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...

When <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/zebrafish-spinal-cord-injuries/">zebrafish</a> were placed in a virtual-reality-equipped chamber that eliminated the visual feedback linked to movement, the fish ultimately decided to give up. They first tried to swim harder in order to move forward again. But after exerting too much energy, the fish simply decided to give up.

"Giving up is a very important thing for animals to be able to do," said Misha Ahrens, a group leader at the <a href="https://www.janelia.org/">Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Janelia Research Campus</a>. This ability to decide to give up saves the fish from unnecessarily exerting large amounts of energy.

As they watched the brain activity pattern of the zebrafish during their struggle, Ahrens and his team discovered that neurons were not responsible for telling the fish to give up. It was gila, cells that were previously thought to merely provide support and insulation for neurons. 

However, this new discovery has proven that at least one type of gilal cell can calculate when an effort is ultimately futile. 

In the study, published in <a href="https://www.cell.com/">Cell</a>, the researchers noticed that these cells, called radial astrocytes, became more active in a specific part of the brain when the fish decided to give up swimming. It turned out that it was actually the neurons that revved up the astrocytes during each attempt at a failed movement.

When they put their theory to the test by killing off active astrocytes in zebrafish, the researchers found that the fish continued to swim within the VR chamber. And when the team created fish with astrocytes that could be turned on and off, they saw that when the astrocytes were on, the fish stopped swimming as the average fish does.

The team will move on to study how the astrocytes communicate with the neurons within the brain. 

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Grigorev Mikhail

Fish are able to ‘give up’ and save energy thanks to gila

When zebrafish were placed in a virtual-reality-equipped chamber that eliminated...

The results of a national survey have revealed that beekeepers in the United States lost 40.7 percent of their honeybee colonies from April 2018 to April 2019. The winter losses alone reached 37.7 percent, which is the highest winter loss reported since the <a href="https://beeinformed.org/">Bee Informed Partnership</a> survey began 13 years ago.

In the United States, <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/honey-bees-pollen-collection-varies/">honey bees</a> pollinate $15 billion worth of food crops each year, which makes them critical to our nation's food production. 

Dennis vanEngelsdorp is an associate professor of Entomology at the <a href="https://www.umd.edu/">University of Maryland</a> and president for the Bee Informed Partnership. 

"These results are very concerning, as high winter losses hit an industry already suffering from a decade of high winter losses," said Professor vanEngelsdorp.

This year's 40.7 percent loss of honeybee colonies is a slight increase from last year's annual loss of 38.7 percent.

"Just looking at the overall picture and the 10-year trends, it's disconcerting that we're still seeing elevated losses after over a decade of survey and quite intense work to try to understand and reduce colony loss," said Professor Geoffrey Williams of <a href="http://www.auburn.edu/">Auburn University</a>. "We don't seem to be making particularly great progress to reduce overall losses."

The 2019 survey involved nearly 4,700 commercial and backyard beekeepers managing 319,787 colonies in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This total represents about 12 percent of the nation's estimated 2.69 million managed colonies.

The number one concern among beekeepers is varroa mites, which are deadly parasites that spread from colony to colony. These mites have been destroying colonies for years.

"We are increasingly concerned about varroa mites and the viruses they spread," said Professor  vanEngelsdorp. "Last year, many beekeepers reported poor treatment efficacy, and limited field tests showed that products that once removed 90% of mites or more are now removing far fewer. Since these products are no longer working as well, the mite problem seems to be getting worse."

"But mites are not the only problem. Land use changes have led to a lack of nutrition-rich pollen sources for bees, causing poor nutrition. Pesticide exposures, environmental factors, and beekeeping practices all play some role as well."

Karen Rennich is the executive director for the Bee Informed Partnership and senior faculty specialist at the University of Maryland.

