An international team of scientists has recently decoded the oat genome, and the results will help experts track down which <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/smart-pacifier-can-monitor-the-health-of-babies/">health</a> benefits are associated with which genes. Oats have complicated genetics, with six sets of chromosomes and over 80,000 genes. By comparison, humans have two sets of chromosomes and approximately 20,000 genes. 



This explains why it took Manuel Spannagl, a scientist at the Environmental Health Center at <a href="https://www.helmholtz-munich.de/en/helmholtz-zentrum-muenchen/index.html">Helmholtz Munich</a>, six years to sequence and analyze the oat genome.



Why decode the genome? The researchers were interested to know why fewer people are allergic to oats compared to foods like wheat and rye. They found that oats contain fewer proteins that correlate with gluten, which means that fewer people will be allergic to them. 



"This allowed us to confirm on a genomic level that oats in their pure form are suitable for a gluten-free diet," said study co-author Nadia Kamal.



The scientists also found the gene that produces beta-glucans, a type of dietary fiber. Compared to other cereals, oats have a much higher level of beta-glucans. These fibers are beneficial to those suffering from type 2 diabetes, and have also been shown to reduce cholesterol.



Oats are also good for the environment, and can grow in less than ideal soil and generally require less land than wheat. Compared to other cereals, cultivating oats typically requires less use of chemicals for insecticides, fungicides, and fertilizers.&nbsp;



Furthermore, now that we know more about their genetics, the researchers believe we can grow oats in an even more sustainable manner.&nbsp;



"We have created the potential for targeted breeding, since we are now able to tell which oat varieties are compatible with another," said Nick Sirijovski from Lund University and ScanOats. "At this point, we can combine traits for an even more favorable health profile, higher yields, better resistance to parasites and drought, and most importantly, in preparation for climate change."&nbsp;



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04732-y">Nature</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Genetic study on oats will help unlock their health benefits

An international team of scientists has recently decoded the oat...

A new study led by the <a href="https://www.utu.fi/en">University of Turku</a> in Finland has found that Toxoplasma Gondii - a sexually-transmitted <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tiny-parasite-disrupts-an-entire-ecosystem-in-the-high-andes/">parasite</a> that up to half of world’s population carries – may make people look more attractive to the opposite sex. This strange phenomenon could have its roots in evolution, which tends to favor the perpetuation of symbiotic relationships that benefit both hosts and parasites.



Although T. gondii is known to play a role in various psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia and psychotic episodes, its strangest effect may be that both male and females infected with this parasite are perceived as being more attractive and healthier-looking than uninfected individuals. “In one study, Toxoplasma-infected male rats were perceived as&nbsp;more sexually attractive&nbsp;and were preferred as sexual partners by non-infected females,” the authors wrote.



While previous research suggested that this parasite may lead to elevated testosterone levels in men, scientists suspect that the parasite can in fact manipulate a more diverse array of chemicals in a host’s body, including neurotransmitters and hormones. “Some&nbsp;sexually transmitted parasites, such as T. gondii, may produce changes in the appearance and behavior of the human host, either as a by-product of the infection or as the result of the manipulation of the parasite to increase its spread to new hosts,”&nbsp;explained the study authors.



Since various studies have linked having higher levels of facial symmetry to better health, stronger genes, and increased sexual attractiveness, the scientists decided to examine the degree of symmetry in the facial features of a cohort of 35 college students - 22 males and 13 females - infected with T. Gondii, along with 178 uninfected students.&nbsp;



The results revealed that Toxoplasma-infected participants had more symmetrical faces than their uninfected counterparts. Moreover, female participants carrying the parasite had a lower body mass index than their peers, and reported that they had more sexual partners. Both infected men and women were rated by an independent group of 205 individuals as being more attractive and healthier than non-infected ones.



“It is possible that the apparently non-pathological and potentially beneficial interactions between T. gondii and some of its intermediate hosts, such as rats and humans are the result of co-evolutionary strategies that benefit, or at least do not harm, the fitness of both the parasite and the host,” the authors concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://peerj.com/articles/13122/">PeerJ</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer&nbsp;

Parasite makes infected people look more attractive

A new study led by the University of Turku in...

The climate crisis is threatening the yellow-billed hornbill, a cousin of fan-favorite Zazu from The Lion King, with <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/deforestation-threatens-two-new-fish-species-with-extinction/">extinction</a>.



