You've undoubtedly noticed that the Moon has two distinct sides, right? The near side that we see from Earth and the far side that remains a mystery because it is never turned towards us.



This unusual lunar characteristic -- a global dichotomy -- is what a team of scientists led by Professor XU Yigang from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (<a href="http://english.gig.cas.cn/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">GIGCAS</a>) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been investigating.



They have been studying lunar soil samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far side of the Moon, and returned to Earth by China's <a href="https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=CHANG-E-6" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chang’e-6 mission</a>.



These invaluable samples have allowed them to investigate the Moon's peculiar dichotomy and the results have shed light on some of its secrets.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-chang-e-6">What is Chang’e-6?</h2>



The Chinese space program launched Chang'e 6, their latest Moon mission, on May 3, 2024. The spacecraft blasted off from Wenchang Satellite Launch Center on a Long March 5 rocket at 9:27 UT (that's 5:27 PM Beijing time). 



Their goal? To grab about four pounds (2 kg) of Moon rocks from the far side - something no one had done before.



The lander touched down in a huge crater called the South Pole Aitken Basin. The team used both a scoop and a drill to dig up surface samples and even went 2 meters deep into the lunar soil. 



They also sent out a small rover that cruised around taking snapshots of the lander doing its work.



Once they collected the samples, the crew packed them into an ascent vehicle sitting on top of the lander. 



On June 3 at 11:38 PM UT (7:38 AM Beijing time the next day), this vehicle shot up from the Moon's surface and met up with the orbiter waiting above. They made the handoff on June 6, 2024.



After ditching the ascent vehicle (which crashed back into the Moon), the return vehicle hung around in orbit for a couple weeks before heading home. 



It pulled off a tricky skip-entry through Earth's atmosphere and landed in Inner Mongolia's Siziwang Banner region on June 25 at 6:07 UT (2:07 PM Beijing time). 



The final haul? Roughly 4.2 pounds (1.9 kg) of Moon rocks and soil from the far side -- marking another big win for China's space program.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-far-side-vs-visible-side-of-the-moon">Far side vs. visible side of the Moon</h2>



The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/its-official-earth-now-has-two-moons-captured-asteroid-2024-pt5/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Moon's</a> dichotomy is visible in its topography, chemical composition, crustal thickness, evidence of volcanism and, most noticeably, in the difference in geomorphology between its near and far sides.



The near side of the Moon is home to the familiar "man in the moon" maria - the dark "seas" that are the result of ancient volcanic activity. 



These areas were flooded with molten lava that created rocks known as mare basalts.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_diagram_credit-YANG-Muhan_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_diagram_credit-YANG-Muhan_1s.webp" alt="Distribution of distinct volcanic episodes on the Moon’s farside. The remote sensing image highlights the Chang’e-6 landing site along with nearby mare and cryptomare basaltic units. Credit: Image by YANG Muhan" class="wp-image-1950782"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Distribution of distinct volcanic episodes on the Moon’s farside. The remote sensing image highlights the Chang’e-6 landing site along with nearby mare and cryptomare basaltic units. Credit: Image by YANG Muhan</figcaption></figure>



How about the far side? Well, here's where it gets intriguing. Only about 2% of this hidden part of the Moon is covered in the basalts, compared to around 30% on the near side.



This inexplicable difference is a vital part of the lunar global dichotomy that the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program aims to unravel.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-secrets-of-the-moon-s-far-side">Secrets of the Moon's far side</h2>



Thanks to the Chang’e-6 lunar soil samples, Professor XU's team discovered the existence of two different types of mare basalts, low-Ti, and very low-Ti (VLT). 



“The samples returned by Chang’e-6 provide a best opportunity to investigate the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/2024-pt5-mini-moon-say-goodbye-to-earths-second-moon-we-barely-got-to-know-you/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar</a> global dichotomy,” said Professor XU.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-eruptions_basalt-types_credit-GIGCAS_1s.webp" alt="The two types of basalts in Chang’e-6 soils and isochrons of the Chang’e-6 low-Ti basalt. Credit: GIGCAS" class="wp-image-1950784"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The two types of basalts in Chang’e-6 soils and isochrons of the Chang’e-6 low-Ti basalt. Credit: GIGCAS</figcaption></figure>



Let's not dismiss the aspect of dating these samples either. With high-precision Pb-Pb dating techniques, the team determined that the low-Ti basalt dates back to around 2.83 billion years ago.



This attests to the presence of "young" magmatism or volcanic activities on the far side of the Moon. But of course, young is a relative term when we talk about 2.83 billion years.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mapping-the-history-of-volcanoes">Mapping the history of volcanoes</h2>



With such valuable information now in our hands, we can clearly chart the volcanic timeline on the far side of the Moon. 



Led by Professor LI Qiuli, the team conducted radioisotope dating on 108 basalt fragments, with 107 of them revealing a consistent formation age of 2807 million years ago.



But there's more. One fragment, a high-aluminum basalt, was dated to a monumental 4203 million years ago, making it the oldest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/harvest-moon-2024-will-feature-a-partial-lunar-eclipse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">lunar</a> basalt for which age has been precisely determined.



This implies elevated levels of volcanic activity on the far side of the Moon for at least 1.4 billion years - between 4.2 billion and 2.8 billion years ago.



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



These findings, available for everyone to dissect, can help recalibrate the existing lunar crater chronology models. 



Christopher Hamilton, an independent planetary volcano expert, emphasized the importance of obtaining samples from this previously unchartered lunar territory.



<figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-full"><a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_Change-6-mission_landing_credit-CLEP_1m.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/moon_farside_volcanic-episodes_Change-6-mission_landing_credit-CLEP_1s.webp" alt="China's Chang’e-6 mission spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. Credit: CLAP" class="wp-image-1950787"/></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">China's Chang’e-6 mission spacecraft landed on the far side of the Moon. Credit: CLAP </figcaption></figure>



More than just understanding the Moon, these lunar soil samples also have implications for some broad astronomical theories.



The new data indicates a constant impact flux after 2.83 billion years, which can offer new insights into planet migration in the early Solar System. 



So, by looking at the Moon, we are indirectly learning about our own cosmic neighborhood as well!



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-happens-next">What happens next?</h2>



With more missions like the Chang'e-6, the future will undoubtedly bring many enlightening discoveries about our constant celestial companion.



