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

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

The Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay is quite threatened, so it’s no surprise that lowland tapirs in this <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-exposes-coastal-cities-to-more-deadly-storms/">forest</a> are severely endangered as well. Although tapirs are adaptable and found in a wide variety of habitats across South America, they are still declining in numbers across their range. Lowland tapirs are now found in only 1.78 percent of their original range in the Atlantic Forest.&nbsp;



A new study published in the journal <a href="https://neotropical.pensoft.net/">Neotropical Biology and Conservation</a> warns of the dire need for conservation actions to protect lowland tapirs of the Atlantic Forest. The research was headed up by Dr. Kevin Flesher of Biodiversity Study Center, Michelin Ecological Reserve and Dr. Patrícia Medici of the <a href="https://tapirconservation.org.br/">Lowland Tapir Conservation Initiative</a>.



"Of the 48 tapir populations identified during the study, between 31.3% and 68.8% are demographically unviable (low number of individuals), and between 70.8% and 93.8% of the populations are genetically unviable (low gene flow). Only 3-14 populations are still viable in the long run when both criteria are considered. The evidence suggests that with the appropriate conservation actions, the lowland tapir could be broadly distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest," explained Dr. Flesher.&nbsp;



"Tapirs have low reproductive potential, including a long reproductive cycle with the birth of just one young after a gestation period of 13-14 months and intervals of up to three years between births. Our populational simulations clearly show how, in the case of small populations, even the loss of a single individual per year can result in rapid extinction of an entire local population," added Dr. Medici.&nbsp;



Dr. Flesher spent 15 years visiting 93 reserves in the Atlantic Forest, conducting interviews and analyzing 217 data sets to create a conservation plan for tapirs in the area. Unfortunately, tapirs in the states of São Paulo and Paraná in Brazil - where the largest number of populations remain - are isolated from each other.



"As far as our knowledge goes, there is no evidence of movement of tapirs between these populations," said Dr. Medici.&nbsp;



The fragmented populations aren’t connecting with each other, not because of great distances but the threat from cars involved. "The central problem is the multiple threats they face while crossing the habitat," said Dr. Flesher.&nbsp;



Highways and attendant motor traffic are a huge obstacle and threat to disbursing tapirs. "For example, the heavy traffic on highway BR-101 (which cuts the Brazilian Atlantic Forest from North to South) is a death trap to wildlife. Tapirs often die when attempting to cross it," explained Dr. Medici.&nbsp;



Highway traffic is a significant cause of death for tapirs in six out of eight reservations where highways cross tapir populations. However, the situation seems to call for a small amount of optimism. "Despite these continuing challenges for tapir conservation, most populations appear to be stable or increasing and the conservation outlook for the species is better than several decades ago, when the first efforts to protect the species began," said Dr. Flesher.



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

Lowland tapirs in the Atlantic Forest are at risk of extinction

The Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay is quite...

In collaboration with citizen scientists, an astronomer at <a href="https://www.ucr.edu/">UC Riverside</a> has identified a giant gas planet that was basically hidden in plain sight. The research, which was presented at the American Astronomical Society virtual press event, describes the discovery of TOI-2180 b, a Jupiter-sized planet located about 379 light-years away from Earth.



"TOI-2180 b is such an exciting planet to have found," said study lead author and UCR planetary astronomer Paul Dalba. "It hits the trifecta of 1) having a several-hundred-day orbit, 2) being relatively close to Earth (379 lightyears is considered close for an exoplanet), and 3) us being able to see it transit in front of its star. It is very rare for astronomers to discover a planet that checks all three of these boxes."



According to Dalba, the new planet is special because it takes 261 days to complete a journey around its star, a relatively long time compared to many known gas giants outside our solar system. The planet should be easy for experts to study in further detail due to its relative proximity to Earth and the brightness of the star it orbits.



NASA's TESS satellite is designed to observe one particular section of the sky for a month, before moving on. The goal is to identify <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/astronomers-discover-366-new-exoplanets/">exoplanets</a>, which orbit stars other than the Sun.&nbsp;



"The rule of thumb is that we need to see three 'dips' or transits before we believe we've found a planet," said Dalba. He explained that a single transit event could be caused by a telescope with a jitter, or a star masquerading as a planet.&nbsp;



Former U.S. naval officer Tom Jacobs is a participant in Planet Hunters, a NASA-funded citizen science project run through the online platform Zooniverse.



While examining data collected by TESS, Jacobs and his teammates saw light from the TOI-2180 star dim, just once, and then alerted Dalba.



Using the Automated Planet Finder Telescope at the <a href="https://www.lickobservatory.org/">Lick Observatory</a>, Dalba managed to observe the planet's gravitational tug on the star. This allows him and his colleagues to calculate the mass of TOI-2180 b.



Based on a campaign conducted in August 2021 (which involved about 20,000 images), the researchers estimate that TESS will see TOI-2180 b transit its star again in February, when they are planning a follow up study.&nbsp;



In a press release from NASA, Dalba said that discovering TOI-2180 b was "a great group effort demonstrating that professional astronomers and seasoned citizen scientists can successfully work together."



The study is published in <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1538-3881">The Astronomical Journal</a>.



---



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

Citizen scientists have discovered a giant gas planet

In collaboration with citizen scientists, an astronomer at UC Riverside...

Accidentally trapping marine animals such as sharks, seabirds, turtles, or sea mammals in fishing gear is one of the biggest barriers for making fisheries more sustainable. While <a href="https://marineprotectedareas.noaa.gov/">marine protected areas</a> are aiming to minimize accidental catch, they often prove to be quite inefficient in protecting marine biodiversity, particularly in the case of marine species that are very mobile and constantly travel between these static areas.&nbsp;



According to new research from the <a href="http://www.washington.edu/">University of Washington</a> (UW), “dynamic ocean management,” or the shifting of ocean closures, can be much more effective against accidental catch.



“We hope this study will add to the growing movement away from permanently closed areas to encourage more dynamic ocean management,” said study senior author&nbsp;Ray Hilborn, a professor at the UW <a href="https://fish.uw.edu/">School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences</a>. “Also, by showing the relative ineffectiveness of static areas, we hope it will make conservation advocates aware that permanent closed areas are much less effective in reducing accidental catch than changes in fishing methods.”



Professor Hilborn and his colleagues investigated 15 fisheries around the world, and modelled what would happen both to targeted fish and accidental catches (or “bycatch”) if 30 percent of the fishing grounds were permanently closed, compared with dynamic management. They found that restricting fishing by 30 percent would only diminish bycatch by 16 percent, in contrast to using dynamic closures, which could reduce accidental catch by a staggering 57 percent.



“We found we can significantly reduce bycatch without decreasing the catch of target species by closing small fishing areas that can move year to year,” said study lead author&nbsp;Maite Pons, who completed this article as a UW postdoctoral fellow. “This dynamic approach is increasingly valuable as climate change drives species and fisheries into new habitats, altering these interactions.”



However, the authors acknowledge that, in some cases, static protected areas may remain the best choice. If the main purpose is to protect a critical habitat, a biodiversity hotspot, or a critical feature, static closures might remain most effective and easier to implement. Thus, all conservation goals should be broadly considered before determining which types of ocean protections are best in a specific situation.



&nbsp;---



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

Dynamic ocean closures offer protection from accidental catch

Accidentally trapping marine animals such as sharks, seabirds, turtles, or...

Go to any natural history museum, watch any dinosaur movie, and undoubtedly the big bad will be a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flesh-eating-theropods-were-extremely-fast/">theropod</a>. This terrifying, exceptionally toothy group includes Tyrannosaurus, Velociraptor, Allosaurus, and many others. Paleontologists are finally unraveling how the murderous jaws of these predatory dinosaurs evolved.



A new study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a> looked at the lower jaws of over 40 theropod dinosaur species. While the most well-known theropods are big and toothy, they also came in many shapes and sizes. Some were small, and some were, in fact, toothless.&nbsp;



By running the different jaws through computer modeling to test their strength, the researchers found that over the course of their evolution, theropod jaws grew progressively stronger. The predatory dinosaurs expanded the rear, or posterior, portion of their jaws (sideways or laterally), and the mechanical strength increased over the course of their over 100-million year history.&nbsp;



“Although theropod dinosaurs are always depicted as fearsome predators in popular culture, they are in fact very diverse in terms of diets. It is interesting to observe the jaws becoming structurally stronger over time, in both carnivores and herbivores. This gives them the capacity to exploit a wider range of food items," explained study lead author Dr. Fion Waisum Ma of the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a>.



"Theropod dinosaurs underwent extreme dietary changes during their evolutionary history of 165 million years. They started off as carnivores, later on evolved into more specialized carnivores, omnivores and herbivores. Studying how their feeding mechanics changed is key to understanding the dietary transitions in other vertebrate animals too.”



While it makes sense that the hypercarnivorous meat-eaters would increase their lower-jaw strength, the herbivorous lineages also developed stronger jaws.&nbsp;



“It is fascinating to see how theropod dinosaurs had evolved different strategies to increase jaw stability depending on their diet," said study co-author Dr. Stephan Lautenschlager. "This was achieved through bone remodeling – a mechanism where bone is deposited in regions of the jaw that experience high stresses during feeding.”&nbsp;



This evolutionary pattern is reflected in the ontogeny, or growth, of the individual animals. For example, juvenile tyrannosaurs possessed proportionally slimmer and downturned jaws compared to adult individuals.&nbsp;



“The similarity between jaw strengthening through growth and through time suggests that developmental patterns in juvenile dinosaurs ultimately affected the evolution of the whole group," concluded Dr. Lautenschlager&nbsp; "This likely facilitated the jaw evolution of theropod dinosaurs and their overall success for over 150 million years.”



---



By <a href="http://mailto:rugerpaleo@gmail.com">Alex Ruger</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Jaws of predatory dinosaurs grew stronger as they evolved

Go to any natural history museum, watch any dinosaur movie,...

A global coalition has been launched to provide urgently needed protection for the Amazon. The six-month acceleration program is designed to develop, test and advance new solutions to safeguard the people and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-does-extreme-weather-impact-marine-ecosystems/">ecosystems</a> of the Amazon region.&nbsp;



The program, known as the Amazon CoLab, is the product of a partnership between <a href="https://conservationxlabs.com/news/amazon-colab">Conservation X Labs</a>, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Microsoft and Esri.



