Scientists have uncovered an intriguing tale of galactic growth, featuring mysterious “red monsters” that are revealing new secrets of the young universe.



An international team of experts led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has discovered three ultra-massive galaxies - each almost as substantial as the Milky Way - that emerged within the first billion years following the Big Bang.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-theory-of-galaxy-formation">Theory of galaxy formation</h2>



This discovery surprised scientists because it challenges the popular theory of galaxy formation. According to current models, galaxies grow slowly within large halos of dark matter. 



These halos, which are invisible structures, pull in gas that eventually forms stars. Traditionally, scientists believed only about 20% of this gas would turn into stars in these galaxies.



However, the findings from the UNIGE team show that these early massive galaxies were exceptionally efficient at creating stars. They produced stars much faster and in larger numbers than expected, growing at an extraordinary rate compared to galaxies that formed later. 



This unexpected efficiency suggests that early galaxies grew in ways scientists hadn’t previously considered, prompting a rethink of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-galaxies-formed-from-the-earliest-elements-in-the-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxy formation theories</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-three-red-monsters">The three "red monsters"</h2>



The James Webb Space Telescope's FRESCO program made this remarkable discovery possible.



The beauty of the FRESCO program lies in its cutting-edge tool, the NIRCam/grism spectrograph, which enables accurate measurement of the distance and stellar masses of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/early-galaxy-formation-occurred-much-faster-than-we-thought/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">galaxies</a>.



Thanks to the superior capabilities of <a href="https://science.nasa.gov/mission/webb/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">JWST</a>, astronomers have been able to study galaxies in the distant and early universe systematically - including massive and dust-obscured galaxies.



Upon examining the galaxies in the FRESCO survey, most galaxies conformed to existing models. Yet, the team found three galaxies that were surprisingly massive.



Due to their high dust content, which gives them a unique red appearance in JWST images, the giant galaxies are now known as the "red monsters."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unveiling-the-hidden-red-monsters">Unveiling the hidden red monsters</h2>



Dr. Mengyuan Xiao, the lead author of the study, is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Astronomy at <a href="https://www.unige.ch/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">UNIGE</a> Faculty of Science.



Dr. Xiao joined forces with Dr. David Elbaz, director of research at CEA Paris-Saclay, to investigate the red monsters.



“Our findings are reshaping our understanding of galaxy formation in the early universe,” noted Dr. Xiao.



“The massive properties of these red monsters were hardly determined before JWST, as they are optically invisible due to dust attenuation,” said Dr. Elbaz.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-studying-the-growth-of-galaxies-over-time">Studying the growth of galaxies over time</h2>



Using the James Webb telescope, the researchers developed an innovative program which enables the systematic analysis of a complete sample of emission-line galaxies within the first billion years of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/milky-way-like-galaxies-were-present-in-the-early-universe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cosmic history</a>.



This program allowed the team to achieve precise distance estimates and reliable stellar mass measurements for the full galaxy sample.



Pascal Oesch is an associate professor in the Department of Astronomy at the UNIGE and principal investigator of the observation program.



“Our findings highlight the remarkable power of NIRCam/grism spectroscopy," noted Oesch. "The instrument on board the space telescope allows us to identify and study the growth of galaxies over time, and to obtain a clearer picture of how stellar mass accumulates over the course of cosmic history.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-too-many-too-massive-galaxies">"Too many, too massive" galaxies</h2>



The discovery of these massive galaxies challenges existing ideas about how galaxies form.



The findings highlight the presence of an unexpectedly high number of large galaxies - "too many, too massive" galaxies - very early in the universe’s history.



This suggests that existing models may be missing certain processes or factors that allowed some galaxies to grow rapidly right after the Big Bang.



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



To understand these giant galaxies better, scientists will continue observing them with powerful instruments like JWST and ALMA.



These tools can offer more detailed views and help find more of these ultra-massive galaxies, deepening our understanding of galaxy formation in the early universe and potentially revising the models of cosmic evolution.



Future endeavors hold the promise of addressing lingering questions about the universe’s dark matter content, stellar formation processes, and the dynamic behavior of galaxies over cosmic time scales.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-significance-of-the-red-monsters">Significance of the red monsters</h2>



The discoveries with JWST have significantly contributed to our understanding of cosmic origins, particularly by offering new perspectives on the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/galaxies-like-our-own-milky-way-are-not-unique/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">early universe</a>.



These revelations challenge the existing paradigms of universe evolution, suggesting that even in the nascent stages following the Big Bang, there existed environments ripe for the rapid growth and formation of the red monsters.



“These results indicate that galaxies in the early universe could form stars with unexpected efficiency," said Dr. Xiao.



"As we study these galaxies in more depth, they will offer new insights into the conditions that shaped the universe’s earliest epochs. The red monsters are just the beginning of a new era in our exploration of the early universe."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-024-08094-5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature</a>.



