Two,Dogs,On,A,Summer,Outing

The belief that purebred dogs are inherently less healthy than <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/extreme-breeding-dogs-like-dachshunds-deserve-a-healthy-life/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">mixed-breed</a> dogs is a common misconception, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the <a href="https://vetmed.tamu.edu" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Texas A&amp;M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences</a>.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-purebred-and-mixed-bred-dogs">Purebred and mixed bred dogs </h2>



Purebred dogs are those that belong to a specific breed and have a documented pedigree in a breed registry. They are bred to meet specific standards set by official breed organizations, which may include characteristics like appearance, behavior, and other traits.



Mixed-breed dogs, also known as mutts or crossbreeds, are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/a-dogs-breed-can-affect-both-perceived-and-real-pain-sensitivity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">dogs</a> that have more than one identifiable breed in their genetic history. They do not have a pedigree that traces back to specific breed lines and often possess a combination of traits from the different breeds in their lineage. Mixed-breed dogs are typically unique in appearance and behavior due to their varied genetic makeup.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-health-comparison">Health comparison</h2>



"There are several well-known diseases that frequently occur in specific dog breeds," said Dr. Kate Creevy, chief veterinary officer of the Dog Aging Project. "This has helped perpetuate the misconception that all purebred dogs are more prone to disease, but that is not the case."



The comprehensive study examined health records from over 27,000 companion dogs. Here's what the data revealed:



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-breed-specific-predispositions">Breed-specific predispositions</h3>



Some dog breeds are known to have a higher likelihood of developing specific health problems due to their genetic makeup. For example, German shepherds are more prone to hip dysplasia, while golden retrievers have an increased risk of certain cancers.



However, it's important to note that this does not mean all purebred dogs will automatically develop these conditions.The overall likelihood of a dog experiencing health problems is generally similar between purebred dogs and mixed-breed dogs.



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-common-conditions">Common conditions</h3>



Many common health issues affect both purebred and mixed-breed dogs with similar frequency. This includes problems like:



<ul>
<li>Ear infections (caused by bacteria, yeast, or ear mites)</li>



<li>Osteoarthritis (joint inflammation and pain)</li>



<li>Dental problems (plaque buildup, gum disease, tooth loss)</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-preventative-care-for-mixed-and-purebred-dogs">Preventative care for mixed and purebred dogs</h2>



Proactive care is essential for all dogs, regardless of whether they are purebred or mixed-breed. This includes:



<ul>
<li>Regular veterinary checkups and vaccinations to catch health problems early.</li>



<li>Addressing dental health through brushing, dental chews, and professional cleanings to prevent disease.</li>



<li>Managing allergies through dietary changes, medication, and reducing exposure to allergens.</li>



<li>Maintaining a healthy weight through diet and exercise to prevent joint problems and other health risks.</li>
</ul>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-implications-for-pet-owners">Implications for pet owners</h2>



"People should consider many factors when choosing a dog, including environment, lifestyle, social interactions, and physical activity," noted Dr. Creevy. Breed should be one factor among many when selecting a canine companion.



Understanding breed-specific predispositions, working with a veterinarian to develop a tailored care plan, and prioritizing preventative measures are essential aspects of responsible pet ownership.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-trends-within-purebred-dog-breeds">Trends within purebred dog breeds</h2>



The researchers identified the 25 dog <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/modern-dogs-have-larger-brains-than-ancient-dog-breeds/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">breeds</a> most frequently represented in the Dog Aging Project, including popular breeds like labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and German shepherds. These 25 breeds account for a significant portion (60%) of all the purebred dogs included in the research.



Across these breeds, conditions like dental calculus (tartar buildup), allergies, joint pain, and heart murmurs were amongst the most frequently reported health concerns. 



Interestingly, mixed-breed dogs also experience many of these same common health problems.However, mixed breeds showed slightly lower occurrences of dental issues. Conversely, they had a slightly higher rate of accidental chocolate toxicity (which can be harmful or fatal to dogs).



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-unexpected-bite-statistic">Unexpected bite statistic</h2>



“We were surprised by the number of owners who reported that their dogs had experienced a bite from another dog,” noted Dr. Creevy. 



This unexpected result highlights the need for further investigation into canine aggression. The researchers aim to gain a clearer understanding of the factors contributing to dog-on-dog biting behavior. 



