A new study from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> reveals what is going on inside of your <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-brain-interactions-have-an-influence-on-diseases/">brain</a> when you get lost in a fictional fantasy. The experts discovered that the more immersed we become in the lives of our favorite characters of fiction, the more our brain activity reflects how much we identify with them.
&#8220;When they think about a favorite fictional character, it appears similar in one part of the brain as when they are thinking about themselves,&#8221; said study lead author Timothy Broom.
The research was focused on self-described fans of the HBO series &#8220;Game of Thrones.&#8221; The individuals were instructed to think about themselves, nine of their friends, and nine characters from the drama series. The participants also reported on which character they felt closest to and liked the most.
According to Broom, Game of Thrones was ideal for this study because it attracted a devoted fan base and the large cast presented a variety of characters that people could become attached to.
One of the key findings involved participants who scored highest on &#8220;trait identification.&#8221; These individuals agreed most strongly with statements like &#8220;I really get involved in the feelings of the characters in a novel.&#8221;
&#8220;People who are high in trait identification not only get absorbed into a story, they also are really absorbed into a particular character,&#8221; said Broom. &#8220;They report matching the thoughts of the character, they are thinking what the character is thinking, they are feeling what the character is feeling. They are inhabiting the role of that character.&#8221;
The researchers used an fMRI machine to measure activity in various parts of the brain through small changes in blood flow. As the participants&#8217; brains were scanned, they were evaluating themselves, their friends, and Game of Thrones characters. 
A part of the brain called the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vMPFC) is known to show increased activity when people think about themselves and, to a lesser extent, when they think about close friends.
While in the fMRI, the individuals were shown a series of names &#8211; including themselves, friends, or characters &#8211; along with a trait, such as lonely, sad, trustworthy, or smart. The participants simply said &#8220;yes&#8221; or &#8220;no&#8221; to imply whether the trait fit the person.
As expected, the vMPFC was most active when people were evaluating themselves, less active when they evaluated friends, and least active when they evaluated characters from Game of Thrones.
However, among those who were high in trait identification, the vMPFC was more active when they thought about the fictional characters than it was for participants who identified less with the characters. This region of the brain was particularly active when the individuals evaluated the character they identified with the most.
Study co-author Dylan Wanger said the findings help explain how fiction can have such a big impact on some people.
&#8220;For some people, fiction is a chance to take on new identities, to see worlds though others&#8217; eyes and return from those experiences changed,&#8221; said Wagner.
&#8220;What previous studies have found is that when people experience stories as if they were one of the characters, a connection is made with that character, and the character becomes intwined with the self. In our study, we see evidence of that in their brains.&#8221;
The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/scan">Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience</a>.
&#8211;&#8212;
By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What happens in your brain while you're lost in fiction

Neuroscientists control signal transmissions and reception in an attempt at better understanding the function of the brain. Neurotransmitters released by vesicles through exocytosis mediate communication between <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-does-the-resting-brain-consume-so-much-energy/">neurons</a> and glial cells. Because of this, it may be possible to control brain circuits by regulating exocytosis and thus gain a deeper understanding of brain function.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Despite the potential, actually controlling brain function in practice has been challenging for scientists. An indirect approach is controlling the membrane potential of cells. Unfortunately, controlling the membrane potential necessitates changing the acidity of the surrounding environment or possibly causing neurons to misfire. This method is also not useful for cells which don’t respond to membrane potential changes, including glial cells.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



To overcome this problem, a team of South Korean scientists led by C. Justin Lee, director of the Center for Cognition and Sociality within the Institute for Basic Science (IBS), and Professor Heo Won Do at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) developed Opto-vTrap. The technology uses a system controlled by light to inhibit and trap vesicles from being released from brain cells.&nbsp;



The system can be used for differing types of brain cells, including those that are not sensitive to membrane potential changes, such as glial cells. Most importantly of all, the inhibition caused by the system is temporary, which is very important for neuroscience research.



"Since Opto-vTrap can be used in various cell types, it is expected to be helpful in various fields of brain science research," said Professor Heo. "We plan to conduct a study to figure out the spatiotemporal brain functions in various brain cell types in a specific environment using Opto-vTrap technology.”



Lee explained how this research may be used to improve human lives and research medical disorders.



“The usability of Opto-vTrap can extend not only to neuroscience but also to our lives. Opto-vTrap will contribute not only to elucidate brain circuit mapping but also epilepsy treatment, muscle spasm treatment, and skin tissue expansion technologies.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/neuron/home">Neuron</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Can scientists control the brain with light?

Neuroscientists control signal transmissions and reception in an attempt at...

Climate change is making life more challenging for the Antarctic fur seal, including a limited supply of krill during the summer months. As a result, female Antarctic fur seals have less reproductive success.



Furthermore, leopard seals have become a bigger threat to fur seal pups in areas where there is a lower abundance of penguins, which are their main prey.&nbsp;



Despite these challenges for Antarctic fur seals in the summer months, little is known about how climate change may impact them in the winter. A team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.ub.edu/web/portal/en/">University of Barcelona</a> set out to investigate.



The Antarctic fur seal is found exclusively in the Southern Ocean, and feeds mainly on krill. The team conducted the research during the austral summer season of 2019 in the Antarctic research station Gabriel de Castilla on Deception Island within the Southern Shetland Islands.&nbsp;



"Little is known about the winter habitat of male Antarctic fur seals and no habitat suitability model has been developed for them. The Antarctic fur seal is often qualified as ice-tolerant, but not ice-dependent, and some authors have characterized adult males as ice-free oceanic foragers," wrote the study authors.



"Antarctic fur seals are highly sexually dimorphic, and differences between sexes in winter habitat use could be related to differences in body mass, which in turn is a major determinant of their thermoregulatory skills and diving performance."&nbsp;



"The study of juvenile and immature males, whose body mass is in between that of adult females and adult males, can be particularly useful to improve our understanding of habitat use by male Antarctic fur seals in winter."



The researchers used satellite tracking to monitor juvenile and immature males, which represent more than the 80 percent of the seals that remain in Antarctic waters during winter.&nbsp;



Females leave Antarctica during this period when the breeding season is over. They move to warmer areas near South America, while the male seals stay behind in Antarctica.



"Males spend most of the winter time in the Antarctic Ocean, without going to the mainland, and they preferentially select areas of less than 1,000 meters deep, located about 200 kilometers from the ice borders and with high levels of chlorophyll and a surface temperature below 2ºC," explained study co-author Lluís Cardona, director of the Antarctic research project Flexseal.



"This coincides with the favorite habitat of the Antarctic krill, the main prey of these otariids. Due to the seasonal dynamics of ice, the krill-friendly habitat moves north during winter and so do the fur seals. As winter progresses, krill migrate deeper into the water and males dive deeper to eat, sometimes up to 180 meters deep."



According to the researchers, the differences in habitats during the austral winter may explain the sexual dimorphism of the species. Adult females weigh about 20 to 50 kg, and adult males weigh up to 140 kg. Even the juvenile males are larger than females. 



"An increased body mass involves more capacity to store oxygen, which allows adult males to dive deeper when searching for food," said Cardona.



The experts noted that the most important reproductive population of the Antarctic fur seal is in the South Georgia islands, where the greatest abundance of krill has been available in the summer over the last two decades.&nbsp;



"When this food source decreases, fur seals increase their fish intake but the reproductive success decreases. Therefore, the species can survive without krill but the population of the Antarctic fur seal is less abundant, like in the Kerguelen Islands."



The climate crisis will continue to alter the ecosystems of the Antarctic peninsula and the Southern Ocean. Both male and female fur seals will be increasingly exposed to these environmental changes.&nbsp;



"To adapt to the external changes, the colonies of the Antarctic fur seal should move south across the Antarctic peninsula, but this is an extremely slow process," said Cardona.



"In the future, we will need to manage properly the krill fishing activities in these areas, and this will require to consider not only the female consumption during summer but also the consumption associated with males of all ages during the four seasons of the year," concludes the researcher.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</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

Antarctic fur seals are struggling in a warmer climate

Climate change is making life more challenging for the Antarctic...

A daily dose of yogurt can help lower blood pressure, particularly among individuals with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/long-term-pollution-exposure-linked-to-hypertension/">hypertension</a>, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a>. 



More than one billion people suffer from hypertension, or high blood pressure. These individuals have a greater risk of heart attack, stroke, and cardiovascular diseases, which are the leading cause of death worldwide. Every 36 seconds, someone in the United States dies from cardiovascular disease.



Yogurt is known to improve digestive health, boost the immune system, and help with weight management. The current study explores the health benefits of yogurt specifically for individuals at a high risk of cardiovascular disease.



"Associations between fermented dairy products and blood pressure are unclear. The current study therefore examined the association between yogurt and blood pressure in hypertensive and non-hypertensive individuals," explained the study authors.&nbsp;



In collaboration with experts at the University of Maine, the researchers investigated the relationship between yogurt intake, blood pressure and cardiovascular risk factors. They found that for individuals with hypertension, yogurt is associated with lower blood pressure.



Study co-author Dr. Alexandra Wade said the research provides new evidence that connects yogurt with positive blood pressure outcomes for hypertensive people.



“High blood pressure is the number one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, so it’s important that we continue to find ways to reduce and regulate it,” explained Dr. Wade.



“Dairy foods, especially yogurt, may be capable of reducing blood pressure. This is because dairy foods contain a range of micronutrients, including calcium, magnesium and potassium, all of which are involved in the regulation of blood pressure."



“Yogurt is especially interesting because it also contains bacteria that promote the release of proteins which lowers blood pressure."



“This study showed for people with elevated blood pressure, even small amounts of yogurt were associated with lower blood pressure."



“And for those who consumed yogurt regularly, the results were even stronger, with blood pressure readings nearly seven points lower than those who did not consume yogurt.”



According to the researchers, future observational and intervention studies should continue to focus on at-risk individuals to examine the potential benefits of yogurt.



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/journal/international-dairy-journal">International Dairy Journal</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

Yogurt is a powerful weapon against high blood pressure

A daily dose of yogurt can help lower blood pressure,...