Image Credit: NASA / CSA / ESA / M. Xiao &amp; P. A. Oesch / G. Brammer / Dawn JWST Archive



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'Red monsters' challenge what we know about the early universe

Scientists have uncovered an intriguing tale of galactic growth, featuring mysterious “red monsters” that are revealing new secrets of the young universe. An international team of experts led by the University of Geneva (UNIGE) has discovered three ultra-massive galaxies - each almost as substantial as the Milky Way - that emerged within the first billion years following the Big Bang. Theory of galaxy formation This discovery surprised scientists because it challenges the popular theory of galaxy formation. According to current models, galaxies grow slowly within large halos...

The production of cereals, vegetables, fruits, and nuts depends entirely on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flowers-use-mechanical-buckling-to-lure-pollinators/">pollination</a>. However, since many flowers are hermaphrodite, having the male pollen located close to the female stigma, there is a constant risk of self-fertilization, which often results in unhealthy plants. Thus, the ability to control whether or not a plant is “self-compatible” is essential for ensuring healthier and more resilient crops.



A recent study published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(22)00342-6">Current Biology</a> has identified a new gene that controls self-fertilization in an engineered version of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana – an inconspicuous small weed related to crops such as cabbage and oilseed rape that is often used by plant scientists to better understand how plants function.&nbsp;



The researchers performed genetic screening to identify a new gene that is critical for regulating self-incompatibility. By using an engineered self-incompatible Arabidopsis plant line, the scientists isolated a gene that, when removed, abolished self-incompatibility, allowing the plant to self-fertilize. This gene – named “Highlander” after the 1986 film with an immortal warrior – encodes a protein called PGAP1 which is found in all complex organisms, from yeast to humans.



The genetically modified Arabidopsis plants showed no evidence of developmental defects, while its self-incompatibility was completely abolished and high levels of self-seed set were observed.&nbsp;



“This is a major breakthrough, as it not only identifies a new mechanism that is critical for achieving self-rejection of incompatible pollen, but it also implicates a role for specific proteins, called GPI-APs in this process for the first time,” said study senior author Veronica Franklin-Tong, a former professor of Plant Cell Biology at the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a>.&nbsp;



The GPI-APS family of proteins plays a crucial role in other systems too, such as enhancing innate immunity by increasing the levels of interactions between certain proteins. By showing that these proteins have a fundamental role in regulating self-fertilization, Professor Franklin-Tong and her colleagues may also have found evidence that such processes could have evolved from other systems, such as those providing immunity from pathogens.



“We are very excited by the unexpected and novel findings of this study, as it opens up new avenues, leading research into completely new areas, such as the involvement of GPI-APs and possibly accessory proteins, that help cell-cell interactions, in interactions between pollen and pistil in self-incompatibility,” Professor Franklin-Tong concluded.



---



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

Study reveals new clues about self-fertilization in plants

The production of cereals, vegetables, fruits, and nuts depends entirely...

Woman,Meditating,Practicing,Yoga,Exercise,In,The,Mountain,At,Sunset

Many studies have argued that spirituality could help improve the quality of life for people with chronic conditions such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-sweeteners-linked-to-increased-risk-of-cancer/">cancer</a>. According to an extensive literature review led by <a href="https://medschool.duke.edu/">Duke University School of Medicine</a>, spirituality can also have a positive impact on quality of life for patients with heart failure. The scientists argue that spirituality should be considered a potential target for palliative care interventions to improve patient-centered and clinical outcomes in these patients.



“Patients who have heart failure experience a poorer quality of life compared to their peers, with high levels of depression, anxiety, and spiritual distress,” said study lead author Rachel S. Tobin, a resident in Internal Medicine at <a href="https://www.dukehealth.org/hospitals/duke-university-hospital">Duke University Hospital</a>. “Contributing to diminished quality of life is the fact that heart failure, unlike many other chronic diseases, is very unpredictable and can lead to hopelessness, isolation, and altered self-image.”



The <a href="https://nam.edu/">National Academy of Medicine</a> defines spirituality as “the needs and expectations which humans have to find meaning, purpose, and value in their life. Such needs can be specifically religious, but even people who have no religious faith or are not members of an organized religion have belief systems that give their lives meaning and purpose.”



By conducting a literature review of 47 articles exploring the role of spirituality in heart failure patients, Dr. Tobin and her colleagues have found that searching for meaning, purpose, and value in life is crucial for such patients. Moreover, spiritual counseling as palliative care has often been associated with decreased levels of anxiety and depression, thus playing a fundamental role in improving the life of these individuals.



“The literature suggests that not only can spirituality improve quality of life for the patient, it can help support caregivers and potentially help heart failure patients from needing to be readmitted to the hospital,” Dr. Tobin explained.&nbsp;



“What we have suggested and are now doing is developing a spirituality screening tool, similar to ones used to screen for depression. This can be used to identify heart failure patients in palliative care who are at risk for spiritual distress. However, this is just a start. More research needs to be done.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2213177922001081?via%3Dihub#!">JACC Heart Failure</a>.



