Wild chimpanzees have surprised scientists again. They seem to combine single calls in ways that create new meanings for different situations.



In a new investigation led by Dr. Catherine Crockford of the <a href="https://www.eva.mpg.de/index/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology</a>, researchers have found that chimpanzees can embed one vocal call into another to shift its message in several ways.



This approach sheds light on how meaningful combinations of sounds might not be an exclusively <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-share-alcoholic-fruit-to-increase-social-bonding/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">human trick</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimpanzee-calls-and-language-origins">Chimpanzee calls and language origins</h2>



Chimpanzees produce a set of pant calls, grunts, and hoos that can match specific events or contexts. Scientists studying <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bonobos-and-chimps-express-empathy-much-like-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">primate</a> communication often focus on whether these calls can be recombined to express novel ideas.



“Generating new or combined meanings by combining words is a hallmark of human language, and it is crucial to investigate whether a similar capacity exists in our closest living relatives, chimpanzees and bonobos, in order to decipher the origins of human language,” said Dr. Crockford. 



Observing apes in rich forest environments over many years helped researchers gather thousands of vocal utterances, matching them to various daily events.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-chimpanzees-use-call-combinations">How chimpanzees use call combinations</h2>



Previous analyses suggested that primates usually rely on single calls. But chimpanzees in this project displayed a variety of two-call combinations that seemed to deliver more complex messages than either single call alone.



“Recording chimpanzee vocalisations over several years in their natural environment is essential in order to document their full communicative capabilities, a task that is becoming increasingly challenging due to growing human threats to wild chimpanzee populations,” said Roman Wittig, co-author of the study and director of the Taï Chimpanzee Project. 



Calls like hoo, pant, and grunt were often linked to feeding, traveling, approaching <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-select-the-best-materials-for-termite-fishing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">companions</a>, or even building a nest.



Some paired calls strayed far from the meaning of either individual call. Others narrowed or clarified the meaning of one call by combining it with another.



Researchers also discovered that a pair of calls could add both meanings together. Sometimes, flipping the order of the same two calls changed which events triggered that combination.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimp-calls-are-complex">Chimp calls are complex</h2>



“Our findings suggest a highly generative vocal communication system, unprecedented in the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-chimp-nests-can-tell-us-about-early-independence/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">animal kingdom</a>, which echoes recent findings in bonobos suggesting that complex combinatorial capacities were already present in the common ancestor of humans and these two great ape species,” said Cédric Girard-Buttoz, first author of the study. 



”This changes the views of the last century which considered communication in the great apes to be fixed and linked to emotional states.”&nbsp;



Humans rely on syntax to shift the message of a group of words by rearranging them. Chimpanzee call combinations seem to share a similar principle, at least in miniature form.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimp-calls-and-specific-events">Chimp calls and specific events</h2>



Scientists matched each vocal utterance to events such as resting, traveling, or social interactions. 



Earlier <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982205010407" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">studies</a> found that certain hoo calls link with resting or feeding. This project took that approach further by analyzing two-call sequences in multiple communities of wild chimpanzees.



Some call pairs combined rest and social signals, while others popped up in contexts that had little to do with either call used alone. The addition or repositioning of a second call often changed the full vocal sequence’s event links.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-chimp-calls-hint-at-early-language">Chimp calls hint at early language</h2>



Human language can create countless meanings from a limited set of sounds. These chimpanzee findings point to a flexible communication system that can widen its meaning capacity using simple steps.



Researchers say it is possible that human ancestors carried similar abilities. Over time, these may have expanded into the more detailed language structures we know today.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-researchers-still-need-to-learn">What researchers still need to learn</h2>



Questions remain about longer sequences that might chain three or more calls. Future studies may investigate how that chaining impacts clarity or social bonding among chimpanzees.



Scientists also want to see if other primates or animals use multiple call-combining strategies. Some suggest that more species might do the same if studied across enough time and daily contexts.



Experts emphasize that playback experiments could confirm how receivers interpret each combination. Wild animals rarely stand still for tests, but careful monitoring might reveal which part of a call they respond to.



There is also the question of whether some call pairs express reference to upcoming events. Knowing that certain sequences appear during, say, nest-building might help reveal how apes convey planning or intention.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-more-data-is-needed">More data is needed </h2>



With more data, researchers hope to better map how these combinations relate to specific events or states. Each new finding challenges the idea that only humans generate layered meanings from limited vocal elements.



Spending years in the field was crucial. It took that long to observe enough high-quality instances of different chimp calls, especially for rarer behaviors like nest-building.



Many wonder if these chimp call strategies might extend to gestures or other signals. Studies of both vocal and non-vocal communication could fill in gaps that remain.



