In the natural world, family often defines survival strategies. Across species, cooperation among relatives has evolved into a powerful tool to ensure success in challenging environments. Yet few creatures embody this principle so intricately as the long-tailed tit.



Found flitting through British gardens, these small birds reveal extraordinary loyalty to their kin. Far from fleeting connections, long-tailed tits show unwavering commitment to family, even during the upheaval of migration. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-cooperation-in-animal-societies">Cooperation in animal societies</h2>



Recent research from the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">University of Sheffield</a> brings the hidden social lives of long-tailed tits into sharp focus, offering new insights into how cooperation shapes animal societies.



Decades of careful observation and rigorous analysis culminated in a study that redefines what we know about the evolution of social behaviors. 



Through the lives of these tiny <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-adapt-their-survival-strategies-to-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a>, we glimpse powerful lessons about kinship, resilience, and the surprising complexity of animal communities.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-long-tailed-tits-stay-loyal-to-family">Long-tailed tits stay loyal to family</h2>



The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, draws on an extraordinary 30-year dataset. It confirms that long-tailed tits retain strong family bonds throughout migratory movements - a phenomenon never before documented so consistently in cooperative <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-brains-and-wide-ranges-cant-save-birds-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a>.



Long-tailed tits migrate not as isolated individuals but as tightly knit family units. This behavior ensures that when they arrive at new locations, they are surrounded by familiar, trusted kin ready to support each other.



"This 30-year study is unique in its depth and has allowed us to understand the evolution of cooperation in a way that would not have been possible otherwise. The discovery of family ties persisting through migration is particularly exciting," noted Dr. Jennifer Morinay, co-lead author of the research.



"These tiny <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-evolution-timeline-pushed-back-20-million-years-by-baminornis-zhenghensis-discovery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a> essentially travel with their support network, ensuring that when they reach their new location, they have their kin ready to assist. It highlights the profound importance of family in their social structure."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family-groups-survive-together">Family groups survive together</h2>



The research identifies several intertwined processes that create and sustain these family structures. Limited natal dispersal ensures many young birds settle close to their birthplace. Even when they do move, long-tailed tits often migrate alongside their siblings, keeping family bonds intact across vast distances.



At the same time, environmental pressures, particularly high predation rates, play a significant role. Frequent nest failures result in clusters of surviving families, making the presence of close kin nearby more likely. Together, these ecological and demographic factors form what scientists term "kin neighborhoods."



Incredibly, even migratory long-tailed tits, such as those studied in Estonia, preserve these ties during long journeys. Studies found that 82% of migratory flocks included at least one first-order relative. These findings challenge longstanding assumptions that migration disrupts social cohesion among birds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-evolutionary-roots-of-helping-behavior">Evolutionary roots of helping behavior</h2>



Long-tailed tits do not only stick close to their families; they actively help them. When breeding attempts fail, many individuals redirect their efforts to assist <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/most-birds-are-at-great-risk-from-climate-change/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">relatives</a> raising broods. This redirected helping strengthens the survival chances of their kin’s offspring, ultimately boosting their own inclusive fitness.



"The push and pull between cooperation and competition is something we readily recognize in our own lives. This study demonstrates that these same fundamental tensions are at play in the social dynamics of long-tailed tits and likely many other species," noted Professor Ben Hatchwell, co-lead author of the study.



"Our long-term research provides significant insights into the ecological and social conditions that favour cooperative behaviour and the evolutionary forces that sculpt these intricate social interactions."



Helping decisions are not random acts of kindness. They are influenced by various factors including the bird’s own breeding success, its relatedness to nearby individuals, and the strength of prior social bonds.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mistakes-in-kin-recognition">Mistakes in kin recognition</h2>



Despite their strong social instincts, long-tailed tits sometimes help unrelated individuals. 



About 30% of helpers were found assisting nests of non-kin. Scientists believe this stems from errors in kin recognition rather than a deliberate choice.



The birds rely heavily on learned acoustic cues to identify relatives. Calls learned during the nestling stage help them recognize kin, but these vocal cues are not always completely reliable. Studies show overlap in call similarities between kin and non-kin, leading to occasional misdirected care.



Efforts are ongoing to determine whether other cues, such as olfactory signals, also influence how long-tailed tits recognize their family and make crucial helping decisions.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-environment-shapes-cooperation">Environment shapes cooperation</h2>



The study also shows how environmental pressures influence the rates of cooperation. Moderate levels of nest predation foster the highest levels of helping behaviour. 



If predation is too low, there are fewer failed breeders needing alternative strategies. If too high, there are simply fewer successful nests available to help.



Shorter breeding seasons similarly encourage cooperation. With less time to attempt new broods after failure, many birds abandon independent breeding and instead opt to help their kin.



Interestingly, overall population density did not seem to impact cooperation rates, suggesting that the quality of family connections matters more than simple numbers.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-choosing-where-to-live">Choosing where to live</h2>



Where a bird chooses to settle has long-term fitness consequences. Males who stay close to their natal territory accrue higher indirect fitness by helping relatives. Conversely, males who disperse far have fewer opportunities to help and lower overall inclusive fitness.



Females experience a different dynamic. Those who disperse farther tend to achieve slightly better direct reproductive success, likely because dispersal reduces inbreeding risks.



These differing pressures create a fascinating tug-of-war, shaping dispersal behaviours across generations.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-family-ties-of-long-tailed-tits">Family ties of long-tailed tits </h2>



Perhaps the most striking revelation is that migration, once believed to hinder the evolution of cooperation, does not necessarily break social bonds. Long-tailed tits maintain their family ties even after traveling hundreds of kilometres.



This finding challenges traditional theories and highlights the incredible flexibility of social strategies in the natural world. Stable territorial groups are not the only route to successful cooperation. 