---



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

Spirituality can help people with heart failure

Many studies have argued that spirituality could help improve the...

Bull,Caribou,On,Alpine,Tundra,In,The,Yukon,,Canada

Despite recovery efforts from both federal and provincial governments, Canada’s caribou populations continue to decline, largely due to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/record-wildfires-linked-to-human-activity-will-only-get-worse/">human activity</a>. However, a new study led by the <a href="https://ok.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia (UBC) Okanagan</a> has found that a herd of mountain caribou from central British Columbia – the Klinse-Za – is currently rebounding, with their numbers nearly tripling in the last decade.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, this happens due to a conservation initiative led by Indigenous Peoples that pairs short-term recovery actions such as predator reduction and caribou guardians at maternal pens with an ongoing effort to secure landscape-level protection in order to create a self-sustaining caribou population.&nbsp;



“We have an Indigenous-led conservation effort to thank for averting the looming extinction of this herd,” said study lead author Clayton Lamb, a wildlife scientist at UBC. “The population was declining rapidly - a West Moberly Elder once described the herd as a ‘sea of caribou,’ but by 2013 it had declined to only 38 animals.”



Due to the collaborative efforts led by West Moberly First Nations and Salteau First Nations in partnership with various organizations and governments, this number increased to over 110 by 2022.



“This work provides an innovative, community-led, paradigm shift to conservation in Canada,” said Dr. Lamb. “While Indigenous Peoples have been actively stewarding landscapes for a long time, this approach is new in the level of collaboration among western scientists and Indigenous Peoples to create positive outcomes on the land and put an endangered species on the path to recovery.”



“This work is also an important part of decolonizing the mindset of conservation, which has historically worked to exclude the views of Indigenous Peoples,” added study senior author Adam Ford, a professor of Wildlife Restoration Ecology at UBC.



Although the efforts of Indigenous Peoples have yielded great success, more time and effort will be needed to fully recover the Klinse-Za populations. Nevertheless, this initiative highlights the crucial role of Indigenous governance and leadership in devising meaningful conservation actions, enhancing endangered species recovery, and honoring cultural connections to imperiled wildlife.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.2581">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

Caribou rebound thanks to efforts of Indigenous Peoples

Despite recovery efforts from both federal and provincial governments, Canada’s...

Huntington,Beach,,Ca,/,Usa,-,July,26,,2019:,The

There are more than 7,000 different <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-new-clues-about-self-fertilization-in-plants/">plant</a> species on Earth that are edible and can be used for food. And yet 90 percent of humanity’s energy intake is derived from the use of only 15 crop plant species. This means that humans focus on a very small proportion of the available diversity of plant species from which to derive their nutrition. It also means that very few of the many different edible species are actually cultivated, while the rest are ignored or may even verge on the edge of extinction.&nbsp;



In 2014, fewer than 200 species of plants were cultivated to any meaningful extent,&nbsp; and just nine crops accounted for more than 66 percent by weight of all crop production in that year. This trend impacts agrobiodiversity – the variety and variability of animals, plants and microorganisms that are used directly or indirectly for food and agriculture.



One of the reasons for this concerning trend is that the world is gradually adopting a global diet of ultra-processed foods. These foods, which include sweetened or salty snacks, soft drinks, instant noodles, reconstituted meat products, pre-prepared pizza and pasta dishes, biscuits and confectionery, are made by assembling food substances and ‘cosmetic’ additives (notably flavors, colors and emulsifiers) through a series of industrial processes.



According to a commentary published today in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://gh.bmj.com/">BMJ Global Health</a>, the fact that sales and consumption of these ultra-processed foods are growing in all regions and in almost all countries, is a matter of grave concern. These foods have come at the expense of the cultivation, manufacture, retail and consumption of fresh and minimally processed foods that comprise traditional diets. Not only are ultra-processed foods bad for human health, but they also have a negative impact on the biodiversity of plant species available for consumption by humans.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The authors of the commentary, nutrition experts from Brazil, the US and Australia, warn that ultra-processed foods rely on ingredients from very few plant sources and that people’s diets are thus lacking in nutritional diversity. They state that more than four billion people in the world today rely on just three crop plants – rice, wheat and maize – for the majority of their nutritional input.



They also refer to an ongoing study of 7,020 ultra-processed foods sold in the main Brazilian supermarket chains, which has found that their five main ingredients included food substances derived from sugar cane (52.4%), milk (29.2%), wheat (27.7%), corn (10.7%) and soy (8.3%). These few ingredients in ultra-processed foods were thus replacing the diversity of wholefoods necessary for a balanced and healthy diet.&nbsp;



In addition, the authors warn that producing processed foods involves the use of large areas of land, as well as supplies of water, energy, herbicides and fertilizers, making it unhealthy and unsustainable for the planet as well. Processed foods are often wrapped in copious packaging, which ends up in landfills or polluting the environment, and the overall process is responsible for releasing greenhouse gases that negatively affect the climate.&nbsp;



Ultra-processed foods are the basis of a "globalized diet" that is becoming more popular and available throughout the world. Currently, consumption of these foods is growing fastest in upper-middle-income and lower-middle income countries, and yet there is still very limited awareness of their damaging impact on planetary health. And even though many people are aware of the negative effects of these foods on human health, discussion of future approaches concerning ultra-processed foods is missing from international development agendas.



