High in northern Peru, three frogs no bigger than a thumbprint have stepped out of anonymity and into the scientific spotlight. Their world is a maze of wet cliffs, dripping bromeliads, and wind‑scoured ridges where moss carpets the rocks.



“They’re <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/world-frog-day-2025-protecting-natures-tiny-guardians/">small</a> and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” said Germán Chávez of the Center for Ornithology and Biodiversity (<a href="https://corbidi.org/">CORBIDI</a>). 



Chávez and his colleagues trekked those ridges between 2021 and 2024, often in freezing rain, to reach calling sites above 9,000 feet.&nbsp;



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-mountains-support-unique-frog-species">Mountains support unique frog species</h2>



The <a href="https://blog.pensoft.net/2025/06/27/hidden-gems-in-the-mist-three-new-frog-species-uncovered-in-northern-peru/cordillera-de-huancabamba-1/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cordillera de Huancabamba</a> forms a natural break in the Andes, splitting watersheds and isolating species. 



Ecologists classify the region as a <a href="https://www.cepf.net/sites/default/files/tropicalandes_techsummary.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity hotspot</a>, one of only thirty‑five on Earth where extraordinary endemism collides with severe habitat loss.



"The Cordillera de Huancabamba is not just a remote range - it's a living archive of biodiversity and cultural legacy," said Wilmar Aznaran. "And we've barely scratched the surface."



Isolation breeds novelty, and novelty fills the genus Pristimantis. With 619 described species, Pristimantis is now the most diverse <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/whistling-forest-frogs-recently-discovered-may-be-wiped-out-before-we-learn-about-them/">amphibian</a> genus on the planet.



The new frogs, Pristimantis chinguelas, P. nunezcortezi, and P. yonke, occupy different niches along the same ridge. One clings to cliff faces, one prowls leaf litter beside clear streams, and the smallest tucks itself deep inside tank bromeliads.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-confirming-the-new-species">Confirming the new species</h2>



Night surveys began after dusk, when temperatures hovered near 50 °F and fog erased headlamp beams. Team members listened for faint “peep” notes that barely rose above dripping leaves. 



Finding a caller did not end the chase. Each frog had to be photographed, swabbed for DNA, measured, and released without harming delicate skin.



Back in Lima, the researchers compared mitochondrial 16S sequences. Genetic distances exceeded the three‑percent threshold herpetologists often use to flag separate <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/missing-frog-species-alsodes-vittatus-resurfaces-after-130-years/">species</a>, clinching the case for formal description.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-many-amphibians-are-poorly-studied">Many amphibians are poorly studied </h2>



All three newcomers enter the IUCN books as <a href="https://www.thebhs.org/publications/the-herpetological-bulletin/issue-number-169-autumn-2024/4079-03-how-many-data-deficient-amphibians-are-threatened-iucn-red-list-assessments-for-amphibian-species-previously-classed-as-data-deficient" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Data Deficient</a>, meaning scientists lack enough information to judge extinction risk. 



The label sounds neutral, yet recent reassessments show that roughly half of amphibians that start as Data Deficient later prove threatened.



Formal names unlock funding and legal tools that nameless creatures rarely receive. Conservation plans, environmental‑impact statements, and protected‑area budgets almost always hinge on a taxon’s standing in recognized databases.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-indicators-of-climate-shifts">Indicators of climate shifts</h2>



The Cordillera de Huancabamba isn't just a biological goldmine, it’s wrapped in layers of folklore. In nearby villages, frogs are often seen as signs of rain or omens tied to agriculture and spiritual beliefs.



This cultural lens makes local communities key allies for conservation. When researchers name <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frogs-lead-the-way-in-developing-new-antibiotics/">species</a> after regional icons or traditions, like P. yonke, they honor local identity and encourage stewardship.



Unlike most frogs, species in the <a href="https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/64811-Pristimantis" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pristimantis genus</a> bypass the tadpole stage entirely. They hatch from eggs as fully formed froglets, ready to climb, hop, and call without ever entering water.



This reproductive shortcut allows them to thrive in places where standing water is rare or seasonal. It also makes them sensitive indicators of climate shifts and microhabitat changes in mountain ecosystems.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-frog-species-in-fire-prone-habitats">Frog species in fire-prone habitats</h2>



Each frog occupies an area smaller than four square miles, hemmed in by crop fields and fire scars. Peru recorded about 10,400 wildfires in 2024, more than double its previous record, burning grasslands and cloud‑forest edges alike.



