In a fascinating new study, scientists documented 34 attempts by wild killer whales to give food to humans. These rare cases spanned four oceans and 20 years. Some happened near boats, others in open water or even from the shore. 



The events highlight the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/killer-whales-use-kelp-to-massage-and-groom-each-other/">orcas</a>’ possible interest in humans and raise important questions about whale intelligence, communication, and social behavior.



“Orcas often share food with each other - it’s a prosocial activity and a way that they build relationships with each other,” said study lead author Jared Towers, of <a href="https://baycetology.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bay Cetology</a> in British Columbia, Canada. “That they also share with humans may show their interest in relating to us as well.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-social-lives-of-killer-whales">Social lives of killer whales</h2>



Orcas live some of the most complex social lives in the animal kingdom. They stick together in tight-knit family groups called pods, usually led by an older matriarch. 



These family units aren’t just casual gatherings - they’re lifelong bonds. Calves stay with their mothers for life, swimming, hunting, and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/photographer-captures-killer-whales-wearing-fish-hats/">playing together</a>. 



In some regions, pods form larger communities or clans that share unique vocal dialects, kind of like cultural accents passed down through generations. This tight social structure helps them coordinate during hunts and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/killer-whales-use-kelp-to-massage-and-groom-each-other/">protect each other</a> from threats.



But it’s not all business. Orcas socialize for the joy of it too. They engage in what clearly looks like play - tossing kelp, breaching dramatically, or nudging one another during underwater games. 



They form friendships beyond their pods and even flirt, showing preferences and personalities. These interactions suggest that orcas have emotional lives and a sense of identity.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-orcas-gave-humans">What orcas gave humans</h2>



The 34 incidents involved six distinct populations of killer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ai-helps-humans-have-20-minute-conversation-with-humpback-whale-named-twain/">whales</a>. They offered humans a total of 18 species: six fish, five mammals, three invertebrates, two birds, one reptile, and even one piece of seaweed.



In 97 percent of these cases, the orcas waited for a human response. Some hovered for several minutes. 



On several occasions, they tried again when the humans ignored or returned the offering. In two especially curious cases, whales retrieved birds after humans returned them, only to offer them again.



This behavior could be a form of interspecies curiosity, communication, or even social learning. As the authors suggest, these events might represent "generalized altruism" - an advanced trait observed in only a few social animals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-exploration-more-than-play">Exploration more than play</h2>



Though play was observed in 38 percent of the interactions, the researchers argue most cases were not playful. The age of the whales varied widely, and many offered whole, fresh prey. 



In over 75 percent of ignored cases, the whales later used the prey for themselves or their group. This suggests the offerings had purpose and value, not just entertainment.



Curiosity-driven behavior, distinct from play, seemed a stronger motivator. As the study explains, animals often explore to reduce uncertainty. 



Offering food to humans might help orcas learn how we respond, just as they would with unfamiliar members of their own <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/whales-blow-bubble-smoke-rings-near-humans-to-communicate/">species</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-deep-social-intelligence-at-work">Deep social intelligence at work</h2>



Some whales returned the same item to humans multiple times. Others acted in pairs or small groups. 



Most of the 34 events involved a single whale separating from a larger group. This suggests the act was not for show. Rather, it might reflect the whale's individual decision to interact.



Interestingly, killer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-dolphin-brains-evolved-to-see-underwater-by-using-sound-echolocation/">whales</a> have also been documented cooperating with human fishers in places like Australia and Russia. The authors noted that this history could influence modern interactions, especially as human activity increases near their habitats.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-whales-may-view-humans-as-companions">Whales may view humans as companions</h2>



Killer whales rank second only to humans in brain-to-body ratio. They also show advanced emotional and social behavior. 



These traits support complex social learning, reciprocal behavior, and possibly even empathy.



“Offering items to humans could simultaneously include opportunities for killer whales to practice learned cultural behavior, explore or play and in so doing learn about, manipulate or develop relationships with us,” the researchers wrote.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-humans-should-not-approach-whales">Humans should not approach whales</h2>



Despite the remarkable nature of these encounters, the researchers urge caution. Orcas can show complex and sometimes unpredictable behavior. 



While no wild killer whale has killed a person, some interactions have been intense. They warn against seeking out such encounters or encouraging the behavior without proper permissions.



Most of these whales belonged to populations that hunt near the surface and share prey frequently. 



No deep-water, fish-only populations were involved. This suggests that cooperative surface hunting may lead to more frequent and visible interspecies interactions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-complex-minds-of-whales-and-humans">Complex minds of whales and humans</h2>



The findings challenge our assumptions about human-animal relationships. If orcas are experimenting with ways to relate to us, it means they recognize us not as threats, but as potential social partners.



These whales are not just predators. They are thinkers, observers, and maybe, in some way, explorers of culture, curiosity, memory, learning, and emotion. 



Their actions suggest complex minds in both whales and humans, capable of choice, empathy, and communication.



The study is published in the <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/2026-29805-001.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Comparative Psychology</a>. 



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Killer whales are attempting to bond with humans, according to scientists

In a fascinating new study, scientists documented 34 attempts by wild killer whales to give food to humans. These rare cases spanned four oceans and 20 years. Some happened near boats, others in open water or even from the shore. The events highlight the orcas’ possible interest in humans and raise important questions about whale intelligence, communication, and social behavior. “Orcas often share food with each other - it’s a prosocial activity and a way that they build relationships with each other,” said study lead author Jared...

