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>.
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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

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

Geckos are known for their grippy feet which allow them to scale vertical surfaces. This superpower comes from millions of microscopic, hairlike structures on their toes. Scientists already understood gecko adhesion, but now have a clearer picture of the molecular structures that give the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pipeline-installation-boosts-diversity-of-seafloor-animals/">animal</a> its grip.&nbsp;



In a study from the <a href="https://www.nist.gov/">National Institute of Standards and Technology</a> (NIST), researchers analyzed the setae by zooming in using X-rays called a synchrotron. The experts discovered that the structures are coated in an ultra-thin film of water-repelling lipid molecules.



Setae are flexible and assume the microscopic contours of any surface the gecko is climbing. To release its foot, the gecko changes the angle of the setae, interrupting those forces and allowing the animal to take its next step.&nbsp;



These lipids are hydrophobic, meaning they repel water. “The lipids might function to push away any water beneath the spatulae, allowing them to make closer contact with the surface,” said study co-author Tobias Weidner of Aarhus University in Denmark. “This would help geckos maintain their grip on wet surfaces.”



The setae are made of a keratin protein similar to that found in human hair and fingernails which are extremely delicate. These keratin fibers are aligned in the direction of the setae, which might help them resist abrasion.



“You can imagine gecko boots that don’t slip on wet surfaces, or gecko gloves for holding tools that are wet,” said NIST physicist and study co-author Dan Fischer. “Or a vehicle that can run up walls, or a robot that can run along power lines and inspect them.”



The NIST synchrotron microscope can uniquely identify molecules on the surface of a three-dimensional object, measure their orientation and map their position. It is located at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory, where the National Synchrotron Light Source II provides a source of high-energy X-rays for illumination.&nbsp;



This microscope is typically used on advanced industrial materials, including batteries, semiconductors, solar panels and medical devices. “But it is fascinating to figure out how gecko feet work, and we can learn a lot from nature when it comes to improving our own technology," said Fischer.&nbsp;



“A lot was already known about how setae work mechanically,” said study co-author Cherno Jaye. “Now we have a better understanding of how they work in terms of their molecular structure.”&nbsp;



Geckos have inspired many products like adhesive tapes. Understanding the molecular features of setae could further inspire inventors to mimic nature in design, a concept called biomimicry.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

What gives gecko feet their grip?

Geckos are known for their grippy feet which allow them...

The word "hangry"’ is one of the most recent additions to the Oxford English Dictionary. It is defined as being irritable or bad tempered as a result of feeling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/overfishing-is-wiping-out-large-bodied-fish-in-the-amazon/">hungry</a>, and has come into popular use in everyday language in the past few years. Despite this, the phenomenon has not been explored scientifically outside of laboratory conditions.



A new study published in the journal&nbsp;<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a> is the first to investigate how hunger affects people’s emotions in their daily lives. The research, led by academics from <a href="https://aru.ac.uk/">Anglia Ruskin University</a> (ARU) in the UK and the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences in Austria, involved 64 adult participants from central Europe who recorded their feelings and levels of hunger on a smartphone app, five times a day for 21 days. This meant that data collection took place in the participants’ homes and workplaces and reflected the link between hunger and emotional wellbeing in a natural environment.



“Many of us are aware that being hungry can influence our emotions, but surprisingly little scientific research has focused on being ‘hangry.' Ours is the first study to examine being ‘hangry’ outside of a lab. By following people in their day-to-day lives, we found that hunger was related to levels of anger, irritability, and pleasure," explained study lead author Professor <a href="https://aru.ac.uk/people/viren-swami">Viren Swami</a>.



The results of the research show that people who are hungry are more likely to feel angry and irritable, and also to experience less pleasure from their daily lives. The effects of hunger were substantial, even after the researchers took into account demographic factors such as age and sex, body mass index, dietary behavior and individual personality traits.&nbsp;



Being hungry explained 37 percent of the variance in irritability, 34 percent of the variance in anger and 38 percent of the variance in pleasure recorded by the participants. The research also found that the negative emotions – irritability, anger, and unpleasantness – are related to both day-to-day fluctuations in hunger, and to residual levels of hunger, measured using averages over the three-week period.



“Although our study doesn’t present ways to mitigate negative hunger-induced emotions, research suggests that being able to label an emotion can help people to regulate it, such as by recognizing that we feel angry simply because we are hungry,” explained Swami. “Therefore, greater awareness of being ‘hangry’ could reduce the likelihood that hunger results in negative emotions and behaviors in individuals.”



The field work for the study was carried out by Stefan Stieger, Professor of Psychology at Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences. Professor Stieger said: “This ‘hangry’ effect hasn’t been analyzed in detail, so we chose a field-based approach where participants were invited to respond to prompts to complete brief surveys on an app. They were sent these prompts five times a day at semi-random occasions over a three-week period.”



“This allowed us to generate intensive longitudinal data in a manner not possible with traditional laboratory-based research,” he added. “Although this approach requires a great deal of effort – not only for participants but also for researchers in designing such studies – the results provide a high degree of generalizability compared to laboratory studies, giving us a much more complete picture of how people experience the emotional outcomes of hunger in their everyday lives.”



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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

People become "hangry" when their blood sugar is low

The word "hangry"’ is one of the most recent additions...

Wolves are iconic symbols of the wild; perhaps that is why some people love them while others despise them. A new study published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fcosc.2022.881483/full">Frontiers in Conservation Science</a> demonstrates that the common reason for hating these animals is baseless and that loving them for utilitarian reasons is also unfounded.&nbsp;



“Based on the currently available evidence (not just from the United States) large predators, despite their ability to kill ungulates and livestock, will not eliminate deer, threaten people or lead to intolerable losses of livestock – the myths," explained the researchers. "On the other hand, large predators are unlikely to right all wrongs humans have inflicted on ecosystems – the wishful thinking.”



“I was as fooled like everybody else by the lovely stories that came out of Yellowstone saying, you bring wolves back, and you restore the rivers, and everything’s hunky-dory," said study co-author Professor Bernd Blossey of <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a>. "Once I started digging like an archaeologist into the literature, I found things that were not supportive of what I thought I knew.”



Professor Blossey explained that predators still have a place on the land, “The hopes and fears that we have on both sides of the debate – neither are realized. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t allow the wolves, the mountain lions, to return to their traditional landscapes – they’re a part of it.”



When the United States took wolves off the endangered species list, many individuals, organizations, and even state governments claimed that wolves needed to die to safeguard hunting and ranching operations. The study authors note that wolves and other predators do not threaten the most commonly hunted ungulates.&nbsp;



“What we do to landscapes, whether that’s forestry, agriculture or gardening, provide deer with a perfect landscape for them to live in. Hunters don’t remove enough deer, cars don’t remove enough," said Blossey. "Their populations exploded, because the living conditions were just absolutely wonderful.”



As far as ranching is concerned, several factors lead to the loss of livestock, including lighting strikes, extreme temperatures, disease, inadequate husbandry, and poor foraging options. Moreover, there are simple steps that ranchers can take to safeguard livestock from wild predators like wolves.



The researchers want us to stop placing wolves into shallow categories and appreciate them for what they are, beneficial members of the ecological community. “As long as people learn to live with and tolerate the new (old) neighbors, a careful but not fully conflict-free existence appears possible.”



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wolves may not be heroes, but they're not villains either

Wolves are iconic symbols of the wild; perhaps that is...

The Colorado River has been a source of contention for many years, with many states wanting a piece of this precious water source. Now, Lake Mead, the largest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/european-farmland-is-a-huge-reservoir-of-microplastics/">reservoir</a> in the United States, is draining - and fast.&nbsp;



Considering that there has been a rise in temperatures and a decrease in rainfall, researchers at <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/">Texas A&amp;M University</a> set out to investigate the amount of water evaporating off the surface of artificial and natural lakes. This knowledge of evaporation loss may provide water managers with more insight and encourage more effective management.



Although water evaporation has been explored as something to consider when talking about climate change, there is not much information on its long-term trends and spatial distribution. The researchers created the global lake evaporation volume (GLEV) dataset to fill these gaps. This dataset utilizes modeling and remote sensing to measure evaporation in 1.42 million lakes and reservoirs worldwide.&nbsp;



The findings, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31125-6">Nature Communications</a>, were not encouraging. The experts determined that from 1985 to 2018 evaporation rate increased by 3.12 cubic kilometers per year.&nbsp;



Study first author Dr. Gang Zhao, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institute for Science, further explained the results and their importance.&nbsp;



"We found that the long-term lake evaporation is 1,500 plus or minus 150 cubic kilometers per year, which is 15.4% larger than previous estimates. This suggests that lake evaporation plays a larger role in the hydrological cycle than previously thought."



According to GLEV, reservoirs account for only 5% of the storage capacity and 10% of the surface area of lakes. Despite this, they account for 16% of total evaporation volume, meaning that the water lost to evaporation in reservoirs is equivalent to 20% of worldwide water consumption.&nbsp;



Dr. Huilin Gao, who led the study, pointed out that having this data to make projections is valuable. "This dataset helps the science community better understand the role that these water bodies play in Earth systems, from global weather forecasting, flood and drought modeling to Earth system modeling under climate change."



Texas A&amp;M researchers, along with the Desert Research Institute and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, will be working on a NASA project to continue monitoring reservoir evaporation in the western U.S. In addition, they will expand their work with Texas reservoirs.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Water evaporation from lakes is far greater than expected

The Colorado River has been a source of contention for...

A team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.nrel.gov/">National Renewable Energy Laboratory</a> (NREL) has recently assessed two promising new technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Although they are still in the early stages of development, direct air <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-capture-technology-could-greatly-reduce-emissions/">carbon capture</a> and sequestration (DAC) are considered essential to achieving a net-zero emissions economy by mid-century, and limiting global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2100.



“We will not hit our carbon-neutral targets by midcentury or our climate targets by the end of the century if we don’t push heavily for additional removal of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere,” said study corresponding author Patrick Lamers, a senior researcher at NREL.



The first DAC technology is solvent-based, relying upon a chemical solution that reacts with the carbon dioxide and forms potassium carbonate, which further reacts with calcium hydroxide to generate calcium carbonate. This substance is then collected, dried, and exposed to very high temperatures (about 900 degrees Celsius) to release the carbon dioxide, which is collected for further storage. The second technology is sorbent-based, employing a process that binds carbon dioxide to a silica part of an air contactor, which is heated with steam at approximately 100 degrees Celsius to release carbon dioxide that is afterwards cooled and dried.&nbsp;



In both cases, the carbon dioxide is compressed and transported through a pipeline to a geological reservoir through wells 1.8 miles deep. Pilot plants in Canada (the solvent method) and Iceland (the sorbent method) are already testing the processes. Due to the energy intensity of DAC, its environmental trade-offs are directly influenced by the energy inputs of the DAC plants. However, the large-scale deployment of these technologies will change the energy system load and create a feedback effect in which the economy-wide decarbonization will balance an offsetting technology (DAC) and sectoral mitigation efforts.