In the end, we see that the Moon, despite its <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-may-have-captured-the-moon-from-space/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">familiar appearance</a>, still hides untold secrets waiting to be discovered. 



These lunar missions represent a new age of lunar and planetary exploration that pushes the boundaries of our understanding.



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The researchers from the <a href="https://english.cas.cn" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> express their gratitude for the support received from various institutes such as the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the National Natural Science Foundation of China. These institutions' enduring support enables such important lunar explorations.



The study is published in the journals <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08382-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a> and <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adt1093" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science</a>.



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Far side of the Moon had volcanic eruptions for over one billion years

You've undoubtedly noticed that the Moon has two distinct sides, right? The near side that we see from Earth and the far side that remains a mystery because it is never turned towards us. This unusual lunar characteristic -- a global dichotomy -- is what a team of scientists led by Professor XU Yigang from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry (GIGCAS) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has been investigating. They have been studying lunar soil samples collected from the South Pole-Aitken (SPA) Basin on the far...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/arctic-lakes-are-releasing-methane-from-melting-permafrost/">Arctic</a> is warming up at twice the average global rate and this is predicted to affect a variety of biogeophysical variables, such as rainfall, permafrost temperatures, ice mass, snow thickness and the structure and composition of Arctic vegetation. In turn, different types of vegetation influence the surface energy budget (SEB), which is the energy exchange between the Earth’s surface and the atmosphere. It is thus highly relevant to ask how the various types of vegetation found in the Arctic affect the surface energy budget, in order to understand how energy exchange in this sensitive area may change in the future.



An international team, led by two researchers from the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies of the <a href="https://www.uzh.ch/en.html">University of Zurich</a> (UZH), has now taken a closer look at the factors driving the energy flux of the land surface in the Arctic. They focused their study on the circumpolar land north of 60° latitude, and specifically on the extent of the circumpolar Arctic vegetation map (CAVM). At 64 different tundra and glacier study sites across the area, they obtained half-hourly and hourly in situ observations of energy fluxes and meteorological variables from various monitoring networks, over the period between 1994 and 2021.&nbsp;



Their focus was on the summer months between June and August, during which sunlight, and thus energy absorption, is particularly high. Depending on the type of vegetation, either the surface or the air are warmed to varying degrees. In addition, with increasing shrub density land warms up earlier after winter. “The shrubs’ dark branches emerge from under the snow early, absorb sunlight and pass it on to the surface long before the snow melts away,” explains postdoc Jacqueline Oehri, first author of the study.



In an effort to explain differences in surface energy fluxes at the different sites, the scientists used a variance partitioning analysis to compare the extent to which 15 selected drivers predict mean magnitudes of surface energy fluxes. The drivers included factors such as cloud cover, snow cover, soil and permafrost characteristics, topography, precipitation, air temperature and vegetation type.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, current Earth system models represent Arctic vegetation as being of one or only a few functional types, while in truth it is far more diverse. In their study, they quantified the presence of all the main classes of vegetation described in the CAVM, namely barren complexes, grassy tundra, prostrate dwarf-shrub tundra, erect-shrub tundra, wetland complexes, glaciers and boreal peat bog.



Their results, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-34049-3">Nature Communications</a>, indicated that the Arctic’s diverse vegetation, which is disregarded in most climate models, is one of the key factors predicting the extent of the summer energy exchange between the Earth’s land surface and the atmosphere.



“Remarkably, in summer the difference in heat flux between two types of vegetation – such as a landscape dominated by lichens and mosses, and one with shrubs – is about the same as between the surface of glaciers and green grasslands,” says Oehri.



The researchers suggest that the various types of Arctic vegetation have different heights, productivities and albedos (solar radiation reflected rather than absorbed), all of which may affect surface energy fluxes. Furthermore, they say that as the Arctic warms, the distribution and extent of the different vegetation types will change, which will further impact climate changes.&nbsp;



“Our findings on the energy flows in the Arctic are extremely relevant, since the preservation of permafrost depends to a large extent on the heat flux into the ground,” says UZH professor Gabriela Schaepman-Strub. The study’s data now make it possible to incorporate the effects of different plant communities, and their distribution, into climate predictions. Researchers can thus use improved climate models to calculate whether, and to which extent, tundra vegetation in the Arctic plays a role in cooling the land surface.



“We now know which plant communities have a particularly pronounced cooling or warming effect through energy exchange. This enables us to determine how changes in plant communities, which are occurring in many regions in the Arctic, are affecting permafrost and the climate,” says Schaepman-Strub.&nbsp;



However, the study does highlight important data gaps. Long-term, year-round energy flux data for Arctic vegetation are still very scarce, and data are missing for autumn and winter seasons at many sites. In addition, observations for barren tundra vegetation are few and far between, even though this type of vegetation shows large differences in surface energy flux from the other types of tundra. The authors believe that new stations are needed in those Arctic landscapes where data are incomplete, and they also call for current stations to remain in operation.&nbsp;



The Arctic is changing rapidly and will have a major impact on the climate dynamics of the entire planet. This study indicates the important role of vegetation in driving energy exchanges, and emphasizes the fact that understanding and predicting how vegetation will be distributed in the Arctic in future, will help scientists to make more accurate climate projections in this sensitive system, as well as globally.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Vegetation is a key driver of energy flux in the Arctic

The Arctic is warming up at twice the average global...

People have always been fascinated by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rhinos-show-that-diseases-can-disrupt-conservation-efforts/">rhinos</a>, finding them charismatic and impressive. These great mammals are depicted in historical and contemporary artworks and photographs for many different reasons and researchers have begun to appreciate the potential of these images as a rich source of data. This is particularly salient as numbers of rhinos of all species decrease and research on living specimens becomes more and more difficult. 



In a recent study, researchers from the University of Helsinki, <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> and the Rhino Resource Center (RRC) in the Netherlands undertook an analysis of 1,531 pieces of artwork and 1,627 photographs depicting rhinos, all of which are held in an online repository by the RRC. Their aim was to investigate the ways in which depictions of human interactions with rhinos have changed over time. In addition, they used a sample of 80 profile photographs of rhinos to determine whether morphological data on horn lengths, extracted from photographs, indicate any change in this feature over time.&nbsp;



In the archives of the RRC, the researchers found digital records of artworks dating back over the past 500 years, and of photographs from the last 150 years. They assigned these to broad categories that represented different relationships between society and rhinos; for example, hunting, conservation, natural history and captivity. Categories were further grouped as consumptive or non-consumptive. Consumptive relationships involved the death of rhinos or their removal from the natural habitat (e.g., hunting, curiosity, museum, captivity, dominion, poaching and circus), whereas non-consumptive relationships did not kill or remove rhinos from their habitat (e.g., conservation, caretaking, education, academic, cartoons).