“We can improve our innovation while implementing it in the field. Together with the AmazonCoLab’s mentoring and networking possibilities, this accelerates the market readiness of our innovation tremendously and supports outreach to potential clients," said Leon Riedel of ASMSpotter.



The inaugural cohort for the lab is made up of six teams around the world. The teams were recognized in a competition - The Artisanal Mining Grand Challenge - which was carried out from 2019 to 2020. Working with partners from Peru and Guyana, the teams are testing their solutions from November 2021 to April 2022. Each team presented a solution to part of the problem of artisanal gold mining and its threat to the Amazon ecosystem as well as human health.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The Amazon CoLab marks the beginning of a new model for conserving the Amazon,” said Dr. Alex Dehgan, CEO &amp; Co-Founder of Conservation X Labs. “We’re excited to bring together a talented inaugural cohort, knowledgeable local partners working on the ground, and experts in technology and innovation to collaborate together in an effort to preserve the future of the Amazon.”



The different solutions offered up by teams to be tested are:



ASMSPOTTER, a satellite and AI based tool that automatically detects artisanal gold mining deforestation, to more quickly alert authorities.



CLEANGOLD, an affordable, safe method of capturing gold particles without the traditional use of dangerous mercury.&nbsp;



MERCURY CAPTURE SYSTEM allows for the capture of mercury vapors released by the amalgam burning process, used during gold processing.&nbsp;



PICOYUNE a portable mercury sensor that allows for the quick identification of contaminated areas.



PROJECT INAMBARI is a satellite imagery program that finds deforestation in critical habitat areas, allowing the detection of illegal mining.



QUIPU is a mobile program that allows the monitoring of mercury as well as deforestation.



The Amazon CoLab provides support for the development and implementation of these and other projects for the protection of the Amazon and its people.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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

New technology developed to protect the Amazon

A global coalition has been launched to provide urgently needed...

We live in a diverse world with different ecosystems and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrinking-habitats-alien-species-threaten-native-trout/">habitats</a>. For centuries, scientists have been studying how flora and fauna interact within these natural communities. Some animals are creatures of habit who frequently eat in the same spots, travel on the same roads, and raise their young in the same places. The term "site fidelity" is used by ecologists to characterize the behavior of animals who are fixed in their routines and tend to return to a previously occupied location. 



The habit of many animals, from fish to birds to mammals and insects, to return to regularly frequented areas. Site fidelity is everywhere in nature, whether it's salmon returning to their native streams to breed or birds returning year after year to the same nest site.



According to a new study, while this "consistent" behavior may be beneficial when environmental conditions aren't changing rapidly, the benefits may not be realized in the ever-changing world dominated by humans. The research was focused on a literature review led by the <a href="http://www.uwyo.edu/">University of Wyoming</a>.



When animals get familiar with a location, site fidelity can help them figure out where to obtain good food or safe havens from predators, as well as how to get to and from these resources quickly. On the other hand, the research team discovered a new trend in the scientific literature.



“Animals that have strong site fidelity are having a tough time adjusting to the novel landscapes that are showing up around them as a result of humans,” said study co-lead author Professor Jerod Merkle.



The researchers pointed out that animals with strong site fidelity may not survive or reproduce as well as animals with more flexible behaviors when faced with human disturbances or climate change. When a population consists of a large number of site loyalists, a population decrease might occur due to the changes in the environment.



For instance, there are numerous mule deer winter ranges in Wyoming. With the addition of large natural gas fields, mule deer can make slight range adjustments to avoid infrastructure, but they stick to the same general area rather than abandoning it completely. The continued use of those damaged places may have detrimental implications. In one long-term study, researchers discovered a 40% drop in the mule deer population following large-scale energy development in their winter area.



Climate change also plays a major role in the adverse impacts on site-fidel animals. Under normal climate circumstances, site fidelity is a winning strategy for female northern elephant seals in the Pacific Ocean. In average years, site-faithful seals are better able to acquire food and gain fat compared to their more flexible cousins. But when aberrant climate events - such as extreme El Nios - induce major changes in the ocean ecology, behaviorally flexible seals win out. Female seals with strong site fidelity are unable to gain as much vital fat as they require to reproduce.



“Despite each of us working on very different species from one another, our group came together because we all recognized that there was a clear connection between strong site fidelity and species declines," said study co-lead author Briana Abrahms, an assistant professor at the University of Washington.



"We all thought it was important to call attention to this connection for other researchers and wildlife managers. Recognizing the types of species or behaviors that may suffer most from human-induced environmental change can help develop conservation priorities and actions."



While the analysis paints a bleak picture of the future for animals with high site fidelity, they also offer hope. The experts noted that occasionally, an animal will try something new and succeed. While such instances are uncommon, those "innovators" can be critical to a company's long-term survival in a changing environment.



"While these species appear to be stuck in their ways, many of them also have some unique but subtle ways of dealing with change,” said study co-author Jonathan Armstrong, an assistant professor at Oregon State University. “We just have to be patient and make sure populations don’t crash before such innovators come along,” Armstrong added.



The researchers offer a number of recommendations for researchers and practitioners towards the end of their paper. To begin, long-term monitoring is essential for determining how individuals and populations react to change. Second, they argue that biologists should not always expect animals to use and discover the optimal habitats. This is especially crucial when it comes to restoring new habitat regions, which may not work well for species with high site fidelity because they may not be able to "discover" these regenerated habitats.



As a result, the study authors propose that, rather than off-site mitigation, the conservation of species with high site fidelity should focus on the protection and restoration of highly frequented locations.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.esa.org/frontiers-in-ecology-and-the-environment/">Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment</a>.



---



By <a href="http://mailto:ashikha92@gmail.com">Ashikha Raoof</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Animals with strong site fidelity face an uncertain future

We live in a diverse world with different ecosystems and...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01254-x">Nature Human Behavior</a> has found that playing a recently developed action video game can help children significantly improve their reading skills. Since reading requires skills such as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/exercise-can-reduce-or-prevent-vision-loss/">vision</a>, attention, working memory, and cognitive flexibility, a research team led by Angela Pasqualotto, a postdoctoral fellow in Psychology at the <a href="https://www.unige.ch/en/">University of Geneva</a>, created a video game aiming to help children develop these capacities.



“The universe of this game is an alternative world in which the child, accompanied by his Raku, a flying creature, must carry out different missions to save planets and progress in the game,” explained Dr. Pasqualotto. &nbsp;“For example, the Raku flies through a meteor shower, moving around to avoid those or aiming at them to weaken their impact, while collecting useful resources for the rest of the game, a bit like what you find in action video games.”&nbsp;



Dr. Pasqualotto and her colleagues enrolled 150 Italian schoolchildren aged between 8 and 12, and divided them into two groups: one group played the action game developed by the team, and the other played <a href="https://scratch.mit.edu/">Scratch</a>, a non-action game which teaches kids how to code, and also requires planning, reasoning, and problem-solving abilities.



After initially testing the children’s reading levels as well as their attentional control, the researchers asked them to play the games for six weeks (two hours per week) under supervision at school. After the end of this period, children’s reading capacities were tested again.



“We found a 7-fold improvement in attentional control in the children who played the action video game compared to the control group,” said Dr. Pasqualotto. “What is particularly interesting about this study is that we carried out three further assessment tests at 6 months, 12 months, and 18 months after training. On each occasion, the trained children performed better than the control group, which proves that these improvements were sustained.”



Moreover, the scientists observed clear improvements not only in reading speed, but also in reading accuracy, together with longer-term increases in the children’s overall school grades. &nbsp;“The effects are thus long-term, in line with the action video game strengthening the ability to learn how to learn,” said study co-author Daphne Bavelier, a professor of Psychology at the University of Geneva.



Researchers are now trying to adapt the videogame in German, English, and French to investigate whether its benefits on reading acquisition can extend to non-phonetic languages too, in which not all letters are pronounced, and thus require further abilities such as a greater reliance on memorization.&nbsp;



---



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

Playing action video games can improve reading skills

A new study published in the journal Nature Human Behavior...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.ku.dk/english/">University of Copenhagen</a> has investigated how different health-promoting signaling <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/origins-life-simple-molecules/">molecules</a> produced by various organs of our bodies following physical exercise are influenced by the time of the day when exercise is performed. Understanding the relationship between circadian rhythms and exercise can have broad impacts on our health, helping us improve our sleep, memory, and metabolic homeostasis.



Most of our cells regulate their biological processes over a 24-hour period, operating in so-called “circadian rhythms.” Thus, the sensitivity of different bodily tissues to the effects of exercise depends on the time of day when exercise is performed. In order to better understand this complex connection, the researchers carried out experiments on mice that exercised either in the early morning or late evening.&nbsp;



Using mass spectrometry to analyze blood samples and tissues from the specimen’s heart, liver, brain, muscle, or fat, the scientists detected hundreds of metabolites and signaling molecules in each type of tissue, and monitored how they were changed by exercising at different times of the day. This resulted in an “Atlas of Exercise Metabolism,” a complex and comprehensive map of exercise-induced molecules found in different tissues following exercise at different times of day.



“A better understanding of how exercise affects the body at different times of day might help us to maximize the benefits of exercise for people at risk of disease, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes,” said study co-author Juleen R. Zierath, an expert in Circadian Biology at the University of Copenhagen.



“Not only do we show how different tissues respond to exercise at different times of the day, we also propose how these responses are connected to induce an orchestrated adaptation that controls systemic energy homeostasis,” added study co-author Jonas Thue Treebak, an associate professor specializing in molecular metabolism at the same university.



This research sheds new light on how tissues communicate with one another, and how exercise can help “realign” in particular tissues faulty circadian rhythms that have previously been linked to increased risks of metabolic diseases, such as obesity or type 2 diabetes. Further research is needed to understand how newly identified exercise-induced signaling molecules in multiple bodily tissues individually or collectively affect health.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1550413121006355?via%3Dihub#sec2">Cell Metabolism</a>.&nbsp;



---



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

How exercise affects the body at different times of day

A new study led by the University of Copenhagen has...

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects 45 percent of all cats, and over 90 percent of those older than 12. The condition is caused by the breakdown of cartilage cushion surrounding the joints, which makes the bones rub against each other, leading to chronic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/why-does-our-breathing-rate-increase-when-we-feel-pain/">pain</a> and decreased joint movement.&nbsp;&nbsp;



The traditional medical treatments for cat arthritis consist of animal-specific nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), similar to ibuprofen. These drugs can only be used safely for a short period of time, and cannot be given to cats suffering from kidney disease (which is another very common cat affliction).



