Life in the wilds of the Yukon is a relentless test of survival. For the red squirrels that inhabit this territory, danger lurks around every corner - freezing temperatures, scarce resources, and hungry predators. So how do <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/southern-flying-squirrel-spotted-after-more-than-four-decades/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">squirrels</a> manage the traumas? 



Why do some squirrels live longer, healthier lives than others? Scientists are discovering fascinating answers that even have implications for our understanding of human stress and resilience.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-early-traumas-shorter-squirrel-lives">Early traumas, shorter squirrel lives</h2>



Lauren Petrullo, a researcher at the <a href="https://www.arizona.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Arizona</a>, is deeply involved in studying the survival factors of red squirrels. Her recent study highlights a significant finding: young red squirrels that encounter numerous traumas during their first year typically experience a reduction in their adult lifespan. 



Specifically, in the challenging conditions of the Yukon, such early life stress leads to an average lifespan reduction of at least 14 percent. This research underscores the critical impact of early developmental conditions on the longevity of these animals.



"The ecosystem red squirrels inhabit in this region is unique. Every three to seven years, their favorite food – seed from cones of white spruce trees – is produced in superabundance during what we call a food boom," Petrullo said.



"We found that these booms, even though rare, can interrupt the biological embedding of early-life adversity. If a squirrel had a harsh first year of life, if they were lucky enough to experience a food boom in their second year of life, they lived just as long – if not longer – in spite of early-life adversity."&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-is-a-food-boom">What is a food boom?</h2>



A food boom is a sudden and significant increase in the availability of food resources within an animal's environment. There are multiple causes behind food booms. Some food sources experience cyclical booms and busts. For example, trees that produce nuts or seeds might only have huge yields every few years.



Additionally, favorable weather conditions can lead to increased plant growth, insect populations, or other food sources for animals. The removal of a predator or the introduction of a new prey species can disrupt the balance and make more food available for some animals.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-food-boom-benefits">Food boom benefits</h2>



Even with a rough beginning, plentiful food sources can repair damage caused by early-life stress in animals. The research shows that squirrels who had difficult early lives, and later experienced a surge in food availability, had lifespans comparable to (or even exceeding) squirrels who never had to experience hardship. 



This implies that the benefits of a food boom extend beyond simple nutrition. A possible explanation is that abundant food favorably alters the animal's surroundings by decreasing the need for competition and ultimately improving chances of survival.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-study-significance">Study significance</h2>



"Our findings in red squirrels echo what we know about how early-life adversity can shorten adult lifespan in humans and other primates," said Petrullo. 



The main takeaway from this research is the concept of resilience. Similar to squirrels, individuals vary in their ability to cope with the lingering effects of early life trauma. The study proposes that later positive experiences are significant in determining the extent to which early stress affects an individual.



Squirrels are often subjects in laboratory studies due to their physiological similarities to humans. However, Lauren Petrullo emphasizes the value of studying these animals in their natural surroundings. This approach provides a clearer view of how stress, resilience, and environmental factors interact dynamically outside the controlled conditions of a lab.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-climate-change-a-new-challenge-to-squirrel-trauma">Climate change: A new challenge to squirrel trauma</h2>



The survival strategies of red squirrels, particularly their reliance on periodic food booms, have developed to thrive within a specific climatic context. Unfortunately, the escalating issue of global <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-are-squirrels-adapting-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">warming</a> poses a significant threat to these patterns. 



Rising temperatures have the potential to disrupt the timing and abundance of these crucial food booms. If these natural events become less frequent or less predictable, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-affects-ground-squirrels-in-unexpected-ways/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">squirrels</a> that encounter significant challenges early in life may find themselves even more vulnerable to the adverse effects of their harsh environments. This could result in increased mortality rates and impact the overall population stability of the species.



"As food boom patterns begin to change, the pathways that connect early-life experiences and lifespan may change as well, potentially offering important insight into how animals may adapt to increasingly challenging environments," said Petrullo.



This research isn't just about squirrels and their trauma. It's a captivating story about survival, where even in harsh conditions, there's always hope. Just like a lucky food boom can alter a squirrel's fate, our own paths might hold life-changing opportunities. 



As scientists continue to study these resilient creatures, we may not only discover the secrets to their success, but also gain valuable insights to enhance our own well-being.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2023.2681" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences</a>.



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Early trauma cuts life short for squirrels, but this can be reversed

Life in the wilds of the Yukon is a relentless test of survival. For the red squirrels that inhabit this territory, danger lurks around every corner - freezing temperatures, scarce resources, and hungry predators. So how do squirrels manage the traumas? Why do some squirrels live longer, healthier lives than others? Scientists are discovering fascinating answers that even have implications for our understanding of human stress and resilience. Early traumas, shorter squirrel lives Lauren Petrullo, a researcher at the University of Arizona, is deeply involved in studying...