Although all five extant species of rhinos are represented in the RRC’s data set, the researchers found that earlier images more commonly show Indian rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis) whereas the two African species (white rhino&nbsp;Ceratotherium simum, and black rhino&nbsp;Diceros bicornis) feature more prominently in recent images. Images of Javan (Rhinoceros sondaicus)&nbsp;and Sumatran&nbsp;(Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) rhinos are uncommon throughout the data set.



The results of the study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10406">People and Nature</a>, showed a clear change in how rhinos are portrayed. Hunting scenes in both artwork and photos were more common prior to 1950, but conservation became more common after this date. Depictions of rhino natural history and rhinos in captivity also became more common in artwork from the late 1700s onwards, and in photos from the 2000s onwards. Furthermore, the researchers found that the proportion of images featuring non-consumptive uses of rhinos increased over time, although in this case from the turn of the 19th century.&nbsp;



Many hundreds of photographs showing rhinos shot dead by hunters, taken in the late 19th&nbsp;and early 20th&nbsp;centuries, are present in the collection. These include a photograph of American President Theodore Roosevelt, taken in 1911, standing triumphantly over a black rhino he had just killed. Other early images show rhinos as huge, frightening animals chasing humans. The researchers think these images helped justify the hunting of these animals.



The experts also propose that peak times of hunting activities coincided with European colonial expansion into regions where rhinos occurred and that, once colonial powers pulled out of these regions and they achieved independence, European hunters no longer had easy access for hunting. The researchers suggest that the number of hunting images for a given species is likely to be associated with the true levels of hunting, particularly in the 19th and early 20th centuries, and to be correlated with the reported declines in rhino numbers during this time.



“We found that we can use images from the last few centuries to visualize how human attitudes towards wildlife have changed, and how artists have influenced these views,” said Dr. Ed Turner at the University of Cambridge’s Department of Zoology, senior author of the report.



The images suggest that there was very little effort to promote rhino conservation to the public before the 1950s. But after this the focus suddenly changed from hunting the animals to trying to keep them alive. The most recent images appear to reflect a growing awareness of the threats facing the natural world in general.



“For at least a few decades now there’s been much more of a focus on the conservation of rhinos – and this is reflected in the more recent images, which relate to their conservation in sanctuaries or their plight in the wild,” said study first author Oscar Wilson, who is now based at the University of Helsinki, Finland.&nbsp;



The 80 photographs of individual rhinos used to assess changes in horn length represented all five of the extant rhino species. Morphological measurements of body and horn dimensions were made so that horn length could be accurately related to overall body size. This was important as the photos did not have any measure of scale. Analysis of the results showed that, across all species, the horn length increased with body size, and the relative length of the horn to body length decreased slightly, but significantly over time.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The researchers think rhino horns have become smaller due to intensive hunting. Whether this has been for trophies or to supply material for medicines or traditional carvings in certain eastern and middle-eastern countries, the rhinos with the largest horns are invariably the targets. This leaves smaller-horned individuals to breed and pass on their genes for smaller horns to future generations. According to the researchers, these results could be indicative of directional selection in response to hunting pressures, as has been noted in obvious features such as horns and tusks in other groups of animals.



“We were really excited that we could find evidence from photographs that rhino horns have become shorter over time. They’re probably one of the hardest things to work on in natural history because of the security concerns,” said Wilson. “Rhinos evolved their horns for a reason - different species use them in different ways such as helping to grasp food or to defend against predators – so we think that having smaller horns will be detrimental to their survival.”



“Taken together, our results demonstrate the potential and scope for using online images to study the changing relationship between people and the natural world, and long-term morphological changes in species," concluded the study authors. "We advocate a greater use of these data, and the development of more image repositories such as the RRC, to bring data together in an easily accessible format with associated detailed information.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Historical photos suggest that rhino horns have gotten smaller

People have always been fascinated by rhinos, finding them charismatic...

In a recent interview with <a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/2022/10/30/23426406/ai-animals-google-translate-karen-bakker-sounds-of-life">Vox</a>, Karen Bakker – an expert in Digital Innovation at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> – has argued that humans could soon communicate with animals, as groundbreaking <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-intelligence-earth-data/">artificial intelligence</a> tools are designed to decode patterns in non-human sounds, such as the waggle dance of honeybees, the low-frequency noises of elephants, or the clicking made by whales. Yet, according to Bakker, such innovations can raise ethical dilemmas, since they could also be used to manipulate – rather than merely understand - wildlife.&nbsp;



For a long time, humans have sought to find ways of communicating with animals. While just a few decades ago, such attempts would rather belong to a science fiction movie, recent scientific and technological developments have now brought them closer to reality. For instance, in 2018, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.mi.fu-berlin.de/inf/groups/ag-ki/index.html">Dahlem Center for Machine Learning and Robotics</a> in Germany has designed the RoboBee, an AI tool that mimics the waggle dance of bees, which is used by these insects to relay information to one another. This robot turned out to be so successful that some of the bees started to follow directions from it, such as where to move within their hive.



Other such attempts include the <a href="https://www.projectceti.org/">Project CETI</a> (the Cetacean Translation Initiative), which uses advanced machine learning techniques to decipher the sounds of sperm whales, one of the world’s most enigmatic oceanic species, or the research of Katie Payne, an expert in Bioacoustics at <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a> who uses artificial intelligence to pick up the infrasonic sounds produced by elephants.



Although humans have communicated with animals in the past too, they usually did it from a human-centered viewpoint, such as teaching primates sign language. By using AI, scientists now hope to use the animals’ own language to communicate with them. “What [these researchers] are doing is not trying to teach those species human language, but rather compiling, essentially, dictionaries of signals and then attempting to understand what those signals mean within those species,” Bakker explained.