P. chinguelas calls from a road‑cut cliff where charred bamboo still smells of smoke. P. nunezcortezi shares a single stream corridor that now borders new potato plots.



P. yonke lives higher, inside bromeliads at roughly 9,800 feet, in what locals call the <a href="https://lacgeo.com/northern-andean-paramo" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">páramo</a>, a chilly grassland‑wetland mosaic perched above the treeline. 



Páramo vegetation stores water like a sponge, so every lost bromeliad weakens both the frogs and the human communities farther down‑slope.



“Exploring this area is more than fieldwork - it’s an immersion into wilderness, culture, and resilience,” said Karen Victoriano‑Cigüeñas.&nbsp;



"Many of these mountain&nbsp;ridges&nbsp;are isolated, with no roads and extreme terrain," noted Ivan Wong. "The weather shifts within minutes, and the steep cliffs make every step a challenge. It's no wonder so few scientists have worked here before. But that's exactly why there's still so much to find."



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-protecting-the-new-frog-species">Protecting the new frog species </h2>



No one has recorded the breeding calls of P. nunezcortezi or P. yonke, so females remain unverified. Diet, predators, and lifespan also remain mysteries for all three species.



Future expeditions will test whether the frogs persist on neighboring ridges or whether each ridge hosts its own micro‑endemic. 



Acoustic monitors and <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2019.2353" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">eDNA traps</a> could reveal silent populations hiding in moss tunnels or bromeliad tanks beyond the reach of hikers.



For now, the frogs depend on local goodwill. Community fire patrols, low‑impact grazing, and small protected micro‑reserves can buy time while researchers gather the missing data.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://evolsyst.pensoft.net/article/148522/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Evolutionary Systematics</a>.



Image Credit: Germán Chávez et. al



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Three new frog species found in Peru face an uncertain future

High in northern Peru, three frogs no bigger than a thumbprint have stepped out of anonymity and into the scientific spotlight. Their world is a maze of wet cliffs, dripping bromeliads, and wind‑scoured ridges where moss carpets the rocks. “They’re small and unassuming, but these frogs are powerful reminders of how much we still don’t know about the Andes,” said Germán Chávez of the Center for Ornithology and Biodiversity (CORBIDI). Chávez and his colleagues trekked those ridges between 2021 and 2024, often in freezing rain, to reach...

Extremely rare butterflies spotted in UK for the first time in a decade. Butterfly migrations occur around the world – involving swarms of these often-colorful pollinators as they move across great distances. These migrations can be a big draw to any enthusiast along the migration path, as the sheer number of butterflies all in one place can truly be a sight to behold.

In the United Kingdom, millions of painted lady butterflies have been sighted in what is believed to be a phenomenon that only occurs about once per decade. These brilliant butterflies usually live in North Africa and the Mediterranean, but by traveling up to 100 miles per day – and at shockingly quick speeds of up to 30 mph – painted lady butterflies have been spotted throughout the UK.

The last time this species migrated through the UK back in 2009, it was noted that about 11 million butterflies may have been seen. This event is a welcome relief to the <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/">Butterfly Conservation Society</a>, who have reported a “long-term and ongoing decline of UK butterflies.” Since 1976, about 70% of this species have disappeared, making these new sightings especially noteworthy. Extremely rare butterflies spotted in UK for the first time in a decade

This year’s sightings are being tracked by the Big Butterfly Count, an initiative that invites butterfly enthusiasts from across the UK to report their sightings of these insects. Experts are currently estimating that – given the thousands of sightings that have already occurred – this year’s numbers may even be higher than those in 2009.

Chris Packham, a celebrity naturalist, told the <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/us">Independent</a> that he believes this butterfly migration to be “one of the wonders of the natural world.” He also noted that “signs across Europe are looking very promising, meaning that 2019 could be a very good year for the painted lady with high numbers already being recorded across parts of the UK.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Extremely rare butterflies spotted in UK for the first time in a decade

Extremely rare butterflies spotted in UK for the first time...

A fossil specimen that was sitting in storage for the past 30 years was recently discovered as belonging to a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/new-small-dinosaur-species-australia/">new species of dinosaur</a>. 