A team of researchers from <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> (OSU) has recently analyzed bird diversity in the United States by taking into account both functional and species diversity patterns. The investigation revealed a surprising aspect that the scientists do not clearly understand yet: functional diversity patterns in the West, where species and functional richness are both highest during the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-additives-reduce-breeding-success-of-corals/">breeding</a> season, are the polar opposite of what occurs in the East, where functional diversity is lowest when species richness is high.&nbsp;



The pattern discovered in the East is particularly puzzling since it implies that the overall diversity of birds’ ecosystem contributions is highest in periods when a large number of migratory species are gone.



“This tells us that, probably, migratory birds in the East versus the West have very different functional contributions to assemblages,” said lead author&nbsp;Marta Jarzyna, an assistant professor of&nbsp;Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology&nbsp;at OSU. “It suggests that resident birds in the East have a wider array of functional characteristics than migratory birds, and in the West, it’s the opposite: migratory birds contribute more to functional richness than resident birds.”



Besides quantifying species richness, the experts also incorporated four characteristics to help them estimate functional diversity: the birds’ body mass, diet, foraging niche, and activity time. “Different species obviously have different characteristics and different traits, and contribute in different ways to the community composition and ecosystem functioning,” Jarzyna explained.



“You can have 10 species in a community that just eat seeds, or 10 species in a community, five of which eat seeds and five of which eat insects. The community with more diverse attributes will have more functional diversity, even though in terms of species richness they might be exactly the same.”



While previous efforts to describe bird functional diversity have focused only on one breeding season – a summer in the Northern Hemisphere – this study is the first to investigate diversity as the abundance of birds changes across the country over an entire year. Better understanding how functional diversity among birds changes over space and time is highly important for informing forecasting, conservation, and management of biodiversity.



However, further research is needed to understand the causes of the puzzling differences observed between the eastern and western U.S. “Why is it in the East that in the winter, when we are seeing so many species leaving those regions, we see an increase in functional richness? It didn’t make a lot of sense that you would gain this other dimension of diversity while losing something else,” Jarzyna said. “It’s not the case in the West, where we are seeing both the highest species richness and highest functional richness in the summer.”



“We still don’t even know about individual species’ contributions to functional diversity and whether there is, indeed, a difference between migratory and resident birds.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.066">Current Biology</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



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U.S. bird diversity: puzzling geographical differences identified

A team of researchers from Ohio State University (OSU) has...

Bald eagles almost went extinct in the 1960s, but these resilient <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seabirds-have-different-strategies-to-survive-storms/">birds</a> have been steadily recovering. Now, they face a new threat: a subtype of avian influenza known as H5N1. Researchers from the <a href="https://www.uga.edu/">University of Georgia</a> say that this highly pathogenic version of avian flu has killed several pairs of eagles in Georgia.



“Even just one year of losses of productivity like we’ve documented regionally is very concerning and could have effects for decades to come if representative of broader regions,” said study lead author Nicole Nemeth. "We have already lost unprecedented numbers of wild birds due to this virus in the U.S. and it appears here to stay.”



With the virus killing many adult eagles, the eaglets have little chance of survival. The 2022 nest success rate in Georgia was 30 percent lower than average. The number was more depressing in Florida, where nest success rates had declined by 45 percent.



“We had reports from people who faithfully monitor eagle nests year after year with these heartbreaking stories of an adult eagle found dead below their nest. Within a few days, often its mate and the chicks were also found dead below the nest. It is clear the virus is causing nest failures,” said Nemeth, who works for the UGA-based Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study.



Moreover, H5N1 infects other types of raptors, waterfowl, aquatic birds, and songbirds. “I think the number of wild bird cases is drastically underreported,” said Nemeth. “People will submit one snow goose, for example, and it will test positive for the virus. And then they’ll tell you, ‘Well, there are thousands of geese dying at the same site.’ But it only goes down as one infected bird.”



“Worst case scenario, we get into a scary place with some of these bird species. We could see a lot more decline in the numbers of eagles, raptors, waterfowl and other birds than what we’ve already seen. It could be devastating.”



Although the virus seems to be here to stay and will likely spread, conservationists are not giving up.



“A virus that can spread and be maintained as this virus can, it’s everywhere now,” said Nemeth. “We can’t contain the virus, and we can’t vaccinate wild birds. But we can document the losses and try to help conserve affected species and populations the best we can.”



The study can be found in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-27446-1">Scientific Reports</a>.



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



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Avian flu threatens bald eagle recovery

Bald eagles almost went extinct in the 1960s, but these...

A survey by the <a href="https://www.uoc.edu/portal/en/index.html">Universitat Oberta de Catalunya</a> (UOC) has revealed that the majority of people believe that edible insects could become a sustainable source of food in the future. The survey was conducted as part of a larger study by Marta Ros, a student of the UOC doctoral program in the Information and Knowledge Society.&nbsp;



"In recent years in Western Europe, studies on entomophagy have drawn the attention of many researchers interested in identifying parameters that could improve the acceptability of insect consumption in order to introduce insects as a sustainable source of protein into the future diet," wrote the researchers. "Analyzing the factors involved in consumer acceptability in the Mediterranean area could help to improve their future acceptance."



Among more than a thousand survey respondents, 58 percent agreed that insect consumption could become a reliable source of protein.



The results also showed that only 13 percent of the survey participants had ever eaten insects. Some of the reasons given for not eating insects were disgust (38%), lack of custom (15%), doubts around food safety (9%), and cultural reasons (6%).



In addition, 82 percent of respondents said that they were not prepared to include insects in their normal diet, and 71 percent said they would not cook insects at home. Furthermore, 81 percent said the public would not be receptive to dishes containing insects at a restaurant.



