When naturalists tally the frogs in a farm pond or the orchids in a mountain meadow they always encounter the same rule of thumb: when you survey a larger range, the more species you find. The relationship seems simple, yet ecologists have puzzled over an odd signature hidden in species distribution data for nearly a century.



As one zooms out from local plots to regional landscapes. the tally of new species first soars. Then, it plateaus, taking off again at continental and global scales. That curious “S-shaped” curve is technically, the three-phase species–area relationship. 



It has appeared in everything from beetles to <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/bird-wings-have-a-surprising-effect-on-island-biodiversity/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">birds</a> and from coral reefs to desert shrubs. Until now, no single mathematical framework explained why the curve changes its slope where it does.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-predicting-species-distributions">Predicting species distributions </h2>



A collaboration of researchers spanning Portugal, Germany, the United States and South Africa has now filled that theoretical gap. 



The experts combined basic geometry with giant <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/what-are-the-biggest-drivers-of-biodiversity-loss/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">biodiversity</a> datasets to show that the three phases arise inevitably from the way individual species spread their geographic ranges across Earth’s surface.



The team's model not only reproduces the classic patterns, it also generates equations that predict how many species should occur at the precise break points between phases - a feat with direct relevance for conservation planners who must estimate extinctions as habitats are lost.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-range-size-affects-species-distributions">Range size affects species distributions</h2>



Ecologists formalized the species-area relationship (SAR) in the early twentieth century, discovering that a log-log plot of cumulative species versus area usually forms a straight line. Yet when studies started to cover larger domains, investigators found the line was actually composed of three segments.



In the first segment, from local quadrants to perhaps a few hundred square kilometers, adding more land brings a flood of new species because each little patch contains slightly different microhabitats. In the middle segment, spanning thousands of square kilometers, the pace slackens; the same bird species, for instance, occupy most forests inside a biogeographic region. 



Beyond that, when continents are added, evolutionary history enters the picture and the slope shoots up again as entirely different faunas come into view. Empirically describing those bends was straightforward; explaining them from first principles proved harder. 



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-individual-ranges-of-species">Individual ranges of species</h2>



“We demonstrated that the individual geographical ranges of all species within the studied areas shape the typical species distribution patterns we observe across the globe,” said lead author Luís Borda-de-Água of <a href="https://www.cibio.up.pt/en/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">CIBIO</a> in Portugal.



By mathematically stacking these ranges like overlapping tiles on a floor plan, the team showed that the SAR’s inflection points fall where the average range size of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/how-do-temperature-extremes-change-the-distribution-of-species/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">resident species</a> equals the sampling area. At small scales most ranges eclipse the plot, so each extra hectare introduces new species.



At intermediate scales the plot begins to rival range size, so fewer novelties appear. At the largest scales even the widest-ranging species occupy only one continent, restoring the steep climb.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-testing-patterns-and-crunching-records">Testing patterns and crunching records</h2>



To test the idea the researchers turned to the <a href="https://www.gbif.org/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Global Biodiversity Information Facility</a>, a compendium of citizen-science sightings and museum records. They extracted roughly 700 million geo-referenced observations spanning birds, <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/over-40-of-amphibians-face-extinction-due-to-escalating-climate-threats/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">amphibians</a>, mammals and vascular plants.



For each taxonomic group they generated empirical SARs and compared them with the theoretical predictions. The correspondence was striking: predicted transition points - where the slope of the SAR changes - matched the observed curves within confidence bounds for all groups.



Borda-de-Água noted that this is a major step forward in ecology because it links a macroecological pattern to a simple, measurable property - range size - without invoking mysterious external factors. 



Senior author Henrique Pereira is a research professor at the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research <a href="https://www.idiv.de/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">(iDiv</a>) and Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg. 



Pereira emphasized the significance of the research. “Discovering fundamental principles in ecology is just as thrilling as breakthroughs in physics.”



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-practical-stakes-for-a-shrinking-planet"><a></a>Practical stakes for a shrinking planet</h2>



Beyond intellectual satisfaction the model carries weighty consequences for biodiversity assessments. International panels such as IPBES rely on SARs to translate lost habitat into predicted extinctions. 