Why giant beavers didn’t survive the last Ice Age. During the last Ice Age, megafauna like giant beavers, mastodons and woolly mammoths, dire wolves and giant ground sloths trampled across North America. 

These behemoths of the Ice Age have long since gone extinct, and researchers are starting to piece together the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-extinction-megafauna/">reasons for their demise</a>. 

One example of an extinct Ice Age giant is the North American beaver, which weighed anywhere between 25 and 75 pounds. These beavers could have measured as tall as an adult human and were three times larger than today’s beavers.

In a new study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-43710-9">Scientific Reports</a>, researchers from <a href="https://www.uwo.ca/">Western University</a> offer a potential answer to why the giant beaver went extinct. 

The theory coincides with the discovery that unlike its modern counterpart, the giant beaver didn’t build dams or eat wood. Instead, the busy forager thrived on aquatic plants in wetland habitats. 

This restricted diet would have limited the beaver’s geographic range, and even though giant beavers and modern beavers lived side-by-side, only one group seemed to adapt to the changing environment at the end of the last Ice Age. 

For the study, the researchers analyzed isotopes in the fossil bones and teeth of giant beavers to figure out what the animals ate.

“We did not find any evidence that the giant beaver cut down trees or ate trees for food,” said Tessa Plint, the lead author of the study.  “Giant beavers were not ‘ecosystem-engineers’ the way that the North American beaver is.”

At the end of the Ice Age, glacial retreat and warmer temperatures dried up wetland habitats that giant beavers relied on.Why giant beavers didn’t survive the last Ice Age 

“The ability to build dams and lodges may have actually given beavers a competitive advantage over giant beavers because it could alter the landscape to create suitable wetland habitat where required. Giant beavers couldn’t do this,” said Fred Longstaffe, a co-author of the study. 

“When you look at the fossil record from the last million years, you repeatedly see regional giant beaver populations disappear with the onset of more arid climatic conditions.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Canadian Museum of Nature

Why giant beavers didn’t survive the last Ice Age

Why giant beavers didn’t survive the last Ice Age. During...

For years, ancient specimens trapped in amber have provided resin-covered snapshots of life on Earth millions of years ago. 

Most of the species and plants found encased in these <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/insects-amber-eggs-hatch/">amber time-capsules</a> are terrestrial, meaning they lived predominantly on land. This makes sense when you think about the wide array of ancient insects that have been described after being discovered in amber samples. 

An unlucky ancient mosquito that perched on a resin-producing tree could easily have found itself stuck and before long completely entombed in amber, only to be unearthed by researchers centuries later. 

Rarely do scientists find marine species or aquatic plants trapped in tree resin, but researchers from <a href="http://english.nigpas.cas.cn/">Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences</a> have discovered the first sea ammonite ever found in amber. 

The find was described in a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 

Trapped among mites, beetles, wasps, and spiders in a piece of 99-million-year-old amber found in northern Myanmar are several marine species including an ammonite, sea snails, and sea slaters. 

Ammonites are ancient marine mollusks closely related to modern nautilus and squids. 

The amber containing this mix of land and sea animals is 33 millimeters long, and 29 millimeters high. Over 40 individual animals were identified in the amber.

[caption id="attachment_1872595" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ammonite.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872595" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Ammonite.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="608" /></a> Different views of the ammonite, Image Credit: NIGPAS[/caption]

X-ray micro-computed tomography was used to create a high-resolution three-dimensional image of the ammonite. 

How exactly the snails and ammonite ended up in the amber represents a mystery. It’s possible that the ammonite and sea snails were located on a sandy beach near resin-producing trees. As the resin flowed down the tree to the ground, it collected all matter of land and beach organisms in its path. 

Regardless of how the ammonite ended up in the amber, the rare find is noteworthy and can help researchers better understand how ancient marine and terrestrial ecosystems interacted. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: NIGPAS

Ancient marine organisms found trapped in amber alongside bugs and snails

For years, ancient specimens trapped in amber have provided resin-covered...

A new study has found that being overly affectionate with our dogs may unwittingly lead to the spread of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antibiotic-resistance-wastewater/">antibiotic-resistant bugs</a>. 

Doggy kisses and cuddles may help strengthen the bonds we have with our pets, but researchers from the <a href="https://www.gcu.ac.uk/">Glasgow Caledonian University</a> warn that these displays could spread drug-resistant bacteria through saliva. 

Unfortunately, the researchers acknowledge that behaviors such as cuddling and allowing our dogs to lick our faces are a deeply ingrained part of pet ownership that people are unlikely to stop doing anytime soon. 

The study was published in the journal Behavioral Medicine.

“This close contact could potentially put adults, children and the pets themselves at risk of transferring bugs that are resistant to antibiotics through saliva,” said Adele Dickson, a psychologist who led the study. “I would also advise any open wounds be covered so there’s no risk of transferring anything from skin to skin.”