Efforts to protect wild populations are also vital. Researchers stress that deforestation or poaching will cut short our chance to learn more about ape communication in its natural setting.



The study is published in <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adq2879" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Science Advances</a>.



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Chimpanzees mix vocal calls to create new meanings, like humans

Wild chimpanzees have surprised scientists again. They seem to combine single calls in ways that create new meanings for different situations. In a new investigation led by Dr. Catherine Crockford of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, researchers have found that chimpanzees can embed one vocal call into another to shift its message in several ways. This approach sheds light on how meaningful combinations of sounds might not be an exclusively human trick. Chimpanzee calls and language origins Chimpanzees produce a set of pant calls, grunts,...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ants-show-signs-of-cognitive-sophistication/">Ants</a> live in large groups organized according to a highly specific division of tasks – a phenomenon called by biologists “eusociality.” There are three “casts,” each having a different role: the queen lays eggs, the males fertilize them, and the workers look after the offspring, forage for food, and build nests. 



The complexity of ants’ social organization can be seen not only in their behavior, but also in their morphology. For instance, winged females take on the role of the queen, while wingless, infertile ones perform the tasks of the workers. But when exactly in their evolutionary history did this unique form of teamwork emerge?



By examining four fossils enclosed in amber (three adult female wingless ants and one incompletely developed pupa), a new study led by the <a href="https://www.uni-jena.de/">University of Jena</a> in Germany has found that this cooperative way of life most probably emerged in the early Cretaceous period (145 to 100.5 million years ago).&nbsp;



“With the help of micro-computed tomography images, we were able to determine that the soft tissues of the insects have been exceptionally well-preserved,” explained study lead author Dr. Brendon E. Boudinot, an expert in Entomology and Phylogenetics at the University of Jena. “This enabled us to examine the precise structure of the brain and the transverse muscle fibers, for example, and thus compare the four specimens with each other in fine detail.”



The researchers established that two of the adult insects belonged to a previously unknown species of the extinct ant genus Gerontoformica, while the third ant and the pupa were both of the same species, Gerontoformica gracilis.



“As ant pupae are not mobile, it can be inferred that the adult insect carried it,” said Dr. Boudinot. “This brood transport, as it’s called, is a unique feature of ant coexistence based on their division of labor. The fossil therefore provides the first material evidence of cooperative behavior from the Cretaceous period: these ants looked after their young together, went in search of food together, and had different queen and worker castes.”



Thus, these fossil representatives are an important “missing link” between today’s ants and their ancient relatives, confirming that the highly complex and specialized social system of ants evolved sometimes in the Early Cretaceous, during the time of the dinosaurs.



The study is published in the <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlab097/6523228">Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society</a>.&nbsp; &nbsp;



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

Division of labor in ants emerged over 100 million years ago

Ants live in large groups organized according to a highly...

A new <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_Centre_for_Integrative_Biodiversity_Research_(iDiv)">iDiV</a> study has revealed that insect groups do not share the same population trends, even if they share a habitat. The experts found that the state of one group of insects does not reflect the state of other insects, regardless of where they live .



The investigation was based on long-term data from insects across more than 900 sites worldwide. The results show that different insect groups may exhibit similar trends in one place, but dissimilar trends in other places.



"Insects are not a homogeneous group of organisms, all showing dramatic declines across the world, as some headlines would have us believe,” said study senior author Professor Jonathan Chase.



In 2017, scientists reported that three-quarters of flying insects had been lost from western German nature reserves over 30 years. Following this alarming report, a large collection of studies from all over the world confirmed insect declines.&nbsp;



The iDiv team, led by Dr. Roel van Klink, has been building and analyzing a database of these studies since 2018 to monitor insect abundance over multiple years.



“The fact that such declines happened right under our noses, but no one saw that this phenomenon is occurring in many places, is quite alarming,” said Dr. van Klink. “It shows just how important it is to monitor our environment.”&nbsp;



Due to their small size and high diversity, it is challenging to monitor insect populations. There are 30,000 species of insects in Germany alone.&nbsp;



"Most monitoring programs only study one insect group, but no one has investigated whether the status of the group under study tells us anything about the well-being of other insects," said study second author Dr. Diana Bowler.



The researchers set out to investigate whether changes in one type of insect,&nbsp; such as grasshoppers, could predict changes in other kinds of insects, such as flies. Overall, the team found that abundances of different groups of insects showed different trends. There was little evidence where an indicator species could be used to predict population trends in another species.&nbsp;



“Trends of beetles and butterflies were the most similar, often increasing or decreasing together, but even their relationship was quite poor,” said Dr. van Klink. “But grasshoppers are just out there doing their own thing, with their abundances through time unrelated to those of other groups of species."