“The very rapid rise of ultra-processed foods in human diets will continue to place pressure on the diversity of plant species available for human consumption," said the study authors.&nbsp;



“Future global food systems fora, biodiversity conventions and climate change conferences need to highlight the destruction of agrobiodiversity caused by ultra-processed foods, and to agree on policies and actions designed to slow and reverse this disaster."



“Relevant policy makers at all levels, researchers, professional and civil society organizations, and citizen action groups, need to be part of this process.”



---



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

Popular foods are bad for humans and our planet

There are more than 7,000 different plant species on Earth...

Distant,Planet,System,In,Space,3d,Rendering,Elements,Of,This

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a> has assessed the planetary context in which the detection of methane in an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/nasa-confirms-the-discovery-of-over-5000-planets/">exoplanet</a>’s atmosphere could be considered a compelling “biosignature,” or sign of life. According to the scientists, the presence of methane is one of the few potential signs of biological activity that could readily be detected by the newly developed <a href="https://jwst.nasa.gov/">James Webb Space Telescope</a> (JWST), which will begin astronomical observations this year.



“Oxygen is often talked about as one of the best biosignatures, but it’s probably going to be hard to detect with JWST,” explained study lead author Maggie Thompson, a doctoral student in Astrophysics at UC Santa Cruz.



Together with her colleagues, Thompson has constructed an in-depth assessment of the planetary conditions needed for methane to be considered a reliable biosignature. “We wanted to provide a framework for interpreting observations, so if we see a rocky planet with methane, we know what other observations are needed for it to be a persuasive biosignature,”&nbsp;she said.



Non-biological sources of methane include volcanoes, comet or asteroid impacts, and reactions in mid-ocean ridges, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deep-sea-vents-are-favorable-to-the-formation-of-life/">hydrothermal vents</a>, or tectonic subduction zones. However, fluctuations in the concentrations of methane could point towards a biological source that would steadily replenish this gas in order to maintain high atmospheric levels.



“If you detect a lot of methane on a rocky planet, you typically need a massive source to explain that,” said study co-author Joshua Krissansen-Totton, a postdoctoral fellow at UC Santa Cruz. “We know biological activity creates large amounts of methane on Earth, and probably did on the early Earth as well because making methane is a fairly easy thing to do metabolically.”



According to the scientists, for a rocky planet orbiting a sun-like star, atmospheric methane is likely to be considered a sign of life if the atmosphere also contains carbon dioxide, methane is more abundant than carbon monoxide, and the planet is not covered by massive amounts of water.



“One molecule is not going to give you the answer - you have to take into account the planet’s full context. Methane is one piece of the puzzle, but to determine if there is life on a planet you have to consider its geochemistry, how it’s interacting with its star, and the many processes that can affect a planet’s atmosphere on geologic timescales,” concluded Thompson.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2117933119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



---



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

Methane in a planet’s atmosphere could be a sign of life

A new study led by the University of California, Santa...

According to a recent study led by the <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> (OSU), at least hundreds of so-far unidentified mammal species are hiding in plain sight around the world. Most of them are probably small bodied creatures - such as bats, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/voles-cut-grass-to-reduce-their-predation-risk/">rodents</a>, shrews, or moles - closely resembling known species.



“Small, subtle differences in appearance are harder to notice when you’re looking at a tiny animal that weighs 10 grams than when you’re looking at something that is human-sized,” said study co-author Bryan Carstens, a professor of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology at OSU. “You can’t tell they are different species unless you do a genetic analysis.”



Professor Carstens and his team used a supercomputer and machine-learning techniques to analyze millions of publicly available gene sequences from 4,310 mammal species, together with a vast amount of data on where the animals live, their life histories, and other relevant information. This method allowed them to build a predictive model that could reliably identify the taxa of mammals that are likely to contain hidden species.



Based on this analysis, a conservative estimate would be that there are hundreds of species of mammals worldwide that have not yet been identified, most likely in the families of small-bodied animals, such as bats and rodents. The model also predicted these hidden species to have a wide geographic range with high variability in temperature and precipitation.



While many of them are most likely to occur in tropical rain forests (where most mammal species live), scientists have argued that some as yet unidentified mammals could live in the United States too. In a previous <a href="https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/67/5/756/4866059?login=false">study</a>, for instance, Professor Carstens and his colleagues have shown that the little brown bat, found in much of North America, is in fact five different species.