“The large-scale deployment of new technologies is likely going to create feedback effects within the system, and we need to preemptively assess these to avoid potential future, unintended consequences,” Dr. Lamers explained. “Our analysis shows the net carbon dioxide removal benefits of different direct air capture technologies and highlights environmental performance improvements for metrics such as human toxicity in a changing energy system.”



While the scientists do not specifically endorse a specific DAC technology, they stress the fact that their large-scale deployment is insufficient for mitigating climate change, if decarbonization targets will be relaxed. A simultaneous decarbonization of the electricity sector and improvements in DAC technology “are indispensable to avoid environmental problem-shifting” that may involve human toxicity or eutrophication impacts.&nbsp;



“Thus, if you look closely, our work really stresses the importance of the circular economy of energy materials and how it is a precursor to a truly sustainable future energy system heavily dependent on clean, renewable energy sources,” Dr. Lamar concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-31146-1">Nature Communications</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

New tech can capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

A team of scientists led by the National Renewable Energy...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.lanl.gov/">Los Alamos National Laboratory</a> has discovered that the Arctic is heating up over four times faster than the rate of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/earth-endured-rapid-global-warming-300-million-years-ago/">global warming</a>. The analysis revealed that this trend has stepped upward steeply twice in the past 50 years, a finding which was missed by all but four of the 39 existing climate models. According to the experts, these sudden increases were most likely caused by sea-ice and water-vapor feedbacks combined with changes in how atmospheric and oceanic heat move into the Arctic.



“Thirty years is considered the minimum to represent climate change,” said study lead author Petr Chylek, a physicist and climate researcher at the Los Alamos National Lab. “We decreased the time interval to 21 years. At that smaller time scale and, contrary to previous investigations that found the Arctic amplification index increases in a smooth way, we observed two distinct steps, one in 1986 and a second one in 1999.”



Since these trends identified by the scientists affect global weather and sea levels, and the melting of the Greenland ice sheet causes sea-level rises that threaten many coastal communities, accurately projecting climate change in smaller timeframes is crucial for planning any mitigation and adaptation strategies.



From the 39 climate change models in the widely used <a href="https://esgf-node.llnl.gov/projects/cmip6/">Coupled Model Intercomparison Project</a>, the scientists found only four that reproduced the first step reasonably well around 1986, but none that reproduced the second step in 1999. “We attributed the first step to increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other pollutants in the atmosphere, because several models do it correctly, but the second step we think is due to climate variability because none of the models can reproduce it,” explained Professor Chylek.



The scientists aim to further investigate future Arctic climate projections using the four models that came closest to matching the observed Arctic warming trends. “Because the four models correctly reproduce at least the first step, we assume they’re a little better for future climate projection,” Chylek said. “People usually average all models and assume the ensemble is more reliable than any single model. We show the average does not work in this case.”&nbsp;



“People are not only interested in long-term climate change, but they are also interested in 10 years ahead, 20 years, 30 years. For decadal prediction our observation that the amplification index changed in the past in steps is quite important,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1029/2022GL099371">Geophysical Research Letters</a>.



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

The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the planet

A new study led by the Los Alamos National Laboratory...

Plastic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/soil-pollution-has-been-linked-to-heart-disease/">pollution</a> in the world’s oceans has increased exponentially in the past few decades and has become one of the most serious threats to marine organisms. Because plastics don’t decompose naturally, they can persist for long time periods and accumulate in marine environments. It is estimated that between 4.8 and 12.7 million tons of plastic waste enters the oceans each year, and either sinks to the bottom or remains suspended in the water column. Currents carry the plastics along and distribute them far and wide.&nbsp;



Just how widely dispersed these plastics are, was brought home by researchers from the Centre Scientifique de Monaco and the International Coral Reef Center, Republic of Palau, in a recent study published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>. The researchers wondered whether microplastics were present on and around the islands of the Palau Archipelago, a series of about 340 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. This archipelago is remote and far from most urban locations and pollution sources, and it boasts some of the most pristine coral reefs in the world.&nbsp;



Coral reefs are biodiverse habitats that act as nursery, breeding and feeding grounds for a variety of marine organisms. They also support human activities, such as food provision and tourism. However, coral reefs are already under threat from global climate change that has brought ocean warming and acidification. Plastic contamination would certainly be an additional stressor to these fragile ecosystems.



The researchers chose five study sites at different locations around the archipelago. Their aim was to investigate pollution by microplastics and microfibers in the beaches, reef sediments and seawater of the major islands of Palau. They used simple sampling methods to demonstrate that such research can be carried out without complicated or sophisticated technology.&nbsp;



Microplastics are particles of plastic less than 5mm in size and they pollute the marine environment either as primary microplastics (microfibers from clothing, microbeads or plastic pellets), or as secondary microplastics that have formed from the degradation of larger pieces of plastic by physical abrasion or photochemical oxidation. Microplastics can be ingested by marine organisms that may suffer injury, gut blockage, starvation and mortality as a consequence.&nbsp;



In addition, microplastics often contain toxic additives, absorb persistent pollutants and heavy metals from seawater, and are colonized by a variety of microorganisms, including pathogens. Ingesting microplastics can thus transfer chemical pollutants and pathogens to the marine organisms. Furthermore, microplastics can break down into even smaller fragments, known as nanoplastics (&lt; 1µm).



The researchers used zooplankton trawl nets with a very fine mesh size to drag through the water at a depth of 10cm at each site. The nets were washed carefully while on board and the samples transferred to bottles. Once back at the laboratory the samples were passed through filter paper and dried before being weighed.&nbsp;



Subsurface sediment samples from the coral reefs were collected by SCUBA divers who scraped up the top 5cm of sediment from sample sites at a depth of around 13 meters. Similarly, the top 5cm of sand was scraped up from sample sites at the beaches. The samples were filtered and treated with chemicals to separate the plastics from the sediment. The microplastics were then dyed with an orange dye and counted using a microscope.&nbsp;



The researchers found that microplastics and microfibers were present in all the samples they analyzed. Far from being protected by their relative isolation, the Palau islands harbored plastic pollution in their reefs, beaches and surrounding seawater. In seawater, the abundance of microplastics ranged from 0.01–0.09 particles per liter, while in beach sand there were 0.17–0.34 particles per gram. Analysis of the reef sediments revealed the presence of between 6 and 12 plastic particles per gram, which was greater than the microplastic abundance in the other two habitats.&nbsp;



The researchers were also surprised to find the presence of nanoplastic particles in all their samples. The nanoplastics were more abundant than the microplastics, representing between 54.9 and 96.1 percent of each sample analyzed. This was despite the fact that the equipment used was not designed to trap nanoplastic particles and so their abundance would have been greatly underestimated.&nbsp;



These findings indicate that pollution from microplastics and microfibers is ubiquitous in marine environments and that pristine reefs in remote areas are not protected from this phenomenon. The researchers state that microplastic pollution of ecosystems depends more upon the movement of water currents than on proximity to anthropogenic activities. They expect that microplastics are likely to affect the health of sediment-dwelling organisms as well as filter feeders such as corals.



“Plastic pollution in the reef waters and sediments of Palau, which is not a hotspot of human activity, needs to be considered in future studies, especially during heat waves which, in combination with plastic pollution, can particularly affect coral reef organisms," wrote the researchers.



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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

Pristine coral reefs have been invaded by microplastics

Plastic pollution in the world’s oceans has increased exponentially in...

New research led by the <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> (WHOI) has found that projected changes in wintertime precipitation in the Iberian Peninsula have a marked negative effect on Portugal’s and Spain’s <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/agriculture-could-play-a-key-role-in-limiting-global-warming/">agriculture</a>, threatening key crops such as olives and grapes. According to the scientists, these changes are caused by a subtropical high-pressure system known as the Azores High, which is now significantly higher than in the pre-industrial era, leading to anomalously dry conditions across the Western Mediterranean, including the Iberian region.



The Azores High – which extend over the eastern subtropical North Atlantic and Europe during winter – has changed dramatically in the past century. “The industrial-era expansion of the Azores High in a warming climate is a result of the anthropogenic increase in atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations,” wrote the study authors.



“What we are seeing here with the expansion of the Azores High is bad news for winter rainfall in the Iberian Peninsula. That has severe implications for agriculture and other sectors reliant on water resources,” added study co-author Caroline Ummenhofer, an expert in Physical Oceanography at WHOI.&nbsp;



By using state-of-the-art climate model simulations of the last 1,200 years, the researchers isolated the effects of volcanic, ozone/aerosols, solar and orbital variability, and well-mixed atmospheric greenhouse gas forcings, and found that the greenhouse emissions played a disproportionate role in the changes observed in the Azores High. The results revealed that extremely large Azores High areas occurred on average during 15 winters in the 20th century, compared to only ten winters for all other 100-year-long periods over the previous millennium.



“For the 20th&nbsp;century, this reflects a 50 percent increase in the frequency of winters with extremely large Azores High that are associated with dry conditions in the Iberian Peninsula - an occurrence rate not seen at any time during the previous 1,000 years,” said Dr. Ummenhofer.



Moreover, the scientists discovered that the most recent 25-year period available – from 1980 to 2005 - averaged 6.5 winters with extremely large Azores High areas, while other 25-year-long periods since 1850 averaged only 2.6 such winters. Thus, it is two to three times more likely now to experience winters with extremely large Azores Highs, compared to the situation between 1850 and 1980.



If greenhouse gas emissions are not urgently curbed, it will become increasingly difficult to grow crops in the Iberian Peninsula, threatening the livelihoods of local populations, and possibly depleting the whole world of the famous wines and olives that are the trademarks of countries such as Spain or Portugal.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41561-022-00971-w">Nature Geoscience</a>.



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

Future of Spanish wine is threatened by climate change

New research led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)...

A new study published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.122.025657">Journal of the American Heart Association</a> has found that, although eating one <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/avocado-linked-to-overall-healthier-diets/">avocado</a> per day for six months had no effect on belly fat, liver fat, or waist circumference in overweight or obese people, it nevertheless led to a slight decrease in unhealthy cholesterol level. This is the largest and longest study on the effects of avocado on health, comprising of a randomized trial of more than 1,000 participants who were followed over a period of six months.



