A new executive order aimed at deregulating the U.S. seafood industry is raising red flags among scientists and policy experts. While the order claims to boost competitiveness and cut red tape, critics warn it could do more harm than good - weakening the very systems that protect seafood sustainability.



Scientists from <a href="https://www.ucsb.edu/">UC Santa Barbara</a> and the University of Washington outlined their concerns in a recent paper. They argue that the executive order misses the mark, prioritizing short-term gains over long-term stability.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-inside-the-seafood-deregulation-order">Inside the seafood deregulation order</h2>



Signed in April 2025, the order - titled “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness” - claims that U.S. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/the-seafood-industry-has-been-hit-hard-by-the-covid-19-pandemic/">seafood markets</a> are held back by overregulation and unfair trade practices. It calls for reducing regulatory burdens, eliminating unsafe imports, and strengthening the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seafood-spoilage-hidden-dangers-in-the-cold-chain/">seafood supply chain</a>.



However, the researchers say the plan is moving too fast and with too little support. They describe it as a policy that risks unraveling decades of scientific progress.



“(It’s) a significant escalation in undoing federal regulatory frameworks, weakening scientific authority and deemphasizing aquaculture development,” said Halley Froehlich of UC Santa Barbara and Jessica Gephart of the University of Washington.



“Instead of reform, it’s dismantling regulations in a very short amount of time,” added Froehlich, the paper’s lead author.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-noaa-s-role-under-threat">NOAA’s role under threat</h2>



The scientists point to cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a major concern. NOAA oversees roughly 500 commercial fishery stocks in the U.S. It plays a key role in managing, monitoring, and protecting marine resources.



Under the new directive, NOAA faces budget cuts, staff reductions, and tighter controls on communication. That’s a serious blow to its ability to coordinate sustainable fishing, especially across regions where fish migrate between countries.



“It’s quite problematic because NOAA is so central to how we manage our <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bleaching-effect-coral-loss-threatens-fisheries-and-livelihoods/">fisheries</a>,” Froehlich said. “Data collection, monitoring, oversight, you name it, NOAA is part of that, and a really important part.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-plan-ignores-the-ocean-s-limits">The plan ignores the ocean’s limits</h2>



The executive order is supposed to help boost domestic seafood production. But the researchers argue that the ocean has limits - and we’re already close to reaching them.



“We are not going to get more out of the ocean,” Froehlich said. “We’re already near ‘peak fish,’ meaning maintenance and recovery of our stocks.”



Wild fisheries - both in the U.S. and globally - are already producing at or near their maximum sustainable levels. That leaves <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/aquaculture-now-produces-more-food-than-wild-fishing/">aquaculture</a> as the only real path for growth. 



However, the new order gives little attention to farmed seafood and offers even less support to the agencies that regulate it. The scientists call it a mismatch between promises and practical outcomes.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cutting-data-cutting-capacity">Cutting data, cutting capacity</h2>



One of the most troubling issues is the potential loss of data. The researchers warn that NOAA’s online databases, climate research, and monitoring tools may be defunded or decommissioned.



Without this data, managing fisheries becomes guesswork. It also makes it harder to prepare for climate-driven shifts in marine ecosystems.



“Without the data, expertise and capacity to study and understand these systems we run the risk of fishery collapses becoming more common and long-lasting,” the authors wrote.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trade-conflicts-and-mismatched-markets">Trade conflicts and mismatched markets</h2>



The executive order also makes assumptions about seafood markets that don’t align with reality. 



Much of the seafood farmed in the U.S. isn’t what consumers demand most. And a large portion of seafood caught in U.S. waters is processed overseas before being sold back into the domestic market.



If tariffs are imposed on imported or foreign-processed seafood, prices for high-demand products like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrimp-crisis-alarming-virus-threatens-global-seafood-supplies/">shrimp</a> could rise sharply. Right now, only about 10% of shrimp eaten in the U.S. comes from domestic sources.