By exploring these factors, experts can potentially develop strategies to reduce the frequency and severity of dog bites in the future.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-the-dog-aging-project">The Dog Aging Project</h2>



The <a href="https://dogagingproject.org" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Dog Aging Project</a> is an ongoing research initiative that welcomes dogs from all walks of life. Their goal is to improve our understanding of how dogs age and promote canine health. This project operates as a community effort, meaning that dog owners play a vital role by providing information and sometimes samples (like fur or blood) from their pets.



Through this collaboration, researchers gather a huge amount of data that offers valuable insights into canine health. These insights don't just benefit our furry friends; they also have the potential to inform studies on human health and aging.



This study highlights the importance of moving beyond breed-based assumptions when it comes to canine health. Responsible ownership, knowledge of potential breed-specific concerns, and a commitment to preventative care are the cornerstones of a long, healthy, and happy life for your four-legged friend.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2023.1140417/full" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Frontiers in Veterinary Science</a>.



-----



Like what you read? <a href="https://www.earth.com/subscribe/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe to our newsletter</a> for engaging articles, exclusive content, and the latest updates.&nbsp;



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



-----

Purebred dogs are not more prone to disease than mixed-breed dogs

The belief that purebred dogs are inherently less healthy than mixed-breed dogs is a common misconception, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Texas A&amp;M School of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Purebred and mixed bred dogs Purebred dogs are those that belong to a specific breed and have a documented pedigree in a breed registry. They are bred to meet specific standards set by official breed organizations, which may include characteristics like appearance, behavior, and other traits. Mixed-breed dogs, also known as mutts...

Endogenous retroviruses are the remains of retroviral infections that have marked themselves into human DNA at some point in time. While these retroviruses are commonly found in the human genome, scientists do not know how they made the transition from causing disease to becoming generally inactive.

A research team led by the <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a> has focused a study on <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-likely-to-turn-up-heat-on-koalas/">koalas</a> to investigate. Co-author Alfred Roca is an associate professor in the Department of Animal Sciences.

“In humans, the youngest known endogenous retrovirus groups are around 5 million years old,” said Professor Roca. “That makes it very hard to tell what happened. But the koala is one of the few species known to have an ongoing invasion of the germline by a retrovirus.”


After attacking a host from outside of the body and gaining entry, retroviruses merge with cells to release their contents. Next, the viruses insert pieces of their DNA into the genetic code and replicate themselves.


If retroviral genes make their way into sperm or egg cells, they can be passed along to the host's offspring. This process makes the retrovirus a permanent part of the reproductive genome, or the germline.

Over time, the DNA sequences stop coding for disease-causing retroviruses and instead become inert “junk DNA.”

“We think the pressure for external viruses is to make lots of copies of themselves and infect more individuals,” said Professor Roca. “But once the virus becomes part of the host germline, the pressure is going to be for it to leave the host alone because the host is needed to reproduce the sequence. It has to play nice or otherwise it disappears. The question is how does this process take place?”

The koala retrovirus is less than 50,000 years old, which is still relatively young. The virus has not yet settled into a fixed location, enabling experts to track its activity across the koala genome in real time.

The study revealed that an ancient retroviral element is inserting itself into the new retrovirus and deactivating it. Instead of coding for proteins that cause infectious attacks, the resulting sequence does not code for anything.

“We might have found evidence for a molecular defense mechanism of hosts against new retroviral attacks, mediated by more ancient retroviral elements,” said study first author Ulrike Löber.

Alex Greenwood of the <a href="https://www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de/en/">Leibniz Institute</a> is the study's lead author.

“The study emphasizes how little we know about the diversity and reservoirs of retroviruses among wildlife,” said Greenwood. “The koala, a species not usually associated with biomedical breakthroughs, is providing key insights into a process that has shaped 8 percent of the human genome, and likely shows us what happened millions of years ago when retroviruses invaded the human germline."

The research is published in the journal <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Lauren D. Quinn, University of Illinois

Koalas have a secret defense against viral attacks

Endogenous retroviruses are the remains of retroviral infections that have...

Colonies of invasive Tegu lizards, originally brought to the United States as pets, could soon wreak havoc across local ecosystems from Florida to Texas. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.tamu.edu/">Texas A&amp;M University </a>conducted a study on the potential invasive range of Tegu lizards, now isolated to two large colonies in Florida. 

The results, published online through the journal Nature, show that because Tegus can thrive in a range of habitats and eat everything from insects to alligator eggs, the species could expand as far as central Texas which could disrupt local food chains and endanger other animals. 