While previous, smaller studies have found a link between eating avocados and lower body weight, BMI, and waist circumference, this new, extensive longitudinal investigation did not find any such correlations. However, according to study co-author Penny Kris-Etherton – a professor of Nutritional Science at the <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> - although “the avocados did not affect belly fat or weight gain, the study still provides evidence that they can be a beneficial addition to a well-balanced diet. Incorporating an avocado per day in this study did not cause weight gain and also caused a slight decrease in LDL cholesterol, which are all important findings for better health.”



Professor Kris-Etherton and her colleagues conducted a six-month experiment involving over 1,000 overweight or obese participants, half of whom were instructed to eat an avocado per day, while the others continued their usual diets and were told to limit their avocado consumption to a maximum of two each month. The scientists measured participants’ fat around the abdomen and other organs before and after the end of the study, using state-of-the-art MRI technology.



“While one avocado a day did not lead to clinically significant improvements in abdominal fat and other cardiometabolic risk factors, consuming one avocado a day did not result in body weight gain,” explained study co-author Joan Sabaté, a professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology at the <a href="https://home.llu.edu/">Loma Linda University</a>. “This is positive because eating extra calories from avocados doesn’t impact body weight or abdominal fat, and it slightly decreases total and LDL-cholesterol.” The experiment revealed that daily avocado consumption resulted in total cholesterol decreasing 2.9 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL), and LDL cholesterol decreasing 2.5 mg/dL.



Moreover, the results also suggest that eating avocados each day improved the overall quality of participants’ diets by eight points on a 100-point scale. “Adherence to the <a href="https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/">Dietary Guidelines for Americans</a> is generally poor in the U.S., and our findings suggest that eating an avocado per day can substantially increase overall diet quality,” reported study co-author Kristina Petersen, an expert in nutrition at Penn State. “This is important because we know a higher diet quality is associated with lower risk of several diseases including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers.”



In future studies, the researchers aim to investigate the specific ways in which participants incorporate avocados into their diets, and clarify whether how people eat avocados may influence their health benefits.



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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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Avocados improve diet quality and lower cholesterol levels

A new study published in the Journal of the American...

Paleontologists have recently discovered that hundreds of fossil frogs died in a swamp 45 million years ago while <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gut-molecule-makes-animals-switch-from-eating-to-mating/">mating</a>. In central Germany, this watery death trap led to the death of over 50,000 ancient birds, horses, bats, fish and frogs.&nbsp;



The Geisltal area was a coalfield with unique geological features housing thousands of fossils. Considered a scientific treasure trove, the area provides a unique window of how plants and animals have evolved over millions of years.&nbsp;



During the middle Eocene 50 million years ago, Earth was much warmer. The Geiseltal area was a swampy, subtropical forest inhabited by ancestors of the horse, crocodiles, giant snakes, lizards, birds and plenty of frogs and toads.



Previous research determined that Geiseltal frogs could have died from oxygen depletion in the water. However, the exact cause of death has long been a mystery - until now.&nbsp;



The team from <a href="https://www.ucc.ie/">University College Cork</a> (UCC) studied the bones of the fossil frogs and were able to narrow down causes of death.&nbsp;



“As far as we can tell, the fossil frogs were healthy when they died, and the bones don’t show any signs of predators or scavengers – there’s also no evidence that they were washed in during floods, or died because the swamp dried up.” said lead researcher Daniel Falk.&nbsp;



Most of the Geiseltal fossil frogs spend their lives on land, returning to the water only to breed. “By process of elimination, the only explanation that makes sense is that they died during mating.”



This phenomenon is common in frogs today. “Female frogs are at higher risk of drowning as they are often submerged by one or more males – this often happens in species that engage in mating congregations during the short explosive breeding season,” said study senior author Professor Maria McNamara.&nbsp;



“What’s really interesting is that fossil frogs from other sites also show these features, suggesting that the mating behaviours of modern frogs are really quite ancient and have been in place for at least 45 million years."



These findings are the first of new discoveries after the reopening of the famous Geiseltal fossil collections of the “Zentralmagazin Naturwissenschaftlicher Sammlungen (ZNS)” in Germany.&nbsp;



The study is published today in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/20562802">Papers in Palaeontology</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Hundreds of frogs died while mating in ancient swamp

Paleontologists have recently discovered that hundreds of fossil frogs died...

Environmental groups got a major victory in a California courtroom today.when a federal judge overturned a Trump era decision to weaken the Endangered Species Act. The Trump administration had aimed to simplify the process of removing a species from the endangered list, while weakening protections for threatened species - <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/when-was-land-first-colonized-by-plants/">plants</a> and animals that are likely to become endangered.



Overall, the Trump era rules were going to make it very difficult for experts to protect wildlife from the imminent threats associated with climate change. The sweeping changes by Trump were believed to serve the purpose of clearing the way for new mining, development, and drilling projects in areas where protected species live.



Last year, the Biden administration announced plans to review the legislation, but there did not appear to be a sufficient sense of urgency. As a result, the state of California teamed up with several conservation groups such as <a href="https://earthjustice.org/">Earthjustice</a> to sue the federal government. Noah Greenwald is the endangered species director at the Center for Biological Diversity.



"Trump's gutting of endangered species protections should have been rescinded on day one of the Biden presidency,"&nbsp; Greenwald said in a statement. "With today's court ruling, the Services can finally get on with the business of protecting and recovering imperiled species."



Earthjustice attorney Kristen Boyles told CNN that the Biden administration's Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service had stopped working on their review and asked the California judge to send the rules back to the agencies without vacating them.



"We've been really frustrated with Fish and Wildlife Service. They said that in June of last year, but they stopped. They didn't do any work. That's practically why this court order had to happen," said Boyles.



"The Court spoke for species desperately in need of comprehensive federal protections without compromise. Threatened and endangered species do not have the luxury of waiting under rules that do not protect them.



Jon Tigar is the US District Judge for the Northern District of California, who made the decision to throw out the 2019 ESA Rules. Tigar said that the Biden administration has not "evinced any desire to keep the intact," which made it an easy decision to vacate the legislation.



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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

Huge win for wildlife: Endangered Species Act restored

Environmental groups got a major victory in a California courtroom...

Many studies have already shown that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-threatens-the-health-of-billions-of-people/">climate change</a> negative affects human health through exposure to extreme weather and climate events, including the direct effect of high temperatures on heat stress, as well as their indirect effect on food safety and the spread of infectious diseases. Children in low-income countries are particularly vulnerable to heat due to pre-existing illnesses and malnutrition, poor healthcare systems, and houses that provide insufficient protection from the heat.&nbsp;



However, due to insufficient health and environmental data, the impact of heat on child mortality in low and middle-income countries is still poorly understood. Now, a team of international scientists led by the <a href="https://www.leeds.ac.uk/">University of Leeds</a> has found that up to 6,000 child deaths per year could be prevented in Africa if temperature increases are limited to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5ºC target.&nbsp;



By estimating the impact of climate change on annual heat-related deaths of children under five years old in sub-Saharan Africa from 1995 to 2050 under three carbon emissions scenarios (low, medium, and high), the researchers predict that, if no efforts are made to cut emissions, heat-related child mortality could double by mid-century, reaching a staggering 38,000 deaths per year in 2049. However, the analysis suggests that, under a low emissions scenario, approximately 4,000 to 6,000 deaths per year could be avoided in Africa and that, even under a medium emissions scenario, between 2,000 to 3,000 deaths could be avoided.



“Temperatures are already increasing in Africa. Since 1980, temperatures have risen between 0.2 – 0.4°C per decade and as temperatures continue to increase due to climate change, so will heat-related deaths,” explained study co-author Cathryn Birch, an associate professor of Meteorology and Climate at the University of Leeds.



“Young children are especially vulnerable to the effects of heat exposure. They have limited ability to thermoregulate and high temperatures can increase disease transmission and outbreaks. This research details the very real consequences of allowing carbon emissions to continue unchecked. Our results underscore the need for more ambitious mitigation measures to protect vulnerable populations and the need for proactive and effective adaptation.”



“More research is urgently needed to understand how extreme heat affects the health of children and which interventions can effectively manage and mitigate heat impacts on vulnerable populations and save thousands of children from dying unnecessarily,” concluded study co-author Shakoor Hajat, an expert in Environmental Health at the <a href="https://www.lshtm.ac.uk/">London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine</a>.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ac7ac5">Environmental Research Letters</a>.



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

Unchecked emissions could double heat-related child mortality

Many studies have already shown that climate change negative affects...

Beautiful,Image,In,Nature,Of,Monarch,Butterfly,On,Lantana,Flower

Climate change and other anthropogenic factors are already causing an ongoing biodiversity crisis, leading to mass die-offs in coral reefs and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microscopic-fungi-help-forests-fight-climate-change/">forests</a>, altered species distributions and reproductive events, and a host of other negative effects. A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London</a> (UCL) and the <a href="https://www.uct.ac.za/">University of Cape Town</a> has found that, even if global temperatures begin to decline after peaking this century, the risks to biodiversity could persist for several decades after.&nbsp;



“We have investigated what will happen to global biodiversity if climate change is only brought under control after a temporary overshoot of the agreed target, to provide evidence that has long been missing from climate change research,” said study co-author Alex Pigot, an expert in Biodiversity and Global Change at UCL.



“We found that huge numbers of animal species will continue to endure unsafe conditions for decades after the global temperature peak. Even if we collectively manage to reverse global warming before species are irreversibly lost from ecosystems, the ecological disruption caused by unsafe temperatures could well persist for an additional half century or more. Urgent action is needed to ensure we never approach, let alone exceed, the 2°C limit.”



Dr. Pigot and his colleagues examined over 30,000 species all over the globe and discovered that, for more than one quarter of the locations studied, the probabilities of returning to pre-overshoot “normal” are uncertain or even non-existent. As climate change advances, many species will be rapidly exposed to unsafe temperatures and pushed beyond their thermal niche limits.&nbsp;



Unfortunately, the findings suggest that, even if deep carbon cuts and massive deployment of carbon dioxide removal technologies will stabilize the climate by the end of the century, the return of these species to conditions comfortably within their thermal niches will be gradual and will lag behind global warming declines, due to continually volatile climatic conditions within specific locations and lasting changes to ecosystems. Thus, the overshoot for biodiversity risks is estimated to last between 100 and 130 years – about twice as long as the actual temperature overshoot of about 60 years. Tropical regions will be the most affected, leading to massive biodiversity loss.