However, a new drug manufactured by the company <a href="https://www.zoetis.com/index.aspx">Zoetis</a> has now been approved by the <a href="https://www.fda.gov/">U.S. Food and Drug Administration</a> (FDA). Solensia is a cat-specific monoclonal antibody that is injected by the veterinary under the skin once a month, and appears to be highly effective in diminishing the pains caused by OA and thus improving the animals’ mobility and overall quality of life. In two clinical trials, 77 percent of cat owners saw significant improvements in their pets after treatment with Solensia, compared to 67 percent in the placebo groups.



“Feline (arthritis) pain is typically undertreated because of a lack of effective solutions that are safe to use long-term, along with how difficult it can be for cat owners to administer oral medicines,” said Mike McFarland, chief medical officer at Zoetis. “The approval of Solensia is a significant step forward.”



“This is absolutely groundbreaking,” added Dr. Duncan Lascelles, a professor of Translational Pain Research and Surgery at the North Carolina State College of Veterinary Medicine. “I have been in pain research for 30 years and this is the most exciting development that has happened.”



“To be able to be mobile is so desperately important to the quality of life. Cats are described as needing 3D spaces. They need to move on the ground but they also need to be able to get to elevation.”&nbsp;



“Finally, for the first time ever in the U.S., there’s a highly efficacious treatment to manage joint pain in cats. And therefore extend their life, extend their happiness, and extend that beautiful relationship between cats and their owners,” Dr. Lascelles concluded. &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

Revolutionary treatment greatly extends the lives and happiness of cats

Osteoarthritis (OA) affects 45 percent of all cats, and over...

A new study from <a href="https://www.waseda.jp/top/en/">Waseda University</a> reveals that eating slowly and chewing food well increases the body’s energy expenditure and can indeed help obesity and metabolic syndrome.&nbsp;



It may sound counterintuitive, but each time you eat food your body’s metabolic rate increases and you use up extra energy. So, in response to consuming calories, your body begins to use more calories. This is because food needs to be broken down, digested, absorbed and transported to various places in the body for storage. All of these processes require energy.



Although some of the energy generated by your body is used up in the digestion of your food, there is also heat produced each time you eat. This is known as diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT), or the thermic effect of food, and is defined as the amount of energy expenditure, above the basal metabolic rate, that is due to the cost of processing food for use and storage. A common estimate is that around 10 percent of the calories you consume in food will be used up in the processing of that same food.



Interestingly, previous studies by Dr. Yuka Hamada and Professor Naoyuki Hayashi from Waseda University have shown that eating slowly and chewing food thoroughly further increase the energy expenditure associated with the processing of food, as well as stimulating intestinal motility – all of which increases heat generation in the body after food intake. These findings have relevance for people wishing to maintain their weight or, indeed, to lose weight.&nbsp;



However, the findings of these earlier studies were complicated by the fact that the influence of the size of the bolus (swallowed lump of food) and the “lumpiness” of the food were not taken into consideration.&nbsp;



“We were unsure whether the size of the food bolus that entered the digestive tract contributed to the increase in DIT observed after slow eating," explained Professor Hayashi. "Also, do oral stimuli generated during prolonged chewing of food play any role in increasing DIT? To define slow chewing as an effective and scientific weight management strategy, we needed to look deeper into these aspects.”



In their recent study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/">Scientific Reports</a>, the scientists designed new experiments that excluded the effect of the food bolus by using liquid food. Their aim was to find out whether oral stimuli generated during prolonged chewing of food had any influence on the increase in metabolic rate that follows the ingestion of food.



The study involved 11 adult male volunteers, each of whom went through three eating trials while various aspects of their physiology, metabolic rate and circulatory systems were monitored.&nbsp;



In the first trial, volunteers swallowed 20ml of cocoa-flavored liquid food every 30 seconds until 200 ml had been ingested. In the second trial, conducted at least three days later, the volunteers were again given 20 ml samples of the same liquid food every 30 seconds but had to keep it in the mouth for 30 seconds before swallowing it. This meant that they tasted the food for 30 seconds each time.&nbsp;



In the final trial, the effect of both tasting and chewing were assessed. In this third test, conducted after another break of at least three days, the volunteers had to “chew” each sample of liquid food for 30 seconds (at a rate of one chew per second) before ingesting. In each trial, a total of 200 ml of liquid food was swallowed and the effects on variables such as DIT, hunger, fullness, gaseous exchange and circulation were measured.&nbsp;



The results showed that several metabolic and physiological measures were significantly affected by prolonged tasting and chewing of food. In particular, DIT increased significantly when food was tasted and when it was chewed for prolonged periods. 



In addition, circulation in the celiac artery increased with taste stimulation and with chewing. This artery supplies blood to the liver, stomach, abdominal esophagus, spleen, and the superior halves of the duodenum and the pancreas, and so the motility of the upper gastrointestinal tract was increased by taste and chewing.&nbsp;



“We found DIT or energy production increased after consuming a meal, and it increased with the duration of each taste stimulation and the duration of chewing. This means irrespective of the influence of the food bolus, oral stimuli, corresponding to the duration of tasting food in the mouth and the duration of chewing, increased DIT.”&nbsp;



The results also showed that protein oxidation was significantly greater in the chewing trial than in the control trial, at 45–60&nbsp;minutes after the test drink. This indicates that chewing helps to speed up and increase the digestion of proteins in particular. Fat and carbohydrate oxidation did not differ significantly between the trials.&nbsp;



The researchers calculated the increase in energy production due to DIT from the 200-kcal beverage used in these experiments. They found that tasting increased DIT from 3.4&nbsp;kcal to 5.6&nbsp;kcal over 90&nbsp;minutes, and adding chewing increased it to 7.4&nbsp;kcal over 90&nbsp;minutes. Thus, the increase in DIT by chewing was between 1.8 and 4.0&nbsp;kcal over 90&nbsp;minutes. The use of liquid reduces the chewing stimulation, resulting in a smaller DIT than was recorded in previous studies that used solid foods.&nbsp;



“While the difference in energy expenditure per meal is small, the cumulative effect gathered during multiple meals, taken over every day and 365 days a year, is substantial," concluded Hayashi.



---



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

Chewing food thoroughly may help manage weight

A new study from Waseda University reveals that eating slowly...

In our contemporary society, seven or eight hours of rest per night without any interruptions is considered the norm for a healthy sleeping pattern. However, according to Roger Ekirch, a professor of history at <a href="https://vt.edu/">Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University</a> (Virginia Tech), sleep is not a biological constant, and changes substantially in different historical and cultural contexts.&nbsp;



While researching nocturnal life in preindustrial Europe and America, Professor Ekirch discovered strong evidence that people used to sleep in segments – a first and a second period of rest, separated by a few hours dedicated to activities such as sex, eating, chatting, praying, or taking medicine. The practice of sleeping throughout the entire night didn’t appear to take hold until a few centuries later, when electricity and the Industrial Revolution changed our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ocean-acidification-disrupts-the-behavior-of-fish-shoals/">behavior</a> patterns forever.



The remnants of the “by-phasic sleep” mentioned in many medieval diaries, medical texts, literary works, and prayer books, can be found in our modern society too. “A large number of people who today suffer from middle-of-the-night insomnia, the primary sleep disorder in the United States - and I dare say in most industrialized countries - rather than experiencing a quote unquote, disorder, are in fact, experiencing a very powerful remnant, or echo of this earlier pattern of sleep," explained Ekirch.



However, this does not mean that we should consider by-phasic sleep as “normal” or healthier than other types of sleep. "There is no such thing as natural sleep. Sleep has always been cultural, social and ideological," said Brigitte Steger, a senior lecturer in Japanese Studies at the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>.



Moreover, it would be too simplistic to understand the Industrial Revolution as a clear turning point, completely changing sleep patterns.&nbsp;



"There is not such a clear-cut difference between premodern (or pre-industrial) and modern sleep habits," explained Professor Steger. "And sleep habits throughout pre-industrial times and throughout the world have always changed. And, of course, there has always been social diversity, and sleep habits have been very different at court than for peasants, for instance."



Other scholars such as Gerrit Verhoeven, an assistant professor of Cultural Heritage and History at the <a href="https://www.uantwerpen.be/en/">University of Antwerp</a> in Belgium, did not find evidence of fundamental changes in sleep patterns throughout history.



“As a historian I'm concerned that arguments about alleged sleeping patterns in the past - prolonged, by-phasic and with napping during the day - are sometimes presented as a possible remedy for our modern sleeping disorders. Before drawing such conclusions, we have to do much more research about these early modern sleeping patterns," he said.&nbsp;



Professor Ekirch’s findings are explained in great detail in his book <a href="https://www.amazon.com/At-Days-Close-Night-Times/dp/0393329011">At Day’s Close: Night in Times Past</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

Sleeping patterns were different during the Middle Ages

In our contemporary society, seven or eight hours of rest...

New research led by a team of biologists from the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a> has found that California mice eat <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-predators-have-outsmarted-monarch-butterflies/">monarch butterflies</a> that fall to the ground. This is despite the fact that these butterflies possess a potent “chemical armor” from eating milkweed with toxic cardenolides. The milkweed toxins build up in their bodies and make monarchs unpalatable to most (but not all) predators.



Scientists have long observed that in Central Mexico, the place with the largest winter aggregations of monarchs, the black-eared mouse (Peromyscus melanotis) eats up to 40 of these butterflies each night. More recently, researchers found that the western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis) also consume grounded monarchs at the Pismo State Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove in California.



To study mice-monarch interactions, the researchers first trapped rodents in the grove in February 2020 and screened their feces for monarch DNA, which they found in one sample. The scientists intended to return the next year, but unfortunately, after years of gradual decline, the monarch population finally crashed.



"At a site where 100,000 butterflies used to roost, in 2020 there where were fewer than 200 monarchs. So, we had to change tactics," said study lead author Sara Weinstein, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Utah. "We tested whether rodents would feed on the butterflies using captive-reared monarchs."



Weinstein and her colleagues found that rodents that were offered monarchs ate them, usually favoring high-calorie parts with fewer toxins such as the abdomen or thorax. "Many rodent species are likely to have some resistance to cardenolides in monarchs, due to genetic changes at the site where these toxins bind," explained Dr. Weinstein.&nbsp;



"The Pismo Grove is one of hundreds of western monarch aggregation sites, and it seems likely that, at least in the past, rodents throughout the western monarch range may have supplemented their winter diets with monarchs. If you can handle the cardenolides in a monarch, their bodies are full of fat and offer a pretty good meal."