Despite these protests, respondents were far more optimistic about insect consumption when asked if it may become a common practice in the future. Nearly 60 percent agreed, seeing the potential for insects to become a sustainable food source and help support a booming global population.&nbsp;



"The substantial improvements in people’s health status, hygiene conditions and life expectancy, in the majority of countries over the past 50 years, means that the world population is predicted to increase considerably by 2050," wrote the study authors.



"The rising cost of animal protein production and the increasing environmental pressure on agriculture and livestock farming necessitate the search for productive alternatives and innovative techniques for food production which take into account the nutritional, environmental and sociocultural dimensions of food sustainability."



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315756">International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health</a>.



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



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Most people think insects will become a sustainable food source

A survey by the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has...

An international team of scientists has recently analyzed chemicals in the skin of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/southern-right-whales-whisper/">southern right whales</a> in order to clarify how these animals are distributed and to better understand long-term environmental changes in the Southern Ocean.



The researchers measured the amounts of several carbon and nitrogen isotopes in 1,002 skin samples collected between 1994 and 2020. Since the concentrations of these isotopes vary between different marine locations, animals feeding in specific areas retain that isotopic “fingerprint” in their skin. Due to the fact that it takes about six months for the isotopes to become ingrained in the whales’ skins, scientists can use this method to pinpoint where the animals were approximately half a year earlier.



“Despite their large size, whales can be very hard to track,” explained study co-author Robert Harcourt, a marine scientist at <a href="https://www.mq.edu.au/">Macquarie University</a>. “Using this technique, we have been able to piece together a map of where the southern right whales have traveled across the Southern Ocean.”



The analyses revealed that over the years the whales’ foraging grounds have shifted, most likely due to the changing distribution of the whales’ prey. Since investigations of 2614 whale-catch records from 1792 to 1968 suggests that southern right whale foraging grounds were largely stable in mid-latitudes, the changes the experts identified appear to be quite recent and are most probably driven by global warming.



However, not all southern right whale populations seem to have reacted uniformly. For instance, while those in the South Atlantic Ocean and southwest Indian Oceans travel to Antarctic regions less often – probably since there are currently less krill there – in the Southwest Pacific whales still head south during certain periods, suggesting krill remain plentiful in that ocean.



“An important aspect of this study is that it shows that climate change doesn’t mean one thing everywhere and it is causing different effects in different parts of the ocean,”&nbsp;said study senior author Emma Carroll, a biologist at the <a href="https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en.html">University of Auckland</a>. This finding could help prioritize areas where conservation efforts should be focused.



“This study has shown the critical importance of understanding how wide-ranging animals are adapting their movements as climate change fundamentally alters ocean structure and where they may find their prey. Ongoing research includes satellite tracking of individual animals from the major populations along with continued tissue collection, further refining our understanding of important ocean regions for these magnificent ocean giants,” Harcourt concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2214035120">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



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



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Southern right whales have shifted their foraging grounds

An international team of scientists has recently analyzed chemicals in...

Honey bees are crucial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/gardeners-can-make-small-changes-to-benefit-pollinators/">pollinators</a> of flowers, enabling the plants to form seeds and fruit, and reproduce successfully. In addition, around one-third of food eaten in by Americans comes from crop plants that are pollinated by honey bees. The collapse of bee colonies thus poses a threat to food security and is a phenomenon that concerns beekeepers across the U.S. and worldwide.



The sudden disappearance of all the worker bees from a colony, leaving a queen, a few nurse bees and the immature brood, is what characterizes colony collapse. The colony cannot survive without the worker bees, and so it will die off in time. There is currently no all-embracing explanation for why this occurs to certain bee hives and the research that has been conducted usually focuses on the effects of one stressor, such as parasites, or on a combination of stressors in one isolated region or geographical area.&nbsp;



A new study, published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-28374-w">Scientific Reports</a>, has taken the analysis of variables, recognized as potential contributors to colony collapse, to a higher level. The researchers conducted a large-scale, multi-variable analysis using publicly accessible datasets from across the contiguous U.S. In particular, they used weather data for the years 2015–2021, and combined open data on honey bee colony status and stressors, weather data, and land use, in order to understand the relationships between the disappearance of bee colonies and the various stressors.



“Honey bees are vital pollinators for more than 100 species of crops in the United States, and the widespread loss of honey bee colonies is increasingly concerning,” said Luca Insolia, first author of the study, a visiting graduate student in the Department of Statistics at <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a> at the time of the research, and currently a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Geneva in Switzerland.&nbsp;



“Some previous studies have explored several potential stressors related to colony loss in a detailed way but are limited to narrow, regional areas. The one study that we know of at the national level in the United States explored only a single potential stressor. For this study, we integrated many large datasets at different spatial and temporal resolutions and used new, sophisticated statistical methods to assess several potential stressors associated with colony collapse across the U.S.”



One of the main reasons for the lack of previous analyses at the national level is the absence of same-source or same-resolution databases. For example, weather data may be available on a daily scale, but information on colony disappearances may only be collected by apiculture groups on a quarterly basis. Because these data differ in spatio-temporal resolution, the researchers used a method of data up-scaling, rather than averaging the information to the lowest resolution available, which would mean a loss of detail.



“In order to analyze the data all together, we had to come up with a technique to match the resolution of the various data sources,” said Martina Calovi, corresponding author of the study, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management at Penn State at the time of the research, and currently an associate professor of geography at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.&nbsp;



“We could have just taken an average of all the weather measurements we had within a state, but that boils all the information we have into one number and loses a lot of information, especially about any extreme values. In addition to averaging weather data, we used an ‘upscaling’ technique to summarize the data in several different ways, which allowed us to retain more information, including about the frequency of extreme temperature and precipitation events.”



