When we think of wildlife conservation, vultures rarely top the list. Yet these birds - often misunderstood and overlooked - may be more essential to public health and ecosystems than we ever imagined.



A recent study out of Costa Rica has uncovered just how vital they are, especially when it comes to getting rid of dead animals quickly and safely.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-vultures-speed-decay">How vultures speed decay</h2>



Scientists from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Exeter</a>, working in collaboration with OSA Conservation in Costa Rica, designed a simple but revealing experiment. 



The team set out to observe how animal carcasses decomposed with and without vultures present. Using domestic pig carcasses, they monitored the decomposition process across forest and grassland settings between September 2023 and June 2024.



The researchers left half the carcasses in the open for all <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/believe-it-or-not-scavengers-are-picky-eaters/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">scavengers</a> to access. They placed the other half inside cages that prevented vultures and other large animals from reaching them. Cameras and insect traps were installed at each site to track both animal activity and insect populations.



The findings were both surprising and concerning. In the open sites where vultures had access, the pig carcasses lost an average of 9.5 kilograms per day. 



In contrast, the protected carcasses - off-limits to vultures - decomposed at only 4.8 kilograms per day. That’s a dramatic difference.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-flies-thrive-without-cleanup-birds">Flies thrive without cleanup birds</h2>



As carcasses lingered without vultures, one thing became clear: <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/flies-respond-to-danger-like-humans/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">flies</a> moved in to fill the gap.



Sites where vultures were excluded saw fly populations nearly double. Dung beetle numbers stayed the same, and the researchers rarely observed larger vertebrate scavengers like pumas, ocelots, caimans, or <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hunting-coyotes-may-be-fueling-their-population-growth/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">coyotes</a> were rarely observed.



“This research underlines the unique and irreplaceable role that vultures play as nature's cleanup crew,” said Julia Grootaers, co-author and Behavioral Ecologist at the University.



The study showed that other scavengers simply weren’t stepping in. Without vultures, decomposition slowed down significantly, giving flies more time to reproduce and mature. And this has health implications.



“These apex scavengers have specialized and highly acidic digestive systems that can destroy many of the pathogens found in carrion, thus mitigating the spread of disease from carcasses to other wildlife, livestock, and humans,” Grootaers said.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-risks-without-vultures">Health risks without vultures</h2>



According to the researchers, the extra time it takes for a carcass to decompose in the absence of vultures can increase the chances of disease transmission. 



Flies that breed in these carcasses can carry harmful bacteria like <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-treatment-protects-tomatoes-from-salmonella-and-e-coli/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">E. coli</a> and <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-salmonella-outsmarts-our-gut-defenses/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">salmonella</a>. They may also become vectors for diseases such as botulism and anthrax.



“Our results demonstrate that intact scavenger communities, with vultures, invertebrate and microbial decomposers, efficiently decompose carcasses at double the rate compared to when it is insects and microbes alone,” said Dr. Chris Beirne, Director of Wildlife Programs at OSA Conservation.



“And it's apparent that in Costa Rica, other large vertebrate scavengers do not drive decomposition in the food chain and that is consistent with what we see in other regions, including Kenya and northern Spain.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-vanishing-vulture-populations">Vanishing vulture populations</h2>



While there’s been widespread attention on vulture declines in Africa, Asia, and Europe, the Americas have largely flown under the radar. That needs to change.



Many species in North, Central, and South America are now facing growing threats from habitat loss, poisoning, and human disturbance. Without proper monitoring, their populations could plummet before we fully understand the consequences.



“While dramatic <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/fewer-vultures-more-wild-dogs-linked-to-greater-disease-risks/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">vulture declines</a> have already been documented across Africa, Asia, and Europe, this study raises concerns about the overlooked vulnerability of their American counterparts,” said Greta Hernandez of Universidad de Panamá. 



“And the findings highlight the urgent need for deeper research into vulture population trends in the Americas, the critical ecosystem services they provide, and the conservation action needed to safeguard these silent stewards of the environment.”



The takeaway is simple but powerful: vultures aren’t just scavengers - they’re a key line of defense against disease and environmental decay. Losing them means losing one of nature’s most efficient recycling systems - with real consequences for the world we share.



The full study was published in the journal <a href="https://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ece3.71408" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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Vanishing vultures may threaten public health

When we think of wildlife conservation, vultures rarely top the list. Yet these birds - often misunderstood and overlooked - may be more essential to public health and ecosystems than we ever imagined. A recent study out of Costa Rica has uncovered just how vital they are, especially when it comes to getting rid of dead animals quickly and safely. How vultures speed decay Scientists from the University of Exeter, working in collaboration with OSA Conservation in Costa Rica, designed a simple but revealing experiment. The team...

