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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

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

Scientists from the <a href="https://www.unc.edu/">University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill</a> have found that loggerhead turtles find their nesting grounds by using the Earth's <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/second-magnetic-field-earth/">magnetic field</a>. By sensing the magnetic signature of the beach where they were born, they can find their way back home to lay eggs after traveling hundreds of miles.

The research team analyzed loggerhead turtle colonies in the Florida peninsula. They determined that the strength of the magnetic field enables the creatures to detect how far north or south their home beach is located. 

According to the scientists, this amazing ability of loggerheads is made even more incredible by the fact that Earth's magnetic field is not infallible.

The researchers discovered that turtles from a beach in Florida were more closely related to turtles from hundreds of miles away compared to those that lived on beaches within a couple of miles. They concluded that the loggerhead turtles must have laid their eggs on a beach that has a similar magnetic pattern.

“Magnetic fields are the strongest predictor of genetic similarity among nesting loggerhead sea turtles, regardless of the geographic proximity or environmental traits of nesting beaches,” wrote the study authors.

Study co-author Kenneth Lohmann explained: “Loggerhead sea turtles are fascinating creatures that begin their lives by migrating alone across the Atlantic Ocean and back. Eventually they return to nest on the beach where they hatched - or else, as it turns out, on a beach with a very similar magnetic field.”

“This is an important new insight into how sea turtles navigate during their long-distance migrations.”

Lohmann said that the findings of the study may have important applications for the conservation of sea turtles and other migratory animals.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://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

Migrating turtles use the Earth’s magnetic field to find home

Scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill...

Turns out, the big city doesn’t just toughen up the people who live there. Songbirds like great tits are also bolder and more aggressive when living in urban areas.

Led by Dr. Sam Hardman, researchers from <a href="https://www.aber.ac.uk/en/ibers/">Aberystwyth University’s Institute of Biological, Environmental and Rural Sciences</a> set out to see how living near humans might affect the personalities of great tits. 

In March and April 2015, the researchers studied great tits in their urban territories in Leicester and Derby, as well as in rural areas. 

“At this time of year males establish territories for the breeding season and they defend these aggressively against intruding males of the same species,” Hardman said in a press release. “We simulated a territorial intruder by playing back recordings of Great Tit song from a loudspeaker in the centre of the territory, and monitored the resident birds’ responses to defend that territory.”

The researchers measured the response from the native birds, from territorial singing to how quickly they investigated the “intruder.” The playback tests were repeated on other days to see whether the response was consistent. 

“We found that after the playback began urban birds flew towards the speaker 35.34 seconds faster than rural birds and approached 1.63 metres closer, suggesting urban birds are bolder and more aggressive than rural birds,” Hardman said.

The urban great tits were also less likely to repeat the same behavior in the same way than their country cousins. That could indicate that they’re more flexible in their behavior.

The study has been published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23463-7">Scientific Reports</a>.

Hardman’s research adds to a growing collection of research on how proximity to human activity affects songbirds like great tits. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/metal-pollution-personality-changes/">Another recent study</a> found that populations living near smelters show personality and behavioral changes associated with metal pollution.

Hardman, who is now at the <a href="http://www.orn.mpg.de/en">Max Planck Institute for Ornithology</a>, is continuing to study the songbirds. He is currently examining how stress affects them.

—

By Kyla Cathey,<a href="http://www.earth.com"> Earth.com</a> staff writer

Urban great tits are more aggressive than their country counterparts

Turns out, the big city doesn’t just toughen up the...

Living my whole life in Wyoming, western Colorado, South Dakota and now Arizona, it’s been hard for me to think of hunting as relatively unpopular.  Outside of larger cities in those states, I’ve always been in a small minority as a vegetarian, even among those who care for wild life. 

Working at a gunpowder factory, I heard everything from stories of deer hunting at the tragic poaching of a Big Horn sheep to threats of shooting crows settled on the buildings.  Growing up, I heard plenty of people in high school talk of plinking away at prairie dogs for fun and the moral rectitude of killing coyotes merely for being coyotes. 

But things have changed from my early childhood until now.  Vegetarian restaurants are more common and even in the most meat and potato bar and grills, it’s common to have a veggie burger on the menu. 