“In disrupting the market dynamics we do have, especially with trade wars with our trading partners, it’s likely that we’re going to have the opposite effect of creating opportunity long-term,” Froehlich said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-an-alternative-to-seafood-deregulation">An alternative to seafood deregulation </h2>



The paper was submitted as evidence in a recent hearing by the House Natural Resources Committee’s Water, Wildlife and Fisheries Subcommittee. The scientists hope their findings will influence how Congress approaches <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/seafood-will-help-feed-earths-future-population-of-10-billion/">seafood policy</a> moving forward.



“When it comes to any shifts in production, these high levels of uncertainty are not a beneficial thing to happen for the sector,” Froehlich said.



While deregulation may sound appealing to some, the authors argue that a stable, well-regulated system - backed by science and data - is what actually keeps seafood both sustainable and competitive. In their view, cutting corners now could cost the industry far more in the future.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308597X25002106">Marine Policy</a>.



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Why seafood deregulation may hurt more than help

A new executive order aimed at deregulating the U.S. seafood industry is raising red flags among scientists and policy experts. While the order claims to boost competitiveness and cut red tape, critics warn it could do more harm than good - weakening the very systems that protect seafood sustainability. Scientists from UC Santa Barbara and the University of Washington outlined their concerns in a recent paper. They argue that the executive order misses the mark, prioritizing short-term gains over long-term stability. Inside the seafood deregulation order Signed...

Researchers at <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/">Texas A&amp;M University</a> have discovered how sea otters keep warm in freezing cold waters. The experts report that these small <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shark-denticles-reveal-human-impacts-over-centuries/">mammals</a> can heat their bodies up internally using extra energy produced by their skeletal muscle, which ramps up their metabolic rate.

While scientists have known for years that sea otters depend on their high metabolism to generate the heat they need to survive, no one knew how they were producing this heat.

The researchers found that the muscles of sea otters' muscles have enough leak respiration, or leftover energy, to account for their high metabolic rate. This breakthrough explains how sea otters survive in cold water.

For the investigation, the team collected skeletal muscle samples from both northern and southern sea otters of varying ages and body masses. By measuring respiratory capacity, the experts determined that the sea otter muscles produce more energy than what is needed for movement.

Study co-author Professor Tray Wright is a physiologist and researcher in Texas A&amp;M's College of Education &amp; Human Development.

"You mostly think of muscle as doing work to move the body," said Professor Wright. "When muscles are active, the energy they use for movement also generates heat."

Professor Wright explained that because muscle makes up a large portion of body mass, often 40-50 percent in mammals, it can warm the body up quickly when it is active.

"Muscles can also generate heat without doing work to move by using a metabolic short circuit known as leak respiration."

Shivering is one form of muscle-generated heat through involuntary movement. Professor Wright said that shivering allows the body to activate muscle by contracting to generate heat, while leak respiration can do the same without the tremors.

The researchers were surprised to find that the muscle of even newborn sea otters had a metabolic rate that was just as high as the adults.

"This really highlights how heat production seems to be the driving factor in determining the metabolic ability of muscle in these animals," said Professor Wright.

Living in freezing cold water requires a lot of energy. Sea otters eat up to 25 percent of their body mass each day to keep up with their daily activities and fuel their high metabolism.

"They eat a lot of seafood, including crabs and clams that are popular with humans, which can cause conflict with fisheries in some areas."

Professor Wright said that we know how critical muscle is to animals for activities like hunting, avoiding predators and finding mates, but this research highlights how other functions of muscle are also critical to animal survival and ecology.

"Regulating tissue metabolism is also an active area of research in the battle to prevent obesity. These animals may give us clues into how metabolism can be manipulated in healthy humans and those with diseases where muscle metabolism is affected."

Going forward, Professor Wright said there is still a lot we don't know about otters, including how they regulate their muscle metabolism to turn up the heat on demand.

"This is really just the first look into the muscle of these animals, and we don't know if all the various muscle types are the same, or if other organs might also have an elevated ability to generate heat."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Sea otters have a secret ability to generate internal body heat

Researchers at Texas A&amp;M University have discovered how sea otters...

