In the hidden corners of our world, insects buzz, flutter, and crawl through shrinking habitats - playing roles that sustain life. Yet, while we look away, their numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate. Since the 1970s, studies suggest a jaw-dropping 50% decline in insect biomass.



The culprits? Habitat destruction and climate change. But what happens when these forces collide?



At the intersection of rising temperatures and vanishing habitats, a new and more lethal threat emerges. Researchers at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) set out to unravel this intricate web. 



Led by Professor Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter as part of the LandKlif research cluster, the team conducted a sweeping study across 179 locations in Bavaria. Their findings offer a chilling glimpse into a world where insects struggle to survive in a rapidly changing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-farming-is-causing-many-insect-species-to-collapse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">landscape</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-urban-heat-slashes-bee-populations">Urban heat slashes bee populations</h2>



Picture this: a world without bees. Crops wither, habitats shrink, and the hum of life falls silent. The JMU study reveals that bees - crucial pollinators - are bearing the brunt of this environmental assault.



In forests, bees adapted to the heat and maintained their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/very-little-is-known-about-99-of-all-insects-on-earth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">populations</a>. But in cities, the story took a darker turn. Urban bee populations plunged by 65% - a staggering drop that spells disaster for pollination.



Dr. Cristina Ganuza, a biologist on the project, highlighted the overlooked role of nighttime temperatures. “The fact that night-time temperatures have such an impact on diurnal insects is significant. Precisely because average night-time temperatures rise even faster than daytime temperatures."



Days sear with heat, and nights fail to cool. Bees, already displaced from their natural habitats, cannot escape the relentless warmth. For them, the city becomes a death trap.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insects-struggle-in-agricultural-habitats">Insects struggle in agricultural habitats</h2>



Higher up the food chain, predators and parasitoids told a different story. These natural pest <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-are-still-disappearing-and-there-are-hundreds-of-reasons-why/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">controllers</a> showed surprising resilience in forests and grasslands. But in open agricultural areas, they faced an uphill battle.



“This can have a negative impact on agricultural production because insects that contribute to natural pest control should be similarly affected,” said Dr. Sarah Redlich.



Without these predators to keep pests in check, agricultural losses could mount. However, in areas where agricultural land and natural habitats intermingled, predator populations fared better. This highlights a crucial lesson: not all landscapes are created equal in a warming world.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-night-heat-worsens-insect-declines">Night heat worsens insect declines</h2>



As the sun dips below the horizon, insects should find respite. But the night now offers little relief. The JMU study uncovers a hidden enemy - rising nighttime temperatures that hammer diurnal insects like bees.



Bee diversity dropped across all habitat types, from cities to grasslands. This previously unnoticed threat could spell catastrophe for pollinators struggling to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pests-are-moving-to-cooler-regions-due-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">adapt</a>.



“This previously unknown negative effect of warmer nights on insects reveals a new threat that requires further research to uncover the underlying physiological mechanisms,” said Steffan-Dewenter.



Night after night, the heat persists, robbing insects of the chance to recover. As temperatures rise, even the dark becomes dangerous.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-natural-habitats-protect-insects">Natural habitats protect insects</h2>



Not all habitats shelter insects equally. The JMU study highlights a stark contrast between natural and urbanized landscapes. Forests and grasslands emerged as safe havens, providing refuge and resources.



Warmer daytime temperatures, surprisingly, increased bee diversity in these areas. But in cities, the same heat wave proved deadly, causing bee populations to nosedive.



Researchers emphasize the importance of connecting natural habitats within urban and agricultural areas. Without green corridors, insects lose not just their homes but their pathways to survival.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-insect-habitat-loss-disrupts-pollination">Insect habitat loss disrupts pollination</h2>



When insects vanish, the consequences ripple outward. Bees disappear, and flowers go unpollinated. Predators decline, and pests multiply unchecked. Food webs wobble, and entire ecosystems falter.



“Their different responses could disrupt food webs and important ecosystem functions such as pest control and pollination,” said Ganuza.



Insects may be small, but their absence creates a void that echoes throughout the ecosystem. Each disappearance is a thread pulled from the intricate web of life.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-comes-next">What comes next? </h2>



The JMU study sounds a stark warning: climate change and habitat loss don’t just coexist - they amplify each other. Yet the findings also point to a way forward.



Maintaining green corridors within agricultural and urban landscapes could provide vital refuges for insects. Implementing strategies that reduce nighttime heat might offer a lifeline to diurnal species struggling to adapt.



Understanding why some insects resist climate change better than others could inform targeted conservation efforts. In a world that’s heating up fast, every degree matters.