So it’s perhaps not entirely surprising that hunting is on decline. According to a 2010 report cited in the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/">New York Times</a>, the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">US Fish &amp; Wildlife Service</a> has seen a decline in <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hunting-pressure-bears-young/">hunting</a> in 33 states over two decades, the greatest being a decline of 50 percent in Massachusetts.  The decline was measured in sales of hunting licenses. The sale of hunting licenses is usually the main funding for state agencies that manage wildlife and many public lands.  According to <a href="https://www.npr.org/">NPR</a>, licenses and taxes on hunting and fishing equipment provide about 60 percent of funding for state wildlife agencies.  Hunters require land to hunt on that is also used by birders, hikers, mountain bikers, climbers and campers. 

Along with the continued decline in hunting outlined in the 2016 <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">US Fish &amp; Wildlife Service</a> report is an increase in fishing and wildlife viewing.  40 percent of Americans participated in some form of wildlife viewing in 2016.  There were 35.8 million anglers fishing in the US in 2016, with an increase of 8 percent from 2011 to 2016.  There were only 11.5 million hunters cited in the report but an amazing 86.0 million wildlife viewers. 

Beyond wildlife recreation, there are plenty of other nature related, outdoor activities.  Rock climbing, mountain biking, kayaking, casual hiking or even back packing aren’t necessarily wildlife related activities.  The numbers also don’t include people collecting wild mushrooms or flowers. 

Hunters are quick to point out their importance, especially how hunting revenue has paid for restoration of wildlife.  The other side of the story of course is that hunting decimated wildlife to begin with. Another complicating detail is that often hunters and advocate groups flex political muscle, making wildlife management what they want it to be.  Big Horn sheep were reintroduced into the Santa Catalina mountains north of Tucson, but when mountain lions preyed on the sheep, they were killed by Arizona Game and Fish. There are other places were sheep were introduced to places with little to no historical evidence of their previous existence.  Mountain Lions were again killed to protect populations of bighorns introduced largely because of hunter advocacy. Moose were introduced near my hometown of Grand Junction Colorado in a place they’d never lived before largely to satisfy the desire of locals to hunt moose. Of course, the idea is also to bring in outsiders and their money in moose hunts.  The overall effect is that when it comes to decisions over wildlife, hunters have a disproportionate sway on policy.

Ring Neck Pheasants are native to Asia but exist all over the United States due largely to the desire of hunters to kill them. According to the New York Times piece, a spending cut of $1 million on Pheasant repopulation was noted for the state of Pennsylvania.  It’s hard to imagine how a cut in money used to repopulate a non-native bird population will negatively hurt anyone besides hunters and the pheasant numbers.  

<a href="https://www.statista.com/">Statistica.com</a> shows an increase in Americans surveyed who said they went hiking or backpacking in the last 12 months.  In the spring of 2008, 29.23 million people said they went hiking, that number grew to 47.2 million people in 2017.  

A study done by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources in August 2014 showed that there is a statistically significant difference in attitudes between hunters and non-hunters on wolves.  Non-hunters had a significantly better view of wolves than hunters. In my experience, this difference in views also extends to mountain lions, deer and coyotes. 

As hunting declines in popularity, it seems that state wildlife management will become less necessary, or at the very least, it’s goals should change. With less pheasant hunters, there should be less spent on pheasant introduction (if it should ever have been spent to begin with).  With less deer hunters, wolves become more important to maintain deer in reasonable numbers, and if the Wisconsin survey is to be believed, attitudes may be more positive towards wolves. 

Hunting arguably does play an important role in environmentalism.  Hunters were some of the first and strongest advocates for wildlife and land conservation, but they also kept land as they wanted it, not necessarily as it was.  Hunting is also one of the few direct ways to interact with a landscape, to be part of a wild ecology.  Perhaps hunting should remain for those who want to participate, but that doesn’t mean they should set up the environment to favor them.  Hunting, if it remains, should be a matter of participating in a wilder environment and sharing it with birders, hikers, climbers and anglers.         

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

The decline of hunting for sport

Living my whole life in Wyoming, western Colorado, South Dakota...