Dickinson and a team of researchers interviewed 35 dog owners. The dogs in the study had all been treated with antibiotics and many unnecessarily so. 

Vets may be too quick to hand out antibiotics and owners are asking for antibiotics even if their pet doesn’t need them. 

As with humans, misuse and overprescribing of antibiotics in pets can lead to antibiotic resistance which can spread to humans through contact. 

“The biggest take-home message to pet owners from this study is to think twice about whether your pet, you, your children or other family members actually need antibiotics,” said Dickinson. “Many pet owners told us they felt a sense of guardianship and protection towards their pet when it became ill and they would specifically ask for antibiotics to reassure themselves that they were helping but it’s actually doing more harm than good if they are not necessary.” 

To reduce the risk of spreading antibiotic resistance, the researchers recommend that pet owners and vets carefully consider using antibiotics and avoid coming in contact with their dog's saliva as much as possible.

Dickinson is quick to point out that the study results do not call for completely ceasing all contact with pets. 

“I know how important that affectionate relationship between the owner and their pet is to both mental and physical health and well-being,” Dickinson said. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com </a>Staff Writer

Drug-resistant bugs could be spread through contact with pets

A new study has found that being overly affectionate with...

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.port.ac.uk/">University of Portsmouth</a> and <a href="http://portsmouthnaturalhistory.co.uk/">Natural History Museum</a> have discovered that a species of rail was able to successfully colonize the Aldabra atoll in the Indian Ocean. This means that the species, at one point, went <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/robot-save-northern-white-rhino/">extinct</a> and then rose from the dead. 

The scientists explain that this occurred due to a process called “iterative evolution,” defined as the repeated evolution of similar or parallel species from a like ancestor but at different times.

These findings were published in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean">Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society</a>.

On both occasions of colonization, which occurred tens of thousands of years apart, the white-throated rail, still present on Aldabra today, evolved to become flightless.

"We know of no other example in rails, or of birds in general, that demonstrates [iterative evolution] so evidently,” said coauthor Professor David Martill, from the university’s <a href="http://www2.port.ac.uk/school-of-earth-and-environmental-sciences/">School of Earth and Environmental Sciences</a>. 

The white-throated rail originated in Madagascar and attempted to migrate several times. However, the bird only successfully landed on remote islands such as Mauritius, Reunion and Aldabra in the Indian Ocean. Thanks to the lack of predators on Aldabra, the rails eventually evolved into flightless birds.

About 136,000 years ago, Aldabra was submerged under water, thus losing all of its major flora and fauna, including the rail.

Archaeologists discovered that flightless rails recolonized Aldabra when sea levels returned to normal after the subsequent ice age about 100,000 years ago. When comparing fossilized rails from before the inundation event to those that came after, scientists found that the latter species showed an advanced state of flightlessness, which means that the original rail species from Madagascar gave rise to two different flightless rail species on Aldabra within a few thousand years of each other.

"These unique fossils provide irrefutable evidence that a member of the rail family colonized the atoll, most likely from Madagascar, and became flightless independently on each occasion,” said lead researcher Dr. Julian Hume, an avian paleontologist and Research Associate at the Natural History Museum. “Fossil evidence presented here is unique for rails, and epitomizes the ability of these birds to successfully colonize isolated islands and evolve flightlessness on multiple occasions."

“Only on Aldabra, which has the oldest palaeontological record of any oceanic island within the Indian Ocean region, is fossil evidence available that demonstrates the effects of changing sea levels on extinction and recolonization events,” Professor Martill added. "Conditions were such on Aldabra, the most important being the absence of terrestrial predators and competing mammals, that a rail was able to evolve flightlessness independently on each occasion."

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Charles J Sharp

How a previously extinct bird has come back to life

Researchers from the University of Portsmouth and Natural History Museum...

A fossil belonging to a newly discovered species of dinosaur dating back to the upper Jurassic period 136 million years ago is helping shed insight on the evolution of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/dinosaurs-flapping-wings-fly/">dinosaurs</a> and birds. 

The fossil, classified as a theropod, was discovered in the Liaoning province in China, and the researchers behind the find say that the animal had thin bat-like membranous wings. 

This isn’t the first theropod fossil to be suspected of having bat-like qualities in China, but the find does help illustrate how dinosaurs experimented with different wing structures. 

“Whereas the early fossil records of pterosaurs and bats are sparse, mounting evidence (primarily from China) of feathered non-avian dinosaurs and stemward avians that derive primarily from the Middle–Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous periods has enabled the slow piecing together of the origins of avian flight,” the researchers wrote in a study published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-019-1137-z">Nature</a>. 

The new species was named Ambopteryx longibrachium and was a member of a group of tree climbing dinosaurs called scansoriopterygidae. 