The researchers used the resulting integrated resolution-matched dataset – which they have made available for use by other researchers – alongside sophisticated statistical modeling techniques that they developed to assess the large number of potential stressors at the same time.



The research team found that several stressors impacted honey bee colony loss at the national level, including the use of pesticides nearby, frequent extreme weather events, and weather instability. Colony loss was also related to the presence of parasitic mites, Varroa destructor, which reproduce in honey bee colonies, weaken the bees, and potentially expose them to viruses. The researchers also found that losses typically occurred between January and March, probably reflecting the harsher conditions endured by bees while overwintering.&nbsp;



“Our results largely reinforce what regional studies have observed and confirm that regional patterns around these stressors are actually more widespread,” said Insolia, a beekeeper himself. “These results also inform actions that beekeepers could take to help circumvent these stressors and protect their colonies, including treatments for the Varroa mites‚ especially in areas of weather instability. Beekeepers could also consider strategies to move their colonies to areas with high food availability or away from nearby pesticides or to provide supplementary food during certain seasons or months with frequent extreme weather events.”



The researchers suggest that having data about beekeeping practices, such as treating colonies for Varroa mites and recording colony losses, at a finer resolution would allow validation of their results as well as a more detailed understanding of factors that act as stressors for honey bees.&nbsp;



“It would be incredibly beneficial to explore beekeeping practices at a finer scale than the state level,” said Calovi. “In many cases, beekeeping associations and other organizations collect this data, but it is not made available to researchers. We hope our study will help motivate more detailed data collection as well as efforts to share that data – including from smaller organizations such as regional beekeeper associations.”



The research team also found a strong relationship between colony loss and a broad category of beekeeping practices noted on a USDA survey as "other," which contained everything from hives being destroyed, to food scarcity for bees, to queen failure. They noted that collecting this data in more detail and breaking up this catch-all type variable into smaller categories would improve their ability to identify links between particular stressors and colony collapses.



“A changing climate and high-profile extreme weather events like Hurricane Ian – which threatened about 15 percent of the nation’s bees that were in its path as well as their food sources – are important reminders that we urgently need to better understand the stressors that are driving honey bee colony collapse and to develop strategies to mitigate them,” said Francesca Chiaromonte, professor of statistics and the holder of the Lloyd and Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair in Statistics for the Life Sciences at Penn State and a senior member of the research team.&nbsp;



“Our results highlight the role of parasitic mites, pesticide exposure, extreme weather events, and overwintering in bee colony collapse,” she concluded. “We hope that they will help inform improved beekeeping practices and direct future data collection efforts that allow us to understand the problem at finer and finer resolutions.”



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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



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What is causing honey bee colony collapse in the U.S.?

Honey bees are crucial pollinators of flowers, enabling the plants...

Billions of people in both developed and developing nations benefit daily from wildlife for food, medicine, and energy, as well as for recreation, inspiration and many other critical contributions to human well-being. Unfortunately, the biodiversity crisis - which threatens millions of animal and plant species with extinction - is currently accelerating, severely endangering both wildlife and their important contributions to human life.&nbsp;



In this context, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-wildlife-day-draws-attention-to-individual-animals/">World Wildlife Day</a> (WWD), celebrating the beauty, diversity, and invaluable benefits of the flora and fauna that surround us, is an occasion to fight against biodiversity loss and increase conservation efforts globally. WWD - celebrated on March 3 and marking the birthday of the <a href="https://cites.org/eng">Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora</a> (CITES), a multilateral treaty to protect endangered wildlife established on this date in 1973 - is an important reminder to continue fighting against wildlife crime and human-induced species loss which, besides damaging nature, have multiple economic, environmental, and social impacts.



This year, WWD will be celebrated under the theme “<a href="https://www.wildlifeday.org/">Partnerships for wildlife conservation</a>” and aims to honor all forms of collaboration to protect nature, ranging from small groups of individuals posting photographs online to increase awareness of threatened species to large-scale, intergovernmental conservation efforts to protect such species from extinction.&nbsp;



Experts will focus on two main sub-topics related to this year’s theme: 1) creating partnerships to conserve marine wildlife, which is currently facing even more severe problems than terrestrial life, and 2) engaging with the business and finance sectors to acquire funding for protecting wildlife. Although business has long been seen as an exploitative and unsustainable affair, if we are to reverse the massive biodiversity loss our planet is currently facing, successful partnerships for conservation with various businesses is essential both for acquiring sufficient funding to protect wildlife and for ensuring the sustainability of business and industrial operations.



By marking the 50th anniversary of CITES – an organization that currently grants protection to over 37,000 species of animals and plants - this year’s WWD will celebrate the invaluable services this institution provided, and its crucial role in the formation of many partnerships contributing to wildlife and biodiversity conservation. To help safeguard the majestic and diverse non-human life surrounding us, and thus protect the future of life on Earth, UN agencies, private sectors organizations, and non-governmental organizations must intensify their collaboration by sustaining existing partnerships, as well as building new ones.



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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



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World Wildlife Day highlights the need to protect nature

Billions of people in both developed and developing nations benefit...

After analyzing over 300,000 hours of flight data from 18 different species, researchers have learned more about how seabird species cope with powerful winds.



The study revealed that birds like the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/albatrosses-put-their-partners-needs-before-their-own/">albatross</a>, who live in windier conditions on the Southern Ocean, fly faster than tropical birds, such as the red-tailed tropicbird. This finding was not surprising, since flying faster than the wind is essential for navigation.