Giant pandas have been removed from China's critically <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/two-new-species-of-screech-owls-are-already-critically-endangered/">endangered</a> species list after more than three decades of conservation efforts to save them. With about 1,800 individuals now living in the wild, the giant panda species is now classified as vulnerable. 

Cui Shuhong, the head of the <a href="https://english.mee.gov.cn/">Ministry of Ecology and Environment</a>, said at a press conference on Wednesday that the new classification comes after Beijing carried out some major activities and measures to protect biodiversity and achieved remarkable results.

Shuhong also gave credit to stricter law enforcement, including ramped up efforts to prevent illegal activities on nature reserves.

"China has established a relatively complete nature reserves system," said Shuhong. "Large areas of natural ecosystems have been systematically and completely protected, and wildlife habitats have been effectively improved."

Becky Shu Chen of the Zoological Society of London told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/">NBC News</a> that in most of the Chinese nature reserves are so huge that there are still villages populated with humans inside of them. She noted that the government taught villagers farming techniques that did not destroy the giant panda's natural habitat.

According to Chen, the villagers protected the home of pandas, which is one of the reasons that they are now downgraded to vulnerable.

Giant pandas were initially moved off the IUCN endangered species list five years ago, but this move was not supported by Chinese officials, who said the animals were still at risk of extinction.

“If we downgrade their conservation status, or neglect or relax our conservation work, the populations and habitats of giant pandas could still suffer irreversible loss and our achievements would be quickly lost,” the administration told the Associated Press in 2016. “Therefore, we’re not being alarmist by continuing to emphasize the panda species’ endangered status.”

According to the IUCN, giant pandas are still threatened by climate change in the decades to come. More than 35 percent of their bamboo habitat is projected to be destroyed in the next 80 years. 

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Giant pandas removed from China's endangered species list

Giant pandas have been removed from China's critically endangered species...

Scientists are scrambling to identify an unknown illness that has infected thousands of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-and-humans-use-similar-speech-patterns/">songbirds</a>. According to the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">United States Geological Survey</a>, the mysterious bird disease can cause blindness and death.

"In late May, wildlife managers in Washington D.C., Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky began receiving reports of sick and dying birds with eye swelling and crusty discharge, as well as neurological signs," explains the USGS. 

"More recently, additional reports have been received from Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Indiana." 

The experts say that while the majority of affected birds are fledgling common grackles, other species have gotten sick as well, including blue jays, European starlings and American robins. 

Between May 23 and June 30, the <a href="https://dwr.virginia.gov/">Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources</a> received 1,400 reports of sick birds, about one-third of which had eye issues or neurological symptoms. 

The USGS says that no definitive cause of illness or death has been determined at this time. Furthermore, no human health or domestic livestock issues have been reported.

As a result of lab testing, officials have been able to rule out many potential culprits, such as avian influenza, West Nile virus, salmonella, chlamydia, Newcastle disease, herpes and Trichomonas parasites.

To help limit the risk of transmission, the DWR cautions that people in affected areas should cease bird feeding until the mortality event has ended. The experts say to keep pets away from sick or dead birds, and to avoid direct contact, as a precaution.

"If at any time you find multiple dead birds in your yard over a short period of time, regardless of whether or not there is an ongoing bird mortality event, it is prudent to clean feeders and birdbaths with a 10% bleach solution," says the DWR.

Anyone who spots a sick or dying bird in their area should contact the local wildlife conservation agency or submit a report to the <a href="https://www.usgs.gov/centers/nwhc/science/report-mortality-events-and-submit-specimens?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects">USGS mortality event form</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Mysterious disease is causing songbirds to lose their sight

Scientists are scrambling to identify an unknown illness that has...

A team of scientists led by the <a href="https://www.cam.ac.uk/">University of Cambridge</a> has investigated how the evolution of human bodies and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/mind-reading-technology-recreates-bird-song-from-brain-waves/">brains</a> may relate to climate, which generally affects the body size of animals. 