The research highlights the importance of monitoring multiple species simultaneously to provide guidelines for conservation policies.



“Nature just isn’t as simple as we would like it to be," said Dr. van Klink. “No doubt humans are having unprecedented impacts on the natural world around us, and it's our job to find out exactly how, why and where these changes occur, and to which kinds of insects.”&nbsp;



“We cannot simply monitor one group of insects and assume all the others do the same,“ said Dr. Bowler. “We need to care about the whole diversity of insects.”



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl">Biology Letters</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

Insect groups do not share the same fate, even when they share a habitat

A new iDiV study has revealed that insect groups do...

Humans have always admired the grace and skill exhibited by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seafood-watch-may-red-list-fisheries-to-protect-right-whales/">fish</a> as they move through their viscous environment, and engineers have looked to them for inspiration when designing watercraft. Fish can be especially useful in developing underwater vehicles. Now, a new study published in the journal <a href="https://aip.scitation.org/journal/phf">Physics of Fluids</a> takes a closer look at fish propulsion.



Scientists at Harbin Engineering University in China have demonstrated that fish, using tightly controlled body fluctuations, create a pair of moveable vortices or high and low pressures, which allow them to move. The research lays the groundwork for the design of a new propeller.&nbsp;



"Fish need to evade predators, catch prey, and move through complex environments, and their motion advantage is unmatched by any man-made machinery. As such, many outstanding questions about the relationship between form and function in fish are biomechanically driven," wrote the researchers.



"The study of motion law, corresponding mechanical characteristics, and revelation of the hydrodynamic basis of the fish swimming process have significant implications for the optimal design of underwater vehicle propulsion methods."



Using high speed cameras and particle image velocimetry, the researchers analyzed zebra fish swimming in a tank. A fish speeds up as it bends its caudal fin to the side and then returns to a neutral position by straightening the whole body. This single tail swing, the researchers discovered, creates two vortices spinning in opposite directions.&nbsp;



On opposite sides of the body, one vortex is high pressure, while the other is low pressure. The low pressure pulls the fish, while the high pressure pushes the fish from the other direction, thus providing the zebrafish with propulsion.&nbsp;



When the fish was in a “J shaped” position with its tail bent, the high pressure area moved to the rear of the caudal fin and the low pressure area moved to the front of the caudal fin. This process repeats itself, allowing the fish to move continuously.&nbsp;



"The entire zebrafish in the swimming process is regarded as a body wave," said study co-author Yang Han. "Whether they accelerated forward or changed directions, the fish maintained a wavelike motion at all points of the body from the start of movement."



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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

Fish create moving vortices to power their propulsion

Humans have always admired the grace and skill exhibited by...

Many species of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wing-transparency-helps-butterflies-avoid-predators/">butterflies</a> use eyespots – circular markings of contrasting colors found on their wings – to intimidate or distract predators. A research team led by the <a href="https://www.nus.edu.sg/">National University of Singapore</a> (NUS) has investigated the evolutionary origins of these eyespots and discovered that they seem to be derived from the recruitment of a complex network of genes which was already operating in the body of the butterflies to build antennae, legs, and sometimes even wings.



“This new study addresses how novel complex traits might originate. These complex traits require the input of many interacting genes for their development, and are often illustrated by the vertebrate eye, or the bacteria flagellum,” said study senior author&nbsp;Antónia Monteiro, a professor of Biology at NUS.



“In our study, we looked at the how butterfly eyespots – an example of a complex trait - came about and concluded that a network recruitment approach is adopted by butterflies for the creation of eyespots. We have also identified the specific network of genes that was likely recruited.”



According to Professor Monteiro and her colleagues, the evolution of new complex traits such as the butterfly eyespots proceeds through mutations in the genetic code that recall pre-existent gene regulatory networks which were already used for other complex traits such as antennae or other limbs. These networks can be compared to subroutines in a computer program that perform specific tasks and, although they are written in the code only once, they are referred to repeatedly by the program as it runs.



By deleting unique DNA regulatory sequences in the genome of the butterflies, the researchers proved that a single gene regulatory network was responsible for the development of a variety of traits, including eyespots, antennae, legs, and wings. When the functioning of this regulatory network was disrupted, all of these highly different traits failed to develop properly.



“It was amazing to observe how these significant complex traits were affected by the same changes in DNA,” concluded study co-author Dr. Heidi Connahs, a postdoctoral fellow studying the evolution of morphological diversity at NUS.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/119/8/e2108661119">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.



Image Credit: Kristof Zyskowski and Yulia Bereshpolova



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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

Butterfly eyespots reuse genes that pattern limbs and wings

Many species of butterflies use eyespots – circular markings of...

