<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/sex-impacts-gene-expression/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Sexual dimorphism</a>, which is the observable difference in appearance between male and female members of a species, occurs widely across the animal kingdom, including in humans. An interesting variation of this is sex-limited polymorphism, where one sex exhibits more variation in a certain trait compared to the other. 



An international team of scientists has explored this concept by examining the genetic basis for color polymorphism in adult female <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cuckoos-are-unable-to-change-their-migrations-in-response-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">cuckoos</a> of the genus Cuculus, which are known for their brood parasitic behavior. The research provides insights into the evolutionary development and practical implications of this trait variation.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-genetic-basis-of-female-cuckoo-colors">Genetic basis of female cuckoo colors</h2>



The scientists examined why adult female cuckoos, unlike their uniformly gray male counterparts, may exhibit either gray or rufous (reddish-brown) plumage. This variability is not only evident across different cuckoo species but also within populations of the same species.



Using genome-wide association analysis on nuclear DNA from both Common and Oriental cuckoos, the researchers aimed to pinpoint the genetic factors behind the females' diverse plumage in an attempt to understand the underlying pigmentation mechanisms and the evolutionary history of these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-wonder-evolutionary-success/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">traits</a>.



In <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/untold-story-of-bird-evolution-revealed-through-genetics/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a>, unlike in mammals, it is the females that are heterogametic (ZW), differing from the homogametic males (ZZ). This led researchers to speculate that the observed color variation in female cuckoos might be linked to genes on the W chromosome. 



“We found that, instead of a single gene or set of genes, nearly all variations in the gray or rufous coloration were associated with the full length of the female-limited W chromosome,” said co-author Mark Haber, the executive director of the <a href="https://asrc.gc.cuny.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CUNY Advanced Science Research Center</a> (CUNY ASRC) and a psychology professor at the <a href="https://www.gc.cuny.edu/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CUNY Graduate Center</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-biochemical-processes-of-cuckoo-colors">Biochemical processes of cuckoo colors</h2>



The scientists also examined the biochemical processes of coloration, revealing that both the Common and Oriental cuckoos use two forms of melanin-based pigmentation - similar to that in human skin - to produce their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/for-songbirds-bright-colors-are-a-blessing-and-a-curse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">color</a> variations. 



Further genomic analysis of these species traced the origin of the color polymorphism in female cuckoos to a mutation that occurred over one million years ago, long before these species diverged around 140,000 years ago.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-potential-advantages-of-female-cuckoo-coloration-nbsp">Potential advantages of female cuckoo coloration&nbsp;</h2>



The implications of these color variations are profound. For instance, female cuckoos with the rarer rufous plumage might benefit from mimicking juvenile cuckoos to avoid male harassment during mating seasons.&nbsp;



Moreover, as brood parasites who lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, rufous females could potentially escape detection by host species better than their gray counterparts, which might reduce the risk of being attacked by host parents.



“The fascinating idea that many other sex-specific traits, which are harder to study, might also be genetically determined in the matrilinear genome, similar to the color polymorphism in female cuckoos,” concluded senior author Jochen Wolf, an expert in evolutionary biology at LMU Munich.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-about-cuckoo-birds">More about cuckoo birds</h2>



Cuckoo birds are known for their distinctive calls and unique breeding behavior, particularly their practice of brood parasitism. This involves laying their eggs in the nests of other bird species, leaving the unsuspecting host birds to raise the cuckoo's offspring.&nbsp;



As a result, the host species may inadvertently neglect their own young due to the demanding nature of the cuckoo chick, which often grows larger than its foster siblings.



Cuckoos are found across the world and are highly adaptable to various environments. The family Cuculidae, to which they belong, includes both brood-parasitic cuckoos as well as species that raise their own young. Their diet varies from insects to caterpillars, and some species also consume fruits and seeds.



The cuckoo's call, which gives them their name, is emblematic in culture and often signals the arrival of spring. The most commonly recognized call is that of the common cuckoo in Europe, famously captured in the phrase "cuck-oo." 



This sound has not only embedded them in folklore but also inspired the creation of the cuckoo clock, where the bird's call marks the passing hours.