However, such attempts lead to significant ethical conundrums, depending upon how they will be used. Thus, enabling humans to speak with different animal species could create a&nbsp;“deeper sense of kinship, or a sense of dominion and manipulative ability to domesticate wild species that we’ve never as humans been able to previously control,” she concluded.



Professor Bakker explained in more detail these new technological developments in her new book, <a href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691206288/the-sounds-of-life">The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants</a> (2022). &nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Can we communicate with animals using artificial intelligence?

In a recent interview with Vox, Karen Bakker – an...

The <a href="https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/">Woodland Trust</a> – the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity – has recently identified a worrying trend for Halloween pumpkins to be discarded in the nearest woods, in a well-meaning yet misguided attempt to provide food for birds and other woodland animals.



“A myth seems to have built up that leaving pumpkins in woods helps <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/minor-changes-could-improve-human-wildlife-coexistence/">wildlife</a>.&nbsp;People&nbsp;think they’re doing a good thing by not binning them in landfill and instead leaving them for nature,” said Paul Bunton, an engagement and communications officer at Woodland Trust.



“But pumpkin flesh can be dangerous for hedgehogs, attracts colonies of rats, and also has a really detrimental effect on woodland soils, plants, and fungi. We can’t leave dumped pumpkins to rot, so we end up with an orange mushy mess to deal with at many of our sites.”



According to the experts, hedgehogs are particularly endangered by such practices, since they are highly opportunistic eaters that spend the autumn and early winter building up fat reserves they need for hibernation.



“As a result, hedgehogs can gorge themselves on easily available food like dumped pumpkins. Although not toxic to them, the fleshy fibrous fruit can cause stomach upsets and diarrhea, as they are not designed to eat large quantities of fruit,” explained Trevor Weeks, from the <a href="https://wildlifeambulance.org/">East Sussex Wildlife Rescue and Ambulance Service</a>.&nbsp;



“This can lead to them becoming bloated and dangerously dehydrated which in turn can be fatal. At this time of year, they can’t afford to become ill, or they may not survive the winter hibernation.”



In order to avoid such situations, the Woodland Trust advises Halloween revelers to make pumpkin bird feeders in their own gardens with the leftovers, instead of discarding them in the woods. However, these feeders should be kept high off the ground so hedgehogs cannot reach them.



“Jack-o-lanterns can be good for wildlife in small quantities in gardens, but not woodland or other countryside. We are urging people everywhere to make soup, birdfeeders for your garden, but please don’t make a mess of the countryside!” Bunton concluded.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dumping pumpkins in the woods can endanger wildlife

The Woodland Trust – the UK’s largest woodland conservation charity...

A team of zoologists led by the <a href="https://www.up.pt/portal/en/">University of Porto</a> has recently described a new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/owls-humans-visual/">owl</a> species from Principe Island, part of the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe in Central Africa. Although its official description was published only now, suspicions of its occurrence started already to emerge in 1998, and testimonies from local people suggesting its existence can be traced back as far as 1928.



The Principe Scops-Owl, or&nbsp;Otus bikegila, belongs to a group of small owls – the scops-owls - found across Eurasia and Africa, and including widespread species such as the Eurasian Scops-Owl (Otus scops) and the African Scops-Owl (Otus senegalensis).&nbsp;



The easiest way to recognize this species in the wild is its specific call. “Otus bikegila's unique call is a short “tuu” note repeated at a fast rate of about one note per second, reminiscent of insect calls. It is often emitted in duets, almost as soon as the night has fallen,” explained study lead author Martim Melo, an expert in the diversification of bird fauna in Africa at the University of Porto.



The experts believe that this owl can be currently found only in the remaining old-growth native forest of Principe in the uninhabited southern part of the island, occupying an area of just about 15 km2. In this small area though, the density of this species is quite high, with a population estimated at around 1,000-1,500 individuals.



However, since all the members of the species occur in this single, small location, the scientists have proposed that the species should be classified as critically endangered - the highest threat level on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">IUCN Red List</a>. Closely monitoring its population will be essential to get more precise estimates of its size and current trends.



“The discovery of a new species that is immediately evaluated as highly threatened illustrates well the current biodiversity predicament. On a positive note, the area of occurrence of the Principe Scops-Owl is fully included within the Príncipe Obô Natural Park, which will hopefully help secure its protection,” the researchers concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1126.87635">ZooKeys</a>. 



Image Credit: Martim Melo



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New owl species discovered in Africa

A team of zoologists led by the University of Porto...

Floods, wildfires, overfishing, and pollution are some of the many disruptions that can change the balance of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ecosystems-moving-north/">ecosystems</a>, often endangering entire species. However, evaluating these ecosystems to assess which species are most at risk, in order to focus conservation efforts and policies where they are most needed, is a highly challenging task.&nbsp;



While previous attempts assumed that ecosystems are essentially in a state of equilibrium, with external perturbations causing only temporary shifts before things eventually return to an equilibrium state, a study led by the <a href="https://www.mit.edu/">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a> (MIT) has now argued that ecosystems are in fact often in flux, with the relative abundances of their different components shifting on timetables of their own. By starting with this more realistic assumption, the experts devised a better, predictive way of evaluating these systems in order to rank the relative vulnerabilities of different species, and to detect which of these species are most at risk.



This study is analogous to Edward Lorenz’s groundbreaking analyses of weather patterns decades ago, in which he argued that tiny perturbations in a complex system could eventually lead to disproportionately large outcomes – famously exemplified by the idea that the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in one place could ultimately lead to a massive hurricane somewhere else (the so-called “butterfly effect”).&nbsp;



However, while in cases such as weather forecasting, scientists largely understand the underlying physics of the phenomena and can produce equations to describe their dynamics, in the case of complex ecosystems, this is much more difficult. Nevertheless, over the past decade, scientists have managed to develop mathematical techniques that could provide descriptions of complex ecosystems without knowing the underlying equations.



The MIT researchers and their colleagues developed two such approaches – called “expected sensitivity ranking” and “Eigenvalue ranking” – which performed well in tests using large sets of simulated data, producing rankings that closely matched those expected. While traditional attempts to rank the vulnerability of species tended to focus on measures such as body or population size, “these species are embedded in communities, and these communities have nonlinear emergent behavior such that a small change in one place would change completely in a different way some other aspect of the system,” as study senior author Serguei Saavedra (an associate professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at MIT) put it.