The massive decline of monarch populations is only one example of an ongoing “insect <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-sixth-mass-extinction-is-currently-in-progress/">apocalypse</a>.” According to Dr. Weinstein, about 40 percent of invertebrate species are currently threatened and over 70 percent of flying insect biomass may already be gone. “This is devastating on its own and is also going to have enormous impacts on the other organisms that feed on insects," Dr. Weinstein said.



"Western monarchs and other western butterflies need conservation attention and part of that awareness-raising is illuminating the many ways these animals are interconnected to other insects, birds, mammals, as well as our human communities. This study helps us appreciate more deeply how fewer butterflies means less food for other native animals," added Emma Pelton, a senior conservation biologist at the <a href="https://www.xerces.org/">Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation</a>.&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecy.3607">Ecology</a>.



---



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

California mice can feed on poisonous monarch butterflies

New research led by a team of biologists from the...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a>, researchers have discovered that a type of brightly colored jumping spider is <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-may-have-had-pops-of-color-like-modern-ducks/">color</a> blind. The study was focused on Saitis barbipes, a common jumping spider found in Europe and North Africa. 



The males of this species have a furry red crown and legs. They are known for performing elaborate courtship dances.



“We assumed they were using color for communication. But we didn’t know if their visual system even allowed them to see those colors,” said study co-first author David Outomuro.



Using microspectrophotometry to examine jumping spiders collected in Slovenia, the team found no evidence of a red photoreceptor. The experts also looked for colored filters that might shift green sensitivity to red, but found that there were none.



The researchers ultimately determined that, most likely, bright red colors appear no different than black markings to these jumping spiders.



"To quantify and visualize whether females may nevertheless be capable of discriminating red from black color patches, we take multispectral images of males and calculate photoreceptor excitations and color contrasts between color patches," explained the study authors&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Red patches would be, at best, barely discriminable from black, and not discriminable from a low-luminance green."



“It’s a bit of a head-scratcher, what’s going on here,” said study co-author Professor Nathan Morehouse. “We haven’t solved the mystery of what the red is doing.”&nbsp;



Even though animals use color in all sorts of ways, including camouflage, it’s not always apparent what bright colors might signify, according to Professor Morehouse. “We spent a lot of time talking about it as a group. What else could it be? I feel there’s an interesting story behind the mystery."



Study senior author Cynthia Tedore, a research associate at the University of Hamburg, said the results of the research were surprising.



“Males have bold red and black coloration on their forward-facing body surfaces which they display during their courtship dances; whereas, females lack red coloration altogether. This initially suggested to us that the red color must play some role in mate attraction," said Tedore.



“Instead, we found that red and black are perceived equivalently, or nearly so, by these spiders and that if red is perceived as different from black, it is perceived as a dark ‘spider green’ rather than red."



The researchers believe that the spider’s red and black colors may possibly improve defensive camouflage.



“For predators with red vision, at natural viewing distances, the spider's red and black color patches should blur together to become an intermediate orangish-brownish color, which would help the spider blend in with its leaf litter habitat better than all-black coloration would,” said Tedore.



The experts noted that there are many colorful jumping spiders that see red perfectly well. There are also many dull-colored spiders that have great color vision.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/114">The Science of Nature</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

Scientists find a colorful jumping spider that is color blind

In a new study from the University of Cincinnati, researchers...

A new study from <a href="https://www.anu.edu.au/">Australian National University</a> (ANU) creates a stark choice: step up conservation efforts or lose the regent honeyeater, a beautiful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-and-humans-use-similar-speech-patterns/">songbird</a>, within 20 years. The new study reveals that even the current intensive conservation efforts aren’t enough.



“The regent honeyeater population has been decimated by the loss of over 90 per cent of their preferred woodland habitats,” said study lead author Professor Rob Heinsohn.



"Less than 80 years ago, it was one of the most commonly encountered species, ranging from Adelaide to Rockhampton. Now it is on track to follow the dodo into extinction.”



There are currently less than 300 regent honeyeaters left, making it one of Australia’s rarest birds. Habitat destruction forces the remaining honeyeaters to compete with larger birds for less habitat.



In 2015 the ANU researchers began an intensive research project focused on gaining greater understanding of the regent honeyeater’s decline. After years of field work, the scientists discovered that the decline in nest success was due to predation by other bird species and possums.&nbsp;



In the new research, the scientists used their hard won field data to create a population model that predicts the bird’s future population.&nbsp;



“Our models show that current conservation efforts have provided essential life support for the regent honeyeaters, but do not go far enough," said study co-author Dr. Ross Crates. “We were able to isolate the three key conservation priorities necessary to secure the birds’ future."&nbsp;



The first conservation priority the research lays out is a doubling of nest success rates in both wild and zoo bred animals, facilitated by protecting the nests from predators.&nbsp;



Next captive breeding efforts releasing birds into the Blue Mountains must increase and remain steady for twenty years in addition to nest protection.&nbsp;



Lastly, the research emphasizes that the regent honeyeater can only survive into the future if more habitat is preserved and restored.&nbsp;



“Without more habitat, reintroductions and nest protection efforts will be futile, because the flock sizes will never reach the critical mass needed for the birds to breed safely without our protection," said Professor Heinsohn.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Our study provides both hope and a dire warning - we can save these birds, but it will take a lot of effort and resources over a long time to pull it off.”&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/biological-conservation">Biological Conservation</a>.



---



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

How can we save the regent honeyeater from extinction?

A new study from Australian National University (ANU) creates a...

According to current scientific knowledge, the history of life on Earth was marked until now by five mass <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/volcanic-fertilization-led-to-severe-mass-extinction-event/">extinctions</a>, which were caused by natural phenomena and resulted in great global losses of biodiversity. In a new study, a group of biologists from <a href="https://manoa.hawaii.edu/">University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa</a> and the <a href="https://www.mnhn.fr/en">National Museum of Natural History</a> in Paris, France, argue that we are currently experiencing a Sixth Mass Extinction which, in contrast to the previous ones, is caused entirely by human activities.



By extrapolating from estimates obtained through the analysis of snail and slug populations, the scientists have shown that, since 1500, the Earth could have lost between 7.5 percent and 13 percent of the approximately two million of known species, thus between 150,000 to 260,000 species.



“Drastically increased rates of species extinctions and declining abundances of many animal and plant populations are well documented, yet some deny that these phenomena amount to mass extinction,” said&nbsp;study lead author Robert Cowie, a research professor of Biosciences at the University of Hawai’i.



“This denial is based on a biased view of the crisis which focuses on mammals and birds and ignores invertebrates, which of course constitute the great majority of biodiversity. Including invertebrates was key to confirming that we are indeed witnessing the onset of the Sixth Mass Extinction in Earth’s history.”



According to Professor Cowie and his colleagues, the situation is not the same everywhere on Earth. Although increasingly more marine species are threatened, the crisis affecting the seas and oceans is not so severe as that impacting the land. Moreover, on land, island species are more affected than continental ones, and a much larger number of terrestrial animals are endangered in comparison to plants.



Unfortunately, this ongoing extinction is denied by most of the people, including key political actors and policy-makers, and while conservation initiatives have been successful for certain charismatic animals, they cannot target all endangered species and reverse the overall thread of extinction.



“Despite the rhetoric about the gravity of the crisis, and although remedial solutions exist and are brought to the attention of decision-makers, it is clear that political will is lacking,” said Professor Cowie. “Denying the crisis, accepting it without reacting, or even encouraging it constitutes an abrogation of humanity’s common responsibility and paves the way for Earth to continue on its sad trajectory towards a Sixth Mass Extinction.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/brv.12816">Biological Reviews</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



---



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

The Sixth Mass Extinction is currently in progress

According to current scientific knowledge, the history of life on...

When wild creatures gather at watering holes, they also bring along their parasites, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">UC Santa Barbara</a>. The experts report that cattle and elephants have the highest increased risk of exposure to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/if-primates-go-extinct-so-will-their-parasites/">parasites</a>.&nbsp;



"We think about watering holes as being iconic centers of these majestic animals, but they are also hotspots for the parasites that infect these animals," said study co-author Georgia Titcomb.&nbsp;



The researchers set out to investigate how watering holes may influence the distribution of the parasites across savannas in central Kenya.&nbsp;



The study revealed that parasite density is much higher around water sources compared to the surrounding landscape. The exposure risk varied among animal species, and the results suggest that cattle and elephants have by far the greatest risk. In fact, potential parasite exposure for cattle was 143 times higher, and 67 times higher for elephants.&nbsp;



Titcomb said she expected watering holes to aggregate parasites, leading to higher exposure for hosts. "But we didn't expect quite the degree of variation among different wildlife species. The animals that were most strongly affected, and that really followed our expectations, were ones that are quite water dependent: elephants and cattle."



The researchers also surveyed 17 watering holes and 17 dry locations at the Mpala Research Centre, in central Kenya, as well as three wet and dry sites at Ol Pejeta Conservancy. The team found that in the driest areas and time periods, parasite density around water sources was more than 150 times higher than that of locations without water.



"If a cattle herder wants to reduce the chances that their cattle are exposed to parasites, they may want to avoid grazing their animals within 150 meters of water," said Titcomb.&nbsp;



Next, she hopes to investigate how parasite infections in cattle might affect wildlife. "Because cattle are so numerous, their infection patterns have really strong potential to affect less numerous wildlife in the area."



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



---



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

When animals flock to watering holes, so do their parasites

When wild creatures gather at watering holes, they also bring...

Many animal species exhibit behaviors that are linked to moon phases. A new study led by <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a> (LSU) and the <a href="https://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> is one of the first to investigate the connections between lunar phases and shark attacks. The findings suggest that more shark attacks occur during fuller phases of the moon.



The researchers analyzed a global shark attack record (<a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/">The International Shark Attack File</a>) collected during over half a century (from 1960 to 2015) and discovered an unmistakable correlation between a large number of these attacks and periods with higher lunar illumination. However, it is not yet clear what the precise cause of this phenomenon is.&nbsp;



“It’s not a matter of more light at night for sharks to see. Most shark attacks occur in the daylight. However, the moon can exert other forces on Earth and its oceans in ways that are much more subtle—for example, the gravitation pull that we see affect the tides,” explained study co-author Steve Midway, an associate professor of Fisheries Ecology and Statistics at LSU.