The fossil is about the size of a magpie bird with long pointed wrist bones, and it’s this feature that suggests the bone was connected to a membranous wing, enabling it to fly or glide from tree to tree. 

Trees would have been where Ambopteryx longibrachium would have spent most of its time, although the bird-like reptile could have soared down to the ground to catch prey. 

Although it was previously believed that theropods only ate plants, the researchers say that it’s very likely that the new species was omnivorous and could have easily snatched up frogs and rats. 

The research helps shed light on the evolution of flight, and membranous wings may have represented a brief moment of evolutionary experimentation before the emergence of feathered wings. 

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Min Wang

Newly discovered species of dinosaur had bat-like wings

A fossil belonging to a newly discovered species of dinosaur...

Mosquitoes are less attracted to humans after they’ve eaten sugar. According to researchers Jessica Dittmer and Paolo Gabrieli from the <a href="http://www.unipv.eu/site/home.html">Università degli Studi di Pavia</a>, when mosquitoes are fed sugar, they are less attracted to humans. This response is regulated by a protein called vitellogenin, an egg yolk precursor protein. 

"In this context, our research team focused on the molecular mechanisms that control the mosquito host-seeking behaviour, that is the mechanisms that affect the attraction to human host," Dr. Gabrieli said. Mosquitoes are less attracted to humans after they’ve eaten sugar

Dittmer, Gabrieli, and their colleagues fed sugar solutions to young female tiger <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/genetically-modified-mosquitoes-malaria/">mosquitoes</a> and realized it reduced their attraction to humans. Female mosquitoes usually need to feed on blood (or plant nectar/sap) to provide energy and nutrients to their young. However, by intentionally feeding female mosquitoes sugar solutions, the mosquitoes feel energized and do not need to find a host.

Via transcriptome sequencing, the researchers found a number of gene expression changes connected to the reduction in host-seeking behavior. One such gene to be affected (out of at least 23 genes) was the vitellogenin gene Vg-2, known to contribute to ovary development. When the team experimented with RNA interference to knock down the Vg-2 gene, expression was restored and the mosquitoes returned to seeking a host, thus confirming Vg-2’s role in regulating feeding behavior and attraction.

This new understanding of lessening attraction to humans could provide new strategies for diminishing and preventing mosquito-borne diseases. Manipulation of the Vg-2 gene could eradicate fatal diseases like Malaria, Dengue fever and Zika virus.

"If we can alter these pathways, reducing the motivation of the mosquitoes to bite humans, we would reduce the dimension of the mosquito population and, in turn, the transmission of the diseases,” Dr. Gabrieli concluded.

Their findings are published in<a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/"> PLOS Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mosquitoes are less attracted to humans after they’ve eaten sugar

Mosquitoes are less attracted to humans after they’ve eaten sugar....

In the 33 years since the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explosion, the exclusion zone that spans a little over 1,000 square miles has become a wildlife refuge home to bison, bears, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/radioactive-chernobyl-wolves/">wolves</a> and dense vegetation. 

When the Chernobyl explosion occurred in 1986, the surrounding cities were immediately evacuated as clean up crews began their work. Chernobyl released more than 400 times more radiation than what was released during the Hiroshima atomic bomb drop, and over 350,000 people had to leave everything and evacuate. 

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/exposure-radiation-astronaut-lives/">radiation</a> levels were so high after the explosion that forests near the plant died, as did most of the surrounding wildlife. Human fatalities were also high, but there are no exact figures of how many people were killed or injured in the aftermath. 

It was long thought that the exclusion zone would remain a desolate and barren wasteland given how long it takes for radiation to decompose and break down. 

However, this has been far from the case. A recent feature in <a href="https://theconversation.com/chernobyl-has-become-a-refuge-for-wildlife-33-years-after-the-nuclear-accident-116303">The Conversation</a> examines not only the transformation of the exclusion zone from wasteland to wildlife refuge but also how important the region is for research. 

Germán Orizaola, one of the many researchers currently studying Chernobyl wildlife, explains in his article that the Chernobyl exclusion zone is home to home horses, bears, bison, wolves and more than 200 species of birds. 

In March of this year, Orizaola along with 33 other Chernobyl wildlife researchers met in England to discuss and present their work which highlights the rich biodiversity found in the exclusion zone. 

The researchers have also found few long-lasting negative impacts from the explosion and subsequent radiation exposure. Some insects have shorter lifespans and show a higher susceptibility to parasites but for the most part, animal populations are stable, according to the researchers.

[caption id="attachment_1872438" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/chernobyl.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872438" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/chernobyl.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="345" /></a> Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, Image Credit: Podorojniy/Shutterstock[/caption]

Orizaola personally studies the amphibians in the exclusion zone and has recorded large populations of frogs across the region, even in areas with higher amounts of radiation. 