"The tools that used to work for beekeepers seem to be failing, and that may be evident in this year's high losses. A persistent worry among beekeepers nationwide is that there are fewer and fewer favorable places for bees to land, and that is putting increased pressure on beekeepers who are already stretched to their limits to keep their bees alive," said Rennich. "We also think that extreme weather conditions we have seen this past year demand investigation, such as wildfires that ravage the landscape and remove already limited forage, and floods that destroy crops causing losses for the farmer, for the beekeeper, and for the public."

The nationwide survey is conducted each year by the Bee Informed Partnership with data collected and analyzed by the University of Maryland and Auburn University. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Ivan Marjanovic

More than 40 percent of US honeybee colonies were lost in the past year

The results of a national survey have revealed that beekeepers...

City landscapes can actually be very helpful in recovering monarch numbers. It might seem counterintuitive that cities would be the key to monarch conservation. But two new studies published in the journal Frontiers of Ecology and Evolution have found that urban landscapes, specifically how they are managed, could provide a lifeline for important pollinators. 

Monarch populations have declined 80 percent in the US over the last twenty years, with studies showing that habitat loss in overwintering locations and climate change have <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/monarch-butterfly-populations-all-time-low/">contributed to those losses. </a>

Milkweed, a robust group of flowering plants native to the US, are not coveted garden flowers, but they are the only plant that Monarchs can lay their eggs on.City landscapes can actually be very helpful in recovering monarch numbers

If milkweed plants continue to decline, it could lead to the extinction of Monarch butterflies all together. 

Researchers from the <a href="https://www.fieldmuseum.org/">Field Museum</a> collected data from field observations and spatial images to map milkweed plant abundance across large urban areas.

[caption id="attachment_1874245" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/City-landscapes-can-actually-be-very-helpful-in-recovering-monarch-numbers.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874245" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/City-landscapes-can-actually-be-very-helpful-in-recovering-monarch-numbers.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="488" /></a> Monarch butterflies in downtown Chicago. Image Credit: Abigail Derby Lewis, Field Museum[/caption]

By focusing on cities and milkweed, the researchers were able to identify areas where milkweed could be planted and highlight the critical role of cities in butterfly conservation. 

“Metropolitan areas actually matter for wildlife conservation, and that’s especially true for pollinators like the Monarch that can survive with very small patches of habitat,” says Abigail Derby Lewis, lead author of one of the studies. “There’s an assumption that cities are not important places for plants and animals, but that’s because no one had looked at these landscapes in a systematic way, or at the collective impact from many small-scale plantings across large urban geographies.”

The researchers found that residential areas like lawns provide a huge opportunity for space to plant milkweed. 

To recover and protect monarch populations, the researchers estimate that it would require planting 1.8 billion milkweed stems, enough to cover an area the size of Washington DC. 

“This approach to examining metropolitan landscapes allows us to ‘see’ cities in a way we haven’t been able to before, and this enables us to get a better estimate of how much potential space there is to create habitat,” said Mark Johnston, the lead author of the second paper. “We think that cities could support 15 to 30 percent of the milkweed that’s needed to save Monarchs.” 

In order to get city residents on board, it will require a shift in public perceptions of what plants are cosmetically acceptable.

 “I would encourage people to question the grassy lawns that dominate our urban landscape--could we plant something else that would provide habitat for Monarchs and other wildlife?” asked Johnston.

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Main Image Credit: Field Museum

City landscapes can actually be very helpful in recovering monarch numbers

City landscapes can actually be very helpful in recovering monarch...

Outside conflict makes some animals more cooperative with each other. According to a new study from the <a href="http://www.bristol.ac.uk/">University of Bristol</a>, dwarf mongooses become more cooperative and work closely together when faced with potential violence from rival groups.

While conflict among rivals is common throughout the animal world, the consequences of this behavior are relatively unknown. The current study provides evidence to suggest that the threat of clashes with outsiders causes changes in a range of <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/african-social-spiders-groups/">group behaviors</a>.