“Approaches based on equilibrium dynamics have this static view of species interaction effects,” added study lead author Lucas Medeiros, a former PhD student at MIT. “Under nonequilibrium abundance fluctuations, these interaction effects can change over time, impacting the sensitivity of any given species to perturbations.”&nbsp;



For instance, species that are highly active during summer, but dormant in winter may be strongly affected by summer wildfires or heatwaves, but completely unaffected by various disruptions happening in the winter.



The techniques developed by the researchers are general enough to be applied for any out-of-equilibrium dynamical system, and have even been used to predict fluctuations in financial markets. However, their primary goal remains the assessment of species vulnerabilities, which is crucial in times of marked environmental disruptions such as ours.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14610248">Ecology Letters</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New research will make it easier to rank species vulnerability

Floods, wildfires, overfishing, and pollution are some of the many...

A project that was intended to save Florida panthers may have had unintended consequences, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucf.edu/">University of Central Florida</a>. The experts have discovered harmful mutations in Florida panthers which originated in pumas that were introduced as part of a genetic rescue program.&nbsp;&nbsp;



By the 1980s, Florida’s panther population had bottomed out at around 30 individuals. Inbreeding within this dangerously small population was causing offspring to be born with genetic defects and diseases.&nbsp;



In the 1990s, experts introduced pumas from Texas to breed with the panthers. Ultimately, the Florida panther population rebounded to between 120 and 230 adults with greater genetic diversity. However, the new study reveals that the new gene pool has both good and bad mutations present.



“There's a genetic signal that harmful mutations from different source populations were introduced into the Florida panther population,” explained study lead author Alexander Ochoa. “Although there’s still no evidence of these mutations emerging at the phenotypic level, we want to monitor the genetic health of the Florida panther because things could also go south pretty quickly, especially if their population remains small."



Ochoa noted that if the fitness of the population begins to decline, wildlife managers should consider future introductions and genetic rescue programs for Florida panthers.



“And if that's the case, with the information we have in hand, we may be able to assess the genetic health of potential source populations, and pinpoint and select individuals that are best suited for these introductions,” said Ochoa. “Ideally, we would want to select individuals that carry smaller amounts of harmful, or deleterious, mutations for introductions.”



The experts were surprised to find that some of the deleterious mutations were contributed by Central American pumas that were introduced to Everglades National Park during the 1950s and 1960s.



Overall, 16 percent of the deleterious mutations present in Florida panthers are of Central American origin and 33 percent are of Texas origin. In addition, four percent of the harmful mutations are of both Central American and Texas origin.



Using full genome sequencing, the researchers determined that the genetic admixture boosted Florida panther fitness by offsetting the expression of existing harmful mutations. However, the panthers have now become carriers of many new harmful mutations.



“I was expecting that the genetic rescue program was in general beneficial to Florida panthers,” said Ochoa. “But at the same time one of the unexpected findings was that a reasonable amount of novel harmful mutations from different source populations were also introduced into the Florida panther population. And we need to monitor these mutations in current Florida panthers because that's something that Florida panthers did not have before.”



According to study co-author Professor Robert Fitak, the Florida panther has been a generally positive conservation success story, and that it now can also serve as a model to inform genetic rescues in other species.



“We know that in the future many more species are going to become endangered, suffer from severe inbreeding, and have to be managed by conservation actions such as genetic rescue,” said Fitak. “Our results will help us understand what the potential negative genetic consequences of these actions will be, or what we need to be prepared for.”



The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/jhered">Journal of Heredity</a>.



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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

Florida panthers gained harmful mutations during rescue efforts

A project that was intended to save Florida panthers may...

A team of zoologists from <a href="https://www.tcd.ie/">Trinity College Dublin</a> (TCD) in Ireland and the <a href="https://www.uho.ac.id/">Halo Oleo University</a> in Indonesia has recently found several new species of colorful, tropical <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-song-of-the-east-african-sunbird-may-be-a-million-years-old/">sunbirds</a>, including the “Wakatobi Sunbird” (Cinnyris infrenatus), which lives only on the tiny Wakatobi Islands in Central Indonesia. Moreover, by examining the more widespread Olive-backed Sunbirds and Black Sunbirds, the scientists found that individuals named as such actually belong to multiple unrecognized species. These findings have important implications for our understanding of evolution in this highly biodiverse region.



Living in the tropics from Africa to Australia, sunbirds resemble the American hummingbirds and fill similar ecological niches. Male sunbirds frequently have bright plumage, with iridescent feathers that shine in the sunlight. For centuries, zoologists have examined sunbirds’ plumage to identify different species, over 140 of which are currently recognized. However, with the help of new forms of evidence, such as DNA, song recordings, and statistical analyses of body measurements, the scientists have now found that this family is even more diverse than previously thought. To discover these new species, the researchers re-traced famous biologist Alfred Russel Wallace’s steps, as he based his theories on his investigations of animals across the islands of present-day Indonesia.



“One of Wallace’s major findings is referred to as ‘Wallace’s Line’ – a boundary between deep and shallow seas that many animals have been unable to cross, leading to marked differences in the species found on either side. The widespread Olive-backed Sunbird appeared to be an exception, being found all the way from China to Australia with Wallace’s Line right in the middle of its range,” said study lead author Fionn Ó Marcaigh, a PhD student in Zoology at TCD.&nbsp;



“The new study, however, has shown that the populations on either side actually represent two different species, in keeping with Wallace’s original predictions. The Black Sunbird was already known to be subject to Wallace’s Line, but the new research has shown that the population around Sulawesi is a separate species from the one in New Guinea.”



While the Olive-backed Sunbird covers quite a wide range for such a small bird, the newly discovered Wakatobi Sunbird is restricted to the tiny Wakatobi Islands off the coast of Sulawesi. Besides being genetically unique, this species also has darker plumage, a higher-pitched song, and shorter wings than the Olive-backed Sunbird. According to the scientists, its short wings have likely contributed to its remaining isolated on these islands.



“The identification of the Wakatobi Sunbird serves to remind us that biodiversity is everywhere. This bird wasn’t found in a remote rainforest, but along the scrubby margins of busy towns and villages. Let us hope the children of the Wakatobi will be able to enjoy these special birds for generations to come,” concluded co-author David Kelly, a behavioral ecologist at TCD.



The study is published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlac081">Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society</a>.