According to Professor Midway and his colleagues, it is still too early to claim that lunar illumination is a causative factor for shark attacks. Since the relationship between moon phases and shark attacks may not be causal, scientists are not necessarily claiming that there are any immediate risk management benefits arising from these findings. Yet, the study contributes to a better understanding of shark behavior, which could help risk management in the future.



“Ultimately, moon phase and lunar illumination will not likely be a strong predictor that alone can forecast risk of shark attack. Local environmental variables are expected to continue to be more practical information for assessing risk.”&nbsp;



“However, the results here strongly support the idea that moon phase does play a role in overall risk of shark attack, and if future studies are able to consider local and regional environmental conditions along with lunar illumination, both understating shark attacks and forecasting risk may improve,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2021.745221/full">Frontiers in Marine Science</a>.



---



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

Shark attacks linked to phases of the Moon

Many animal species exhibit behaviors that are linked to moon...

Eyes are important. They help <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/some-plants-wont-survive-the-loss-of-seed-dispersing-animals/">animals</a> find food and avoid becoming a meal themselves. Eyes also help animals scope out potential mates and watch out for rivals.&nbsp;



Looking into the eyes of a fossil can thus tell you a lot about how the creature once lived. Was the animal nocturnal or diurnal? An active hunter or shy and retiring? Unfortunately, however, eyes are rare fossils and scientists don’t often get an opportunity to look at them.&nbsp;



A research team spent years examining the eyes of a 95-million-year-old fossil crab,&nbsp;Callichimaera perplexa, found in the Colombian Andes. The crab was first described in 2019 by Harvard postdoctoral fellow Javier Luque. The fossil had preserved unusual elements of both the outer eye and internal structures.&nbsp;



In a new study led by Luque and scientists at Yale University, it is suggested that Callichomaera perplexa was a rare, active swimming predator. Much of this conclusion comes from examination of the eyes, which are quite large for those of an adult crab.&nbsp;



To make sure that they were in fact looking at an adult crab rather than an immature stage where eyes appear larger, Yale PhD candidate Kelsey Jenkins examined more than 1,000 crab specimens, both living and extinct. The research involved looking at crabs at different stages of development to finally determine that indeed, Callichomaera perplexa was an adult with exceptionally large eyes.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Having such big and unprotected eyes implies that they were exposed at all times, plus eyes that big impose a huge investment of energy and resources to maintain them. Thus, this animal must have relied considerably on vision,” said Luque.



&nbsp;“If something has eyes this big, they're definitely very highly visual. This is in stark contrast to crabs with tiny, vestigial eyes where they may only be 1 to 3% of the animal's body size,” said Jenkins.



Further research showed that the crab had high visual acuity, comparable to other predators such as dragonflies and mantis shrimp. Its vision was adapted to high light environments, meaning the animal was probably most actively hunting during the day.&nbsp;



“Even though it’s the cutest, smallest crab, the big eyes of Callichimaera and its overall body form with unusually large oar-like legs indicate that it might have been a fierce, swimming predator, rather than a bottom-crawler as most crabs are,” said Luque.



Image Credit: Masato Hattori



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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

Secrets of a big-eyed crab fossil revealed

Eyes are important. They help animals find food and avoid...

In the past, when climates changed, forests became distributed more to the north or to the south of their previous locations. This is not to say that the trees, themselves, moved. Rather, the ranges of the tree species changed. For example, fossil plant and pollen records show that the ranges of tree species shifted northward at a rate of 50km per century as the climate warmed after the retreat of the North American ice cap.&nbsp;



Tree range migration is facilitated by the movement of seeds. When the climate changes, trees begin to form more seeds; these get spread around by dispersal agents and may germinate in areas that are more favorable for growth. Although wind and water may carry some seeds, the vast majority of trees depend on animals to disperse them to new areas. But now, many of these seed-dispersing animals are themselves threatened, as climate changes and habitats are lost.



In&nbsp;<a href="http://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abk3510?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D84587913426847399401258317155412422308%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1641994662">a study</a>&nbsp;featured on the cover of this week’s issue of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</a>, U.S. and Danish researchers consider how the loss of species of birds and animals will impact the ability of plants to adapt to human-induced climate change in future. While animals can often fly, walk, run or swim to more suitable areas, trees cannot escape the heat. Tree species that need to move their offspring away from warmer temperatures will only be able to do so via the activities of seed-dispersal agents, such as mammals and birds.&nbsp;



“Some plants live hundreds of years, and their only chance to move is during the short period when they're a seed moving across the landscape,” said <a href="https://www.rice.edu/">Rice University</a> ecologist&nbsp;<a href="https://www.evanfricke.com/">Evan Fricke</a>, the study's first author. “If there are no animals available to eat their fruits or carry away their nuts, animal-dispersed plants aren’t moving very far."



In collaboration with researchers from the University of Maryland, Iowa State University and Aarhus University, the Rice team used machine learning and data from thousands of field studies to map the contributions of seed-dispersing birds and mammals worldwide. They compared maps of seed dispersal today with maps showing what dispersal would look like if there were no human-caused extinctions or species range restrictions.



The experts also used data synthesized from field studies around the world to train a machine-learning model for seed dispersal, and then used the trained model to estimate the loss of climate-tracking dispersal caused by animal declines.



Fricke explained that developing estimates of seed-dispersal losses due to animal and bird extinctions or changes in their ranges required two significant technical advances: “First, we needed a way to predict seed-dispersal interactions occurring between plants and animals at any location around the world."



For this, they used data on species interactions from over 400 field studies that detailed how many seeds are dispersed by particular species of birds and mammals, how far they are dispersed and how well those seeds germinate. Based on this data, the researchers could predict interactions between plants and seed dispersers.



“Second, we needed to model how each plant-animal interaction actually affected seed dispersal,” said Fricke. “For example, when an animal eats a fruit, it might destroy the seeds or it might disperse them a few meters away or several kilometers away.”



The results of the study showed that many seed-dispersing mammals and birds have already been lost, particularly in temperate regions across North America, Europe, South America and Australia. In addition, if currently endangered species go extinct, tropical regions in South America, Africa and Southeast Asia would be severely affected.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We found regions where climate-tracking seed dispersal declined by 95%, even though they’d lost only a few percent of their mammal and bird species,” said Fricke.&nbsp;



The findings showed that the ability of animal-dispersed plants to keep pace with climate change has been reduced by 60% due to the loss of mammals and birds that help such plants adapt to environmental change.&nbsp;



“In addition to the wake-up call that declines in animal species have vastly limited the ability of plants to adapt to climate change, this study beautifully demonstrates the power of complex analyses applied to huge, publicly available data,” said Doug Levey, program director of the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Directorate for Biological Sciences, which partially funded the work.



Fricke explained that the study is the first to quantify the scale of the seed-dispersal problem globally and to identify the regions most affected. He emphasized that declines in the populations of seed dispersers highlight an important intersection between the climate and biodiversity crises impacting natural environments today.



“Biodiversity of seed-dispersing animals is key for the climate resilience of plants, which includes their ability to continue storing carbon and feeding people,” he said, adding that restoration of ecosystem connections in natural habitats could counteract some declines in seed dispersal, but not all of them. People also rely, both economically and ecologically, on seed-dispersing birds and mammals to ensure the supply of important resources.&nbsp;



“Large mammals and birds are particularly important as long-distance seed dispersers and have been widely lost from natural ecosystems,” said Svenning, the study’s senior author. “The research highlights the need to restore faunas to ensure effective dispersal in the face of rapid climate change.”&nbsp;



“When we lose mammals and birds from ecosystems, we don’t just lose species. Extinction and habitat loss damage complex ecological networks," said Fricke. "This study shows animal declines can disrupt ecological networks in ways that threaten the climate resilience of entire ecosystems that people rely upon.”



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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

Some plants won't survive the loss of seed-dispersing animals

In the past, when climates changed, forests became distributed more...

Bald eagle populations have steadily increased in recent decades, after the use of DDT was banned in 1972. However, according to a new study led by <a href="https://www.cornell.edu/">Cornell University</a>, this rebound is currently weakened by the threat of lead <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/poisonous-frogs-warmer-temperatures/">poisoning</a> from gunshot ammunition.&nbsp;



Despite increasing numbers of bald eagles, lead poisoning from eating dead carcasses or parts contaminated by lead ammunition has reduced eagle population growth by 4 to 6 percent annually in the Northeast United States.



“Even though the population seems like it’s recovered, some perturbation could come along that could cause eagles to decline again,” said study senior author Krysten Schuler, an assistant professor in the <a href="https://www.vet.cornell.edu/departments/public-ecosystem-health">Department of Public and Ecosystem Health</a> at Cornell University.



Besides being potentially threatened by habitat loss, climate change, or the West Nile virus and other viral or bacterial outbreaks, bald eagles are increasingly affected by current hunting practices. Many hunters “field dress” game they shot with lead ammunition, leaving contaminated organs where the animal was killed. Bald eagles are scavenging such carcasses, often consuming bullet fragments that later on cause lead poisoning.



Although bald eagle numbers nearly <a href="https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2021/03/bald-eagle-count-quadruples-thanks-part-ebird-data-boost">quadrupled</a> in the lower 48 states between 2009 and 2021, reaching about 316,000, the current findings on the dangers of lead poisoning raise alarms among scientists and conservationists.



“Hopefully, this report will add information that compels hunters, as conservationists, to think about their ammunition choices,” said Professor Schuler. In her view, a better alternative would be the use of copper-based ammunition.



Bald eagles are not the only species endangered by these hunting practices. Trail cameras have repeatedly shown that owls, crows, bears, foxes, coyotes, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fisher-populations-will-struggle-to-survive-increasing-wildfires/">fishers </a>also scavenge the remains left by hunters.



“We haven’t collected data on these other species in the same way that we pay attention to eagles," said Professor Schuler. "We’re putting eagles out there as a poster species for this issue, but they’re not the only ones being impacted."



The study is published in the <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22177">Journal of Wildlife Management</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

Bald eagles are threatened by poisoning from lead ammunition

Bald eagle populations have steadily increased in recent decades, after...