The world of insects teeters on the brink. The time to act is now - before the silence grows deafening.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.3053" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences</a>.



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Rising heat, shrinking habitats: Insects face hidden threats

In the hidden corners of our world, insects buzz, flutter, and crawl through shrinking habitats - playing roles that sustain life. Yet, while we look away, their numbers are dwindling at an alarming rate. Since the 1970s, studies suggest a jaw-dropping 50% decline in insect biomass. The culprits? Habitat destruction and climate change. But what happens when these forces collide? At the intersection of rising temperatures and vanishing habitats, a new and more lethal threat emerges. Researchers at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) set out to unravel this intricate...

Although the billions of tons of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plastic-pollution-is-a-planetary-emergency/">plastic</a> products produced over the last half-century (called by many the “Plastic Age”) have drastically changed the way we live for the better, the plastic waste that found its way into the environment is posing major challenges for nature.&nbsp;



According to a new study led by <a href="https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/">Kyushu University</a>, about 25.3 million metric tons of plastic may have entered our oceans and almost two-thirds of this amount cannot be properly monitored. Even more alarmingly, this could be only the tip of the plastic-waste iceberg, with another 540 million metric tons of mismanaged plastic waste still trapped on land (the equivalent of approximately 10 percent of all the plastic manufactured so far).



While scientists have been investigating the oceans’ surfaces and beaches to determine how much plastic waste has reached the oceans, massive amounts of ocean plastics are most probably well below the surface, hidden by the reach of scientific observation if using common sampling equipment.



“To assess the amount and whereabouts of plastic waste in the Earth’s oceans, we have to consider the whole process from their birth to burial, starting with emission from rivers into the ocean and continuing with their transportation and fragmentation into pieces,” said study lead author&nbsp;Atsuhiko Isobe, a professor of Physical Oceanography at Kyushu University.



Together with his research team, Professor Isobe created models that simulate these processes, by using satellite-data to investigate the movements of the plastic particles, as well as a massive amount of data about global plastic-debris emissions going back to 1961.



Their results suggest that large plastics and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/microplastics-discovered-in-the-blood-of-livestock/">microplastics</a> floating on the ocean surface each account for only about three percent of all ocean plastics. While a similar amount of microplastics was estimated to be on the beaches, 23 percent of the ocean plastic waste was larger plastic litter spread on the shores.



According to the simulations, the remaining two-thirds of ocean plastic may be in locations that make it impossible to monitor, such as the seafloor. However, compared to ocean plastics, the amount of mismanaged plastic waste on land which could find its way into ecosystems and oceans in the future could be twenty times larger. Being indecomposable in nature, this half a billion metric tons of plastic may likely outlive us and many other species.



Further investigations are needed to locate these plastics and build efficient methods of disposing them. “That’s going to be a Herculean task. Few advancements have been made so far in the field of ‘terrestrial plastics’ due to the lack of observation methods,” concluded Professor Isobe.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969722010270?via%3Dihub">Science of the Total Environment</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

Half a billion metric tons of plastic waste is unaccounted for

Although the billions of tons of plastic products produced over...

A new study published in the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0025326X22000212">Marine Pollution Bulletin</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/scientists-rally-against-the-worlds-first-octopus-farm/">octopuses</a> have been increasingly forced to shelter among discarded garbage - including bottles, beer cans, batteries, or rusted metal pipes - as trash replaces seashells on the ocean floors.&nbsp;



The researchers, led by the <a href="https://www.furg.br/en/">Federal University of Rio Grande</a> in Brazil, have analyzed hundreds of underwater photos posted on social media platforms and image databases or collected by marine biologists and underwater divers. They found 24 species of octopus sheltering inside glass bottles, cans, or batteries, or even carrying plastic items while “stilt-walking” on two tentacles in order to conceal themselves from predators. Moreover, they also used such discarded trash as sanctuaries for their eggs.



“The deep-sea records were extremely interesting, because even at great depths these animals are interacting with the litter,” said study senior author Maira Proietti, a professor of Marine Biology and Oceanography at the Federal University of Rio Grande. “They clearly see that there’s a lot of litter around, and it can therefore act as a kind of artificial camouflage. It shows their extreme ability to adapt. They are very intelligent animals, and they will use what they have at their disposal to continue sheltering or walking around with protection.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



The animals appeared to show a preference for unbroken items and darker or opaque containers that could shelter them from the myriad predators continuously endangering their lives. Professor Proietti warns that, while these interactions may seem positive for the animals since they are lacking natural shelters such as seashells (which have largely been removed by humans for ornamental purposes, driven by tourism), “it is not a good thing to think that the animals may be using litter as shelter because the seashells are gone.”