New research shows the potential of sildenafil, a generic version of viagra, for treating dogs with a dangerous eating disorder known as megaesophagus.



The disorder is characterized by an enlargement of the esophagus, which makes it hard for dogs to get food into their stomachs. Left untreated, dogs often vomit their food back up and aspirate pieces of food into their lungs. When food is ingested in the lungs, it can cause an infection called aspiration pneumonia.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



“The literature tells us that many dogs with the disease die from aspiration pneumonia or are humanely euthanized due to poor quality of life within eight months of diagnosis,” said Dr. Jillian Haines, a veterinarian at Washington State University who co-led the study.



Sildenafil relaxes the dogs’ esophagus, allowing food to pass through and into the stomach. The only known side effect is rare gastrointestinal irritation, but at the dosages in the current study, there were no side effects.&nbsp;



“If you look at the literature, there are no drugs we can use to manage megaesophagus. Sildenafil is the first to target these mechanisms and reduce regurgitation, which is big because that’s what ultimately kills these dogs,” said Haines.&nbsp;



“It opens the lower esophageal sphincter for 20 minutes to an hour, which works really well for dogs because we only want that to open when they are eating.”



In the study, ten dogs with megaesophagus were given either a placebo or sildenafil for a two week period. Next, after one week without either treatment, the control and experimental groups were switched.&nbsp;



The dog owners were asked to monitor regurgitations. None of the owners were told whether their dog was taking the placebo or sildenafil.&nbsp;



Despite no significant difference showing between sildenafil and a placebo during a 30 minute videofluoroscopy, nine of the ten owners reported less vomiting when sildenafil was being administered. Unfortunately, the drug does not seem to work as well on severe cases of the disorder - possibly because it is harder to get the drug into the dog’s stomach.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Moderately affected dogs that were regurgitating frequently but not excessively seemed to see the most dramatic results,” Haines said. “I actually prescribed sildenafil to several of those patients after the study, and they are still using it today.”



The study is published in the <a href="https://avmajournals.avma.org/view/journals/javma/javma-overview.xml">American Journal of Veterinary Medicine</a>.



---



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

Viagra is a possible treatment for dog eating disorder

New research shows the potential of sildenafil, a generic version...

Modern approaches to animal tracking and monitoring are possible due to the development of technologies that generate large, high-resolution datasets. These technologies, along with advances in analytical methods, enable biologists to follow the movements of free-ranging mammals, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-brains-may-help-birds-cope-with-climate-change/">birds</a>, and fish at unprecedented scales. 



Modern technologies also help scientists understand how movement behavior helps animals survive and adapt in a changing world. These advantages do, however, come with typical big-data issues, such as computational load, intensive data management and processing, and challenging statistical analyses.&nbsp;



In a recent publication in the journal <a href="https://www.science.org/">Science</a>, Professor Ran Nathan of the <a href="https://en.huji.ac.il/en">Hebrew University of Jerusalem</a>, together with students and colleagues from 12 countries around the world, reviewed a variety of technologies that have been used to gather information on the movements of animals in their natural environments.&nbsp;



All animals move, whether actively or passively, regularly or during specific life stages, to meet energy, survival, reproductive and social demands. Today, the ability of species to move is crucial if they are to cope with the effects of human-induced environmental changes.



In their review, Nathan and his colleagues assessed the main tools, insights, challenges and opportunities of the big-data revolution that has turned the field of movement ecology from a data-poor to a data-rich discipline.&nbsp; Wildlife tracking technologies vary in how they tackle the basic trade-offs between data collection rate, spatial coverage, tracking duration and the size of tracked animals.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Among eight major tracking technologies examined in this study, a technology called “reverse-GPS” stood out because of its capacity to produce big data on animal movement in a cost-effective manner. &nbsp;Other tracking technologies, such as GPS devices, computer vision systems and radars, can also produce big data, and the researchers recommended viewing all major tracking technologies as complementary rather than competing alternatives.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;



The new reverse-GPS system, called ATLAS, was developed by Nathan and Professor Sivan Toledo of Tel Aviv University, and their teams, under the auspices of the Minerva Center for Movement Ecology. It is unusual in its ability to track dozens of wild animals simultaneously, to within a few meters of their actual location, and at a high resolution (every second), over months. In addition, this system uses small, inexpensive radio tags that are attached to each animal. The system has already been used in Israel, UK, the Netherlands, and Germany, where it has enabled researchers to answer questions about basic movement ecology that could previously not be investigated.&nbsp;