Image Credit: Nicola Marples and David Kelly, Trinity College Dublin



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

New sunbird species discovered in Indonesia

A team of zoologists from Trinity College Dublin (TCD) in...

According to the <a href="https://www.heart.org/">American Heart Association</a>, cardiovascular disease claims more lives each year in the U.S. than all forms of cancer and chronic lower respiratory disease combined. However, advances in treatment and preventative medicine, as well as education about heart healthy lifestyle choices, had seen a steady decline in deaths due to heart disease during the past three decades. This trend marked a success story of note, but it saw a setback in 2020 due to the arrival of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-expectancy-continues-to-decline-due-to-covid/">COVID-19</a> pandemic.



In a presentation at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2022, being held November 5–7 both virtually and in Chicago, researchers have compared the national death rate from heart disease during 2020 with the death rates during the period 2010–2019. They did this by accessing the age-standardized death rates per 100,000 population from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s WONDER database, which aggregates death certificate data from the National Vital Statistics System.&nbsp;



Their analysis, presented during the AHA’s meeting, found that heart disease death rates increased in 2020, across adults in all age, sex, race and ethnicity groups, particularly among younger adults and non-Hispanic Black adults.



“Prior to 2020, death rates from heart disease had been declining among adults for decades, which has been recognized by the CDC as one of the ten greatest public health achievements of the last century,” said lead study author Rebecca C. Woodruff, Ph.D., M.P.H., an epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). “The increases in death rates from heart disease in 2020 represented about 5 years of lost progress among adults nationwide and about 10 years of lost progress among younger adults and non-Hispanic Black adults,” she added.



The spread of COVID-19 in the U.S. began prompting school and workplace closures in some states in February 2020. It was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization the following month and stay-home orders were widespread. The first COVID-19 vaccinations for adults and some teens were available in December 2020.



“The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted many aspects of daily life, including access to preventive health care, which may have led to delays in detecting and treating heart disease,” Woodruff said. “We expected to see an increase in heart disease death rates among adults, however the magnitude of the increase was striking.”



In particular, the researchers found that, whereas the national heart disease rate among adults decreased by 9.8 percent between 2010 and 2019, it increased by 4.1 percent in 2020. This reversal represents about five years of lost progress in reducing heart disease death rates among adults.&nbsp;



The findings were even more unsettling for younger adults. Among 35- to 54-year-old people, deaths from heart disease fell by 5.5 percent between 2010 and 2019, yet they jumped up by12 percent in 2020. This represents approximately ten years of lost progress. Among 55- to 74-year-old adults, heart disease death rates were down by 2.3 percent between 2010 and 2019, yet they increased by 7.8 percent in 2020.



In addition, increases in heart disease death rates were high among non-Hispanic Black adults, who experienced approximately ten years of lost gains. In this group, heart disease death rates declined by 10.4 percent between 2010 and 2019, then increased by 11.2 percent in 2020.



Although further investigation needs to be done, the researchers name several factors implicated in the reversals of the heart disease death rate trend during 2020. Lockdowns saw people exercising less and smoking and drinking alcohol more regularly, all of which contributed to the higher cardiovascular death rates, said American Heart Association President Michelle A. Albert, M.D., M.P.H., FAHA, the Walter A. Haas-Lucie Stern Endowed Chair in Cardiology and professor of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. In addition, growing evidence suggests that people who have had COVID-19 infection may be at an increased risk for new or worsening cardiovascular disease.&nbsp;



“These social determinants of health have a larger effect on people who are economically disadvantaged – Black people, Hispanic people and Indigenous and Native individuals – so then you have a domino effect resulting in higher death rates and more disease among these populations,” Albert explained.



She urged action from both citizens and health care professionals. “If you are a person who has not received medical care for one or more years because of the pandemic, please seek out care from a health care professional. And it’s important for health care professionals to really take a look at their pool of patients to identify those persons who have dropped off their radar, and reach out to those people and offer medical assistance, as well as potentially connect them with the social resources that they might need now coming out of the pandemic.”



Woodruff added that the CDC is actively investigating heart disease trends after 2020 to see how the trends have changed since then. Meanwhile, there are steps to better manage cardiovascular disease risk going forward. Everyone can improve cardiovascular health by following the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-lifestyle/lifes-essential-8">American Heart Association’s Life’s Essential 8:</a> eat better, be physically active, do not smoke, get enough sleep, maintain a healthy weight, and control blood pressure, as well as levels of cholesterol and blood sugar.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Heart disease deaths increased during COVID, reversing progress

According to the American Heart Association, cardiovascular disease claims more...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/self-control-finite-resource/">Self-control</a> – the capacity to resist immediate temptation in favor of a better but delayed reward – is a crucial skill that underpins effective decision-making and future planning. This ability has been previously shown to be proportionally linked to intelligence in humans, chimpanzees, and cuttlefish.&nbsp;



Now, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> has discovered that Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) – a member of the corvid family often nicknamed the “feathered apes” due to their high cognitive abilities – can pass a version of the “marshmallow test” (a test designed to study self-control in children), and those with the greatest self-control also score high on intelligence tests. These findings show that the link between self-control and intelligence appears across distantly related animal species, suggesting it has evolved independently several times.



Among all the corvids, jays in particular are vulnerable to having their catches stolen by other birds. Thus, the capacity for self-control may have evolved to enable them to wait for the right moment to hide their food without being seen or heard by potential thieves.



To test this ability in ten Eurasian jays, the scientists designed an experiment inspired by the 1972 Stanford Marshmallow Test, in which children were offered a choice between one marshmallow immediately, or two if they waited for a sufficient period of time. In this case, the jays were presented with mealworms (their favorite food), cheese, and bread. They had to choose between bread or cheese (available immediately) or mealworm that they could see but could only get access to after a period of delay ranging from five seconds to five and a half minutes.



All the jays managed to wait for the worm, but some seemed to have much more patience than others. For instance, one of them – called by the scientists JayLo – ignored a piece of cheese and waited five and a half minutes for a mealworm, while others could only wait a maximum of 20 seconds.



“It’s just mind-boggling that some jays can wait so long for their favorite food. In multiple trials, I sat there watching JayLo ignore a piece of cheese for over five minutes – I was getting bored, but she was just patiently waiting for the worm,” reported study lead author Alex Schnell, a psychologist at Cambridge.