Humans share many of the same behaviors as other mammals and birds that live in the same place in the world, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>. The experts report that foraging humans reproduce, parent, and even organize their social groups in similar ways as neighboring <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/animals-needed-sleep-before-they-even-had-brains/">animals</a>.

The researchers analyzed data from more than 300 locations around the world. For almost all of the behaviors examined, humans were more likely to behave similarly to non-human species living in the same place compared to those living elsewhere.

"Previous research has explored how environmental conditions shape the behavior of closely related species. This is the first time a broad comparative perspective has been used to systematically compare very different species - humans, mammals, and birds - across a wide range of behaviours. Our evidence shows how remarkably pervasive and consistent the effect of the local environment is on behaviour," said Dr. Toman Barsbai.

"The similarities are not only present for behaviors directly relating to the environment, such as finding food, where we might expect a clear correlation, but also for reproductive and social behaviours, which might seem less dependent on the local environment."

For example, environments where humans get a significant proportion of their calories from hunting were found to have a much larger proportion of carnivorous mammals and birds. Similar associations were also identified in reliance on fishing, how far to travel to gather food, whether or not to store food, and whether or not to migrate between seasons.

When it comes to reproductive behavior, locations where humans have children later in life were found to have local mammals and birds that are older when they first reproduce. Other variables that correlated across species were the proportion of individuals having multiple partners, how far individuals move to live with new partners, and how likely couples are to split up. 

For both humans and non-human species, there were also places identified in the world where offspring care is more equally shared, certain social classes are more dominant, and where group sizes are larger.

The results of the study show that environmental factors have a major influence on how foraging human and animal populations behave, despite having very different backgrounds. It is not yet clear which specific environmental factors relate to specific behaviors, or what the mechanisms are linking them.

"We were surprised these associations appeared across humans, mammals, and birds," said Dr. Dieter Lukas. "Different species could be expected to sense and interact with their environments in very different ways. Even if they end up with the same behavior, they might have gotten there through different paths." 

"In particular, the flexibility that allows humans to adapt behavior to environments around the world is probably facilitated by relying on learning from other people and building on this information over generations."

The study focused on human populations who obtain most of their food by foraging in the environment where they live. 

"It would be interesting to see how many of these environmental restrictions shape other societies where individuals get food through agricultural specialization and trading," said author Dr. Andreas Pondorfer. 

"Agricultural intensification is often thought to buffer humans from the environment. Nevertheless, individuals in these populations might not be as buffered as we think and behaviours might still reflect adaptations that occurred before the adoption of agriculture."

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

Humans share many of the same behaviors as animals that live nearby

Humans share many of the same behaviors as other mammals...

Researchers have discovered a new strategy that bees use to cope with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/plant-and-pollinator-connections-become-stronger-after-wildfires/">wildfires</a>. In the aftermath of a fire, blue orchard bees produce more female offspring, according to a new study from <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a>.

Female bees control the sex of their offspring. The eggs that they fertilize with sperm become females, while the non-fertilized eggs become males.

The study revealed that the percentage of female offspring was even higher in the most severely burned areas compared to areas that were moderately burned. 

"This is one of the first studies that has looked at how forest fire severity influences bee demography," said co-author Jim Rivers, who is an animal ecologist with the OSU College of Forestry. "Sex ratio varied under different fire conditions but the number of young produced did not, which indicates bees altered the sex of their offspring depending on the degree of fire severity."

Many of the flowering plants that make up native ecosystems and food chains depend on bees for pollination. If experts can gain a better understanding of how bees respond to wildfires, which are expected to increase in frequency in severity, they can develop more effective post-fire recovery strategies.

"We placed bees on different sites within recently burned mixed-conifer forest in southwestern Oregon and used them as a measuring stick to tell us how good the bee habitat was," said study lead author Sara Galbraith. "Adjusting offspring production toward the more expensive offspring sex shows a functional response to changes in habitat quality via an increased density of flowering plants."

Pollinators can benefit from canopy-reducing fires in dense conifer forest ecosystems. For example, flowering plant abundance usually increases for several years following a fire, which leads to more food resources. This ultimately boosts wild bee diversity and abundance.

Pollinators are an essential component of insect and plant biodiversity. Animal pollinators enhance the reproduction of nearly 90 percent of the Earth's flowering plants, including many food crops. 

The blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria, is a solitary mason bee that is native to the United States and Canada. 

To investigate the relationship between fire severity and reproductive output of blue orchard bees, the researchers set up nest blocks containing a standardized number and sex ratio of adult bees, and then monitored the offspring across local and landscape scales

"In fire-prone landscapes, there is variation in species-level response to wildfire that serves to maintain ecosystem structure and function," said Rivers. "With the blue orchard bee and similar species, foraging females invest in larger progeny and more females when more resources are available."

The analysis showed that burned mixed-conifer forest provides floral resources for the blue orchard bee along a gradient of severity. An increase in these resources after high-severity fire prompts blue orchard bees to invest their energy in producing larger female offspring. 

"Our study revealed more female progeny than is typically observed with blue orchard bees," said Galbraith. "The greater proportion of females in areas surrounded by a more severely burned landscape indicates an investment in more female offspring because of greater resource availability."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/442">Oecologia</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Blue orchard bees respond to fires by producing more females

Researchers have discovered a new strategy that bees use to...

In a new study led by the <a href="https://www.si.edu/">Smithsonian</a>, researchers have discovered electric eels hunting in groups for the first time. The unexpected behavior was observed in a small lake in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/jaguars-in-the-amazon-are-threatened-by-climate-extremes/">Amazon</a> River basin that was filled with more than 100 adult electric eels.

The eels teamed up to herd small fish called tetras into tightly packed balls. Groups of up to 10 eels collaborated to launch an attack, surrounding the fish and shocking them into submission. 

"This is an extraordinary discovery," said study senior author David de Santana. "Nothing like this has ever been documented in electric eels."

The findings raise new questions about the lifestyle and behavior of electric eels, which were previously thought to be solitary predators. 

"Hunting in groups is pretty common among mammals, but it's actually quite rare in fishes," said de Santana. "There are only nine other species of fishes known to do this, which makes this finding really special."

The research is the latest of de Santana's ongoing investigation into freshwater fish diversity in South America. His expeditions to the remote waters of the Amazon and its many tributaries have uncovered 85 new species of electric fish. 

Last year, de Santana identified two new species of electric eels. One of the new species, Volta's electric eel, is capable of producing 860-volt electric shocks. This is not only the strongest electric discharge of any animal on Earth, but is also 210 volts higher than the previous record. 

The current study was focused on Volta's electric eels, which can reach lengths of 8 feet.

"If you think about it, an individual of this species can produce a discharge of up to 860 volts - so in theory if 10 of them discharged at the same time, they could be producing up to 8,600 volts of electricity," said de Santana. "That's around the same voltage needed to power 100 light bulbs."

De Santana's team first witnessed Volta's electric eels hunting in groups during a field expedition in August of 2012. Study first author Douglas Bastos discovered a small lake directly connected with the Iriri River. He was amazed to find that the lake held more than 100 adult electric eels.

Two years later, the team logged 72 hours of continuous observation of the eels congregating in this location along the Iriri River.

For most of the day and night, the eels layed almost motionless in the deeper end of the lake, only coming to the surface occasionally to take a breath. The scientists found that the eels became active at dusk and dawn - interacting with each other and then swimming in a large circle. 

The eels corralled thousands of the tiny tetras into tighter and tighter shoals as they herded them into shallow water. Once the tetras were trapped by the main group, de Santana said that bands of two to 10 eels would move in closer and then launch synchronized electric attacks on the prey ball. 

The electric shocks sent the tetras flying out into the air, and then they fell back into the water stunned and motionless. De Santana noted that each dawn or dusk hunting ritual took around one hour and contained between five to seven high-voltage attacks.

"This is the only location where this behavior has been observed, but right now we think the eels probably show up every year," said de Santana. "Our initial hypothesis is that this is a relatively rare event that occurs only in places with lots of prey and enough shelter for large numbers of adult eels."

According to de Santana, these large gatherings of electric eels are not likely to be very common. 

"These animals can be 8 feet long and produce 860-volt electric shocks; if 100 of them being in one place was a common occurrence, I think we would have heard about it before now."

With the Amazon under threat from deforestation, wildfires, and climate change, de Santana said there is a profound sense of urgency to accelerate biodiversity assessment in the region. 

"Electric eels aren't in immediate danger, but their habitats and ecosystems are under immense pressure. This paper is an example of how much we still don't know, how many organisms whose life histories we don't yet understand."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe">Biology and Evolution</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Electric eels found hunting in groups

In a new study led by the Smithsonian, researchers have...