The world's largest fish breeding area has been discovered in the Antarctic Weddell Sea. Using an advanced underwater camera system, a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.awi.de/en/">Alfred Wegener Institute</a> found what is estimated to be 60 million icefish nests near the Filchner Ice Shelf.&nbsp;



The colony represents a fish biomass of more than 60,000 tons, or over 135 million pounds. According to the study authors, their findings provide support for the establishment of a Marine Protected Area in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean.&nbsp;



The researchers towed a camera system and photographed the massive breeding site. The photographs suggest that the icefish nests cover about 240 square kilometers, which is roughly the size of the island of Malta.&nbsp;



"The idea that such a huge breeding area of icefish in the Weddell Sea was previously undiscovered is totally fascinating," said study lead author Autun Purser, a deep-sea biologist at the AWI Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research.



Since the early 1980s, AWI scientists have been exploring the Weddell Sea with Polarstern, a German research icebreaker. Prior to this study, the team had only detected small clusters of nests.



The observations were made using the Ocean Floor Observation and Bathymetry System (OFOBS), a camera sledge built to survey the ocean floor in extreme conditions.&nbsp;



"After the spectacular discovery of the many fish nests, we thought about a strategy on board to find out how large the breeding area was - there was literally no end in sight. The nests are three quarters of a metre in diameter - so they are much larger than the structures and creatures, some of which are only centimeters in size, that we normally detect with the OFOBS system," said Purser.&nbsp;



"So, we were able to increase the height above ground to about three metres and the towing speed to a maximum of three knots, thus multiplying the area investigated. We covered an area of 45,600 square metres and counted an incredible 16,160 fish nests on the photo and video footage."



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Low-Res_20210216_FishnestsWeddellSea_PS124_AWI_OFOBS_Team_003.jpg.png" alt="" class="wp-image-1900975"/><figcaption>Image Credit: AWI OFOBS Team</figcaption></figure>



Based on the images, the round fish nests were about 15 centimeters deep and 75 centimeters in diameter, and were clearly distinguishable from the muddy seafloor.



The team found several types of nests, including active nests that contained an average of 1,700 eggs. About 75 percent of the time, these active nests were guarded by an adult icefish. Overall, about 100,000 nests were captured on film, and many of them were unused.&nbsp;



Further research is needed, but the experts speculate that the colony is an important source of food for predators such as Weddell seals.



“A great many Weddell seals spend much of their time in close proximity to the fish nests,” said Purser. “We know this from historical tracking data and fresh tracking data from our cruise. The nests are exactly where the warmer water is upwelling. These facts may be coincidence, and more work is needed, but the recorded seal data show seals do indeed dive to the depths of the fish nests, so may well be dining on these fish."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</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

Scientists have found the world's largest fish breeding site

The world's largest fish breeding area has been discovered in...

Newborn dairy calves are most often housed separately from each other after being removed from their mothers. Farmers state that keeping calves separate reduces the risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fast-food-diets-linked-to-rise-in-autoimmune-diseases/">disease</a> transmission, prevents the calves from suckling on one another, and enables more careful feeding and monitoring of individual calves during the first weeks or months of their lives.&nbsp;



Approximately 75 percent and 60 percent of preweaning dairy calves in the United States and Europe, respectively, are housed individually, despite the growing criticisms of this practice in terms of its impacts on calf behavior, welfare and health. The alternative of raising young calves in social groups has, however, received increasing support from scientific quarters and from the concerned public.&nbsp;



A new study published this week in <a href="https://www.jdscommun.org/">JDS Communications</a>, the journal of the American Dairy Science Association, quantifies the motivation of socially naive calves to seek companionship with another calf, when they have the choice.&nbsp;



“Past behavioral studies have indicated that lack of social interaction can negatively affect calves’ feed intake, social skills, coping abilities, and cognitive performance,” stated lead investigator Dr. Marina von Keyserlingk. “However, previous studies on social motivation among young cattle have not addressed the first six to eight weeks of life, when individual housing is the most common.”&nbsp;



In the study, 10 male Holstein calves (average age 5.4 days) were separated into pairs, one of each pair being termed the “subject” while the other was the “partner.” Each pair was housed in a facility consisting of a central home pen with adjacent pens to the left and the right. Pens were separated by one-way push-gates made of plexiglass sheets. After the morning feed of milk, the subject was placed in the central pen, the partner was randomly allocated (by coin toss) to one of the side pens, and the other side pen was left empty.



For 15 days, the calves were checked twice daily at the time of milk feeding (approximately 0800 and 1600 h). At that time, the subject would be found in the central pen, or could have pushed his way through the door into a side pen, either the one containing the partner calf, or the one that was empty. The push-gates swung closed after a calf passed through and would not open in the opposite direction. The subject was returned to the central pen at feeding time.



Each time the subject had pushed his way into one of the side pens, the weight of the gate into that side pen would be increased. This meant that gates were relatively light to push open at the start of the study, when calves were learning the system, but they became more difficult to push as the experiment continued. The maximum weight pushed and number of pushes by each subject calf over the 15-day trial were recorded separately for the two side pens.&nbsp;



“Each time the test calf pushed open the gate to access a side pen, he would remain in it until the next milk feeding (approximately 0800 and 1600 h), at which time he was returned to the central home pen,” explained Dr. von Keyserlingk. “After each successful pushing event, additional weight was added to the gate – initially a small amount, then incrementally higher.”&nbsp;



With this design, the researchers were able to quantify the motivation of the young calves to access company in the form of the partner calf. No prior training of the subject calf was necessary, and the calves learned quickly how to open the gates after first coincidentally pushing a gate open as they investigated it.



The researchers found that, of the 10 calves tested, 8 pushed more weight for the pen on the social side, 1 pushed more for the empty side, and 1 pushed the same weight for both sides. Over the 15-day trial, calves pushed gates weighing, on average 1.0 kg more in order to access the social pen. All calves but one opened a gate on the first day of testing, with the remaining calf pushing a gate open for the first time on the third day.&nbsp;



The results indicate that young calves are motivated to seek full social contact, even when they have to work harder to achieve this. They are clearly social animals and derive benefit from contact with other calves.&nbsp;



A recent U.S. survey found that approximately half the participants considered individual housing of calves unacceptable, often mentioning the lack of socialization as a major issue. The results of the current study add to the body of research evidence that highlights the importance of social contact for calves.&nbsp;



The authors also note that the testing method used in this study did not require training, but calves quickly learned to use the gates on their own, suggesting that this task could be readily used to assess spontaneous motivation in other situations as well.



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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

Dairy calves prefer to be housed with a companion

Newborn dairy calves are most often housed separately from each...

New research led by the <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">University of Columbia</a> and the <a href="https://www.wild-tiger.org/">Wild Tiger</a> non-profit organization has found that the United States plays a much greater role in illegal tiger parts trade than previously thought. While most of the studies on tiger trafficking patterns focused on 13 Asian countries, the new findings show that the United States was responsible for almost half of the global illegal tiger trade between 2003 and 2012.



Tigers are an <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/switching-to-solar-energy-affects-endangered-florida-panthers/">endangered</a> species, with less than 5,000 specimens estimated to remain in the wild. Illegal trade in tiger parts (mostly for medicinal purposes) plays a significant role in threatening tiger populations worldwide.



While China has been and remains the main destination and consumer of tiger parts, data from the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services</a> shows that the United States’ import seizures of tiger parts between 2003 and 2012 represented a staggering 46.8 percent of total global seizures.



“People in the U.S. have this false notion that the illegal trade in tiger parts is half a world away. In reality, we in the U.S. are involved in and driving a large portion of the illegal trade,” said study lead author Sarika Khanwilkar, a Ph.D. candidate at Columbia University and the founder of the non-profit&nbsp;organization Wild Tiger. “This research is a step to better understand the role of the U.S. in the global tiger trade, which will improve policy and enforcement and direct future research efforts.”



According to Khanwilkar and her colleagues, there were 292 seizures of tiger parts illegally entering the United States between 203 and 2012, the majority of them being imported from China (34.2 percent) and Vietnam (29.5 percent). However, since the use of digital platforms to trade illegal wildlife products has increased, and economic prosperity has expanded demand, the current study may underestimate the full scale of illegal tiger parts trafficking in the United States.



In order to better monitor the source and trafficking routes of tiger parts, the researchers propose enhancing detection efforts in main hotspots for illegal tiger imports such as San Francisco, Dallas, and Atlanta. They also recommend using forensic DNA analysis to determine the origin and source (wild or captive) of the tiger parts and thus help providing guidance on where to focus conservation and enforcement efforts.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/csp2.622">Conservation Science and Practice</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

The U.S. plays a major role in the illegal tiger trade

New research led by the University of Columbia and the...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.rsmas.miami.edu/">University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science</a> has found that the locations and timing of tiger <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sharks-important-deserve-protections/">shark</a> movements in the western part of the North Atlantic Ocean have shifted due to rising ocean <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marine-heatwaves-could-severely-affect-the-fishing-industry/">temperatures</a> caused by climate change. By pushing tiger sharks outside of protected areas, these climate-induced factors make the animals more vulnerable to commercial fishing.&nbsp;



The tiger shark (Galeocerdo cuvier) is the largest cold-blooded predator in tropical and warm-temperate seas and oceans. While waters off the United States’ northeast coast have historically been too cold for these fierce predators, recent increases in ocean temperatures have made them suitable.



“Tiger shark annual migrations have expanded poleward, paralleling rising water temperatures,” explained study lead author Neil Hammerschlag, the director of the University of Miami’s <a href="https://sharkresearch.rsmas.miami.edu/">Shark Research and Conservation Program</a>. “These results have consequences for tiger shark conservation, since shifts in their movements outside of marine protected areas may leave them more vulnerable to commercial fishing.”



Professor Hammerschlag and his colleagues analyzed nine years of tracking data from satellite-tagged tiger sharks, together with four decades of conventional tag and recapture data provided by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/cooperative-shark-tagging-program">Cooperative Shark Tagging Program</a>, in order to assess how changes in water temperatures affected shark habitats and movements.



They found that during the last decade (when ocean temperatures were the warmest on record), for every one-degree Celsius increase in water temperatures, tiger sharks migrated further poleward by over 400 kilometers. Moreover, they also migrated two weeks earlier than usual to waters off the northeastern coast of the United States.



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



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.16045">Global Change 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

Tiger shark migrations are shifting as temperatures rise

A new study led by the University of Miami Rosenstiel...

Thailand is often overlooked in terms of its natural beauty and biodiversity, even as its natural environments face the threats of development that loom everywhere in the world. Illustrating this point is the discovery of a new genus of tarantula that lives inside of bamboo stalks.