"Much is known about the behavior that occurs when groups of the same species actually interact with one another," said study lead author and PhD student Amy Morris-Drake. "However, we have shown that the threat of between-group battles can lead to increases in within-group cooperation, including greater grooming of group mates and contributions to sentinel duty (acting as a raised guard)."

"Experimental tests of the consequences of out-group conflict are extremely rare, especially on wild animals," added study co-author Professor Andy Radford. "By working with groups of dwarf mongooses habituated to our close presence, we could collect detailed observations and conduct experimental manipulations in natural conditions."

Some experts believe that high levels of cooperation in human societies stem from the need to unite in times of war. Through this study, the researchers found a similar link among animals.

"We tested our theories by simulating territorial intrusions of rival groups," explained Morris-Drake. "To do so, we used call playbacks and faecal presentations, creating the impression that trouble-makers had crossed the border into a group's own land."

"We then carefully observed the behavior of the resident group after they had interacted with the cues of rivals, and found differences compared to control conditions," said Professor Radford. "Individuals groomed one another more and foraged closer together, potentially due to higher anxiety levels; their increase in sentinel behaviour was likely an attempt to gather more information about the threat."

The findings suggest that the effects of warfare can be identified in the threats as well as in the actual fights, and that the indirect impacts on societies must be considered as much as the outcomes on the battlefield. 

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/beheco">Behavioral Ecology</a>.

&nbsp;

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shannon Wild

Outside conflict makes some animals more cooperative with each other

Outside conflict makes some animals more cooperative with each other....

A new report from the <a href="https://www.apnews.com/">Associated Press</a> is describing the increasing threats faced by small shorebirds known as piping plovers. The birds' nests are at risk of getting washed away as rising water levels and coastal flooding persist in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/tons-plastic-trash-great-lakes/">Great Lakes</a>. 

After late snowstorms and record-breaking spring rainfall, the Great Lakes are reaching some of their highest levels on record. As the beaches shrink or become totally submerged, the piping plovers are pushed completely out of their habitats into dangerous territory. 

"The high water levels really put them in danger more than most other species because their habitat has been greatly diminished,” said Vince Cavalieri, who is the piping plover coordinator for the <a href="https://www.fws.gov/">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service</a>. He said that some nests on the Canadian side of the lakes have already been swept away.

Snowmelt and rainstorms have always caused natural fluctuations in the water levels across the Great Lakes. However, scientists predict that these fluctuations are intensifying due to climate change. 

U.S. Army Corps hydrologist Keith Kompoltowicz told the <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/">Chicago Tribune</a> that Lake Michigan’s water levels are forecast to remain high all summer. “We’re seeing more instances of shoreline and coastal flooding, especially during storm events and high winds,” said Kompoltowicz.

In a recent article, University of Michigan hydrologist Drew Gronewold and climate scientist Richard Rood stated that “rapid transitions between extreme high and low water levels in the Great Lakes represent the ‘new normal.’”

This will make the situation much more dire for the already endangered piping plover. In 1990, the Great Lakes population of piping plovers reached a low of just 12 breeding pairs. However, recovery efforts have helped the population bounce back, with a total of 67 breeding pairs last year.

--

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/Ray Hennessy

Great Lakes flooding may cause small shorebirds to lose their homes

A new report from the Associated Press is describing the...

To thrive, ‘alien’ birds must live in locations similar to their native habitat. A new study from the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/">University College of London</a> has found that “alien” bird species succeed and thrive in habitats that are similar to their native homes and in locations where other alien species thrive. 

This information, published in <a href="https://www.nature.com/">Nature</a>, is vital for understanding the factors that help or hinder a species from thriving in new locations as well as allowing scientists to predict and perhaps thwart a threatening <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/parasite-galapagos-finch-mating-calls/">invasion</a> of new species that may bring with it the potential to spread disease, negatively impact existing native species, and cause agricultural damage. To thrive, ‘alien’ birds must live in locations similar to their native habitat

"We know alien species are the main driver of recent extinctions in both animals and plants so there is a clear and urgent need for better biosecurity measures to prevent or mitigate the impact of future invasions and protect endangered native species," said first author Dr. David Redding of the <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/biosciences/departments/genetics-evolution-and-environment">UCL Genetics, Evolution &amp; Environment</a> department. "With increased global trade, more species are being transported around the world either purposefully or as stowaways, which creates more opportunities for alien species to establish themselves in new habitats."