If analysts know where a landscape sits on the three-phase curve they can apply the correct slope and avoid over- or under-estimating risk. The new equations provide exactly that guidance. 



Suppose a logged forest fragment still covers more area than the average range of its endemic beetles; species losses may be modest. But once destruction pushes the fragment below the first transition threshold, disappearing hectares cause a much steeper decline in species count.



Because the theory is scale-free it can also help conservationists decide whether sampling has been adequate. If observed species richness does not yet reach the slowdown phase, additional survey work is warranted before managers proclaim an inventory complete.



<h2 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-shifting-species-distributions">Shifting species distributions </h2>



The authors acknowledge that species’ ranges are not static. <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-action-and-biodiversity-striking-the-right-balance/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Climate change</a>, invasive species, and land-use shifts continually redraw distribution maps. 



Incorporating dynamic range models into the three-phase framework will be a priority, as will extending tests to marine organisms and microbes, whose ranges are harder to delineate.



Still, the study offers a rare optimism amid grim extinction headlines. By revealing the geometry behind one of ecology’s most robust laws, scientists gain a clearer lens through which to view and perhaps mitigate humanity’s impact on life’s diversity.



As Pereira puts it, advances like these “unveil hidden patterns that have been shaping life on Earth for millions of years,” providing the knowledge base needed to steer those patterns, responsibly, into the future.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-59239-7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nature Communications</a>.



-----



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Saving biodiversity: Scientists discover hidden pattern guiding species distributions

When naturalists tally the frogs in a farm pond or the orchids in a mountain meadow they always encounter the same rule of thumb: when you survey a larger range, the more species you find. The relationship seems simple, yet ecologists have puzzled over an odd signature hidden in species distribution data for nearly a century. As one zooms out from local plots to regional landscapes. the tally of new species first soars. Then, it plateaus, taking off again at continental and global scales. That curious “S-shaped”...

Mountain lions don't like encountering humans any more than humans like bumping into them on hiking trails, a new study found.

The findings are particularly valuable as human development encroaches on lion habitat and drives up the number of human-puma encounters, the authors said.

"We exposed pumas in the Santa Cruz mountains to the sound of human voices to see if they would react with fear and flee, and the results were striking," said Justine Smith, lead author of the paper published in the online edition of the journal <a href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/">Proceedings of the Royal Society B</a>. “They were definitely afraid of humans.”

Smith, who led the study as a graduate student in environmental studies at <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz</a>, and her colleagues placed audio equipment at puma kill sites in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

When mountain lions came to feed, their movements triggered motion-activated technology that broadcast recordings of people talking, and a hidden camera captured the puma's responses. They broadcast recordings of Pacific tree frog vocalizations as a control.

"We found that pumas almost always ran from the sound of humans--and almost never ran from the sound of frogs," said Smith, now a postdoctoral researcher at <a href="http://berkeley.edu/">UC Berkeley</a>. In 29 experiments involving 17 pumas, the pumas fled in 83 percent of the time as soon as they heard human voices, and only once upon hearing <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frogs-highly-evolved-skeletons/">frogs</a>.

The study also reveals changes in puma feeding behavior that could have implications for their well-being in human-dominated landscapes, as well as their impact on prey populations, particularly deer. The results build on previous work showing higher kill rates and lower feeding times in more human-populated areas.

"We found that pumas took longer to return to their kills after hearing people, and subsequently reduced their feeding on kills by about half," said Smith. "Those behavioral changes are significant, as our previous work has shown that they cause pumas to increase their kill rates by 36 percent in areas with high human activity."

It is the first study to experimentally link the fear of humans to feeding behavior in large carnivores, said Chris Wilmers, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies at UC Santa Cruz and a senior author on the study.

"Fear is the mechanism behind an ecological cascade that goes from humans to pumas to increased puma predation on deer," said Wilmers, a wildlife ecologist who studies the cascading effects large carnivores can have on their prey. "We're seeing that human disturbance--beyond hunting--may alter the ecological role of large carnivores. As we encroach on lion habitat, our presence will likely affect the link between top predators and their prey."

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.ucsc.edu/">UC Santa Cruz</a>

Mountain lions are afraid of humans, flee when they hear voices

Mountain lions don't like encountering humans any more than humans...