Kimberley Chapelle, a Ph.D. student at the <a href="https://www.wits.ac.za/">University of the Witwatersrand</a>, along with a team of researchers, recognized something unusual about a dinosaur fossil collection in Johannesburg, namely that one specimen didn’t belong there. 

The researchers realized that the dinosaur belonged to an entirely new species of sauropodomorph and was part of a new genus as well. 

It was a remarkable find that was hiding in plain sight, according to the researchers. 

The specimen was called Ngwevu intloko which translates to “grey skull” in the Xhosa language. 

Xhosa is one of the official languages of South Africa.

[caption id="attachment_1876185" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/dinosaur.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1876185" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/dinosaur.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="377" /></a> Micro-CT scan of Ngwevu intloko skull, Image Credit: Kimberley Chapelle/Wits University[/caption]

“The specimen has been in the collections in Johannesburg for about 30 years, and lots of other scientists have already looked at it,” said Professor Paul Barrett, an author of the study. “But they all thought that it was simply an odd example of Massospondylus.” 

Massospondylus specimens have been found all over Southern Africa. 

In this study, the researchers were lucky in that they were able to work with a nearly complete specimen. The skull of the dinosaur, in particular, was incredibly well-preserved. 

“In order to be certain that a fossil belongs to a new species, it is crucial to rule out the possibility that it is a younger or older version of an already existing species,” said Chapelle. “Luckily, the most common South African dinosaur Massospondylus has specimens ranging from embryo to adult. Based on this, we were able to rule out age as a possible explanation for the differences we observed in the specimen now named Ngwevu intloko.”

Ngwevu intloko would have measured nearly ten feet long from tail to snout and had a long neck typical of sauropodomorphs.

“This new species is interesting, because we thought previously that there was really only one type of sauropodomorph living in South Africa at this time,” said Professor Barrett. “We now know there were actually six or seven of these dinosaurs in this area, as well as variety of other dinosaurs from less common groups. It means that their ecology was much more complex than we used to think.” 

The study was published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/7240/">PeerJ. </a>

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette,</a> <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Kimberley Chapelle/Wits University

New species of dinosaur was ‘hiding in plain sight’ in South Africa

A fossil specimen that was sitting in storage for the...

How to save your food from seagulls. If you’ve been unlucky enough to have a <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wing-technique-gulls-drones/">seagull</a> snatch your snack from right in front of you while enjoying a day at the beach, you know that trying to eat when there are gulls around is no picnic. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter</a> may have found a solution to keep your snacks safe from any thieving seagull. 

The trick is to just keep your eyes on the bird that’s after your chips, according to a new study published in the journal Biology Letters.

The researchers set a bag of chips on the ground and measured how long before 19 herring gulls approached the bag both while being watched and when a human was turned away. 

Gulls were more cautious when a human was staring at them. The researchers found that the herring gulls took around 21 seconds longer to grab the chips compared to when someone was looking away. 

Only 19 out of 74 gulls completed a “looking at” and “looking away” test without flying away first. 

“Gulls are often seen as aggressive and willing to take food from humans, so it was interesting to find that most wouldn’t even come near during our tests,” said Madeleine Goumas, the lead author of the study. “Of those that did approach, most took longer when they were being watched. Some wouldn’t even touch the food at all, although others didn’t seem to notice that a human was staring at them.” 

The study only involved 19 gulls, and not all gulls had the same response to staring. 

“We didn’t examine why individual gulls were so different - it might be because of differences in “personality” and some might have had positive experiences of being fed by humans in the past - but it seems that a couple of very bold gulls might ruin the reputation of the rest,” said Goumas. 

What the study does provide is a potential tool that annoyed tourists and beachgoers might use to dissuade gulls from approaching. 

Herring gulls in the UK and gulls in other coastal towns are considered a nuisance. One New Jersey beach town has gone so far as to hire birds of prey to scare away the gulls, according to the <a href="https://nypost.com/2019/08/06/beach-town-pays-65000-for-hawks-owls-to-scare-seagulls-away/">New York Post</a>. 

“We therefore advise people to look around themselves and watch out for gulls approaching, as they often appear to take food from behind, catching people by surprise,” said Dr. Neeltje Boogert, a senior author of the study.

Chips and picnic food are not part of a gull’s natural diet, and the researchers plan to study how human food impacts gulls and their chicks. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Photography by Adri

How to save your food from seagulls

How to save your food from seagulls. If you’ve been...

