skeletal remains of 126 different species of land-based tetrapods – four-legged vertebrates, which can include anything from mice to horses to frogs – to measure the size of their body cavity. They included prehistoric species such as dinosaurs and mammoths as well.

Some of the species studied were herbivores, some carnivores, and some ate both meat and plant-based foods.

The scientists used 3D computer modeling and <a href="http://www.photogrammetry.com/">photogrammetry</a> to create a database of each species, then used this database to determine what the volume of each species’ body cavity would be based on its skeletal structure.

They found that among mammals, vegetarian tetrapods have body cavities that are about twice the size of carnivores’ – indicating they may need the room for larger digestive systems. This was what the researchers expected, but they were surprised by the next set of findings: tetrapods from non-mammal species didn’t show any difference in the size of their body cavities compared to their meat-eating cousins, the scientists said.

The study authors suggested the change among mammals might be due to differences in respiratory systems. Mammals are the only vertebrates to have a thoracic diaphragm, a muscular structure in the abdomen that contracts to draw air into the lungs and expands to push it back out. 

The study shows that when it comes to morphology, or the form and structure of biological organisms, mammals show some fundamental differences compared to other species of vertebrates. 

So if you are worrying about your growing gut, perhaps it’s time to think about adopting a zero-carb diet.

Herbivorous mammals have tubbier tummies, new research claims

Herbivorous mammals have tubbier tummies, new research claims today. Herbivorous mammals...

Amazing amphibians eat vegetarian in the heat – climate change might be the cause.

Could global warming cause frog and toad larvae to make changes in their diet? That’s what a team of scientists from the <a href="http://www.ulisboa.pt/en/" target="_blank">University of Lisbon</a> in Portugal and <a href="http://www.uu.se/en" target="_blank">University of Uppsala</a> in Sweden believe, following findings outlined in their new study. 

According to the researchers when the weather heats up, young frogs ate a more plant-based diet. The scientists conducted the study by feeding some larvae an animal-based, some a vegetarian, and some an omnivorous diet to see which they preferred. During lab-produced “heat waves,” the young frogs in the omnivorous diet group ate less animal-based food.

The scientists studied three species: the European tree frog, the Mediterranean tree frog, and the Iberian painted frog. The larvae of all three species are omnivorous, though as adults the painted frog is carnivorous and the Mediterranean tree frog amphibians eat vegetarian. This may be connected to when they reproduce, researchers said; the painted frog reproduces in the winter and the Mediterranean tree frog in the summer.

The research comes at a time when frog and toad species, along with other amphibians, are going extinct at a rapid and alarming rate. Amphibians tend to be sensitive to changing environmental conditions because of their complex lifestyle – they spend their youth as larvae in bodies of water before taking to the land as adults. 

In October 2016, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/radical-conservation/2016/oct/27/rabbs-fringe-limbed-treefrog-frog-amphibians-extinct-extinction-media" target="_blank">Toughie the frog died</a>. He was the last known member of his species, Rabbs’ fringe-limbed tree frog, one of about <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/112/42/13003" target="_blank">200 frog species</a> that have gone extinct since humans began recording animal species.

Changes to the environment and extreme weather patterns, as well as a fungal infection called Chytridiomycosis that has been <a href="http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-19199197" target="_blank">linked to climate change</a>, are likely behind at least some of the extinctions, along with habitat loss, pollution and other factors.

The researchers conducted the study to find out how well frog larvae can adapt to changing temperatures and how frog diet may change as global temperatures rise – their findings were published in the journal <a href="http://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1939-9170/" target="_blank">Ecology</a>. 

The next time you see your friendly neighbourhood frog or toad on a juice fast, consider there may be some climate changes afoot.

Amphibians eat vegetarian diet in the heat – possibly due to warming

Amazing amphibians eat vegetarian in the heat – climate change...

What female fish want was revealed in a new study from scientists at the <a href="https://le.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">University of Leicester</a>.

What do female fish want in a mate? Sticklebacks look for males who can design and build the nests that fit the environment they live in, researchers wrote in a new study.

The scientists studied how varying oxygen levels in water affect how male three-spined stickleback fish build their nests, finding it can also affect how females of the species choose their mates.

They found that when oxygen levels in their environment change, the male sticklebacks – which do all of the parenting for the species' eggs and young fish – build nests that are looser or tighter. Females prefer to spawn in tighter nests when oxygen levels are high, or looser ones when the water has low levels of oxygen.

Since the males fan water through the nests with their fins, this means eggs in looser nests get more oxygen when water levels are low, the study authors said. This lets the eggs develop normally when oxygen is low, but could also expose them to more predators, they said. 

The study is an interesting look into how low oxygen in the water – which can be caused by modern environmental issues like rising water temperatures due to climate change and massive algae blooms – affects fish, and how fish are adapting to their changing environment. 

The most interesting finding, according to the scientists, was that changes in water oxygen levels didn't just affect how male sticklebacks built their nests, but which males the female sticklebacks preferred.

Stickleback fish have been an excellent population for studying evolution. They were originally ocean fish – but because they are found in, and have evolved to succeed in, a wide range of saltwater and freshwater environments, scientists can study their adaptability to environmental changes as well as breed different varieties together to see which genes carry certain environmental adaptations. 

Sticklebacks’ adaptability may be what makes the fish better survivors when their conditions change, the authors concluded.

What female fish want revealed in stickleback study

What female fish want was revealed in a new study...

Whale songs revealed a whole new melody, researchers report.

Scientists from <a href="http://www.whoi.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> (WHOI) got a surprise during a recent study into humpback whale songs: there may be another whole layer to their music than was previously believed.

In an article in the Nov. 2 edition of <a href="http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Biology Letters</a>, WHOI researchers explained that they were studying humpback whale songs in Hawaii while recording both pressure waves and particle motion. Pressure waves create the part of whale songs that humans can hear. Particle motion, however, creates vibrations similar to those a human might feel if the bass on a stereo is very loud.

Particle motion in whale songs hadn’t been studied before because it’s complicated to record, the underwater equipment needed wasn’t available to most researchers, and scientists expected it would only carry a few feet anyway.

However, the WHOI biologists had the equipment needed to record particle motion for an unrelated study, so they decided to use it with the whales. They traveled as far as 200 meters away from the whales – about 656 feet – and the particle motion was still strong, especially at the lower end of the whales’ vocal range.

The WHOI research team was unable to gather enough data to explore how or whether the pressure motion affected the whales’ communication, but did note that humpback whales’ ears are fused to their skulls, unlike most other marine mammals. This could allow them to sense the vibrations that particle motion would cause, adding a whole new layer of depth to their songs and perhaps helping them better “see” the underwater world around them.

It wouldn’t be a first among the animal kingdom, the biologists said, as both elephants and hippopotami have some degree of “vibrational hearing.”

The whales’ use of particle motion could also offer some explanation for why they and other underwater animals are so sensitive to sounds like underwater blasting and low-frequency active sonar.

Whale songs reveal new melody, researchers report

Whale songs revealed a whole new melody, researchers report. Scientists...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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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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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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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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