However, the question remains about how both birds navigate intense tropical storms. Dr. Emily Shepard of <a href="https://www.swansea.ac.uk/">Swansea University</a> explains:



“The situation becomes more complicated when we start to consider what happens in storms because the strongest wind speeds occur over the tropics, not the Southern Ocean. So, while albatrosses can fly in almost all conditions they experience, tropical species must have strategies to cope with cyclones, when winds may be twice what they are able to fly in. This adds to other evidence that tropical seabirds are likely to show long-range avoidance of extreme events.”



Surprisingly, the researchers found that some albatrosses avoided tropical storm winds, even though they flew in similar wind speeds in other scenarios.&nbsp;



For example, there was the case of an Atlantic yellow-nosed albatross who encountered a storm and avoided the 68 km/h wind speeds by flying in the eye of the storm, where wind speeds were 30 km/h for 12 hours.



"We know that wind-adapted birds like albatrosses fly in very strong winds. What surprised me the most was that even these species avoid strong winds from time to time, and that they can do so by flying into the eye of the storm," said study first author Elham Nourani of the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior.



“As a result of the climate crisis, storms will become more frequent and stronger. So, the question is how seabirds will be impacted by this. Understanding the wind speeds that different species can operate in is a key part of this. What seems like an extreme wind to a tropical species is what an albatross encounters on a near-daily basis, so our definition of extremes needs to vary depending on the species we are talking about.”



This study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2023.01.068">Current Biology</a>.&nbsp;



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



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Seabirds have different strategies to survive storms

After analyzing over 300,000 hours of flight data from 18...

A team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.csiro.au/en/">Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization</a> (CSIRO) in Australia has discovered that sheep who undergo shared stressful events tend to huddle together afterwards, resembling the ways in which humans tend to bond after sharing traumatic events. These findings shed new light on how animals deal with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-gives-animals-a-survival-advantage-but-only-to-a-point/">stress</a> and open pathways for improving their well-being.



The experts gathered 70 adult female sheep which did not know one another and divided them into seven subgroups of ten ewes each. While some of these groups were exposed to various types of stressful events - such as being herded by a dog, being collared and held by a human, being transported in a trailer, or being subjected to crutching (the process of removing wool from their legs and tail with electric clippers) - others were not.



Afterwards, all the sheep were fitted with GPS devices to track their movements and were herded into a shared pasture. While at the beginning, the sheep who became acquainted prior to their division into subgroups herded together, shortly after they began to leave the newly formed groups and gather together with the sheep with which they partnered during the stressful events. By contrast, the sheep that were not exposed to stressful events remained in their original groups.



“We found they did start to spend time with those sheep they had shared the stress with compared to other sheep they didn’t know and didn’t have any kind of shared experience with,” said study senior author Dana Campbell, an expert in Animal Behavior at CSIRO. “We’re not sure of the communication mode, but yes, there seems to be something. It really points to how clever they are.”



These findings suggest that people should not underestimate the complexity, capability, and social intelligence of sheep. Moreover, the results could help farmers better understand how animals develop relationships and thus improve their well-being by allowing them to bond.



“Social bonding following a shared stressful experience aligns with human social relationships and increases our understanding of how animals perceive their conspecifics in relation to stressful environmental change,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0396">Current Biology</a>.



—-



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



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

Sheep bond after sharing stressful experiences

A team of scientists led by the Commonwealth Scientific and...

Macro,Closeup,Of,Sarracenia,Flowers,Colorful,Leaves,,Carnivorous,Trumpet,Pitcher

Gall wasps are small insects that lay eggs on plants and, when the larvae hatch out, they secrete chemicals that induce the plant to form galls. These are atypical, tumor-like growths of tissue that bulge out from a leaf, stem or root, depending on where the adult laid her eggs. The galls grow to envelope the larvae which derive shelter, protection and nourishment from living inside the lump of tissue.&nbsp;



There are more than a thousand species of gall wasps, each one specializing on one particular species of host <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-harness-plant-energy-to-improve-solar-panels/">plant</a>. Although scientists have long known about gall-inducing insects and their life cycles, the mechanism by which the larvae actually induce a host plant to develop galls is not yet understood. In fact, the induction of plant galls is considered the most complex association between insects and plants in the natural world.



Galls are mostly dully colored and match the tissues of the plants on which they form. But the galls that are induced by one species of cynipid wasp (Amphibolips nubilipennis) on the leaves of red oak trees look like tiny, juicy fruits. Wondering what would protect these structures from being eaten by other herbivores, scientists from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Pennsylvania State University</a> investigated the chemical composition of these fruit-like galls.&nbsp;



In previous research, galls have been found to have an accumulation of tannins on their surface, which protects them against being eaten. After all, the tiny larva that manipulates the plant to produce the gall in which it hides, does not wish to be consumed. Tannins seem to deter some insects from eating galls by decreasing the efficiency of protein digestion in their guts. The researchers used high-performance liquid chromatography and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry to analyze the chemicals found in translucent oak galls (TOGs).&nbsp;



Their results, published in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2022.0513">Biology Letters</a>, were quite surprising. The tiny wasp larvae induce the plant host to produce acids that have a pH of between 2 and 3, making them as acidic as lemon juice. Any herbivore that attempted to eat one of these translucent galls would be in for rather a sour shock. In fact, the interior of the gall is just as acidic as the fluid produced by pitcher plants to dissolve their insect prey.&nbsp;



“This is exciting because it represents a novel defense system, one we haven’t seen before,” said Antoine Guiguet, an entomologist at Penn State and lead author on a paper about the new discovery.