“Furthermore, we have also found signs that could represent adaptive responses to life with radiation,” Orizaola writes. “For instance, frogs within the exclusion zone are darker than frogs living outside it, which is a possible defence against radiation.”

The lack of negative impacts indicates that wildlife may be more resistant to radiation or that animals in the area quickly adapted to their new environment. 

“Over the years, Chernobyl has also become an excellent natural laboratory for the study of evolutionary processes in extreme environments, something that could prove valuable given the rapid environmental changes experienced worldwide,” writes Orizaola. 

Orizaola also discusses the importance of preserving the wildlife refuge amidst growing interest in tourism and development in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Chernobyl’s exclusion zone is now a wildlife refuge and biodiversity hotspot

In the 33 years since the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant...

Climate change has created the perfect conditions for a severe disease to quickly <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tick-mosquito-borne-disease-spreading/">spread</a> and infect frogs in the UK. 

Frogs now face an increased risk of being infected with the Ranavirus, and the disease could soon spread well beyond its typical geographical range, according to a new study published in the journal Global Change Biology. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.zsl.org/">Zoological Society of London</a> (ZSL), <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College London,</a> and <a href="https://www.qmul.ac.uk/">Queen Mary University</a> conducted the study which illustrates how climate change is impacting local ecosystems. 

“Climate change isn’t something that’s just happening in faraway places - it’s something real and present that’s already had hard-to-predict impacts on wildlife in our own back gardens here in the UK,” said Dr. Stephen Price, the lead author of the study. 

For the study, the researchers analyzed cell cultures, examined live frog specimens, and reviewed data from temperature records and the <a href="https://frogdisease.weebly.com/blog/the-frog-mortality-dataset">Frog Mortality Project.</a>

Increases in temperatures over the years match an increase both the spread of the disease and mass mortality events. 

The researchers found that when temperatures reach 60 degrees Fahrenheit, the risk of infection significantly increases.

[caption id="attachment_1872446" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/frog-pond.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1872446" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/frog-pond.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="576" /></a> Image Credit: Bob Clayden[/caption]

“A number of scientists have already alluded to the fact that climate change could increase the spread of disease, but this is one of the first studies that provides strong evidence of the impact of climate change on wildlife disease, and helps to explain how it may facilitate the spread of Ranavirus across the UK,” said Price. 

The results of the study explain why disease outbreaks are more common in the hot summer months, and if climate change trends continue, the researchers project an increase in outbreaks in the spring and fall. 

The team also warns that the virus could spread to other parts of the UK whereas now it is typically only found in England. 

If the frogs can keep cool during warm sunny days, the researchers say that the frogs may be able to cope better with the disease. 

“Many studies in amphibian disease cannot do much beyond saying ‘we have a problem,’” said  Professor Trenton Garner from the ZSL’s Institute of Zoology said: “This research offers a number of options for mitigation; however, this is only a short-term solution of course - if we don’t eventually slow and reverse human-driven climate change, we unfortunately can only expect things to get worse for our amphibians.”

--

By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Main Image Credit: Greg Hitchock

Climate change is increasing the spread of infectious disease among frogs

Climate change has created the perfect conditions for a severe...

“I have need of the sky/I have business with the grass/I will up and get me away where the hawk is wheeling/Lone and high/And the slow clouds go by...”
-”Spring,” Richard Hovey
In the popular imagination, there are birds that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bird-flocks-social-relationships/">flock</a> and those that don’t. Gulls, sparrows, pigeons, even penguins fall into the former category. In the latter: woodpeckers, owls, and most of the raptors. While these rough distinctions are broadly accurate, as with any human-made categories there are exceptions. 

Most species of raptor are indeed solitary, only pairing off for the breeding season and spending the rest of the year on their own. Though migratory species often aggregate to spectacular effect—see for example the “river of raptors” pouring through Veracruz, Mexico each winter—they aren’t necessarily social in way of a sparrow or gull. Of course, they interact, but their assembly is more a function of heading in the same direction than it is of dependence.

However, a number of hawks and falcons do in fact form complex social groups. The Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae), atypically, gathers to breed in enormous colonies on sea cliffs. Some, like the striated caracara (Phalcoboenus australis) of South America, appear to flock as a means of locating food. Others, like the Harris’s hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus), actually cooperate in raising young in groups of up to seven birds. In this way, they are similar to the least glamorous of the raptors, the vultures, who, as everyone knows, ride the thermals in their aerial surveys for carrion and descend en masse when they find it. Even some species of eagle gather around easy sources of food in the winter and at that time evince a loose and informal social hierarchy. 

The Harris’s hawk—named for Edward Harris, a farmer who sponsored some of John James Audubon’s work —provides perhaps the most spectacular example of social behavior in raptors. This species forms fluid, multi-generational groups that not only participate in rearing offspring but actually hunt cooperatively, giving them the nickname “wolves of the sky.” 