Scientists at the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> are reporting that viruses are more likely to evolve in similar ways among species that are related. This raises the risk that they will jump from one host species to another.

The experts found that “parallel genetic changes” are more likely in closely related species, and the more susceptible one species is to a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bats-carry-dangerous-viruses/">virus</a> is indicative of the chances that it will jump to a related host. For example, humans could become vulnerable to a virus found in our distant relatives, such as chimpanzees.

HIV, bird flu, and Ebola are all examples of infectious diseases that were spread when the viruses jumped from one animal host to another in a process known as cross-species transmission.

For their investigation, the researchers sequenced the genomes of 19 different species of flies to track the evolution of viruses among them. The fruit flies used in the study were all from the Drosophilidae family and shared a common ancestor 40 million years ago.

“Our findings show that when a virus adapts to one host, it might also become better adapted to closely related host species," said study co-author Dr. Ben Longdon.

“This may explain in part why host shifts tend to occur between related species. However, we sometimes see the same mutations occurring in distantly related host species, and this may help explain why viruses may sometimes jump between distantly related host species.”

"At present we know very little about how viruses shift from one host species to another, so research like this is important if we want to understand and ultimately predict emerging viral diseases."

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/">PLOS Pathogen</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: Darren Obbard

Viruses are more likely to jump along closely related species

Scientists at the University of Exeter are reporting that viruses...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/falcon-attack-strategies-drones/">Peregrine falcons</a> catch their prey by diving from enormous heights and reaching speeds faster than any other animal on the planet. While this hunting technique is fascinating to watch – unless you’re the prey – it begs the question: why do peregrine falcons chose to enact such risky behavior, and endure significant physical and cognitive demands, to catch their prey? New research published in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/ploscompbiol/">PLOS Computational Biology</a> uses computer simulations to explore this incredible hunting display. 

In prior research, this team of scientists from <a href="https://www.rug.nl/?lang=en">University of Groningen</a>, Netherlands and <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">Oxford University</a>, UK attached video cameras and GPS trackers on Peregrine falcons to show that these birds attack their prey using similar steering rules to man-made missiles. 

For their new study, the researchers built a physics-based computer simulation of bird flight that pits falcons against their prey, further analyzing the falcons’ dive strategies. The simulation consists of the aerodynamics of bird flight, how birds flap and tuck their wings, how falcons perceive their prey, and how they react to prey with delay and target it like a missile. 

Through running this simulation millions of times, and changing the falcon’s attack strategy each time, the team found that high-speed dives allow the birds to produce much higher aerodynamic forces for maneuvering, which maximizes their changes of capturing fast-moving prey. But the simulation also showed that these high-speed dives require precisely tuned steering in order for the falcon to come away with its prize. 

The results showed that optimal tuning of mathematical laws that control steering in the simulation corresponded with the measurements of steering for real, non-simulated falcons.

With these new findings, the study’s authors will now be extending their simulation to explore the unique attack strategies of other raptor species – including the goshawk and sparrow hawk. This research may help determine why different raptors usually specialize on different types of prey. Their research also includes studying the best escape tactics that prey can use to avoid capture – something you may want to look into if you find yourself pursued by a raptor.

“Our simulations reveal why peregrines have evolved to dive from great heights, and at speeds faster than any other animal,” says Robin Mills. “Ultimately, we aim to understand the arms race between aerial predators and their prey that has led raptors to become some of the fastest and most agile animals on Earth.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.plos.org/">PLOS</a>

Peregrine falcons employ speed and strategy to capture agile prey

Peregrine falcons catch their prey by diving from enormous heights...

Species that are more “charismatic” have a higher status and visibility in conservation biology, and it’s often said that they receive a privileged level of attention at the expense of less exciting, more plain animals. But a new study published in <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/">PLOS Biology</a> has found that these animals’ popularity might actually have a negative impact on their conservation. 

An international research team led by Franck Courchamp, the Director of Research at the <a href="https://www.universite-paris-saclay.fr/en">University of Paris</a>, Saclay, France used online surveys, school questionnaires, zoo websites, and animated movies in order to identify the ten most charismatic animals. To no one’s surprise, the tiger, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/ancient-lions-tall-humans/">lion</a>, and elephant were at the top. But this runs contrary to the conservation status of these animals, which are highly threatened in the wild and have experienced significant declines in recent years. 