The study is published in the journal <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adl5255" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Female cuckoo colors provide evolutionary advantages

Sexual dimorphism, which is the observable difference in appearance between male and female members of a species, occurs widely across the animal kingdom, including in humans. An interesting variation of this is sex-limited polymorphism, where one sex exhibits more variation in a certain trait compared to the other.  An international team of scientists has explored this concept by examining the genetic basis for color polymorphism in adult female cuckoos of the genus Cuculus, which are known for their brood parasitic behavior. The research provides insights into the...

According to a new study from the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu/">University of Arizona</a> (UA), bigger dogs are more intelligent than small dogs, particularly when it comes to self-control and short-term memory. The researchers found that larger <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dogs-not-smarter-cats/">dogs</a>, who also have bigger brains, have improved executive functioning and more control over their own behavior. 

Study lead study author and doctorate student Daniel Horschler is member of the UA's Arizona Canine Cognition Center.

“The jury is out on why, necessarily, brain size might relate to cognition,” said Horschler. “We think of it as probably a proxy for something else going on, whether it's the number of neurons that matters or differences in connectivity between neurons. Nobody's really sure yet, but we're interested in figuring out what those deeper things are.”


On the other hand, the size of a dog's brain was not found to be associated with all types of intelligence. For example, brain size was not a good indicator of how dogs would perform on social intelligence tests. The findings confirm previous research which demonstrated that brain size in primates is a strong predictor of executive functioning, but not other types of intelligence.

“Previous studies have been composed mostly or entirely of primates, so we weren't sure whether the result was an artifact of unique aspects of primate brain evolution,” said Horschler. “We think dogs are a really great test case for this because there's huge variation in brain size, to a degree you don't see in pretty much any other terrestrial mammals. You have chihuahuas versus Great Danes and everything in between.”

The current study was focused on data from more than 7,000 purebred domestic dogs from 74 breeds. The data came from the website Dognition.com, which instructs pet owners on how to test their dog’s cognitive abilities.

In the future, Horschler hopes to conduct comparative studies of cognitive abilities among variations of the same breed, such as the miniature poodle and the larger standard poodle, which are basically the same beyond their size.

“I'm really interested in how cognition evolves and how that arises biologically,” said Horschler. “We're coming to understand that brain size is in some way related to cognition, whether it's because of brain size specifically or whether it's a proxy for something else.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://link.springer.com/journal/10071">Animal Cognition</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Larger dogs are more intelligent than smaller dogs, experts confirm

According to a new study from the University of Arizona...

Wildlife losses due to illegal hunting have overlooked climate consequences. Wildlife losses due to illegal hunting have overlooked climate consequences. A new study led by <a href="https://lunduniversity.lu.se/">Lund University</a> has revealed that the loss of animals, often as a result of illegal hunting, negatively impacts the carbon storage capacity of forests. Despite these consequences, however, this association is hardly ever addressed in climate policy negotiations. 

Many animals play an important role in <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/color-fruit-evolved-attract-animals/">seed dispersal</a> for tropical trees, particularly large-seeded tree species that tend to have a higher wood density. The loss of animals directly affects the survival of these tree species, with cascading effects on the overall carbon storage capacity of tropical forests.

The researchers investigated the extent to which the link between wildlife losses and carbon storage capacity was addressed in forest governance. The team focused on a particular mechanism referred to as Reducing<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/grasslands-are-turning-into-a-source-of-harmful-emissions/"> Emissions</a> from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+).

The study revealed that while higher-level policy documents acknowledge the importance of biodiversity, hunting as a driver of forest degradation is rarely acknowledged. Furthermore, the link between fauna and forest ecosystem function was not mentioned in any documents.

According to the researchers, this may not be a simple oversight, but could be the result of a deliberate political choice to avoid adding further complexity to REDD+ negotiations and implementation. 

“Although biodiversity has moved from a side issue to an inherent feature over the last decade, we show that the ecological functions of biodiversity are still only mentioned superficially,” said study co-author Torsten Krause. “At the sub-national level, fauna and hunting were much more likely to be mentioned in project documents, but we still found no explicit mentioning of a link between defaunation and carbon storage capacity.”

The study highlights the fact that wildlife loss is essentially overlooked in both climate negotiations and forest governance.