Paleontologists discover world’s largest extinct giant parrot in New Zealand. The first-ever giant parrot fossil has been located near St. Bathans in Central Otago, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/birds-extinction-new-zealand/">New Zealand</a>. Dubbed Heracles, the bird stood about a meter (3.3 feet) tall, weighed about 7 kg (15.4 pounds), and had a huge beak large enough to crack pretty much anything.

"Heracles, as the largest parrot ever, no doubt with a massive parrot beak that could crack wide open anything it fancied, may well have dined on more than conventional parrot foods, perhaps even other parrots," said Professor Mike Archer, from the UNSW Sydney <a href="http://www.pangea.unsw.edu.au/">Palaeontology, Geobiology and Earth Archives (PANGEA) Research Centre</a>.

According to a team made up of experts from <a href="https://www.flinders.edu.au/">Flinders University</a>, <a href="https://www.unsw.edu.au/">UNSW Sydney</a>, and <a href="https://www.canterburymuseum.com/">Canterbury Museum</a>, the Heracles fossil is about the same size of the giant 'dodo' pigeon of the Mascarenes and is twice as big as the critically endangered flightless New Zealand kakapo, which has been previously identified as the largest known parrot on Earth. 

In fact, both Heracles and the kakapo belong to a lineage of ancient parrots that were much more primitive than the parrots found on New Zealand today.

"New Zealand is well known for its giant birds," said Flinders University Associate Professor Trevor Worthy. "Not only moa dominated avifaunas, but giant geese and adzebills shared the forest floor, while a giant eagle ruled the skies. But until now, no-one has ever found an extinct giant parrot — anywhere."

Per the study, published in <a href="https://royalsocietypublishing.org/journal/rsbl">Biology Letters</a>, Heracles was located in a grouping of fossils dated to about 19 million years ago.

"We have been excavating these fossil deposits for 20 years, and each year reveals new birds and other animals," said Worthy, who works at the Flinders University Palaeontology Lab. "While Heracles is one of the most spectacular birds we have found, no doubt there are many more unexpected species yet to be discovered in this most interesting deposit."

[caption id="attachment_1876165" align="aligncenter" width="595"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/heracles.jpg"><img class="size-full wp-image-1876165" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/heracles.jpg" alt="" width="595" height="632" /></a> Heracles inexpectatus silhouette next to an average height person and common magpie. Image Credit: Professor Paul Scofield, Canterbury Museum[/caption]

Islands are often home to giant bird species, such as the dodo, the giant megapode and a giant pigeon species on the island of Fiji, a giant stork species on Flores, Hawaii’s giant ducks, and giant owls and raptors in the Caribbean.

Because Heracles lived in a diverse subtropical forest, in which many species of laurels and palms grew with podocarp trees, the experts believe Heracles had no problem finding fresh fruit to eat.

"But on the forest floor Heracles competed with adzebills and the forerunners of moa," said Professor Suzanne Hand, from UNSW Sydney.Paleontologists discover world’s largest extinct giant parrot in New Zealand

"The St. Bathans fauna provides the only insight into the terrestrial birds and other animals that lived in New Zealand since dinosaurs roamed the land more than 66 million years ago," added Paul Scofield, Senior Curator at Canterbury Museum, Christchurch.

Canterbury Museum research curator Vanesa De Pietri said the St. Bathans fossil deposit also reveals a diverse fauna typical of subtropical climates with crocodilians, turtles, bats, and other mammals, as well as more than 40 bird species.

"This was a very different place with a fauna very unlike that which survived into recent times," De Pietri concluded.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Dr Brian Choo, Flinders University

Paleontologists discover world’s largest extinct giant parrot in New Zealand

Paleontologists discover world’s largest extinct giant parrot in New Zealand....

A new study from <a href="https://www.columbia.edu/">Columbia University</a> has demonstrated that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/female-japanese-macaques-red/">macaques</a> can use logical reasoning to execute tasks. The investigation was focused on the ability of the animals to use transitive inference (TI), which is a form of deductive reasoning that was long believed to be unique to humans. 

To demonstrate an understanding of TI, subjects are often given lists of adjacent pairs, such as AB and CD, and then tested for their ability to recognize non-adjacent pairs that are implied, such as AC and BD. 

Over the last few decades, research has suggested that some nonhuman animals are also able to use this logical learning process. However, these studies primarily depended on reward associations, which makes it difficult to determine whether the test subjects were learning through logical inference or if they were simply making associations to maximize a reward. 