In fact, the scientific community as a whole knows very little about these popular species. The precise number of elephants, gorillas, or panthers on the planet is still unknown. The results of the study also showed that, despite the public adoration for these animals, many people are blind to the fact that a lot of these species are near extinction. Because of this, the general public has put very little effort into endorsing protection efforts for the animals they so love.

The study’s authors believe that the omnipresence of these species in our culture and in the marketing media has formed a deceptive “virtual population,” which leads people to believe that these species are doing just fine. In other words, if you’re constantly seeing tigers on cereal boxes or lions in the movies you watch, you’re tricked into thinking that the presence of these animals in your life means they are doing well in the wild. An interesting finding during this study was that the average French person will see more virtual lions – through photos, logos, cartoons, and brands – in a month than there are wild lions left in the entirety of West Africa. 

“Unknowingly, companies using giraffes, cheetahs or polar bears for marketing purposes may be actively contributing to the false perception that these animals are not at risk of extinction, and therefore not in need of conservation,” says Courchamp.

So what is the solution? The researchers propose that companies using an image of a threatened species for marketing purposes should also be contributing to information campaigns in order to promote their conservation. They go on to suggest that a portion of the marketing benefits be used to fund the protection of the species as well. And it only seems right – if a company uses your likeness in an add or as a logo, you get paid handsomely. Why can’t lions and polar bears have the same compensation?

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Luke Tanis on Unsplash

Charismatic animals that appear on TV struggle with conservation

Species that are more “charismatic” have a higher status and...

Researchers have learned of a creative mating ritual that is unique to Costa's hummingbirds. According to the study, male Costa's perform a strategic dive during which they “sing” to females using their tail feathers.


While other hummingbird species plunge in front of potential <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/friendly-bonobos-aggressive-mating/">mates</a>, Costa's perform their dives to the side of females. Scientists at the <a href="http://www.ucr.edu/">University of California, Riverside</a> (UCR) have found that this trajectory minimizes an audible Doppler sound that is generated by the dive.

The researchers believe that the males are manipulating the way females perceive their performances by minimizing the Doppler sound. Without this noise, females cannot acoustically detect the speed of the movements.

Study lead author Christopher Clark is an assistant professor of Biology in UCR's <a href="http://admissions.ucr.edu/academics/college-of-natural-and-agricultural-sciences-cnas.html">College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences</a>.


“Recent studies in birds and other animals suggest that females prefer higher speeds during male athletic displays,” explained Professor Clark. “By concealing their speed, males are not necessarily cheating, but instead have evolved this placement of trajectory out of female choice.”

Along with co-author Emily Mistick, Professor Clark determined that males direct their sound toward potential mates by twisting their tail vertically by up to 90 degrees. Previously, Professor Clark had demonstrated that the tail song is made by the rapid flapping of the outer tail feathers.

“We don't know why males twist only half of their tails toward the females, but it may be due to anatomical limitations that prevent them from twisting their whole tail around,” he explained.

The researchers used an acoustic camera to document Costa's dives. In addition, they conducted experiments in a wind tunnel to investigate how the speed and direction of the birds may alter the sounds that they produce.

This is when they discovered that it was difficult to measure the velocity of the Costa's plunge in relation to the correlating sound.

“Once I realized it wasn't trivial for a scientist to measure, I realized it wouldn't be trivial for a female to measure either,” said Clark. He explained that the findings add to a growing collection of studies which demonstrate how male animals use athletic displays to draw potential mates.

“Most research has focused on static male attributes, such as bright colors or elongated tails, but our research shows that dynamic displays may be just as important, and males strategically control these performances to show themselves in the best possible light,” said Clark.

The study is published in the journal <a href="http://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: Christopher Clark, UC Riverside

These hummingbirds make songs with their tail feathers to flirt

Researchers have learned of a creative mating ritual that is...

Droughts are predicted to become more frequent and more intense in many regions of the world, and researchers are reporting that droughts will have an increasing impact on bees. 

A field experiment conducted by scientists at the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> demonstrated that drought roughly halved the overall number of flowers. This is a substantial reduction in the amount of food available for bees and other pollinators.