“They are voracious, omnivorous predatory lizards that can live in a variety of habitats, but we can't know what is going to happen or how intense this invasion is going to become until the effects are upon us,” Lee Fitzgerald, a professor at Texas A&amp;M University, told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-6022955/Invasion-big-voracious-lizards-threatens-U-S-South-study.html">Daily Mail</a> in an interview. 

The researchers aren’t sure exactly how far Tegu lizards will spread or when the species will invade new habitats because there’s no way to tell how many Tegus will be abandoned by their owners or escape in the coming years. 

So far, wild Tegu populations have been reported in several areas in Florida, according to the <a href="http://myfwc.com/">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission</a>. 

The best way to prevent Tegu lizards from spreading as an invasive species is to ensure that lizards stay put in their homes. 

This is not the first exotic animal that has found its way into Florida’s ecosystem because of its   prized status as a pet. 

For example, the Burmese Python is now no longer able to be sold as a pet in the state of Florida because of the rash of pythons now living in Florida’s Everglades. 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission even runs an <a href="http://www.myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/amnesty-program/">Exotic Pet Amnesty Program</a> to help stop the spread of non-native species in the wild by offering to take exotic pets away from the owners who don’t want them or can’t care for them. 

As intriguing and unique as a Burmese Python snake or colorful parrot might be to have as a pet, many times pet owners find themselves <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/concerns-reptiles-amphibians-pets/">ill-equipped to adequately care the animal</a> as it grows into adulthood. 

Tegu Lizards can grow up to four feet in length and can be temperamental and difficult at times. 

The quickest solution, then for an overwhelmed pet owner, is to release the animal into the wild, but this has only created a number of problems for Florida’s ecosystems. 

“The most important thing that the public can do to stop the spread of non-native species like tegus is to NEVER release non-native animals into the wild,” commission specialist Jamie Rager told the Daily Mail. “Don't let it loose.” 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Invasive Tegu lizards pose a big problem in the southern US

Colonies of invasive Tegu lizards, originally brought to the United...

A city in Australia successfully wiped out dengue fever by infecting mosquitoes with a bacteria that stops the virus from spreading. 

Dengue fever is the leading cause of illness and death in the subtropics and tropics, and according to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/index.html">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a>, more than one-third of the world’s population is at risk of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/global-warming-dengue-fever/">contracting dengue</a>. Mosquitoes spread the virus and symptoms can mirror those of the flu. 

In 2014, researchers from the <a href="https://www.monash.edu/">Monash University of Melbourne</a>, led by Scott O'Neil, a Monash professor and director of the dengue mosquito program, infected Aedes aegypti mosquitoes with a bacteria called Wolbachia. 

Wolbachia stops mosquitoes from passing on dengue fever to humans and over the next two years, four million anti-virus mosquitos were released in Townsville, Australia. 

Eventually, the infected mosquitoes bred with wild mosquitos and the virus inhibiting bacteria spread to the offspring, continuing to keep dengue at bay. 

Today, the city of Townsville has not had a single case of dengue in the four years since the Wolbachia mosquitoes were first introduced, according to the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-6022713/Deadly-dengue-fever-wiped-entire-city-anti-virus-mosquitoes.html">Daily Mail</a>. 

The trial run of using modified mosquitoes to combat dengue was so successful that there are already plans to introduce Wolbachia infected mosquitoes into eleven other countries where dengue can be contracted. 

“At a cost of around $15 per person, the Townsville trial demonstrates the approach can be rolled out quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively to help provide communities ongoing protection from mosquito-borne diseases,” said Scott O'Neill.

Eventually, O’Neil and his program colleagues hope to reduce the cost of introducing Wolbachia mosquitoes to one dollar per person. 

The Wolbachia mosquito program has a lot of potential, but there are concerns that introducing the mosquitoes to regions where Dengue fever cases are more numerous than in Townsville will hinder the mosquitoes from successfully eradicating the virus. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Australian city wipes out dengue fever using modified mosquitoes

A city in Australia successfully wiped out dengue fever by...

Researchers have discovered that the African killifish is the fastest maturing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dorsal-fin-arms-legs/">vertebrate</a> on the planet. Lab studies have revealed that, only two weeks after hatching from a tiny egg, the fish grow to their full body size of four to five centimeters and begin reproducing.

African killifish are known to live most of the year as diapausing embryos buried in sediments across the African savannah. When rainwater creates ponds across the landscape, the fish must hatch, grow, mature, and produce the next generation before the pool dries up.

Martin Reichard of the Institute of Vertebrate Biology at <a href="http://www.avcr.cz/en/">The Czech Academy of Sciences</a> is the study’s lead author.