The sight of a herd of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/malaria-india-mosquitoes-cattle/">cows</a> in a pasture may seem like a peaceful and relaxed setting. However, researchers have identified grazing cattle as a complex system influenced by friction within the group. 

Complex systems research can be applied to a diverse set of disciplines. This approach focuses on the behavior of whole structures, and not just the individual components of a system. 

Erik Bollt is the director of the <a href="http://webspace.clarkson.edu/~ebollt/Website-C3S2/index.html">Clarkson Center for Complex Systems Science</a> and a professor of Mathematics and Electrical and Computer Engineering. 

Bollt pointed out that a cow performs three main activities on a regular day which include eating, standing while digesting food, and lying down to rest. There would seem to be nothing complex about this daily routine. However, Bollt and his team looked into the underlying issues which complicate matters.

"Cows move and eat in herds to protect themselves from predators," said Bollt. "But since they eat at varying speeds, the herd can move on before the slower cows have finished eating. This leaves these smaller cows facing a difficult choice: Continue eating in a smaller, less safe group, or move along hungry with the larger group. If the conflict between feeding and keeping up with a group becomes too large, it may be advantageous for some animals to split into subgroups with similar nutritional needs."

With the help of biologist Marian Dawkins, the team decided to use a cost function in their mathematical model to capture the behavior of the cattle. 

"Some findings from the simulation were surprising," Bollt said. "One might have thought there would be two static groups of cows -- the fast eaters and the slow eaters -- and that the cows within each group carried out their activities in a synchronized fashion. Instead we found that there were also cows that moved back and forth between the two."

According to Bollt, this is caused primarily by two competing rhythms within the system. 

"The large-sized animal group had a faster rhythm and the small-sized animal group had a slower rhythm. To put it into context, a cow might find itself in one group, and after some time the group is too fast. Then it moves to the slower group, which is too slow, but while moving between the two groups, the cow exposes itself more to the danger of predators, causing a tension between the cow's need to eat and its need for safety."

The model used by this research team may be used to analyze other herding animals. The study, published this week in the journal Chaos, may ultimately lead experts to a new approach by which to analyze human behavior in groups as well.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.aip.org/">American Institute of Physics</a>

Cow drama! Herd behavior influenced by friction within the group

The sight of a herd of cows in a pasture...

How long have cats been domesticated as lovable pets? It's difficult to know for sure. Ancient fossils do not reveal whether <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/cats-older-women-match/">cats</a> were wild or domesticated, making the domestication timeline difficult to track. 

A new study uses DNA analysis of ancient cat remains to show that populations of cats from both Egypt and the Near East contributed to the gene pool of today's domestic cats. 

The taming of cats is traditionally associated with ancient Egypt. Paintings from 3, 500 years ago depict cats perched underneath chairs in household settings. 

However, there is evidence to suggest that cats may have been domesticated around 10,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent. Grains were grown and stored in homes, which attracted rodents and the wild cats that preyed on them. It is possible that cats were adopted for pest control at this time. 

A complete skeleton of a cat was found in Cyprus buried alongside human remains from 7500 BC. This provides further evidence that cats may have been tamed by early communities in Southwest Asia.

For the current study, researchers set out to track the distribution of specific cat DNA markers. The researchers used data from 209 ancient and modern cats spanning 9000 years, from the Mesolithic period to the twentieth century. The fossils were from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Egyptian cat mummies. 

The team discovered that the genetic signatures were widespread throughout time and location, which is evidence that people took cats with them as they relocated.

One of the DNA signatures analyzed by the team - which had first appeared in Turkey - showed up more than 6, 000 years ago in Bulgaria, 5,000 years ago in Romania, and 3,000 years ago in Greece. 

A second genetic marker, which was first seen in Egypt, had reached Bulgaria between the first and fifth centuries. It was found in a seventh-century sample from Northern Europe, and appeared in an eighth-century sample from Iran. 

In addition to these two major DNA breakthroughs, the researchers were able to determine that tabby cat markings became common by the 1700s. The study also showed that people started breeding cats in the 1800s.