In a new study from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a>, researchers have found that climate change reduces the abundance and diversity of wild bees. The experts report that wild bees are more affected by climate change than by disturbances to their <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bumblebees-in-low-quality-habitats-are-more-susceptible-to-disease/">habitats</a>.

Furthermore, the research suggests that addressing land-use issues will not be enough to protect wild bees.

"Our study found that the most critical factor influencing wild bee abundance and species diversity was the weather, particularly temperature and precipitation," said Professor Christina Grozinger. 

"In the Northeastern United States, past trends and future predictions show a changing climate with warmer winters, more intense precipitation in winter and spring, and longer growing seasons with higher maximum temperatures. In almost all of our analyses, these conditions were associated with lower abundance of wild bees, suggesting that climate change poses a significant threat to wild bee communities."

According to Melanie Kammerer, few studies have considered the effects of both climate and land use on wild bees.

"We thought this was an oversight because, like many organisms, bees are experiencing habitat loss and climate change simultaneously," said Kammerer. "By looking at both factors in the same study, we were able to compare the relative importance of these two stressors."

The investigation was focused on a 14-year dataset from the United States Geological Survey that documented wild bee occurrences from more than 1,000 locations in Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. 

Based on this data, the researchers examined how different bee species respond to land-use and climate changes.

"To really understand the effects of weather and climate, particularly as weather patterns become more variable with climate change, we need to use these very large, long-term data sets," said Grozinger. "We hope that our study, and others like it, will help encourage the collection and integration of these data sets for future research."

The team used land cover maps and spatial models to analyze the landscape surrounding each of the sampling locations. The experts also used machine learning to identify the most important climate variables that affect wild bees. 

"We found that temperature and precipitation patterns are very important drivers of wild bee communities in our study, more important than the amount of suitable habitat or floral and nesting resources in the landscape," said Kammerer.

According to Grozinger, different bee species were most impacted by different weather conditions. For example, areas with more rain had fewer spring bees, she explained.

"We think the rain limits the ability of spring bees to collect food for their offspring," said Grozinger. "Similarly, a very hot summer, which might reduce flowering plants, was associated with fewer summer bees the next year."

"This result coincides with studies showing that, with earlier spring onset, overwintering adults had higher pre-emergence weight loss and mortality and shorter life span post-emergence."

Kammerer noted that these weather changes will likely worsen in the coming years.

"In the future, warm winters and long, hot summers are predicted to occur more frequently, which we expect will be a serious challenge to wild-bee populations," said Kammerer. 

"We are just beginning to understand the many ways that climate influences bees, but in order to conserve these essential pollinators, we need to figure out when, where and how changing climate disrupts bee life cycles, and we need to move from considering single stressors to quantifying multiple, potentially interacting pressures on wild-bee communities."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/13652486">Global Change Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Climate change is the biggest threat to wild bees

In a new study from Penn State, researchers have found...

<a href="http://www.earth.com/news/groundwater-has-a-larger-impact-on-ocean-chemistry-than-expected/">Ocean</a> temperatures are becoming increasingly unsuitable for baby sharks, according to a new study from the <a href="https://www.coralcoe.org.au/">ARC Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies</a>. The researchers found that as a result of global warming, baby sharks are born smaller, exhausted, and undernourished. The animals are also being birthed into environments that are already difficult for them to survive in.

The study was focused on epaulette sharks, an egg-laying species found only on the Great Barrier Reef. The team examined the impacts of warmer temperatures on the growth, development, and physiological performance of the sharks as embryos and as hatchlings.

"We tested shark embryos in waters up to 31°C," said study lead author Carolyn Wheeler. "The hotter the conditions, the faster everything happened, which could be a problem for the sharks." 

"The embryos grew faster and used their yolk sac quicker, which is their only source of food as they develop in the egg case. This led to them hatching earlier than usual." 

The hatchlings were not only smaller, but were undernourished, lacked energy, and needed to feed almost right away.

Study co-author Dr. Jodie Rummer noted that the waters of the Great Barrier Reef will likely experience summer averages close to or even in excess of 31°C by the end of the century.

Dr. Rummer warned that rising ocean temperatures are a major concern for the future of all sharks, whether they lay eggs or give birth.

"The epaulette shark is known for its resilience to change, even to ocean acidification. So, if this species can't cope with warming waters then how will other, less tolerant species fare?" 

"Our future ecosystems depend us taking urgent action to limit climate change."

Sharks belong to a group of animals that develop and grow slowly, like rays and skates, and they do not reproduce as often as other fish.