“This sophisticated tracking system has ushered in a range of exciting discoveries and novel insights, including the first evidence for the existence of a cognitive map in a wild animal (a fruit bat), a pioneering study linking variation among individual birds (pheasants) in their cognitive ability and space-use patterns, and a discovery of a notable spatial segregation in foraging areas among bats that roost in two adjacent colonies, owing to an individual’s memory and information transfer among bats, with surprisingly no evidence for competition as a driving force,” Nathan shared.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“Acoustic telemetry,” another example of a reverse-GPS system, uses acoustic tags to track fish and other aquatic animals under water. Systems of this kind have been used in rivers, lakes and seas around the world, to gain insights into dealing with risks for wildlife that derive from their interactions with humans.&nbsp;



For example, by using an acoustic tracking system in European rivers, researchers found that downstream-migrating eels (a critically endangered species) and Atlantic salmon change their movement behavior when they encounter dams, which is likely to result in increased energy expenditure and mortality risk.



GPS is another important tracking technology that has been used to track relatively large animals at high resolution. For example, GPS tracking allowed Nathan and his students to reveal that young vultures from the declining population in Israel climb the thermals (rising columns of warm air) much less efficiently than do experienced adult vultures when those thermals are drifted by winds. &nbsp;



Elsewhere, GPS tracking of critically endangered California condors can provide early alerts to avoid collisions with wind turbines in the area, while GPS tracking of albatrosses can help locate vessels fishing illegally in remote ocean areas. All these applications help to uncover the reasons why animal behavior varies and to assist in biodiversity conservation and ecosystem management.



In another fascinating application, GPS tracking provided unique information about the avian flu epidemic that led to the death of thousands of cranes in Israel earlier this winter. This is such recent research that it has not been included in the review article in Science.



“At the first sign of death among a few dozen cranes, a much greater proportion of our GPS-tagged cranes died or were suspected to be infected, given the sudden reduction in their movement and activity. We informed the authorities that a drastic mortality event was coming, as unfortunately did happen, and that urgent measures should be taken,” Nathan explained.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Later, the team was able to trace the fate of infected birds and found that some had eventually recovered. &nbsp;“We now closely watch the data from cranes that winter in Africa to monitor the possible second wave of the outbreak when millions of migrating birds will soon arrive,” Nathan emphasized. &nbsp;



The field of movement ecology is rapidly expanding scientific frontiers, not only through the use of the big-data technologies discussed by Nathan and colleagues, but also through enhanced opportunities for interdisciplinary and collaborative research projects.&nbsp;



“This is also the story of our research,” Nathan explained, referencing a Fish Telemetry workshop in the Czech Republic organized by Professor Ivan Jarić in 2018 that he was invited to attend. “I met a group of excellent researchers with backgrounds, expertise and research subjects quite different from mine.&nbsp; I remember the exact moment that gave birth to our joint project, when I shared my vision for a big-data revolution in movement ecology. &nbsp;Preparing our review together has been a wonderful experience; working together across disciplines is certainly the way to go."



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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

Big-data technologies reveal how animals survive in a changing world

Modern approaches to animal tracking and monitoring are possible due...

The United Nations (UN) declared March 3 as World Wildlife Day in an effort to draw attention to the conservation status of some of the world's most critically endangered plants and animals. Mainstream conservation and awareness campaigns such as World Wildlife Day typically focus on species and populations of wildlife. In this case, an individual is thought of as simply a representative of its kind.&nbsp;



Increasingly, organizations and a minority of scientists have been seeking to change this idea of minimizing individuals for a focus only on species and populations with movements like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/compassionate-conservation-animal-welfare/">compassionate conservation</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<a href="https://www.wildanimalinitiative.org/donate">Wild Animal Initiative</a>, a unique organization, is now seeking to use World Wildlife Day as a way to draw attention to the plight not just of species but also individual animals. The focus is on wild animal welfare research, instead of species survival.&nbsp;



“Wildlife is a term that refers to all wild animals as a whole, and it reflects how a lot of people think about them. They think about them en masse; they think about them in terms of species,” said Michelle Graham, Strategy Director for Wild Animal Initiative. “But considering the unique experience of an individual in the wild, as opposed to the stability of its population size, is the unique perspective a wild animal welfare philosophy offers.”



The approach of wild animal welfare focuses on abundant wildlife and the hardships they face instead of looking only at species that face extinction. This is because abundant animals contribute more to suffering as a whole than a handful of individuals of a rarer species.



“There are trillions of wild animals, and we don't know what all of their lives are like. But we know unpleasant experiences, like struggling to find food and shelter, are likely very common,” Graham said. “There could be things we can do to make their lives better that we don't even know about yet because we never asked.”



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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

World Wildlife Day draws attention to individual animals

The United Nations (UN) declared March 3 as World Wildlife...