Sure, there are mice in Alaska and elephants in tropical Africa, but colder climates tend to favor larger body sizes while warmer climates push animals to evolve smaller sizes. 

As the mass of a body increases, its surface area increases at a slower rate. This means that larger bodies are thought to lose less heat than smaller ones. Conversely, larger bodied animals tend to overheat more easily, and humans are no exception to this rule. 

The study revealed that the human body size has fluctuated quite a bit over the last million years, with larger bodied humans evolving in colder climates. 

Our species, Homo sapiens, is larger bodied and bigger brained than some of our possible ancestors such as Homo habilis. There is much debate over what drove the evolution of larger brains and bodies in humans, and climate could be one of the driving factors. 

Interestingly, it does not seem that brain size is correlated to changes in climate like body size. Instead, different factors are at play. 

While it is possible that social life may have driven the growth in brain size, it is also related to ecology in a roundabout way. Members of our genus living in open areas such as grasslands tended to have bigger brains, the researchers found, which was possibly due to social hunting of large animals in such habitats. 

"We found that different factors determine brain size and body size - they're not under the same evolutionary pressures. The environment has a much greater influence on our body size than our brain size," said study first author Dr.  Manuel Will at the University of Tubingen.

"There is an indirect environmental influence on brain size in more stable and open areas: the amount of nutrients gained from the environment had to be sufficient to allow for the maintenance and growth of our large and particularly energy-demanding brains."

The scientists caution on reading too much into their research, so many factors were involved in our evolution and those factors aren’t necessarily the same today as they were. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

How climate changed the evolution of the human body

A team of scientists led by the University of Cambridge...

Wild birds watch and learn from others what to eat - and what to avoid eating - according to a new study led by the <a href="https://www.helsinki.fi/en">University of Helsinki</a>. The research has produced the first evidence of birds using observations to dodge toxic or distasteful prey.

"We've known for a long time that predators, like birds, associate brightly colored warning signals with the danger of eating certain prey types," explained study co-lead author Rose Thorogood.

"However, we've never been able to demonstrate in the wild how predators learn about these aposematic prey advertisements. If predators do not recognize the signal, then the prey are highly vulnerable to naive predators."

"This is a big problem that prey face each year when juvenile predators arrive. Since aposematism is widespread in nature, we wanted to solve this problem in a real-world setting."

Liisa Hamalainen, a doctoral student at the University of Cambridge, conducted field research at the Madingley Wood site in Cambridgeshire, UK. The team combined field experiments with social network analyses to investigate social information transmission among bird predators.

"Here, we investigate how social information about defended prey and their palatable mimics spreads in a wild blue tit and great tit population," explained the study authors.  

"We use artificial prey, a well-established experimental method to test how predators learn about novel prey signals and combine this with technological advances that now make it possible to identify individuals’ foraging choices." 

The goal was to test how quickly birds learn to discriminate between tasteful and distasteful food, and whether they use social information about the foraging experiences of others during this learning process.

The experts set up pairs of bird-feeders, including one that dispensed brightly-dyed almond flakes that were naturally tasty and one that dispensed almond flakes with additives to make them disgustingly bitter.

The blue tits and great tits gathered around the feeders to select their food, and also observed feeding attempts by others.

"Our results show that birds use social information to discriminate between unpalatable and palatable food," wrote the researchers. "This suggests that social transmission among predators can influence attack rates on defended prey and their mimics, and therefore shape the selection environment experienced by prey."

"Our results may help resolve how costly prey defenses are maintained despite influxes of naïve juvenile predators, and suggest that accounting for social transmission is essential if we are to understand coevolutionary processes."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wild birds learn what to avoid eating by watching others

Wild birds watch and learn from others what to eat...

Everyone knows about plastic pollution and the issue of oil, pesticides and fertilizers running off into natural bodies of water. However, the issue of drug pollution - a sure sign of out of control human population growth - is a type of pollution that is less often discussed.

Prescription drugs like Prozac and birth control have been a problem that our current waste water systems are simply not up to solving. These drugs cause health and behavior changes in many fish and can be harmful to entire ecosystems. 