“The assumption that forest cover and habitat protection equal effective biodiversity conservation is misleading, and must be challenged,” said study co-author Martin Reinhardt Nielsen. “The fact that defaunation and particularly the loss of large seed dispersers through unsustainable hunting have lasting repercussions throughout the forest ecosystem, must be acknowledged and considered in forest governance broadly, or we risk losing the forest for the trees.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/journal/forests">Forests</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wildlife losses due to illegal hunting have overlooked climate

Wildlife losses due to illegal hunting have overlooked climate consequences....

Biologists from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>, physicists at <a href="https://www.stanford.edu/">Stanford</a>, and computer scientists from <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/">Simon Fraser University</a>, have discovered that the jackdaw bird sticks with its mate while in flock formation, even though this action negatively impacts the overall flock.

If every bird in a <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/mixed-species-foraging-flocks/">flock</a> follows a set of identical rules while flying in flock formation, a phenomenon known as collective behavior, the result is a flock that looks like a large moving organism. 

However, this recent study, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>, has shown that not all birds stick to these rules.

"Like friends in a human crowd, pairs of jackdaws stick close together when flying at high speed within large flocks," said Dr. Alex Thornton, of Exeter’s <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/cornwall/research/facilitiesandcentres/cec/">Centre for Ecology and Conservation</a>. "This overturns our current understanding of how collective behaviour works, because all current models are based on the assumption that flock members are identical agents following identical rules.”

When flying together, pairs of jackdaws, which mate for life, use less energy during flight, as was found via a 3D model. However, when paired, they reduce the flock’s ability to properly react to predators by mixing up signals to alert other birds to danger.

[caption id="attachment_1872302" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/flock.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872302" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/flock.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="650" /></a> Researchers tracked the movement of individual birds within a flock of jackdaws. Image Credit: Alex Thornton[/caption]

"Far from being 'mindless' agents, animals in many species are likely to face substantial cognitive demands to recognise and track specific individuals when moving as part of a group,” Dr. Thornton continued. "Our results call for a major rethinking of our understanding of collective behaviour in nature."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Bird flocks are heavily influenced by social relationships

Biologists from the University of Exeter, physicists at Stanford, and...

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> have discovered that when <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hawks-hunters/">hawks</a> pursue their prey, they utilize a mix of several types of guidance law that could help design drones used for capturing rogue drones in crowded areas. 

To come to this theory, published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-10454-z">Nature Communications</a>, Oxford’s Dr. Caroline Brighton and Professor Graham Taylor studied the flight trajectory of five captive Harris’ Hawks with high-speed cameras as they went after an artificial target.

“We filmed our hawks flying after a dummy bunny, which was an artificial target that we towed at speed around a series of pulleys laid out to produce an unpredictable course,” Dr. Brighton said. “Using video reconstruction techniques to measure the 3D trajectory of the hawk and its target, we then ran a computer simulation to see how closely the hawk's attack behaviour was modelled by different kinds of guidance law.”

One such guidance law, called proportional navigation, is used by both falcons and homing missiles to smoothly follow aerial targets. However, proportional navigation is not efficient at following zigzagging terrestrial prey in dense habitats. 

Hawks, however, can follow this kind of prey with a mixture of guidance law. They base their turn rate on the information pertaining to the angle between the direction to their target and their current flight direction. They also use information on the rate at which the direction to their target is changing to better their aim and reduce the risk of overshot. 

This combination of guidance law could be useful for designing drones meant to pursue and capture rogue drones in cluttered areas.

“Last year's Gatwick incident showed just how far we are from being able to remove rogue drones quickly and safely from a large open space, let alone the cluttered airspace of an urban environment,” Professor Taylor said. “Hawks are masters of close pursuit through clutter, so we think they have a thing or two to teach us about how to design a new kind of drone that can safely chase down another.”

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Ondrej Prosicky

The hunting methods used by hawks could help design new drones

Researchers from the University of Oxford have discovered that when...

Diversity of land species has remained the same for 60 million years. The amount of biodiversity we have on land today has remained the same for at least 60 million years, soon after the dinosaurs were wiped out. An international team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/index.aspx">University of Birmingham</a> has found that the number of species has increased only occasionally throughout time, with sudden spikes in diversity being followed by plateaus lasting tens of millions of years.

Scientists have previously theorized that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/climate-dictates-biodiversity-hotspots/">diversity</a> increased steadily throughout time, which would mean that biodiversity today is much greater than it was in prehistoric times. Modern computing techniques that are capable of analyzing hundreds of thousands of fossils are showing patterns of land diversity that challenge this theory. 