Vacation photos of various animals such as zebras or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humpback-whales-travel-thousands-of-miles-to-mate/">whales</a> that tourists post on social media may have an unexpected benefit. According to new research led by the <a href="https://imageomics.osu.edu/team">Imageomics Institute</a> at the Ohio State University (OSU), vacation photos could help scientists track and gather information on endangered species. 



By using artificial intelligence (AI) programs to analyze photos of animals from publicly shared social media posts, researchers can identify and track individuals and better understand the patterns of their movements, as well as larger population trends.



“We have millions of images of endangered and threatened animals taken by scientists, camera traps, drones and even tourists,” said Tanya Berger-Wolf, the director of the&nbsp;<a href="https://tdai.osu.edu/">Translational Data Analytics Institute</a>&nbsp;at OSU. “Those images contain a wealth of data that we can extract and analyze to help protect animals and combat extinction.”



Since one of the biggest challenges that environmentalists currently face is the lack of data on nearly half of the 142,000 species on the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/">IUCN Red List of Threatened Species</a>, the initiative of Dr. Berger-Wolf and her colleagues is a crucial step forward in clarifying the status of a large number of endangered species.



“If we want to save African elephants from extinction, we have to know how many there are in the world, and where they are, and how fast they’re declining,” Dr. Berger-Wolf explained. “We don’t have enough GPS collars and satellite tags to monitor all the elephants and answer those questions. But we can use AI techniques such as machine learning to analyze images of elephants to provide much of the information we need.”



Together with her research team, Dr. Berger-Wolf created a system called&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wildme.org/#/wildbook">Wildbook</a>,&nbsp;which uses computer vision algorithms to analyze photos taken by researchers in the field, as well as tourists on vacation. These highly performant AI algorithms can identify not only species of animals, but also individuals. For instance, Wildbook currently contains over two million photos of about 60,000 uniquely identified whales and dolphins from all over the world.



Besides offering precise information about when and where the images were taken, these photos can help conservation efforts by providing population counts, birth and death dynamics, species range, and details regarding the animals’ patterns of social interaction.&nbsp;



“The ability to extract biological information from images is the foundation of imageomics. We’re teaching machines to see things in images that humans may have missed or can’t see,” Dr. Berger-Wolf concluded.&nbsp;



She recently discussed these advances in using AI to analyze wildlife images in a <a href="https://aaas.confex.com/aaas/2022/meetingapp.cgi/Paper/29573">presentation</a> at the <a href="https://meetings.aaas.org/?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D49172270223902357213481499257602856343%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1645335554&amp;_ga=2.104515776.1389846101.1645260711-2046344334.1629960599">annual meeting</a> of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.



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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

Vacation photos can help save endangered animals

Vacation photos of various animals such as zebras or whales...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/university/">University of Bonn</a>, Germany and <a href="https://www.xjtlu.edu.cn/en/">Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University</a>, China has investigated why some plant species changed pollinators over the course of their evolution. By studying the reproductive system of three sister species pairs, where one species was pollinated by insects and one by <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hummingbirds-can-smell-dangerous-insects/">hummingbirds</a>, the scientists found that birds are much more effective than bees in pollinating plants that are not capable of self-pollination, and are thus dependent on cross-pollination.



Insects - especially <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-american-bumblebee-may-be-on-the-brink-of-extinction/">bees</a> - are the most common pollinators worldwide. However, bees have quite small activity ranges, while other pollinator species, such as hummingbirds, can fly much longer distances.&nbsp;



“It was previously assumed that plants switch their pollinator group from bees to hummingbirds when the activity and thus the pollination efficiency of bees is too low or too unpredictable, for example in the high mountains,” said study lead author Dr. Stefan Abrahamczyk, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.bonn.de/microsite/en/international-profile/international-location/nees-instituteforthebiodiversityofplantsatbonnuniversity.php">Nees Institute for Plant Biodiversity</a> at the University of Bonn.



Surprisingly though, many plants in regions with high bee diversity and abundance have nevertheless switched to hummingbirds, bats, or even ground-dwelling mammals such as mice, honey possums, or lemurs as their pollinators.



In order to understand this phenomenon, Dr. Abrahamczyk and his colleagues analyzed three sister species pairs (new species arising from a common ancestor, but evolving into two different directions because their distribution range was divided by factors such as mountain folding or an ice age). All the examined species emerged from bee-pollinated ancestors and had their habitats in areas characterized by a high diversity and abundance of bees. However, while some were pollinated by bees, their sister species switched to hummingbirds at one point of their evolutionary history.&nbsp;



By using a series of pollination experiments, the scientists found that all the hummingbird-pollinated species had a significantly higher seed set. Moreover, their seeds had much higher germination rates when they resulted from pollination with pollen from another plant individual from the same species.