The findings suggest that the sharks of the future will be born at a major disadvantage healthwise. To make matters worse, their environments will already be the warmest temperatures that the sharks can tolerate.

"The study presents a worrying future given that sharks are already threatened," said Wheeler. "Sharks are important predators that keep ocean ecosystems healthy. Without predators, whole ecosystems can collapse, which is why we need to keep studying and protecting these creatures."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/srep/?gclid=Cj0KCQiArvX_BRCyARIsAKsnTxM7BZ8nYNx5N0Pi-LOdKZiJCT5EHNkwJZzUmIRfI5MxnPaCv7UY3sgaArNsEALw_wcB">Scientific Reports</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Oceans are already too warm for baby sharks

Ocean temperatures are becoming increasingly unsuitable for baby sharks, according...

The <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tropical-birds-handle-heat-stress-much-better-than-expected/">stress</a> hormone cortisol may be a good indication of whether newborn deer will survive, according to a new study from <a href="https://www.psu.edu/">Penn State</a>. The researchers found that levels of cortisol in the saliva of newborn white-tailed deer fawns can be used to predict mortality. 

"We think the hormone offers a way to evaluate factors in the environment that affect fawns, such as disease, but are difficult to evaluate when just looking at a carcass that has been picked over by predators," said Professor Duane Diefenbach. "By then, it's impossible to be certain what truly caused the fawn's demise."

Professor Diefenbach is the leader of the Pennsylvania Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Through two studies of fawn mortality conducted in 2000 and 2015, Diefenbach gained a unique perspective on the impact of predators. 

For the current investigation, the researchers analyzed salivary cortisol concentrations in 19 newborn fawns. Study lead author Tess Gingery, a research technologist in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Management, explained why it was crucial to collect the saliva samples quickly. 

"We know from research performed on adult deer at another university that it takes 20 minutes from the moment the stress hormone cortisol is released from the brain into the body that it shows up in their saliva," said Gingery. "We needed to measure the fawn's 'baseline' cortisol levels, before the stress from capture and being handled kicked in. So, we sopped up saliva with swabs as soon as we could."

There is a lot of evidence that suggests cortisol can be bad for a human's survival, body condition, brain development, and immune system, noted Gingery. The researchers theorized that high cortisol concentrations could also predict the survival of newborn fawns, and the data supported this theory. 

"Fawns that had higher cortisol concentrations in their saliva had lower survival, but we don't know if the high cortisol concentrations caused higher mortality or not," said Gingery. 

"It could be that elevated stress hormones reflect a fawn's experience with stressful situations rather than causing fawn mortality. For example, a fawn may be starving, which can elevate stress hormone levels, and the lack of food kills the fawn rather than the elevated stress hormone levels."

The findings show that predators are not the only major threat to fawns. According to Professor Diefenbach, it turns out that cortisol levels were higher in fawns tested in the central Pennsylvania study area compared to samples collected in northern Pennsylvania. However, the numbers of predators like coyotes and bears, as well as predation rates, are known to be lower in the state's central region. 

"This research could explain why Delaware - which has zero predators - found similar fawn-survival rates to Pennsylvania in a recent study," said Professor Diefenbach. "Factors other than predation, such as physiological responses like the cortisol we measured, may influence mortality more than predation. As such, the heavy focus on predation in fawn research may be misguided."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/17494877">Integrative Zoology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

&nbsp;

Cortisol levels can be used to predict mortality in newborn deer

The stress hormone cortisol may be a good indication of...

Conservationists widely believe that the popularity of giant pandas, and the protection of their mountainous ranges, creates benefits that extend to neighboring <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/animals-needed-sleep-before-they-even-had-brains/">animals</a>. However, a new study from <a href="https://msu.edu/">Michigan State University</a> has identified several species, including the Asiatic black bear, that experience more losses than gains from conservation strategies designed to protect giant pandas.

"The popularity of giant pandas, as of the popularity of other beloved threatened animals across the world, has generated tremendous advances in protecting forests and other fragile habitats," said study co-author Jianguo "Jack" Liu.

"But this is an important reminder that it can't assume that what's good for a panda is automatically good for other species. Different species have specific needs and preferences."

The researchers used camera trap data collected throughout mountain ranges to investigate how animals were using protected areas, as well as how they are faring under the umbrella of policies used to shield giant pandas.

In 2016, the conservation status of the giant panda officially improved from "endangered" to "threatened." The study revealed that while the pandas are doing well, some of their neighbors are not as fortunate. 