In recent decades, scientists have extensively explored the negative effects of stress on human health and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/solitude-increased-well-being-during-the-pandemic/" data-type="news" data-id="1897716">well-being</a>. Prolonged stress increases the risk of heart disease, mood disorders, diabetes, addiction, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Furthermore, it disrupts our ability to think clearly and regulate our emotions. 



Now, a study led by <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a> has found that stress can also influence the aging process by interacting with our “epigenetic clock,” or the changes in DNA that occur at different times in different people as they grow older.&nbsp;



In order to investigate the relationship between chronic stress and aging, the scientists enrolled 444 people between the ages of 19 and 50. The individuals provided blood samples that were used to evaluate the age-related chemical changes captured by a tool called “GrimAge” (which was built to assess the state of particular individuals’ life’s clocks). The participants also answered questions regarding their stress levels and psychological resilience.



The researchers found that, even after accounting for behavioral and demographic factors such as body mass index, diets, smoking, race, or income levels, participants who scored higher on measures related to prolonged stress showed accelerated aging markers and physiological changes such as increased insulin resistance.



However, subjects who scored high on two psychological resilience measures (emotion regulation and self-control) appeared to be more resilient to the effects of stress on aging and insulin resistance.



“These results support the popular notion that stress makes us age faster, but they also suggest a promising way to possibly minimize these adverse consequences of stress through strengthening emotion regulation and self-control,” said study lead author Zachary Harvanek, a resident in the Yale Medical School’s <a href="https://medicine.yale.edu/psychiatry/">Department of Psychiatry</a>.



Thus, the more psychologically resilient a person is, the more chances they have to live a longer and healthier life. “We all like to feel like we have some agency over our fate,” said study senior author Rajita Sinha, a professor of Psychiatry and Neuroscience at Yale. “So it is a cool thing to reinforce in people’s minds that we should make an investment in our psychological health.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41398-021-01735-7">Transactional Psychiatry</a>.



---



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

Stress makes life’s clock tick faster

In recent decades, scientists have extensively explored the negative effects...

Beautiful,Landscape,With,Rocky,Mountains,And,Famous,Moraine,Lake,In

A new study published in Nature Communications has found that retreating glaciers in the Pacific mountains of North America could potentially create approximately 6,150 kilometers of new Pacific salmon <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-pandas-have-the-perfect-camouflage-for-their-natural-habitat/" data-type="news" data-id="1897600">habitat</a> by the end of the century.



By modelling glacier retreat under different climate change scenarios, a research team led by <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/">Simon Fraser University</a>, Canada and <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a>, UK, discovered that, under a moderate temperature increase, the glacier retreat could create low-gradient streams (with no more than a 10 percent incline) connected to the ocean, which would be perfect habitats for salmon.&nbsp;



“We predict that most of the emerging salmon habitat will occur in Alaska and the transboundary region, at the British Columbia‒Alaska border, where large coastal glaciers still exist. The Gulf of Alaska sub-region is predicted to see the most gains—a 27 percent increase in salmon-accessible habitat by 2100,” said study lead author Dr. Kara Pitman, a spatial analyst at Simon Fraser University.



“Once conditions stabilize in the newly-formed streams, salmon can colonize these areas quite quickly. It’s a common misconception that all salmon return home to the streams they were born in. Most do, but some individuals will stray - migrating into new streams to spawn and, if conditions are favorable, the population can increase rapidly.”



According to study co-author Alexander Milner, a professor of River Ecosystems at the University of Birmingham who studied glacial retreat and salmon populations in southeast Alaska for over 30 years, after glacial retreat creates favorable spawning habitats, colonization by salmon can occur relatively quickly.



“For example, Stonefly Creek was colonized within 10 years by pink salmon that grew rapidly to more than 5,000 spawners,” he said. “Other species also colonized, including&nbsp;Coho and Sockeye&nbsp;salmon, especially where a lake is associated with the stream.”



While these newly created habitats are a positive development for salmon in some locations, the scientists warn that, through warming rivers, changes in stream flows, and poor ocean conditions, climate change still poses significant dangers for many salmon populations.



“Climate change means we increasingly need to look to the future. We can’t just protect current-day habitat for species but need to consider what habitats they might rely on in the future,” Dr. Pitman 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

Melting glaciers will create large habitats for Pacific salmon

A new study published in Nature Communications has found that...

North,American,Porcupine,Erethizon,Dorsatum,In,Water,In,Teslin,,Yukon,

Levee failure and the ensuing flooding threatens both lives as well as economic livelihoods. Stopping such levee breaches is a goal of hydraulic engineering and research.&nbsp;A new study published in the AGU journal <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19447973">Water Resources Research</a> has found that the presence of burrowing animals can increase the risk of levee failure.&nbsp;



“River flooding is a natural phenomenon with no adverse effects when controlled, but when a levee breach occurs it becomes especially threatening because we have concentrated outflows from the river to populated floodplains,” said study lead author Matteo Balisrocchi, a hydraulic engineer at the University of Modena.



Burrowing animals often find good substrates for their homes in the disturbed dirt surfaces of levees, creating a risk to the structure itself. Until recently, little was known about the amount of damage the burrows caused to levees.&nbsp;



“While there is considerable concern about these types impacts from burrowing animals, there is a lack of quantitative information and evidence," said Gemma Harvey, a physical geographer at Queen Mary University of London, who was not involved in the study.&nbsp;



"(This research) provides a new modeling approach and quantitative data on levee failure probability that helps us to understand the importance of these impacts.”



The research showed that burrows or dens in the middle of a levee are more of a threat than those at the bottom of the levee, near the water’s surface. With an increase in the burrows elevation, so increases the width of area in the levee that’s impacted.&nbsp;



This means that in Northern Italy, where the research was carried out, crested porcupine and badger burrows are more of a threat to levee stability than river nutria burrows.&nbsp;



It must be noted however, that wildlife deserves protection and is afforded such under Italian law. Crested porcupines for one are protected in Italy. Despite the potential damage, they are allowed to burrow in levees.&nbsp;



“The burrowing activities of animals make many positive contributions to landscapes and ecosystems, including contributions to nutrient cycling and pollution remediation," said Harvey.&nbsp;



"But in certain cases, such as invasive species present in high numbers, or in this case where burrowing interacts directly with flood defense infrastructure such as riverbanks, levees and flood walls, burrowing can create or contribute to environmental hazards.”



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Burrowing animals increase the risk of levee failure

Levee failure and the ensuing flooding threatens both lives as...

Redpolls are a type of winter <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/female-finches-can-afford-to-be-picky-when-selecting-a-mate/">finch</a> living in the northernmost regions of the globe and flying south only sporadically. Although all of them share a characteristic red marking on their heads, some redpolls are white with small bills, while others are larger and have whiter bills. Due to these differences, scientists initially thought that there were three different species of Redpoll: the Common Redpoll, the Hoary Redpoll, and the Lesser Redpoll.&nbsp;



However, new genetic research led by the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a> (CU Boulder) has found that these apparently different species are in fact the same, but have a “supergene” that controls differences in morphology and plumage color, making them look different.



“Redpolls have been taxonomically confusing for a long time, and we only get to see them every once in a while in the winter,” said study co-author Scott Taylor, an assistant professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at CU Boulder. “They aren’t a bird you’re guaranteed to see at your feeder, so when it happens, people get excited, and they want to know what they’re looking at.”



By examining the full genome of 73 birds from all the different subtypes, Taylor and his colleagues found that despite the differences in appearance, the birds are almost identical genetically, having a “supergene” which controls the different traits making them look different.&nbsp;



“Often times we assume that a lot of traits can act independently, meaning that different traits can be inherited separately from one another, but this particular result shows that sometimes these traits are actually tightly linked together. At least for these birds, they’re inheriting a whole group of traits together as one,” explained study lead author Erik Funk, a graduate student at CU Boulder.



“I think, solidly now, the new paper shows that there is widespread gene flow across the (Redpoll) genome, except for this one region, and it just so happens this one region influences the way they look,” added Professor Taylor.



Redpolls are not the only ones having such supergenes. Many species, from various birds to certain types of mice, are now known to have them. “It seems to be less common, but I think one of the things that we are learning as we have access to more sequence data now is that maybe they’re not as uncommon as we once thought,” Funk concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27173-z">Nature Communications</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

Why Redpolls look different, despite being the same species

Redpolls are a type of winter finch living in the...

The trade in traditional “medicines” has severely hurt the population of wild tigers. Meanwhile, there has been a boom in the demand for tiger farms.&nbsp;



At these farms, the striped cats are raised as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-discovered-in-the-blood-of-livestock/">livestock</a> to be sold and cooked in high pressure cookers to dissolve their skeletons and create “tiger bone glue.” In 2017, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) identified over 200 tiger farms, mainly in Vietnam, China and Thailand.



The EIA found that across all of the tiger farms, there were somewhere between 7,000 and 8,000 tigers, more than twice the estimated wild population. Tiger glue producers buy cubs from farms, raising the cats until they’re large enough to be killed and their bones cooked down. The tiger bone glue is then sold for as much as $15,000 per kilogram.&nbsp;



Because of the illicit nature of the business, little has been known about the buyers of tiger bone glue. Dang Vu Hoai Nam, a PhD Fellow at the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a>, has used networking and hard work to track down some of the buyers.&nbsp;



"Among other things, we gained access to the tennis and golf clubs where many of these buyers spend time. These people are from Vietnam’s most affluent class, typically senior citizens who earn about 15 times as much as the average Vietnamese person," said Hoai Nam.



Together with a research assistant, Hoai Nam tracked down 228 buyers and tiger bone glue users. Because many of these users prefer tiger bone glue from wild animals, it seems unlikely that legalizing tiger farms will take pressure off of wild populations.&nbsp;



"Most of the buyers we interviewed prefer tiger bone glue from wild tigers over farmed ones because they believe wild bones are more potent, and thus provide better treatment for a host of musculoskeletal diseases. At the same time, buyers seek the highest possible tiger bone content in their mixture," said Hoai Nam.



Instead of legalization, Dang Vu Hoai Nam suggests tougher enforcement and more monitoring of tiger habitat as well as information campaigns explaining that tiger bone remedies are ineffective.&nbsp;



"Even with legalization, demand for wild tigers will remain strong. A third of our respondents are still willing to buy tigers poached in the wild, which will simply sustain the black market."