“From these results, we can conclude that hummingbird pollination evolved in populations of bee-pollinated species that are particularly dependent on cross-pollination, i.e., cannot self-pollinate,” said Dr. Abrahmamczyk.



Since bees often visit all open flowers on one plant before moving to another plant, they mainly encourage self-pollination. By contrast, due to their larger radius of activity compared to bees and their frequent movement between different plants from the same species, hummingbirds are highly efficient in pollinating plants that cannot self-pollinate. Moreover, bees groom extensively during flight and deposit much of the pollen taken from plants in their pollen baskets to feed it to their larvae. Hummingbirds, on the other hand, are not interested in pollen, so they use the entire pollen they collect to fertilize plants.



“These newly gained insights can also be applied to the evolution of other pollination systems, such as bat or moth pollination, in terms of their frequency and efficiency,” concluded Dr. Abrahamczyk.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ece3.8621">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

Bird pollination can be advantageous for plants

A new study led by the University of Bonn, Germany...

A Trump administration rule change left gray wolves throughout the United States without protection. Environmental and wildlife advocacy groups have been fighting this rule change in court as it lingered under the current administration.



On February 10, US District Judge Jeffrey White restored protection to wolves, prohibiting trapping and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hunting-can-help-stabilize-wildlife-populations/">hunting</a> of the canids outside of the northern Rocky Mountain region. The Center for Biological Diversity is calling this a victory for wolves and for the plaintiffs.



“This is a huge win for gray wolves and the many people across the country who care so deeply about them,” said Collette Adkins, carnivore conservation director at the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/">Center for Biological Diversity</a>.&nbsp;



“I hope this ruling finally convinces the Fish and Wildlife Service to abandon its longstanding, misguided efforts to remove federal wolf protections. The agency should work instead to restore these ecologically important top carnivores to places like the southern Rockies and northeastern United States.”



In his 26-page ruling, Judge White wrote that the Service’s analysis relied on two core wolf populations to delist wolves nationally and failed to provide a reasonable interpretation of the ‘significant portion of its range’ standard.



For these reasons, he set aside the delisting of wolves from the Endangered Species Act, restoring protections to gray wolves across regions of the Great Lakes, West Coast, and the southern Rocky Mountains.



“Again and again, we’ve had to take the fight for wolves to the courts,” said Adkins. “I’m relieved that the court set things right but saddened that hundreds of wolves suffered and died under this illegal delisting rule. It will take years to undo the damage done to wolf populations.”



Under the rule change, wolves in the northern Rocky Mountain states of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming aren’t protected. However, concern over new laws enacted in Montana and Idaho that would lead to decimation of local wolves have caused the US Fish &amp; Wildlife Service to determine that protection <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/09/17/2021-20088/endangered-and-threatened-wildlife-and-plants-90-day-finding-for-two-petitions-to-list-the-gray-wolf">might be warranted</a>.&nbsp;



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

Federal protection restored for some gray wolves, but not others

A Trump administration rule change left gray wolves throughout the...

Humpaback,Whales,Playing,In,The,Ocean,In,Juneau,,Alaska

A new study published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2021.0547#d1e1723">Biology Letters</a> has found that some humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) travel extremely long distances in search of mates during their <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-have-a-high-risk-of-disease-due-to-inbreeding/">breeding</a> season. Moreover, while scientists previously presumed that whales which assemble on winter breeding grounds in Mexico and Hawaii are seasonally isolated, the new findings suggest that whales in these two winter assemblies may mix during one winter season.



By analyzing the <a href="https://www.happywhale.com/home">Happywhale</a> database, which includes photos of over 26,000 individual humpback whales taken since 1977, a research team led by <a href="https://whaletrust.org/">Whale Trust</a> in Hawaii found that two distinctive male humpback whales swam thousands of miles in search of partners during their mating season.&nbsp;



While the first whale traveled 2,824 miles (4,545 km) from Maui, Hawaii to the Revillagigedo Archipelago of Mexico between 23 February and 17 April 2006, the other made the opposite journey, travelling 3,693 miles (5,944 km) from Guerrero, Mexico to Maui between 16 February and 5 April 2018. Moreover, both whales have also been spotted in northern feeding grounds off Alaska and Canada during the summer months.



Although on average, humpback whales swim at speeds of around 2.5 mph, to complete their journeys in the time they did, the two males must have been swimming much faster than this.



“Our first reaction was, ‘You've got to be kidding me!’” said study lead author James Darling, a researcher at Whale Trust. “They might just be traveling the ocean like it's their own backyard.”