Moreover, sheltering or laying eggs inside discarded tyres, batteries, or various plastic objects could easily expose the animals to a large variety of harmful compounds, such as heavy metals or the toxic additives usually added to plastic. 



“It is possible that the negative impacts of litter on octopuses is underestimated due to the lack of available data, and we therefore emphasize that the problem must be more thoroughly assessed,” the study authors concluded.



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

Octopuses are sheltering in discarded human trash

A new study published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin has...

Brazil is the world’s leading exporter of beef, making the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/genetically-modified-cattle-have-been-cleared-in-the-u-s/">cattle</a> industry a major part of the country’s economy and an important means of livelihood for many rural communities. However, livestock supply chains are responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions and account for over one third of emissions in Latin America, totaling hundreds of millions of tons of CO2 emitted each year.



A new study led by the <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/">University of Colorado Boulder</a> and the <a href="https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/the-regions/brazil/">Climate Policy Initiative</a> has found that providing customized training to Brazilian ranchers could both improve their livelihoods and mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse emissions.&nbsp;



Through a randomized control trial, the scientists examined whether agricultural extension services could help restore cattle pastures in Brazil (unlike the cattle industry in the U.S., which is dominated by feedlots, almost 90 percent of Brazilian beef is pasture- or grass-raised). They discovered that customized assistance – in addition to educational training – successfully supported ranchers in sustainably increasing their cattle production.



The researchers recruited 1,369 producers from Cerrado in central Brazil, many of whom had never received previous training in sustainable practices. Over 700 of them attended a 56-hour course in practices such as restoration of pastures, rotational grazing, or the use of no-till agriculture, with 311 also receiving technical assistance, consisting of 24 visits (one visit per month for two years) from field technicians who gave them customized advice.



According to the experts, while training alone did not improve any of the measured outcomes, ranchers who also received technical assistance showed statistically significant increases in all of the outcomes.&nbsp;



“The before and after was amazing,” said study co-author Barbara Farinelli, a senior agricultural economist at <a href="https://www.worldbank.org/en/home">The World Bank</a>. “You could see with your eyes the pasture with applied- and non-applied technologies. What’s behind this success is that farmers become the transformational agents for climate goals.”&nbsp;&nbsp;



“We found that training plus technical assistance had significant impacts on the rate at which farmers restored pasture, on profits, and on carbon sequestration and emissions,” added study co-author Peter Newton, an associate professor of Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder.



The cost-benefit analysis of this program was impressive: incorporating the cost of carbon, the program generated a climate benefit of $47.6 million per year, making it cost effective even if the benefits only lasted for one year.



“There’s broad agreement among global food system scientists that we collectively need to dramatically reduce our consumption of beef. But it seems extremely unlikely that beef consumption is going to end in any near-term future. So, it’s also important to be grazing cattle in ways that have a lower environmental impact. If there are ways of producing meat and animal products in ways that reduce their climate impact, then that's also a part of the picture, in addition to reducing consumption,” concluded Professor Newton.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2114913119">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

Brazilian cattle ranchers can help curb climate change

Brazil is the world’s leading exporter of beef, making the...

Social bonds are good for people, and many studies have shown that our relationships with friends and family help us live healthier and longer. However, our knowledge of how social bonds affect stress in non-<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/baboons-sacrifice-sleep-to-meet-lifes-daily-demands/">primate</a> species is lacking, especially considering the complex social lives of many animals.&nbsp;&nbsp;



An international team of scientists has attempted to glimpse into the social lives of an incredibly social animal to examine how their relationships, or lack thereof, affect their stress levels.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The researchers studied 95 Asian timber elephants (Elephas maximus) living in Myanmar. Since they are timber elephants, they work with people to move logs out of the forest. However, they spend a lot of time on their own in the forest. Studying elephants with this lifestyle gave the researchers a remarkable opportunity.&nbsp;



Study lead author Dr. Martin Seltmann is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology at the <a href="https://www.utu.fi/en">University of Turku</a>.



"This is a unique research environment and population that allows us to study many elephants living in their natural environment, but at the same time have detailed information about their social lives," said Dr. Seltmann.



The handlers have an intimate understanding of the.elephants' social lives and behavior. They provided insight on whether the elephants preferred to be sociable or to be alone.&nbsp;



The researchers also evaluated the sizes and demographics of the work groups. To measure stress levels, they collected fecal samples and measured glucocorticoid hormones, also known as stress hormones.