“We guessed that some populations of this species could achieve very rapid growth and sexual maturation under particular conditions,” said Reichard. “But we have found that this rapid maturation is the norm rather than a rare exception.”

The research also showed that the tiny fish have pretty flexible lifespans. According to Reichard, the typical maturation rate in the lab is three or four weeks under optimal conditions. In contrast, some scientists have reported that it takes up to 10 weeks for the fish to reach sexual maturity, which is five times longer than what the researchers have now observed in the wild.

The team is primarily interested in investigating the aging process of wild populations. In most vertebrates, aging takes years to achieve. 

With killifish, however, the entire aging process can be captured across several populations in a matter of months. In that short amount of time, the fish showed notable functional declines along with all of the other signs expected with normal aging.

The study was focused on natural populations of the killifish across its range in southern Mozambique between January and May 2016. The fish were collected from eight separate pools within a period of three weeks after the pools first filled with rainwater. 

The study revealed that the fish hatched within three days of rainfall. Detailed analysis of male and female gonads also demonstrated that individuals of both sexes were fully mature within 14 or 15 days.


Reichard says the findings are yet another reminder of how little we know about the diversity of life in the wild. The research team will continue to analyze the aging patterns of these fleeting killifish populations. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/home">Current Biology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: R. Bla�ek

African killifish set record for fully maturing in only two weeks

Researchers have discovered that the African killifish is the fastest...

The first-ever publication of the fox genome will help scientists to understand the genetic basis of tame and aggressive behaviors, which may shed light on human behavior as well.

Study lead author Anna Kukekova is an assistant professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at the <a href="http://illinois.edu/">University of Illinois</a>.

“We've been waiting for this tool for a very, very long time,” said Professor Kukekova. “In our previous work, we tried to identify regions of the fox genome responsible for tame and aggressive behavior, but these studies required a reference genome and all we could use was the dog genome. For us, the fox genome provides a much better resource for genetic analysis of behavior.”


Foxes at the <a href="http://www.bionet.nsc.ru/en">Russian Institute of Cytology and Genetics</a> have been selected for tameness or aggression, in a long-term effort to recreate the process of domestication from wolves to modern <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/dogs-helped-humans-exclude/">dogs</a>.

After sequencing and assembling the fox genome, the team focused on these Russian foxes to look for genetic regions which distinguish the tame, aggressive, and conventional farm-raised foxes.

The researchers sequenced the genomes of 10 individuals from each population, then compared them to the full fox genome and each other. Differences were found across the three populations in 103 genomic regions, some of which have turned out to be responsible for tame and aggressive behaviors.

“Finding genomic regions at such resolution was beyond any expectations with our previous tools. Now, for the first time, we could not only pinpoint part of a chromosome which makes foxes more tame or aggressive, but we could identify specific genes responsible for it,” said Professor Kukekova.

When the team compared the 103 genomic regions to those of other sequenced mammals, they found some intriguing results. 

For example, they identified similarities between behavior regions in foxes, areas critical to domestic behavior in dogs, and a region associated with Williams-Beuren syndrome in humans. This genetic disorder is characterized by extremely outgoing and friendly behavior.

“Oddly enough, we found the Williams-Beuren region in aggressive foxes, not tame ones. We thought it would be the opposite,” explained Professor Kukekova.

The mysterious finding highlights how much more research is needed before the complex behavior of both animals and humans can be fully understood.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer
Image Credit: Darya Shepeleva, scientist at the Russian Institute of Cytology and Genetics in Novosibirsk

Unraveling the behavior of foxes sheds light on human behavior

The first-ever publication of the fox genome will help scientists...

A.I. specialist Louis B. Rosenberg notes that flocking behavior makes animals “smarter together.” That is, the decisions made by the group as a whole confer advantages to each member as an individual. 

There’s a reason that flocks and other types of animal swarms are appealing to artificial intelligence researchers: they provide complex, yet rule-bound, systems that can be studied for efficiencies and inefficiencies and then applied to human problems. One of the more fascinating and complex flocking systems occurs among birds. While of course the movements and decisions made by a flock comprising a single species are complicated in and of themselves, even more byzantine are the interactions of groups known as mixed species foraging flocks. They’re exactly what they sound like: groups of birds of different species who forage for food together. 