“Our study shows that should we find ourselves overshooting the 2°C global warming target, we could pay dearly in terms of loss of biodiversity, compromising the provision of the ecosystem services that we all rely on for our livelihoods. Avoiding a temperature overshoot should be a priority, followed by limiting the duration and magnitude of any overshoot,” said study co-author Joanne Bentley, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cape Town.



“Our findings are stark,” concluded co-author Christopher Trisos, the director of the <a href="https://climaterisklab.com/">Climate Risk Lab</a> at the same university. “They should act as a wake-up call that delaying emissions cuts will mean a temperature overshoot that comes at an astronomical cost to nature and humans that unproven negative emission technologies cannot simply reverse.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rstb.2021.0394">Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Biodiversity risks will persist long after temperatures peak

Climate change and other anthropogenic factors are already causing an...

A sovereign credit rating shows the risk of investing in a certain nation. For the first time ever, there is a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-biodiversity-affect-species-interactions/">biodiversity</a> adjusted sovereign credit rating. This rating aims at showing the cold financial impact caused by the loss of wildlife, including animals, plants, and fungi.



Loss of an abundance of beautiful wildlife is already set to cause sovereign downgrades. China and Indonesia seem to be moving towards a drop of two notches each by 2030 if they continue on their current courses.



It could be even worse. World Bank simulations show "partial ecosystem collapse" possible in many parts of the world. If this happens, it could mean major losses in fishes people eat, trees we cut down for timber and bees, birds and butterflies that pollinate our crops when they visit.&nbsp;



These losses would cause real hardship as well as financial declines. Overall, 26 of the nations studied could face a decline in this case, including drops in China of 6 notches and India slipping 4 notches on a 20-notch system.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Across the 26 countries that were found to have the greatest risks, the cost for these slips would be an estimated increase in interest payments of US$53 billion annually, causing a large risk of bankruptcy.



The economists who carried out their study point out that their calculations are conservative, counting only fisheries, lumber and pollination. In reality, an infinitude of other losses in nature have an impact as well.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The economic team from Cambridge, East Anglia, Sheffield Hallam, and SOAS University of London point out that investors ignoring nature cannot effectively calculate risk any more.&nbsp;



“It is not just the financiers that lose out,” said study lead author Dr .Matthew Agarwala from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>. “Increased sovereign risk sees markets demand higher risk premia, meaning governments – and, ultimately, tax payers – pay more to borrow.”



“As nature loss reduces economic performance, it will become harder for countries to service their debt, straining government budgets and forcing them to raise taxes, cut spending, or increase inflation. This will have grim consequences for ordinary people.”



The report was supported by the Finance for Biodiversity Initiative.&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

Losing wildlife will be very costly for some countries

A sovereign credit rating shows the risk of investing in...

Jonathan is a Seychelles giant tortoise. At the age of 190, he is the longest known living land animal in the world. Many people assume that tortoises and other ectotherms, also known as cold-blooded <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-different-types-of-animals-see/">animals</a>, live for a very long time. However, this idea is largely based on animals living in captivity and a small number of animals living in the wild. 



The research was lacking for large populations of wild ectotherms. So, an international team of 114 scientists led by <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a>m and Northeastern Illinois University worked to obtain data on wild ectotherms from around the world to find out if they are indeed long-living critters.&nbsp;



By working together, the scientists gathered information from 107 populations of 77 reptile and amphibian species. They found that the assumptions were correct. Turtles, crocodilians, and salamanders do have long life spans for their size. These animals also age more slowly than endotherms (warm-blooded animals).



Interestingly, the experts observed that animals with protective physical features age even slower, sometimes to the point of "negligible aging," which means that they don’t age biologically.



Study senior author David Miller explained that many people believe ectotherms age more slowly because they have a slower metabolism than endotherms.



“People tend to think, for example, that mice age quickly because they have high metabolisms, whereas turtles age slowly because they have low metabolisms.”&nbsp;



However, the study does not support this hypothesis. “We didn’t find support for the idea that a lower metabolic rate means ectotherms are aging slower. That relationship was only true for turtles, which suggests that turtles are unique among ectotherms," said Miller.



The results of the study support the protective phenotype hypothesis, suggesting that animals with physical or chemical defensive traits (i.e., venom, shell, armor, spines) age more slowly and live longer. Of course, having protective armor such as a shell will help an animal not get eaten and consequently live longer, but the researchers couldn’t determine the cause for the aging correlation.&nbsp;



“It could be that their altered morphology with hard shells provides protection and has contributed to the evolution of their life histories, including negligible aging – or lack of demographic aging – and exceptional longevity," said study co-author Anne Bronikowski.



The researchers are hopeful that this information can guide conservation efforts for this often overlooked group, many of which are threatened or endangered.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</a>,&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wild reptiles have long life spans for their size

Jonathan is a Seychelles giant tortoise. At the age of...

An international team of paleontologists has recently discovered the oldest belly button known to science in a 125-million-year-old <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-of-the-dinosaurs-were-warm-blooded/">dinosaur</a> fossil found in China two decades ago. The fossil belongs to a member of the genus Psittacosaurus, a group of bipedal, horned dinosaurs which roamed the Earth during the Early Cretaceous period (about 145 to 100.5 million years ago).



By applying the Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence (LSF) technique to a fossilized skin specimen of this two-meter-long herbivorous creature, the scientists observed a barely perceptible navel mark.&nbsp;



“Using LSF imaging, we identified distinctive scales that surrounded a long umbilical scar in the&nbsp;Psittacosaurus&nbsp;specimen, similar to certain living lizards and crocodiles,” explained study co-author Michael Pittmann, an assistant professor of Paleobiology at the <a href="https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/">Chinese University of Hong Kong</a> (CUHK). “We call this kind of scar a belly button, and it is smaller in humans. This specimen is the first dinosaur fossil to preserve a belly button, which is due to its exceptional state of preservation.”



Unlike humans and other mammals, dinosaurs did not have an umbilical cord, because they laid eggs. Instead, the yolk sac of dinosaurs was directly attached to their bodies through a slit-like opening that was also discovered in other egg-laying land animals. At the time the animals hatch, this opening seals up, leaving a distinctive long umbilical scar.&nbsp;Although scientists assumed for a long time that dinosaurs must have had such belly buttons, this study is the first to support this hypothesis with fossil evidence.



“This&nbsp;Psittacosaurus&nbsp;specimen is probably the most important fossil we have for studying dinosaur skin,” said study lead author Phil R. Bell, a vertebrate paleontologist at the University of New England in Australia. “But it continues to yield surprises that we can bring to life with new technology like laser imaging.”



“Unlike most extant reptiles and birds that lose this scar within days to weeks after hatching, the umbilicus of&nbsp;Psittacosaurus&nbsp;persisted at least until sexual maturity, similar to some lizards and crocodylians with which it shares the closest morphological resemblance," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"This discovery is the oldest record of an amniote umbilicus and the first in a non-avian dinosaur. However, given the variability of this structure in extant reptilian analogues, a persistent umbilical scar may not have been present in all non-avian dinosaurs."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-022-01329-9">BMC Biology</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Oldest belly button known to science found in a dinosaur

An international team of paleontologists has recently discovered the oldest...

Scientists have long known that the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-rally-against-the-worlds-first-octopus-farm/">octopus</a> is an extraordinary organism with a highly complex brain and cognitive abilities that are unique among invertebrate creatures. According to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.sissa.it/">International School for Advanced Study</a> (SISSA) in Trieste, Italy, the neuronal and cognitive complexity of these animals could originate from a molecular analogy with the human brain. The experts found that the octopus and human brain share similar transposons, or “jumping genes” – a type of genes that can move from one point to another of an individual’s genome, shuffling or duplicating.



Over 45 percent of the human brain is composed of such jumping genes. However, most of them lost their ability to move, or are inactive because they accumulated mutations over generations. Moreover, even some of the intact ones are most of the time blocked by cellular defense mechanisms. The most relevant mobile elements, though, belong to the Long Interspersed Nuclear Elements (LINE) family. These are still potentially active, and are thought to be associated with cognitive abilities such as learning or memory.&nbsp;



The scientists found that the genomes of two common species of octopus – Octopus vulgarisms and Octopus bimaculoides – are also rich in jumping genes, although most of them are inactive. However, some elements of the LINE family were discovered in parts of the octopus brain that are crucial for these creatures’ amazing cognitive abilities.



“The discovery of an element of the LINE family, active in the brain of the two octopus species, is very significant because it adds support to the idea that these elements have a specific function that goes beyond copy-and-paste,” explained study co-senior author Remo Sanges, the director of the Computational Genomics Laboratory at SISSA.



“I literally jumped on the chair when, under the microscope, I saw a very strong signal of activity of this element in the vertical lobe, the structure of the brain which in the octopus is the seat of learning and cognitive abilities, just like the&nbsp;hippocampus&nbsp;in humans,” added study co-author Giovanna Ponte, a researcher in Biology and Neurophysiology at the <a href="https://www.szn.it/index.php/it/">Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn</a>.



According to the researchers, this similarity between the genetic constitution of the human and octopus brain are a fascinating example of convergent evolution – a phenomenon for which, in two genetically distinct species, the same molecular processes develop independently, in response to similar needs.&nbsp;



“The brain of the octopus is functionally analogous in many of its characteristics to that of mammals. For this reason, also, the identified LINE element represents a very interesting candidate to study to improve our knowledge on the evolution of intelligence,” concluded co-senior author Graziano Fiorito, the director of the Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms at the Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-022-01303-5">BMC Biology</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Human and octopus brains are more similar than expected

Scientists have long known that the octopus is an extraordinary...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/">Simon Fraser University</a> (SFU) has found that temperature changes have negatively impacted most species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/multiple-habitats-must-be-protected-to-save-bumblebees/">bumblebees</a> over the past 120 years. According to the experts, such shifts in temperatures had more of a negative impact than other factors, including precipitation levels and floral resources.



“Bumblebees are important pollinators for wild plants and for the crops humans rely on for food. That’s why we need to develop conservation strategies that account for the future impacts of climate change on bee populations,” said study lead author Hanna Jackson, a Masters student in Biological Sciences at SFU.



Together with her colleagues, Jackson analyzed a large dataset containing records of 46 species of bumblebees from North America between 1900 and 2020. In order to estimate the effects of climate and land-use variables on species’ occupancy, the researchers created two occupancy models - one focused on time and the other on environmental factors. The analysis revealed that six bumblebee species decreased through time, 18 remained stable, and 22 increased.