The international research team, led by UCL, analysed 4,346 global invasion events spanning 708 bird species to see which factors enabled specific species to survive.

[caption id="attachment_1874184" align="aligncenter" width="650"]<a href="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/birds.jpg"><img class="wp-image-1874184" src="https://www.earth.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/birds.jpg" alt="" width="650" height="435" /></a> Ring-necked parakeet, Image Credit: Tim Blackburn[/caption]

"Previous studies have often looked at species traits, the number of individuals introduced, or examined aspects of introduction locations to explain alien introduction success, but understanding how these drivers act together is much harder," said co-author Professor Tim Blackburn, of the UCL Genetics, Evolution &amp; Environment department and the <a href="https://www.zsl.org/science">Institute of Zoology</a>. "Our study is the first to explore all such aspects of alien introductions to determine which matter most, at the global scale and for a whole group of aliens."

Not only do alien species thrive more in an environment that is similar to their native habitat, but they also do well within locations that have fewer large weather events and that already harbor other alien species.

"The worry is that previous aliens pave the way for new ones, which can lead to 'invasional meltdown.’ We need internationally agreed management plans to detect stowaway species at entry points such as ports, and we must be much more careful about which species are purposefully introduced to a new area," said Professor Blackburn.

The team concludes that biosecurity measures must be taken in order to protect and preserve local species. 

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Main Image Credit: Tim Blackburn

To thrive, ‘alien’ birds must live in locations similar to their native habitat

To thrive, ‘alien’ birds must live in locations similar to...

Crocodile distribution could reveal secrets of the Earth’s past climate. According to a recent study, ancient <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/cultures-crocodiles-worshipped/">crocodiles</a> are shedding new light on Earth's past climate. The research suggests that these reptiles could serve as resources for studying historical environmental conditions, much in the same way that scientists use ice cores and tree rings. 

Experts have discovered that some crocodile species were tolerant of changes in climate conditions, while others were fatally sensitive to these changes. Based on the distribution of the fossil remains of various species, researchers can gain a better understanding of the global climate millions of years ago.

"Our analysis suggests that crocodilians are even less of a homogenous group than previously thought and that some alligator-like reptiles were particularly good at tolerating the dramatic changes in climate that marked the end of the Eocene epoch and the beginning of the Oligocene," explained study lead author Dr. Stéphane Jouve from the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sorbonne_University">University of Sorbonne</a>.

These eras were distinctly divided by a climate crisis which involved plummeting temperatures and drastically lower sea levels. Many plants and animals were completely wiped out as a result. 

Despite previous theories, the new study indicates that while some species of crocodiles died out, others migrated to warmer waters and managed to survive.

The coastal environment was transformed by the decline in sea level, and there were many marine crocs who escaped the cold conditions of Europe by migrating south to North Africa. 

The study also suggests that Morocco could have been the platform for marine species in the gavialoid family to migrate to South America. Furthermore, as the freeze continued, a family of crocodilians known as the marine tomistomines gradually moved from north to south.

Many freshwater species, which were unaffected by sea level, could not survive the rapid decline in temperatures of the late Eocene and vanished. On the other hand, the alligator-like Diplocynodon survived even the lowest temperatures of the early Oligocene epoch. 

The study is published in the <a href="http://vertpaleo.org/Publications/Journal-of-Vertebrate-Paleontology.aspx">Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Paid for by <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a>

Image Credit: Canva

Crocodile distribution could reveal secrets of the Earth’s past climate

Crocodile distribution could reveal secrets of the Earth’s past climate....