The scientists also presented the jays with five cognitive tasks which are commonly used to measure general intelligence. The birds that performed better in these tests also managed to wait longer for the mealworm reward, suggesting that self-control is linked to intelligence in jays too.



“The birds’ performance varied across individuals – some did really well in all the tasks and others were mediocre. What was most interesting was that if a bird was good at one of the tasks, it was good at all of them – which suggests that a general intelligence factor underlies their performance,” Schnell concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2021.0348">Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Science</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Jays with greater intelligence have more self-control

Self-control – the capacity to resist immediate temptation in favor...

According to a new report by the <a href="https://www.healtheffects.org/">Health Effects Institute</a> (HEI), nearly the entire African continent faces the most severe health impacts in the world caused by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/air-pollution-linked-to-a-higher-risk-of-stroke/">air pollution</a>. The experts found that Africa is home to five of the top ten most polluted countries in the world in terms of outdoor fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which is the most consistent predictor of deaths from respiratory, cardiovascular, and other diseases in previous studies of long-term exposure to air pollution. Moreover, widespread exposure to household air pollution (HAP) – which results from burning solid fuels such as coal, wood, or charcoal for cooking – also has a significant impact on African mortality, causing 63 percent of the 1.1 million pollution-related deaths in 2019.



Since across East, West, Central, and Southern Africa, about 75 percent of the population relies on solid fuels for cooking, residents are exposed to high concentrations of harmful pollutants at home every day. In these regions, newborns and infants are at a particularly high risk from HAP, with 14 percent of all deaths in children under five linked to exposure to such hazardous pollutants. Moreover, children’s exposure to HAP – as well as to outdoor pollution – has long-term consequences for their health, including lung development problems and increased susceptibility to infectious respiratory diseases.



“This report gives evidence of the substantial threat air pollution poses to the health, and even life, of babies and children under the age of five. This vulnerable group needs special attention to mitigate their exposures, for example, through policy and intensive awareness campaigns with practical solutions for mothers and caregivers,” said Caradee Wright, a Chief Specialist Scientist at the <a href="https://www.samrc.ac.za/">South African Medical Research Council</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



According to the report authors, air pollution sources and their health impact can vary widely across the continent. For instance, Western Africa experiences the highest PM2.5&nbsp;pollution - with an average concentration of 64.1 μg/m3 - while Southern Africa has the lowest, at 26.5 μg/m3. Although most of this pollution comes from similar sources as elsewhere in the world – such as fossil fuel use for energy production, industrial and semi-industrial activities, or transportation – in parts of Africa, windblown dust (a natural source of air pollution) is also a major contributor to increased PM2.5&nbsp;levels.



Fortunately, countries across Africa are currently implementing a wide range of programs to lower the impacts of air pollution, such as establishing national air quality policies, providing access to clean fuels for cooking, and transitioning to clean energy sources.&nbsp;



&nbsp;“Air pollution greatly contributes to the rising frequency of chronic noncommunicable diseases in Africa, putting further strain on a health system already stretched by chronic infectious diseases and, more recently, Covid-19. These findings call for the African Union and member states to promote, plan, and fund air quality interventions to prevent unnecessary disabilities and deaths&nbsp;throughout the continent,” concluded Patrick de Marie Katoto, an expert in Public Health at the Catholic University of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.



The State of the Air Quality and Health Impacts in Africa report can be found <a href="https://www.stateofglobalair.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-10/soga-africa-report.pdf">here</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Air pollution caused one million deaths in Africa in 2019

According to a new report by the Health Effects Institute...

Giant,Sequoias,Forest.,Sequoia,National,Forest,In,California,Sierra,Nevada

The Sierra Nevada region of California covers nearly 27 million acres of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/diverse-forests-are-more-resilient-and-productive/">forests</a> that provide habitat for thousands of animal species and is home to dozens of species of conifers, including native redwoods (the world’s tallest trees), sequoias (the world’s widest trees), or Great Basin bristlecone pines (the world’s longest living trees). 



Now, a team of scientists from the <a href="https://www.berkeley.edu/">University of California, Berkeley</a>, has found that, from 2011 to 2020, a combination of devastating wildfires, droughts, and drought-related bark beetle infestations killed a staggering 30 percent of forests in the Sierra Nevada mountain range between Lake Tahoe and Kern County.



“It’s kind of a wake-up call, even to those of us that are kind of steeped in this field,” said study lead author Zackary Steel, an expert in Wildfire and Forest Management at UC Berkeley. “We’re moving from knowing this is a problem to quantifying the problem.”



Besides the overall decline in total conifer forest in this area, half of the mature forest habitats and 85 percent of high-density mature forests were either completely wiped-out or became low-density forests. Moreover, areas protected as habitat for the California spotted owl – an endangered bird at the center of a decades-long battle between environmentalists and the timber industry – experienced worse declines in tree canopy that other, non-protected areas.



According to the researchers, these findings call for a rejection of traditional conservation methods which preserve forests as they are, and for a use of controlled fires – as those ignited for centuries by California’s indigenous populations - as a tool for landscape regeneration and removal of low-lying vegetation that could increase the intensity of wildfires.



“The ecological idea is not to take out trees just to take out trees,” said Felicia Marcus, a researcher in Climate Policy at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford University</a>. “If you take out enough of the smaller trees that snow can get through and hit the ground but you leave enough trees that it stays shaded, we’ll be able to maybe slow the rate of loss of snowpack which is perhaps the number one threat to stability in California’s water system.”&nbsp;



Fortunately, state and federal government agencies are currently starting to rethink old practices and invest in wildfire resilience and forest health, with over $1,000 million dedicated to safeguard these historical forests. However, according to J. Keith Gilless, the chair of the state board of forestry and fire protection, the task of reverting forests to what they used to be will need long-term planning and dedication.



“We need to be clear to the policymakers that this isn’t something you go into with a one-shot infusion of money and it’s solved. It’s something where you’ve committed to moving to a different kind of landscape level management, that lets us truly deal with the natural hazard of wildfires,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2763">Ecological Applications</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

One third of Sierra Nevada forest wiped out by drought and fires

The Sierra Nevada region of California covers nearly 27 million...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Kainji Lake, a reservoir on the Niger River.