It is important to distinguish these flocks from feeding aggregations. Feeding aggregations usually occur around static sources of food, such as those provided by fruiting trees. Though of course the different species of bird who frequent these trees must interact on some level as they make use of the same resource, the social dynamic is far less complex than that exhibited when <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-learn-language-listening/">birds</a> of different species actively search for food together. There is something of a spectrum in this sort of collective behavior. 

For example, seabirds such as cormorants, murres, murrelets, gulls, and kittiwakes often participate in foraging efforts that converge around large schools of fish. This isn’t quite as simple as plucking fruits off of a tree. And numerous factors drive the interaction. Most mixed species foraging flocks have one or two “nuclear” species that propel the “associate” or “follower” species forward. 

Smithsonian ethologist Martin Moynihan <a href="https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/22974/SMC_143_Moynihan_1-140.pdf?sequence=1&amp;isAllowed=y">pioneered much of the work in this area in the 1960s</a>, though the phenomenon has been known since the mid 1800s. It is thought that diving birds, such as murres and murrelets, may be the nuclear species in these interactions, as their underwater foraging drives fish toward the surface, allowing surface feeders like gulls to take their pick. Intriguingly, the foraging habits of cormorants who join the smorgasbord may actually disperse the fish in a way unfavorable to the other diners and thus act as “suppressors” per a <a href="https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v058n04/p0456-p0463.pdf">University of Manitoba study from 1987</a>. There’s a good deal of thievery as well: gulls are notorious kleptoparasites. 

Even more complex are the behaviors of forest birds, both in the tropics and in the temperate zones. Like seabirds, forest-dwelling birds form flocks led by one or two species and followed by other. But, the number of species is generally much higher in these groups—<a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/492314a">up to 20 or more in the tropics</a>—and the interactions are consequently more complex. Further, the food they are in search—usually insects—is dispersed and hidden among the leaves and branches, and on the forest floor, creating a greater challenge for the foragers. 

In the tropics, these groups are more common during the dry season, when birds are not breeding, though they occur all year round. In temperate zones, they occur mainly in winter. The reason seems clear: these group interactions improve the efficiency of locating and consuming food, especially in times of scarcity. Because most of the birds that participate in these flocks are relatively small, they also gain some protection from predators. More birds means more eyes on the sky, scanning for hawks and other threats.  

This is particularly advantageous to follower species. Leader species tend to be the most vocal and the most social. In the tropics they often include babblers, tanagers, and warblers, while in temperate zones they are usually comprised of tits, titmice, and chickadees. Follower species such as wrens, nuthatches, and woodpeckers in temperate zones and drongos, woodcreepers, and birds of paradise in tropical zones, have learned to interpret their social cues, both in locating food and in responding to their predator alarms. Because they are usually more specialized in where they find their food than nuclear species, which tend to be more generalist, finding food requires more searching and thus more energy. 

By having a free lookout system in the nuclear species, they are able to devote some of the energy they normally expend scanning for predators foraging instead. Many follower species join and leave the flock over the course of a day. Some only persist until the flock leaves their territory while others are emboldened to leave their normal haunts. Despite the fact that nuclear species appear to obtain limited benefits from this mutualistic relationship, they appear not to mind much. Though there is some jockeying for position in these flocks, there appears to be little true physical aggression. 

There is a fair bit of sneakiness though. <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/4/6/170222">A 2017 Kyoto University study</a> found that willow tits (Poecile montanus), leaders of these types of flocks, reduced their calling when they were attempting to cache food for later use, indicating an awareness that their usual calling would attract other species, which could conceivably raid the caches.  The greater racket-tailed drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus), conversely, mimics the calls of other species that tend to participate in mixed species flocks in an effort to recruit more members according to a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347206001849?via%3Dihub">2006 study from the University of Massachusetts</a>. 

Other species, like antshrikes, may feign alarm in an effort to get other birds to drop their food, which can then be easily snapped up. The growing body of research on these types of interaction suggest highly <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/1dc4/95de7eaf0831855313f714bf7c84f2c1c70e.pdf">co-evolved relationships in some cases</a>. Many tropical birds are rarely seen outside of mixed species flocks, suggesting a level of dependence on that foraging strategy. This specialization has major implications for birds living in increasingly fragmented habitat. Fragmented habitat tends to be less species-diverse and thus mixed species flocks do not function as they might in virgin forest. Encouragingly, though, mixed species flocking does appear to have some benefits in fragmented territory: shy follower birds are much more likely to move from fragment to fragment if chaperoned by nuclear species. 

The ephemeral and tenuously predicated nature of this ecological relationship underscores the need for responsible land stewardship and preservation. These colorful cavalcades are, perhaps even more than their constituent species, crucial to the balance of their environments. 