A team of scientists led by <a href="http://www.ucla.edu/">UCLA</a> is reporting that <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/sea-otters-pattern-rocks-tools/">sea otters</a> have low genetic diversity, which is a characteristic commonly found among threatened or endangered animals. Low genetic variation prevents populations from adapting to changing environments, which increases the risk of extinction. 

"Sea otters may be at risk," said study co-senior author Professor Robert Wayne. "This is a warning sign, a red flag. We should make sure to not let their population decline again."

Genetic diversity is a measure of the differences found in the genomes of individuals within the same population. In populations that have less variation, there are fewer genes available that can be selected for future generations to inherit resistance to diseases or environmental stressors.

For the current study, which was led by  UCLA graduate student Annabel Beichman, the researchers reconstructed the otter's evolutionary history. This allowed them to analyze historical changes in its population size, the past extent of the sea otter's genetic diversity, and levels of potentially harmful genetic variation.

The investigation was focused on the genome of Gidget, a female sea otter from the Monterey Bay Aquarium who died this year, and the genome of a South American giant otter for comparison. These two species live in extremely different climates. The giant otter is found in warm freshwater environments and the sea otter is found in the frigid coastal waters of the North Pacific Ocean. 

The study produced evidence of potentially harmful genetic variation and of mating between closely related ancestors in the sea otter genome. This pattern is commonly found in endangered species with small population sizes. 

"While low diversity isn't necessarily dangerous by itself, we also found elevated levels of potentially harmful variation within genes, possibly due to a history of population declines - which could impact the population going forward."

Beichman compared the sea otter's low genetic diversity to a jar of marbles that has lost many of its colors.

"Having a large amount of diversity in the population, a lot of different colors of marbles, may be helpful if a disease arises or the environment changes - maybe green marbles are resistant to the disease, but blue and red are susceptible. But if you've lost all your green marbles by chance when the population declined, you may be stuck with only blue and red - and not able to resist the disease. More variety gives you more shots at survival."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/mbe">Molecular Biology and Evolution</a>.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Courtesy Monterey Bay Aquarium

Threatened sea otters found to have low genetic diversity

A team of scientists led by UCLA is reporting that...

A team of researchers, led by J. Chris McKnight of the <a href="https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/">University of St. Andrews</a>, used a new wearable device based on near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to investigate how voluntarily diving <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/seals-ice-hole-mystery/">seals</a> manage their oxygen supply to their brains and blubber, and properly distribute blood, before diving into the depths of the ocean.

McKnight and his team hypothesized that the NIRS technology could provide high-resolution measures of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin within certain tissues, and therefore be used to estimate blood volume changes before a dive, specifically for this study, published in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.3000306">PLOS Biology</a>, within the brain and blubber.

Before, only invasive technology was available to track such measurements. However, this new device, dubbed the PortaSeal, can simply be attached to the animal’s fur on either the head or shoulder to monitor cerebral blood or peripheral circulation.

The PortaSeal revealed that seals are able to constrict their peripheral blood vessels, and increase cerebral blood volume, about 15 seconds before they dive. They are also able to increase cerebral oxygenation at a consistent time throughout each dive. These circulation adjustments are under somewhat of a cognitive control and not simply a reflex. 

"Discovering that seals, which are physiologically fascinating animals, can seemingly actively exert control over their circulatory systems is really exciting," McKnight said. "It gives a new perspective on the capacity to control the body's fundamental physiological responses. Getting this insight with non-invasive wearable technology from the bio-medical field offers many exciting future research avenues. We can start to study organs, like the brain, of seals in the open ocean performing exceptional feats like diving to 2000m for 2hrs with heart rates as low as 2bpm, and yet somehow avoid brain trauma."

Using NIRS to track blood volume and oxygenation in different tissues is vital for tracking and understanding physiological plasticity within diving mammals.

--

By <a href="mailto:oliviagharvey24@gmail.com">Olivia Harvey</a>, <a href="http://earth.com">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Monica Arso Civil, Sea Mammal Research Unit

New wearable device shows how seals regulate oxygen flow while diving

A team of researchers, led by J. Chris McKnight of...