"We found, that male elephants show higher levels of stress when they have no friends and when they are in social groups with more males than females," said study co-authors Martin Seltmann and Professor Virpi Lummaa.



"Female elephants show lower levels of stress when babies are present in the social group. The size of the social group is not related to levels of stress hormones in males nor females."&nbsp;



Interestingly, the researchers found that solitary females were not as stressed as predicted. This may be because- although they don't have strong social bonds with other elephants - the females can interact with individuals on a superficial level, which is enough to ease their stress.



Moreover, the results suggest that social bonds are more important for semi-captive male elephants than would be the case in a wild population, where males are typically solitary.&nbsp;



The study helps us understand the social lives of these brilliant animals. The authors hope that this information will be used to create more enriching environments for elephants and other captive animals.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/general-and-comparative-endocrinology">General and Comparative Endocrinology</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

Social bonds can ease stress among elephants

Social bonds are good for people, and many studies have...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/video/coastal-wetlands-are-threatened-by-salt-water-intrusion/">Wetlands</a> can be hard places to make a living, and life in fragmented forest amidst wetlands may be even harder. Despite the difficulty, the rare Olalla’s titi monkey (Plecturocebus olallae) has found a way to live in the Llanos de Moxos, the largest wetland in the Amazon Basin.&nbsp;



New research from the <a href="https://www.wcs.org/">Wildlife Conservation Society</a> (WCS) may explain how the monkeys can survive in the fragmented and damaged forest of the Llanos de Moxos. The scientists observed two groups of Olalla’s titi monkeys for a year. It seems that the key to their survival might be in their ecological flexibility.&nbsp;



During times of abundance, the monkeys were observed eating fruits and moving around a lot. During the leaner dry season, the monkeys ate less fruit and more leaves, and did not move around as much. They also expanded their diet to include more lichens, seeds and fungi.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



Interestingly, the study shows that monkeys with their ecological flexibility have some ability to tolerate changes in their habitat, such as fragmentation caused by deforestation.&nbsp;



"The study illustrates the relevance of understanding primate ecological flexibility in response to food reductions to the development of conservation actions, especially in the light of increasing forest degradation and loss in the study region," said study co-author Rob Wallace, director of WCS's Greater Madidi-Tambopata Landscape Program.



The scientists believe that these monkeys are still threatened by habitat loss and range limitations. It seems that eventually, even flexible monkeys have a breaking point. The monkeys are already critically endangered and endemic to a small area.&nbsp;



"The observed shift in diet toward consuming alternative foods during the fruit lean period and reducing movement instead of expanding ranging behavior to look for higher quality foods suggests that P. olallae follows an energy-area minimizing strategy that may enable these primates to inhabit fragmented forests," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;&nbsp;



"Nevertheless, deforestation and further fragmentation in the range of these endemic and critically endangered primates must be addressed, as they represent significant threats to the severely range-restricted P. olallae populations."



The study is published in the <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/10764">International Journal of Primatology</a>.



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

Monkeys can adapt by changing their diet

Wetlands can be hard places to make a living, and...

The entire genome of a dodo – a three-feet tall flightless <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/lead-poisoning-from-hunting-is-killing-europes-most-charismatic-birds/">bird</a> that became extinct in the 17th century – has been sequenced for the first time by a team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">University of California, Santa Cruz</a>. This accomplishment raises hopes that the bird could be soon brought back to life through genetical engineering.



The dodo was discovered in the 16th century on the island of Mauritius. It weighed about 50 pounds (23 kilograms), had a blue-gray plumage, a huge head, stout yellow legs, and small useless wings.



Since it lived in isolation on Mauritius for hundreds of years, the dodo bird seemed to be fearless. Its audacity though, combined with an inability to fly, made it easy prey not only for humans, but also for the cats, dogs, and pigs that they brought with them while exploring the Indian Ocean. Thus, only 64 years after Dutch sailors had first spotted it, the dodo unfortunately became extinct.



Scientists from UC Santa Cruz used DNA from a dodo specimen kept in the <a href="https://snm.ku.dk/english/">Natural History Museum of Denmark</a> and managed to sequence this bird’s entire genome for the first time (the sequencing has not been published yet). However, according to study leader Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary molecular biologist at UC Santa Cruz, it will most likely be very difficult to bring the dodo back to life.



“Mammals are simpler,” Professor Shapiro said. “If I have a cell and it's living in a dish in the lab and I edit it so that it has a bit of dodo DNA, how do I then transform that cell into a whole living, breathing, actual animal? The way we can do this is to clone it, the same approach that was used to create Dolly the Sheep, but we don't know how to do that with birds because of the intricacies of their reproductive pathways.”