Unfortunately, the damage does not stop with medicinal drugs. Illegal recreational pharmaceuticals are also a growing source of drug pollution that poses a threat to aquatic life. 

A team of researchers at the University of Southern Bohemia and the University of Life Sciences in Prague set out to investigate the impact of methamphetamines on brown trout, Salmo trutta. 

The scientists placed trout in a tank with levels of methamphetamines similar to that sometimes found in the wild for two months. After the period of exposure to the drug pollution, the fish were moved to a tank with freshwater, lacking methamphetamines and looked for signs of withdrawal. 

The fish were also offered the choice between freshwater and water laced with methamphetamine on a regular schedule for ten days to see if they would seek out the drug again. The observations produced strong evidence that the trout exposed to methamphetamines had indeed become addicted to the drug. 

There are clear health risks to drug addiction and the scientists worry that the fish might gather near discharges of wastewater - places unhealthy to them - just to get a fix. 

It is possible that there are additional, less obvious health problems caused by fish exposure to illegal drug pollution. Until water treatment becomes better equipped, this will likely remain a threat for the foreseeable future.  

"Our results suggest that emission of illicit drugs into freshwater ecosystems causes addiction in fish and modifies habitat preferences with unexpected adverse consequences of relevance at the individual and population levels," wrote the researchers. "As such, our study identifies transmission of human societal problems to aquatic ecosystems."

The study is published in the <a href="https://www.biologists.com/journal-of-experimental-biology/">Journal of Experimental Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Drug pollution becomes addictive for fish

Everyone knows about plastic pollution and the issue of oil,...

Light pollution has evolved in color and severity over the past two decades, resulting in complex impacts on moths and other animals who rely on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/plants-set-a-bedtime-alarm-that-helps-them-survive-the-night/">night</a> vision, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>. 

The experts report that artificial lighting can have a subtle yet dramatic influence on the behavior of nocturnal animals. 

To investigate, the researchers analyzed how various types of lighting affect the vision of moths, and the birds that eat them. In particular, the study revealed that elephant hawkmoth vision is enhanced by some types of lighting and disrupted by others. At the same time, the birds that hunt moths were found to see better under almost any type of lighting.

"Modern broad-spectrum lighting allows humans to see color more easily at night," said Dr. Jolyon Troscianko. "However, it is difficult to know how these modern light sources affect the vision of other animals."

"Hawkmoth eyes are sensitive to blue, green and ultraviolet, and they use this color vision to help find flowers just like bees, but at incredibly low light levels – even under starlight."

"Moths are also vitally important pollinators - accounting for a similar proportion of pollination as bees – so we urgently need to investigate how lighting affects them."

According to Dr. Troscianko, his team used animal vision modeling to calculate the ability of moths to see flower colors, and of birds to see camouflaged moths under a wide range of natural and artificial lighting.

“Artificial lights designed for human vision lack the blue and ultraviolet ranges that are key to moth color vision, and under many conditions will block the moth’s ability to see any colors at all," said Dr. Troscianko.

“This could make it more difficult for them to find and pollinate wildflowers, and for them to find suitable spots to camouflage them from predators."

"Conversely, bird vision is much more robust, meaning artificial light will help them to find camouflaged moth prey, and will allow them to hunt later into the evening and earlier in the morning."

The researchers found that white lights with a greater blue component promote more natural color vision in moths, even though these light sources are known to be harmful to other species.

Moths are declining across Europe, especially nocturnal species, and there is a growing collection of evidence that supports a link with light pollution. The experts are calling for a "nuanced approach" to lighting to limit the amount and intensity of light where possible.

The research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/ncomms/">Nature Communications</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Light pollution may be driving the decline of moths

Light pollution has evolved in color and severity over the...

The unfortunate reality of the name "fur seals" comes from a time when these beautiful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flower-evolution-is-influenced-by-the-animals-that-visit/">animals</a> were seen mainly through the eyes of hunters looking to profit from their skins. In fact, fur seals were hunted so heavily that one species - the Guadalupe fur seal (Arctocephalus townsendi) was declared extinct in the late 18001. 