"It is widely accepted that animals also learn from experience, but most studies of nonhuman animals assume that their choices depend chiefly on the expected reward value associated with choices," wrote the study authors.

"We conjecture that the full scope of published TI results can only be explained if nonhuman animals perform inferences by manipulating an abstract representation of list order."

Led by Greg Jensen, the research team set out to manipulate an experiment so that the problems could not be solved by reward associations alone. In other words, the reward values were not always higher when the macaques produced the correct answers. 

The macaques learned a sequence of images, and were rewarded with water for selecting and touching one of two adjacent images that came earlier in the sequence. The monkeys had been on a water-restricted diet, and received no water for an incorrect answer. 

In the next phase of the trial, the researchers began showing the monkeys pairs of images that were not adjacent in the sequence. The monkeys continued to get a water reward for selecting the image that came earlier in the sequence. 

Finally, the researchers switched up the reward value of the correct answers, where the earliest image in the sequence that may have once corresponded with six drops of water now only corresponded with one. 

According to the experts, if the monkeys had no logical basis for their decision-making and were only driven by rewards, their performance would have suffered under this reverse condition. Instead, the monkeys continued to accurately identify the earliest images in the sequence across hundreds of trials, indicating that the monkeys were driven by logical reasoning and not just by rewards.

"This is the first study to test reward-based explanations of TI performance in a paradigm in which subjects have to ignore the experienced magnitude of reward to choose the correct response," wrote the researchers. 

"Subjects’ success in learning under the reverse reward gradient adds to a growing body of demonstrations that nonhuman animals can solve inference-based problems by a more cognitive means than favoring whichever alternative has the highest experienced value."

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/Sergey Uryadnikov

Logical thinking drives the problem solving skills of macaques

A new study from Columbia University has demonstrated that macaques...

Non-carnivores pose a surprising threat to livestock. Most research examining conflict between humans and wildlife has focused on how large predators like <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/absence-wolves-eastern-coyotes-adapted/">wolves</a> and tigers may threaten livestock.

But Dr. Shari Rodriguez and Dr. Christie Sampson of <a href="http://www.clemson.edu/">Clemson University</a> examined the less-studied relationships between livestock and predatorial non-carnivores like feral pigs and elephants. 

Although livestock predators such as tigers and wolves have been studied as the human-wildlife conflict continues to heighten as human populations expand, the lesser known predators have been excluded, despite having an impact on livestock. Non-carnivores pose a surprising threat to livestock

"Our study highlights the importance of including species not traditionally considered in the livestock protection conversation, and finding similarities in how the effects of non-Carnivora species can be addressed through the same methodologies as species such as wolves, tigers, or lions," said Dr. Rodriguez.

The study, published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000386">PLOS Biology</a>, shows that non-Carnivora species oftentimes kill young and small livestock, therefore damaging the entire farm infrastructure. Non-carnivores pose a surprising threat to livestock

Because of the harm they can do to local livestock, community perception of the species has altered and some may not be willing to support conservation efforts, especially in the case of elephants.

"Sharing experiences across taxa and adopting methodology found to be successful for other [predatory] species may help us to improve the tools we use to promote co-existence and conservation efforts for elephants," said Dr. Sampson.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Bildagentur Zoonar GmbH

Non-carnivores pose a surprising threat to livestock

Non-carnivores pose a surprising threat to livestock. Most research examining...

The wildlife charity <a href="https://butterfly-conservation.org/">Butterfly Conservation</a> is reporting that a striking blue butterfly may have its "best summer ever" after dwindling over the last four decades. The Common Blue started showing signs of recovery last year when extreme summer heat boosted the UK population by 104 percent. 

This summer, a July <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/europe-early-summer-heatwave/">heatwave</a> combined with above-average temperatures in August are expected to further support the comeback of the Common Blue. 

In collaboration with the Campaign for National Parks, the Butterfly Conservation  is asking the public to record sightings of the Common Blue as part of the UK's annual Big Butterfly Count.

"People should be able to spot these butterflies in National Parks areas as their caterpillars mainly feed on the wildflower, Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil," explained Dr. Zoe Randle. "In England last year, the butterfly’s numbers were up 110% from 2017 and in Wales their numbers were up 94% for the same period."