“So there needs to be another approach for birds and this is one really fundamental technological hurdle in de-extinction.&nbsp;There are groups working on different approaches for doing that and I have little doubt that we are going to get there but it is an additional hurdle for birds that we don't have for mammals.”



According to&nbsp;Mike Benton, a professor of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, in order to bring this bird back from extinction, scientists will most likely edit Nicobar pigeon DNA to include dodo DNA, since the two species are very closely related genetically. However, the result may not completely resemble what the flightless bird originally looked like, warned Professor Benton.



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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

Can the dodo bird be brought back from extinction?

The entire genome of a dodo – a three-feet tall...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.emory.edu/home/index.html">Emory University</a> has found that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-predators-have-outsmarted-monarch-butterflies/">monarch butterflies</a> are increasingly plagued by a debilitating parasite - the protozoan&nbsp;Ophryocystis elektrosirrha (O.E.) – which invades the guts of monarch caterpillars. If the adult butterfly leaves the pupal stage with a severe O.E. infection, it begins oozing fluid from its body and eventually dies. Even the rare butterflies that survive cannot fly well and live shorter than uninfected ones.



The scientists found that the O.E. infection rate has increased from less than one percent of the eastern monarch population in 1968 to as much as ten percent today.&nbsp;



“We’re seeing a significant change in a wildlife population with a parasitism rate steadily rising from almost non-existent to as high as ten percent,” said study first author Ania Majewska, a postdoctoral fellow in Biology at Emory. “It’s a signal that something is not right in the environment and that we need to pay attention.”



According to Dr. Majewska and her colleagues, this rise in infection rates is caused by increased density of monarchs in places where they lay their eggs. The increased density is due to several factors including the loss of wildlife habitat, the widespread planting of exotic, non-native species of milkweed that butterflies gather in massive numbers to feed upon, and people’s raising large monarch colonies in confined spaces.&nbsp;



This rise in parasitism may significantly endanger the mass migration of the monarchs – one of the most spectacular displays in the animal kingdom, involving hundreds of millions of western butterflies traveling hundreds of miles down the Pacific Coast to spend the winter in California, and similar numbers of eastern butterflies flying over 3,000 miles from the U.S.- Canadian border to overwinter in Central Mexico. Moreover, their crucial ecological roles as pollinators or essential food for wasps, ants, and other invertebrate predators are also endangered by this worrisome increase in parasitic infection.&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Our findings suggest that tens of millions of eastern monarch butterflies are getting sick and dying each year from these parasites,” said study senior author Jaap de Roode, a professor of Biology at Emory. “If the infection rates keep going up, fewer and fewer monarchs will be able to survive to migrate to their overwintering sites.”



“Ultimately, a continuing rise in the monarch’s parasitic infection rate could cause the species to suffer significantly,” added Dr. Majewska. “If tens of millions of them are dying annually from parasitic infections, then an extreme weather event during the winter in Mexico might reduce the population to a level that could be dangerous for their genetic diversity.”



“Parasitism is often overlooked in conservation efforts, but our findings show how parasites can have a massive impact on wildlife,” concluded Professor de Roode.



The study is published in the <a href="https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Monarch_infection_data/17929721/1">Journal of Animal Ecology</a>.



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

Millions of monarch butterflies are killed by parasites yearly

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

A recent study published in the journal <a href="https://elifesciences.org/articles/75248">eLife</a> has described a new armored <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/late-cretaceous-dinosaur-was-sluggish-and-nearly-deaf/">dinosaur</a> that lived during the Early Jurassic period on the territory of today’s China. Yuxisaurus kopchicki belongs to a group of dinosaurs called thyreophorans (“shield-bearers”), which include well-known creatures such as the Stegosaurus or the Ankylosaurus.&nbsp;



“My colleagues in China discovered this new armored dinosaur in Yunnan, southwest China, in rocks of Early Jurassic age dating to between 192-174 million years ago,” said study co-author Dr. Paul Barrett, a paleobiologist at the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/">National History Museum</a> in London.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“When we put the animal into an evolutionary analysis, it came out close to the common ancestry of stegosaurs and ankylosaurs. This helps to confirm that early armored dinosaurs were living in this region at this time. We know very little about the early history of herbivorous dinosaurs in China, so regionally this is a really important discovery.”