According to the researchers, discovering new species is crucial for conservation efforts. “That knowledge is important to people who are doing conservation work. We can’t protect a species if we don’t know that it exists.&nbsp;As soon as we name something as a species, that matters in a lot of legal and other ways,” Professor Carstens explained.



Based on the results of the study, the researchers estimate that about 80 percent of the world’s mammal species have already been identified. “The shocking thing is that mammals are very well described compared to beetles or ants or other types of animals. We know a lot more about mammals than many other animals because they tend to be larger and are more closely related to humans, which makes them more interesting to us,” Professor Carstens concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2103400119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



---



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

Hundreds of new mammal species may be hidden in plain sight

According to a recent study led by the Ohio State...

Tawny crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva) are native to South America but have become an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-species-can-hitchhike-on-ocean-plastic/">invasive pest</a> in the US. The first record of tawny crazy ants in this country was from Brownsville, Texas, in 1938, and since then the species has spread to all states on the Gulf Coast of the US. This invader occurs in colonies that stretch to enormous numbers of individuals and it causes destruction to local insect communities and dismay to residents in urban areas where it has become established.&nbsp;



Called “crazy” because of its rapid and unpredictable movements, this species of ant nests in almost any hole, nook or cranny it can find. In urban areas, tawny crazy ants often nest in electrical equipment, such as pump units, electrical distribution boxes or fuse breaker boxes. This can cause short circuits and the failure of the electrical equipment. The ants displace local ants and other insect species, and are not easily treated with pesticides. Each colony has multiple queens so it is almost impossible to eradicate an entire colony.&nbsp;



Scientists at the University of Texas, Austin, have been studying tawny crazy ants over the past few years and have made an encouraging discovery. They have found that a naturally occurring fungus parasitizes these ants and can lead to the decrease or total demise of ant populations. The findings of their study are published today in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.



“I think it has a lot of potential for the protection of sensitive habitats with endangered species or areas of high conservation value,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://cns.utexas.edu/component/cobalt/item/7-integrative-biology/1592-lebrun-ed?Itemid=349">Edward LeBrun</a>, a research scientist with the Texas Invasive Species Research Program at&nbsp;<a href="https://bfl.utexas.edu/">Brackenridge Field Laboratory</a>&nbsp;and lead author of the study.



The ants have raised alarm across the southeastern US in the past 20 years, as they have spread from state to state. They are carried inadvertently by animals, vehicles and humans – for example in trash and on plants that are translocated from one site to another. They totally overwhelm local insect species and have also been known to seek moisture in the eyes of mammals and birds.



LeBrun and colleague Lawrence Gilbert, also from Brackenridge Field Laboratory, collected some tawny crazy ants from Florida, about eight years ago, and they noticed that some of them had abdomens swollen with fat. When they looked inside the ants, they found spores from a microsporidian fungal pathogen, and identified a species of this type of parasite that was new to science. Microsporidian pathogens commonly hijack an insect’s fat cells and turn them into spore factories for their own benefit.&nbsp;



Although the researchers did not know where the pathogen had come from, or whether it was perhaps indigenous in the ants’ home range in South America, they began to notice that ants infected with the fungus occurred at sites across Texas. Observing 15 local populations for eight years, the team found that every population that harbored the pathogen declined – and 62 percent of these populations disappeared entirely.



This meant that the researchers had inadvertently uncovered a natural control method for keeping populations of tawny crazy ants in check. They wondered whether they could use the pathogen to induce population decrease in areas where the ants were a pest or were destroying sensitive habitats.&nbsp;



“This doesn’t mean crazy ants will disappear,” LeBrun said. “It’s impossible to predict how long it will take for the lightning bolt to strike and the pathogen to infect any one crazy ant population. But it’s a big relief because it means these populations appear to have a lifespan.”



“You don’t expect a pathogen to lead to the extinction of a population. An infected population normally goes through boom-and-bust cycles as the frequency of infection waxes and wanes.”



The researchers got a chance to test out the use of the fungal pathogen when LeBrun got a call from Estero Llano Grande State Park in Weslaco, Texas, in 2016. The park had an infestation of tawny crazy ants and was losing its insects, scorpions, snakes, lizards and birds to the invader species. Even baby rabbits were being blinded in their nests by swarms of acid-spewing ants seeking the moisture in their eyes.



“They had a crazy ant infestation, and it was apocalyptic, rivers of ants going up and down every tree,” said LeBrun. “I wasn’t really ready to start this as an experimental process, but it’s like, OK, let’s just give it a go.”



The team used crazy ants that they had collected from other sites and that were already infected with the microsporidian pathogen. They introduced nest boxes of infected ants near to nesting sites of ants resident in the state park, hoping that the two populations would mix and the infected ants would carry the pathogen into the nests of the resident ants. The researchers placed hot dogs around the exit chambers to attract the local ants and merge the two populations.&nbsp;



The experiment worked spectacularly. In the first year, the disease spread to the entire crazy ant population in Estero. And within two years, crazy ant numbers crashed. Now, they are nonexistent and native species are returning to the area. The researchers have since eradicated a second crazy ant population in this way at another site in the area of Convict Hill in Austin.