The current study was focused on fossil data collected by palaeontologists over the past 200 years at around 30,000 different fossil sites worldwide. The fossil data represented land vertebrates dating back to the first evidence of this group nearly 400 million years ago.

The study revealed that it has been tens of millions of years since there was a significant increase in the average number of species. The research suggests that competition for food and space among land vertebrates limits the number of species that can coexist.

“Scientists often think that species diversity has been increasing unchecked over millions of years, and that diversity is much greater today than it was in the distant past,” said study lead author Dr. Roger Close. “Our research shows that numbers of species within terrestrial communities are limited over long timescales, which contradicts the results of many experiments in modern ecological communities - now we need to understand why.”

[caption id="attachment_1867942" align="aligncenter" width="700"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Diversity-of-land-species-has-remained-the-same-for-60-million-years.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1867942" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Diversity-of-land-species-has-remained-the-same-for-60-million-years.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="337" /></a> Image Credit: Mark Ryan, Mary Parrish &amp; Jay Matternes[/caption]

“Contrary to what you might expect, the largest increase in diversity within land vertebrate communities came after the mass extinction that wiped out the dinosaurs, 66 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period," Dr. Close added. "Within just a few million years, local diversity had increased to two or three times that of pre-extinction levels - driven primarily by the spectacular success of modern mammals.”

Study co-author Professor Richard Butler added, “Our work provides an example of the combined power of the fossil record and modern statistical approaches to answer major questions about the origins of modern biodiversity. By understanding how biodiversity has changed in the past, we may be able to better understand the likely long-term impact of the current biodiversity crisis.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology and Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Diversity of land species has remained the same for 60 million years

Diversity of land species has remained the same for 60...

According to a new study from researchers at the <a href="https://www.ed.ac.uk/home">University of Edinburgh</a>, the hexagonal patterning of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/nocturnal-birds-night/">bird</a> feather growth relies on signaling via ectodysplasin (EDA) and its receptor EDAR. This is the same signaling pathway used to form hair, teeth, and scales in mammals, fish, and reptiles.

The study, published February 21st in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a>, first took previous explorations into feather patterns into consideration, specifically the recent discovery that natural variation in feather patterning is linked to two pathways involving signaling molecules called fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and bone morphogenetic protein (BMP). 

The University’s Dr. William Ho and Denis Headon then investigated how mechanical process, changes in cell density and movement, and signaling between cells all work to influence feather patterning.

The team found that variation in feather patterning is directly influenced by FGF and BMP signaling paired with the movement of cells in the dermis (mesenchymal cells). The EDA/EDAR signaling pathway then drives the wave of patterning by interacting with the varying mesenchymal cell densities.

A mechanical-chemical process then occurs where FGF20 motivates cells to cluster, therefore compressing the overlying epidermis to boost FGF20 expression. The EDA wave expands and continues across the mesenchymal cell density gradient, triggering the production of FGF20 and feather pattern formation by lowering the mesenchymal cell threshold needed to form a feather bud.

"The formation of feathers has been studied for over 50 years as a model to understand how simple tissues interact to produce organs," Headon said. "With new technologies we can now watch the process of organ development as it happens, giving deep insights into how the embryonic body produces a complex anatomy through cells both moving and signaling to one another. 

“As we uncover the rules underlying how feather number is determined before hatch in chickens,” he continued, “we can envisage ways to tailor feather density in farmed birds, which can experience overheating, to be appropriate for the climate that they will inhabit."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Birds develop feathers the same way we develop hair and teeth

According to a new study from researchers at the University...

As more tourists set out to observe wildlife, more revenue is generated that can potentially protect wild animals and their habitats. However, a new study focused on <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/african-elephants-wrinkled-skin/">African elephants</a> has revealed that wildlife tourism is causing them stress.


The researchers spent 15 months recording the behavior of elephants and comparing it to the number of tourists present in an African reserve. 

The experts found that the elephants were more likely to become aggressive toward each other when tourism was high. In addition, herds of elephants often became anxious and moved away from the tourists when multiple vehicles were observing them.

“Tourists who wish to observe animals in their natural habitat should be aware of their potential negative effects on animal welfare and research should investigate best practice standards to minimize such negative effects,” said study lead author Isabelle Szott of <a href="https://www.ljmu.ac.uk/">Liverpool John Moores University</a>.