“The plants we examined responded to drought in various ways, from producing fewer flowers to producing flowers that contained no nectar,” said lead researcher Ben Phillips.  

“But overall there was a very clear reduction in the number of flowers that were available - and obviously this means less food for flower-visiting insects such as bees.”


<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/hive-bound-bees-pesticides/">Bees</a> are already facing a number of threats including the spread of diseases and alien species, habitat loss, and exposure to harmful pesticides.

“Not only are these insects vital as pollinators of crops and wild plants, but they also provide food for many birds and mammals,” said co-lead author Dr. Ros Shaw.

The study was focused on three species of flowering plants on chalk grassland, which is an important habitat for UK pollinator species.

“Previous studies of the impacts of drought on flowers and bees have looked at individual species, often in the laboratory, but we used an experiment with rain shelters to examine the effects on real communities of plant species living in chalk grassland,” said study co-author Dr Ellen Fry.

“The level of drought that we looked at was calculated to be a rare event, but with climate change such droughts are expected to become much more common.”


The researchers warned that the results of this investigation are most likely applicable to other regions and habitats in addition to chalk grasslands.

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
Image Credit: University of Exeter

Droughts found to be a growing threat for bee populations

Droughts are predicted to become more frequent and more intense...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/pesticides-bumblebees-buzzing/">Neonicotinoid pesticides</a> are toxic to bees and hinder their pollinating and harvesting abilities. 

Foragers, the bees that travel beyond the hive to collect pollen and nectar, are directly exposed to neonicotinoids and herbicides, but what happens when the exposed honeybees bring pesticide particles back to the hive? 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.uba.ar/">Universidad de Buenos Aires</a> in Argentina set out to examine how neonicotinoids affected worker bees in the hive who might come in contact with pesticides while brushing past foragers and handling contaminated honey and pollen. 

The results of the study, published in the <a href="http://jeb.biologists.org/content/221/7/jeb176644">Journal of Experimental Biology</a>, reveal the detrimental and stunting effects that a lifelong exposure to pesticides has on worker bees. 

The researchers tested the effects of neonicotinoids and glysophates, both of which are used to eradicate weeds and pests, on worker bees. 

Learning sweet flavors is a key part of the worker bee’s function and role within the colony. 

Once young worker bees emerged from the brood comb, the researchers fed them pollen and syrup that was dosed with imidacloprid (a neonicotinoid insecticide), glyphosate or a combination of the two. The concentrations of the doses were only what the bees would encounter in the wild. 

When the bees reached 5, 9 and 14 days of age, the researchers conducted experiments in order to assess the bees’ sense of taste and learning ability. 

Each bee in the study had to be gently restrained before the researchers touched its antenna with different sugar solutions ranging from .01 percent diluted solution to a thicker syrup. Data was collected on when the bee started tasting the solution and recognizing it as sweet. 

The researchers found that exposure to the pesticides had diminished the bees’ sense of taste. 

Bees that had come in contact with glyphosate and neonicotinoids were only able to recognize the sugar solution when it was in stronger concentrations, 30 percent or more. The unexposed bees could sense sweet in ten percent sugar solutions. 

As the bees got older, the researchers attempted to train them to stick out their tongues or proboscis when they smelled a sweet scent.

Those who had not been exposed to pesticides were immediately able to learn the trick, while those who had been given contaminated pollen and nectar had difficulty with the task no matter what age they were. 

Several other learning experiments had similar results. 

The study showed that even bees who aren’t in direct contact with pesticides are affected by neonicotinoids and this can place entire hives in jeopardy. 

“The presence of hive bees that are unable to taste the sweetness of food or discriminate between scents will worsen the efficiency of beehives as a whole, possibly reducing the efficiency of pollination and honey production,” said Walter Farina, a co-author of the study. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Even hive-bound bees get handicapped by pesticides

Neonicotinoid pesticides are toxic to bees and hinder their pollinating...

An international team of researchers have successfully modeled the coloring of 200-million-year-old insect fossils trapped in amber. As a result, it may now be possible to know the colors of ancient insects of which only fossils remain.