Carlos Driscoll of the Wildlife Institute of India points out that this research "strengthens and refines previous work.” The study, published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>, provides an unprecedented historical look at the DNA of cats. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.nature.com/natecolevol/">Nature Ecology &amp; Evolution</a>

Have cats really been domesticated for over 10,000 years?

How long have cats been domesticated as lovable pets? It's...

The <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/125-million-dinosaur-fossil-found-spain/">dinosaur</a> age was likely ushered in by huge pulses of volcanic activity which triggered the Triassic mass extinction, according to a new study.

The Triassic extinction approximately 200 million years ago was one of the largest mass extinctions of animal life on record with a casualty list that included large crocodile-like reptiles and several marine invertebrates, the <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford</a> study said. It is still a mystery why dinosaurs survived, but they filled the vacancies left by the now extinct wildlife species, alongside early mammals and amphibians.

The extinction has long been linked to a large and abrupt release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, but the exact source of this emission has been unknown.

The discovery of volcanic rocks of the same age as the extinction suggested volcanic carbon dioxide emissions as an important contributor to the extinction event. 

Researchers from the Oxford University Department of Earth Science worked with the <a href="http://www.exeter.ac.uk/">University of Exeter </a>and<a href="http://www.southampton.ac.uk/"> Southampton University</a> to trace the global impact of major volcanic gas emissions and their link to the end of the Triassic period. The findings link volcanoes to the repeated large emissions of carbon dioxide. 

Volcanoes emit mercury gas emissions, which spread globally through the atmosphere, before being deposited in sediments. Any sediments left during a large volcanic event would be expected to have unusually high mercury content.

The new research analyzed mercury levels from six sediment deposits from the United Kingdom, Austria, Argentina, Greenland, Canada and Morocco. Five of the six showed a large increase in mercury content beginning at the end-Triassic extinction horizon, with other peaks observed between the extinction horizon and the Triassic-Jurassic boundary, which occurred about 200,000 thousand years later.

Elevated mercury emissions also coincided with previously established increases in atmospheric CO2 concentrations, indicating CO2 release from volcanic degassing.

“These results strongly support repeated episodes of volcanic activity at the end of the Triassic, with the onset of volcanism during the end-Triassic extinction,” said Lawrence Percival, lead author and geochemistry graduate student at Oxford University. “These results strongly support repeated episodes of volcanic activity at the end of the Triassic, with the onset of volcanism during the end-Triassic extinction.”

The research “enhances our understanding of this event, and potentially of other climate change episodes in Earth's history,” Percival added.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/">University of Oxford </a>

Study: Volcanic activity led to dawn of dinosaurs

The dinosaur age was likely ushered in by huge pulses...

When in their territory, chimpanzees patrol their domain in groups – much for the same reason that wolves hunt in packs. By working together, these animals are able to be a much more significant force than when they’re working alone.

These patrols are a big deal, and consist of multiple individuals (usually male chimps) that walk the edges of their territory, and sometimes deep into their neighbors territory as well. Researchers have observed that during these patrols, the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/chimpanzees-pass-skills-generation/">chimpanzees</a> become hypervigilant. Their behavior suggests that they are actively searching for neighboring chimpanzees. And if a patroller finds members of a rival group, they will attack and sometimes kill them.

Given these behaviors, its believed that territorial boundary patrolling by chimpanzees is an incredible example of their group-level cooperation. 

Researchers were wondering what the benefit is to individual males who choose to go on these patrols, as they are often dangerous and put the patrolling chimps in harms way. Overall, the patrols benefit the group by increasing territory size and food supply – but researchers noticed that individuals are not punished if they choose not to perform patrol duty.

In an effort to understand how male chimps are able to cooperate at this level, Keven Langergraber of <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a> and a team of researchers combed through twenty years of data on who participated in patrols in a 200-member group of chimpanzees in Kibale National Park, Uganda. 

The group combined analyses of patrol participation with the results of paternity testing on 122 group offspring. They found that patrolling actually paid off in the long run because it increased group size, which is an important factor in inter-group competition. 

“The Ngogo chimpanzees patrol and kill neighbors more frequently than any other chimpanzee group,” says John Mitani of the <a href="https://www.umich.edu/">University of Michigan</a>, who has studied this group of chimpanzees for 22 years.