Climate change is worsening extremes, such as high temperatures and the frequency and intensity of drought periods associated with arid regions. Animals that inhabit these regions are already suffering the consequences.&nbsp;



A team of researchers recently studied the breeding success of southern yellow-billed hornbills by investigating the impacts of high air temperatures and drought from 2008 to 2019. This study, published by <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/">Frontiers</a>, is one of the first to examine how climate change impacts breeding success over a longer timescale.



“There is rapidly growing evidence for the negative effects of high temperatures on the behavior, physiology, breeding, and survival of various bird, mammal, and reptile species around the world,” said first author Dr. Nicholas Pattinson of the University of Cape Town.



“For example, heat-related mass die-off events over the period of a few days are increasingly being recorded, which no doubt pose a threat to population persistence and ecosystem function.”



The southern yellow-billed hornbill is found in most of southern Africa, largely within the Kalahari Desert. Known for its peculiar breeding and nesting strategy, the southern yellow-billed hornbill is a socially monogamous species.&nbsp;



The birds are cavity nesters; the female seals herself into the nest cavity and stays there for 50 days to care for chicks. They are protected by a narrow slit, which is only used by the males, who enter to feed the females and their chicks. This strategy protects the young hornbills from predators.&nbsp;



Breeding success depends on factors such as climate and food availability. The yellow-billed hornbills initiate breeding in response to rainfall, which corresponds with the hottest days of the year.&nbsp;



The research team studied pairs breeding in wooden nest boxes, and looked at breeding success at broad and fine scales (long term trends and individual breeding attempts). Climate trends within the region were also analyzed.&nbsp;



The study found a collapse in breeding during the monitoring period (2008-2019) due to an increase in the maximum air temperature. This was because high temperatures resulted in deadly impacts, such as reduced foraging, which affected the chances of successful breeding.&nbsp;



During the last three seasons (2016 to 2019), the experts found a decline in occupied nest boxes, dropping from 53 to 12 percent. Nest success - where pairs successfully raised at least one chick - also declined from 58 to 17 percent. Furthermore, the average number of chicks produced per breeding attempt decreased.&nbsp;



When the threshold air temperature reached above 35.7°C, no successful breeding attempts were recorded. The study revealed that breeding was negatively correlated with increased periods of heat - when the maximum air temperature exceeded the threshold that the hornbills could maintain normal breeding and nesting behavior. These effects were seen even in non-drought years.&nbsp;



The climate crisis is accelerating at a much faster pace, resulting in severe negative effects for species over alarmingly short time periods. The researchers predict that the southern yellow-billed hornbills could be wiped out as soon as 2027. The consequences of increased warming could drive local extinctions, where no young animals will replace the dying population.&nbsp;



“Much of the public perception of the effects of the climate crisis is related to scenarios calculated for 2050 and beyond,” said Dr. Pattinson. “Yet the effects of the climate crisis are current and can manifest not just within our lifetime, but even over a single decade.”



The study was published in <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/ecology-and-evolution">Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:katherinebucko@gmail.com">Katherine Bucko</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Yellow-billed hornbills are vanishing as temperatures rise

The climate crisis is threatening the yellow-billed hornbill, a cousin...

Monitoring marine biodiversity and ocean health usually involves teams of scientists that collect samples of seawater while traveling around on board a research vessel. This is a time-consuming and costly activity that can really only survey small areas and involves considerable laboratory work once back on shore to identify all the organisms present in each sample.&nbsp;



In a groundbreaking new step, researchers from the <a href="https://www.mbari.org/">Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute</a> (MBARI) have now used autonomous underwater robots to sample DNA from marine environments. They combined two novel autonomous platforms, both developed by MBARI, in order to sample and analyse environmental DNA (eDNA) in ocean locations.&nbsp;



The long-range autonomous underwater vehicle (LRAUV) is a nimble, streamlined robot that can travel to remote areas of the ocean and remain submerged for long periods of time. The Environmental Sample Processor (ESP) is a robotic “laboratory-in-a-can” that filters seawater and extracts the eDNA for future analysis. By equipping an LRAUV with ESP technology, researchers can expand the scale of ocean monitoring enormously over time and space.&nbsp;



“We know that eDNA is an incredibly powerful tool for studying ocean communities, but we’ve been limited by what we can accomplish using crewed research vessels. Now, autonomous technology is helping us make better use of our time and resources to study new parts of the ocean,” said study lead author Kobun Truelove, a biological oceanographer at MBARI.



Organisms that inhabit marine environments, from the smallest plankton to the largest whales, form communities that are connected by food webs. The biodiversity of these organisms is a measure of ocean health and it is important that scientists know which organisms are present in which localities. Autonomous tools like the LRAUV and ESP enable MBARI researchers to maintain a persistent presence in the ocean and monitor changes in sensitive ecosystems in ways that were not possible previously.