"Vulnerable countries should increase their investments in natural tiger habitats, the strengthening of police and park ranger forces, and information campaigns aimed at consumers that point them towards treatment alternatives which are more sustainable than tiger bones."



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1617138121001357">Journal for Nature Conservation</a>.



---



By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

More tigers are in farms than in the wild

The trade in traditional “medicines” has severely hurt the population...

Being only a fraction of the size of the massive, cannibalistic female, the tiny male orb-weaving spider is facing significant challenges when searching for a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/albatrosses-are-divorcing-more-due-to-climate-change/">mate</a>. He must carefully enter her web and approach silently if he wants to escape being captured and eaten by his desired mate. Moreover, he is also forced to compete with other male spiders on the delicate arena of the web, where every wrong step could turn to be fatal.



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.ab.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior</a> and the <a href="https://www.weizmann.ac.il/pages/">Weizmann Institute of Science</a> has struggled for almost a decade to understand the spatiotemporal dynamics characterizing these intricate mating strategies.



“Our initial concept was to explore the idea that these spiders moving on the web behave like electrons orbiting a nucleus, or planets orbiting a star,”&nbsp;said study co-author Alex Jordan, an evolutionary biologist at Max Planck. Although the precise physics explaining spiders’ movements ultimately diverged from atomic or cosmic parallels, these metaphors proved very useful.&nbsp;



“Imagine electrons orbiting a nucleus, or a massive star in space, so large that it generates its own gravitational field pulling in objects around it—the giant, cannibalistic female can be thought of in the same way,” explained Jordan. “Now imagine smaller planets, satellites, or comets coming near this attractive force—these are our tiny, brave males.”&nbsp;



Like a cosmic collision that vaporizes a small planet caught in the force field of a large star, male spiders that approach the female too rapidly, or from a wrong angle, run the risk of turning into prey.&nbsp;



“Working in the rainforests of Panama, I’ve seen over-zealous males fall victim to the cannibalistic females many times, especially when they take the wrong path, or approach the female too fast,” said study co-author Sylvia Garza, a Master’s student at Max Planck.



The relationship between competing males can also be explained through cosmic metaphors. Just as the smaller planets have their own gravitational pulls, the males initially approach and attract each other, but as they come closer and closer, the attraction turns into repellence, and they will end up crashing into open fighting.



All this fascinating choreography does not require advanced intelligence. Instead, the surface of the web acts as a conduit for the physical vibrations spiders use to communicate and to balance risk and reward. The effective physical forces that males and females experience on the elastic surface of the web can help them solve intricate tasks that would otherwise require a much more complex cognitive machinery.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/118/49/e2106269118">Proceedings of the National Academy of Science</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

Scientists explain spiders’ complex mating choreography

Being only a fraction of the size of the massive,...

In the American population, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/moderate-sleep-reduces-the-risk-of-cognitive-decline/">sleep</a> deprivation has become a major public health concern, with only two-thirds of the adult population reporting the recommended 7–9 hours of sleep nightly. Cannabis is commonly used in the US as a sleep aid, despite there being mixed findings in the scientific literature in regard to its efficacy.



At the same time, cannabis use in North America has also increased dramatically. Approximately 45 million adults in the USA reported cannabis use in 2019, which is double the prevalence reported in the early 2000s. This increase is due in part to the widespread decriminalization of the drug during the past decade, but also due to research that shows cannabinoids may have therapeutic value in relieving pain, and in treating anxiety and sleep disorders. Evidence of the effective use of cannabis to normalize sleep patterns is, however, usually derived from small studies that show inconclusive results.&nbsp;



New research, published today in the online journal&nbsp;<a href="https://rapm.bmj.com/">Regional Anesthesia &amp; Pain Medicine</a> makes use of data on sleep duration and cannabis use from US adults who took part in the biennial National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for the years 2005 to 2018. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between cannabis use and nightly sleep duration in a nationally representative dataset.



"Despite the current literature demonstrating mixed effects of cannabis and various cannabinoid formulations on sleep architecture and quality, these agents are being increasingly used as both prescribed and unprescribed experimental therapies for sleep disturbances," said the study authors.&nbsp;



The researchers categorized participants as non-users of cannabis, or as recent users if they had used in the past 30 days. Among those, moderate users were defined as those who had used cannabis on fewer than 20 of those days, while heavy users were those who had used on 20 or more of the past 30 days.&nbsp;



Sleep duration was defined as short (less than 6 hours), optimal (6–9 hours), or long (more than 9 hours).&nbsp;Participants were asked whether they had difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping for too long in the past 2 weeks. They were also asked whether they had ever consulted a doctor about a sleep problem.



Surveys from a total of 21,729 participants were used in the analysis, and the researchers state that these people were representative of an estimated 146.5 million US adults. Of these participants, 3,132 (14.5%) reported that they had used cannabis in the preceding 30 days, while the rest were non-users.



The average nightly sleep duration for all participants was just less than 7 hours but recent users were 34 percent more likely to report short sleep and 56 percent more likely to report long sleep than non-users. They were also 31 percent more likely to report difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or sleeping too much in the preceding 2 weeks, and 29 percent more likely to have discussed a sleeping problem with a doctor.&nbsp;



Furthermore, moderate users were 47 percent more likely to sleep 9 or more hours a night compared with non-users, while heavy users were 76 percent more likely to experience long sleep. Heavy users were also 64 percent more likely to experience short sleep.



The analysis took into consideration other factors that could potentially influence the relationship, such as: age; race; educational attainment; weekly working hours; a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, and coronary artery disease; weight (BMI); smoking; heavy alcohol use (4 or more drinks daily); and prescriptions for opioids, benzodiazepines, ‘Z drugs’ (approved for insomnia), barbiturates, other sedatives, and stimulants.



The findings indicate that recent cannabis use is linked to extremes of nightly sleep duration, with users being more likely to experience less than six hours or more than nine hours of sleep a night. No clear relationship between cannabis use and improved sleep patterns was observed.&nbsp;



“Our findings highlight the need to further characterize the sleep health of regular cannabis users in the population," wrote the study authors. "Sleep-wake physiology and regulation is complex and research about related endocannabinoid pathways is in its early stages.”



---



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

Recent cannabis use linked extreme sleep patterns

In the American population, sleep deprivation has become a major...

In the early 1900s, Chestnut Blight was accidentally introduced to the United States. Over four decades, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-confirms-plastics-contribute-to-heart-disease/">disease</a> wiped out billions of chestnut trees in forests across the eastern part of the country.



A new study by researchers at the <a href="https://uconn.edu/">University of Connecticut</a> Global Environmental Remote Sensing (GERS) Laboratory is focused on finding new ways to detect forest infestations as early as possible. The experts are investigating the use of remote sensing technology to detect subtle changes in the landscape.



According to GERS director Professor Zhe Zhu, the factors that result in landscape changes are not always as stark as land conversion, but can still be dramatic owing to the interconnectedness of food webs and ecosystems. Remote sensing technology, like satellites, can help alert scientists to these processes.



Postdoctoral researcher Su Ye was the lead author on a recent study focused on mountain pine beetle and spruce beetle infestations of pine trees in Colorado. He collected data on the ground in affected forests.



Ye said that by the time the signs are visible and it is clear that land change is imminent, it is too late to intervene.



“The signal happens mostly in short-infrared bands, therefore we have to rely on remote sensing measurements like Landsat to detect the signal,” explained Ye. “If we can detect these subtle signals at an early stage and have early warnings for these potentially forest change in future, then maybe we can apply some forest management in a timely manner. For instance, infected trees can be removed to stop the expansion of beetles to some degree.”



“I make a metaphor to describe this subtle change detection,” said Professor Zhu. “It’s like you’re in a very noisy restaurant and someone’s calling your name, you want to hear it, but other voices are at about the similar volume. How can we detect anything when everything is similar as this change signal?”



An algorithm called CCDC is becoming a standard for analyzing a series of Landsat images. The UConn team set out to address the limitations of CCDC by developing a more tailored approach.



"CCDC is the acronym for Continuous Landcover Classification and Change Detection and has been used by a number of agencies," said Professor Zhu. "For one location - a single pixel - we can get dense time series observations with thousands of observations. We do a lot of preprocessing to remove cloud clouds, shadow, and snow and ice, we try to get a free, clear surface."



By combining the data he collected on the ground with Landsat data from the same location, Ye developed a method called PIDS, or Parameter optimization, Index selection, Dynamic stratified monitoring, and Spatial consideration. He included specific details about the infestation stage and how the color of the pine and spruce needles changes over time after infection. 



“PIDS is a framework to adapt CCDC to detect very user-targeted specific change,” explained Ye. "The framework lets the user specify their training samples for turning model parameters, as if we focus on the subtle change, we need to adjust our model parameters to capture the weak signals.”



Using PIDS, Ye said the researchers were able to detect signals of beetle infestation in the transition between two very subtle stages of infection where needles begin to change color, roughly one year after the beetle start to attack the trees. This is a significant improvement in sensitivity compared to using CCDC.&nbsp;



“PIDS is so good,” said Professor Zhu. “If you see the differences between PIDS and CCDC, PIDS is much better for those subtle change detections.”



“Remote sensing cannot directly do the decision making about the landscape and conversation, but as we are able to do it more near real-time, and at large-scale, this information can help with decisions and options," said study co-author Kexin Song.



"Forest management policy has shifted from the replacement or harvest of forest to maintaining good, healthy trees in their current condition. Now that we can apply detailed information about subtle change in the forest degradation with this information, we can try to reach out to see how this information can change people’s minds about management. It is important, and we’ll keep doing this work.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/remote-sensing-of-environment">Remote Sensing of Environment</a>.



---



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

Remote sensing can help detect forest infestations

In the early 1900s, Chestnut Blight was accidentally introduced to...