Three of the eight species examined for the study - the Asiatic black bear, the forest musk deer, and the Chinese serow - seem to have suffered significant habitat loss under panda-centric habitat management. 

Giant pandas are very particular about where they live. They require lots of bamboo, a gentle slope, and no contact with humans. The habitats designated for pandas cater to these needs, but do not necessarily meet the requirements of the animals that share these areas.

Study first author Fang Wang noted that earlier efforts at tracking how a broader range of animals fared were handicapped by turning a blind eye to different habitat preferences, and not spotting potentially different habitat trends of other animals. The researchers said that the forests and shrublands in lower elevations next to the habitats that best serve pandas could be better for bears and deer.

"China has made a tremendous achievement in establishing giant panda nature reserves, and now we're learning that one size does not fit all," said Wang. 

"China as well as other countries that face similar conservation challenges have the opportunity to move forward from rescuing single species to protecting animal communities and ecosystems."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.journals.elsevier.com/biological-conservation">Biological Conservation</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The popularity of giant pandas does not protect their neighbors

Conservationists widely believe that the popularity of giant pandas, and...

While it is known that sleep is critical for healthy <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/research-confirms-that-covid-19-enters-the-brain/">brain</a> function, it is not known when animals started to require sleep. A surprising new study from <a href="https://www.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/">Kyushu University</a> suggests that animals needed sleep before they even had brains. 

The investigation was focused on hydras - tiny freshwater organisms that lack a central nervous system. The researchers discovered that not only do hydras show signs of a sleep-like state despite having no brain, but also respond to molecules associated with sleep in more evolved animals.

"We now have strong evidence that animals must have acquired the need to sleep before acquiring a brain," said study lead author Professor Taichi Q. Itoh.

Three years ago, scientists at Caltech were the first to document sleeping behavior in a brainless animal, the Cassiopea jellyfish, a relative of hydras that is also known as the upside-down jellyfish.

In collaboration with experts at the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology in Korea, the Kyushu team found that several chemicals which cause drowsiness even in humans had similar effects on the species Hydra vulgaris.

"Based on our findings and previous reports regarding jellyfish, we can say that sleep evolution is independent of brain evolution," said Professor Itoh.

"Many questions still remain regarding how sleep emerged in animals, but hydras provide an easy-to-handle creature for further investigating the detailed mechanisms producing sleep in brainless animals to help possibly one day answer these questions."

To monitor resting behavior among hydras, the researchers used a video system to track their movement and determine when hydras they were in a sleep-like state. 

The hydras displayed four-hour cycles of active and sleep-like states. The researchers uncovered many aspects of sleep regulation that were similar to that of animals who do possess a brain on a molecular and genetic level.

Melatonin moderately increased the amount and frequency of sleep among hydras, while the inhibitory neurotransmitter GABA greatly increased sleeping activity.

When the hydras were exposed to dopamine, they also slept more. In humans and other animals, dopamine typically causes arousal. "While some sleep mechanisms appear to have been conserved, others may have switched function during evolution of the brain," explained Professor Itoh.

The researchers used vibrations and temperature changes to disturb the hydras' sleep and induce signs of sleep deprivation. This caused the hydras to sleep longer during the following day and even suppressed cell proliferation.

Upon further analysis, the experts found that sleep deprivation led to changes in the expression of 212 genes. One of these genes in particular is related to PRKG, a protein involved in sleep regulation in a wide range of animals.

"Taken all together, these experiments provide strong evidence that animals acquired sleep-related mechanisms before the evolutional development of the central nervous system and that many of these mechanisms were conserved as brains evolved," said Professor Itoh.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

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By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Animals needed sleep before they even had brains

While it is known that sleep is critical for healthy...

Greater conservation efforts are needed to protect harbor porpoises in the North Sea, according to a study published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a>. The researchers investigated how this particular porpoise population has been handling the stress of human disturbances, such as heavy ship traffic, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/indigenous-fishing-practices-are-needed-to-revive-salmon-fisheries/">fisheries</a>, offshore oil rigs, and wind farms.

The harbor porpoise is known as a "sentinel species," which can be studied to measure the overall health of an ecosystem and identify potential risks. The researchers found that the porpoises are in a state of steady decline in the North Sea.

"The trend seen here is concerning," said study co-author Dr. Anita Gilles. What is especially troubling is the fact that harbor porpoises have experienced a substantial decline in protected areas, such as the Special Area of Conservation (SAC) Sylt Outer Reef. These areas are specifically designated to keep marine life safe. In that particular region, the harbor porpoise population declined by an average of 3.79 percent per year. The experts determined that by contrast, the population increased to the south, which may signify a shift in distribution. 