“Organisms move as conditions change in our oceans and Great Lakes, affecting the people and economies that rely on those species. We need cheaper and more nimble approaches to monitor biodiversity on a large scale. This study provides the synergistic development of eDNA and uncrewed technologies we need, in direct response to priorities laid out in the&nbsp;<a href="https://sciencecouncil.noaa.gov/Portals/0/Omics%20Strategic%20Plan_Final%20Signed.pdf?ver=2021-01-19-112404-443">NOAA ‘Omics Strategic Plan</a>,” explained study co-author and NOAA scientist Kelly Goodwin.



In the current research, MBARI collaborated with researchers at the NOAA Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory and the University of Washington to complete three expeditions in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The teams carried out sample collection via MBARI’s fleet of LRAUVs as well as conducting traditional, ship based sampling using MBARI’s three research vessels and the NOAA Fisheries ship&nbsp;Reuben Lasker. The purpose of this multi-pronged approach was to find out whether the two different sampling procedures produced comparable results in terms of the marine organisms present in the different water samples.&nbsp;



The ship-based researchers lowered bottles to a specific depth to collect and preserve water samples, while LRAUVs equipped with ESP technology autonomously sampled and preserved eDNA at similar locations and depths. The eDNA samples were returned to the lab for in-depth sequencing.



Environmental DNA allows scientists to detect the presence of aquatic species from the tiny bits of genetic material they leave behind. This DNA soup offers clues about biodiversity changes in sensitive areas, the presence of rare or endangered species, and the spread of invasive species – all of which is critical to understanding, promoting, and maintaining a healthy ocean.&nbsp;



In this study, researchers analyzed eDNA samples with a technique known as metabarcoding. This method looks for short sections of DNA, known as gene markers, which are shared by related organisms. In this way the researchers can get an idea of the groups of organisms that are present in the water at each location. This technique enables eDNA data to be interpreted as a measure of biodiversity.&nbsp;



The researchers analyzed four different types of gene markers, each representing a slightly different level of the food web. Together, the results yielded a more holistic picture of community composition. The samples collected from research ships and autonomous vehicles revealed similar patterns of biodiversity, which supports the future use of autonomous vehicles for marine sampling and monitoring.



LRAUVs are able to travel for weeks at a time and for hundreds of kilometers underwater. They allow more frequent sampling in areas of interest than do traditional research vessels. Autonomous robots will allow researchers to study previously unsurveyed regions of the ocean and fill in gaps in knowledge about global ocean health. Ship-based research will continue to play an important role in oceanographic studies, but adding new autonomous technology to the toolkit will expand capacity for research, monitoring, and resource management. Ultimately, MBARI researchers envision deploying a fleet of LRAUVs equipped with ESP technology.



Truelove noted that the findings from the study mark an exciting step forward for monitoring marine ecosystems. “This work is all about increasing the scale of eDNA research. Instead of looking at an individual species, we can start to more broadly characterize biological community structure in the ocean,” he said.&nbsp;



“Good data are the bedrock of sustainable ocean management,” said Francisco Chavez, MBARI Senior Scientist and a co-author of the study. “Regular environmental DNA monitoring tells us who is there and what is changing over time. When it comes to understanding the impacts of climate change – one of the biggest threats to ocean health – this information is essential.”



The research is published today in the journal <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/edn3.299">Environmental DNA</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Autonomous vehicles will help monitor ocean health

Monitoring marine biodiversity and ocean health usually involves teams of...

New research published in the journal <a href="https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1748-9326">Environmental Research Letters</a> emphasizes the urgency of <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/climate-change-disrupts-communication-among-animals/">climate</a> change. The study shows that stopping new oil, gas and coal development isn’t enough. To avoid going over the 1.5°C temperature change limit, not only do new fossil fuel extraction projects need to be stopped, but some existing and approved projects must also be decommissioned.&nbsp;



“Our findings show that halting new extraction projects is a necessary step, but still not enough to stay within our rapidly dwindling carbon budget,” said co-lead author, Greg Muttitt of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. “Some existing fossil fuel licences and production will need to be revoked and phased out early. Governments need to start tackling head-on how to do this in a fair and equitable way, which will require overcoming opposition from fossil fuel interests.”