Thankfully, scientists sometimes make mistakes - 14 of the “extinct” fur seals were discovered on Guadalupe Island in 1950. Since the rediscovery of the Guadalupe fur seals, their numbers have continued to grow. 

Today, the IUCN estimates the Guadalupe fur seal population to be around 41,000 seals, and increasing by ten to eleven percent annually. So far, the only breeding location for the fur seals is their namesake - Guadalupe Island. 

A "haul out" colony, where the seals bask on shore and rest, was populated on San Benito Islands in the 1990’s. Now, researchers are announcing the formation of a new haul out colony, which is a good sign for the seals. The newest resting colony is on El Farallón de San Ignacio Island.

Study co-author Claudia Hernández-Camacho explained that the colony started with the observation of one adult in 2008 until today’s conditions,

“During our visits to El Farallón in 2020, we counted 492 individuals in January, and 771 in November. Most of the animals we have seen have been juveniles, and all have appeared to be in good body condition."

The scientists observing the seals initially thought it might be a fluke to see the seals on El Farallón, considering that the island is hot and dry and not typical for fur seals. They now suspect that the island is a prime feeding area, where the seals hunt their preferred food of squid. 

The good news is that all of these islands are protected land. The bad news is that the government of Mexico still classifies the seals as only occasional visitors to El Farallón and has no conservation plan in place for them yet. 

So far, the seal populations are growing slowly and the animals can be found as far away as the coast of Washington. The seals are still in a precarious position with only one breeding location. 

"Guadalupe fur seals have only one breeding colony, so the new haul-outs in the southern Gulf of California provide some good news. However, the new sites will need regular monitoring to document their growth and possible changes in body conditions, age and sex-composition, and breeding potential," said study co-author Andrew Trites. "This species escaped extinction once and remains vulnerable."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17487692">Marine Mammal Science</a>.

---

By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Guadalupe fur seals are on the mend

The unfortunate reality of the name "fur seals" comes from...

Human impacts now kill about 100 million sharks per year. An international team of researchers led by ecologist Erin Dillon recently focused a study on shark denticles to determine how <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/coral-reefs-could-completely-stop-growing-by-2054/">reef</a> communities have changed as a result of human activities. 

Sharks have microscopic scales called dermal denticles thar provide them with protection from abrasive surfaces. The team compared the abundance and variety of denticles from a Panamanian coral reef 7,000 years ago to those in reef sediments today.

Dillon began the research as an intern at the <a href="https://stri.si.edu/">Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute</a> (STRI), and is currently finishing her doctoral work at UC Santa Barbara.

"If you have ever petted a shark in an aquarium touch tank, denticles are the reason why shark skin is rough like sandpaper if you rub it in one direction yet smooth in the other direction. Sharks are essentially covered by millions of tiny teeth," explained Dillon.

Just like humans shed dry skin and dandruff, sharks shed their denticles, and they accumulate in marine sediments. The oldest shark denticles ever found - discovered in the Harding Sandstone of Colorado - are about 455 million years old.

STRI paleobiologist Aaron O'Dea uses data obtained from fossil- and modern coral reefs to reconstruct baseline conditions before human colonization. These reconstructions also help scientists understand how evolutionary processes change through time.

"Placoderms in the Paleozoic, and then marine reptiles in the Mesozoic, were larger and ate sharks," said O'Dea. "Placoderms ruled the oceans for around 70 million years and marine reptiles of the Mesozoic ruled for more than 100 million years."

"Sharks are only top predators now because extinction events preferentially took out other groups but allowed sharks to survive. Sharks seem to have remarkable evolutionary resilience and I was fascinated to work on a technique that would help us explore how sharks have fared more recently when humans step into the picture."

The team sampled material from a 7000-year-old fossilized reef in Bocas del Toro, Panama and from nearby modern Caribbean reefs. O'Dea asked Dillon to analyze the samples and look for shark denticles.