Over a ten-year stretch of time, the Ngogo chimpanzees expanded their territory by 22 percent, and killed 13 other chimps from a neighboring group. Because of this success, they benefited from an above average food supply and long life expectancies. 

The study found that males varied in how often they patrolled. High-ranking individuals, who were generally in better physical condition, patrolled frequently. Males with more offspring also patrolled more often, although many males without offspring still participated.

But patrolling takes energy and can be life threatening for a chimp. In addition, time spent patrolling means less time for eating or mating with females. So why would males without offspring patrol at the benefit of the relatives of other individuals?

The researchers believe they do this because in this large group, reproduction is not exclusive to the high-ranking males. So males who had no offspring yet still patrolled may be rewarded by being able to reproduce in the future, as increasing the size of the group means more chances to mate in the long run.

“We know that humans have means ranging from gossip to drastic punishment to aid cooperation in group settings,” says Langergraber. “The puzzle has been to explain cooperation in animal societies, where shirking would seem an attractive option. Most studies have focused on short term benefits of cooperation,” he adds, “but our study shows the benefit of long-term data collection, and also that we still have a lot to learn from these chimpanzees.”

--

By <a href="mailto:certz@earth.com">Connor Ertz</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.asu.edu/">Arizona State University</a>

Image Credit: Kevin E. Langergraber

Chimpanzees patrol their territory... and it pays off

When in their territory, chimpanzees patrol their domain in groups...

Fossils of an extinct species from the Triassic Period are the missing link that connects frogs, toads, and other amphibians to wormlike creatures with a backbone and two rows of sharp teeth, according to a new study.

The fossil, named Chinlestegophis jenkinsi, was from the oldest relative of the most mysterious group of amphibians: caecilians. They are limbless, colorful, serpentine carnivores that today live underground and range in size from 6 inches to 5 feet.

Paleontologists used 3-D X-rays to reassemble the fossil remains of two C. jenkinsi specimens discovered in Colorado. Parts of a skull, spinal column, ribs, shoulder and legs survived in the fossils of the first specimen. Only the skull was distinguishable in the second specimen.

The study, published in <a href="http://www.pnas.org/">Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</a>, expands the known history of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/frogs-highly-evolved-skeletons/">frogs</a>, toads, and salamanders by at least 15 million years. It also closes a major gap in early caecilian evolution by connecting them to stereospondyls, animals with toilet-seat heads that were the most diverse amphibian group during the Triassic era more than 200 million years ago.

"Our textbook-changing discovery will require paleontologists to re-evaluate the timing of the origin of modern amphibian groups and how they evolved," said Adam Huttenlocker, senior author of the study and an assistant professor at the<a href="http://keck.usc.edu/"> University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.</a>

The story of the stereospondyl order was considered a dead-end because, although widespread during the Triassic Period, the animals were believed to be unrelated to anything alive today, the new study said. The two recently discovered fossils dispel that theory and suggest that the amphibian lineage of today evolved from a common ancestor some 315 million years ago.

Before C. jenkinsi, scientists had found only two other caecilian fossils from the Age of Dinosaurs and -- unlike the two recently unearthed -- those came later and had reduced limbs, more closely resembling their contemporary living relatives, the study said.

"Because humans are also vertebrates, we enhance our understanding of our own evolutionary history and genetic heritage when we gain understanding of the amphibian lineage," said Jason Pardo, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the <a href="http://www.ucalgary.ca/">University of Calgary</a> in Alberta, Canada.

The burrows the fossils were preserved in were almost two inches wide, meaning they could not have been very big, the study reported. 

Their bullet-shaped skulls were just under an inch long, so the ancient caecilian was probably about the size of a small salamander, Huttenlocker added.

During the summer, this central Colorado area would have been scorching, which is probably why these subterranean animals thrived. Big dinosaurs like early relatives of the Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops could not have existed in such conditions, Huttenlocker said.

"The ancient caecilians lived in these burrows deep in the soil down to about the level of the water table so that they could keep wet and avoid the extreme aridity from the dry season," Huttenlocker said. "I'm going back to Colorado this summer and hope to find more animals with more complete skeletons. We'll find one. This is just the initial report."