Dynamic, migratory species can also evolve and sustain sophisticated social systems based on family loyalty.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-how-do-long-tailed-tits-recognize-family">How do long-tailed tits recognize family?</h2>



Looking ahead, the researchers aim to untangle the specific mechanisms that allow long-tailed tits to recognize and remember their kin.



Current efforts focus on understanding the role of calls, scents, and social associations built during early life stages. Scientists are investigating whether maintaining winter flock associations with relatives influences recognition in later breeding seasons.



These studies promise to deepen our understanding of how cooperation, kinship, and social cognition evolve across species.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tiny-birds-with-mighty-hearts">Tiny birds with mighty hearts</h2>



Through the lives of long-tailed tits, we see how powerful, enduring, and flexible family bonds can be, even in a world full of risks and change.



The study from Sheffield shows that nature’s loyalty is not reserved for mammals or large social species alone. In every tiny flutter of a long-tailed tit’s wing, there lies a rich story of kinship, survival, and the enduring power of cooperation.



The study is published in the <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2656.14237" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Journal of Animal Ecology</a>. 



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Long-tailed tits migrate in family units and maintain lasting bonds

In the natural world, family often defines survival strategies. Across species, cooperation among relatives has evolved into a powerful tool to ensure success in challenging environments. Yet few creatures embody this principle so intricately as the long-tailed tit. Found flitting through British gardens, these small birds reveal extraordinary loyalty to their kin. Far from fleeting connections, long-tailed tits show unwavering commitment to family, even during the upheaval of migration. Cooperation in animal societies Recent research from the University of Sheffield brings the hidden social lives of long-tailed...

The middle of the dog pack is a free-for-all fight up the social ladder, a new study has revealed.

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> and the Veterinary Service of the Local Health Unit Rome 3 in Italy studied a pack of 27 roaming mongrels in Rome to see how aggression played out within the dominance hierarchy. 

It was previously thought that the higher up the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/african-wild-dogs-sneezing/">canine social ladder</a> you went, the more aggression you would find as top dogs battle it out to defend their status.  

However, the researchers found that middle-dogs were more likely to assert their dominance in hopes of moving up and establishing a pecking order. 

“Our results reveal the unavoidable costs of climbing a dominance hierarchy,” said Dr. Matthew Silk, a member of the research team. “In the middle of the hierarchy - where it’s harder to predict which animal should be dominant - we see lots of aggression.”

Over the course of a year, the researchers observed the pack of dogs which depended on humans for food but roamed freely throughout the city suburbs and kept to themselves. 

[caption id="attachment_1874715" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/dog-pack.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874715" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/dog-pack.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="430" /></a> Wild dogs living on the outskirts of Rome. Image Credit: Simona Cafazzo[/caption]

The hierarchy was based on sex and age with older male dogs dominating younger dogs. Males were also dominant over females of the same age. 

“Fighting over food and mates uses energy and time and can lead to injuries, so hierarchies play an important role because animals know their place without needing to fight,” said Robbie McDonald, a fellow researcher.  

Because the middle of the pack consisted of mostly young males, aggression was more common.

If a dog displayed dominance, it was characterized by an upright posture, the tail and head high, and sometimes laying a paw on another dog’s back.  

“Although fights within a social group of free-roaming dogs are usually characterized by low-intensity aggression, the middle of the hierarchy is occupied by young males of similar size and age, among whom nothing is definitive and for whom the challenge is to gain rank,” said Dr. Simona Cafazzo, of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.

The researchers published their findings in a new study in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 

-

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Simona Cafazzo

The middle of the pack is a dog-eat-dog fight for dominance

The middle of the dog pack is a free-for-all fight...

Hidden in plain sight are a group of insects that, for all of their cryptic inclinations, like to dance. Many of the 3,000 species of the order Phasmatodea—commonly known as stick and leaf insects—add to their already spectacular camouflage by swaying to mimic the movement of vegetation in the breeze. 

There have been reports of multiple insects swaying together in a silent disco of sorts, like rejected backup booty from the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViftZTfRSt8">dance scene</a> in Labyrinth. Far from a leisure activity, this entomological choreography likely assists them in blending in with their leafy homes and avoiding predation, a theory corroborated by a <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco/article/27/1/83/1742619">2016 study</a>.

It’s been a successful strategy: these enigmatic creatures have adapted to forests and grasslands on all continents but Antarctica, though they are most abundant in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/hunting-decline-mammals-tropical-forests/">tropics</a>. From the massive two-foot long Phryganistria chinensis Zhao, the longest insect in the world, to the tiny, half-inch long Timema cristinae, they are a remarkably diverse group. 

Some are flattened and foliage-like, even sporting blemishes and holes that mirror the imperfections of real leaves. Others are whip-thin and stick-like. While most are shades of green and brown, a few, such as the Malagasy species <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2019.00105/full">discovered in 2019</a>, are brilliantly colored. Flight capabilities vary as well: there are winged species and species that are wingless and earthbound. 

[caption id="attachment_1874620" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Epidares-nolimetangere.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874620" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Epidares-nolimetangere.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="485" /></a> Epidares nolimetangere, Image Credit: Bernard Dupont[/caption]

While their visual dissimulation and largely nocturnal habits are enough to protect them from most predators, their juicy bodies make them prime prey. Sometimes blending into the background just isn’t enough. Luckily, they have other tricks up their skinny sleeves. Many will drop to the ground when threatened, blending in with dead vegetation, sometimes after having startled their antagonist with a flash of spectacularly patterned wings. 

Most are autotomous—capable of shedding limbs—leaving attackers to content themselves with a chitinous and unappetizing leg. Individuals that have not yet fully matured can regrow them with the next molt, though they are smaller. Occasionally, adults that would not otherwise molt do so in order to regenerate a limb as well. And many can slime their enemies with pungent hemolymph—blood—ejected from specialized orifices in their joints or spray them with a chemical deterrent. 