The researchers do not know exactly why the ant colonies collapse and theorize that the pathogen may shorten the lifespan of worker ants, meaning that the colony struggles to collect enough food to survive through winter. Whatever the reason, the fungus seems to infect only the crazy ants, leaving other, native species of ants and other insects unharmed.



The team plans to test their new biocontrol approach this spring in other sensitive Texas habitats that are infested with crazy ants.



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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

Crazy ants carry the key to their own population control

Tawny crazy ants (Nylanderia fulva) are native to South America...

A new study from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a> reveals that red-backed salamanders will be limited in their ability to adjust to climate warming in eastern North America in the coming decades. According to the researchers, the salamanders' range will likely shift northward as temperatures rise.&nbsp;



Red-backed salamanders live in forests from Quebec south to North Carolina, and west to Missouri and Minnesota. For the investigation, the experts developed a new method to measure the metabolic rate of red-backed salamanders from different regions. They wanted to analyze how much more energy the salamanders would require to survive as temperatures rise.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Salamanders have evolved strategies to stay cool and preserve energy, such as burrowing under rocks and logs, explained study co-author Professor David Miller. But if the small amphibians must hide for extended periods to stay cool, they are not foraging or eating enough.&nbsp;



“Because these salamanders are ectotherms, cold-blooded animals, essentially what happens is when it is cold, they quit burning energy - as long as they don't freeze, they can go long periods without food,” said Professor Miller. “Conversely, in the summer, when it's really warm, their body temperature is elevated, and that raises how much energy they consume. So, during the warmest part of the year, if they’re not eating, they’re experiencing an energy deficit.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



Depending on greenhouse gas emissions, the global climate is very likely to warm by 2.16 to 3.42 degrees Fahrenheit from now to 2040, according to the United Nations. That will affect red-backed salamanders, said Miller, and may result in at least the southern end of their range moving northward.&nbsp;



“Ectotherms’ fitness is strongly governed by thermal conditions. Temperature directly impacts their ecology. Thermal conditions affect energy acquisition and allocation," explained Professor Miller.&nbsp;



Lead researcher David Muñoz designed an innovative study to assess the energy expenditure of red-backed salamanders. The study was also designed to determine whether the salamanders' metabolic rates varied in the warmer and cooler parts of their range.



The team collected salamanders from four populations near Richmond, Virginia; Millmont, Pennsylvania; Ithaca, New York; and Turners Falls, Massachusetts. The researchers captured 18 - 20 juveniles and 18 - 20 adult male salamanders at each site to look for life-stage differences.



Muñoz modified small refrigerators to serve as thermal chambers to subject the salamanders to warmer conditions. “Then the salamanders were placed in a small tube, and we measured how much oxygen was consumed by the salamander over two hours and how much carbon dioxide it emitted,” explained Muñoz. “We repeated the process multiple times, at different temperatures.”



The study revealed that salamanders from warmer climates lowered their metabolic rates to adjust to summer temperatures. This may act as an energy-saving mechanism during the warmest time of the year, the researchers suggested, adding that no such adjustability was evident in populations from cooler climates. They noted that both juvenile and adult salamanders exhibited metabolic “plasticity."



Although some populations responded to historic climate thermal cues, said Professor Miller, no populations showed adjusted metabolic rate responses sufficient to deal with projected future climate temperatures, indicating there are constraints on salamanders’ responses to climate change.



According to Professor Miller, the research is important because predicted changes in global temperature are expected to increase extinction risk for ectotherms such as red-backed salamanders, primarily through increased metabolic rates. “We expect that warming will impact the energy budgets of salamanders, potentially affecting individual growth and reproductive success."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20457758">Ecology and Evolution</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

Red-backed salamanders will struggle to adapt to climate warming

A new study from Penn State reveals that red-backed salamanders...

The rate of biodiversity loss continues to accelerate, and many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/conservation-efforts-must-cross-borders-to-save-endangered-species/">conservation</a> experts are turning to the reintroduction of captive-bred animals as one potential solution to this growing crisis. In a new study from the <a href="https://www.ub.edu/web/portal/en/">University of Barcelona</a>, researchers investigated the outcome of a green turtle reintroduction program that began 50 years ago in the Cayman Islands.



The analysis confirmed that the reintroduction program has been successful in establishing new green turtle populations throughout the Cayman Islands. The experts also determined that reintroduction from a captive population did not affect the health of the first generation of wild turtles.&nbsp;



According to the study authors, these conclusions “show that where climate change undermines species survival, assisted colonisations could possibly be used as a conservation measure. However, decision-making must include thorough cost-benefit analyses, risk assessments, and long term scientific monitoring.”



The green turtle migratory species that is endangered worldwide. In the Cayman Islands, the green turtle population was nearly extinct by the mid-20th century, primarily due to over-harvesting.