The study was focused on the observations of 26 individual elephants at the Madwike Game Reserve, where elephants are viewed from game drive vehicles (GDs) that seat up to 10 tourists.

“Our results show that even with regulations in place, where wildlife viewing is carried out exclusively from GDs driven by qualified guides and overall numbers of tourists viewing elephants at any time are restricted, tourism led to changes in behavior of the viewed elephants,” said Dr. Szott.

She explained that elephants at waterholes often experienced frustration and stress, and became the target of other herd members. This increased the chance that the elephants would turn their aggression on the tourists.


To reduce the potential for conflict between tourist groups and wildlife, Dr. Szott suggested that a consistent minimum distance from the nearest individual should be established. “It would further give elephant herds, or indeed other wildlife, more space and may reduce the likelihood of animals moving off, giving tourists longer, more natural viewing experiences.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/subjects/zoology">Zoology</a>. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

More tourists can cause anxiety and aggressive behavior in elephants

As more tourists set out to observe wildlife, more revenue...

Slow-moving wildlife protection process puts many species at risk. Hundreds of animal species are currently at risk due to a slow-moving wildlife protection process for international wildlife trade that can take up to two decades to complete, according to a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

"New trends in wildlife trade can develop quickly, with some species going from common to near extinction in just a few years," said co-author Eyal Frank, an assistant professor at the <a href="https://harris.uchicago.edu/">University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy</a>. "A policymaking process needs to respond quickly to new information in order to prevent extinction for hundreds of animals and plants. That's why it's absolutely critical that policymakers allow science to inform a speedy protection process."

Frank and co-author David Wilcove of the <a href="https://environment.princeton.edu/">Princeton University Environmental Institute</a>, examined 958 species on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List that are endangered due to international trade. Of those, they found that 28% of these species are not protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), the main international establishment for preventing species extinction via international wildlife trade.

Furthermore, Frank and Wilcove found that 62% of those species protected by CITES had to wait as long as 19 years to be granted protections. Other species that have been on the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/seven-bee-species-put-endangered-species-list/">Red List</a> for 24 years are still waiting for that protection to be granted. And yet, somehow 36% of species gained CITES prior to being on the Red List

"CITES and the Red List are two of the most important tools we have to save wildlife threatened by international trade. It's vital that these two institutions work together closely and quickly to stop the killing," Wilcove said.

In May, international wildlife authorities will meet at the CITES Conference of the Parties (CoP) to vote on wildlife trade restrictions. Wilcove and Frank’s findings will hopefully draw necessary attention to the need for a faster protection process. Otherwise, species waiting for protection may transition from being endangered to being extinct.

Frank and Wilcove suggest that any nation that is a member of CITES advocate for Red List species threatened by international trade be protected. Therefore, if and when new species in need of protection are presented to CITES, a vote can be held promptly.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Slow-moving wildlife protection process puts many species at risk

Slow-moving wildlife protection process puts many species at risk. Hundreds...

Pollinators existed long before flowers, new research suggests. Which came first, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fossils-butterflies-existed-flowers/">flower or the pollinator</a>? 

The mutually beneficial relationship between angiosperms (flowering plants) and pollinating insects is the result of millions of years of coevolution. 

Angiosperms evolved special adaptations to attract pollinators, who in turn became masters at gathering nectar and spreading pollen. 

But as far as which came first, a new study is shedding insight on some of the Earth's earliest pollinators which evolved long before flowers started blooming. 

The research, published in the journal Gondwana Research, shows that early insects likely first pollinated gymnosperms like conifers until flowering plants evolved in the Cretaceous period.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.paleo.ru/museum-en/audioguide/">Borissiak Palaeontological Institute</a> in Russia focused on a late Jurassic insect, the Archocyrtus kovalevi fly, which was first described in 1996. 

After examining the specimen, the researchers found that it contained an extremely long proboscis which the fly would have used to suck up nectar from plants. The drinking straw-like mouthpart was nearly twice as long as the insect itself. 

Previously it was assumed that the appendage was actually the imprint of a piece of vegetation in a fossil of the specimen, but the researchers realized it was actually a body part. 

Archocyrtus kovalevi is about 40 million years older than the emergence of angiosperms, and so the discovery of its nectar-sucking proboscis is remarkable. 