The study was conducted by researchers from the <a href="http://english.nigpas.cas.cn/">Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology (NIGP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences</a>, along with colleagues in Germany, China, and the UK, and was published in the journal Science Advances. 

Determining the color of Trichoptera fossils trapped in Burmese amber that date back to the mid-<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/terrifying-dinosaur-ruled-patagonia/">Cretaceous period</a> might seem like an impossible feat.

However, the researchers knew that the specimens’ scales were structurally colored rather than the result of pigmentation. 

Structural colors are common among butterflies and moths in the Lepidoptera order, and species in this order have some of the most diverse structural coloring produced by any insect. 

As opposed to colors produced with pigmentation, structural coloring results from light interacting with skin, scales, or surface of a plant or animal. As the light hits the surface, complex structures within the cells produces different, vibrant colors. 

Structural colors provide a number of functions including camouflage, warning predators and attracting potential mates. 

Science has long been fascinated with structural coloring, but the history and evolution of structural coloring among lepidopterans has not been thoroughly investigated and is poorly understood. 

The researchers examined the structural scale architecture of fossilized Jurassic Lepidoptera. 

Different types of microscopes were used on the fossils in order to better understand the framework and morphology of the scales. 

Jurassic lepidopterans have a bilayer scale where the upper layer consists of large fused cover scales and the lower layer has small fused ground scales. It’s a similar structure to some living moths today known as Micropterigidae. 

The symmetrical and repetitive structure within the cells allows light to scatter and creates the structural coloring. 

In this case, the researchers used optical modeling to show that the Jurassic Lepidoptera’s coloring would have taken on metallic hues. 

The study also provided insight into the early evolution of lepidopteran scales. 

It now may be possible to model the structural coloring of other lepidopterans in future studies as researchers work to learn more about these complex evolutionary processes within butterflies and moths. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: YANG Dinghua

How to determine the true color of ancient insects and animals

An international team of researchers have successfully modeled the coloring...

When researchers assess a species’ risk of becoming endangered or even going <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/north-american-species-extinction/">extinct</a>, they consider many factors including current populations, habitat, anthropogenic or human interference, genetic diversity, and resilience and adaptability.

Now, scientists from the <a href="https://naturalhistory.si.edu/">Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History</a> have discovered that sexual traits should also be considered when looking at a species’ potential for extinction. 

The study, published in the journal Nature, shows how certain species who have exaggerated features specifically to attract a mate may have a higher risk of extinction. 

Sexual dimorphism is common in the animal kingdom, from the colorful plumage of many male birds to the giant stature and trunk shaped nose of the male elephant seal which enables them to emit sonorous mating calls. 

These features and behaviors give the male an advantage when seeking a mate, but the new Smithsonian study found that these extravagant displays in the name of reproduction also come at a cost. 

For the study, the researchers along with collaborators from the <a href="https://www.wm.edu/">College of William and Mary</a> and the <a href="https://home.usm.edu/">University of Southern Mississippi </a>collected, reviewed, and analyzed thousands of ancient fossils of crustaceans. 

With fossils, it can be difficult to discern if the specimen is male or female because so many biological markers are not there, but with ostracods, the distinction is easy to make because their shell shapes determine their sex. 

Ostracods are tiny crustaceans that have been around for millions of years. They live in shells smaller than a poppyseed and males have an elongated shell and body. The females, on the other hand, have a squatter shape. 

The researchers reviewed 93 different ostracod species that lived during the late Cretaceous period in order to see if prominent sexual dimorphism made the crustaceans more vulnerable to changes in their environments. 

The results showed that the size and shape of the males did have an influence on the species longevity. Some of the species persisted through a 20 million year-span while others only lasted a few thousand years. 

“We showed that when males are larger and more elongated than the females, those species tend to not last as long in the fossil record. They have a higher risk of extinction,” said Gene Hunt, a  paleontologist who led the research. 

The researchers theorize that because some males devote so much time and energy into increasing their odds of getting a mate, it comprises other evolutionary processes that help with resilience and adaptability. 

The results of the study suggest that biologists and researchers should take sexual dimorphism into account when assessing risks to biodiversity. 

“If devoting so much energy to reproduction made it harder for species in the past to adapt to changing circumstances, perhaps that same should apply to species we're concerned about conserving in the present day,” said Hunt.