“However, numbers of the first brood which emerged in June were slightly down on last year, so it will be interesting to see how the second brood emerging in August will respond to the heatwave."

“It would really help us if people could get outside and look for this butterfly, so we can see if its fortunes really have turned around or if the Common Blue still needs our help."

“We’re also keen for people to keep recording any Painted Lady sightings, as this could be a record year for them - in just two days last week, people across the UK counted more than 30,000 Painted Lady butterflies and thousands more have been seen since then, so keep counting and we’ll reveal the total number after Sunday 11 August!”

The Common Blue males have bright blue upper wings that are unmarked, while the females are marked with orange crescents and dark spots that vary from bluish-purple to brown. The underwings of both males and females contain black spots with white halos and orange marks around the edges.

As the Campaign for National Parks celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, people across the UK can join the celebration by looking out for the Common Blue at their favorite parks.

"This is a great opportunity to help chart the progress of this beautiful blue butterfly and we’d love to know where our top Common Blue colonies are," said Campaign for National Parks CEO Corinne Pluchino. "We’d also like to have a better idea of the other butterfly species our sites are supporting, so please let us know what you find by taking part in the Big Butterfly Count."

The Big Butterfly Count is now underway and will continue through Sunday August 11. Participants are encouraged to find a sunny place and spend about 15 minutes counting every butterfly seen. The sightings can be submitted online <a href="http://www.bigbutterflycount.org">here</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: Butterfly Conservation/PA

Common blue butterfly populations are making a big comeback across the UK

The wildlife charity Butterfly Conservation is reporting that a striking...

Forest fires are becoming too intense for birds that normally depend on them. Fires are a necessary part of the forest ecosystem that help clean up the landscape and increase the level of nutrients and organic matter in the soil. For some species of animals, such as the Black-backed Woodpecker, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/forest-fires-beetles-woodpeckers/">forest fires</a> also create ideal habitats. 

But now, a new study has found that mega-fires across the western United States may be threatening these fire-loving woodpeckers. The researchers found that as the fires become bigger and more intense, the birds are struggling to find the edges of burned patches where they prefer to settle.

Collaborating with experts from <a href="https://www.birdpop.org/">The Institute for Bird Populations</a> and the <a href="https://www.fs.fed.us/">U.S. Forest Service</a>, PhD candidate 

Andrew Stillman investigated the nest site selection and nesting success of Black-backed Woodpeckers in burned forests of northern California. For eight years, the researchers monitored more than 100 nests while measuring nest site characteristics. Forest fires are becoming too intense for birds that normally depend on them

The birds were found to strongly prefer nesting in severely burned stands that had lots of dead trees. The birds placed their nests near the edges of these burned patches, typically within 500 meters of a patch with live trees.

"We didn't expect to find these woodpeckers nesting so close to edges," said Stillman. This is because previous research has shown that woodpecker nests closer to living forest patches are at a much higher risk of being raided by squirrels and other predators. 

A separate study found that the baby birds quickly move to living patches with good cover after leaving the nest, suggesting that the adults are providing their offspring with easy access to the live forest. 

Stillman explained that "pyrodiversity," which is the diversity found in the age, size, and severity of burned patches, appears to be important for the woodpecker because it provides more edges between different burn severities. As a result of climate change, however, fires are growing larger with reduced pyrodiversity.

"The thing about pyrodiversity is that we expect it to decrease," said study co-author Dr. Morgan Tingley. "Every year we see more 'mega-fires,' and these fires are quite homogenous in their structure, leading to low pyrodiversity. So even though the future is expected to hold more fire in western forests, the outlook may not even be good for fire-loving species."

"We hope that these results provide some of the missing information necessary to balance post-fire logging activities with the habitat needs of woodpeckers," said Stillman.

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.americanornithology.org/content/condor-ornithological-applications">The Condor: Ornithological Applications</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: Jean Hall

Forest fires are becoming too intense for birds

Forest fires are becoming too intense for birds that normally...

A new study has found that when it comes to alligator attacks since the 1970s, Florida’s official state reptile has shown a preference for local men. 

While the American alligator was listed as endangered in 1967, the species made a dramatic recovery through the 1970s and 80s and was removed from the endangered species list in 1987. 

In correlation with this population recovery in Florida, the number of human-American alligator conflicts increased. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://myfwc.com/">Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission </a>reviewed records of past alligator bites from 1971 through 2014 to identify any trends and patterns in where and how these attacks occur, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tourists-close-wildlife/">as well as who is most at risk</a>. 