“It’s so fascinating because this is an animal using chemistry to force a plant to do its bidding,” said John Tooker, professor of entomology at Penn State and co-author on the study. “It's really a parasitic manipulation. The insect gets the plant to make the exact food it needs, which explains the nutritional hypothesis for why galls evolved, but undoubtedly, it has to be combined with a defense aspect, because if you have a good food source, other things are going to want to eat it.”&nbsp;



“We know that pH this low is rare in plants generally,” said Tooker. “And the pH that we measured was close to the acidic nature of what’s inside a pitcher plant, which is about the same as a lemon. We are hypothesizing that the role of this is defense. Anything that wants to bore in there would be deterred by that acidic environment.”



The researchers investigated the organic acids present in the oak gall tissue in more depth and compared them with acids found in other galls and in certain fruits. They found that malic acid, a common acid in apples, represents 66 percent of the organic acid detected in the oak galls. The concentration of malic acid was twice as high as in other galls – and twice as high as in apples.&nbsp;



“Malic acid is a fundamental component of the metabolism of cells, so it’s there within the oak, within all plant and animal cells, just at a low concentration,” said Guiguet. “What’s amazing is that this wasp is capable of inducing its accumulation in the storage compartment in plant cells, called a vacuole.”



With a pH level of between 2 and 3, the translucent oak gall is among the most acidic plant tissues measured to date. Until this discovery, only citrus fruit tissues were known to be capable of this extreme acidity, he explained. The researchers hypothesize the wasp could have developed acidic galls as an alternative strategy to the tannin accumulation observed in most other oak galls.&nbsp;



But unlike tannins, acidic environments could also prove an efficient deterrent of parasitoid wasps, which are the main enemies of cynipid wasps. The parasitoid wasps use a long, needle-like ovipositor to bore through a gall and lay an egg on the unsuspecting resident larva. When the parasitoid wasp egg hatches, it proceeds to eat the resident larva, all the while living protected inside the gall that the victim induced. The researchers hypothesize that the acidic environment inside the oak gall may damage the ovipositor and deter parasitoid wasps from laying their eggs there.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The molecular mechanism by which cynipid wasps induce galls remains a mystery,” said Guiguet. “Now we have added to this mystery by showing they have evolved with capability of altering pH.”



The authors conclude that the “accumulation of organic acid in gall tissues is convergent with fruit morphology and may constitute a new defensive strategy against predators and parasitoids.”



—



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



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

Wasps create an acidic environment to deter predators

Gall wasps are small insects that lay eggs on plants...

Nearly half of the <a href="https://www.defence.gov.au/">Australian Defense Force</a> (ADF) members who transition from the forces to civilian life experience mental health issues, such as anxiety, depression, or even suicidal thoughts, and almost a quarter of them are diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Now, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.unisa.edu.au/">University of South Australia</a> (UniSA) has found that assistance <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/test-predicts-best-guide-dogs/">dogs</a> used in conjunction with traditional therapies provide the most effective treatment outcomes, with almost 90 percent of veterans reporting improvements in their PTSD, anxiety, and depression one year after being matched to an assistance dog provided by the&nbsp;<a href="https://clubrunner.blob.core.windows.net/00000050056/en-ca/files/homepage/operation-k9/Operation-K9-Flyer.pdf">Operation K9 Program</a>.



The experts used self-reported measures, clinical assessments, and face-to-face interviews with veterans to investigate the value of assistant dogs over time. The analysis revealed that an assistance dog was often seen as a “life changer” and constant companion, and helped returned veterans increase their social interactions. “For many veterans, an assistance dog gave them a sense of purpose and a reason to live,” said study senior author Miranda Van Hooff, an adjunct associate professor of Allied Health &amp; Human Performance at UniSA.



Veterans argued that assistance dogs helped them “reclaim their life,” by offering them independence and a way of managing their fluctuating emotions and other mental issues. Some of the participants described their dog as a “comfort or security blanket,” and one of them said he was a recluse for many years before being matched to an assistant dog. “Now, every day is an adventure, giving me something to look forward to,” he reported.



By demonstrating the power of human-animal relationships, these findings are of particular relevance to policymakers and mental health professionals. “Previous studies have shown that existing treatments for post-traumatic stress among returned veterans are not ideal, with high dropout rates and poor adherence,” said lead author Melissa Sherman, a graduate student in Clinical Psychology at UniSA.



“This study provides clear evidence that assistance dogs can play a key role in a veteran’s recovery from post-traumatic stress and other mental health conditions, supporting existing treatments.”



However, since the study was limited by the lack of a control group of veterans with mental health issues not receiving assistant dogs and the small number of participants due to the cost of breeding, training, and matching dogs, further research is needed to assess whether these findings hold for larger cohorts.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20043607">International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health</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



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

Assistance dogs improve mental health of veterans

Nearly half of the Australian Defense Force (ADF) members who...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/judge-us-reconsider-canadian-lynx-habitat/">Canada lynx</a> are famous for their long, black ear tufts and their amazing ability to hunt almost ghost-like across deep snow. While in the past this predator’s habitat extended from Alaska and Canada south into most of the Northern United States, currently the Canada lynx can only be found in several disjunct populations in Maine, Montana, Minnesota, Idaho, Colorado, and Washington.&nbsp;



However, according to a <a href="https://wsu.edu/">Washington State University</a> (WSU)-led recent survey of Canada Lynx occupancy and density in the Glacier National Park in Montana, this region is home to over 50 specimens, residing across most of Glacier’s 1,600 square-mile area, although at lower densities than in the core of their range further north.