Their reproductive habits may also contribute to their ubiquity. A number of species are parthenogenetic—that is, females can produce offspring without mating. Some let their eggs drop randomly, allowing them to be found by foraging ants. Because the eggs possess a fatty nodule that the ants can eat, they are transported back to their nests. Once the greasy treat has been consumed, the eggs themselves are discarded in the ants’ refuse pile—an unlikely place for most creatures to find a meal. There, they safely incubate and eventually hatch. And because phasmid eggs are uniquely strong due to the high content of calcium oxalate in the shells, some are able to hatch even if an egg-bearing female is eaten by a bird. 

When their poor mother has been digested and excreted, a small proportion of the eggs <a href="https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ecy.2230?referrer_access_token=AHoc2bmmuqznmdvtQ518pE4keas67K9QMdWULTWMo8PwtGssas92l20oN0sKhYZlQ0spXwMeLtuGwLobAQUiBckf1MH3SyA-1QYwY66m2oMcxXr6q7lxi5OzxgZlh8pa8-U7PxgNw6JbTohoPFxL7Q%3D%3D">survive and hatch</a>. The parthenogenetic component of this process is important here. Many insects fertilize their eggs as they are being laid, making use of the sperm packet that they stored during mating. However, because some stick insects are capable of laying fertile eggs without mating, this process is unnecessary and even eggs that have not yet been laid make it through the digestive process. This unique adaptation may have facilitated their spread across the globe—like the seeds they resemble, the eggs are transported far and wide in avian bellies. 

It is their appeal to avian predators that led to the rediscovery of the Lord Howe Island stick insect (Dryococelus australis), thought to be relegated to an island off of Australia. This massive, black phasmid was believed to have been wiped out soon after a shipwreck introduced rats to its home in 1918. Rats, being generalist predators, have ravaged the wildlife of numerous islands and Lord Howe was no exception. However, in 1964, climbers found a dead specimen on Balls Pyramid, a precipitous volcanic islet southeast of Lord Howe. Several years later, more dead ones were found at the peak. They are thought to have been deposited there by seabirds. 

[caption id="attachment_1874621" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Aschiphasma-annulipes.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874621" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Aschiphasma-annulipes.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="399" /></a> Aschiphasma annulipes, Image Credit: Bernard Dupont[/caption]

It was not <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nicholas_Carlile/publication/230017970_The_recovery_programme_for_the_Lord_Howe_Island_Phasmid_Dryococelus_australis_following_its_rediscovery/links/5c203f0392851c22a341d399/The-recovery-programme-for-the-Lord-Howe-Island-Phasmid-Dryococelus-australis-following-its-rediscovery.pdf">until 2001</a>, however, that living stick insects were discovered on the remote volcanic peak. Due to slight morphological differences between these specimens and preserved ones from the original Lord Howe Island population, it was suspected that these might be another species. However, <a href="https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)31098-9">genetic analysis</a> proved that they were likely the same. Thought to be among the rarest animals on Earth, they are now being reared in zoos.

Despite their cosmopolitan distribution and impressive size, little is known about the habits of many phasmid species—even diet and mating habits are obscure. Males of some species have never been seen. Their Delphic existence is, appropriately enough, reflected in their nomenclature, which derives from the Greek for “phantom.” In Māori mythology, the presence of stick insects—associated with the forest god Tāne indicated that one was traversing a holy site and when they landed on a woman, it was believed she was pregnant. Guillermo del Toro’s film Pan’s Labyrinth features a fairy who disguises itself in stick insect form. 

These numinous associations speak to the imaginative power of these strange and otherworldly beasts. The inanimate made animate, they are among the closest things we have to the fantastical inhabitants of fairy tales—talking clocks and flying carpets. The walking sticks and leaf insects, enchanting as they may be, are, however, utterly practical. Their dances and masterful disguises are the products of an evolutionary arms race, a desperate bid to avoid being devoured.

--

By <a href="mailto:rtpallardy@gmail.com">Richard Pallardy</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Main Image Credit: Michael Whitehead

&nbsp;

Fantastic phasmids: The mysterious lives of stick insects

Hidden in plain sight are a group of insects that,...

What makes some species prosocial and others solitary and aggressive towards members of their own kind? 

Researchers from the <a href="http://www.cnrs.fr/en/cnrs">National Centre for Scientific Research</a> in France studied spiders to see why young spiderlings who have a high level of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/african-social-spiders-groups/">social tolerance</a> later disperse to live in solitary isolation. 

This dispersion coincides with a major decrease in social tolerance in adult spiders with some even eating other members of their species. 

It is not well understood why prosocial behaviors are so sporadic or temporary for some species or why isolation leads to social intolerance. 

The researchers monitored spiderlings that belonged the labyrinth spider species (Agelena labyrinthica), which are solitary. 

Behavioral and chemical modeling were used to determine what underlying mechanisms drive the transition from prosocial to antisocial and eventual isolating dispersal. 

The researchers found that as a spiderling matures, it naturally gains more mobility and freedom to wander. This increased mobility leads to the spider dispersing away from its siblings. After five days, the researchers saw that the spiderlings dispersed without any changes in social behavior. 

However, once away from the pack, an isolated spider started exhibiting aggressiveness, and social isolation changed the way the spider perceived other members of the same species. 

Spiderlings that were socially isolated were aggressive to their siblings who had spent more time in close proximity. 

Dispersion doesn’t directly cause aggression, but it’s a consequence of being socially isolated, the researchers found. 

“We are now exploring the mechanisms explaining why spiderlings exposed to social isolation behave aggressively,” said Raphael Jeanson, the leader of the study. “Our favorite hypothesis, currently under testing, is that isolation leads spiderlings to forget the social cues emitted by siblings.” 

The study, published in the journal <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000319">PLOS Biology</a>, could help researchers understand prosocial behaviors and dispersion in other species of solitary spiders. 

“We believe that our findings open interesting perspectives to understand how permanent sociality, which characterizes about 30 out of the almost 50,000 species of spiders described thus far, has evolved,” said Jeanson. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Jean-Jacques MILAN

Solitude and isolation makes spiders aggressive

What makes some species prosocial and others solitary and aggressive...