In 1968, Kainji Lake was created by the construction of the Kainji Dam. The Niger River, the third longest in Africa, enters the lake in the north.&nbsp;



According to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/rivers-in-the-american-west-are-a-lifesaving-resource-for-birds/">ESA</a>, the creation of the lake submerged Foge Island and the town of Bussa and permanently flooded other riverine settlements, leaving around 50,000 people displaced.&nbsp;



Large parts of Foge Island are temporarily exposed during low water tides, and the land is often used by migrating fishermen. Kainji Dam is a dam across the Niger River in Niger State of Central Nigeria. 



Wild mammals occur at relatively low densities due to illegal hunting. Lake Kainji has suffered a dramatic decline as a fishery due to the high numbers of artisanal and subsistence fisherfolk using the lake. It has been suggested that a period of closure, together with controlled fishing rights may help improve fish stocks.



Kainji Lake National Park is the oldest of its kind in Nigeria. The park contains three distinct areas: a part of the Kainji Lake, the Borgu Game Reserve to the west of the lake, and the Zugurma Game Reserve to the southeast. The park is home to around 65 mammal species, 350 bird species, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians. 



Video/ Image Credit: European Space Agency&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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Kainji Lake in north central Nigeria

[sendtonews key="iuA5mpp3jv-1641775-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.igb.illinois.edu/">Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology</a> reveals how scientists can modify common crops like soybean, rice, and wheat to protect them from heat stress.



“We need to double crop production by 2050 to feed a growing global population, and not only are we not on track to do that, but climate change is further complicating things,” said Amanda Cavanagh, a lecturer at the University of Essex. 



The study is part of Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE), an international research project that aims to develop food crops that turn the sun’s energy into food more efficiently.



“Using an engineering approach we designed multiple alternative metabolic pathways to photorespiration. Testing them in the field showed increases in productivity which led Amanda to significantly move the project forward by showing our engineered plants can withstand pretty extreme temperature stress,” said study co-author and RIPE researcher Paul South.&nbsp;



“As the climate changes and temperature stresses increase the pressure on our global food supply, farmers will need every tool available including engineering approaches like the synthetic biology used here to maintain safe and productive harvests.”



The experts tested plants modified to have more efficient photorespiration to see if they were better adapted to warmer temperatures.&nbsp;



The team found that the engineered plants produced 26 percent more biomass than the wild-type plants exposed to the same temperatures, and had 15 percent less yield loss under the higher temperatures.



Video Credit: Amanda Nguyen/University of Illinois



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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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Designing crops that can beat the heat

[sendtonews key="QGPzYnXEtN-1712599-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Carl...

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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



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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



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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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes the first comprehensive estimate of carbon density in the Saharan, Sahel, and Sudanian zones of Africa. In an effort to measure the amount of carbon stored across these drylands, a team of scientists used high-resolution satellite images and artificial intelligence to map nearly 10 billion individual trees. 



"The high spatial resolution (50 cm) combined with AI and field measurements used in this study is key to improving tree inventories in drylands," said Pierre Hiernaux, a French researcher working for NASA. "The ever-increasing availability of very high-resolution satellite imagery will make it possible to assess carbon pools and their dynamics at the individual tree level on a global scale."



"This study is exceptional because it is pioneering a type of approach that will revolutionize the monitoring of trees and forests on a global scale: in the short term, it will be possible to map the world's trees from the centre of the Amazon to our schoolyards," said <a href="https://www.inrae.fr/en">INRAE</a> researcher Jean-Pierre Wigneron.



"Many fields of application will become much more efficient and accurate, such as tracking carbon stocks, biodiversity, monitoring logging and protection against illegal forest degradation, in near real time.”



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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Remote sensing will revolutionize the way we monitor trees

[sendtonews key="EjmSP20gQK-2593093-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features 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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> features a visual dataset of.methane emissions from wetlands across the globe. Atmospheric methane levels have reached record highs in recent years, and wetlands are a major source of these emissions.&nbsp;



"Methane is an important greenhouse gas that contributes substantially to global warming. On a molecule by molecule basis, methane is much more efficient at trapping heat than carbon dioxide, the main driver of warming," says NASA.



"Though human activities, including agriculture, oil and natural gas production and use, and waste disposal, collectively contribute the majority of methane to the atmosphere, about a third of total methane emissions comes from wetlands."&nbsp;



According to NASA, understanding methane emissions from wetlands and other natural sources is critically important for scientists and policymakers who are working to combat climate change by reducing emissions from human activities.



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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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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Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

[sendtonews key="f8fukm28Vz-2491833-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes why experts are studying zebrafish to gain a better understanding of how the immune system responds to injury. Zebrafish have the ability to repair and regenerate organs.



“Organ regeneration offers an exciting opportunity for studying the immune system and to inquire why some species can regenerate organs like the heart or missing limbs while others like humans cannot,” explained Dr. Tatjana Piotrowski.



Zebrafish sensory organ hair cells are an ideal system to investigate the pathways and cell types involved in regeneration since they are easily destroyed with antibiotics and begin regenerating within five hours. This enabled the researchers to identify the exact timing and genetic programs for each anti-inflammatory macrophage activation state.&nbsp;



“Our hypothesis is that human macrophages do not receive the proper chemical activation 'cocktail' to instruct pro-regenerative processes,” said Dr. Nicolas Denans. “Identifying the molecular recipe of macrophage activation in zebrafish may one day enable us to design regenerative immunotherapies in humans.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The new evidence is a valuable resource for comparative studies on the genetic programs involved in macrophage-mediated repair and regeneration. In other words, different types of injuries may induce different kinds of inflammatory responses. We want to decipher whether this 'language' is universal or if there are a variety of dialects."



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research&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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How the immune system responds to injury

[sendtonews key="0dEcERCq61-2283382-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from Stowers...

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes how record-breaking heat expressed itself around the world in 2022.



Scientists have determined that 2022 was the 5th warmest year since 1880. Furthermore, the last nine consecutive years have been the warmest on record.



From devastating floods and wildfires to natural disasters like Hurricane Ian, 2022 showed us yet again how a warming climate affects people across the globe.&nbsp;



"As we look back at 20:22 and years past, we see that each year we better understand the challenges we face and how important it is to meet them," says NASA.



Video/ Image Credit: NASA Goddard



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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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2022 illustrated the consequences of a warming climate

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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"

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

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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

[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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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