372 bites were included in the study and classified as either unprovoked or unintentionally provoked. 

Three-quarters of the bites involved male alligators that were looking for food, and only one instance involved a female alligator defending her nest. 

Out of the 372 bite incidents, 247 resulted in significant injuries, and 81.4 percent of the victims were male. 

Between 1971 and 2014, the number of annual bites that caused severe injury increased from 3.5 to 7.0. 

Alligator bites occurred in ponds and canals, and most of the bites occurred near water. Quite a few people were attacked on golf courses. 

Feeding the alligators before an attack was linked to 34.7 of the bite reports. 

The best thing is to be aware of where alligators may be lurking and stay away from waterways, especially deeper areas where escape may be difficult and serious or fatal injury more likely. 

A study, detailing the analysis of bite incidents in Florida, was published in the<a href="https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.21719"> Journal of Wildlife Management</a>. 

“The risk of alligator bites can be reduced by educating people likely to interact with alligators and by selectively removing problem alligators in human residential areas and water bodies used regularly by people for swimming, wading, and shoreline,” the researchers wrote. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: ShutterstockMark_Kostich

Men in Florida may be more likely to be attacked by an alligator, study shows

A new study has found that when it comes to...

Leopard seals, one of the largest species of seal in the world, are long, sleek predators at the top of the food chain in Antarctica. 

Leopard seals have been filmed in several curious and playful encounters with divers on Antarctic expeditions, but they have never before been captured sharing food with other seals.  

Leopard seals are largely considered solitary and do not spend much time with other leopard seals. Occasionally leopard seals have been found hunting together, but these instances are few and far between.  

Never before seen footage from the Netflix series <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/our-planet-ominous-warning/">Our Planet</a> appears to show leopard seals sharing a penguin meal. 

First filmed in October 2016, in St. Andrews Bay and Right Whale Bay, the footage was captured by the production company Silverback Films which produced Our Planet.  

The footage was not featured in the six-part documentary, but researchers from <a href="https://www.plymouth.ac.uk/">Plymouth University</a> in the UK, the <a href="https://www.bas.ac.uk/">British Antarctic Survey</a>, <a href="https://www.monash.edu/">Monash University</a> in Australia, and the <a href="https://www.smsg-falklands.org/">Shallow Marine Surveys Group</a> of the Falkland Islands analyzed the unseen film in a new study. 

Drones from Silverback Films reportedly captured up to 36 seals feeding at a penguin colony on South Georgia Island. 

The footage even shows two seals feasting on the same penguin carcass, something never before seen in the wild. 

James Robbins, the leader of the study, notes that the film sheds light on the behaviors of leopard seals.  

“The footage provided by Our Planet film crews has given us an exciting new insight into the behaviour and lives of leopard seals,” said Robbins. “There is still so much that we don’t understand about these predators as they live in remote areas of the Antarctic and are often seen alone on an inaccessible iceberg. But I’ve personally had over 500 encounters with leopard seals and have never seen two animals being so tolerant of each other.”

The researchers can’t say with complete certainty that the footage shows two seals sharing food. Instead, the footage could show a rare example of being forced to concede to another competitor so as not to lose a potential meal. 

 Rather than risk having a meal stolen, the seals may be allowing some of their food to be eaten to save energy and keep most of their prey.  

The study, published in the journal Polar Biology, shows how new technologies like drone footage can offer researchers an up close and personal look at the remote wilderness that is Antarctica. 

“This study also provides a great example of how new technology is helping researchers to make close-hand observations of wild animals,” said David Hocking, a co-author of the study. “By using a camera drone, the filmmakers were able to fly above the animals without disturbing them, revealing detailed behaviours that otherwise may have gone unnoticed to shore-based observers.”

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Image Credit: James Robbins/University of Plymouth

Leopard seals filmed sharing food for the first time

Leopard seals, one of the largest species of seal in...

Human-driven climate change is reshaping the globe as we know it. Amid rising sea-levels and shifting weather patterns, many species are being forced to adapt to new stressors as their preferred habitats are becoming uninhabitable. 

Research has shown that animals are <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/beetles-shrinking-climate-change/">shrinking in response to climate change</a>, but how human activities and rising temperatures are impacting invertebrates has been poorly understood. 