Experts in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/">McGill University</a> have developed a technique to significantly increase the toughness of glass. The research, led by Professor François Barthelat, was inspired by mollusk shells and the impact-resistant material that is found in their inner layer.

"Mollusk shells are made up of about 95 percent chalk, which is very brittle in its pure form," said Professor Barthelat. "But nacre, or mother-of-pearl, which coats the inner shells, is made up of microscopic tablets that are a bit like miniature Lego building blocks, is known to be extremely strong and tough, which is why people have been studying its structure for the past twenty years."

Professor Barthelat noted that whether glass is used in a car or a smartphone, its components are "always the weakest links and the most fragile in the entire system." 

To imitate the "building blocks" of nacre, the researchers used an ultraviolet laser beam to carve square or hexagonal patterns onto tiny borosilicate glass sheets. The plates were then covered with thin layers of plastic and separated into individual tiles about one to four millimeters wide.

"Any glass scientist will tell you that shooting a powerful laser into a piece of glass is a bad idea because it will create defects and decrease strength," said Professor Barthelat. "However, our glass is a nice example where material removal and seemingly weakening processes actually makes the material much better!"

The modified glass was found to be two to three times stronger than tempered or laminated glass and 15 to 24 times stronger than plain <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/discarded-glass-concrete/">glass</a>. 

"The fabrication method we developed is relatively easy and scalable - one could make industrial volumes of this material very easily and at a reasonable cost," explained Professor Barthelat. 

The research team plans to experiment with a variety of designs using the new glass, such as thin sheets for touch screens. "We also want to develop versions of our nacre-glass that are bendable - a thin plate of this glass would flex to large deformations, and then recover without damage," said Professor Barthelat.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencemag.org/">Science</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/otravva

A new type of glass was inspired by mollusk shells

Experts in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at McGill University...

The Wind River Reservation is a 1.7 million-plus acre home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes. The reservation was established in 1864 by the Bridger-Teton treaty with the US government. As with most reservations, this one had been stripped of its <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/bison-american-survival-story/">bison</a> herds, leaving the Native American residents on the land more dependent on food from the federal government and farming than they were traditionally. 

A paper in The <a href="https://history.msu.edu/hst321/files/2010/07/smits-on-bison.pdf">Western Historical Quarterly</a> reports how US military leaders in the late 1800s encouraged the slaughter of bison and often saw such destruction as a way of subjugating and defeating Native Americans. Because of this and the importance of the bison to the physical and spiritual cultures of many western Native American groups, bison remain a potent symbol of indigenous identity. 

Like much of the ecological landscape of North America, The Wind River Reservation’s ecology is a broken remnant of its pre-Colombian glory. Jason Baldes, Tribal Bison Coordinator for the National Wildlife Federation and Wind River Reservation tribal member, told me that after the bison, pronghorn antelope and bighorn sheep were extirpated from the Wind River Reservation prior to 1984. Baldes compared the American prairie that once was to an unspoiled Africa.

"I took a trip to East Africa with my dad in the late 90s and witnessed the wildebeest migration,” Baldes said. “It was incredible to see, but what was more unfathomable was that the 1.5 million wildebeest is less than 5% of what the bison population was here, less than 200 years ago. My dad is a retired wildlife biologist, and I grew up understanding the intrinsic value of wildlife as part of our cultural ties and subsistence lifestyle, it is what we eat."

[caption id="attachment_1874604" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/bison.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874604" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/bison.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="419" /></a> Image Credit: Jacob Byk[/caption]

The basic fact of Native American groups eating bison and other wild animals shows the importance of these creatures. Wild animals are not simply animals to enjoy looking at, they are life itself. One could argue for entire tribal groups, bison and other wild game were independence as well. 

This is why Jason Baldes has been working with the National Wildlife Federation to move bison that would otherwise be culled, off of federal land and reintroduced to Native American land, including the Wind River Reservation. To Baldes, the work is important for the healing of his people from past atrocities and the preservation of cultural identity.

"The importance of buffalo to our people cannot be understated, it is our relative,” Baldes said. “The Eastern Shoshone are the gweechoon deka, the buffalo eaters. We have had ties to the animal for millennia, but have been separated for 130+ years.  Buffalo is part of us, and is central to our ceremonies and spiritual belief ways, and is important for our diet. Even though they haven’t been in our community for a long time, we are still tied to them. Having our relative home, helps us to heal from the atrocities of the past...Bringing buffalo home to the Shoshone people is healing. The buffalo are most important for our young people, so they can know who they are, and be proud of being Shoshone."

The <a href="https://www.nwf.org/">National Wildlife Federation</a> has been working with tribal and the federal government to promote reintroduction of wildlife including bison to Native American lands. Recently, with the involvement of the National Wildlife Federation, an agreement was made between the Fort Peck Tribes and the Eastern Shoshone of the Wind River Reservation. The Fort Peck Reservation already has a large and healthy bison population, descendants of bison from Yellowstone National Park. 

[caption id="attachment_1874605" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/reservation.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874605" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/reservation.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="423" /></a> Image Credit: Jacob Byk[/caption]

The population is healthy enough to support hunting, a small step towards returning bison to the center of life again. Now, the Fort Peck Tribes have agreed to exchange bison with the Wind River Reservation. Initially, five male bison were set to be released on June 23 during a powwow. Unfortunately, bad weather delayed capturing bison on the Fort Peck Reservation and moving them to their new home at the Wind River Reservation. The good news is that after a delay, the bison were released on the evening of the 26th. Jason Baldes told me this was an important step for bison conservation but also as a display of tribal sovereignty.