If nations taxed carbon and the revenue returned to their citizens, climate change could be limited to 2°C and poverty could be alleviated, according to new research published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/nclimate/">Nature Climate Change</a>. In a best case scenario, the authors predict that such a plan could reduce global emissions by 60 percent by 2030.&nbsp;



“These results indicate that it is possible for a society to implement strong climate action without compromising goals for equity and development, but this requires a careful focus on equity in policymaking,” explained study co-author Mark Budolfson, associate member of the Center for Population-Level Bioethics at <a href="https://www.rutgers.edu/">Rutgers</a>.



The key to the plan is returning carbon tax to the people evenly. Without this, the researchers caution a slower approach to climate change may be necessary because of the negative impact on the poor.&nbsp;



”The idea would be that rich households pay more because they emit more, but receive the same amount as poor households. In this way there is a net transfer to poorer households,” explained study co-author and senior <a href="https://iiasa.ac.at/">IIASA</a> researcher Fabian Wagner.



The results suggest that the best approach to climate change is to start with a fast reduction of carbon emissions initially, followed by a slower approach to carbon neutrality. In practice, such an approach should quickly lessen climate change and reduce poverty, while maintaining the carbon tax for future benefit as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Adopting strong climate policy need not entail a tradeoff where the people of today (and the poor in particularly) must sacrifice for the benefit of future generations,” said Budolfson.



The current research looked at the feasibility and speed of decarbonization, opinion and political will to back policy support, and the government’s ability to transfer taxes back to citizens.&nbsp;



The scientists feel future research efforts may focus on the distribution of tax revenues across various regions with different carbon taxes, as well as the effect of carbon tax on households with the same income level but different consumption patterns.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Addressing climate change could help reduce poverty

If nations taxed carbon and the revenue returned to their...

As part of an ongoing saga of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) removing wild horses from public land in favor of private grazing interests, <a href="http://link.mediaoutreach.meltwater.com/ls/click?upn=NUV7kTaSJeqTXZQ8Bosj22KFILO8e0YucA-2BU3INq7DXPJlkIpum67y6-2FPNg5H-2BhNRvqe_CAutWfm8j05RwFS7sOyY4Te5MWVtGwYBuuvxnmVSDT70wrYq6on4oO5ji6MjyScW-2BgoEIa-2FCDG3ArOEWG94udnZFLX1XNLWY5dXQRcuZFq7rRHWFhTZ6SUjUUeNAO2XeARyvFNyw9xcwOaTShBH2dzT9IoCXRHCwiCoMQSynajwXeg5MRxzjc3BRWkh-2FyljfqCC3hrxkfACiX5SyKrkgfBoh0Y5bK8OyMxqYQeTpj-2BatdGg2nyViLK3bE6vHRCARxjkrhcPpUm0s4YclSQuN2q6XrUTfVu5QKjCdxrXIQK78ZaMJaQqUNqQ9ixYFHHniynD0rs6-2BuJyE6RIUsRjyuV8BnIbzTcrwEoksKMJCt8kq2BLlyaHLygNAgbFXnAFn8C7A5uJAUxq4crXh7kee4g-3D-3D">American Wild Horse Campaign </a>(AWHC) is threatening a lawsuit.&nbsp;



With completion of this project - the largest roundup in BLM history - 50 percent of Wyoming’s wild horses will be removed. The brutal helicopter roundup will prove fatal for some, and at least 50 of the iconic horses are expected to die by the end of the campaign.&nbsp;



The AWHC now claims that the BLM has removed 59 horses more than legally allowed under the Environmental Assessment and Decision Record during the ongoing roundup near Rock Springs, Wyoming. To rectify the removal of too many horses, AWHC demands that the BLM return horses to their range immediately.&nbsp;



“This roundup is of great importance to the public, not only due to the sheer number of wild horses being removed but because of the continued scapegoating of this herd in favor of privately-owned livestock," said Grace Kuhn, communications director for AWHC.



"We want to send a clear message to the agency that we are watching closely and that every horse counts and matters.”&nbsp;



The horses in question live in the Salt Wells Horse Management Area (HMA) a 1.1 million acre habitat, federally designated for wild horses. The Bureau of Land Management on their <a href="https://www.blm.gov/wyoming/2021-rock-springs-gather">website</a> says that it estimates wild horse levels to be more than double the combined wild horse appropriate management levels across five HMAs.&nbsp;



The agency plans to remove approximately 3,500 horses and return an estimated 800 animals. As of November 29, 2,383 horses had been removed and 11 deaths reported.&nbsp;



“In its attempt to hide from the public that too many horses are being removed from the Salt Wells Creek HMA and too few are being returned to their homes, the Bureau of Land Management once again proves that the public cannot trust them to follow their own protocols or to protect and properly manage the wild horses in their care," said Carol Walker, a wild horse photographer who has been observing the roundup.



“Instead of protecting our iconic mustangs as federal law requires, the BLM is using the cruelest, most costly and unsustainable method possible to manage them while reducing wild populations to near extinction levels,” said Suzanne Roy, Executive Director of the American Wild Horse Campaign.&nbsp;



“The roundup underway in Wyoming is an extreme action that demands a reasonable, common sense alternative -- such as scientifically proven fertility control -- to preserve Wyoming’s wild mustang herds and humanely manage them in the wild where they belong.”



---



By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Biggest wild horse roundup in US history is raising concerns

As part of an ongoing saga of the Bureau of...

Migratory birds travel long distances, twice each year, to access <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/feeding-your-dog-once-a-day-may-improve-its-health/">feeding</a> grounds in distant parts of the world. They are adapted to navigate these journeys successfully, and to withstand the extreme physiological demands of flying without stopping much along the way.&nbsp;



Now, new research published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a> suggests another way in which migratory birds may be adapted to make these challenging migratory journeys – they may have lighter-colored plumage.



Kaspar Delhey of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Seewiesen, Germany, along with his colleagues, had conducted previous studies on the effects of climate on bird coloration. The research showed that birds inhabiting regions with high temperatures and little shade had lighter coloration, in general. Light-colored objects absorb less heat and the researchers assumed that birds with pale plumage would be able to keep cooler in hot environments.&nbsp;



However, the researchers also came across other studies showing that migrating birds increase their flight altitude dramatically during the day and fly at much lower levels during the night. These other studies suggested that this phenomenon is driven by thermoregulatory needs: flying where it is cooler may help birds to cope with the daytime heat they absorb from the sun’s radiation.&nbsp;



“Because flying at high altitude is likely costly [energetically], these changes required an explanation,” said Delhey. “One possibility was that flying higher, where it is colder, would offset the heat absorbed by the plumage when the sun was shining.”&nbsp;



If migrating birds have to cope with problems of overheating while flying then it is also possible that they may have evolved lighter-colored plumage in order to reduce the absorption of heat radiated by the sun. Delhey and colleagues hypothesized that migratory species – especially long-distance migrants – should be lighter colored than resident species.&nbsp;



To test the relationship between plumage lightness and migration distance, they used the bird species described in the ‘Handbook of the Birds of the World’ (<a href="https://birdsoftheworld.org/">https://birdsoftheworld.org</a>), and divided them into those that are resident, those that migrate over short distances (&lt; 2,000 km), and those that are long-distance migrants (&gt; 2,000 km). They then quantified plumage lightness (from 0 = black to 100 = white) by averaging pixel lightness values from the illustration plates in the handbook.&nbsp;



The experts tested the effect of migration strategy on plumage lightness, while controlling for other factors known to affect plumage lightness, like climate, habitat and body size. They found that resident species were darker than short-distance migrants that were, in turn, darker than long-distance migrants.&nbsp;



Furthermore, they found the same relationship in 12 of the 15 orders of birds, when they considered each order separately (for example within the passerines, cuckoos, ducks and geese, shorebirds, pigeons, pelicans, or cranes). This demonstrates a general association between lightness and migratory behavior across all birds.&nbsp;



"We found across nearly all species of birds, migratory species tend to be lighter colored than non-migratory species,” said Delhey. “We think that lighter plumage coloration is selected in migratory species because it reduces the risk of overheating when exposed to sunshine. Lighter surfaces absorb less heat than darker ones, as anybody wearing dark clothes on a sunny day can attest! This would be particularly important for long-distance migrants that undertake extensive flights during which they cannot stop to rest in the shade.”



Delhey notes that many factors influence bird coloration and light colors are but one of many ways that migratory birds can avoid overheating. His team will continue exploring the connections between migration, climate, and other selective factors that shape the evolution of plumage colors in birds.&nbsp;



The research is another reminder of the important role of temperature and climate factors in shaping the evolution of animal coloration. According to the researchers, the findings also have clear implications for understanding the impacts of global warming and potential adaptive evolutionary responses.



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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

Lighter feathers help migratory birds to keep cool

Migratory birds travel long distances, twice each year, to access...

New research led by the <a href="https://www.uab.cat/en/">Universitat&nbsp;Autònoma&nbsp;de&nbsp;Barcelona</a> (UAB) has found that the knowledge possessed by Amazonian inhabitants can be crucial for assessing wildlife abundance trends in a context of urgent need for conservation strategies combined with limited financial resources.



The Amazon rainforest is home to 390 billion tree species and represents one of the world’s largest biodiversity regions. However, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-in-the-amazon-rainforest-hits-new-records/">deforestation</a> is rapidly increasing, resulting in an unprecedented loss of biodiversity. If this process continues at the current rate, 27 percent of the Amazon will be lost by 2030.&nbsp;



The impact of human activity on the rainforest can be measured by fast and accurate estimates of animal populations. However, gathering data about wildlife abundance remains very challenging, since it requires high logistics and financial resources, especially for longitudinal studies carried out in areas that are difficult to access.



Recently, scientists have started considering methods based on local ecological knowledge (LEK), gathered from empirical observations of local peoples. While such methods have previously been accused of subjectivism and lack of scientific validation, a research team from UAB has shown that in fact LEK is as accurate, or even more accurate, than standard scientific practices, especially when it comes to finding species that are rarely observed, such as nocturnal, cryptic, less abundant, or hunted ones.