"What started as a three-month-long internship turned into a two-year stay in Panama and then expanded into part of my PhD thesis," said Dillon. "I've grown with this project as my role shifted from first exploring and processing the samples as an intern to leading the project, analyzing and interpreting the data, and spearheading the writing."

One week's worth of samples took about a year of lab work to recover and identify the denticles. 

"Finding the first denticles was thrilling," said Dillon. "They were beautifully preserved and abundant enough to provide insights into millennia-old shark communities."

Ultimately, Dillon found that denticle accumulation rates - which represent shark abundances - were over three times higher before humans began using marine resources in the region. While all types of denticles had declined over time, those found on commercially valuable sharks declined the most. 

Based on evidence from archaeological studies and historical records, Dillon determined that the steepest decline in shark abundance occurred in the late 20th century. 

"When the Spanish arrived in the Americas, they wrote fantastic accounts of seas swarming with sharks," said Dillon. "But these days we see very few sharks: we are lucky to see the occasional nurse shark."

"Our data show that sharks in Bocas del Toro have been depleted both by long-term harvesting, which accelerated in the second half of the 20th century, and by habitat degradation, which began even earlier with the expansion of banana cultivation and coastal development. There is so much land-based runoff from the coast today that in some locations it's like swimming through limeade."

&nbsp;

"Taken together, Erin's body of work shows that denticle assemblages can be used with care to help reconstruct past shark communities through time," said O'Dea. "Sharks are an integral part of ocean health and play important roles in the great diversity and functioning of coral reefs. Having empirical estimates of past shark abundances and community composition helps us frame our understanding of what is natural in the seas."

According to Dillon, the researchers hope to extend this method to other locations to examine broader geographic patterns of change in reef shark communities over long ecological timescales. 

"For example, we're currently reconstructing trends in denticle accumulation along Panama's Pacific coast over the last several thousand years using sediment cores. These baseline data will help us explore the causes and consequences of changes in shark abundance and functional diversity. Our work can also help tailor shark management goals to this local region."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Shark denticles reveal human impacts over centuries

Human impacts now kill about 100 million sharks per year....

In a new study from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a>, researchers have discovered that a vast seabird colony on Ascension Island creates a "halo" in which fewer <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/oceans-with-no-corals-will-have-half-as-many-types-of-fish/">fish</a> live. 

Located far from the mainland, the UK Overseas Territory of Ascension Island is home to tens of thousands of seabirds of various species. Some of these species, including frigatebirds, masked boobies and brown boobies, prey on flying fish. 

The experts have found that the numbers of flying fish are greatly reduced within a 90-mile radius of the island, which is a phenomenon that can only be explained by foraging seabirds.

Dr. Sam Weber is an expert in the Centre for Ecology and Conservation on Exeter's Penryn Campus in Cornwall.

"This study tells us a lot about large colonies of animals and how their numbers are limited," said Dr. Weber.

"These birds are concentrated at Ascension Island during the breeding season, and the intensity of their foraging is naturally highest near the island."

"As they use up the most accessible prey located near to the island, they have to travel increasingly long distances to feed, causing the 'halo' to expand outwards."

"Once individuals can't find enough food to break even with the energy they expend finding it, the colony stops growing.

Dr. Weber noted that human activities such as fisheries can interfere with this natural balance and have negative effects on populations of marine top predators like seabirds, even if they don't directly harm the birds.

"What was particularly surprising is the large scale of the footprint we found. It shows that Marine Protected Areas may need to be very large because some predators rely on prey stocks across a huge area."

The pattern of fish declines revealed by the study is known as "Ashmole's halo," named after British ornithologist Philip Ashmole, who first proposed a theory about this type of prey depletion about 60 years ago after visiting Ascension Island.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</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

Seabirds create a "halo" of depleted fish

In a new study from the University of Exeter, researchers...

We often think of individual drivers of natural selection separately from each other. It’s easy to think of the big and bold examples - how male Irish elk or peacocks were driven to evolve elaborate decoration to attract mates, despite the inherent risks. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/an-answer-to-the-mystery-of-sperm-evolution/">Evolution</a> is more complex than this though. 