"This release is important because it brings together Tribes of the Buffalo nation,” Baldes said. “The Government to Government agreement between the Fort Peck Tribes of Montana and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe demonstrates the importance of the buffalo to our communities. Fort Peck has led the way in Yellowstone Bison conservation and restoration, and they want to help other tribes ‘bring the buffalo home.’ This will be the first Tribe to Tribe interstate transfer of Yellowstone Buffalo. This exercise in sovereignty among Tribes, strengthens buffalo conservation and cultural revitalization in our communities and sets the pace for other Tribes to do the same." 

Currently, the Wind River bison herd is modest. Before the release, the reservation was home to 27 bison, including four recent calves. The new bison bring the total to 32, but Jason Baldes seems optimistic about the future. Work is ongoing to secure a larger range for the small bison herd and grow it larger.

“There is potential, on the Wind River Reservation, to manage buffalo on hundreds of thousands of acres if people are willing to do it,” Baldes said. “A benchmark for conservation populations is a minimum of 1000 animals, in order to maintain genetic heterogeneity and variability. Two to three times that benchmark are foreseeable. Hunting by tribal members will be the primary mode of management.”

The reservation has already come a long way towards restoring their native wildlife. 7 of 7 native ungulate species are on the Wind River Reservation, with six of them living in populations large enough to support tribal hunting. Bison are currently not on the Wind River Reservation in numbers large enough to support hunting. The history of the bison is perhaps unique in American history, often treated as a Native American cow rather than a wild animal in its own right. Jason Baldes told me that to create a better future for the bison, respect is needed.

“For some reason, people feel the need to treat buffalo like cattle, through roundups, ear-tagging, vaccinations etc,” he said. “No other wildlife species go through that treatment. We need a paradigm shift to one that respects the intrinsic value the animal has. Buffalo is a keystone species, benefitting a host of others as it utilizes the landscape. We shouldn’t measure the value of buffalo on the landscape in terms of money.”

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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Main Image Credit: Jacob Byk

Wind River Reservation welcomes bison in historic exchange between tribes

The Wind River Reservation is a 1.7 million-plus acre home...

Jellyfish kill more people than sharks due to their evolved toxin genes. A research team led by Joseph Ryan at the <a href="http://www.ufl.edu/">University of Florida</a> has analyzed the genomes of three very different types of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/jellyfish-break-free-seafloor/">jellyfish</a> with toxicity levels ranging from harmless to deadly. The study pinpointed a variety of venom-related genes, and will provide a basis for discovering how these toxic genes evolved among jellyfish. 

The research was focused on the genome sequencing of the deadly winged box jellyfish, the upside-down jellyfish, and the stalked jellyfish. As a result of this research, there are now genome sequences for all five lineages of the Medusozoa.Jellyfish kill more people than sharks due to their evolved toxin genes

"With these new genomes, for the first time, we were able to compare gene content of all 5 classes of cnidarians (Anthozoa, Hydrozoa, Cubozoa, Staurozoa, Scyphozoa). This broad survey provides an important overview of genomic evolution in cnidarians," said Ryan.

Jellyfish kill more people than sharks, sea snakes, and stingrays combined. Approximately 100 people are killed each year by lethal box jellyfish stings, but the exact number is unknown and may be even higher. 

"Box jellyfish are among the most venomous animals on the planet and therefore their genomes are important resources for developing antivenoms as well as potential drugs," said Ryan. "Our survey included a focused assessment of venom-related genes, providing insight into the evolution of cnidarian venom."

Across all three species of jellyfish, the researchers identified 117 putative venom proteins, 9 of which were found to be unique to cnidarians. 

The winged box jellyfish genome was the only one that contained a toxin gene called CqTx. The CqTx protein creates pores in the membranes of cells which results in the destruction of red blood cells, known as hemolysis.

Some box jellyfish stings can stop the human heart within 5 minutes, so the identification of the CqTx toxin gene may shed new light on what makes these stings so deadly. 

The study also revealed that the loss and duplication of another toxin gene, CrTx, played a large role in the evolution of jellyfish. The upside-down jellyfish was found to contain one CrTx gene, the winged box jellyfish had five copies of the gene, and the stalked jellyfish had none.

"Gene loss is an important driver of evolutionary change," explained Ryan. "Having draft genomes allows for accurate inferences of gene loss and for understanding the phenotypic contribution of gene loss in these animals. Furthermore, these genomes provide information about the order of genes in the genome, which in some cases allow for independent verification of the identification of hard-to-classify genes."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/gigascience">GigaScience</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: Shutterstock/Shahar Shabtai

Jellyfish kill more people than sharks due to their evolved toxin genes

Jellyfish kill more people than sharks due to their evolved...

The smallest forms of life are essential for the health of the entire marine food web, including many of the fish that are in the greatest commercial demand. A new study suggests that focusing on individual fish populations is not an effective strategy to protect ecosystems from the damage and insecurity associated with <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/older-fish-disappearing/">overfishing</a>. 

"In simple terms, to successfully manage fisheries in an ecosystem, the rate of removal for all fishes combined must be equal to or less than the rate of renewal for all those fish,"said study co-author Jason Link, who is the senior scientist for ecosystem management at <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/">NOAA Fisheries</a>.

The researchers propose that three particular indices could be monitored, using widely available catch and satellite data, to determine when ecosystem overfishing is occurring. These factors include: when the total catch of all fish is declining, the total catch rate or fishing effort required to get that catch is declining, and the total landings relative to the production in that ecosystem exceed suitable limits.

"Detecting overfishing at an ecosystem level will help to avoid many of the impacts we have seen when managing fished species on a population-by-population basis, and holds promise for detecting major shifts in ecosystem and fisheries productivity much more quickly," said Link.

The suggested thresholds for each index are based on the known limits of the productivity of any given part of the ocean. 

"We know that climate change is shifting many fish populations toward the poles, yet the fishing fleets and associated industries are not shifting with them," said Link. "That already has had serious economic and cultural impacts." 