“The population in the park is still substantial and exceeded our expectations,” said study senior author Dan Thornton, a wildlife ecologist at WSU. “Our results suggest the park could provide a much-needed climate refuge for the cats in the future.”&nbsp;



Surveying lynx populations usually happens in the winter, when researchers can use bait to lure the animals to live traps. However, since Glacier is a highly difficult region to access in the wintertime, the scientists set up an array of 300 motion-sensitive cameras about a kilometer apart on hiking trails across much of the natural reserve, including some of its most remote areas. The recordings revealed that lynx are currently distributed not only across most of the park, but also at lower elevations. Thus, Glacier could turn out to be extremely important from a conservation point of view, possibly providing this endangered species a haven as climate continues to warm.



“The main question regarding the lynx’s survival is climate change. They are a cold-adapted species that needs deep snow. In Glacier at least, they have a lot of room to move up in elevation as the climate warms,” Thornton explained.



An important methodological innovation of the study was the use of cameras on both sides of trails in order to identify specific individuals based on their distinctive coat markings. “Lynx have pretty subtle markings compared to other cats and only on the inside of their front legs,” said lead author Alissa Anderson, a recent WSU master’s graduate. “So, we set up cameras on either side of the trail to attempt to get pictures of these markings that we could then use to identify individual cats in an area.”&nbsp;



Despite difficulties such as poor lighting, vegetation, or image blur, this method allowed the researchers to link approximately 75 percent of the photographed lynx to specific individuals. Then, by combining the results of the park-wide occupancy survey with density analysis, they estimated an overall population of about 1.28 lynx per 100 square kilometers of terrain. In future studies, the scientists aim to apply similar techniques to survey populations of Canada lynx in other regions, such as the entire Washington state.



“The methodological contribution of this study is really important in the sense that it gives us a better way to get at the number of individual lynx, which is really important for understanding recovery and how a population is doing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has to develop a recovery plan for the cats so the more information you have on the status of the population the better,” Thornton concluded.



The study is published in the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.22383">Journal of Wildlife Management</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



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

Canada lynx may need a climate refuge to survive

Canada lynx are famous for their long, black ear tufts...

A team of researchers from <a href="https://carleton.ca/">Carleton University</a> and the <a href="https://www.birds.cornell.edu/home/">Cornell Lab of Ornithology</a> has found that social birds tend to be less dominant and competitive than solitary birds. The researchers used a large citizen science dataset of interactions among <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-flocks-social-relationships/">birds</a> foraging at backyard feeders in order to examine the relationship between sociality and dominance.



“We found that species’ sociality was inversely related to dominance,” explained study lead author Ilias Berberi, a PhD student in Biology at Carleton. “Using data collected from thousands of bird-watching volunteers, we measured the sociality of different species based on their typical group size when seen at bird feeders. Though some species are often found in groups, others tend to be loners. When we examined their dominance interactions, we found that more social species are weaker competitors. Overall, the more social bird species are less likely to evict competing species from the feeders.”



The scientists examined over 55,000 competitive interactions among 68 common bird species at backyard feeders, collected through <a href="https://feederwatch.org/">Project FeederWatch</a>, a Cornell Lab initiative which uses data collected by volunteers to monitor feeder birds from November to April every year.&nbsp;



Although the investigation revealed a lower level of competitiveness in the case of social species such as the House Finch, the American Goldfinch, or the Pine Siskin, the experts found that such birds often gain the upper hand when members of their own species are with them, managing to successfully displace less social birds like the Northern Mockingbird or the Red-bellied Woodpecker.



“Being a social species certainly has its advantages,” said study co-author Eliot Miller, a postdoctoral researcher in Ornithology at the Cornell Lab. “Social species appear better defended against predators, and also may benefit from increased foraging efficiency.”



In addition, the researchers observed that, although social species have fewer competitive interactions with other species, they tended to compete more among themselves.&nbsp;



“Overall, these results demonstrate that sociality can influence competition in ecological networks. More social species have decreased competitive ability as individuals, but they may gain competitive ability in groups,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2022.1894">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.



—



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



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

Social bird species are less competitive

A team of researchers from Carleton University and the Cornell...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



---



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> explores the ability of salt to transform the way that foods and beverages taste. Salt is known to cover up undesirable flavors, such as bitterness in coffee or beer, but how exactly does sodium chloride change the taste of other compounds?



One previous study showed that, not only does salt suppress bitterness, but also enhances sweetness and sourness. Another study revealed that bitterness reduction by salt seems to be happening at the tongue receptor level as well as in the brain.&nbsp;



While it is known that salt taste is mediated by the presence of sodium channels in the form of taste buds, experts believe that there is also an unknown receptor responsible for how we taste salt that has not yet been identified.&nbsp;



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features northwest Lesotho in South Africa.



According to ESA, Lesotho is the only nation in the world that lies completely above 1,000 m in elevation. The country is famous for its tall mountains and narrow valleys, and is known as Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky."



Out of a population of around two million people, about 80 percent live in rural areas. More than 75 percent of these people are engaged in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-will-have-a-global-impact-on-agriculture/">agriculture</a>, including rainfed cereal production and animal grazing.&nbsp;



ESA reports that the country’s agricultural system faces a growing number of issues, with climate-related vulnerabilities such as drought, floods and extreme temperatures occurring more frequently. 



Diamonds are amongst the minerals found in the mountains. Indeed, Lesotho can truly be called the Kingdom in the Sky. Beautiful, culturally rich, safe, affordable, and easily accessible from Durban and Johannesburg, mountainous Lesotho is a vastly underrated travel destination. the Kingdom of Lesotho (Sotho: 'Muso oa Lesotho) is an enclaved country in southern Africa. It is just over 30,000 km2 (11,583 sq mi) in size and has a population of around 2 million.