To estimate the numbers of harbor porpoises, Dr. Gilles and her colleagues surveyed small parts of the sea at a time and then conducted aerial surveys. 

"Knowing the abundance of a population is at the heart of ecology, but extremely challenging for mobile species in a rapidly changing marine environment like the North Sea," said Dr. Gilles. 

Study co-author Sacha Viquerat developed an innovative framework for trend analysis, which was based on two decades of surveys. 

"After almost 20 years of systematic data collection... we now have a wealth of data at hand," said Dr. Gilles. This data can help drive legislation to aid conservation efforts. "Abundance, distribution, and trends are key for EU and other legislative instruments, and for marine conservation management in general."

Study co-author Dominik Nachtsteim is hopeful that the survey design and data analysis methods can be used in other regions. This study was limited to the German North Sea, meaning that population counts and observed trends in the broader North Sea are missing.

The experts theorize that the steady decline of harbor porpoises in the North Sea is due to an increase in human activities, a change in prey availability, a distribution shift. "Most probable, it is a mixture of different causes and cumulative effects," said Dr.. Gilles."We urgently need more research into the drivers of change."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science">Frontiers in Marine Science</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

Porpoises are steadily declining in the German North Sea

Greater conservation efforts are needed to protect harbor porpoises in...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.ubc.ca/">University of British Columbia</a> are working to understand how gill development limits fish growth. The temperature of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/the-oceans-absorb-much-more-carbon-than-previously-thought/">oceans</a> and fresh waters, as well as the concentration of dissolved oxygen, have much more influence on the growth and reproduction of fish than the distribution of their prey.

Daniel Pauly is the principal investigator of the Sea Around Us initiative at UBC's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries. He argues that scientists need to avoid attaching human attributes to fish and start looking at their unique biology and constraints in a different way. 

Pauly has proposed the Gill Oxygen Limitation Theory (GOLT), which explains kthat as fish grow, the surface area of their gills cannot keep up with the oxygen requirement of their bodies.

The theory emphasizes that gills, which are the respiratory organs of fish, are surfaces through which water must flow. Gill surface area grows in two dimensions, length and width, but struggles to keep up with bodies that grow in three dimensions, length, width, and depth. Therefore, as fish get bigger, they have less gill surface area and their gills provide less oxygen per unit volume or weight.

"The problem is that many colleagues fail to understand the basic geometry of gills, and argue that, as fish grow bigger and, thus, require more oxygen, they can just grow larger gills," said Pauly. "But they can't pack their heads full of gills because, if that were to happen, water wouldn't be able to flow through."

The research indicates that the gill issue is a constraint that fish can evolve past. Once the gills reach a threshold where they cannot support a bigger body, the fish stop growing.

"This is particularly important in the context of climate change because warm waters contain less oxygen. This means that gills have less oxygen to supply to bodies that require more oxygen at higher temperatures," said Pauly. "This double whammy occurs because fish cannot maintain their body temperature constant, and higher water temperatures accelerate their metabolisms."

In rising water temperatures, with less oxygen available, fish are forced to stop growing at a smaller size. This has important implications for fisheries and aquaculture.

Pauly acknowledges that one of the limitations of the Gill Oxygen Limitation Theory is that it is mainly qualitative and makes few quantitative predictions. He would like to address this, as well as the fact that the theory does not deal with bioenergetics and the role food plays in the life of fish.

"Food is necessary for life and the GOLT is structured around the notion that there is enough food but what if there isn't enough food? The relationships between food and oxygen will have to be studied, too."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Gill development and water temperatures limit fish growth

Scientists at the University of British Columbia are working to...

Why have crocodiles changed so little over the last 200 million years? Crocodiles today look very similar to those that lived during the Jurassic period alongside the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/when-the-dinosaurs-vanished-forests-expanded-and-thrived/">dinosaurs</a>, and they have also not diversified much since that time. 

In a new study from the University of Bristol, scientists have determined that a "stop-start" pattern of evolution, governed by environmental change, may explain why crocodiles have changed so little over millions of years. 

There are only 25 species of crocodiles alive today. Other animals, like birds and lizards, have branched off into thousands of species in the same time frame. 

The researchers pointed out that there were also types of ancient crocodiles that vanished, including giants as big as dinosaurs, plant-eaters, fast runners, and serpentine forms that lived in the sea. 