The study authors noted that these shifts can be followed over time to see how they can exacerbate or even contribute to ecosystem overfishing. The three proposed indices represent a potential international standard for tracking the status of global fisheries ecosystems.

"They are easy to estimate and interpret, are based on widely repeated and available data, and are a practical way to identify when an ecosystem would be experiencing overfishing based on well understood and well-accepted primary production and food web limitations," said Link. 

"It would eliminate a lot of the debate about whether or not ecosystem overfishing is happening and instead focus attention on solutions. But until we can define and identify what ecosystem overfishing is, we cannot begin to address it."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Stanislav Simonyan

Three indicators could help protect marine ecosystems from overfishing

The smallest forms of life are essential for the health...

In May, the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/">United Nations</a> (UN) released a devastating <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2019/05/nature-decline-unprecedented-report/">report</a> detailing the unprecedented loss of biodiversity that our planet is currently facing. Now, UN experts are warning of the effects mass <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/decreases-biodiversity-habitat-loss/">biodiversity loss</a> can also have on human rights.

The UN biodiversity report, published by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, found that over one million species are currently at risk of extinction. Researchers found that human activities threaten species more than at any other time in the planet’s history. 

The results are incredibly grim. The authors note that we will continue on this downwards spiral unless we implement transformative change.

Plants and animals are not the only victims of the current state of the planet. UN experts caution that biodiversity loss threatens human rights for current and future generations.

“The loss of global biodiversity is having and will continue to have devastating effects on a wide range of human rights for decades to come. This report is a stark reminder that we can simply not enjoy our basic human rights to life, health, food and safe water without a healthy environment,” David Boyd, a UN expert on human rights and the environment, said in a <a href="https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24738&amp;LangID=E">news release</a>.

Biodiversity provides humans with food, medicine and livelihoods. Plant and animal species also ensure our ecosystems function properly which, in turn, helps to clean our air, water and soil. Ecosystems such as coral reefs can protect humans from the effects of extreme weather, which is believed to increase as a result of climate change.

A 2015 <a href="https://www.who.int/globalchange/publications/phe-pr.pdf?ua=1">report</a> by the <a href="https://www.who.int/">World Health Organization</a> and the Convention on Biological Diversity found that biodiversity loss is impacting human health worldwide. 

A decline in natural resources throughout the world could exacerbate tensions between people and countries, resulting in armed conflict.

The loss of pollinators alone threatens $577 billion in annual global crops. Additionally, an estimated 100-300 million people are at an increased risk of floods and hurricanes as a result of the decline in coastal ecosystems, the UN biodiversity <a href="https://www.ipbes.net/news/Media-Release-Global-Assessment">report</a> found.

Communities throughout the world rely on healthy and functional ecosystems for survival. As United Nations experts state, poor communities including indigenous peoples, farmers and fishermen are particularly vulnerable to the effects of biodiversity loss. 

The UN biodiversity report helped wake up the collective conscience of humanity. While many people may not yet see the effects of biodiversity loss on their personal livelihoods, that could change in the coming years. The key to gaining buy-in for transformative change may just be the threat it poses to us personally.

--

By <a href="mailto:brianna.grant134@gmail.com">Brianna Lynne</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Maciej Olszewski

UN experts warn that biodiversity loss can be a human rights issue

In May, the United Nations (UN) released a devastating report...

You may think of the Caribbean as a physically beautiful location to lay on the beach and sip on cocktails. Many experience the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/economic-coral-bleaching-caribbean/">Caribbean</a> this way, superficially as a backdrop to a nice vacation, but the Caribbean also has much more to offer.

Located at the southern edge of North America, in a zone of transition to the tropics of Central and South America, it’s no surprise that the Caribbean is a hotspot for biodiversity. With <a href="https://www.tripsavvy.com/number-of-islands-in-the-caribbean-1487691">7,000 individual islands</a> scattered through the sea, it’s also no surprise that the region has some fascinating endemic species. Species like Jamaica’s <a href="https://jis.gov.jm/information/symbols/jamaican-national-bird-the-doctor-bird/">SwallowTail Hummingbird</a> (Trochilus Polytmus) or Cuba’s <a href="https://prehistoric-fauna.com/Ornimegalonyx">giant, flightless owl</a> show just a glimpse of the fascinating wildlife found (or once found) in the Caribbean. 

<a href="https://www.unenvironment.org/news-and-stories/story/valuing-and-protecting-biodiversity-caribbean">UN Environment</a> reports that the Caribbean is home to 11,000 plant species, around 72 of which are only found in the region. Meanwhile, Caribbean Sea itself is just as impressive as the islands it fosters.   

There are at least 12,046 <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0011916">marine species</a> of 37 different taxa in the Caribbean region. Of this biodiversity, there are more than <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/301864386_Coral_Reef_Fishes_Common_Fish_of_the_Caribbean">400 species of reef fish</a> in the Caribbean alone. Some of these fish naturally are more common than others. 

<a href="https://www.iucn.org/news/secretariat/201706/overfishing-reef-decline-threaten-greater-caribbean-and-pacific-island-fisheries-%E2%80%93-iucn-reports">Overfishing and reef decline</a> are leading to a historic decline of fish populations throughout the Caribbean. When I visited Jamaica years ago as part of a team documenting overfishing, the lack of options for fishermen was palpable. People with little money and little education turn to the only work they know to feed themselves. Throughout much of the Caribbean, all some people know is fishing, a way of life that has supplied abundant nutrition that may be coming to an end due to human overreach. This sad situation has led to many programs focusing on protecting marine species and working towards sustainable fisheries. For some fish, the situation is considerably more urgent than for others. 

The <a href="https://www.aqua.org/Experience/Animal-Index/largetooth-sawfish">Largetooth Sawfish</a>, (Pristis pristis) is just one fish of many species living in the Caribbean but it is a rather bizarre specimen. True to its name, the fish has a long protrusion on its snout lined with teeth, making it appear like a saw. Interestingly, the sawfish uses this appendage to find fish and attack them for food. Tiny sensors line the ‘saw’ allowing the fish a 6th sense which can detect the tiny electrical currents created by living animals. With this sense, the sawfish can find prey fish even in dark or muddy waters and attack the prey, securing a meal. 