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.usc.edu/">University of Southern California</a>

Image Credit: Jorge Gonzalez

New fossils provide missing link to mysterious amphibians

Fossils of an extinct species from the Triassic Period are...

The crew of a fishing boat in the Southern North Sea pulled up a surprising catch in May: the remains of a two-headed baby porpoise.

The find was reported in the most recent issue of <a href="http://www.hetnatuurhistorisch.nl/het-museum/nieuws/siamese-bruinvistweeling-uit-de-noordzee.html">Deinse</a>, the journal for the <a href="http://www.hetnatuurhistorisch.nl/">Natural History Museum of Rotterdam</a>.

The Dutch fishermen didn’t keep the two-headed baby porpoise, because they thought it was illegal for them to hold onto the remains, but they did take a number of photos that were shared with the journal. 

Scientists used the photos to identify the little cetacean as a harbor porpoise – or rather, a pair of conjoined twin harbor porpoises. Harbor porpoises are a protected species in the North Sea, which is the body of water between the United Kingdom and Norway, just north of the Netherlands.

Dr. Erwin Kompanje, the Rotterdam museum’s curator of animals, told the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/">Washington Post</a> that he believes the twins may have died not long after birth. They may have drowned because the two brains were unable to swim in the same direction, or the heart may simply have been unable to pump enough blood, he said. 

Conjoined twins are very rare among wild animals, and porpoises and other cetaceans are no exception. 

“Even normal twinning is rare; there’s no room in the womb of the mother for harboring more than one baby,” Kompanje said.

The twins pulled up from the North Sea are the first recorded case of conjoined twins among harbor porpoises, and the 10th among cetaceans generally, a group that includes other porpoise species, dolphins and whales.

The true number of cases is unknown, however. Most conjoined twins born to those species may die in infancy or even before birth, scientists said.

For the scientists who authored the paper in the museum’s journal, the loss of the remains was a tragedy. So few cases appear that they may never see another in their lifetime, Kompanje said.

“For a cetologist, this a real horror,” he told the Post.

—

By <a href="mailto:kcathey@earth.com">Kyla Cathey</a>, <a href="http://www.earth.com">Earth.com</a> staff writer

Fishermen find remains of two-headed baby porpoise in net

The crew of a fishing boat in the Southern North...

Scientists have established that birds and other mammals are able to recognize faces. Fish are typically considered too simple-minded for complex tasks such as facial recognition, yet emerging research reveals this is not the case. 

Researchers from <a href="http://www.osaka-cu.ac.jp/en">Osaka City University</a> in Japan used a species of fish called Masked Julie for their study. These tiny striped fish live in East Africa's Lake Tanganyika in spaces between rocks.

The scientists collected eight individual Masked Julie males and placed them into a tank. Digital models of fish were also distributed into the tank. Some of these electronic fish had face and body characteristics which were familiar to the Masked Julie fish, while others had unfamiliar features. 

The researchers determined that the Masked Julie fish spent much more time investigating the digital fish with unfamiliar faces. This indicated that the fish were using a type of facial recognition ability to detect threats.

“If this fish used only the face to recognise others, that would show that ‘face’ is an important social cue,” said researcher Takashi Hotta. “We found that our subjects were especially guarded against only unfamiliar face models, regardless of body type.”

Patterns around the eyes are social signals for other animals who use facial recognition,  and the research team believes this species of fish is no exception. 

Prior to this study, a team of <a href="https://www.earth.com/video/record-rainfall-queensland-australia/">Australian</a> and American scientists discovered that the archerfish is able to distinguish between faces with a high degree of accuracy. This attribute had never previously been assigned to fish. 

Like the archerfish, the Julie Fish exhibited an impressive degree of accuracy in facial recognition. The scientists displayed images of fish on a monitor above the fish tank. Tests revealed that the Masked Julie fish could identify a single familiar face out of a group of  up to 44 unfamiliar faces. 

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="http://www.osaka-cu.ac.jp/en">Osaka City University</a>

How fish can monitor threats by actually recognizing faces

Scientists have established that birds and other mammals are able...

Animals evolved earlier than previously believed and prior to the global Ice Age that hit the Earth about 700 million years ago, according to a new study.