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-deforestation-songbird-populations/">Migratory songbirds</a> in North America are facing rapid population declines. Tracking migration patterns could help with songbird conservation

To protect these songbirds, researchers need to know where the birds go during their annual migrations, as these overwintering locations could hold the key to the birds’ rapidly declining populations. 

To accomplish this, researchers at <a href="https://www.osu.edu/">Ohio State University</a> used 149 geolocators, which are small tracking devices that pinpoint a bird’s location in order to trace the migration patterns of Prothonotary Warblers. 

The researchers captured birds at their eastern US nesting sites and attached the locators before the birds left for Latin America.Tracking migration patterns could help with songbird conservation 

When the birds returned, the researchers recovered 34 locators. The data revealed that the majority of warblers congregated to a small area of northern Colombia and used the same two major stopover sites in Central America along the way to their winter destination. 

Many of the birds wintered in inland areas, which was a surprise considering past research has shown that the birds prefer coastal mangrove habitats. 

Deforestation and sociopolitical changes currently threaten the bird’s Colombia habitat. Knowing where the birds migrate to can help focus conservation efforts to specific areas most at risk of habitat declines. 

“The most surprising thing about the results was the overwhelming importance of Colombia to this species,” said Christopher Tonra, the leader of the study. “We weren’t sure what to expect in terms of migratory connectivity, but we never expected that nearly every bird would use the same wintering region. This provided a clear conservation message and shows the power of geolocators in addressing gaps in our knowledge of migratory songbirds.”

The researchers published their findings in The Condor: Ornithological Applications journal. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>,<a href="https://www.earth.com/"> Earth.com </a>Staff Writer 

Image Credit: Joan Eckhardt

Tracking migration patterns could help with songbird conservation

Migratory songbirds in North America are facing rapid population declines....

A new study led by the <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/">University at Buffalo</a> has revealed that hyenas once dwelled in a much different environment than the African and Asian ecosystems where they live today. Based on the first known fossils of hyenas found in the <a href="http://www.earth.com/news/arctic-warming-cost-trillions/">Arctic</a>, the researchers discovered that ancient hyenas lived in this region during the last ice age.

The study was focused on two teeth discovered in the Canadian Yukon Territory in the 1970s. While paleontologists had initially suspected that the fossils belonged to hyenas, the current investigation is the first to confirm this theory. 

The researchers compared the teeth to a global sample of hyena fossils and ultimately linked them to the "running hyena" Chasmaporthetes. 

"Fossils of this genus of hyenas had been found in Africa, Europe and Asia, and also in the southern United States. But where and how did these animals get to North America? The teeth we studied, even though they were just two teeth, start to answer those questions," said study first author Dr. Jack Tseng.

Ancient hyenas likely entered North America through Beringia. This area, which includes Alaska and Yukon Territory, connects Asia with North America when the sea levels are low. Eventually, the animals moved south all the way to Mexico, according to the researchers. 

"It is amazing to imagine hyenas thriving in the harsh conditions above the Arctic Circle during the ice age," said study co-author Dr. Grant Zazula. "Chasmaporthetes probably hunted herds of ice age caribou and horses or scavenged carcasses of mammoths on the vast steppe-tundra that stretched from Siberia to Yukon Territory."

The fossil teeth are likely between 850,000 and 1.4 million years old. However, Dr. Tseng explained that the first hyenas crossed into North America long before that, as the earliest known hyena fossils on the continent date back about 5 million years.

Hyenas disappeared from North America somewhere between half a million to a million years ago before the first humans arrived. It is not clear why they vanished at this time, but it is possible they were replaced by the short-faced bear, which lived in North America until about 12,000 years ago.

"Our previous understanding of where these far-ranging hyenas lived was based on fossil records in southern North America on one hand, and Asia, Europe and Africa on the other," said Dr. Tseng. "These rare records of hyenas in the Arctic fill in a massive gap in a location where we expected evidence of their crossing between continents, but had no proof until now."