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Smarter Together: Mixed species foraging flocks

A.I. specialist Louis B. Rosenberg notes that flocking behavior makes...

Scientists think small dogs may feel a little self-conscious about their size – and that short dog syndrome may lead them to overcompensate a little when it’s time to use the hydrant.

The new study, published in the <a href="https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jzo.12603">Journal of Zoology</a>, found that small dogs may urinate higher on lamps, walls and hydrants when marking their territory in an attempt to seem more intimidating.

“Assuming body size is a proxy for competitive ability, small adult male dogs may place urine marks higher, relative to their own body size, than larger adult male dogs to exaggerate their competitive ability,” the researchers wrote in their study.

The researchers, from Cornell University, worked with animal shelters to test their short dog syndrome theory. They took dogs of all sizes for walks, filming them as they urinated on vertical surfaces – trees, walls, posts, and so on – with an iPhone or high-speed camera.

Then, they calculated the angle that each dog raised its leg as a stand-in for the height of their urine stream. They found that, relative to their size, small dogs lifted their legs much higher than their larger counterparts.

“Thus, even though height of urine mark does reflect size of signaler in part, small dogs seem to ‘cheat’ by using larger raised-leg angles to deposit higher urine marks, thereby exaggerating their size,” the researchers wrote.

There could be physical explanations that rule out the short dog syndrome theory, the researchers noted. Maybe larger dogs just can’t lift their legs at the same angle small dogs can. They also didn’t control for over marking, they warned, so more study is needed to confirm their hypothesis.

But the study does point to the possibility of different behavior from small dogs who want to seem fiercer, larger and more in charge. 

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Do petite pooches have short dog syndrome?

Scientists think small dogs may feel a little self-conscious about...

If spiders scare your socks off, it might be time to give up the color green. A new study has found that wolf spiders are drawn to that shade, and they may not be alone.

“The assumption was wolf spiders don’t pay attention to color, but we found that isn’t really true,” co-author Dr. George Uetz told the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/index.html">Daily Mail</a>.

Uetz, a biologist at the <a href="http://www.uc.edu/">University of Cincinnati</a>, led the study of 1,200 wolf spiders, a species found all over the world. The team played footage of courting spiders for each of the participating arachnids, but manipulated the background color, contrast and intensity to test their vision.

They found that while the spiders have four eyes, in some ways their vision is limited. Humans have trichromatic vision, allowing us to differentiate the color green from red and blue shades, except in cases of color blindness. Wolf spiders have dichromatic vision, so are only light in green or ultraviolet shades.

And it turns out they really like the color green. To the wolf spiders, both prey and potential mates stand out well against green light, so they’re drawn to it.

“What we found is that for female spiders, intensity matters more than color, but for male eavesdroppers, color matters, too,” Uetz told the Mail.

Wolf spiders prefer to sit and wait for their prey to come to them. When they spot a tasty looking meal, they pounce to capture it. They may prefer to sit on surfaces like leaves so that their prey better stands out against the color green, making their hunting easier. 

A study conducted earlier this year found that wolf spiders also have <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-4340548/Wolf-spiders-distinct-personalities.html">distinct personalities</a>. They live alone, but can communicate through courtship dances and chemical signals.

The new research was presented at the <a href="http://www.americanarachnology.org/">American Arachnological Society</a> in June.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Wolf spiders love the color green, study shows

If spiders scare your socks off, it might be time...

The sparkling white sand of Florida’s southwestern beaches aren’t dotted with sunbathers this week. Instead, they’re strewn with the corpses of dead marine creatures, victims of a red tide.

While the toxic algae blooms known as “red tides” are common off the coasts of the Gulf of Mexico, the <a href="https://floridadep.gov/">Florida Department of Environmental Protection</a> is calling the current event the worst in a decade. The state’s governor has declared a state of emergency.

At least 400 sea turtles have died, Newsweek is reporting. Several news outlets reported that a dead manatee was also recovered off the Florida coast, and at least one biologist found evidence the red tide may have killed a whale shark. Tissue taken from the whale shark’s organs and muscles tested positive for brevetoxin, a neurotoxin created by the algae.

“This whale shark was definitely exposed to the bloom, and we know brevetoxins (are deadly),” spokeswoman Kelly Richmond of the <a href="http://myfwc.com/">Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission</a> told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a>.

While biologists are still working to determine the cause of death, if the algae bloom did play a role, it would be the first known incident in which a whale shark has been killed by a bloom.