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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Today's Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes two exoplanets that are orbiting a star 218 light-years away. A team of researchers led by the University of Montreal has found evidence that these planets are "water worlds."



The experts used data from NASA’s Hubble and Spitzer Space Telescopes. They discovered that exoplanets Kepler-138 c and Kepler-138 could be composed largely of water.



"We previously thought that planets that were a bit larger than Earth were big balls of metal and rock, like scaled-up versions of Earth, and that's why we called them super-Earths," explained study co-author Björn Benneke.&nbsp;



"However, we have now shown that these two planets, Kepler-138 c and d, are quite different in nature and that a big fraction of their entire volume is likely composed of water. It is the best evidence yet for water worlds, a type of planet that was theorized by astronomers to exist for a long time."



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



Image Credit: NASA, ESA, and Leah Hustak (STScI)



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/goddard">NASA Goddard</a> describes Earth’s interconnected systems, and how this network is affected by rising temperatures.&nbsp;



During 2020, average global temperatures matched the hottest year on record. The hurricane season was also record-breaking, with many of the storms intensifying at extraordinary speeds. Hot water in the ocean is fuel for hurricanes. The satellite data shows that it's all one interconnected system showing how Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected.



According to NASA, dust swept up from Northern Africa plays a major role in the formation of hurricanes, and is also a key source of fertilization in the Amazon rainforest. As a result of<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seagrass-wasting-disease-is-fueled-by-climate-change/"> climate</a> change, dust plumes are expected to decline, which will have an effect on vegetation far away.&nbsp;



Images from Earth-observing satellites show how the world’s plant life is affected by natural disasters, fires, and deforestation. Satellites also reveal how widespread changes in vegetation impact waterways,&nbsp; the climate, air quality. Satellites communicate by using radio waves to send signals to the antennas on the Earth. "Earth From Space" is a groundbreaking two-hour special that reveals a spectacular new space-based vision of our planet. 



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> is focused on the melt ponds that emerge during the spring and summer on the Greenland Ice Sheet, which is the largest ice mass in the northern hemisphere.



"Melt ponds are vast pools of open water that form on both sea ice and ice sheets and are visible as turquoise-blue pools of water in this Copernicus Sentinel-2 image," says ESA.



"When snow and ice melts atop glaciers, water flows in channels and streams and collects in depressions on the surface. These melt ponds can speed up the melting of the surrounding ice since they greatly reduce the ice’s ability to reflect sunlight."



"This can create a positive feedback where an increasing number of melt ponds absorb more heat which causes ice cover to melt even faster."



According to ESA, Greenland has been hit with a late-season heatwave that began in early September. This caused the type of melt event that usually occurs in the middle of summer.



"In a recent paper published in Nature Climate Change, scientists found that major sea-level rise from the melting of the Greenland ice cap is now ‘inevitable’ even if the burning of fossil fuels were to halt overnight," says ESA. "Using satellite observations of Greenland ice loss and ice cap from 2000 to 2019, the team found the losses will lead to a minimum rise of 27 cm regardless of climate change."



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes a new map of Mars that is providing insight into the planet’s watery past. The map also reveals where future missions could safely land on Mars.&nbsp;



The map has been created over the last decade using observations of water-rich rocks and mineral deposits. The images were captured by ESA’s Mars Express and NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.



"A big surprise is the prevalence of these minerals, with the map revealing hundreds of thousands of water-affected locations in the oldest parts of the planet," says ESA. "The new data will help answer exciting questions about Mars’ climate history, whether water was globally persistent or confined to short, intense episodes, and whether the conditions were ever suitable for life."



"Specifically, the map shows the locations and abundances of aqueous minerals. These are from rocks that have been chemically altered by the action of water in the past, and have typically been transformed into clays and salts."



According to John Carter of the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale (IAS), our collective understanding of Mars has been oversimplified. He explained that planetary scientists have tended to think that only a few types of clay minerals on Mars were created during its wet period, then as the water gradually dried up, salts were produced across the planet.



The new map shows that the composition of Mars is much more complicated than what we thought. For example, while many salts formed after Martian clays, there are some salts that are presumed to be older than some of the clays.&nbsp;



“The evolution from lots of water to no water is not as clear cut as we thought, the water didn’t just stop overnight. We see a huge diversity of geological contexts, so that no one process or simple timeline can explain the evolution of the mineralogy of Mars. That’s the first result of our study. The second is that if you exclude life processes on Earth, Mars exhibits a diversity of mineralogy in geological settings just as Earth does,” said Carter.



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.stowers.org/">Stowers Institute for Medical Research</a> describes how cavefish adapted to a sedentary lifestyle over tens of thousands of years. 



The experts found that the muscle metabolism of cavefish has been genetically reprogrammed over time. As a result, the animals have experienced major changes in their morphology and behavior. Despite these changes, however, the cavefish remain healthy and fit.



The research may provide new clues about the evolutionary consequences of prolonged physical inactivity in humans.&nbsp;



“It’s no surprise that people are moving less and less as technology has advanced,” said Rohner. “With cavefish, we have a unique system where we can study what might happen if people remained couch potatoes over very, very long periods of time.”



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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Today’s Video of the Day from <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/">NASA Earth Observatory</a> some of the most incredible waves in the world, as seen by Landsat satellites.



"With more than 370,000 miles of coastline on Earth, there are plenty of places where epic waves build up, curl over, and hurtle toward the shore.- much to the thrill of surfers," says NASA. "There are some places where these waves are so magnificent that they can be seen from space."



"With the broad perspective of satellites, we can see how these iconic waves develop into the world’s tallest, longest, fastest, and heaviest."



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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