The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.openquaternary.com/">Open Quaternary</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: Julius T. Csotonyi

Hyenas lived in the Arctic during the last ice age, study reveals

A new study led by the University at Buffalo has...

The <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration</a> (NOAA) recently announced an <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/marine-life-distress/frequent-question-2019-bottlenose-dolphin-unusual-mortality-event">Unusual Mortality Event (UME)</a> after a record number of stranded bottlenose dolphins have been reported along the northern Gulf of Mexico across Louisiana, Mississippi and the Florida Panhandle. 

So far, at least 279 stranded dolphins have been discovered since February of this year, and 98 percent of them have died. 

In order for a UME to be declared under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, certain criteria have to be met surrounding the deaths of a large group of marine animals. 

Investigations are underway to determine potential causes. Necropsy examinations have been conducted on some of the dolphins, but the majority discovered were in too advanced a state of decomposition to examine properly. 

Many of the stranded dolphins have skin lesions which the NOAA reports are caused by exposure to freshwater. As freshwater from rivers flows into the ocean, it lowers salt levels which can harm the dolphins if salinity reaches too low a point. 

23 percent of the dolphins that were stranded along the Louisiana coast to the Florida Panhandle had freshwater wounds. 

There are also concerns that these increased strandings could be due to the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/long-term-damage-deepwater-horizon-oil-spill/">2010 BP oil spill </a>or a Louisiana spillway, according to Terri Rowles, the coordinator from the NOAA Fisheries Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. 

After the BP oil spill, studies found that exposed marine wildlife had breathing problems, abnormalities in the blood, and deteriorating health overall. 

The Gulf of Mexico’s largest dolphin die-off in recorded history was due to the spill, and these recent strandings may be part of the lingering aftermath. 

“We do know some of the health conditions ... are improving, but some have been slow to improve,” Rowles told the Associated Press. “Reproduction in the heaviest-oiled areas continues below normal.”

Other potential causes could be pollutants in the river spilling out into the oceans or decreases in fish stocks and crabs, which are also impacted by low salinity and forced to seek out to more suitable habitats. 

--

By <a href="mailto:kayvandette@gmail.com">Kay Vandette</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Image Credit: Shutterstock/Tory Kallman

Nearly 300 dolphins dead after being stranded along the Gulf of Mexico

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently announced an...

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

[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



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

Detecting mercury contamination with the tap of a finger

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

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



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



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



Video Credit: ACS Reactions



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



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

How does salt makes things taste better?

[sendtonews key="X0f6OHYoI4-2310561-12187" 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 Santiago, the capital city of Chile. The city is located in the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Region, which has a population of about eight million people.&nbsp;



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

Santiago, Chile in South America

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Johns Hopkins&nbsp;



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



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

Interactive map of the universe includes 200,000 galaxies

[sendtonews key="e4ZG0Jawp3-2374785-12187" type="single"] Astronomers at Johns Hopkins University have created...

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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;&nbsp;



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



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

Lesotho: Africa's "Kingdom in the Sky"

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

The city of Dublin on Ireland's east coast

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



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



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



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



Video/ Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The province of Zaragoza in northeast Spain

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

The rapid retreat of the Columbia Glacier

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video &amp; Image Credit: ESA



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



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

The Pyrenees Mountains in southwest Europe

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

Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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

Two distant planets may be "water worlds"

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

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites reveal how Earth's systems are interconnected

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



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

Tiger sharks are shifting poleward as temperatures rise

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

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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA&nbsp;



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



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

Melt ponds on the Greenland Ice Sheet

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



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



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



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



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



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



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



Video Credit: ESA



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



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

The history of Mars is much more complex than we thought

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: Stowers Institute for Medical Research



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



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

Cavefish are healthy despite their sedentary lifestyle

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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Earth Observatory&nbsp;



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



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

Satellites capture the world's biggest and fastest waves

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