“Finding a fossil insect of that age with such a wonderfully long proboscis is like finding a caveman with an AK-47,” Alexander Khramov, the lead author of the study, told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2199471-pollinators-may-have-evolved-40-million-years-before-flowers-existed/??utm_medium=NLC&amp;utm_source=NSNS&amp;utm_campaign=2019-0412-GLOBAL-NSDAY&amp;utm_content=NSDAY">New Scientist</a>. 

The long proboscis may have aided the insect as it gathered up nectar from gymnosperm cones. 

Another potential explanation for the insect is that angiosperms evolved sooner than fossil records show, but the researchers think this is probably not the case. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Pollinators existed long before flowers, new research suggests

Pollinators existed long before flowers, new research suggests. Which came...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.lsu.edu/">Louisiana State University</a> have conducted the first statistical analysis of shark attacks worldwide using data collected over a 55-year period from 1960 to 2015. The experts found that even though the number of shark attacks has increased over time, the risk of shark attacks remains low.

In 2015, there was a spike in the number of shark attacks in North Carolina. Study lead author Stephen Midway, an assistant professor in LSU’s Department of Oceanography &amp; Coastal Sciences, wanted to know if this rate of attack was unusual or if it was normal. 


“I was curious what the likelihood of shark attacks is in a certain number of years at different places around the world. While shark attacks are often reported in numbers, we factored in the regional human populations to determine the rate of shark attacks worldwide. I think this information could contribute to a more scientifically grounded discussion about sharks in general and help with the management and conservation of them,” said Professor Midway.

The team investigated specific regions within the United States, Australia, and South Africa that had the highest number of shark attacks. The researchers found that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sharks-adapted-changing-world/">shark</a> attack rates, although extremely low, have doubled over the past 20 years in highly populated regions such as the eastern coast of the U.S. and Southern Australia.

“As development increases along the coast and in beach communities, more residents and tourists frequent these waters. With more people in the water, the chance for a shark attack increases. However, I must stress the fact that not all places across the globe saw an increase. And even in the places where we saw an increase, the chances were still one in several million.”

From 1960 to 2015, there were 1,215 reported shark attacks in the United States, which mostly resulted in minor skin injuries comparable to a dog bite. Over the 55 years, there were 24 fatal attacks.

“Humans have always demonized sharks because they are elusive and live in an environment that's not native to us - the sea,” said study co-author George Burgess of the University of Florida. “We would like people to know that these shark attack events need to be put into perspective whenever they occur. This study helps us step back and look at the big picture.”

Professor Midway added, “We ought to think of the risk of a shark attack like we would think of the risk of a car accident. For example, we don't assess our personal risk of getting into a car accident by the national statistics on car accidents year over year. We think about our specific car, the weather, the road conditions and other very local factors.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/">PLOS ONE</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The risk of shark attacks remains low and varies by region

Researchers at Louisiana State University have conducted the first statistical...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> have analyzed the future economic conditions that would result from achieving the Paris Agreement’s global warming target compared with the current rate of warming, which is referred to as a “business as usual” scenario. They found that limiting <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dietary-changes-slow-global-warming/">global warming</a> to 1.5 degrees Celsius would protect millions of tons of fish caught by fisheries and billions of dollars in annual revenues.

The study also revealed that upholding the Paris Agreement would result in benefits for 75 percent of maritime countries, and the largest gains would be made in developing countries.

“Achieving the Agreement's target could increase global fishers' revenues by $4.6 billion annually, seafood workers' income by $3.7 billion, and reduce household seafood expenditures by $5.4 billion,” said study lead author Professor Rashid Sumaila. “The largest gains will occur in developing country waters, such as Kiribati, the Maldives and Indonesia, which are at greatest risks due to warming temperatures and rely the most on fish for food security, incomes and employment.”

The researchers determined that a scenario with limited warming would increase the total mass, or biomass, of the highest profiting fish species by 6.5 percent, with an average increase of 8.4 percent in the waters of developing countries.

“Larger fish biomass and higher ocean productivity means higher catch potential, so with the exception of Europe, all continents will benefit from the Paris Agreement,” said study co-author Travis Tai. “Countries in places like northern Europe, on the other hand, stand to gain more fish as they move towards the poles in search of colder waters under global warming. They will gain less if we limit warming, but in many cases, the losses are buffered by increases in fish prices.”