According to Darling and his colleagues, females may also be making these mammoth journeys. “If the males were out there following females, it would make more sense than them out there by themselves swimming for 40 days sans females during the breeding season,” explained Darling.&nbsp; &nbsp;



Overall, the findings suggest that, contrary to previous opinions, there aren’t distinct humpback whale populations in the north-east Pacific. The sighting of the two males in both Mexico and Hawaii, “combined with other lines of evidence on Mexico–Hawaii mixing, including interchange of individuals year to year, long-term similarity of everchanging songs, one earlier same-season travel record, and detection of humpback whales mid-ocean between these locations in winter, suggests reassessment of the ‘distinctiveness' of these populations may be warranted,” the authors concluded.&nbsp;



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

Humpback whales travel thousands of miles to mate

A new study published in the journal Biology Letters has...

Most apiculture enterprises in Europe make use of honeybees from only a small number of strains. These are the strains that exhibit characteristics making them suitable for beekeeping and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/honeybees-may-be-superspreaders-of-plant-viruses/">honey</a> production. Wild honeybee varieties, in contrast, are left to their own devices. Until recently, it was considered unlikely that any native, wild-living honeybees would be found surviving in Europe at all.&nbsp;



However, a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/biological-conservation">Biological Conservation</a> confirms that in Galicia, NW Spain, the native subspecies Apis mellifera iberiensis is alive and well, and making good use of hollow power poles.&nbsp;



Biologists Benjamin Rutschmann and Patrick Kohl from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) in Bavaria, Germany, were alerted by their colleague, Alejandro Machado, to the presence of swarms of honeybees living inside hollow electricity poles in the Galicia region, and apparently thriving there. The two doctoral students from the JMU Chair of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology started their two-year field study in Galicia, in October 2019, by searching a 136 square kilometer area for bee colonies living in hollow power poles.&nbsp;



“We discovered 214 poles,” said Rutschmann. For each one, the researchers checked if a honeybee colony lived inside. “In the first year of our investigation, we found 29 colonies.” On a second visit in March 2020, they found that 17 of these colonies had survived the winter - “even though they had neither been fed nor treated against parasites.”



Initially, the researchers suspected that the wild-living colonies contained bees that were feral descendants of the foreign strains imported for beekeeping purposes. In Germany, according to Rutschmann, the native honeybee subspecies (Apis mellifera mellifera) was displaced in this way a long time ago by imported subspecies, primarily by the Carnica bee (A. m. carnica).



But by analyzing wing venation patterns the JMU researchers discovered that all the colonies living in the power poles were members of the Iberian honeybee subspecies,&nbsp;Apis mellifera iberiensis. This subspecies has potentially existed alongside honeybees introduced from other areas all along, although its status in the rest of Spain is not known.&nbsp;



"Whether the population under study can be stable in the long term, however, must be shown by further years of observation," said Kohl.



The researchers found that autumn colony densities were at least 0.22 and 0.17 colonies/km² in the study area, and winter survival rates were 59% and 26% for the years 2019 (N&nbsp;=&nbsp;29) and 2020 (N&nbsp;=&nbsp;23), respectively.&nbsp;



“After two years of study and a total of 52 observed bee colonies, we see that around 40 percent of the colonies survive the winter,” said Alejandro Machado, who lives in the region. This is the first data ever reported on the survival rates of wild honeybee colonies in Europe.



According to the study authors, both the initial occurrence and the subsequent winter survival of the colonies were positively correlated with increasing proportions of wood- and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/earth-and-planetary-sciences/shrubland">shrubland</a>&nbsp;in the surroundings in both study years. Bee colonies in power poles surrounded by shrubland, heathland or forests had a better chance of surviving through winter than colonies in poles surrounded by intensively cultivated fields.



For colonies surrounded by more than 50 percent semi-natural habitats, at least every second colony survived the winter. By contrast, in landscapes with less than 25 percent semi-natural habitat, and therefore little supply of food, the probability of survival was close to zero.



These findings highlight the importance of semi-natural habitats for the conservation of wild-living honeybees.



“It was this stark contrast between quasi-nature and agricultural desert that made it possible for us to realize that the landscape context plays such an important role in the survival of honeybees,” said Rutschmann.



The study shows that the presence of near-natural landscape features, such as hedgerows and shrublands is crucial for the conservation of remaining wild honeybee populations. Restoration of these features will be a step towards ensuring that indigenous honeybees survive into the future. &nbsp;



“Without sufficient nesting and feeding habitats, even the banning of pesticides or the halt of climate change will not help insects,” concluded Kohl.



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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

Vegetation helps wild honeybees survive the winter

Most apiculture enterprises in Europe make use of honeybees from...

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?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

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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

[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



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"

[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from NASA...

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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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