In their study, the scientists explain how crocodiles follow a pattern of evolution known as "punctuated equilibrium." This means that they evolve slowly, but this rate picks up speed occasionally due to environmental changes.

In particular, the researchers found that the evolution of crocodiles is accelerated in a warmer climate, and their body size increases. 

"Our analysis used a machine learning algorithm to estimate rates of evolution. Evolutionary rate is the amount of change that has taken place over a given amount of time, which we can work out by comparing measurements from fossils and taking into account how old they are," said study lead author Dr. Max Stockdale.

"For our study we measured body size, which is important because it interacts with how fast animals grow, how much food they need, how big their populations are and how likely they are to become extinct."

The findings show that a slow rate of evolution is responsible for the limited diversity of crocodiles. It seems that the crocodiles arrived at a body plan that was very efficient and versatile enough that they did not need to change it in order to survive.

Such versatility could explained how crocodiles survived the meteor impact and subsequent environmental changes that killed the dinosaurs. 

Crocodiles cannot control their body temperature and require warmth from the environment. The climate during the Jurassic period was warmer than it is today, which likely supported the diverse types of crocs that no longer exist. 

"It is fascinating to see how intricate a relationship exists between the Earth and the living things we share it with," said Dr. Stockdale. "The crocodiles landed upon a lifestyle that was versatile enough to adapt to the enormous environmental changes that have taken place since the dinosaurs were around."

Next, the Bristol team will investigate why some types of prehistoric crocodile died out, while others persisted.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/commsbio">Communications Biology</a>.

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Crocodiles have not changed much in 200 million years

Why have crocodiles changed so little over the last 200...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.nhm.ac.uk/">Natural History Museum</a> described 503 previously unknown species in 2020. The work persisted despite the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, during which the museum closed its doors to the public for the longest time since World War II.

Museum researchers, curators, and scientific associates, have described new species from almost all kingdoms of life, including wasps, minerals, and miniature tarantulas.

"Once again, an end of year tally of new species has revealed a remarkable diversity of life forms and minerals hitherto undescribed," said Dr. Tim Littlewood, Executive Director of Science at the Natural History Museum. "The Museum's collection of specimens provide a resource within which to find new species as well as a reference set to recognize specimens and species as new." 

"Revealing new and undescribed species not only sustains our awe of the natural world, it further reveals what we stand to lose and helps estimate the diversity we may lose even before it's discovered. Our understanding of the natural world's diversity is negligible and yet we depend on its systems, interconnectedness and complexity for food, water, climate resilience and the air we breathe."

"In a year when the global mass of biodiversity is being outweighed by human-made mass it feels like a race to document what we are losing. 503 newly discovered species reminds us we represent a single, inquisitive, and immensely powerful species with the fate of many others in our hands."

The most exciting discovery is a new species of monkey found living on the side of an extinct volcano in Myanmar. The creature was identified using skins and bones that have been in the Museum's collection for over 100 years. 

The monkey, which is critically endangered, has been named the Popa langur after the mountain where it lives. "We hope that the naming of the species will help in its conservation,' says Roberto Portela Miguez, a senior curator at the museum. 

In the last 12 months, the researchers have described a total of three plants, three red seaweeds, ten ciliates, four diatoms, and a lichen. One of these species, Corallina chamberlainiae, is a beautiful seaweed that is found in the south Atlantic waters off of the Falkland Islands.

The team also discovered a crested lizard from Borneo, two new species of frogs, and nine new snakes.

"Our collections are made up of 80 million specimens and contain a huge range of species and a deep history that is key to allowing our scientists to be certain that they have found a creature which is new to science," said Ken Norris, Head of Life Sciences at the museum.

"‘These discoveries go to show the vital role that natural history collections around the world continue to play in describing new species and the hidden diversity that is contained within the collections."

The team introduced 170 beetles, 70 wasps, and 51 new species of snails. They also named nine moths, six species of centipedes, nine flatworms, one butterfly, and 10 bryozoans. Overall, the team found 122 new fossil species, including many extinct sea creatures. 

"With the world changing at an astonishing pace through climate and land use change as well as other numerous pressures on the natural world, it has never been more important to record life on our planet," said Norris.

"To protect and preserve life on our planet we need to document and understand it.  Thanks to the astonishing effort of the Museum's researchers during this difficult past year, we now know just that little bit more."

---

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The Natural History Museum introduced 503 new species in 2020

Scientists at the Natural History Museum described 503 previously unknown...

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;



---



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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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

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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