Although both temperature and precipitation increased over the past 120 years, the results suggest that temperature changes had the most pointed negative impact on bumblebee populations, with 37 of the 46 species showing greater declines - or, at least, less positive increases in occupancy - as temperatures have steadily risen.&nbsp;



Nine of these species exhibited clear declines correlated to changing temperatures within their range. The scientists did not find such patterns related to the other factors that were investigated, - such as precipitation - and only one species declined due to scarcity in floral resources. In fact, the study of the relation between bee dynamics and precipitation and floral resources had mixed results: about half of the species were negatively impacted by changes in these factors, while the other half seemed to benefit from them.



Thus, changing temperatures are a major environmental factor driving changes in the composition of bumblebee populations. However, all the observed trends appeared to be highly species-specific.&nbsp;



“Because bumblebee species likely vary in their future responses to land-use and climate change, conservation action should prioritize individual species, taking into account their unique climate and habitat preferences,” Jackson concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0551">Biology Letters</a>.&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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Temperature changes negatively impact bumblebees

A new study led by the Simon Fraser University (SFU)...

Populations of migratory bird <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/managing-invasive-species-can-improve-climate-resilience/">species</a> have been declining more than non-migratory birds. Now, researchers have set out to identify the problem in a new study published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14668238">Global Ecology and Biogeography</a>.&nbsp;



“We know that migratory birds are in greater decline than non-migratory species, but it’s not clear why. We wanted to find out where in their life cycles these migratory species are most exposed to human impacts," said Dr. James Gilroy from the <a href="https://www.uea.ac.uk/">University of East Anglia</a>’s (UAE) School of Environmental Sciences.



The research shows that migratory birds passing through human built environments suffer the most losses. Impacts with wind turbines, dangerous roads, buildings and power lines are all taking their toll.



“We found that human modification of the landscape in the birds’ distribution ranges in Europe, Africa and Western Asia is associated with declining numbers of over 100 Afro-Eurasian migratory birds," said Dr. Claire Buchan.



"When we talk about modification of the landscape, we mean things like roads, buildings, powerlines, wind turbines – anything that isn’t naturally there."



“One of the biggest impacts seems to be caused by things that would kill a bird outright – for example flying into a wind turbine, a building, being electrocuted on a powerline, hit by a vehicle or hunted. We found that exposure to these human-induced ‘direct mortality’ threats in the bird’s wintering ranges are reflected in population decreases in breeding birds.”



The scientists found 16 different human created factors that negatively impact migratory bird populations across Europe, Asia and Africa, including are collisions, destruction of natural habitat and climate change.&nbsp;



“Our findings are important because we need to understand where declining species are being most impacted by humans across their seasonal migrations," said Dr. Aldina Franco. "Pinpointing where birds are most exposed to these threats could help us target conservation actions."



The scientists hope that their research will help create better conservation plans for birds and improve their survival in the future.&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

Human modifications create deadly traps for migratory birds

Populations of migratory bird species have been declining more than...

Although much research has already been done to predict the effects of climate change on the land, sea, and ice, the ways in which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/clouds-have-an-amplifying-effect-on-global-warming/">clouds</a> will be affected is less understood. According to a new study published in the <a href="https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2021MS002841">Journal of Advances in Modelling Earth Systems</a>, climate change could either cause low clouds to dry up and shrink like the ice sheets, or they could thicken and become more reflective.



“If you ask two different climate models what the future will be like when we add a lot more CO2, you get two very different answers. And the reason for that is the way clouds are included in climate models,” said study co-author Michael Pritchard, an associate professor of Earth System Science at the <a href="https://uci.edu/">University of California, Irvine</a>.



While clouds and aerosols (particles of soot and dust that nucleate cloud droplets) are a fundamental part of the climate equation, these phenomena occur on a length- and time-scale that current models cannot reliably reproduce. Thus, they are always included in climate models through various approximations.



Some of the most advanced global climate models struggle to approach four-kilometer global resolution. However, in order to manage to capture the fine-scale turbulent eddies which form shallow cloud systems, models would need a resolution of at least 100 meters. Experts estimate that it could take until 2060 before the computing power able to capture this level of detail will be available.



In order to fix this gap, Professor Pritchard and his colleagues have tried to break the climate modelling problem into two parts: a course-grained, 100-kilometer lower-resolution planetary model, and many smaller patches with 100- to 200-meter resolution. These two simulations run independently and exchange data every 30 minutes to ensure that neither simulation goes off-track or becomes unrealistic.&nbsp;



“The model does an end-run around the hardest problem - whole planet modeling,” explained Professor Pritchard. “It has thousands of micromodels that capture things like realistic shallow cloud formation that only emerge in very high resolution.”



This modeling method was made possible by one of the fastest computers in the world, the <a href="https://www.tacc.utexas.edu/systems/frontera">Frontera supercomputer</a> at the Texas Advanced Computing Center, which scientists can use to run models at time- and length-scales accessible only on a few other computer systems in the United States, and test their potential for cloud modeling.



“The use of computation-based methods is critical to our understanding of climate and everything else around us,” said Manish Parashar, director of National Science Foundation’s <a href="https://www.nsf.gov/oac">Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure</a>. “Frontera is inspiring climate scientists to devise new and novel simulation methods for enabling our deeper understanding of climate change.” &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

How will clouds be affected by climate change?

Although much research has already been done to predict the...

Female,Bonobo,With,A,Baby,Is,Sitting,On,The,Grass.

A new study published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.abo3608">Science</a> has argued that, while attempting to mitigate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/science-reporting-can-change-climate-change-beliefs/">climate change</a> is becoming increasingly urgent, so is the concurrent need for proactive stewardship of the Earth’s rapidly changing biosphere. Since oncoming changes will seriously challenge current natural resource management and conservation efforts, new forward-looking conservation approaches to enable the adaptation and resilience to climate change of a variety of species, communities, and ecosystems are absolutely necessary.



“There is actually a lot we can do to help systems cope with oncoming climate change,” said study lead author Jonathan Moore, a professor of Biology at the <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/">Simon Fraser University</a>. “From restoring connectivity to reducing local stressors to conserving future habitats - all of these proactive approaches can help the ecosystems that we rely upon to adapt to climate change.”



According to study co-author Daniel Schindler, an expert in Ecosystem Dynamics at the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a>, in order for species and ecosystems to adapt and be resilient to climate change, preservation-orientated approaches should be complemented by attempts that enable and foster ecological change.&nbsp;



“Local efforts to conserve biodiversity and regenerate habitat complexity will also help maintain a diversity of future options for species and ecosystems in an unpredictable future,” explained Professor Schindler.



Thus, conservation efforts should focus not only on “climate change losers,” but also on the proactive management of emerging opportunities. For instance, while threatening species such as polar bears, warming Arctic oceans and shrinking sea ice may create more fish production in some areas – a phenomenon that needs to be taken into account too when devising proactive approaches to help ecosystems cope with climate change.



“Earth’s systems have an incredible capacity to adapt and be resilient to changes. That is what has allowed some species to persist for millions of years. But our actions are seriously undermining that adaptive capacity,” said Professor Moore. “Natural resource management and conservation efforts will need to embrace the dynamic aspects of the biosphere to help maintain functioning ecosystems and protect biodiversity amid ongoing climate change.”



While it is important and urgent for humanity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to control the pace of climate change, even with the most aggressive reduction strategies further warming will likely persist for decades. Thus, additional strategies to enable adaptation and resilience will be crucial for maintaining functional ecosystems and conserving biodiversity.



“The biosphere has never been static – and we need to embrace management approaches that maintain a dynamic and fluid biosphere. Thus, conservation and management need to be prospective - looking to the future, and proactive - taking action for the future,” Professor Schindler 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&nbsp;&nbsp;

How can Earth’s ecosystems adapt to climate change?

A new study published in the journal Science has argued...

Hermit,Crab,(decapod,Crustaceans)

Hermit crabs are found in oceans all over the world, occupying habitats that range from shallow coastal waters to the deepest of seas. They have soft, fragile abdomens that need to be protected from damage and are adapted to occupy the empty shells of mollusks, carrying these shells around like mobile homes while they forage on detritus on the ocean floor.&nbsp;



A study, led by Dr. Yoshikawa from the <a href="https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/">University of Tokyo</a>, has now identified a species of hermit crab off the coast of Japan that carries a specific and previously unknown species of anemone on it back. The anemone, described for the first time in this study, has been named Stylobates calcifer and it is only found on the shells of a single host species of hermit crab, Pagurodofleinia doederlein. In fact, the anemone is so important to the hermit crab that, when the crab moves into a new shell home, it will go to great lengths to take the anemone along.&nbsp;



At least 35 symbiotic sea anemone species have been found living on the legs of hermit crabs or on the shells they inhabit. Symbiosis implies a close physical relationship between organisms of different species, and in the case of hermit crabs and their anemones, this is a mutualistic relationship from which both species benefit. Having an anemone covering one’s back may provide camouflage and protection, while riding through the water on the shell of a crab may ensure access to food, particularly the scraps of food left over after the crab eats dinner.



Dr. Yoshikawa and his team collected 16 specimens of the new, deep-sea anemone from depths of 100 - 400 meters between 2017 and 2020. All the specimens came from the ocean on the Pacific side of Japan, and were used for detailed studies of the anatomy, morphology, histology and genetics of the species. Based on the results of these analyses, the researchers have described and named the new species of anemone, Stylobates calcifer, in a publication in <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/toc/bbl/current">The Biological Bulletin</a>, a journal of the University of Chicago Press.&nbsp;



In addition to describing the new species of anemone, the researchers were able to record live video footage of the process whereby a hermit crab that chose to move house succeeded in coaxing its anemone to detach from the old shell and settle on the new one. This is not an easy task as the anemone occupies the entire top surface of the hermit crab’s shell, and is attached by means of a hard, chitinous secretion called a carcinoecium. This structure helps the anemone cling to the uneven surface of the mollusk shell, but also strengthens and enlarges the shell, which gives the crab extended occupation of its shelter.&nbsp;



Despite this, a hermit crab will eventually outgrow its shell and will need to find new, more spacious accommodation. The researchers were able to observe the behavior involved when a captive hermit crab changed shells, thereby extending the understanding of how this symbiotic relationship between hermit crab and anemone is maintained.&nbsp;



Initially, the hermit crab left its old shell and tested out its new one. Once convinced that the new shell was a better option, it tapped and pinched the anemone (still attached to the old shell) with its walking legs and chelipeds (legs that bear claws). It also climbed on top of the anemone and tapped it with the new shell, continuously trying to encourage the anemone to detach. By this physical stimulation and provocation, the crab was able to peel the base of the anemone off the surface of the old shell, but it took approximately 12 hours of intense activity on the part of the crab.