For example, if warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, Russia is projected to see reduced catches by 25 percent, including lower biomass of pollock and cod.

“However, a projected 19 percent increase in fish prices, known as 'price effect,' should result in a negligible overall loss of less than two percent in fishers' revenues in Russia,” said study co-author William Cheung. “Conversely, for the U.S., fishing revenues are expected to decrease by eight per cent due to price effects but will be offset by a 21 per cent increase in catch potential.”


On a global scale, fisheries provide approximately 260 million jobs and many of these are in large developing countries. Furthermore, seafood products are a critical source of income for many developing countries.

“A steady supply of fish is essential to support these jobs, food sovereignty, and human well-being,” said Professor Sumaila. “Adapting to existing climate change effects and implementing the Paris Agreement is crucial for the future of the planet's ocean fisheries, while facing the growing challenges of supporting healthy and peaceful societies into the future.”

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</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

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: BANITAtour / Pixabay

Fisheries could lose billions of dollars from global warming

Scientists at the University of British Columbia have analyzed the...

In one of the largest international studies of its kind, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.czs.org/brookfield-zoo/home">Brookfield Zoo</a> in Illinois are working to assess the health and wellbeing of dolphins and other marine mammals in captivity. 

While the quality of care at many zoos is often top-notch and dedicated zoologists, trainers, and handlers work to ensure their animals are receiving everything they need, there has been increasing concern that animals <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/giraffe-dies-after-it-falls-trying-to-get-food-from-zoo-visitor/">don't belong in captivity</a>. 

This study is hoping to provide a detailed framework for assessing an animal's health and wellbeing in captivity as well as show that zoos allow animals to thrive. 

The researchers plan to analyze biomarkers including blood, gastric, fecal and respiratory samples. Data on 290 Indo-Pacific dolphins, 20 beluga whales, eight Pacific white-sided dolphins from 44 accredited aquariums and zoos in seven countries are included in the study.

Some of the animals in the study have been equipped with sensors to track speed and movement. The sensors will help show the researchers how much of their tank the dolphins utilize and how they navigate their surroundings. 

Overall, data from the sensors, veterinary exams, surveys, samples, and video footage will be analyzed by the researchers, according to the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-zoo-dolphin-welfare-study-20190201-story.html">Chicago Tribune</a> which reported on the massive undertaking, 

“When you think about animal care and welfare, there’s the art and the science to it,” Lance Miller, vice president of conservation science and animal welfare research, told the Chicago Tribune. &nbsp;“I think 30 years ago it was more of an art form. You had a lot of people with a lot of great knowledge because they had worked with the animals for so long. What we do now is we don’t try to take away from that art, but we try to use science to kind of mesh the two.”

One challenge of assessing wellbeing is that beyond stress indicators, how do you define the happiness of another animal, like a dolphin?

Researchers warn that our tendencies to anthropomorphize may not reflect the realities of how an animal is fairing in captivity.

However, the very real concerns remain that no matter how well cared for an animal is in captivity, it’s still being raised outside of its natural habitat and in some cases not able to travel the long distances they would in the wild. &nbsp;

If the researchers can find a way to quantify and accurately assess wellbeing, it might help put those concerns to rest or encourage more zoos to transition captive marine mammals to natural sanctuaries that more closely mirror their natural habitat. 

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By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Are captive dolphins kept healthy?

In one of the largest international studies of its kind,...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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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



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 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

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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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



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.

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



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 capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> describes why satellite images and measurements of our planet have become "essential to our survival, offering a new outlook of our world."&nbsp;



Rising sea levels pose one of the biggest societal threats associated with climate change. According to ESA, satellite altimeter missions such as Copernicus Sentinel-6 are essential in monitoring global and regional changes in sea level.



"Unbeknown to many, the island of Crete, Greece, plays an important role in the Copernicus satellite altimetry constellation and on an international stage," reports ESA.



"Satellite altimetry data have to be continuously monitored at the ESA’s Permanent Facility for Altimetry Calibration where different techniques have pioneered the use of transponders to provide the best measurements to validate satellite altimeters in space soon after launch."



Dr. Craig Donlon explains that, by understanding planet Earth through satellite measurements, we are able to find evidence of change.&nbsp;



Video Credit: European Space Agency&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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...