The research is the first full assessment of committed CO2 emissions in current and future approved fossil fuel extraction projects. The researchers used a commercial database of more than 25,000 oil and gas fields. They also developed their own database of coal fields. Using this information, the experts calculated that existing and committed projects are set to release 60 percent more carbon than budgeted for 1.5°C and push the budget for the upper limit of 2°C set by the Paris Agreement.&nbsp;



“Our study reinforces that building new fossil fuel infrastructure is not a viable response to Russia’s war on Ukraine,” said co-lead author Kelly Trout of Oil Change International. “The world has already tapped too much oil, gas, and coal. Developing more would either cause more dangerous levels of warming, if fully extracted, or create a larger scale of stranded assets.”



The researchers emphasize that increasing oil and gas projects to supplement the loss in fossil fuels from Russia is not an appropriate response to the war in Ukraine. They point out that each new fossil fuel project just gets the governments of the world more entrenched in the broken system of fossil fuels.&nbsp;



“Our research should also be a warning sign for publicly listed companies and their investors that reserves that are on the books to be developed cannot be developed to stay below 1.5°C," said co-author Dimitri Lafleur of Global Climate Insights. "Fossil fuel companies that claim to be aligned with the Paris Agreement and that need to transition their core businesses, need to accelerate their transition plans."



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By <a href="mailto:zachfitzner@yahoo.com">Zach Fitzner</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Fossil fuel extraction must be stopped to limit global warming

New research published in the journal Environmental Research Letters emphasizes...

View,Of,Lagoon,And,Wetland,Habitat,,Lagunas,De,Villafafila,Rese

Wetlands fringe the edges of land adjacent to the sea and, although they represent a small proportion of Earth’s terrestrial <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/shrinking-habitats-alien-species-threaten-native-trout/">habitats</a>, they provide important ecosystem services. They protect communities against the worst effects of hurricanes and typhoons and the plants sequester large amounts of carbon. But, as sea levels rise, the fate of wetlands hangs in the balance. Will they adapt or will they drown?



For decades, scientists have hoped that rising concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) would stimulate increased plant growth in general. In the case of coastal wetlands, this scenario would enable them to grow fast enough to outpace the rise in sea level. A new study, conducted by researchers from the <a href="https://serc.si.edu/">Smithsonian Environmental Research Center</a>&nbsp;(SERC), has now shed light on this question, and the findings do not look as hopeful.



The study took place at SERC’s&nbsp;<a href="https://serc.si.edu/gcrew">Global Change Research Wetland</a>, a research site run by biogeochemist Pat Megonigal on the western shore of Maryland. The research on wetland plant growth there represents the longest-running field experiment in the world on the impact of rising CO2&nbsp;levels on plants. Started in 1987, the design involves enclosing 15 small areas of wetland within open-top chambers, and then modifying the concentration of CO2 in the chambers and monitoring the growth responses of the plants as sea levels have slowly risen. A further 15 chambers serve as experimental controls that did not have any CO2 enrichment.



Over time, the scientists have raised the concentration of CO2 within the experimental chambers by an additional 340 parts per million, roughly doubling the atmospheric levels of 1987. In monitoring plant growth, they have focused particularly on the 10 chambers that contain “C3” plants that use a specific metabolic pathway to incorporate carbon from the atmosphere into sugars in their cells. These plants include roughly 85 percent of all plant species on Earth and they are known to respond vigorously to CO2&nbsp;enrichment.



The results, published today in the journal Science Advances, show that plant growth in the higher CO2 chambers flourished for about the first two decades of the study. Above ground, plants in the high-CO2&nbsp;chambers grew on average 25 percent more than plants in the untreated chambers. The effect was even more powerful underground, where higher levels of CO2&nbsp;triggered about 35 percent more root growth. Root growth is especially critical for wetland survival, as roots help wetlands trap soil and keep the foundations growing&nbsp;upward&nbsp;even as seas continue to rise.&nbsp;



“Even though elevated CO2&nbsp;contributes to sea-level rise, it also enhanced the marsh’s ability to accrete vertically during the early years of the experiment,” said Don Cahoon, a co-author and research ecologist, emeritus, with the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.usgs.gov/">U.S. Geological Survey</a>.



“In some ways, this is a race, a race between what CO2&nbsp;can do and what sea level can do," said study co-author Lewis Ziska, a plant physiologist at the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/">Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health</a>.



But after 2005, the growth effect declined and then stopped altogether. For the past 14 years of data in the study, there was no average difference in plant growth between the high-CO2&nbsp;and the normal chambers.&nbsp;



“The CO2&nbsp;effect has always been one of the silver linings of climate change,” said study co-author Adam Langley, an ecologist with&nbsp;<a href="https://www1.villanova.edu/university.html">Villanova University</a>. “Well, at least plants are going to grow more. But we see here that they didn’t. So the silver lining to me just got a little cloudier.”