The crab then tried all means of tactics to get the anemone to attach itself to the new shell, which was now on the crab’s abdomen. The crab dragged the anemone around, manipulating it, presenting it with the new shell and continuously stimulating it with legs and chelipeds. Initially, the anemone did not respond in any way and the crab’s efforts appeared fruitless. However, after the anemone was turned upside-down and placed on its tentacles, the crab maneuvered itself, along with its new shell, into a suitable hollow in the anemone’s foot.&nbsp;



Eventually, 18 hours after the anemone’s detachment from the old shell, it began to show ‘climbing’ behavior and mounted itself onto the new shell. It soon covered the surface of the shell and was positioned vertically, with its tentacles facing upwards, ready to access food particles suspended in the water column. The entire process took 43 hours from the time that the hermit crab initially changed shells.&nbsp;



The study authors acknowledge that all their behavioral observations involved only a single crab-anemone pair because of the difficulties involved with retrieving and maintaining deep-sea species in captivity. Nevertheless, they suggest that their observations reveal details of a remarkable symbiotic relationship between deep-sea organisms. Future research would need to focus on how the anemones recognize the host hermit crabs on the ocean floor and then build and retain their highly specific association with them.&nbsp;



The live video recordings are available at <a href="https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/719160#_i32">https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/719160#_i32</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

Remarkable symbiotic relationship found in the deep sea

Hermit crabs are found in oceans all over the world,...

Climate change has already caused significant damage, including longer and more intense heatwaves, accelerated sea level rise, and the loss of polar sea ice. Now, by performing the first-ever survey of planktonic lipids in the world’s oceans, a research team led by the <a href="https://www.whoi.edu/">Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution</a> (WHOI) has found that, as global warming advances, there may be fewer and fewer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/omega-3s-seafood-healthy-aging/">omega-3</a> fatty acids produced by plankton at the base of the food web, which will mean less of these lipids available for fish and human beings.



Omega-3 fatty acids are essential fats that the human body cannot produce on its own. They are regarded by scientists as highly beneficial, increasing cardiovascular health and promoting healthy aging.&nbsp;



“The lipids in the ocean affect your life,” said study co-author Benjamin Van Mooj, an expert in Marine Chemistry at WHOI. “We found that the composition of lipids in the ocean is going to change as the ocean warms. That is a cause for concern. We need those lipids that are in the ocean because they influence the quality of the food that the ocean produces for humanity.”&nbsp;



The researchers collected 930 lipid samples from 146 locations across the world’s oceans during seven oceanographic research expeditions from 2013 to 2018.&nbsp;



“Focusing on ten molecularly diverse glycerolipid classes we identified 1,151 distinct lipid species, finding that fatty acid unsaturation (i.e., number of carbon to carbon double bonds) is fundamentally constrained by temperature. We predict significant declines in the essential fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] over the next century, which are likely to have serious deleterious effects on economically critical fisheries,” the study authors reported.



Although planktonic community lipidomes are affected by a variety of environmental factors, such as nutrient availability, the most fundamental control of their composition appeared to be temperature. “Indeed, it is striking that the relationship between temperature and unsaturation emerges from our dataset despite spanning such diverse and disparate planktonic communities, from the nutrient-depleted subtropical gyres to the highly-productive Antarctic coastal shelf,” the authors wrote.&nbsp;&nbsp;



To determine how the upper and lower limits for the composition of omega-3 fatty acids may shift under future warming conditions, the scientists generated maps using end-of-century sea surface temperature conditions for various climate change scenarios. Under a worst-case scenario with unmitigated greenhouse gas emissions, some ocean regions may witness a drastic decrease of up to 25 percent of these beneficial lipids.



These findings provide examples “of how human activities are perturbing the oceans in ways that we never expected, and of the uncertainty of how the ocean is going to respond to warming,” concluded Dr. Van Mooj.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn7455">Science</a>.&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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Ocean warming will massively reduce omega-3 fatty acids

Climate change has already caused significant damage, including longer and...

When a small group of individuals separates from a larger population and subsequently founds a new population, this has an effect on the genetic variation of the descendants, particularly if the group remains genetically isolated. The founder group will carry only a small selection of the total genetic variation of the original population, and this will be evident in the form of reduced genetic diversity in their offspring. In addition, the founding individuals may carry rare, recessive genetic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mutations-in-animals-shed-new-light-on-the-process-of-aging/">mutations</a> that will then become common in their descendants due to inbreeding within the founder population.&nbsp;



Despite the fact that founder events can have profound effects on the genetic diversity, fitness and disease risk of populations, not much is known about the timing, intensity or frequency of these events, or how they have shaped the evolution of the species. This type of evolution is not driven by natural selection, where the individuals with the best adapted genes survive and pass on these genes. Instead, founder events give rise to genetically different populations through the survival of a small group of individuals that become the sole founders of a new population with a drastically reduced genetic diversity.&nbsp;



New research has now led to the development of a method that uses genomic analysis to estimate the timing and intensity of founder events in populations of humans and other species. The method, known as ASCEND, involves the analysis of genome-wide patterns of allele sharing between individuals, particularly in isolated populations. The authors, Rémi Tournebize and Priya Moorjani of the UC Berkeley, have developed and applied this method to study global patterns of founder events in recent human history, as well as to assess the evidence for founder events in the history of 40 modern dog breeds.&nbsp;



There are many instances in human history where founder populations have arrived and settled at new locations. For example, the first settlers in Finland arrived some 9,000 years ago and then remained largely geographically isolated, and populations of Romani people migrated to live in Europe and parts of the Americas, forming founding groups in their new homelands. Some groups remain genetically isolated through cultural and religious practices, such as the Ashkenazi Jews and the Amish, who tend to marry within the group.



In the current study, the authors compared the shared alleles in the genomes of 2,310 individuals from 184 different population groups from around the world. They considered a minimum of 5 individuals from each population group and excluded individuals that were closely related. The results, published today in the open access journal&nbsp;<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/">PLOS Genetics</a>, showed that 61 percent of the population groups considered (113 out of 184) showed genetic evidence of a founder event that had occurred within the past 200 generations.&nbsp;



These findings indicate that a majority of the populations considered have arisen from the genetic input of a small group of ancestors at some time in the recent past. The most extreme founder event was observed in the Onge population from the Andaman Islands, which showed a 10-times greater founder effect than has been found in the Ashkenazi Jews. The Onge are a demographically small and historically isolated population that currently consists of only around 100 individuals.&nbsp;



The researchers found that the highest frequency of founder events occurred in populations from the Oceania region (80 percent out of five groups) and from the Americas (78 percent of nine groups studied). The lowest frequency of founder events was recorded in populations from Europe (38 percent of 30 populations considered).&nbsp;



Furthermore, island populations have experienced more extreme founder events than continental populations, and people with hunter-gatherer or nomadic lifestyles, along with indigenous groups, are also more likely to show genetic evidence of significant founder events in their histories. Analysis of seven Native American groups from Central and South America also showed evidence of significant recent founder events, estimated to be dated to between 200 and 500 years ago, and postdating the European colonization of the Americas.



When the researchers applied their ASCEND technique to the genomes of 52 populations of dogs, representing 40 unique breeds, they found that all of the groups showed evidence of significant founder events within the past 25 generations (75–125 years ago). Unlike the case with human founder events associated with settlement, migration and cultural or religious traditions, dog genomes reflect the influence of dog breeding, a practice that began during Victorian times. Reductions in genetic diversity in dog breeds are likely to be related to inbreeding and the use of a few highly prized males to sire numerous offspring.



Some of the strongest founder events were identified in the boxer and bulldog breeds. These breeds were intensively bred as working dogs, and later as companions. They are known to suffer from high rates of recessive diseases, most likely as a consequence of founder events and subsequent inbreeding in their past histories.



The authors hope that using the new ASCEND analysis technique will help scientists to identify groups that experienced strong founder events and that may consequently be at greater risk of certain genetic diseases. Ashkenazi Jews and Finns, who experienced strong founder events, often undergo genetic screening to learn about their pre-disposition to certain genetic diseases. The current study found that several populations among Native Americans, Oceanians, and South Asians have experienced even more extreme founder events than Ashkenazi Jews, and so these populations may also benefit from genetic screening.



“Some human populations like Ashkenazi Jews or Finns have been extensively studied in population genetics and have helped researchers identify many disease-causing mutations," said the researchers. "Hence, we wanted to study if other populations have a similar history that could enable further progress in medical genetics. We were surprised to see how widespread the history of founder events is in humans, both in present-day and ancient DNA samples, suggesting that investigation of disease-causing variants will be fruitful to identify and reduce disease burden among contemporary groups.”



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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

Human genomes reveal the history of past founder events

When a small group of individuals separates from a larger...

All living creatures get older and ultimately die. However, according to <a href="https://www.sdu.dk/en">University of Southern Denmark</a> researchers, not all organisms age at the same rate. They found that many turtle and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giant-tortoise-believed-extinct-found-in-the-galapagos/">tortoise</a> species are able to slow down their senescence significantly and, in some cases, nearly turn it off.



Fernando Colchero, Dalia Conde, and Rita da Silva studied 52 turtle and tortoise species and discovered that 75 percent have a very slow rate of senescence. Compared to humans, 80 percent of these long-living species have a slower rate of senescence.&nbsp;



The experts found that the senescence rates of the Aldaba giant tortoise (Aldabrachelys gigantea) can reach as low as zero, and the black marsh turtle (Siebenrockiella crassicollis) can reduce their rate of aging to below zero. For the black marsh turtle, this means that the risk of death is reduced as the animal ages.&nbsp;



Moreover, the study authors discovered that the animals have flexible senescence rates. When captive animals were presented with improved living conditions, these adaptable creatures were able to reduce their aging rate.&nbsp;



This flexibility does not apply to humans, as research on humans and non-human primates has shown better living conditions don’t significantly reduce the rate of aging.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Although the researchers are not sure why turtles and tortoises age less rapidly, there are theories suggesting it has something to do with growth after sexual maturity. One theory assumes that as the body prepares for reproduction, more energy is diverted into that function, and the matured body begins to deteriorate as a result. Based on this theory, there is no avoiding the aging process.