In 1968, the Cayman Turtle Conservation and Education Centre was established in Grand Cayman. The program has helped to increase the number of nesting females over the last twenty years. Today, there is a population of between 100 and 150 adult breeding females.



The captive green turtles that were reintroduced to the Cayman Islands originated from turtles and eggs collected from different populations in the Atlantic.&nbsp;



“Therefore, the first breeding individuals of the farm have genetically diverse origins, which is seen in the study," noted study co-author Carlos Carreras.&nbsp;



Study co-author Marta Pascual added that it is important to consider the genetic origins of the samples used for captive breeding in any species in order to avoid associated negative effects. "Luckily, these negative phenomena were not seen in the first generations, but we cannot rule out the option of them appearing in upcoming generations," said Pascual.



Genetic analyses revealed that turtle populations on two islands are predominantly the result of the reintroduction project. The experts found that 79.4 percent of the turtles in Little Cayman and 90.3 percent of those in Grand Cayman were related to the adults released through the program. The researchers also determined that populations diverged quickly.&nbsp;



“The random effects of the genetic drift led to the genetic differentiation of the populations, despite having originated with the same reintroduction program. Also, we did not detect any reintroduction-related adverse effect in the biological efficiency of the individuals in the new populations," said the study authors.&nbsp;



The researchers emphasized that these results were obtained with the first generation of wild offspring. With this in mind, genetic analyses should be undertaken again in the future since the harmful effects of inbreeding can appear in future generations, the experts concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</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

Reintroduction of green turtles has been a success in the Cayman Islands

The rate of biodiversity loss continues to accelerate, and many...

In Antarctica, the ice cover gradually expands from March to October each year, increasing six-fold. Afterwards, the ice retreats at a very fast pace, most dramatically in December, when there is constant daylight. Although this pattern has puzzled scientists for years, a new study led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> (UW) has found that, unlike other aspects of its behavior, in this case <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-antarctic-sea-ice-has-fluctuated-over-the-past-century/">Antarctic sea ice</a> is just following basic rules of physics. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“In spite of the puzzling longer-term trends and the large year-to-year variations in Antarctic sea ice, the seasonal cycle is really consistent, always showing this fast retreat relative to slow growth,” said study lead author Lettie Roach, a former postdoctoral fellow at UW and currently a polar climate scientist at <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a>. “Given how complex our climate system is, I was surprised that the rapid seasonal retreat of Antarctic sea ice could be explained with such a simple mechanism.”



Previous studies have argued that wind patterns and warm ocean waters may be responsible for the asymmetry in Antarctica’s seasonal sea ice cycle. However, Dr. Roach and her colleagues have shown that, similarly to a hot summer day that reaches its maximum temperatures in late afternoon, an Antarctic summer hits peak melting power in midsummer, greatly accelerating ice loss, while exhibiting less changes in temperature and ice levels when solar input is low during the rest of the year.



“I think because we usually expect Antarctic sea ice to be puzzling, previous studies assumed that the rapid seasonal retreat of Antarctic sea ice was also unexpected - in contrast to the Arctic, where the seasons of ice advance and retreat are more similar,” explained Roach.&nbsp;



“Our results show that the seasonal cycle in Antarctic sea ice can be explained using very simple physics. In terms of the seasonal cycle, Antarctic sea ice is behaving as we should expect, and it is the Arctic seasonal cycle that is more mysterious.” According to Dr. Roach, since Antarctica’s geography is simple, with a polar continent surrounded by ocean, this aspect of its sea ice is more straightforward.



“We know the Southern Ocean plays an important role in Earth’s climate. Being able to explain this key feature of Antarctic sea ice that standard textbooks have had wrong, and showing that the models are reproducing it correctly, is a step toward understanding this system and predicting future changes,” concluded study co-author&nbsp;Cecilia Bitz, a professor of Atmospheric Sciences at UW.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00913-6">Nature Geoscience</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

Rapid sea ice retreat can be explained with simple physics

In Antarctica, the ice cover gradually expands from March to...

Zamia pseudoparasitica is an interesting plant, to say the least. Resembling a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-from-jamaica-transmit-diseases-to-florida-palm-trees/">palm</a> tree with short cones, this cycad is a relative of Zamias that existed 68.3 million years ago, when the dinosaurs were still around.&nbsp;



Today, Zamia pseudoparasitica is the only member of its family in the world that does not live on the ground. Instead, it hangs onto tree branches by its roots about 10 to 20 meters up in the air. Zamia pseudoparasitica is found exclusively in the montane cloud forests of western Panama.



A new study from the <a href="https://stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a> is beginning to unravel the mystery of Zamia pseudoparasitica, providing new clues about the plant's history and how it persists in the forest canopy.&nbsp;



The study began a few years ago - when STRI scientist Claudio Monteza and Senacyt-STRI intern and biologist Lilisbeth Rodríguez ran into each other at the Smithsonian research station on Barro Colorado Island in the Panama Canal.&nbsp;



Rodríguez told Monteza about a research project she was conducting with Zamia pseudoparasitica under the supervision of Professor Juan Carlos Villarreal, a biologist from Laval University in Canada, and Kristin Saltonstall, an STRI staff scientist in Panama.