About 100 miles of the Florida shore have been affected, and the red tide looks like a persistent one. The algae bloom – which gets its name because the microscopic algae often turn water red – has already lasted since November of last year, and could stretch into 2019, some scientists are saying.

“Many people will tell you that this is the worst they have ever seen,” Jacylin Bevis, a reporter with the NBC affiliate in Fort Myers, Florida, told <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/">NBC News</a>. “It’s our entire south Florida coastline with the red tide and then with the blue-green algae on the rivers and canals."

Most algae blooms are beneficial to the ocean, providing a source of food for marine creatures. Red tides, on the other hand, produce toxins that can harm or kill sea life.

Usually, cold spells break up or kill off some of the algae, but not this time. The red tide is going strong – and has been joined by toxic blue-green algae invading Lake Okeechobee, and several of the state’s rivers and canals, <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/">Newsweek</a> said.

More than a dozen people have gone to the emergency room after exposure to the blue-green algae, also known as cyanobacteria.

—

By Kyla Cathey, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Red tide kills hundreds of fish, turtles in southwest Florida

The sparkling white sand of Florida’s southwestern beaches aren’t dotted...

Birds can learn the calls of other bird species, almost akin to learning a new language, just by listening to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/songbirds-visualize-predators/">nearby warning calls</a>. 

Studies have found that birds are excellent “eavesdroppers,” meaning they can tune into the calls of other birds if there is a warning for a nearby predator. This helps the bird stay alert even when there aren’t predators in sight. 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.anu.edu.au/">Australian National University</a> in Canberra and the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> in the UK studied fairy-wrens to better understand this eavesdropping process.

The results published in the journal Current Biology show that fairy-wrens are able to interpret an unfamiliar warning call even if they never see the bird that’s making the call or the predator in the area. 

“Alarm calls warn of predators, but here the birds learned the meaning of the call from the alarm calls of others without needing to see the predator,” said Robert Magrath, a co-author of the study. “This means it is a type of 'social learning,' where individuals learn from others rather than through direct experience. In this case, it's even more indirect, because they only need to hear and not see the birds giving the familiar alarm calls. So theoretically they could learn with their eyes closed!”

Previously, Magrath and his colleagues discovered that fairy-wrens could be conditioned to recognize an unfamiliar alarm call if they saw a predator every time they heard the call. 

For this study, though, the researchers found that the birds could learn to associate a call with danger just by hearing it. 

The researchers exposed a group of fairy-wrens to unfamiliar warning calls along with fairy-wren warning calls. 

When the birds heard the unfamiliar sounds, there was no immediate response to hide or flee, but as time went on the fairy-wrens eventually learned to seek cover when they heard the unfamiliar calls. 

According to the researchers the birds had learned to associate unfamiliar calls with the known calls of their own species and recognize danger. 

“The results were striking,” said Dominique Potvin, a member of the research team. “They show just how quickly social learning can occur in the wild through listening to alarm choruses, a tactic that's likely to come in handy given how hard it is to see predators and callers in many environments.”

The results of the study could help rehabilitation efforts, as many birds bred in captivity are more likely to be killed by predators because they haven't been exposed to the variety of warning calls that their wild counterparts have. 

By training birds in captivity to recognize many different danger calls, the birds have a better chance in the wild. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Jessica McLachlan

Birds can learn other languages simply by listening in

Birds can learn the calls of other bird species, almost...

A single great white shark can lose thousands of teeth in its lifetime thanks to the several rows of teeth located within its jaws. 

Fossilized shark teeth are somewhat abundant, and it’s through these that researchers can gain a better understanding of how the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event impacted shark diversity. 

Around 66 million years ago at the end of the Cretaceous period, a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/life-recovered-asteroid-dinosaurs/">mass extinction event</a> wiped out all non-avian dinosaurs and completely re-shaped wildlife on Earth. 

Without the dinosaurs and many other species and predators, food chains were rearranged and some species that were once less abundant had the opportunity to thrive like never before. 

Researchers from <a href="https://www.uu.se/en">Uppsala University</a> in Sweden and the <a href="http://www.une.edu.au/">University of New England</a> in Australia examined hundreds of fossilized shark teeth and found that shark diversity underwent a major change likely triggered by the mass extinction event that killed the dinosaurs. 

Where before Mackerel sharks (lamniforms) like great whites ruled the sea during the Cretaceous period, they were soon replaced by Ground sharks (Carcharhiniformes) which is the most diverse shark group today.