However, animal species that continue to grow after sexual maturity, including turtles and tortoises, may function differently. Some scientists think that since these species continue to grow after their reproductive years arrive, they can keep investing energy into cell repair, thereby avoiding the damaging effects of aging. 



The researchers made it clear that they are not calling turtles and tortoises immortal. They noted that these animals will eventually succumb to other causes of mortality, such as disease.



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



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Turtles and tortoises can slow their rate of aging

All living creatures get older and ultimately die. However, according...

Vampyronassa rhodanica was a cephalopod, a member of the group that includes cuttlefish, octopuses, squid and the nautilus. V. rhodanica is also an ancient extinct relative of the more famous vampire squid (Vampyroteuthis infernalis) which lives in deep, dark pockets of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/even-the-most-remote-oceans-are-polluted-with-microplastics/">ocean</a>, rarely seen by human eyes.&nbsp;



Now, researchers have analyzed the fossilized remains of V. rhodanica. The study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, looks at the extinct squid's tentacles, which evolved for active hunting, unlike its extant relative.



Until now, little has been known about the body - much less the life history - of V. rhodanica. Unlike bodies with hard skeletons, the fossilized remains of cephalopods (besides those with shells) are hard to find.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Alison Rowe led a research team to analyze a rare, well-preserved V. rhodanica fossil from the La Voulte-sur-Rhône (Ardèche, France). The 10-centimeter specimen, which was 164 million years old, had a classic squid shape. The scientists used non-invasive 3D imaging to look more closely at the fossil.&nbsp;



The researchers found that V. rhodanica had similar suckers to the living vampire squid, in that both lack teeth in their suckers. However, modern vampire squids lack robust suckers on the end of their specialized long dorsal arms, which V. rhodanica clearly had.



The scientists hypothesize that these suckers were used like modern suckers - to create a watertight seal to grab and hold prey firmly in the tentacles. Because of these suckers, as well as sensory appendages used for detecting prey, the research team thinks this was an active predator.



By contrast, the modern vampire squid has evolved to a slow moving life deep in the dark, cold ocean where little oxygen is available. During their sedentary lives, vampire squids simply grab whatever food floats their way, making them more opportunistic in nature than their extinct relatives.&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

Ancient squid had suckers for actively hunting prey

Vampyronassa rhodanica was a cephalopod, a member of the group...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.princeton.edu/">Princeton University</a> has found that prehistoric megatooth sharks – the largest sharks that ever lived, including the famous <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/megalodons-grew-larger-in-cold-water/">Megalodon</a> – were apex predators at the highest level ever measured. According to the experts, these massive creatures that evolved after the dinosaurs went extinct and ruled the world’s seas and oceans until three million years ago fed even upon other predators and predators-of-predators, in a highly intricate food web.



“We’re used to thinking of the largest species - blue whales, whale sharks, even elephants and diplodocuses - as filter feeders or herbivores, not predators,”&nbsp;said study lead author Emma Kast, a former doctoral student at Princeton and currently a postdoctoral fellow in Geography, Geology, and Geophysics at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>. “But Megalodon and the other megatooth sharks were genuinely enormous carnivores that ate other predators, and Meg went extinct only a few million years ago.”



To reach this conclusion, Dr. Kast and her colleagues used a novel technique to measure the nitrogen isotopes in the sharks’ teeth. The level of a specific isotope (nitrogen-15) can be used to reliably assess an animals’ position in the trophic chain. While other researchers have managed to employ this method on creatures from the recent past (up to 15 thousand years ago), in older animals there has generally not been enough nitrogen left to measure. Luckily, the enormous size and abundance of teeth of Megalodons and their relatives helped scientists find sufficient nitrogen traces to be able to clarify these creatures’ position in the food web.



“Teeth are designed to be chemically and physically resistant so they can survive in the very chemically reactive environment of the mouth&nbsp;and break apart food that can have hard parts,” explained study senior author Daniel Sigman, a professor of Geological and Geophysical Sciences at Princeton. Moreover, since sharks are constantly growing and losing teeth, they each produce thousands of teeth over their lifetime. “When you look in the geologic record, one of the most abundant fossil types are shark teeth,” Sigman added. “And within the teeth, there is a tiny amount of organic matter that was used to build the enamel of the teeth - and is now trapped within that enamel.”&nbsp;



By measuring nitrogen isotope levels in this organic matter, Sigman and his team found that megatooth sharks occupied a higher trophic level than is known for any extinct or extant marine species. “Ocean food webs do tend to be longer than the grass-deer-wolf food chain of land animals, because you start with such small organisms. To reach the trophic levels we’re measuring in these megatooth sharks, we don’t just need to add one trophic level - one apex predator on top of the marine food chain - we need to add several onto the top of the modern marine food web,” Dr. Kast concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abl6529?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D49172270223902357213481499257602856343%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1655978988&amp;_ga=2.140267444.64815737.1655711280-2046344334.1629960599">Science Advances</a>.&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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Prehistoric megatooth sharks were apex predators

A new study led by Princeton University has found that...

In the past, people removed large pieces of wood from <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-is-the-climate-impacting-aquatic-life-in-mountain-streams/">streams</a> because they preferred the aesthetics of the pristine rivers depicted by European colonists. Ivan Arismendi is an associate professor in the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences at <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a>. He explained some of the other reasons that people had for eliminating log jams.&nbsp;



“There is a lot of cultural legacy there, with log jams areas seen as places that increased flood risk, impeded navigation and transport, and accumulated debris," said Professor Arismendi.



However, this idea began to change in the 1980s when biologists realized that these “log jams” enhanced fish habitat. Land managers developed programs to undo past damage, and logs were purposefully put back into streams.&nbsp;



A team of researchers at OSU was curious to know how the presence of wood in streams may affect land-dwelling creatures. To explore this question, Ezmie Trevarrow and Ivan Arismendi set up 13 motion-activated cameras near large log jams near Corvallis, Oregon, between July 2020 and June 2021.



The experts observed 40 species, including mule deer, raccoons, belted kingfishers, and American robins. They also observed one golden eagle, which is a rare find in the region.&nbsp;



Most (68%) of the activity around the log jam consisted of movement, but animals also used the area to rest (18%) and to eat and handle their food (9%). The team observed some spectacular activities, including one brave little deer mouse who used a log to cross the creek during high flow - even though water covered the log.



The study areas were used mainly in the spring, fall and summer, but there was activity in the winter as well. This finding suggests that log jams serve as year-round highways for wildlife in the area.&nbsp;



“This study reveals a hidden role of large wood in streams. The findings are valuable for land managers because they demonstrate additional value of restoration projects that involve wood placement into streams," said Trevarrow.



​​Professor Arismendi is looking forward to gathering more data. This summer, he will set up 30 cameras in Oregon State’s H.J. Andrews Experimental Forest in the Cascades Mountains. “This is the beginning of looking into this topic more in-depth. I think there is a lot to unpack about the role of log jams in rivers.”



This study was recently published in <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10531?gclid=Cj0KCQjwhqaVBhCxARIsAHK1tiNwpoLOgeGKULrNVOsA_KsgM340-jigtBuy21lXvzN94Exosq40JCoaAjbfEALw_wcB">Biodiversity and Conservation</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Log jams provide year-round "highways" for wildlife

In the past, people removed large pieces of wood from...

They say that no man is an island, but to the tiny mites that inhabit our skin, we are the island of their dreams. These microscopic mites (Demodex folliculorum) live in the pores and hair follicles on the face, including the eyelashes, and the nipples of almost every human being. They are only around 0.3mm long and are passed on to us at birth. From then on, they live in our pores, feed on the sebum that is naturally produced in the cells of the pores, and reproduce on our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-craft-living-human-skin-on-a-robotic-finger/">skin</a> in the darkness of night.&nbsp;



A new study, led by researchers from the <a href="http://www.reading.ac.uk/">University of Reading</a> has found that life for the mites living on a person’s face is not all roses, however. Their isolated existence results in inbreeding during the lifetime of the host person, which leads to the loss of genes and cells in the parasites. In the study, D. folliculorum&nbsp;genomes were studied for the first time ever, and the results showed that the mites are becoming so simple, genetically and anatomically, that they can be considered in transition from external parasites to internal symbionts.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We found these mites have a different arrangement of body part genes to other similar species due to them adapting to a sheltered life inside pores. These changes to their DNA have resulted in some unusual body features and behaviors," explained Dr. Alejandra Perotti, who co-led the research.



The study of the D. folliculorum DNA, published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe">Molecular Biology and Evolution</a>, makes the following fascinating (and bizarre) findings&nbsp;concerning the mites:



<ul><li>Due to their isolated existence on a single person’s face and nipples, with no exposure to external threats, no competition to infest hosts and no encounters with other mites with different genes, the mites have experienced genetic reduction. This has caused them to become extremely simple organisms, with tiny legs, each powered by just three single-cell muscles. They survive with the minimum repertoire of proteins – the lowest number ever seen in this and related species.</li><li>This gene reduction is the reason for their nocturnal behavior too. The mites lack UV protection and have lost the gene that causes animals wake up when it is daytime. They have also been left unable to produce melatonin – a compound that makes small invertebrates active at night. However, they are able to fuel their all-night mating sessions using the melatonin secreted by human skin at dusk.</li><li>Their unique gene arrangement also results in the mites’ unusual mating habits. Their reproductive organs have moved anteriorly, and males have a penis that protrudes upwards from the front of their body meaning they have to position themselves underneath the female when mating, and copulate as they both cling onto the human hair.</li><li>One of their genes has been inverted, giving them a particular arrangement of mouth-appendages that stick out and enable them to feed. This aids their survival when they are young.</li><li>The mites have many more cells when they are young than they do as adults. This contradicts the previous assumption that parasitic animals reduce their cell numbers early in development. The researchers argue this is the first step towards the mites becoming symbiotic inhabitants within the cells of the skin.</li><li>The lack of exposure to potential mates that could add variety to their gene pool means that the mites may well be on course for an evolutionary dead end, and potential extinction. This has been observed in bacteria that live inside cells before, but never in an animal.</li><li>Some researchers had assumed the mites do not have an anus and therefore must accumulate all their feces through their lifetimes before releasing it when they die, causing skin inflammation. The new study, however, confirmed they do have anuses and so have been unfairly blamed for many skin conditions.</li></ul>



Research collaborators from the University of Valencia, University of Vienna and National University of San Juan also contributed to the study.



Dr Henk Braig, co-lead author from Bangor University and the National University of San Juan, said: “Mites have been blamed for a lot of things. The long association with humans might suggest that they also could have simple but important beneficial roles, for example, in keeping the pores in our face unplugged.”