Dr. Narin Chomphuphuang, an arachnologist at Khon Kaen University, explained the context of the discovery. “Few people realize how much of Thailand's wildlife remains undocumented. Thai forests now cover only 31.64% of the country's total land area. We are primarily on a mission to research and save the biodiversity and wildlife within these forests from extinction, especially species-specific microhabitats.”



The tarantula was first found by JoCho Sippawat, a famous Thai wildlife YouTuber, who later teamed up with Dr. Chomphuphuang. The pair also collaborated with Chaowalit Songsangchote of Kasetsart University, who formally described the newly discovered tarantula.



The scientists named the spider Taksinus bambus, the generic name honors the Thai king Taksin the Great, who was once governor of Tak province - where the tarantula was found. Bambus is in reference to the arachnids' curious way of living in bamboo, something never before seen in a tarantula.&nbsp;



The spiders themselves do not create holes or cracks in bamboo stalks but instead rely on other animals such as bamboo worms, carpenter beetles or rodents to do this work. Once the spider moves into a bamboo stalk, the animal lines the new home with silk.&nbsp;



There are other arboreal tarantulas found in southeast Asia, but this is the first to be discovered in northern Thailand. It’s also unusual because it specializes in one particular type of plant.



&nbsp;“We examined all of the trees in the area where the species was discovered. This species is unique because it is associated with bamboo, and we have never observed this tarantula species in any other plant. Bamboo is important to this tarantula, not only in terms of lifestyle but also because it can only be found in high hill forests in the northern part of Thailand, at an elevation of about 1,000 m. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are now Thailand's rarest tarantulas,” said Dr. Chomphuphuang.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://zookeys.pensoft.net/">ZooKeys</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



Image Credit: JoCho Sippawat

New tarantula found in Thailand lives in bamboo stalks

Thailand is often overlooked in terms of its natural beauty...

A study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-03599-9">Nature Scientific Reports</a> reveals fascinating new details about Struthiosaurus austriacus, a relatively small nodosaurid from the Ankylosaur family that lived in the Late <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-pterosaurs-were-fierce-competitors-in-the-late-cretaceous/">Cretaceous</a>. The experts report that the dinosaur had a lonesome lifestyle due to its inferior sense of hearing and sluggish movement.&nbsp;



Ankylosaurs are a group of herbivorous dinosaurs that grew up to eight meters and had bodies cluttered with bony plates and spikes, resembling “living fortresses.” Some of their most representative members, such as ankylosaurids, has a club tail, while nodosaurids were famous for their elongated spikes on their necks and shoulders.



While many dinosaurs were rather gregarious creatures, living in social groups, at least some ankylosaurs seemed to prefer a lonesome life. By studying with a high-resolution computer tomograph the fossil braincase of a specimen discovered near Muthmannsdorf, a town south of Vienna, Austria, a team of paleontologists led by the <a href="https://www.uni-greifswald.de/">University of Greifswald</a> and <a href="https://www.univie.ac.at/en/">University of Vienna</a>, has found that Struthiosaurus austriacus most probably had significant difficulties in locomotion and audition, which made it less prone to social interaction.



The dinosaur’s flocculus, an evolutionary old part of the brain responsible for the fixation of the eyes during motions of the head, neck, and body was very small. Together with the extremely short lagena (the part of the inner ear where hearing takes place), this feature suggests that the dinosaur probably had an exceptionally sluggish lifestyle compared to other species.&nbsp;



“In contrast to its Northamerican relative Euoplocephalus, which had a tail club and a clear flocculus on the brain cast, Struthiosaurus austriacus may have rather relied on its body armor for protection,” said study lead author Marco Shade, a paleontologist at the University of Griefswald.



“The short anterior and angular lateral semicircular canals, combined with the relatively shortest dinosaurian cochlear duct known so far and the lack of a floccular recess suggest a rather inert lifestyle without the necessity of sophisticated senses for equilibrium and hearing in&nbsp;S. austriacus. These observations agree with an animal that adapted to a comparatively inactive lifestyle with limited social interactions,” concluded the study authors.



Image Credit: © Fabrizio De Rossi



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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;

Late Cretaceous dinosaur was sluggish and nearly deaf

A study published in the journal Nature Scientific Reports reveals...

Florida is rapidly increasing the installation of utility-scale solar energy (USSE) facilities, aiming to decrease greenhouse gas <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/u-s-greenhouse-emissions-rebounded-in-2021/">emissions</a> and mitigate climate change. Over the next decade, the solar capacity of the state is expected to increase from 1,743 to 12,537 megawatts. However, the expansion of sustainable energy comes with a cost: the installation of USSE facilities may significantly impede the habitats and movements of an already endangered species, the Florida panther.



This magnificent animal once ranged throughout the entire southeastern United States. Today, it is restricted to roughly five percent of its historical range in South Florida. The panthers need corridors for dispersal and have extremely large home ranges of up to 200 square miles. Their survival relies on their ability to move unimpeded from one protected area to another through wildlife corridors.



By using panther radio-telemetry data collected by the <a href="https://myfwc.com/">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission</a> (FWC) from 1981 to 2020, a research team led by <a href="https://www.fau.edu/">Florida Atlantic University</a> (FAU) analyzed the impact the installation of USSE facilities may have on panther habitat suitability and mobility. The scientists found nine facilities located within major corridors currently used by Florida panthers, as well as over 20 other facilities that may impede to some degree the animals’ core habitats and dispersal areas.



“Our study suggests that in the drive to shift our energy production to carbon neutral sources, while maintaining maximum profitability, wildlife outside human dominated landscapes with large ranges and dispersal potentials may be pushed into less favorable habitat or cut off completely from available habitat by degradation of corridors,” said study senior author Olena V. Leskova, a doctoral student in Geosciences at FAU.



“Formally protecting and enhancing the remaining corridors between core areas at the landscape-scale will potentially ameliorate, or mitigate, the impacts already evident after installation of some facilities, and may prevent foreseeable impacts with additional planned facilities,” added study co-author Scott H. Markwith, a professor of Geosciences at FAU.



“Restoring dispersal corridors and gene flow throughout Peninsular Florida is critical to the Florida panther, its prey, and ancillary species that benefit from a connected Florida ecosystem. This, in turn, will benefit biodiversity and species resiliency at the landscape-scale.”



The researchers expect other species, such as gopher tortoises, Florida scrub jays, eastern indigo snakes, Florida black bears, or Florida burrowing owls, to be affected by the building of these large facilities in parts of their territories too.&nbsp;



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652664">Journal of Applied Ecology</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

Switching to solar energy affects endangered Florida panthers

Florida is rapidly increasing the installation of utility-scale solar energy...

On Monday, January 10, 2022, a new <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-species-are-arriving-with-ships-in-antarctica/">species</a> of rainfrog recently discovered on the sky island of Cerro Chucantí in eastern Panama has been named after the famous environmental activist Greta Thunberg. Pristimantis gretathunbergae was discovered by an international team of researchers funded by <a href="https://www.rainforesttrust.org/">Rainforest Trust</a>, a nonprofit environmental organization.



“Rainforest Trust is deeply honored to sponsor the naming of this exquisite and threatened Panamanian frog species for Greta Thunberg. Greta more than anyone reminds us that the future of every species on Earth depends on what we do right now to end climate change,” said Rainforest Trust CEO James Deutsch.



The research team that discovered this rainfrog was led by Abel Batista, a herpetologist at the <a href="http://www.unachi.ac.pa/">Universidad Autónoma de Chiriquí</a> (Panama) and Konrad Mebert, an independent researcher previously affiliated with the <a href="https://www.unibas.ch/en.html">University of Basel</a> (Switzerland). The two scientists have collaborated for more than ten years and described together 12 new species.



Discovering Pristimantis gretathunbergae has not been an easy task. Reaching the frog’s habitat on Cerro Chucantí, a sky island surrounded by lowland tropical rainforest in eastern Panama, required travelling on horseback through muddy trails, hiking on steep slopes, and camping above 1000 meters.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The rainfrog has distinctive, unusually prominent black eyes, a contrasting light upper lip, a large head, and a single conical tubercle on the upper eyelid. Its current habitats are severely fragmented and threatened by rapid deforestation aiming to replace the pristine region with plantations and cattle pastures. Moreover, rising temperatures caused by climate change are additional stressors for this frog’s small mountain habitat.



“Investigations on the ecology of the new species and its population status, especially at the type locality, are highly recommended. As a flagship species, this new frog can help to preserve the Chucantí cloud forest including several recently described species known only from this isolated area in eastern Panama,” wrote the study authors.



A scientific description of Pristimantis gretathunbergae and its habitat can be found in the journal <a href="https://zookeys.pensoft.net/article/63009/element/8/28012/">ZooKeys</a>.&nbsp;



Image Credit: Konrad Mebert



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

New rainfrog named after climate activist Greta Thunberg

On Monday, January 10, 2022, a new species of rainfrog...

A special issue of the journal Nature Reviews Earth &amp; Environment is shedding light on rapidly changing Arctic coasts. Scientists at the <a href="https://www.awi.de/en/">Alfred Wegener Institute</a> (AWI) describe the potential consequences of shifting Arctic shorelines for humans, animals, and the environment.



“The pace of changes in the Arctic is increasing, leading to accelerated coastal retreat,” said Dr. Anna Irrgang of the AWI Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research. “This affects both the natural and human environment, for example, by releasing carbon from the soil into the sea and atmosphere, or losing the land that supports communities and infrastructure.”



Arctic coastal regions are not uniform. For example, shorelines in Alaska, Canada and Siberia are made of heavy permafrost bluffs that are resistant to wave action under cold temperatures, but vulnerable as they warm up. Other shorelines, such as those found in Svalbard, are rocky and less fragile. With temperatures rising, however, scientists expect that all of these coastal systems will change to some degree.



“Predictions about this are often subject to large uncertainties because reliable oceanographic and environmental data for remote coastal zones are limited,” said Dr. Irrgang.



“Our current understanding of Arctic coastal dynamics is fragmented, with too few data with high spatial and temporal resolution on environmental factors and shoreline changes."&nbsp;



“While such datasets already exist for some regions such as northern Alaska, most of the Arctic coast is poorly mapped.”&nbsp;



The report highlights the urgent need for more observations and research on fragile Arctic coastal systems. This sort of work could greatly improve the accuracy of predictions and help scientists and policy makers prepare for the future.&nbsp;



The state of Arctic coasts have far-reaching impacts on water availability, erosion, plant and animal life as well as human well-being.&nbsp;



“For this, we need to develop adaptation methods that enable good and sustainable living conditions in Arctic coastal settlements. Close cooperation with local people is central to this,” said Dr. Irrgang.