There are over 200 species of Carcharhiniformes that exist around the world today, and something shifted at the end of the Cretaceous to allow for this switch in shark group abundance. 

The study was published in the journal Current Biology. 

“Our study found that the shift from lamniform- to carcharhiniform-dominated assemblages may well have been the result of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction,” said Mohamad Bazzi, the project’s leader. 

The researchers used analytical techniques to examine fossilized shark teeth, specifically focusing on variations of tooth shape between carcharhiniforms and lamniforms. Shark species’ diversity was then measured by calculating the disparity or variations of shape in the different teeth. 

The researchers found that the two groups of sharks responded differently to the extinction event and lamniform diversity decreased while carcharhiniforms thrived. 

“Carcharhiniforms are the most common shark group today and it would seem that the initial steps towards this dominance started approximately 66 million years ago,” said Bazzi. 

One possibility for this reversal in shark species dominance may have to do with changes in food availability following the extinction event. 

More research is needed to fully understand how shark diversity was changed at the end of the Cretaceous period but this study shows how tooth morphology (its shape and structure) can provide insight into an animal’s diet and evolutionary history. 

“By studying their teeth, we are able to get a glimpse at the lives of extinct sharks,” said Nicolás Campione, an author of the study. “And by understanding the mechanisms that have shaped their evolution in the past, perhaps we can provide some insights into how to mitigate further losses in current ecosystems.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Julius Csotonyi

Dinosaur extinction event jump-started modern shark diversity

A single great white shark can lose thousands of teeth...

When it comes to the utility of whale song, many experts have believed that <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/save-endangered-killer-whale/">whales</a> sing mainly as a sexual signal that helps females find high-quality males and for males to compete amongst each other for female attention. But this belief now has some contrary opinions going against it. 

New research in the journal <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology">Frontiers in Psychology</a> claims that rather than singing to attract a mate, whales actually sing as a form of echolocation. 

Eduardo Mercado III, a professor at the <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/">University of Buffalo</a> Department of Psychology, hypothesizes in his paper that whale song helps singers perform a type of auditory scene analysis. His theory states that whale song provides useful information to the singing whale, not just the whales that are listening.

“'Nearly every biologist is going to say this is nonsense, but I still maintain the direction of the current scientific consensus is wrong,” Mercado boldly claims. “They’re trying to create a scene that would not be there otherwise. When they create these echoes it’s like shining a searchlight in the dark.”

Through examining the physics of whale song, Mercado developed his model after noticing that the library of sound used by whales was changing in different years, so that whales had to process new songs every year. 

“That’s more difficult that humans trying to annually learn a new language,” he says. “For whales, it isn’t just language, but a whole new range of sounds and new patterns of sounds. For us, it would be like trying to communicate with a new species of humans with different vocal chords that produce a radically different language.”

Mercado is an expert on the effects of learning on brain function, and this learning ability in humpback whales was what led him to become interested in this project. “If my hypothesis is valid it means that whales are doing something much more complicated than what humans can even begin to approach,” Mercado says. “If we understood how whales accomplish this, it could help us understand better how brains work in general.”

Mercado calls for other researchers – who he knows will be skeptical – to prove him wrong. “It’s easy to get locked into believing something that seems obvious,” he says. “But looks, or in this case, sounds, can be deceiving.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Researcher: Whales sing to navigate, not to impress mates

When it comes to the utility of whale song, many...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0ynNMYkMKa-2340414-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="G9bUoxcjr4-2511624-12187" type="single"]</div>



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

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="3upvlAaHgO-2256633-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="LvS8v8bp9z-2564889-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JRaP49ISmm-2357509-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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"

[sendtonews key="uV9Lh2fQbV-1760058-12187" type="single"] Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky" Today’s...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qjvhBOBnY8-2426650-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="oL4FnPTGCV-2384527-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="0879czfG3k-1785905-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="QIoVYJqRBi-2434608-12187" type="single"]</div>



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)



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="JbW4VsY53O-1632195-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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



---



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...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="qARzJPSabQ-2270617-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="qas3EhyI0Y-2220951-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



---



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

[sendtonews key="vpljfR2VBX-2560867-12187" type="single"] Today's Video of the Day from the...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"]</div>



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;



---



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

[sendtonews key="MHyhtebibJ-2200368-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from NASA...

<div class="wp-block-sendtonews-playerselector">[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"]</div>



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



---



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

[sendtonews key="761m2QQvR1-2035772-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...