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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

Parasitic mites that live on our faces have simplified genetically

They say that no man is an island, but to...

Elephants,In,Chiang,Mai.,Elephant,Nature,Park,,Thailand

As natural environments become increasingly fragmented, the potential for human-wildlife interaction is increasing. Now, a team of researchers from the <a href="https://www.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/">University of Tokyo</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/leaving-trees-standing-could-reduce-climate-consequences/">climate change</a> is also likely to significantly contribute to this problem. By using a risk framework that incorporated different possible scenarios, the experts have examined how the risk of human-elephant conflict could change over time in Thailand.



When humans encroach on natural landscapes, the chances of interacting with wildlife increase. Conflicts can arise when wild animals harm crops or livestock, or when human activities damage animal habitats. For instance, forest edges are highly attractive areas for <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/elephants-give-birth-and-then-keep-it-moving/">elephants</a> searching for food, which can often bring them into contact with farmers and mature crops.



“In Thailand, half of the country’s population live in rural areas and rely on agriculture,” said study lead author Nuntikorn Kitratporn, a PhD student at the University of Tokyo. “Thailand also has about three to four thousand wild elephants and deforestation and the growth of commercial agriculture have pushed elephants into increasingly fragmented patches of habitat, increasing the chance of interactions between humans and elephants.”



According to Kitraporn and his colleagues, climate change is increasing the chance of human-elephant encounters, as shifting environmental conditions lead to changes in the behavior and distribution of elephants. By using a risk assessment framework, combined with data on the recent spatial distribution of human-elephant conflict (2000-2019) in Thailand, the scientists investigated how these conflicts may develop in the near future (2024-2044), under different scenarios of future climate and socioeconomic conditions.



“We found a spatial shift in risk toward northern areas and higher latitudes,” said Kitratporn. “In other areas, habitat is likely to become less suitable over time, which could first increase and gradually decrease the risk of interactions.” Moreover, the risk of human-elephant conflicts was predicted to increase from increased frequency of droughts.



Better understanding how human-wildlife interactions may change in the future is crucial for long-term planning. “Our results highlight geographically explicit strategies to support long-term planning of conservation resources. Areas with increasing future risk are currently facing low conflict; hence it is recommended that future strategies should enhance adaptive capacity and coexistence awareness. Conversely, areas with lowering future risk from a decrease in habitat quality are recommended to identify buffer strategies around protected areas to support existing large elephant populations,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155174">Science of the Total Environment</a>.&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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Human-elephant conflicts may increase with climate change

As natural environments become increasingly fragmented, the potential for human-wildlife...

Modern dwarf crocodiles living in Africa today reach maximum lengths of only four to five feet. A new discovery found an extinct "giant" form of two dwarf crocodiles that grew up to 12 feet in length when they lived some 15 to 18 million years ago.&nbsp;



The part of Africa where these giant dwarves were found is also the site of many <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/are-humans-born-with-a-moral-compass/">human</a> fossils - the East African Rift Valley. Previous research in these areas has found early human ancestors with their bones scarred by apparent crocodile tooth marks.&nbsp;



The scientists suspect the new species of crocodiles (known as Kinyang mabokoensis and K. tchernovi) actually ate our ancestors. These crocs had nostrils facing forward instead of straight upward like modern crocodiles, suggesting they spent more time in the forests of the area than in the water - a place they could encounter fragile bipedal apes.&nbsp;



Study co-author Christopher Brochu is a professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the <a href="https://uiowa.edu/">University of Iowa</a> who has many years of experience working with extinct and living crocodilians.



"These were the biggest predators our ancestors faced," said Professor Brochu. "They were opportunistic predators, just as crocodiles are today. It would have been downright perilous for ancient humans to head down to the river for a drink."



The two species of Kinyang lived in a time when their region of Africa was covered in thick forest but both went extinct around 15 million years ago, the question is why? Brochu suspects that the reason might be climactic. This part of Africa today is much drier than the environment Kinyang lived in. With less rain, the place mat have become inhospitable to this strange crocodilian.&nbsp;



"Modern dwarf crocodiles are found exclusively in forested wetlands," said Professor Brochu. "Loss of habitat may have prompted a major change in the crocodiles found in the area. These same environmental changes have been linked to the rise of the larger bipedal primates that gave rise to modern humans."



So it goes, a change in environment always seems to favor one lineage and disfavor another, this is the raw material which evolution uses to shape and reshape our planet.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/19328494">The Anatomical Record</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

Dwarf crocodiles once hunted human ancestors

Modern dwarf crocodiles living in Africa today reach maximum lengths...

Last year, a team of volunteers, farmers, researchers, and various organizations conducted the first national survey of UK turtle doves in decades. The study revealed that there are just 2,100 pairs of turtle doves that currently breed in the UK.



Turtle doves are the only long-distance migratory dove species in Europe, making annual trips to and from Africa. The survey shows that the species is now concentrated in southeastern and eastern England as far north as Yorkshire.



The new estimate represents a 98 percent decline in the turtle dove population since the 1970s, when there was an estimated 125,000 pairs of the small pigeons. Despite this alarming discovery, the <a href="https://www.rspb.org.uk/">RSPB Wildlife Charity</a> says there is still hope for turtle doves.



For example, Operation Turtle Dove is a partnership of conservation organizations which aims to restore breeding habitat for turtle doves in the UK. This team is advising land managers to create the scrub and tall hedges that turtle doves need for nesting. The birds generally only eat seeds such as the small seeds of various legumes – plants that are disappearing from the countryside.



“In the ’70s, there were records of flocks of over 500 birds, and the UK population was estimated at 125,000 pairs," said Andrew Stanbury, a conservation scientist with the RSPB.



“Although these results paint a stark picture with numbers, the way forward is clear and we stand a good chance of turning around the fortunes of this bird. We hope that the 2021 survey will represent the lowest population point.”



According to RPSB, it is imperative that new agri-environmental schemes in England, which are replacing EU payments for farming after Brexit, continue to support farmers who implement wildlife-friendly measures on their land.



Beyond habitat loss, turtle doves are also threatened by unsustainable hunting practices. Until recently, an estimated one million birds were shot each year in southwest Europe, including migratory birds like turtle doves. However, hunting of turtle doves was outlawed in France, Spain and Portugal in 2021.



“The fact that no hunting is currently permitted on the western European flyway provides us with a huge window of opportunity to reverse the decline in arguably one of England’s most threatened bird species," said Phil Grice, principal specialist for ornithology at Government conservation agency Natural England.



“Providing good nesting habitat, in the form of tall hedges and mature scrub, and abundant seed resources throughout the late spring and summer will be vital.”



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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

Turtle doves have declined by 98 percent in the UK

Last year, a team of volunteers, farmers, researchers, and various...

As <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-increases-the-risk-of-armed-conflict/">climate change</a> advances, many animal species are shifting the timing of major life events, such as reproduction. For instance, with earlier spring thaws, many types of flowers bloom earlier. However, it is not yet clear whether such significant changes in life history will ultimately help various species adapt and survive, or lead to larger problems instead.&nbsp;



A team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> (UW) has investigated for the first time the effect of life history changes driven by climate change on a species of large carnivore – the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), a species distantly related to wolves which raise their young cooperatively in packs.



By analyzing field observations and demographic data from 1989 to 2020 on African wild dog populations, the scientists found that, over a three-decade period, the animals shifted their average birthing dates later by 22 days – an adaptation which allows them to match the birth of new offspring with the coolest temperatures in early winter.&nbsp;



“Although most animal species are advancing their life history events earlier in the year with climate change, this finding represents a rare instance of a species delaying its life history, and at a rate twice as high as the average rate of change observed across animal species”, said Jeremy Cohen, a macroecologist at <a href="https://www.yale.edu/">Yale University</a>, who was not involved in the study.



However, this significant shift leads to fewer pups surviving their most vulnerable, post-birth “denning period,” due to rapid temperature increases. Thus, this species – which is already threatened by habitat loss, disease, and conflicts with humans - seems to be caught in a “phenological trap,” in which changes in the timing of major life events ultimately proves maladaptive due to unprecedented environmental conditions such as climate change.



&nbsp;“Large predators play extraordinarily important roles in ecosystems, but we still have a lot to learn about the implications of climate change for these animals,” said study lead author Briana Abrahms, an assistant professor of Biology at UW. “Big climate-driven shifts like the one we found may be more widespread in top predators than originally thought, so we hope our findings will spur new climate-change research on other predator populations around the planet.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121667119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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&nbsp;&nbsp;

Top predators trapped by trying to adapt to climate change

As climate change advances, many animal species are shifting the...

Vegetation is declining along the migration routes of elephants in Namibia, according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.uef.fi/en">University of Eastern Finland</a>. Human development creates obstacles such as fences that disrupt the movement of wild <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-different-types-of-animals-see/">animals</a>, which intensifies the loss of vegetation cover.&nbsp;



"Human-wildlife conflict in the Zambezi region of northeast Namibia is well documented, but the impact of wildlife (e.g., elephants) on vegetation cover change has not been adequately addressed. Here, we assessed human-wildlife interaction and impact on vegetation cover change," wrote the researchers.&nbsp;



"Anthropogenic activities such as wood extraction and conversion of woodland and forests into small and large-scale farming have been a major contributor to land degradation across different geographical regions. In the tropics, particularly Africa and in Namibia, agricultural expansion, wood extraction, and infrastructure development are the key drivers of land degradation."



The team used remote sensing data, such as that collected by the MODIS satellite, to investigate how elephants and other large herbivorous mammals affect vegetation cover. The researchers also examined the effects of human activity on vegetation and the movements of wild animals.&nbsp;



The experts analyzed data from the Zambezi area in Namibia from 2002 to 2021. The results showed that vegetation cover is actually increasing in areas with intensive farming and cattle grazing.



There are about 12,000 elephants now living in the Zambezi area. This is compared to less than 1,500 individuals in 1989. The researchers found that the greatest declines in vegetation were in areas with larger elephant populations. The most affected areas were discovered along elephant migration routes in national parks and nature reserves.



“A deeper understanding of how wild animals affect the vegetation offers tools for improving the management of wild animals and natural resources,” said Professor Alfred Colpaert.



"The findings of this study will serve as a reference for policy and decision makers," wrote the researchers. "Future studies should consider integrating higher resolution multi-platform datasets for detailed micro analysis and mapping of vegetation cover change."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sensors">Sensors</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

Vegetation is vanishing along elephant migration routes

Vegetation is declining along the migration routes of elephants in...

species in Belomitridae