“The perception of local people is multisensory, involving hearing, smelling,&nbsp;and&nbsp;observing indirect visual signs, such as footprints&nbsp;and scratches, which increase the ability&nbsp;of local people&nbsp;to detect the presence&nbsp;and estimate the abundance&nbsp;of an animal,” explained study lead author Franciany&nbsp;Braga-Pereira, a researcher at UAB.&nbsp;



“In addition,&nbsp;different from surveys on conventional line transects,&nbsp;LEK's effort involves different scales since&nbsp;local people have contact with the forest&nbsp;when&nbsp;carrying&nbsp;out their usual activities, such as hunting, fishing, agriculture, and harvesting of timber and non-timber products,&nbsp;at all times of the day and year, and throughout the territory&nbsp;where they live.”&nbsp;



Braga-Pereira and his colleagues argue that incorporating this method into community-based wildlife monitoring projects could significantly improve the quality of science and contribute to the sustainability of our planet’s tropical forests. Moreover, local communities will be more empowered by having more decision-making capacities in managing their natural resources.



“Ecological knowledge of local populations is more accurate than 10 years of conventional scientific monitoring for animal abundance in the Amazon,” Braga-Pereira concluded.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.13773">Methods in Ecology and Evolution</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

Indigenous knowledge can help protect Amazon wildlife

New research led by the Universitat&nbsp;Autònoma&nbsp;de&nbsp;Barcelona (UAB) has found that...

According to research carried out by non-profit <a href="https://friendofthesea.org/">Friend of the Sea</a>, ship strikes kill more than 20,000 whales every year. This an alarming number, especially considering how close to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-fertilization-led-to-severe-mass-extinction-event/">extinction</a> some species (such as the North Atlantic right whale) already are. 



The problem of whale ship collisions is a worldwide phenomenon, but Friend of the Sea has identified eleven key spots where strikes are especially common. These are areas where shipping lanes cross prime feeding and breeding areas for whales.&nbsp;



The key areas and endangered whale species that are threatened by ship strikes include: blue whales in Sri Lanka, sperm whales in the Canary Islands, and humpback whales in Panama.



There are additional locations that play lesser or greater roles in the lives of different whale species scattered all over the world. In the Mediterranean alone, 220,000 ships cross the sea annually and 30 percent of the world’s marine traffic departs from or arrives in the Mediterranean Basin.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The main causes of collisions are shipping companies, cruise lines and speed boats.&nbsp; Because the problem is primarily a commercial one, part of the solution should come from industry.



The International Whaling Commision (IWC) is currently collaborating with other agencies to find a solution to the problem, producing a pamphlet designed to help reduce whale collisions.&nbsp;



Despite this small step in the right direction, it is difficult to evaluate whether the work has had any impact on collisions, much less on whale populations. Friend of the Sea is seeking to work with shipping companies to become part of the solution for whales.&nbsp;



Friend of the Sea recommends that all ships have a full time marine mammal observation program on board, covering a minimum of 120 degrees in front of the vessel. Ships could also use online systems to report and be informed of mammal sightings nearby. It is also essential that a plan is established for how to react to nearby whales and avoid ship strikes.&nbsp;



If companies follow these procedures, and allow Friend of the Sea access to their data in real time, the organization awards them with a "whale safe" label. In this way, consumers can make better choices in their purchases to help support whales.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Thousands of whales are killed by ship strikes each year

According to research carried out by non-profit Friend of the...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://cgejournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40575-021-00111-4">Canine Medicine and Genetics</a> has found that most dog breeds are highly inbred, with an average inbreeding level of over 25 percent. These extremely high levels of inbreeding have been associated with the increased prevalence of a large variety of complex <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/study-confirms-plastics-contribute-to-heart-disease/">diseases</a> and conditions.



Dog breeds are often recognized by their distinctive traits, such as the wrinkled face of a pug, the spotted coat of a Dalmatian, or the short legs of a dachshund. Unfortunately, these traits are frequently the result of inbreeding.



A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.ucdavis.edu/">University of California, Davis</a> together with <a href="https://www.wisdompanel.com/en-us">Wisdom Health Genetics</a>, a company owning the world’s largest dog DNA database, has collected and analyzed data from 49,378 dogs across 227 breeds.&nbsp;



The analysis revealed that the average inbreeding across this cohort was 25 percent, or the equivalent of sharing the full same genetic material with a full sibling.&nbsp;



According to the researchers, dogs are inbred by humans in order to select for traits such as their looks. However, such methods pose quite significant dangers to dogs’ health, increasing the risk of different diseases, many of which are lethal.



“It’s amazing how inbreeding seems to matter to health,” said study lead author Dannika Bannasch, a veterinary geneticist at UC Davis. “While previous studies have shown that small dogs live longer than large dogs, no one had previously reported on morbidity, or the presence of disease.&nbsp;This study revealed that if dogs are of smaller size and not inbred, they are much healthier than larger&nbsp;dogs with high inbreeding.”



"Data from other species, combined with strong breed predispositions to complex diseases like cancer and autoimmune diseases, highlight the relevance of high inbreeding in dogs to their health."



In order to preserve the genetic diversity and health of a breed, several measures should be taken, including the careful management of breeding populations in order to avoid additional loss of existing genetic diversity. This can be achieved through breeder education and close monitoring of inbreeding levels, which is now enabled by direct genotyping technologies.&nbsp;



Moreover, in the few breeds with low inbreeding levels, such as the Danish-Swedish farm dog, every effort should be made to maintain the genetic diversity that is already present.&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

Dogs have a high risk of disease due to inbreeding

A new study published in the journal Canine Medicine and...

The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of the 7–12 different species of honey bees worldwide. It is commercially important as a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/one-third-of-plants-are-completely-reliant-on-animal-pollinators/">pollinator</a> of crops and a producer of honey. The geographic origin of the western honey bee has been hotly debated over decades. Some believing in an African origin, while others think it first evolved in Asia. 



In new research, led by scientists from <a href="https://www.yorku.ca/">York University</a> the genomes of 251 honey bees, from 18 different subspecies, collected in their native ranges, have been sequenced in order to determine the probable geographic origin and pattern of dispersal of honey bees.&nbsp;



The results indicate that an Asian origin – most likely western Asia – is strongly supported by the genetic data. According to this data, the probability of the bees originating within western Asia is 64 to 71 percent. In comparison, the genetic analysis indicates only a six percent chance that western honey bees originated in Africa and a three to six percent chance that they came initially from Europe.



“As one of the world’s most important pollinators, it’s essential to know the origin of the western honey bee to understand its evolution, genetics and how it adapted as it spread,” said study co-author Professor&nbsp;<a href="https://news.yorku.ca/experts/?name_or_keyword=amro+zayed&amp;research_area=&amp;submit=Search+the+Guide&amp;search=Y">Amro Zayed</a>.



The research also indicates that western honey bees underwent three separate expansion events during their evolution. They expanded into Africa in one event, and also experienced two separate expansions into Europe. This led to the existence of seven geographically and genetically distinct evolutionary lineages traceable back to Western Asia. The adaptive radiation of the honey bees after these expansions has led to the development of the approximately 27 different subspecies of honey bees that are found in the world.



Today, western honey bees inhabit every continent except Antarctica and show a remarkable capacity for surviving in vastly different environments – from tropical rainforests, to near deserts and to temperate regions with cold winters. The researchers were interested in identifying the genes and genetic variation that are associated with honey bee adaptation to these different environments.&nbsp;



They found that the bee genome has several “hotspots” that allowed honey bees to adapt to new environmental conditions. While the bee genome has more than 12,000 genes, only 145 of them had repeated signatures of adaptation associated with the formation of all major honey bee lineages found today. In particular, many of the genes involved in adaptation related to changes in the behavior of worker bees, and the analysis showed that these genes have been under positive selective pressure in the past.&nbsp;



“Our research suggests that a core-set of genes allowed the honey bee to adapt to a diverse set of environmental conditions across its native range by regulating worker and colony behavior,” said York University PhD student Kathleen Dogantzis of the Faculty of Science, who led the research.



“It’s important to understand how locally adapted subspecies and colony-level selection on worker bees, contributes to the fitness and diversity of managed colonies."



The sequencing of these bee genomes also led to the discovery of two distinct lineages, one in Egypt and another in Madagascar.



The researchers hope their study will finally resolve the debate about the ancestral origins of the western honey bee so that future research can focus on exploring how they adapted to different climates and geographic areas.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/journal/sciadv">Science Advances</a>.



---



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

Mysterious origins of western honey bees revealed

The western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is the most common of...

New research shows that wolves living in Norway and Sweden today are actually Finnish wolves. The research confirms that humans killed off the last of the original Norwegian wolves in the 1970s.&nbsp;



“The original Norwegian-Swedish wolves probably didn’t share their genetics with the wolves in Norway and Sweden today,” explained Hans Stenøien, director of the <a href="https://www.ntnu.edu/">Norwegian University of Science and Technology</a> (NTNU) University Museum.



A team of scientists led by Stenøien carried out an extensive genetic study on Norwegian-Swedish wolves. “We’ve carried out the largest genetic study of wolves in the world,” said Stenøien.



The research is part of a report commissioned by the Norwegian parliament on wolves in 2016. After the Norwegian wolf initially disappeared, there were rumors that wolves were released from zoos to re-establish the population but this appears to be false.



“Admittedly, some original Norwegian-Swedish wolves can still be found in zoos outside Norway. But our wolves today aren’t closely related to them,” explained Stenøien.



Instead, it appears that wolves simply repopulated Norway in the 1980s by moving in from Finland. Today, there are more than 400 wolves living in the border region of Sweden and Norway as a shared population.&nbsp;



“The wolves in Norway and Sweden today most likely come from wolves that migrated from Finland."



According to Stenøien, it’s uncertain where exactly in Finland the wolves come from but genetically they appear Finnish as well as disturbingly lacking in genetic diversity.&nbsp;



“We haven’t found any indications of special or unique genetic adaptations in Norwegian-Swedish wolves. This lack of variation makes wolves vulnerable to various diseases and hereditary conditions."



The new Norwegian-Swedish wolves no longer face persecution from humans as their biggest danger. Instead, genetic vulnerability from inbreeding is the main threat facing the wolf population. Interestingly, the wolves contain very little dog genetics, possibly the least amount of dog genetics of any wolf population in the world.&nbsp;



As for how this research should be used, Stenøien leaves it up to others. “It’s not our task to comment on anything other than the facts from this study."