“My goal was to collect samples from different species of Zamias in the country,” said Rodríguez. "These samples would later be analyzed in the laboratory to find out what species of fungi and bacteria grow inside their leaves."



Professor Villarreal explained that no one knew how this plant’s seeds were dispersed - it was still a mystery. To investigate, the researchers placed camera traps up in the trees to examine what mammal species interacted with the Zamia.



The traps were positioned in trees across three three protected areas where Zamia pseudoparasitica grows, including the Palo Seco Protected Forest, the Santa Fe National Park and the Omar Torrijos Herrera National Park in El Copé. In March, 2020, shortly before pandemic lockdowns began, the researchers collected the camera traps.



The footage may explain how Z. pseudoparasitica disperses in the trees and not on the ground like other Zamias. The experts found that seven different mammals visited tree branches where the plants were growing. Some of the animals did not pay attention to the Zamias. Capuchin monkeys, opossums and kinkajous inspected the cones, and sometimes licked the plants, but did not take the seeds.



Only one animal was observed at all three sites - the northern olingo, a nocturnal tree-dwelling mammal that is active high in the canopy and feeds primarily on fruit. These animals were seen inspecting and biting the cones of Z. pseudoparasitica when they were still closed and immature. Once the seeds were opened, the olingos collected up to four seeds at a time.



"It could be that the olingos are taking the seeds to what would be their den or perhaps to a seed bank," explained Monteza. "If they are, which we don't yet know for sure, it would help to explain why this is the only Zamia species that lives in the forest canopy."



According to the researchers, this means that if the seeds are being stored in the canopy by olingos, they might end up in favorable places for germination.



“The montane forests of western Panama are very unique, filled with many species that aren’t found anywhere else,” said Kristin Saltonstall, co-supervisor of the project. “It’s exciting to document this interaction between such a special plant and an animal that is also poorly understood.”



“Z. pseudoparasitica is a true epiphyte; that is to say, it spends its entire life in the forest canopy,” said Monteza. “How it persists there is a mystery that perhaps we will begin to solve with these initial findings. It's exciting because we can continue to the next phase by collecting more data; for example, it occurs to us that we can mark the seeds with bioluminescence, wait for the olingos to take them away and then search for the seeds at night.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20457758">Ecology and Evolution</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

Solving the mystery of how Zamias live in the forest canopy

Zamia pseudoparasitica is an interesting plant, to say the least....

For long-term missions to Mars, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/special-lettuce-could-protect-astronauts-from-bone-loss/">astronauts</a> will need to find ways to produce vital supplies such as oxygen, water, and fuel on site, since it would be far too expensive to bring them from Earth. A research team from the Spanish technological center <a href="https://www.tekniker.es/en/">Tekniker</a> is currently working in collaboration with the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> (ESA) on an innovative project that attempts to use sunlight to produce fuel from astronauts’ wastewater.



“We aim to make the first reactor to produce space propellant on Mars using the planet’s air, which is 95 percent carbon dioxide. The reactor will be powered by sunlight, and astronauts’ greywater will be used to help in the production of the propellant,” explained Borja Pozo Larrocha, a Telecommunication engineer at Tekniker.



By relying on high-efficiency catalytic materials, this photoelectrochemical (PEC) system will aim to produce hydrocarbons such as methane, as well as carbon monoxide or alcohols, from an innovative combination of atmospheric carbon dioxide and wastewater. According to the scientists, this process will also serve as a recycling method, by detoxifying the wastewater through the oxidation of its organic content.



“Bringing all these concepts and technologies together to create an efficient and operational system is a challenge, but thanks to this project Europe will have a unique system to provide other space agencies and companies, as well as reduce its dependence on technology from other space agencies,”&nbsp;said Dr. Pozo Larrocha.



“The outcome of this activity could provide ESA with valuable input on the production of propellant on Mars or to power remote sites like ground stations on Earth. It could also potentially provide input on how to decarbonize our own atmosphere,” added Jean-Christophe Berton, the ESA technical officer for the project.



For instance, this technology could also be applied in order to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in a variety of land-based industries and sectors, thus potentially contributing to climate change mitigation. In addition, it could be employed to develop similar new products which reuse wastewater produced by companies or personal means of transportation such as motorhomes or boats.



A description of the project can be found <a href="https://ideas.esa.int/servlet/hype/IMT?userAction=Browse&amp;templateName=&amp;documentId=cafe54f03c3a929f70ee2976c821a4ea">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

Study aims to produce fuel from astronauts’ wastewater

For long-term missions to Mars, astronauts will need to find...

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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



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.

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



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.

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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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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

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://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



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.

Wetlands are a major source of methane emissions

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

[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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

[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



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

How 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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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