In the past, the highly diverse thyreophoran dinosaurs have largely been associated with rocks dating from the Late Jurassic to the Cretaceous periods (163 to 66 million years ago). Their fossils were mainly found in North America and Europe, making scientists assume that they lived mostly in the northern hemisphere. However, new discoveries of fossils in Morocco, Venezuela, and South Africa have shown that the spatial distribution of this group was much wider than initially thought.



“There are early armored dinosaurs starting to turn up more in the south,” explained Dr. Barrett. “There are two animals from about 200 million years ago from Venezuela and South Africa, that don't have armor, but might be the earliest members of the group, showing what they looked like before they evolved armor.”



“If these animals were in the group, then it is likely the armored dinosaurs originated in the southern continents, but this idea is controversial. If they aren't included in the group, then the origins are anchored in the northern hemisphere. At the moment, we've no way to choose between these alternatives.”



Yuxisaurus kopchicki has a stockier build and a distinctive arrangement of the armored plates that covered its back compared to other known early armored dinosaurs. Although it was primarily adapted for walking on four legs, the analysis of the fossils indicated that it was also able to walk on two legs. Its discovery sheds more light on the morphological diversity of the early thyreophorans and confirms their wide geographical spread.



Image Credit: ©Yu Chen



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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

Dinosaur discovered in China had spiked armor

A recent study published in the journal eLife has described...

In a new study from <a href="https://aru.ac.uk/">Anglia Ruskin University</a> (ARU), scientists have found that two subspecies of adult howler monkeys implement play when faced with conflict within their groups.&nbsp;



The study was focused on the Mexican howler, Alouatta palliata mexicana, and the golden-mantled howler, Alouatta palliata palliata. The experts investigated which age groups engaged in play and the amount of time the monkeys spent playing.&nbsp;



The researchers discovered that adult howler monkeys spend more time playing with other adults than with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/marmots-may-hold-the-key-to-longevity/">juveniles</a>, and females spend more time playing than males.&nbsp;



One of the most important observations was that howler monkeys played more when foraging fruit, a nutritious, delicious delicacy for these mostly leaf-eating primates. Since this food is highly valued, it creates competition, particularly among adults.&nbsp;



Many primates have apparent social hierarchies and ease group tension through practices like social grooming. However, these attributes don't apply to the howler monkeys studied.&nbsp;



These cultural elements, combined with the observation that the monkeys increased play in situations where there was more competition between specific subsets of the group, lead the researchers to believe that howler monkeys use play to alleviate social tension and avoid conflict.&nbsp;



Increased competition between subsets includes competition between adults and competition between females.&nbsp;



"One theory for the positive effect of fruit consumption on play is that a fruit-based diet simply provides the howler monkeys with more energy compared to their typical diet of leaves," explained study co-author Dr. Jacob Dunn, an associate professor in Evolutionary Biology at ARU.



"We should have observed adults engaging in more play with all members of the group during fruit foraging, rather than just with other adults. Because juveniles do not pose a threat or provide competition at fruit trees, we believe that play amongst adults is a mechanism for solving conflicts within the group, in a similar way that grooming is used by some other primate species."



The fact that females spend more time playing than males is more evidence that play is used to avoid conflict.



"This is striking, as females would be more vulnerable to food competition than males," said Dunn. "Howler monkeys are a particularly energy-conservative species, and we would have assumed females would have played less, as they are also constrained by the energy requirements of reproduction."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/animal-behaviour">Animal Behaviour</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

Howler monkeys get playful to ease group tension

In a new study from Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), scientists...

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/">University of Liverpool</a>, experts set out to determine how ants will respond to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-is-not-the-only-thing-changing-the-behavior-of-birds/">climate</a> change. According to the researchers, the answer is complicated. Overall, they found that the social nature of ants will enable them to adapt to climate change in ways that will not be possible for solitary organisms.



"Ants are one of the most dominant terrestrial organisms worldwide. They are hugely abundant, both in terms of sheer numbers and biomass, on every continent except Antarctica and are deeply embedded within a diversity of ecological networks and processes," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"Ants are also eusocial and colonial organisms - their life cycle is built on the labor of sterile worker ants who support a small number of reproductive individuals. Given the climatic changes that our planet faces, we need to understand how various important taxonomic groups will respond; this includes the ants."



The researchers reviewed existing studies on ants and their response to temperature changes. The results of the analysis suggest that some populations should have no trouble adapting to a warming climate.&nbsp;



For example, ants that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fungus-farming-ants-work-hard-to-maintain-healthy-gardens/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">nest underground</a> will be less vulnerable to rising temperatures. These groups will have the option to relocate to lower, cooler areas. Ants in the world's more temperate regions will also be able to tolerate - and possibly even benefit from - higher temperatures. 