Groups are usually <a href="https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/276864/azu_td_1335676_sip1_m.pdf?sequence=1">made up of parents and their fledged offspring</a> but may also include unrelated birds. The group composition is fluid, with members from up to three neighboring groups participating. This social tendency makes them among the few raptors that actually form affectionate relationships with falconers; other birds used in falconry do not share their tendency toward sociality and thus have no impulse toward this type of bonding behavior.

Harris’s hawks displays a number of fascinating behaviors that demonstrate the sophistication of its social structure. Among the most striking is its propensity for forming towers. The birds literally climb on top each other while perched on already precipitous vantage points, presumably to gain better views of the surrounding terrain. From atop cacti and mesquite trees in the southwestern United States—Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona—and Central and South America, these birds scout out rodents and other small animals including birds and reptiles and descend en masse in pursuit. 

This can be risky in the urban environments that the species increasingly inhabits. Electrical power lines seem like a perfect spot from which to survey the area, but can electrocute the birds unless they are properly modified. The birds also soar, gaining an even more expansive perspective. This combination of habits is reflected in their genus name, Parabuteo. Like buteos, a group that included the well-known red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), they ride the air currents and like accipiters such as goshawks (Accipiter gentilis), they cruise deftly through narrow channels in the vegetation. Thus: Parabuteo, or near-buteo.

Once a potential meal is spotted, the whole group gets in on the action. Using the advantage of their aerial perspectives, they will flush their prey, cutting off its escape routes from multiple angles until it is cornered. The species has <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2018.1036">exquisitely tuned color vision</a> per a 2018 study, undoubtedly an advantage in a monochrome desert habitat. Unlike many other raptors, they have no compunction about chasing meals on foot if the brush gets too dense for an aerial attack. Their long legs are perfectly adapted to stalking, an evolutionary echo of their probable ancestors, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/jurassic-park-may-have-been-rightsome-dinosaurs-hunted-packs-180953831/">the theropod dinosaurs</a>. Cooperative hunting allows the hawks to share the energy expended on capturing prey, as it does for mammalian social hunters such as lions and wolves. Typically, the <a href="https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/276864/azu_td_1335676_sip1_m.pdf?sequence=1">dominant animals eat first</a>, sometimes at the site of the kill and sometimes at the nest. 

While the actual parents are more likely to brood the eggs and feed the young, subordinates may also take on some of these duties, giving them a break. This strategy sometimes allows Harris’s hawks to raise as many as three broods in a season, unusual for raptors. 

A handful of other raptors pursue a social lifestyle. The Eleonora’s falcon (Falco eleonorae) breeds on Mediterranean coasts and islands in groups of up to 300.

The species converges on isolated islands in the spring and breeds on cliffsides then disperses to Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands along the East African coast. Though occasionally seabirds such as Cory’s shearwaters (<a href="https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Calonectris_diomedea/">Calonectris diomedea</a>) nest among the Eleonora’s pairs, the species is known to run off other interlopers such as gulls. From their coastal perches, they swoop down on migrating passerines and other birds as they wing their exhausted way across the Mediterranean. The remains of these tattered pilgrims are stuffed into the gullets of the next generation of falcons. 

Most other falcon species defend fairly large territories in pairs. While their colonial breeding habits are highly atypical, they do not otherwise appear to cooperate in any meaningful way. Pairs each raise their own young. 

Another species, the African pygmy falcon (Polihierax semitorquatus), is sometimes polyandrous. These tiny falcons, which live in the spare rooms of sociable weaver (Philetairus socius) nests, will sometimes form avian thrupples, with two males supporting one female and helping to care for the young. This may be an adaptation to reduced nesting sites and to colder temperatures. 

This type of partnership is <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00170712">standard for the Galapagos hawk</a> (Buteo galapagoensis). As many as eight males may assist one female in raising a brood.

The striated caracara of the Falkland Islands and Tierra del Fuego gathers in enormous groups and functions <a href="http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/611/dwyer_and_cockwell_2011_falkland_raptors.pdf">much like the turkey vultures (Cathartes aura)</a> with which it shares its territory and competes for food. Though the species takes live seabirds, especially young and eggs, it is particularly fond of carrion and will aggregate to feast on carcasses. Until the mid-20th century, eradication campaigns threatened the striated caracara due to its proclivity for making short work of vulnerable newborn lambs in coordinated group attacks.

In vultures, unlike other raptors, sociality is the norm rather than the exception. These scavengers frequently rely on social cues in order to locate carrion and, once at the carcass, observe a complex hierarchy that determines who feeds first. A turkey vulture raised in captivity and later released <a href="https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/vulture">even guided wild vultures</a> back to the San Diego Zoo, where it was raised, in hopes of sharing with them the food it was accustomed to receiving there. 