---



By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

It's official: Humans killed off the Norwegian wolf

New research shows that wolves living in Norway and Sweden...

The extinct Haast’s eagle or harpagornis (Hieraaetus moorei) is the largest known eagle, having a ten-foot wingspan and four-inch talons. It roamed New Zealand’s skies around 800 years ago and was formally described for the first time by Julius von Haast in 1872. 



Since then, scientists have debated whether the extinct bird was a predator that killed other animals for food, or a scavenger that fed upon already dead <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dolphins-perform-a-spinning-dive-to-catch-deep-prey/">prey</a>.



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.une.edu.au/">University of New England</a>, Australia, and the <a href="https://www.canterburymuseum.com/">Canterbury Museum</a>, has found that, in fact, Haast’s eagle exhibited behaviors similar to both predators and scavengers. 



The scientists compared the skull, beak, and talons of Haast’s eagle with those of five living meat-eating birds - the whistling kite, the little eagle, the wedge-tailed eagle, the Cinereous vulture, and the Andean Condor.



While its beak and talons appeared similar to living eagles, the shape of its neurocranium was most similar to the Andean Condor, a South American vulture which is known to feed upon the soft internal organs of carcasses. These findings suggests that Haast’s eagle may have also eaten this way.



“Most eagles hunt prey that is smaller than them, but Haast's Eagle was going after moa that could weigh up to 200kg – more than 13 times their own body weight. Condors also often eat animals that are much larger than them, so it makes sense that they'd have similar feeding habits,” explained study co-author Paul Scofield, a paleontologist and senior curator of Natural History at the Canterbury Museum.



“When we picture a Haast's Eagle feeding we can imagine them swooping down on a moa, grabbing on with those huge talons and using its powerful beak to deliver the killing blow. Once the moa was down, the eagle would go straight for the back of the skull and for the guts and other soft organs.”



This new study, published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2021.1913">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>, paints a more complex picture of this fascinating creature, showing that it shared traits with both predators and scavengers.



Image Credit: Katrina Kenny



---



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

Extinct raptor killed like an eagle, ate like a vulture

The extinct Haast’s eagle or harpagornis (Hieraaetus moorei) is the...

Food availability for ocean predators, in general, is rather low. In fact, captive marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/animals-good-at-vocal-learning-can-fake-their-size/">animals</a> fed the average food concentrations, measured in the oceans using nets and pumps, do not survive. Since this phenomenon was originally investigated and described by Reuben Lasker in the 1970s, it is referred to as the Lasker food paradox.&nbsp;



In new research, a team led by Kelly Benoit-Bird of the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute made use of sonar, or active acoustics, to get a better understanding of the distribution patterns of food in the ocean. The researchers attached acoustic sensors to a variety of platforms, including ships, profilers, moorings and autonomous vehicles, to send out and receive sound pulses about the distribution of ocean species.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"We're using systems much like those used to find the depth of the ocean, but instead of interpreting echoes from the seafloor, we're using more sensitive systems that allow us to map layers of life in the water," said Benoit-Bird. "What we've found is that animals of all different sizes, from millimeter-long plankton to large predators, are unevenly distributed, and this variation is really important to how life in the ocean functions."



The results show that ocean organisms are often aggregated in hotspot areas, that are missed by traditional sampling methods and tools. Such aggregations are found in all ocean habitats, from surface to very deep waters, and from the tropics to the poles. Organisms as diverse as plankton, fish, squid and whales all collect in patches rather than being evenly distributed throughout oceans.&nbsp;



This leads us to understand that ocean food and biota have a 3D distribution that varies with depth and location. Animals must find and exploit these small-scale aggregations of resources if they are to survive.&nbsp;



Benoit-Bird’s results explain the apparent paradox described by Lasker, who found that laboratory animals fed the average concentration of ocean food did not survive, but ocean-dwelling animals in the wild did. Oceanic animals do not survive on average food concentrations but are well-adapted to locating and capitalizing on patches of resources, thereby reducing their total energy expenditure in the process.&nbsp;



"For example, if a bucket's worth of popcorn was spread out evenly throughout the volume of a room, and you had to fly around to capture each kernel, you would spend a lot of energy searching and it would be hard to get enough to be full," Benoit-Bird said. "If instead, the popcorn was all grouped together, the popcorn would be a much more satisfying snack. The amount of popcorn is the same but changing how it is grouped determines whether you end up with a full belly.”



"Acoustic tools provide the high spatial resolution and long duration sampling to explore the processes that drive organismal interactions in the ocean. We must understand not only how many animals are in the ocean, but how they are distributed, if we are to effectively manage our living marine resources."



Benoit-Bird will be presenting the findings this week, at the 181st Meeting of the <a href="https://acousticalsociety.org/">Acoustical Society of America</a>.



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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

Patches of plenty explain the ocean food paradox

Food availability for ocean predators, in general, is rather low....

Killer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humpback-whale-songs-are-used-to-locate-not-attract-other-whales/">whales</a> are opportunistic predators that hunt a variety of prey. They are intelligent and will often team up and work together to take down large prey successfully. In recent years, their hunting grounds in the Alaskan Arctic have changed due to the melting and receding ice, and this has given killer whales increased opportunities to utilize these areas, with the potential consequence of changing the ecological balance.



Brynn Kimber from the University of Washington, along with a team of scientists, used acoustic tools to monitor killer whale movements in areas of the Arctic Ocean over a period of eight years. They found that killer whales are spending more time in the Alaskan Arctic than previously recorded, despite risking being entrapped in the ice there. This change in behavior has been recorded directly following the decrease in sea ice in the area.



"It's not necessarily that killer whales haven't been reported in these areas before, but that they appear to be remaining in the area for longer periods of time," said Kimber. "This is likely in response to a longer open-water season."



Killer whale presence in the area may be related to the fact that, with less ice around, prey species that usually use ice to hide themselves, can no longer avoid detection or capture in this way.



"Although there is high spatial and interannual variability, the September Arctic sea ice minimum is declining at an average rate of 13% per decade, when compared to values from 1981 to 2010," said Kimber. "Killer whales are being observed in the Chukchi Sea (in the Arctic Ocean) in months that were historically ice covered and more consistently throughout the summer."



The earlier arrival and later departure of killer whales may have consequences for the ecology of this sensitive habitat. For example, populations of prey such as seals, bowhead whales and narwhals will be more exposed to predation and may experience increased mortality and decreased breeding success. This would have impacts at other levels of the food chain as well.



The findings of this research will be presented at the 181st Meeting of the <a href="https://acousticalsociety.org/">Acoustical Society of America</a>.



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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

Melting Arctic ice gives killer whales new opportunities

Killer whales are opportunistic predators that hunt a variety of...

Tasmanian,Devil,Sitting,On,Branch,At,Cradle,Mountain,Breeding,And

Tasmanian devils are the largest carnivorous marsupial left in the world. While they are already living isolated in low population numbers, these unique animals are further threatened by a contagious cancer.&nbsp;



In an effort to monitor the rare marsupial without disrupting its behavior, scientists have developed a novel technique. The experts report that the whiskers of Tasmanian devils provide a glimpse into their individual life histories.&nbsp;



“We're using the devils’ whiskers to trace back through time," said study senior author Tracey Rogers. "Once dissected, the whiskers can act like the rings of a tree trunk, painting a picture of what the animals ate and how they lived up to a year ago.”



Previously, scientists were able to use whiskers to look at chemical signatures - but without a clear timeline. To construct a timeline for whisker chemical signatures, the researchers fed captive devils food with added heavy stable isotopes at different times over three months.&nbsp;



Using the isotopes as markers, the scientists were able to correlate them with whisker chemical signatures.&nbsp;



The experiment revealed that the whiskers grow quickly at first, but growth slowed over time before stopping. The researchers discovered that the whiskers can hold at least nine months of data in them. Using this information, the scientists can monitor the health of wild Tasmanian devils to help make sure that their populations are healthy.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



It’s not just about devils, but also the health of entire ecosystems in Tasmania. “As Tasmania’s apex predator, devils play an essential role in maintaining ecosystem health,” explained Dr. Attard.



Furthermore, the devils play a unique role in the health of the island itself, which has many endemic plant and animal species.



Fortunately, Tasmanian devils are slowly recovering from devil facial tumor disease (DFTD), a contagious cancer, and the scientists hope to keep it that way.&nbsp;



“Tasmanian devil numbers are currently in recovery after the devastating effects of a highly transmissible cancer called the devil facial tumour disease, or DFTD," said study lead author Dr. Marie Attard, who worked on the research as part of her PhD.



"Since the discovery of this disease in 1990s, many healthy individuals have been translocated to disease-free areas or are part of captive breeding programs to help boost their numbers. This whisker analysis tool will significantly enhance their management in pre-existing and translocated wild populations.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/21508925">Ecosphere</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Whiskers reveal what Tasmanian devils ate months ago

Tasmanian devils are the largest carnivorous marsupial left in the...

According to a new <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/globalassets/downloads/bocc5/bocc5-report.pdf">report</a> from the bird charity organization <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/">RSPB</a>, over a quarter of UK bird species are currently under threat of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-clues-emerge-in-mass-extinction-mystery/">extinction</a> and thus in need of urgent conservation measures. Seventy species (29 percent of the total number of UK bird species) are now placed on the assessment’s Red List, containing bird species of “highest conservation concerns.”



These birds, including species such as the Swift, the House Martin, or the Greenfinch, are witnessing alarming declines in populations, raising concerns among scientists and conservationists that they may soon become extinct.



The Birds of Conservation Concern 5 report has been compiled by a coalition of UK’s leading bird conservation and monitoring organizations that are regularly reviewing the status of bird species in the UK, the Isle of Man, and Channel Islands. Each species is assessed against a set of objective criteria and placed on either the Green, Amber, or Red List, indicating increasing levels of conservation concerns.



“This is more evidence that the UK's wildlife is in freefall and not enough is being done to reverse declines,” warned the RSPB's CEO, Beccy Speight. “With almost double the number of birds on the Red List since the first review in 1996, we are seeing once common species such as Swift and Greenfinch now becoming rare.”