Many factors work together to select "for" or "against" individual traits and the underlying suit of genes. In a new study led by Michael Moore of <a href="https://wustl.edu/">Washington University</a>, experts have investigated how different factors affect the color patterns of male dragonfly wings.

The researchers looked at the amount of pigment found in male dragonfly wings. It is believed that the primary purpose dragonfly wing colors is for mating. However, the scientists have now found that sex is not the only factor in wing color. 

Utilizing databases created by "citizen scientists" using iNaturalist and field guides, the experts were able to examine the amount of pigment found in dragonfly wings at different locations. The difference in pigments is important because, depending on the color, wings can increase in heat up to two degrees celsius, explained Moore.

As expected, the study authors found that dragonflies found in warmer locations tend to have less pigment on their wings, while those in cooler climates tend to have more. This seems to be an adaptation that keeps dragonflies from overheating. 

The study also revealed that in warmer years, dragonflies tended to have less wing color than those photographed on cooler years. Interestingly, female dragonfly wings do not change colors as much in response to temperature as those of males. 

Looking at climate change scenarios, the researchers note that we cannot expect male and female dragonflies to adapt in the same ways. One possibility is that as wing patterns change, it will become harder for female dragonflies to distinguish between members of their own species and different species, a potential problem for the survival of these fascinating insects.       

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

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By <a href="http://zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Dragonfly wing colors driven by climate and sexual selection

We often think of individual drivers of natural selection separately...

Wisconsin currently hosts between 695 and 751 gray wolves, which is a major drop from a population of at least 1,034 <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cougars-threat-yellowstone-elk/">wolves</a> last year, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.wisc.edu/">University of Wisconsin-Madison</a>. 

The research suggests that about one-third of the population decline is due to hidden deaths in the wolf population that have resulted from relaxed legal protections.

On November 3, 2020, the United States Fish &amp; Wildlife Service officially removed the gray wolf from the federal Endangered Species list in the contiguous United States and Mexico. The new law became effective in January of 2021.

In the current study, the researchers found that 218 wolves were killed by licensed hunters during Wisconsin's first public wolf hunt. The experts report that the uncounted deaths of an additional 100 wolves may be attributed to something called cryptic poaching, where poachers hide evidence of illegal killings.

The overall loss of about 323 wolves represents a decline in Wisconsin's wolf population of between 27 and 33 percent between April 2020 and April 2021. 

The research has produced the first estimate of Wisconsin's wolf population since the public hunt in February. The hunt ended early after hunters exceeded the quota of 119 wolves within a few days. 

The researchers believe that the current population contains a maximum of 751 gray wolves, considering that they incorporated optimistic assumptions about population growth and low poaching rates in their computer models.

The population estimates will help the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) prepare for the next wolf hunt this fall.

"Although the DNR is aiming for a stable population, we estimate the population actually dropped significantly," said Professor Adrian Treves.

In previous studies from Professor Treves' lab, the team showed that wolf population growth declined in Wisconsin and Michigan when legal protections were relaxed, regardless of the number of wolves that were killed legally. 

The results of other studies suggest that when governments allow lethal management, poachers are inclined to kill more wolves because the relaxed policies signal that predators are less valued. The researchers took this into consideration when modeling the uncounted gray wolf deaths in Wisconsin since last November.

"During these periods, we see an effect on poaching, both reported and cryptic. Those wolves disappear and you never find them again," said Francisco Santiago-Ávila. "Additional deaths are caused simply by the policy signal, and the wolf hunt adds to that."

Without hunting, the researchers estimate that the population could recover in one to two years. The experts hope that the Wisconsin DNR and other states' natural resource agencies take advantage of their methods to develop a more complete assessment of the effect of new policies on predator populations.

"These methods and models are freely available to these agencies," said Karann Putrevu. "They should take advantage of the best available science to meet their stated goals."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/">PeerJ</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

Wisconsin gray wolf population dropped by 30 percent in one year

Wisconsin currently hosts between 695 and 751 gray wolves, which...

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

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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