Occasionally, normally monogamous species also engage in cooperative behavior: over a period of several years, a pair of bald eagles nesting on the Mississippi River <a href="https://www.audubon.org/news/a-rare-bald-eagle-trio-two-dads-and-mom-captivates-webcam-fans">opened up their relationship to include another male</a>. The original male had done a poor job of assisting his mate in raising their young, but the addition of a second male to the equation resulted in successful fledging of several young, even after the probable death of the female. Such instances as this one—<a href="http://stewardsumrr.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/Garcelon_etal_1995_baldeagle.pdf">which is not unprecedented</a>—testify to the behavioral flexibility of these highly intelligent birds.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Main Image Credit: Liam Quinn/Flickr

Come together: Raptors aren't always loners

“I have need of the sky/I have business with the...

A new study has revealed that biodiversity hotspots emerge on the desolate Antarctic peninsula wherever penguins and seals poop. The nutrients in the excrement were found to enrich the soil as far as 1,000 meters away from the colonies. 

In the extreme <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sea-spiders-antarctica/">Antarctic</a> conditions, the researchers maneuvered through fields of animal waste to examine the soils and plants surrounding the seal and penguin colonies. 

Study co-author Stef Bokhorst is a researcher in the Department of Ecological Sciences at <a href="https://www.vu.nl/en">Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam</a>.

“What we see is that the poo produced by seals and penguins partly evaporates as ammonia,” said Bokhorst. “Then, the ammonia gets picked up by the wind and is blown inland, and this makes its way into the soil and provides the nitrogen that primary producers need in order to survive in this landscape.”

The team discovered that this process allows ammonia to enrich an area up to 240 times the size of the colony. As a result, a thriving community of mosses and lichens emerges and supports a large number of small invertebrates, including springtails and mites. 

“You can find millions of them per square meter here, but in grasslands in the US or Europe, there are only about 50,000 to 100,000 per square meter,” said Bokhorst. “It took months and months of sitting in the lab counting and IDing them under a microscope.”

The researchers were surprised to find that the extent of a colony's footprint was not largely affected by how cold or dry the region was. This footprint was much more strongly linked to the number of animals present. This insight allowed the team to map biodiversity hotspots across the peninsula, which can be easily updated using satellite images without the need for rigorous fieldwork in the future. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Antarctic biodiversity thrives in areas where seals and penguins poop

A new study has revealed that biodiversity hotspots emerge on...

A necropsy of a dead gray whale that washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area on Monday has revealed that the whale was likely struck by a ship. 

The beaching marks the ninth dead gray whale discovered in the area in just a matter of weeks. 

Usually, around five to ten gray whales wash ashore in San Francisco throughout the year, but this year has seen an alarming and frequent number of whales washing ashore since March.

The <a href="http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/">Marine Mammal Center</a> conducted the whale necropsy, a task made all the more challenging by the fact that the whale beached on its stomach. 

“Which is difficult for us, because normally when a whale floats in, it ends up on its back,” Dr. Padraig Duignan, the Marine Mammal Center’s chief pathologist, told<a href="https://abc7news.com/pets-animals/necropsy-ship-strike-may-have-caused-gray-whales-death-near-ocean-beach/5289152/"> ABC7</a>. “It gives us easy access to the abdominal cavity.” 

The injuries the whale sustained indicate that it was killed after being struck by a ship which is not uncommon for the area. Three previous whales that washed ashore in San Francisco this year were also struck by boats. 

Four of the nine whales died from malnutrition, and one’s cause of death has yet to be determined. 

The increase in malnourished whales washing ashore point to worrying climate change trends that are warming up marine habitats and impacting <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/antarctic-krill-numbers-food-web/">krill</a>, the whale’s primary food source. 

The necropsy was completed on Tuesday of this week, and the Marine Mammal Center will share the results with other marine research and government agencies as well as shipping companies. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a><a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

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An unusually high number of whales have washed ashore in San Francisco

A necropsy of a dead gray whale that washed ashore...

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) refers to the area of land that runs across the Korean Peninsula and serves as a buffer between North Korea and South Korea. The strip of land measures 160 miles long and 2.5 miles wide, dividing the peninsula in half.

<a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/28/asia-pacific/politics-diplomacy-asia-pacific/jilted-bride-south-korea-marks-peace-summit-north-stays-aloof/#.XMXZNIplChA">Japan Times</a> reports of a recent ceremony where a few select hikers from South Korea were invited to enjoy a hike along the ‘peace trail’ just outside the DMZ, where civilians have limited access.  The trail passed through forest below a mountain peak. Despite the hikers and music played at the celebration of peace, there was an overshadowing absence. Despite being invited, no one from North Korea showed up at the ceremony.  Yet any peace process, especially one involving a nation like North Korea, is bound to have its ups and downs. 

In the wake of recent talks Kim Jong Un has held with both U.S. president Donald Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-russia-kcna/north-korean-leader-warns-of-a-return-to-tension-blames-u-s-bad-faith-idUSKCN1S12QH">Reuters</a> reports that Un warned of the potential return of a state of hostility in the Korean Peninsula.  