Sawfish may look completely bizarre, but they have shark-like bodies and are rays. Sawfish interestingly can live in varying levels of salinity from fresh water to open ocean but are most common in estuaries and shallow bays. Often, sawfish are found in seagrasses or mangrove habitats. 

Strangely, there is even a population of the fish in <a href="https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/10/19/From-the-depths-of-Lake-Nicaragua-comes-a-fish/6851719467200/">Lake Nicaragua</a>. These fish are quite large, with an agreed maximum size of 19.7 feet long but some reports claiming fish of 23 feet in length. In fact, the largetooth sawfish is among the world’s largest fish. Unfortunately, the fish is also extremely endangered.

The sawfish was once widespread throughout the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. A different species, the smalltooth sawfish, was the first marine fish to be placed on the endangered species list in 2003. In fact, all sawfish species are endangered, according to the <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/discover-fish/species-profiles/pristis-pristis/">Florida Museum</a>. The largetooth sawfish itself was listed on the endangered species list in the US in 2011. The <a href="https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/43508845/43508869">IUCN Red List</a> lists largetooth sawfish as critically endangered.

Sawfish have historically been caught as impressive sport trophies and have been used for traditional medicine and for religion. In parts of Africa, the saws are used for tools or the teeth are attached to roosters legs for cock fights. Direct fishing but also the decline of the oceans lead to the decline of the largetooth sawfish as well. Sawfish are also often killed as bycatch, becoming entangled in fishing gear intended for other species. 

But recently, the Caribbean boosted protection for the rare fish. <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2019/06/caribbean-nations-boost-protection-for-extremely-rare-largetooth-sawfish/">Mongabay</a> reports that on June 5, Caribbean nations agreed to add the sawfish to Annex II of the Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) Protocol under the Cartagena Convention. Protection for the closely related Smalltooth Sawfish have yet to be put into place under SPAW. 

Annexes I and II are the highest levels of protection for a species under the Cartagena Convention. This means that owning, trading and killing the largetooth sawfish is now illegal in the Caribbean. The Cartagena Convention was originally a protocol for cooperation in case of oil spills, agreed upon between Caribbean nations under the <a href="http://www.cep.unep.org/cartagena-convention">UN</a> in 1983 and put into force in 1986. Later the convention was expanded to protect special areas and species as well as create land based marine pollution controls. Much more research is still needed to understand the biology of such a unique fish, but strict protection is a good place to start.

Sawfish have been found previously near Florida and more recently in reasonable numbers near Costa Rica and Nicaragua as well. Largetooth sawfish haven’t been seen off the coast of Florida for decades, according to <a href="https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/five-facts-sawfishes-in-florida/">Florida Museum</a>, but those waters are still habitat. The Caribbean is a large portion of the area still occupied by largetooth sawfish as well as the smalltooth sawfish. The smalltooth sawfish is now found only in waters off the coast of Florida. 

Caribbean nations agreeing to protect the largetooth sawfish is a step towards securing their future in the world’s oceans. However, protection for the smalltooth sawfish would be very helpful as well. Globally, there are five species of sawfish and all of them are endangered. Greater protection for all of these fish would be welcome. But to truly secure their future existence, the world’s fisheries would need to be sustainable as well, a tall order for the tragedy of the commons that has become our oceans.              

--

By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner,</a> <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Contributing Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Simon Fraser University

Endangered largetooth sawfish gain greater protections in the Caribbean

You may think of the Caribbean as a physically beautiful...

Based on the detailed analysis of tooth remains, researchers have discovered that some ancient crocodilians were herbivores. The study findings suggest that the carnivorous preferences of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cultures-crocodiles-worshipped/">crocodiles</a> were replaced with plants at least three times among the distant relatives of modern crocodilians.

"The most interesting thing we discovered was how frequently it seems extinct crocodyliforms ate plants," said study author Keegan Melstrom of the <a href="https://www.utah.edu/">University of Utah</a>. "Complex teeth, which we infer to indicate herbivory, appear in the extinct relatives of crocodiles at least three times and maybe as many as six in our dataset alone."

As semiaquatic generalist carnivores, all modern-day crocodilians have relatively simple and consistent teeth. The extinct species examined for the study clearly showed a different pattern, including many specializations that are not seen today. One feature that was found among the fossils was the primitive characteristic of heterodonty, or teeth of different shapes and sizes. 

"Carnivores possess simple teeth whereas herbivores have much more complex teeth," explained Melstrom. "Omnivores, organisms that eat both plant and animal material, fall somewhere in between. Part of my earlier research showed that this pattern holds in living reptiles that have teeth, such as crocodilians and lizards. So these results told us that the basic pattern between diet and teeth is found in both mammals and reptiles, despite very different tooth shapes, and is applicable to extinct reptiles."

The researchers compared the tooth complexity of prehistoric crocodyliforms with those of living animals to reconstruct their diets. Overall, they measured 146 erupted teeth from 16 different taxa of extinct crocodyliforms.

[caption id="attachment_1874479" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/crocodyliform-life-reconstructions.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874479" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/crocodyliform-life-reconstructions.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="1136" /></a> Crocodyliform life reconstructions. Image Credit: Jorge Gonzalez[/caption]

The study revealed that shortly after the end-Triassic mass extinction, plant-eating crocodilians emerged and persisted until the end-Cretaceous mass extinction. There was also evidence to suggest that a preference for plants appeared independently at least three times in Mesozoic crocodilians.

"Our work demonstrates that extinct crocodyliforms had an incredibly varied diet," said Melstrom. "Some were similar to living crocodilians and were primarily carnivorous, others were omnivores, and still others likely specialized in plants. The herbivores lived on different continents at different times, some alongside mammals and mammal relatives, and others did not. This suggests that an herbivorous crocodyliform was successful in a variety of environments!"