Bird species such as the Greenfinch and the Ptamirgan were moved from the 2015’s report Green List straight to this year’s Red List, while species that were previously on the intermediary Amber List, including the Swift, the House Martin, the Dunlin, the Goldeneye, the Smew, or the Purple Sandpiper, have also recently entered the Red List.



“As with our climate this really is the last chance saloon to halt and reverse the destruction of nature.&nbsp;We often know what action we need to take to change the situation, but we need to do much more, rapidly and at scale. The coming decade is crucial to turning things around,” concluded Speight.



The full details of the report can he found <a href="https://britishbirds.co.uk/content/status-our-bird-populations">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

More than a quarter of UK bird species are endangered

According to a new report from the bird charity organization...

A new study has found that Risso’s dolphins perform a rapid sprint coupled with a spin when starting a dive, although this highly energetic movement makes them consume much more energy than normal, slower dives. According to the scientists, the dolphins use this spin dive in order to find prey that resides deeper than 300 meters under the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/explosion-in-ocean-life-triggered-mountain-formation/">ocean</a> surface.



The research team analyzed data of over 250 dives recorded on biologging devices that they temporarily attached to seven dolphins, using suction-cups. “Our expectation was that these dives were foraging dives, to hunt squids,” said study lead author Fleur Visser, a researcher at the <a href="https://ibed.uva.nl/">Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics</a> at the University of Amsterdam, and the <a href="https://www.nioz.nl/en">NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research</a>.



“But at first we did not understand the purpose and why Risso’s dolphins would spend so much sprinting energy at the start of a dive.”



According to Visser and her colleagues, the sprint-and-spin movements before a dive make it possible for the dolphins to reach a great depth in a short period of time. Since they are air-breathing predators and have a limited time that they can spend at the depth, such movements are essential, enabling them to reach deep prey much faster and find more prey once they reached their desired depth.&nbsp;



The deep scattering layer in which the Risso dolphins hunt migrates up and down through the water column during each day, with prey hiding in layers over 300 meters deep during daytime, and emerging closer to the surface at dusk. The dolphins have adapted different hunting strategies depending upon the location of their prey.&nbsp;



“We were amazed by the stark contrast between when a spin and non-spin foraging dive is used. It is like flicking a switch,” said Visser. “And related to that, the really clear tracing of a prey layer, and having multiple strategies to hunt in it, depending on its depth.&nbsp;



“The Risso’s dolphins have adapted to be able to effectively hunt deep, next to shallow, circumventing the predator-avoidance strategy of their squid prey.”



Further studies are needed to better understand which types of prey the dolphins are hunting in deeper and shallower waters.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.202320">Royal Society Open Science</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

Dolphins perform a spinning dive to catch deep prey

A new study has found that Risso’s dolphins perform a...

With so many species of creatures in the world, it’s easy to forget that there are still many species that are currently undiscovered, and this is especially the case in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/explosion-in-ocean-life-triggered-mountain-formation/">ocean</a>. A recent example is Kyhytysuka, a Colombian marine reptile that dates back 130 million years.&nbsp;



The newly described reptile represents one of the last surviving subspecies of ichthyosaurs, a type of ancient marine animal that looks strikingly similar to a swordfish. However, Kyhytysuka had unique teeth that were unlike those shared by most ichthyosaurs.



“This animal evolved a unique dentition that allowed it to eat large prey,” explained Hans Larsson, director of the Redpath Museum at <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a>. “Whereas other ichthyosaurs had small, equally sized teeth for feeding on small prey, this new species modified its tooth sizes and spacing to build an arsenal of teeth for dispatching large prey, like big fishes and other marine reptiles.”



“We decided to name it Kyhytysuka which translates to ‘the one that cuts with something sharp’ in an indigenous language from the region in central Colombia where the fossil was found, to honour the ancient Muisca culture that existed there for millennia,” said Dirley Cortes of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.



In addition to presenting a new family member of the species, the discovery has also changed how the evolutionary tree of ichthyosaurs is understood.&nbsp;



“We compared this animal to other Jurassic and Cretaceous ichthyosaurs and were able to define a new type of ichthyosaurs. This shakes up the evolutionary tree of ichthyosaurs and lets us test new ideas of how they evolved," explained Erin Maxwell from the State Natural History Museum of Stuttgart.



The researchers confirmed that the species originated in the transitional period of the Early Cretaceous. During this era, sea levels were rising and the Earth was warming up. In addition, the supercontinent Pangea was splitting into separate north and south continents.&nbsp;



The Early Cretaceous world was also recovering from the global extinction event that occurred at the end of the Jurassic era, which had drastically changed the ecosystems of marine life.



“Many classic Jurassic marine ecosystems of deep-water feeding ichthyosaurs, short-necked plesiosaurs, and marine-adapted crocodiles were succeeded by new lineages of long-necked plesiosaurs, sea turtles, large marine lizards called mosasaurs, and now this monster ichthyosaur,” explained Cortes.



“We are discovering many new species in the rocks this new ichthyosaur comes from. We are testing the idea that this region and time in Colombia was an ancient biodiversity hotspot and are using the fossils to better understand the evolution of marine ecosystems during this transitional time."



The research is published in the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/tjsp20/current">Journal of Systematic Palaeontology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:calumvaughan05@gmail.com">Calum Vaughan</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Ancient Columbian reptile looked like a swordfish

With so many species of creatures in the world, it’s...

The food we choose to eat every day has impacts not only on our health, but also on the environment and the lives of countless animals. Each EU citizen consumes an annual average of 950 kilograms of food and drink, which is comparable to the weight of a small car. Globally, the production of food has many potential consequences for the world in which we live.&nbsp;



Although many studies present details about the nutritional and health impacts of different foods, research relating to the environmental and animal impacts of different diets is less common. A “One Health” approach has the goal of optimal health outcomes for humans, animals, and the environment, but studies that apply this perspective to nutrition issues are still rare, said Juliana Paris of the Center for Development Research (ZEF) at the <a href="https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/university/">University of Bonn</a>, Germany,



To investigate, Paris and her colleagues compared the advantages and disadvantages of different diets based on their impacts on humans, animals, and the environment. The researchers initially established a reference diet by sampling the products selected at supermarkets in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.&nbsp;



"We then compared this reference diet with three different scenarios: a shift according to the recommendations of the German Nutrition Society (DGE), a shift to a Mediterranean diet with more fish and seafood, and a shift to a vegan diet," explained Paris.



In each of these three scenarios, the foods were chosen to differ as little as possible from the reference diet. "That means, for example, that in the Mediterranean version, we increased the proportion of fish and seafood, vegetables and grain products," Paris said.&nbsp;



In addition, the overall product selection contained the same nutrients in similar amounts as before. This gave the researchers a food basket for each scenario, which they then analyzed further.



"To do this, we relied on various databases," said Dr. Neus Escobar of the Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria, who supervised the work. "They enabled us, for example, to estimate the impact of each diet on certain environmental aspects – such as the amount of greenhouse gases produced during their production or the water consumption. We took a similar approach to assess the impact of each diet on health." Red meat, for example, is known to increase the risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular disease.



The researchers assessed the impact of each diet on animal welfare by using indicators such as the number of animals that die to fill human food needs, and the conditions under which animals are kept. "But we also used the number of neurons or the size of the brain in relation to the body to estimate the extent to which the respective animals actually suffer when they are used," explained Paris.



The results indicated that, although all three of the different dietary scenarios would represent an improvement over the original reference diet, in terms of environmental sustainability, all of them had disadvantages from the One Health perspective.&nbsp;



The vegan diet scored best in many areas, but the production of vegan food involves increased water consumption. "In addition, vegans need to take certain nutrients separately, such as vitamin B12, vitamin D and even calcium," Paris says. This indicates that a vegan diet may not be ideal from the point of view of human health.



The Mediterranean diet (although beneficial in terms of health) also results in increased water requirements in the production of nuts and vegetables. Moreover, the replacement of red meat with fish has negative impacts on animal welfare. As fish and seafood are much smaller than, for instance, cows or pigs, considerably more animals are killed in order to fulfil human protein needs.&nbsp;



"It’s therefore beneficial to meet less of your overall protein needs from animal sources," Neus Escobar emphasizes. "In addition, many people today have diets that are significantly too rich. If they reduced the amount of food they ate, to what they really need, it might have additional positive effects."



The study concludes that, although the DGE dietary recommendations are going in the right direction, the other two options are better in terms of human health. As far as animal welfare is concerned, the data show that if you do without meat and instead put whole grains, vegetables and fruit on your plate, you will have less impact on the animals that share our planet. A diet that relies less heavily on animal protein will be better for your health, and will also be less damaging to the animals and the environment.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/science-of-the-total-environment">Science of The Total Environment</a>.



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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

Eating less meat is better for animal welfare and environmental health

The food we choose to eat every day has impacts...

Feral cats threaten the survival of over 100 native species in Australia and have caused the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extinction-of-ancient-grazers-changed-fire-regimes/">extinction</a> of a large number of small to medium-sized mammal species and ground-dwelling birds. However, new technology developed by the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a> (UniSA) may provide a targeted method for controlling invasive feral cats.



“Feral cats present a catastrophic threat for Australia’s wildlife as they occur across more than 99 percent of Australia’s land area and kill more than&nbsp;815 million mammals&nbsp;each year, the majority of which are native species,” said project coordinator Kyle Brewer, a doctoral student at UniSA.



“Smaller, ‘meal size’ mammals are most at risk, especially ground-dwellers such as the bilby, bettong, and quoll. Efforts to remove feral cats from a native landscape have had limited success, making it near impossible to re-establish threatened native populations outside a fenced area. Invariably, when native mammal reintroduction schemes are activated, they’re swiftly wiped out by an incursive feral cat.”