In a new study, a team of researchers from several academic institutions in Spain examined morphological changes in social wasps in connection to climate change over the past 100 years.

The researchers measured the body mass, head width, and wing size of over 200 Dolichovespula sylvestris wasps that were housed in museum collections. 

Some of the specimens dated back to 1904, and the researchers were able to measure changes in size over time. 

The team compared the changes in body size to the increases in annual temperatures. 

The researchers found that body mass, wing area, and head width all decreased through the years, and the wasp got smaller and smaller in response to changes in temperature. 

Wing size decreased faster compared to body size, and if this trend continues, it could impair the wasps’ ability to fly.  

The study, published in the journal Ecological Entomology, is the first to find a potential link between climate change and morphological changes in social insects like wasps. 

“Body size shrinking is likely to have some adverse effects on recent (and future) insects,” Carlo Polidori, the first author of the study, told <a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2212024-wasps-are-shrinking-in-size-and-it-may-be-because-of-climate-change/?utm_medium=NLC&amp;utm_source=NSNS&amp;utm_campaign=2019-0802-GLOBAL-NSDAY&amp;utm_content=NSDAY">New Scientist</a>. “For example, smaller wasps may be able to hunt only smaller prey species compared with past wasps.”

There may be other factors at work that could explain the changes in body size, but the study shows that wasps are shrinking along with many other species in response to new environmental stressors. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Ruth Swan

Climate change may be causing insects to get smaller

Human-driven climate change is reshaping the globe as we know...

A recent study of ancient predators trapped in the La Brea Tar Pits has revealed why <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/absence-wolves-eastern-coyotes-adapted/">coyotes</a> persisted into modern-day America as opposed to saber-toothed cats. The research, which is the most comprehensive of its kind, suggests that predators whose descendants are still alive today are those that had the most flexible diets. 

Larisa DeSantis, a paleontologist at <a href="https://www.vanderbilt.edu/">Vanderbilt University</a>, has spent the last decade visiting the La Brea Tar Pits to analyze the teeth of extinct species such as American lions, saber-toothed cats, and dire wolves. DeSantis has also examined teeth from gray wolves, cougars, and coyotes. 

The results of the long-term analysis contradict the idea that megafaunal extinction during the Pleistocene was driven by competition for prey among carnivores. This is because the carnivores did not share the same foraging behavior. Just like cats and dogs today, one preferred chasing down prey in open fields, while the other preferred stalking prey in forested areas.

"Isotopes from the bones previously suggested that the diets of saber-toothed cats and dire wolves overlapped completely, but the isotopes from their teeth give a very different picture," said DeSantis. "The cats, including saber-toothed cats, American lions and cougars, hunted prey that preferred forests, while it was the dire wolves that seemed to specialize on open-country feeders like bison and horses.  While there may have been some overlap in what the dominant predators fed on, cats and dogs largely hunted differently from one another."

To study the ancient predators, DeSantis shaved tiny bits of enamel off of preserved teeth for chemical analysis. She explained that information about everything the animal ate lies within the isotopes. In addition, the wear patterns on teeth indicate whether bones or flesh were eaten. 

According to DeSantis, it is likely that giant predators went extinct due to climate change, the arrival of humans, or a combination of the two. In a separate study, her team is working to clarify the cause of the Pleistocene extinction by collaborating with experts across six institutions.

One thing that is known for certain is that large predators alive in the Americas today were better able to adapt their diets. They were able to feed on large prey, hunt small mammals, or scavenge from carcasses.

"The other exciting thing about this research is we can actually look at the consequences of this extinction," said DeSantis. "The animals around today that we think of as apex predators in North America - cougars and wolves - were measly during the Pleistocene. So when the big predators went extinct, as did the large prey, these smaller animals were able to take advantage of that extinction and become dominant apex-predators."

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">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Daniel Eskridge

Predators that survived Pleistocene extinction had the most flexible diets

A recent study of ancient predators trapped in the La...

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



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



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Probiotics - beneficial microbes that balance gut bacteria and aid digestion - are typically fragile and can be destroyed by stomach acid or processing. 



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Is chocolate the next nutritional powerhouse?

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

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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

Nushagak Bay in southwest Alaska

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Flu viruses are more flexible than expected

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



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



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



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



Video/Image Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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

Lake Trasimeno in Central Italy

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



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



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



Video Credit: American Chemical Society&nbsp;



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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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