<a href="https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/north-korea/2019-03-14/next-stage-korean-peace-process">Foreign Affairs</a> reports that even after negotiations between Trump and Kim Jong Un ended early in Hanoi without an agreement, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/china-south-korea-artificial-rain-pollution/">South Korean</a> officials remained optimistic.  Both Kim Jong Un and Donald Trump showed unusual amounts of restraint and there was no return to antagonistic military operations. It seems that for the time being, North Korea has at least kept dialogue open with the US and the rest of the world.  Many feel that sanctions are slowly working. Peace through the whole Korean Peninsula or at least denuclearization still seems like a viable possibility in the not too distant future. After all, there have been some hopeful signs, like North Korea detonating some of its front line guard posts along the DMZ, as <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/International/north-korea-detonates-dmz-guard-posts-southern-border/story?id=59314370">ABC News</a> reported.  

Peace would of course be a wonderful thing, but changing the DMZ might have some negative consequences as well.

As hikers walking along the ‘Peace Trail’ suggest, much of the area inside and just outside of the DMZ is relatively undisturbed nature.  The undisturbed aspect of the area goes far beyond what a typical national park might be like, as there are no real hiking trails, no roads, no campgrounds.  Instead, wild animals and plants live with almost no disturbance from humans. 

The Korean DMZ expands one mile in each direction from the official border between North and South Korea.  Before the Korean War, much of the DMZ was agricultural land but now has been left untouched for 65 years, during which time wild ecosystems have rebounded.  Surrounded by razor wire and armed soldiers, the DMZ has been cut off and developed into a world of its own.    

Covering landscape ranging from mountains to low wetlands, the DMZ has become a haven for rare wildlife, including globally declining red-crowned and white-napped cranes, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/wildlife-thrives-dmz-korea-risk-location-180967842/">Smithsonian</a> reports.  The DMZ hosts five rivers and a few mountains.  In fact, according to the South Korean <a href="http://eng.me.go.kr/eng/web/index.do?menuId=397">Ministry of the Environment</a>, there are 5,097 species now living in the DMZ, including 106 protected species.  

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/13/wildlife-thriving-korean-demilitarised-zone">The Guardian</a> reported that there are roughly 45 species of reptiles and amphibians, almost 100 species of fish, and possibly 1000 insect species living in the DMZ.  There have even been reports of tigers, an animal thought extinct in Korea prior to Japanese occupation. Some of these species might soon be threatened, perversely, by the specter of peace between nations.  

<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/apr/13/wildlife-thriving-korean-demilitarised-zone">The Guardian</a> reports that decades of conflict and increased industrialization have quickly and radically changed the face of Korea.  <a href="http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/main_pop/kpct/kp_koreaimperialism.htm">Japanese colonial rule</a> of Korea from 1910 to 1945 was heavy handed and oppressive.  The rule of Japan also brought with it increased urban growth along with an increase in mineral extraction and deforestation.  With this came not only economic growth but also environmental degradation, pollution, and erosion of mountains. The Korean War following this period only made the situation worse, spreading destruction across both rural and urban environments.  

Through the 1960s and 70s, increased industrialization caused more environmental destruction.  The DMZ is one last piece of rewilded land left to Korea. 

According to the Korean <a href="http://eng.me.go.kr/eng/web/index.do?menuId=397">Ministry of the Environment</a>, the possibility of peace has already brought with it calls for the development of the DMZ.  The ministry has its own plans for the DMZ. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/south-korea-dmz-eco-park/index.html">CNN Travel</a> reports that South Korea is pushing for a ‘Peace Park’ in the DMZ.  The proposal was made at least as far back as 2013, and later announced at an international meeting for wetlands taking place in Switzerland.  For its part, North Korea has rejected the proposed ‘Peace Park’ dismissing the idea as a plan to make money off of tourism.

There is an amount of truth to the sentiments of making money from tourism.  The DMZ is a haven for wildlife, particularly because it excludes humans, not because it invites them in to take a walk.  With many parks in the world raising the issue of a landscape being loved to death, it’s hard to see how a park in the DMZ would be anything more than a compromise.  Animals that become used to humans may be easier prey to their natural predators. It can also make them easier targets for poachers. Inevitable development of parks including roads and hiking trails fragment and disrupt the natural habitat.  More pollution, more human noise and light are all likely to be impacts of a park. Even wildlife research can disrupt animals. 

It’s hard to say what the total impact of turning an area that excludes humans into an inviting tourist destination will be in the long run.  For the moment, it’s a good thing that even in a heavily controlled region, there’s a ribbon of habitat with no human control at all. 

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer    

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Plans for the Korean Demilitarized Zone are a mixed blessing for wildlife

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) refers to the area of...

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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

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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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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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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