By using chemistry principles, scientists from UniSA’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/research/applied-chemistry-and-translational-biomaterials-actb/?_gl=1*n6bzcs*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE2MzA2NjMyNzcuQ2p3S0NBandqOGVKQmhBNUVpd0FnM3owbTR5MFRnT3ZDNnQ0MjFGaVJPMXNEVjRRRjVyVjMxRGFSQldCLXJCOFhsdDZhSVVjdjNfQWtSb0NTZDhRQXZEX0J3RQ..">Applied Chemistry and Translational Biomaterials Group</a>&nbsp;have created new, rice-sized&nbsp;Population Protecting Implants&nbsp;(PPIs) that are injected under the skin of native animals, where they remain inert until they are digested by a feral predator. The PPIs are covered by a protective coating and contain a toxin developed from natural plants that gets activated in the digestive system of the predator and kills it.&nbsp;



“By injecting native species with the PPI before they are reintroduced to their natural environment, we’re providing a protective buffer that aims to take out the feral invader in one stroke,” Brewer explained.



“If a feral cat successfully preys upon one of the PPI-injected mammals, it eats the implant, which activates in the cat’s gastric system causing poison release and death. Ultimately, this protects the remaining native animal population.”



Until now, 30 bilbies have been implanted with PPIs at&nbsp;<a href="https://aridrecovery.org.au/">Arid Recovery</a>, a 123 km2&nbsp;wildlife reserve in South Australia. If results from this first trial are positive, the technology will be commercialized and used for larger populations.



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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

Feral cats are a "catastrophic threat" to Australia’s wildlife

Feral cats threaten the survival of over 100 native species...

More than 70 percent of small mammals in the UK have declined in number since the 1970s, with weasels being now classified as “vulnerable to extinction," according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320721004146">Biological Conservation</a>. 



A research team led by the <a href="https://www.sussex.ac.uk/">University of Sussex</a>, the <a href="https://www.mammal.org.uk/">Mammal Society</a>, and the <a href="https://www.ceh.ac.uk/">UK Centre for Ecology &amp; Hydrology</a> has recently assessed trends of two thirds of UK’s land mammals from 1970 to 2016.



“By grouping mammal species into survey assemblages and creating detection histories from species presence records, occupancy-detection models were used to calculate the probability that a particular site was occupied and the species observed given that it was present. The proportion of all sampled sites that were estimated to be occupied could then be summed to get annual occupancy estimates," explained study lead author Frazer G. Coomber, a Science Officer at the Mammal Society.



The researchers found that while some species such as bats and deer seem to be increasing, others - including voles, field voles, water shrews, common shrews, stoats, harvest mice, and weasels - are showing marked declines.&nbsp;



The most affected small mammal species were the harvest mouse and the weasel, which were found to be shrinking by an annual average of 2.8 and 4.2 percent, respectively. Thus, while records from 1971 show weasels to be present in 50 percent of the areas studied, in 2020 they appeared in less than 20 percent of these regions.&nbsp;



According to the scientists, the decline in small mammals is mainly caused by humans. “The whole of Europe continues to have a problem with any species that's predatory,” explained study co-author Fiona Matthews, a professor of Environmental Biology at the University of Sussex.&nbsp;“As soon as we encounter something that isn't quite aligned with our human interests, we as the ultimate predator decide that we better get rid of it.”



In Professor Matthews’ view, in order to reverse this worrisome decline in weasel populations, obtaining a license before being allowed to cull them should be mandatory. Thus, in order to kill them, gamekeepers should show “overwhelming reason, like there’s another species of dire conservation concern that needs to be protected.”



By identifying endangered species, this study is of paramount important for future conservation efforts. “This is the ‘canary in the coal mine’ that tells us we need to act now to stop ecosystem collapse,” concluded Dr. Stephanie Wray, Chair of the Mammal Society.



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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

Small mammals are vanishing in the UK

More than 70 percent of small mammals in the UK...

Coral reefs are some of the most diverse habitats on our planet, sheltering thousands of species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/snow-monkeys-go-fishing-to-survive-during-the-winter/">fish</a>. Despite their importance, however, reefs are increasingly suffering from rising temperatures and severe plastic pollution - with plastic bags, bottles, and packaging present in nearly every existent reef. 



Although often ignored by scientists and environmentalists, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-mediterranean-sea-is-a-hotspot-for-plastic-pollution/">microplastics</a> – tiny plastic fragments measuring less than five millimeters - are just as prevalent in coral reefs all over the globe, and pose significant dangers.&nbsp;



In a new study published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/gcb.15920">Global Change Biology</a>, a research team led by Jessica Reichert, a postdoctoral fellow at the <a href="https://www.uni-giessen.de/welcome">Justus Liebig University Giessen</a> (JLU),&nbsp;has found that over four million pounds of microplastics are stored in coral reefs all over the world each year, causing bleaching and tissue necrosis in these marine animals.



In a previous study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0269749117329536">Environmental Pollution</a>, Reichert and her team investigated the effects of microplastics on six different coral species. They looked at how the reefs responded to the presence of microplastic particles in their environment, and how exposure to these materials affected their health.



The scientists exposed corals to increasing concentrations of microplastics under laboratory conditions. They discovered that while some corals confused the microplastics with food, eagerly ingesting them, others showed various forms of rejection, such as producing mucus in response to them.&nbsp;



After four weeks, regardless of their attitude toward the pollutants and whether they consumed them or not, five of the six species of corals under investigation displayed significant signs of ill health, such as bleaching and tissue necrosis.



“Our study clearly indicates that microplastics are yet another human-made stress factor for corals and that they are very likely to contribute to further deterioration of coral reefs on our planet,” said Dr. Reichert.



The new study shows that corals all over the world are now serving as a long-term sink for microplastic. After 18 months of exposure, most of the pollutants ended up inside the corals’ skeleton rather than tissues.&nbsp;



“In our study, particles were found 15 times more frequently in coral skeletons than in tissues,” wrote the study authors. “This shows that the coral tissue is likely only a temporary sink before particles are egested&nbsp;or permanently translocated to the skeleton.”



According to Reichert, it is not yet clear what consequences this type of storage might have for the corals and for reef stability and integrity. However, it might definitely pose “an additional threat to coral reefs worldwide.”&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

Millions of pounds of microplastics are stored in coral reefs

Coral reefs are some of the most diverse habitats on...

White nose syndrome is a fungal <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deadly-honey-bee-diseases-are-influenced-by-the-weather/">disease</a> which infects bats. The fungus arrived in the US from Europe, possibly on the boot of a caver. In Europe, bats have evolved some sort of immunity to the disease, but in the US, it’s been devastating.&nbsp;



The disease interrupts normal hibernation, putting the bats at risk in cold environments devoid of food. Now, researchers at the University of Waterloo are looking at hibernation patterns as a way to understand the impact of white nose syndrome on bats in the western US.&nbsp;



“Understanding the differences, hibernation patterns and physiology of bats in the West is key to predicting the impact that climate change and diseases such as white-nose syndrome will have on these bats," said lead researcher Professor Liam McGuire.



"White-nose syndrome has devastated bat populations in Eastern North America in recent years but many regions of the West remain unaffected. Understanding bat hibernation patterns can inform prevention and conservation efforts as this disease spreads west.”



Some of the bats studied have large ranges, so the scientists surveyed populations from Canada into the western US. They found that despite different environments, the bats found similar parameters for hibernation wherever they were within their range. Because of this, hibernation physiology was the same throughout the different populations surveyed.&nbsp;



With these early results in hand, the scientists expanded their efforts to look at 13 species of bats and found some differences in hibernation temperatures. Even at different temperatures, all of the bats slowed their metabolisms during hibernation to save energy. One major difference among bat populations was how much water was lost during hibernation.&nbsp;



“Water is a crucial resource for survival. Bats that lose high amounts of water through their skin or in their breath may need to arouse more frequently to drink water, impacting their hibernation cycles and requiring more energy overall," explained Professor McGuire.



Water loss may be an important factor in understanding the impact of white nose syndrome. The scientists point out that the bat populations most impacted in the eastern US lose more water during hibernation.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

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Common <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/artificial-light-at-night-interferes-with-firefly-mating/">courtship</a> behaviors in the animal kingdom, such as the display of a peacock’s luxurious tail, or the melody of a songbird’s tune, are relatively constant and rely upon high levels of repetition. Until recently, scientists thought that the songs of humpback whales are also employed in courtship rituals, in order to attract mates.&nbsp;



However, a new study led by Eduardo Mercado III, a professor of Psychology at the <a href="https://arts-sciences.buffalo.edu/">Buffalo College of Arts and Sciences</a>, argues that the constantly varying acoustic qualities of their songs are largely counterproductive to courtship, and they may in fact be used as echolocation devices, thus for finding rather than attracting other whales.



“My original intent to describe how individual whales vary their songs was motivated in part because the reproductive hypothesis suggests singers should be as elaborate as possible since doing anything less wouldn’t be attractive to potential mates,” said Mercado. “But I was struck by the variety within songs looking at the statistics. Things weren’t uniform.”



“The dynamic changes that individual whales make to songs within song sessions are counterproductive if songs serve mainly to provide conspecifics with indications of a singer’s fitness.”



While courtship displays and mating rituals can be compared to catchy but highly repetitive commercials appearing on television, humpback whales’ songs are more like jazz improvisation in terms of their diversity and unpredictability.



By recording and studying humpback whale songs off the coast of Hawaii, Mercado realized that, although reproduction may play a potential role in the whales’ behavior, the intricate mechanisms within songs can be better compared to hose at work in the eyes of land animals when they examine their environment.



“Analyses of variations in the amount of time singers spent producing the four themes suggest that the mechanisms that determine when singers transition between themes may be comparable to those that control when terrestrial animals move their eyes to fixate on different positions as they examine visual scenes,” Mercado explained.



Humpback whales produce both narrowband (singing vowels, for instance) and broadband sequences (e.g. clicking the tongue against the roof of the mouth), since each type of signal affords specific echolocation advantages.&nbsp;



“Neither of these distinctions is important in terms of the reproductive display hypothesis, because it makes no predictions about why a whale should use either one,” he says. “But for the sonar hypothesis, it is significant since the acoustic information returned to the sender from clicks is very different from the information obtained through vowels.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758%2Fs13420-021-00495-0">Learning &amp; Behavior</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

Humpback whale songs are used to locate, not attract, other whales

Common courtship behaviors in the animal kingdom, such as the...

species in Synapticolidae