<a href="https://www.earth.com/news/125-million-dinosaur-fossil-found-spain/">Fossil</a> records show that almost all of the animal phyla known today had come into existence by the beginning of the Cambrian Period some 540 million years ago, according to the study by <a href="https://www.en.uni-muenchen.de/">Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München</a>.

The earliest known animal fossils exhibit complex morphologies, which implies that they must have originated long before the onset of the Cambrian, the study said.

The researchers used a dating method called the molecular clock to investigate the chronology of early animal evolution and produce a new estimate for the ages of the oldest animal groups. 

The molecular clock approach is based on the principle that mutations accumulate in the genomes of all organisms over the course of time. The extent of the genetic difference between two lineages should therefore depend on the time elapsed since they diverged from their last common ancestor.

“Our study is based on a combination of genetic data from contemporary animals and information derived from well dated fossils, which we analyzed with the help of complex computer algorithms," said Martin Dohrmann of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitae.

Researchers used an unusually large dataset made up of the sequences of 128 proteins from 55 species, including representatives of all the major animal groups, focusing in particular on those that diverged very early.

The analysis confirms the conclusion reached in an earlier study, which dated the origin of animals to the Neoproterozoic Era, which lasted from 1000 to 540 million years ago. 

However, researchers were surprised that the results suggest that the earliest phyla, and the ancestors of all bilateral animal species, originated within the - geologically speaking - short time-span of 50 million years. 

"In addition, this early phase of evolutionary divergence appears to have preceded the extreme climate changes that led to Snowball Earth, a period marked by severe long-term global glaciation that lasted from about 720 to 635 million years ago," Dohrmann said.

--

By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source: <a href="https://www.en.uni-muenchen.de/">Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München</a>

Study: Animals evolved earlier than previously believed

Animals evolved earlier than previously believed and prior to the...

Staving off irreversible damage to the environment will require less meat consumption and more efficient farming methods globally, according to a new study.

"If we want to reduce the environmental impact of agriculture, but still provide a secure food supply for a growing global population, it is essential to understand how these things are linked," said lead author Michael Clark of the <a href="https://twin-cities.umn.edu/">University of Minnesota</a>.

The study analyzed the input, output, and environmental impact of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/big-agriculture-tropical-forest-loss/">food production</a> systems. 

Although high agricultural efficiency consistently correlated with lower environmental impacts, the detailed picture was “extremely mixed,” Clark said. Organic systems used less energy, but required more land use, did not lower greenhouse gas emissions, and tended to have higher eutrophication (nutrient runoff) and acidification potential per unit of food produced. 

Grass-fed beef, meanwhile, tended to require more land and emit more greenhouse grasses than grain-fed beef.

Combining the benefits of different production systems, such as organic's reduced reliance on chemicals, with the high yields of conventional systems would result in a more sustainable agricultural system, the study concluded. 

"Interestingly, we also found that a shift away from ruminant meats like beef - which have impacts three to 10 times greater than other animal-based foods - towards nutritionally similar foods like pork, poultry or fish would have significant benefits, both for the environment and for human health,” Clark said. "Larger dietary shifts, such as global adoption of low-meat or vegetarian diets, would offer even larger benefits to environmental sustainability and human health."

A lack of action will lead to massive increase in agriculture’s environmental impact, including the clearing of 200 to 1000 hectares of land, tripling the use of fertilizer and pesticide applications, and and 80 percent jump in greenhouse gas emissions from farming, said coauthor David Tilman. 

"The steps we have outlined, if adopted individually, offer large environmental benefits,” he said. 

The study was published in the journal <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/erl">Environmental Research Letters</a>.

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By: <a href="mailto:dbeasley@earth.com">David Beasley, </a><a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Source:<a href="http://ioppublishing.org/"> IOP Publishing</a>

Diet and farming changes that the environment needs us to make

Staving off irreversible damage to the environment will require less...

Have you ever felt misunderstood? The following animals can relate. From being responsible for spreading plagues to being feared while walking down the street, these critters are not topping charts for man’s favorite animal. Yet, like most of us, these animals are not as terrible as many have made them out to be. Here are the wold's most misunderstood animals.