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

Main Image Credit: Shutterstock/Ondrej Prosicky

Some ancient crocodile species were herbivores

Based on the detailed analysis of tooth remains, researchers have...

From vibrant reds, greens, yellows, and blues, birds have some of the most striking and distinct colorings compared to other animals.

Melanin pigment is the key to these vivid feathers, and it is responsible for black, reddish brown, and grey feathers as well as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/birds-shiny-feathers-trees/">iridescence</a>. 

Luckily, melanin pigment can fossilize, whereas feathers, which are made of keratin, are not preserved in prehistoric fossils. 

Researchers can use the fossilized pigments to help determine the colors of ancient birds, but the color blue remained evasive, and it was not known if blue could be preserved like other pigments. 

In a new study, researchers from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a> have identified blue color tones in prehistoric birds and discovered which birds were predominantly blue.

Birds use the melanin pigments to create both structural iridescent and non-iridescent colors. The melanin packages called melanosomes can look like small spheres to cylinders and measure less than one-thousandth of a millimeter. 

By examining the melanosomes in fossils, researchers can reconstruct the color of the feathers. 

But blue is a non-iridescent structural color and difficult to reconstruct. If a bird has blue coloring, its feathers contain an array of cavities that scatter blue light. The only way to determine a blue bird’s coloring is the dark melanin that absorbs unscattered light. 

The researchers discovered that the melanosomes in blue feathers are distinctly different from feathers that are black or brown, but similar to those found in grey feathers. 

After comparing modern birds and their feather colors to closely related fossil specimens, the researchers were able to determine that the prehistoric bird Eocoracias brachyptera was blue. 

“The overlap with grey colour may suggest some common mechanism in how melanosomes are involved in making grey colouration and how these structural blue colours are formed,” said Frane Barbarovic, the leader of the study. “Based on these results in our publication we have also hypothesized potential evolutionary transition between blue and grey colour.”

Blue, although a common color in the animal kingdom, is still somewhat of a mystery to biologists as far as what purpose it serves for some species. 

By having a better understanding of which ancient birds were blue, researchers may be able to piece together the evolutionary purpose and advantages blue coloring provides birds.

The results of the study were published in the journal Interface. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Reconstruction by Marta Zaher, PhD at the University of Bristol

Scientists identify blue tones in ancient fossilized feathers

From vibrant reds, greens, yellows, and blues, birds have some...

Fossil records dating as far back as the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cambrian-fossils-china/">Cambrian period</a> have shown significant ebbs and flows of evolution and extinction. However, rather than depicting a bell-shaped curve of rapid diversification and plummeting extinctions, the fossil record shows fat-tailed distribution, with outlier events occurring with higher-than-expected probability — a shape that scientists have had a hard time explaining.

Andy Rominger, a <a href="https://www.santafe.edu/">Santa Fe Institute</a> Omidyar Fellow, worked with colleagues Miguel Fuentes of <a href="http://www.uss.cl/">San Sebastián University</a>, and Pablo Marquet of <a href="http://eap.ucop.edu/OurPrograms/brazil/Pages/pontifical_catholic_univ.aspx">Pontifical Catholic University</a> to investigate the odd pattern. Their investigation is published in <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/">Science Advances</a>.

Rather than looking at the big picture first, the team analyzed the fluctuations among clades, or groups of organisms that share a common lineage.

"Within a lineage of closely related organisms, there should be a conserved evolutionary dynamic. Between different lineages, that dynamic can change," Rominger explained.

Related organisms within clades often find an adaptive strategy and stick to it. But between the clade-specific fitness peaks, there are voids of seemingly empty space. "It turns out, just invoking that simple idea, with some very simple mathematics, described the patterns in the fossil record very well,” Rominger said.

In 2009, Fuentes used the same “simply mathematics” — called superstatistics — to explain the stock market’s ebbs and flows, which oddly enough, depicted a similar fat-tailed pattern.

"In biology, we see these crashes and explosions too, in terms of biodiversity," Rominger said. "We wondered if Fuentes' elegant approach could also describe the evolutionary dynamics we see in the fossil record."

Their findings will hopefully help other scientists better understand evolutionary processes that lead to extinction and evolution, and to interruptions that make way for new life forms.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Mesa Shumacher/Santa Fe Institute

Scientists finally understand the universal pattern in fossil record

Fossil records dating as far back as the Cambrian period...

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing it with probiotics and prebiotics, aiming to create a treat that satisfies cravings while supporting gut health. 



The challenge lies in maintaining chocolate's beloved texture and flavor while adding health benefits.



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https://youtu.be/Ug657J67iEo?si=w96YjGMsg939LD_3
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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



Prebiotics act as food for these microbes, helping them thrive. Together, they form "synbiotics," a powerful health combination.



Researchers Smriti Gaur and Shubhi Singh from India's Jaypee Institute of Information Technology took an innovative approach, using natural prebiotics like corn and honey instead of complex processing methods. 



They created five chocolate varieties: a control and four synbiotic versions containing different combinations of prebiotics, probiotics (Lactobacillus strains), and flavor enhancers (cinnamon or orange).



Laboratory simulations of human digestion showed the probiotics remained viable for over five hours, suggesting they could survive long enough to benefit gut health.



Taste tests were positive, with researchers particularly enjoying the orange-flavored variety, describing it as having "vibrant citrus notes" complementing the "rich cocoa" with a "luxurious" texture.



This research represents just the beginning. With further refinement of strains, textures, and flavors, chocolate could evolve beyond mere indulgence to become a functional food that nourishes while it delights.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsfoodscitech.4c00741" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ACS Food Science &amp; Technology</a>.

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

Scientists are transforming chocolate into a functional food by infusing...

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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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



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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



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Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

[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



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Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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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



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The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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