“How climate change affects ant populations and the wider impact this will have on the ecosystem is not particularly well understood. This study sheds new light on this issue," said lead author Professor Kate Parr.&nbsp;



"Ants are the most dominant insect in almost all ecosystems and play key roles in many ecosystem processes so any changes to their abundance and loss of some species will therefore have cascading consequences through the ecosystem.”



“Our research highlights those species and regions at risk from climate change but also those that may be capable of adapting to it."



According to Professor Parr, further research is needed to better understand how ants respond to altered precipitation, carbon dioxide or ultraviolet radiation levels.&nbsp;



"Across the globe, ants are considered key contributors to many ecosystem processes, including seed dispersal, pest control, and soil bioturbation, and are thought to structure invertebrate communities via predation and competition," wrote the study authors.&nbsp;



"In consequence, changes to ant abundance and occurrence patterns due to ongoing climate change are likely to have significant implications for the structure, integrity, and functioning of terrestrial ecosystems."



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.



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

The social nature of ants will help them tolerate climate change

In a new study from the University of Liverpool, experts...

A new study led by a team of paleobiologists from the <a href="https://le.ac.uk/">University of Leicester</a> has found that not all grasshoppers are herbivorous, as scientists initially thought. By identifying startling similarities between the mouths of some species of grasshopper and mammal teeth, the researchers have shown that many of the 11,000 known species of grasshopper may even be <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-sabre-tooth-sheds-light-on-the-evolution-of-hypercarnivores/">carnivorous</a>.



Finding out what grasshoppers eat usually requires detailed investigations of the contents of their guts or painstaking, time-consuming observations of what they feed upon in the wild.&nbsp;



“Knowing what animals eat is fundamental to understanding ecosystems, but working this out can be difficult and time consuming, especially if the animals you study are rare, small, or move quickly,” said study lead author Christopher Stockey, a postgraduate researcher at the University of Leicester.



However, Stockey and his colleagues have found a better, faster, and less invasive method of discovering more about grasshoppers’ diets: they used sophisticated three-dimensional imaging techniques to precisely map the shape of the mandibles of museum grasshopper specimens and to compare them with mammals’ teeth.



“One of the advantages of our method is the powerful comparisons that it provides,” said Stockey. “Surprisingly, comparing the mandible landscapes of grasshoppers with mammal’s teeth allows grasshopper diet to be predicted with 82 percent accuracy – pretty amazing when you consider that the mouthparts of mammals and grasshoppers have evolved independently for 400 million years, and were not present in their common ancestor.”



These measurements revealed clear differences linked to diet between various species of grasshopper. “Mandibles from carnivorous grasshoppers that eat soft flesh have steeper slopes and sharper cliff edges, while those that eat tough plant material, such as grass, have mandibles with complex undulating ‘landscapes,’” explained Stockey.



“This study is a great example of combining modern analytical methods with historical samples from museum collections to help understand the biodiversity of our planet,” said Dr. Ben Price, a senior curator at the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a>. “As technology advances additional uses of museum collections become possible and this non-destructive approach could reveal the diet information for thousands of species, decades after the specimens were collected.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/2041-210X.13832">Methods in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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

Some grasshoppers are actually carnivores

A new study led by a team of paleobiologists from...

Lead is a toxic metal with no known physiological functions in the bodies of animals. In fact, it is known to have negative effects on most body systems. Once absorbed, usually through the gut after ingestion, it passes into the blood stream and then into soft tissues, such as kidneys and liver, and into bone. Although the levels in the soft tissues may decrease over time, lead poisoning remains in the bones of an animal for its entire lifetime.&nbsp;



Humans have a long history of lead use but, because of the known risks posed by this metal to human health, most of its uses are now strictly regulated in Europe and most other developed countries. However, this is not true of the use of lead in the manufacture of ammunition (shotgun pellets, slugs and rifle bullets). And although it has been shown that lead poisoning contributed to the population declines of iconic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-is-not-the-only-thing-changing-the-behavior-of-birds/">birds</a> such as the American bald eagle and the Californian condor, bans on the use of lead ammunition have met with little success in Europe.



Birds that scavenge carrion, such as vultures, may ingest lead pellets and fragments of ammunition in the flesh of animals that have been shot by hunters and then lost or left behind in the field or forest. Birds of prey (raptors) may catch live prey that have previously been shot by hunters but have survived. This prey may have lead pellets embedded in their flesh that have not killed them. Raptors will also scavenge when the opportunity arises and may ingest lead ammunition in this way as well, which results in poisoning.