Pit bulls

Historically, these dogs are actually known to be kid friendly and for a time were one of America’s favorite breeds. However, when dog fighting returned to popularity in the 1980s, pit bulls were the chosen breed due to their reputation has an aggressive guard dog. They even were the preferred breed for gangs and drug dealers; it was actually a story in 1987 of a pit bull guarding a marijuana farm in California that ended up mauling a 2 year old boy that began the decline of pit bulls reputation in the media. This story among others has been highly publicized leading to pit bull bans around the country. The breed is actually highly intelligent and the aggression most people are aware of is a learned trait from poor ownership. Most pit bulls make the sweetest companions and fit the bill for man’s best friend. 

Rats 

Images of dark alleys and trash cans probably come to mind at the mention of these guys. Rats have been thought of as being dirty and an unwelcome population in cities since the 1300s.  With their ability to collapse their skulls which allows them to burrow into crevices of infrastructure and chew, they can hardly be considered contributing members of society. However, they are hardly any worse than a street dog (though they do reproduce quicker) AND the origination of this bad reputation – vessels of transportation that spread the bubonic plague killing 75 million people – is actually false. Rats were not responsible for the disease at all, rather fleas that called any warm blooded creature (including humans) home were the ones to blame. Rats can make wonderful loving pets so the next time you hear about rats maybe refer back to the animated one that goes by the name Ratatouille and is supposedly a great chef.  

Bees 

These bugs can send people running in the opposite direction out of fear for their stings. Though painful, their stings are pretty innocuous unless the person is allergic, and generally <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/varroa-mites-honey-bees/">bees</a> will not sting unless provoked. More importantly, not only do bees provide honey which is delicious and a healthy sweetener, but they are essential to human life. Albert Einstein even theorized that humanity would only survive for 4 years if bees disappeared. The human food supply is highly dependent on pollinators and scientists have yet to find a viable solution to artificial pollination. We should all be team #savethebees! When you see a bee outside its habitat, don’t fear, and just help it on its way – they do have an important job to do after all. 

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By <a href="mailto:bianca@earth.com">Bianca Vierra</a>, <a href="http://earth.com/staff">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Earth.com presents: The world's most misunderstood animals

Have you ever felt misunderstood? The following animals can relate....

It takes a special kind of dog to become a guide dog. They must be calm, confident, intelligent, and reliable. A new tool has been created by animal experts at the <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/">University of Nottingham</a> to predict which puppies make the best guide dogs.

The personality assessment evaluates puppies and young dogs to determine whether they are “reliable and interpretable.” The test focuses on seven characteristics of the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/wolves-dogs-understand-inequality/">dogs</a> including adaptability, excitability, and trainability.

Over 1,400 surveys about dogs’ behavior were completed for the study. The researchers used this data to develop the Puppy Training Supervisor Questionnaire, or PTSQ. According to the research team, the tool was able to predict the outcome of guide training for dogs between 5 to 12 months old with 84% accuracy. 

“Predicting working dog suitability in puppies has been a huge challenge to organizations for many years,’ explained Dr Naomi Harvey, who led the study.

“We were really pleased that this questionnaire-style behavior assessment was able to effectively identify the dogs who were most, and least, suitable to guiding work, from a young age, and help to highlight those in between dogs who were at risk of failing training,” said Harvey.

The researchers believe the PTSQ will improve the guide dog training process. They say it will help eliminate unlikely candidates, and save time and money that would have been otherwise invested in unsuccessful training. The team plans to expand upon this study to predict why some guide dogs retire early. 

Chris Muldoon is the Guide Dogs Research Development Manager. According to Muldoon, “The Puppy Training Supervisor Questionnaire is part of a suite of tools developed by the University of Nottingham for Guide Dogs.”

“This tool, and the wider research project, is increasing our understanding of dog behaviour and temperament to make informed decisions that will shape and improve our training process,” said Muldoon.

--

By <a href="http://csexton@earth.com">Chrissy Sexton</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer 

Source: <a href="https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/">University of Nottingham</a>

New test predicts which pups make the best guide dogs

It takes a special kind of dog to become a...

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



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

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Earth,Like,Exoplanet,3d,Render

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



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



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



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



Video Credit: NASA Goddard



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



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



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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