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By<a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com"> Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Colorful plumage attracts mates but increases extinction risk

When researchers assess a species’ risk of becoming endangered or...

A new study from the <a href="https://www.adelaide.edu.au/">University of Adelaide</a> has found that future levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the ocean will make it difficult for baby fish to reach safety, which will threaten the stability of fish populations.

The researchers observed barramundi larvae in water with high levels of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/co2-emissions-energy-costs/">CO2</a> and found that the hatchlings turned away from ocean noises that would normally attract them to a safe shelter. Instead, they were drawn to sounds from the wrong habitats and to artificial noise.

“The oceans are far from silent environments; they harbor many noisy animals, for example snapping shrimps and whales and dolphins,” said lead author Professor Ivan Nagelkerken.

“Oceanic larvae (hatchlings or baby fish) from quite a few species of fishes and invertebrates listen to sounds of coastal ecosystems. They use these sounds to guide them from the open ocean, where they hatch, to a sheltered home in shallow waters, where they can spend their juvenile and adult lives.”

“Unfortunately the CO2 that humans are pumping into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels gets absorbed by the ocean and causes acidification, and this causes changes to the behavior of many marine animals.”

The study was focused on barramundi larvae in marine tanks with levels of CO2 that are consistent with those expected by the end of the century. They compared the activity of the baby fish to the responses of barramundi larvae that were exposed to current CO2 levels.

“In our study we found that while larvae of barramundi are attracted to the sounds of tropical estuaries, larvae raised under future ocean conditions with elevated CO2 were deterred by these natural sounds,” explained Professor Nagelkerken. “Moreover, under elevated CO2, larval barramundi were attracted to the wrong sounds.” 

Noises found on cold water reefs and artificial sounds or “white noise” demanded the attention of the larvae in heavily acidified water. According to study co-author Professor Sean Connell, this means that the larvae could end up in the wrong habitats and in places where they cannot survive.

“Fewer larvae are arriving in coastal ecosystems, estuaries and rivers could result in smaller population sizes and, in the case of commercial species like barramundi, this could have a significant impact on fisheries, whether it be commercial or recreational,” explained Professor Connell.

“The research also raises questions about future fish populations in areas with unnatural sounds. Will some species be more attracted, for example, to areas where there are a lot of human structures and sounds in and under the water, such as harbours and oil platforms, in the future?”

The study is published in the Nature journal <a href="http://www.nature.com/srep/">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

Rising ocean acidity is threatening the survival of baby fish

A new study from the University of Adelaide has found...

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Today’s Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.esa.int/">European Space Agency</a> features Nushagak Bay, a large estuary in southwest Alaska. Nushagak runs mainly north to south and exits in Bristol Bay, a large body of water in the Bering Sea.



"The bay is primarily fed by the Nushagak River, which begins in the Alaska Range and flows southwest approximately 450 km. The bay is also fed by several additional rivers including the Wood, Igushik, Snake and Weary rivers," says ESA.



"The dark colors of the Nushagak River are most likely due to tannins or lignins (chemical substances found in plants). Tannins and lignins from roots, leaves, seeds, bark and soil can leach into the water and give it a brown or even black colour. The sediments then flow southwards where it is mixed with the bluer waters of the bay."



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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Today's Video of the Day from the <a href="https://www.acs.org/">American Chemical Society</a> (ACS) reveals that proteins on flu viruses are actually flexible, tilting and waving in a “breath-like” motion. According to the experts, these proteins could be used to better defend against the flu.



"The main antigenic targets of influenza virus are two surface glycoproteins, hemagglutinin (HA) and neuraminidase (NA). Whereas the structural and dynamical properties of both glycoproteins have been studied previously, the understanding of their plasticity in the whole-virion context is fragmented," wrote the researchers.



To investigate, the team conducted detailed simulations of the influenza A H1N1 virion, or the swine flu. The experts concluded that the visualizations show many new vulnerable states of flu viruses, which could improve future vaccines and antiviral drugs.



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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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

[sendtonews key="6HyfrAJTBI-1831843-12187" type="single"] Today’s Video of the Day from the...

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: European Space Agency&nbsp;



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

Satellites have become essential to our survival

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