Until recently, there was not enough data on concentrations of lead in the tissues of raptors in Europe to assess the impacts of lead poisoning on populations of these birds. However, a recent review of the topic has stimulated more interest. Although the review study documented tissue lead concentrations, it did not attempt to assess the numbers of raptors killed by lead poisoning throughout Europe.&nbsp;



A new study by scientists from the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a>, UK, has now compiled updated information on the levels of lead poisoning in 22 raptor species across Europe and used these data to estimate the impacts on populations of some of these species. The experts hypothesized that variation in lead poisoning between species and between countries is related to the intensity of hunting activities.&nbsp;



The researchers used measurements of lead concentration in the livers of over 3,000 raptors found dead or dying in the wild in 13 countries. This data had been collected by scientists in the various countries since the 1970s. They considered birds to have died from lead poisoning if they had 20 ppm (dry weight), or more, of lead in their tissues.&nbsp;



Their results, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/science-of-the-total-environment">Science of The Total Environment</a>, showed that 10 species of raptors are particularly affected by lead poisoning. The worst affected are species like eagles that are naturally long-lived, rear few young per year and breed later in life.&nbsp;



However, even populations of species familiar to bird-watchers across the different countries, such as the common buzzard and red kite, were affected. The researchers estimate that the overall European populations of these 10 raptor species are at least six percent smaller than they should be, due solely to the effects of lead poisoning from gun ammunition.&nbsp;



Europe’s white-tailed eagle population is estimated to be 14 percent smaller than it would have been in the absence of more than a century of exposure to lethal levels of lead in some of its food. Golden eagle and griffon vulture populations are 13 and 12 percent smaller, respectively, and numbers of northern goshawks are six percent lower than they should be. Red kites and western marsh harriers were estimated to have populations with three percent fewer individuals than they should have.&nbsp;



And even though common buzzard populations are only 1.5 percent smaller than they would be in the absence of lead poisoning, this still equates to almost 22,000 fewer adults of this widespread species, say the researchers. &nbsp;



A range of alternatives to lead shot and rifle bullets are widely available to hunters and some countries have had great success legislating for the use of these alternatives in hunting. Currently, only two European nations – Denmark and the Netherlands – have banned lead shot. Denmark plans to follow this up with a ban on lead rifle bullets. Both the European Union and the UK are considering legal bans on all lead ammunition due to its effects on wildlife and the health of human consumers of game meat. However, many hunting groups oppose this change, according to researchers.



The same authors published results of a previous study just last month which showed that over 99 percent of pheasants killed in the UK are still shot with lead, despite hunting groups urging members to switch to non-toxic gunshot in 2020. In addition, X-ray studies of wild ducks in the UK have shown that about a quarter of live birds currently carry lead shot in their bodies.



“The continued blanket use of lead ammunition means that hunting as a pastime simply cannot be considered sustainable unless things change,” said study lead author and conservation scientist Professor Rhys Green. “Unfortunately, efforts to encourage voluntary shifts away from lead shot have been completely ineffective so far,” he said.



“The kinds of reductions in raptor populations suggested by our study would be considered worthy of strong action, including legislation, if caused by habitat destruction or deliberate poisoning."



“It’s taken decades for researchers from across Europe to amass sufficient data to enable us to calculate the impacts of lead poisoning on raptor populations,” explained study co-author Professor Debbie Pain. “We can now see just how substantial population impacts can be for some of our most charismatic and vulnerable species - species that are protected by EU Regulation and the UK Wildlife &amp; Countryside Act.”



“The avoidable suffering and death of numerous individual raptors from lead poisoning should be sufficient to require the use of non-toxic alternatives. These population-level impacts make this both doubly important and urgent,” she emphasized.



The researchers also investigated the association between the number of lead poisonings in each country and the “hunter density. ” This was taken to be the average numbers of hunters per square kilometer in each country, using data from the European Federation for Hunting and Conservation. Not surprisingly, the incidences of lead poisoning were positively correlated with the density of hunters. In addition, countries with no hunters using lead ammunition had virtually no lead-poisoned raptors.



In conclusion, the researchers stress the importance of introducing and enforcing laws to ban the hunting of animals using lead ammunition. They expect that the populations of bird species currently most impacted by lead poisoning would be substantially larger if their exposure to dietary lead could be reduced to a low level.&nbsp;



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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

Lead poisoning from hunting is killing Europe's most charismatic birds

Lead is a toxic metal with no known physiological functions...

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;



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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.

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



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.

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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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

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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 



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.

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

[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

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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



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 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



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 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



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.

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



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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