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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

Rising temperatures are transforming Arctic coasts

A special issue of the journal Nature Reviews Earth &amp;...

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ecs2.3877">Ecosphere</a> has found that the recovery of the fisher, an endangered forest carnivore native to Canada and northern United States, will likely be hindered by the increasing frequency and severity of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wildfires-and-extreme-heat-waves-increase-air-pollution/" data-type="news" data-id="1900604">wildfires</a>. Scientists led by <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> (OSU) discovered that fisher abundance declined significantly after three mixed-severity wildfires from the summers of 2014 and 2016.



A fierce and secretive animal, the fisher is a member of the Mustelidae family, which also includes badgers, wolverines, minks, and otters. They are roughly the size of a large house cat. With hind feet that rotate almost 180 degrees, fishers can not only scale trees, but can also climb down head first. These abilities help them attack prey from above or carry offspring in their mouths as they climb up and down trees.



Fisher populations have persistently declined during the 19th and 20th centuries due to fur trapping and logging. With the recent wildfires affecting the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion, a 50,000-square-kilometer area straddling the Oregon-California border and hosting the largest fisher populations, their numbers have dwindled even more.



“The fisher has a limited distribution, and rapid changes to forest structure could threaten its long-term persistence,” said study lead author David Green, a conservation ecologist at OSU. “We estimated a 27 percent reduction in the total number of fishers within our study area following the fires.”&nbsp;



Strangely, Dr. Green and his colleagues have found that, while fisher density decreased regardless of wildfire intensity, gray fox populations showed a significant decline after medium-severity wildfires, but actually increased after high-severity fires.



“Our results suggest that increased severity, extent and frequency of wildfires in the western United States will have negative impacts on fisher populations and change community composition for medium-size predators. We found that the wildfires that occurred in the Klamath-Siskiyou Ecoregion affected fisher density negatively regardless of burn severity, while gray fox density decreased in areas that burned at medium severity and increased in areas that burned at high severity.”



Further research is needed to understand why the different wildfire severity levels had different impacts on the two species of animals studied.



“Understanding the effects of wildfire on the species that live in forests, and the interactions among species, is important for making the most effective conservation and management decisions. The short- and long-term consequences are unclear for wildlife amid the calls for restoring forests to their natural regimes of frequent, low-severity fires,” Dr. Green 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

Fisher populations will struggle to survive increasing wildfires

A new study published in the journal Ecosphere has found...

Ecological interactions are often not simple or straightforward in nature. Instead, they commonly represent trade-offs between different processes so that the best compromise is reached in the end.&nbsp;This is exactly what scientists from the <a href="https://www.ice.mpg.de/">Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology</a> found when they investigated the choices made by female tobacco hawkmoths (Manduca sexta) when laying their eggs. 



The hawkmoths did not always make the obvious choice when placing their eggs on the leaves of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/invasive-plants-cause-a-global-loss-of-floristic-uniqueness/">plants</a> that would provide food for the larvae, once they hatched. Previous research had shown that tobacco hawkmoths avoid laying their eggs on plants where they smell the feces of other hawkmoths. “This is apparently their way of avoiding food competition. Therefore, we wondered whether the moths also avoid plants infested by other herbivorous insects,” explained study first author Jin Zhang.



In the lab, the researchers gave female hawkmoths a choice between laying their eggs on sacred Datura plants (Datura wrightii) that were infested with three-lined potato beetles (Lema daturaphila) or Datura plants that had no potato beetles. Both adult and larval potato beetles feed on the leaves of this plant, and the researchers hypothesized that the hawkmoths would avoid plants where potato beetles were present in order to ensure the maximum supply of food for their offspring.&nbsp;



But the hawkmoth females surprised the researchers by laying their eggs, preferentially, on the leaves of Datura plants that already hosted numerous potato beetles.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“To be honest, we were a little frustrated at first because we had expected the experiments to confirm our initial hypothesis, namely that egg-laying tobacco hawkmoths avoid food competitors,” explained study leader Markus Knaden.



“In our case, however, the unexpected observation suddenly made sense when we realized that beetle-infested plants smell quite differently and that parasitoid wasps, which often use plant odors to find their host insects, are less efficient at detecting tobacco hornworms on beetle-infested plants."



Tobacco hornworms, the larvae or caterpillars of tobacco hawkmoths, are heavily parasitized by the wasp&nbsp;Cotesia congregate, which lays its eggs in the caterpillars. Up to 90 percent of these caterpillars are parasitized by wasps and die shortly after the wasp larva hatches. Female hawkmoths therefore need to consider not only the available food supply for their larvae, but also their potential exposure to this parasitic wasp species.



The experts analyzed the odor given off by Datura&nbsp;plants when they carry an infestation of three-lined potato beetles compared to the odor emitted when there is no infestation. They found that infested plants produce more alpha-copaene in the in their odor when the beetles and their larvae are present. Interestingly, these three-lined potato beetles coat themselves with their own feces, possibly as a means of deterring would-be predators and parasites.&nbsp;



The research team then tried to establish how exactly the tobacco hawkmoth females detect the presence of the molecular substance alpha-copaene. Of the 70 potential chemical receptors present in the hawkmoths, the researchers identified a single one, Or35, as the odorant receptor activated by alpha-copaene. They suggest that this receptor is probably involved in the moth’s choice of where to deposit its eggs.



Next, the experts tested the choices made by the wasps (Cotesia congregate) that parasitize tobacco hawkmoth caterpillars. They found that the wasps preferred the odor of plants on which tobacco hornworms were feeding, but they also avoided the odor of plants that were infested with potato beetles. These results were confirmed by assays in an experimental tent containing&nbsp;Datura&nbsp;plants infested by tobacco hawkmoths only, or by tobacco hawkmoths and potato beetles together. Wasps also avoided plants with beetles in this setting.



The findings indicate that female tobacco hawkmoths, when choosing where to lay their eggs, weigh up the benefit for their larvae of having no food competition against the disadvantage of being parasitized by the wasps. Although tobacco hornworms develop more slowly on plants that are additionally infested by beetles, the mother moths accept this disadvantage when laying their eggs. The advantage of protecting their offspring from parasitic wasps must therefore outweigh the disadvantage of food competition. Such cost-benefit trade-offs play a significant role in many ecological interactions.&nbsp;



“Our results show that in nature, simple explanations are often not sufficient. Tobacco hawkmoths do not only have to take into account whether a plant is a good food substrate for their offspring, but also whether potential competitors are already present, and whether the presence of these competitors could even help to hide [their offspring] from predators,” concluded study co-author Bill Hansson.



The researchers will focus future studies on the reasons why&nbsp;Datura&nbsp;plants emit different odors depending on the insects that feed on them. They plan to use interdisciplinary approaches that also consider, for example, the role of microorganisms in these complex interactions, and hope to uncover further exciting aspects of the multifaceted interactions between living organisms.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</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

Complex factors determine where hawkmoths lay their eggs

Ecological interactions are often not simple or straightforward in nature....

The sexual anatomy of marine <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/small-mammals-are-vanishing-in-the-uk/">mammals</a> is difficult to understand fully because we cannot be present when these animals mate underwater in the world’s oceans. And when scientists do get hold of dead specimens, their sexual organs are usually shriveled and not in a life-like state.&nbsp;



However, in a study published today in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>, researchers from Mount Holyoke College, the University of Florida and Texas A&amp;M University report on their detailed examination of the structure and neurology of the clitoris in female bottlenose dolphins. They explain that female dolphins have a very obvious clitoris that sits at the entrance to the vagina but that there has been little study of this organ or of female sexual pleasure in nature, in general. 



The researchers became curious about the function of the clitoris while studying the evolution of vaginas in dolphins. The position of the clitoris in a dolphin’s vagina would make stimulation during copulation likely, and thus the researchers questioned whether the structure of the organ in dolphins would reveal evidence that it functions to produce sensations of pleasure.



“Every time we dissected a vagina, we would see this very large clitoris, and we were curious whether anyone had examined it in detail to see if it worked like a human clitoris,” said study&nbsp;first author Professor Patricia Brennan. “We knew that dolphins have sex not just to reproduce, but also to solidify social bonds, so it seemed likely that the clitoris could be functional.”



Dolphins are among the few mammalian species that are involved in sexual behavior at times when they cannot conceive. This has led to the hypothesis that dolphins may be sexually active not only in the name of reproduction, but also because this brings them pleasure.&nbsp;



Brennan and colleagues examined the clitoris from each of 11 female dolphins that had died naturally. They analyzed the shape and configuration of erectile bodies within the organ, as well as the nature and pathways of nerves that ran through the tissues. Their results supported the hypothesis that female dolphins have a functional clitoris that helps to make the sexual experience pleasurable.&nbsp;



“Just like the human clitoris, the dolphin clitoris has large areas of erectile tissue that fill up with blood,” said Professor Brennan.



The erectile tissue changes shape as dolphins mature, which suggests that it acquires a function that is associated with being an adult. Their studies also show that the clitoris body has large nerves and many free nerve endings right underneath the skin, which is much thinner there than in the adjacent skin. They also found genital corpuscles much like those previously described in the human clitoris and penis tip, which are known to be involved in the pleasure response.



Overall, Professor Brennan says that the erectile bodies in dolphins are “surprisingly similar” to the shape of the erectile bodies in humans.



“Since the entire pelvis of dolphins is so different to humans, it was surprising to see how similar the shapes were. Also, the size of the nerves in the clitoris body was very surprising. Some were larger than half a millimeter in diameter.”



This research helps to remedy the situation that the general anatomy of the clitoris in female mammals has often been inadequately or inaccurately described in the past, and the deep structures of the organ have historically been overlooked. In fact, even the human clitoris wasn’t fully described until the 1990s.&nbsp;



“This neglect in the study of female sexuality has left us with an incomplete picture of the true nature of sexual behaviors,” said Professor Brennan. “Studying and understanding sexual behaviors in nature is a fundamental part of understanding the animal experience and may even have important medical applications in the future.”



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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;

Female dolphins have a clitoris that provides sexual pleasure

The sexual anatomy of marine mammals is difficult to understand...

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