The team investigated several possible explanations for the return to normal growth rate: precipitation, temperature, the saltiness of the water during growing season, and the presence of critical soil nutrients, like nitrogen. Only sea-level rise showed any link to plant growth. Once the sea level at the wetland rose by 15 centimeters from where it was in 1987, the benefits of higher CO2&nbsp;disappeared.



Sea water contains far less oxygen than air does and so, when wetlands flood, plants are deprived of oxygen. Plants need oxygen as well as CO2 for growth, and wetland plants are adapted to get most of their oxygen from the air rather than extracting it from water. As sea levels rise, the frequency of flooding increases and plants are unable to obtain the oxygen they need, so growth rates slow down.&nbsp;



“Plants are aerobic, oxygen-breathing organisms,” explained Megonigal. “And that includes their roots. And so they’re fundamentally faced with this problem of having their root system in an environment that doesn’t have any oxygen in it.”



Some wetlands may still be able to escape drowning. If wetlands cannot rise higher by building soil, migrating inland is another possibility. However, that can only happen if they have enough space to move into. For many communities, allowing room for wetlands to move inland would require a shift in how they use and value the land.



In the meantime, Earth’s climate accountants will need to rethink the planet’s carbon budget because it is possible that wetlands will not be around to absorb carbon from the atmosphere, as was originally thought. Now that scientists know extra CO2&nbsp;does not always stimulate wetland growth as much as they thought, the amount of carbon that can be sequestered in wetland plants in the coming decades is no longer certain.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Wetlands are caught in a battle between CO2 and rising seas

Wetlands fringe the edges of land adjacent to the sea...

A recent study published in <a href="https://www.springer.com/journal/401">Acta Neuropathologica</a> has found evidence that some headbutting animals suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBI). This evidence suggests that experts can study the <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/blueberries-may-protect-our-brains-against-dementia/">brains</a> of these animals to help understand and treat human brain injuries.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Scientists at the <a href="https://icahn.mssm.edu/">Icahn School of Medicine</a> at Mount Sinai studied headbutting animals because they are known to engage in head-on head collisions for reproductive access and high social ranking. Furthermore, these animals’ brains are more relevant to study than previously studied rodent brains, said the researchers.



“One of the difficulties of TBI research is that most of it is performed on smooth, rodent brains. We thought that studying the brains of ramming bovids might provide a better model for understanding TBI in humans," explained study senior author Dr. Patrick R. Hof.



The study had a small sample size that included three musk oxen, four bighorn sheep, and one bison. The researchers analyzed the brains of the animals by scanning them and then treating slices of the brains with antibodies that allow doctors to detect TBI in humans.&nbsp;



Although the brains looked normal and scans revealed no damage, the experts detected damage in the bighorn sheep and musk oxen once they exposed the brain slices to antibodies and put them under microscopes.



"The fact that we detected these antibodies was important. It suggested that the brains of these animals, especially the muskoxen, sustain TBI-like damage," said study lead author Dr. Nicole Ackermans.&nbsp;



“This pattern is sometimes seen in the brains of people who suffer from CTE. Our results open the possibility that these animal’s brains undergo chronic, repetitive damage, as seen in some TBI patients.”



Interestingly, one of the sample brains belonged to an old female muskox. Her brain showed 20 times more damage than an older male and five times more damage than another female, and the experts are not sure why.



Despite the small sample size and unexpected results, the researchers are keen to continue exploring how headbutting bovines can be used to expand treatments for traumatic brain injuries.&nbsp;



“Death and disability caused by traumatic brain injury is a widespread problem that needs better solutions,” said Dr. Ackermans.



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By <a href="mailto:nire518@gmail.com">Erin Moody </a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Headbutting animals can suffer from traumatic brain injuries

A recent study published in Acta Neuropathologica has found evidence...

A new study led by <a href="https://www.sdsu.edu/">San Diego State University</a> (SDSU) has found that contaminants which were banned decades ago are still imperiling California <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/andean-condors-ride-wind-currents-for-hours-at-a-time/">condors</a>, which are already critically endangered. Since they feed upon marine mammals stranded on the Californian coast and harboring high levels of halogenated organic contaminants (HOCs), these condors are at increased risk of reproductive impairment.&nbsp;&nbsp;



California condors were nearly extinct a few decades ago, mostly from lead poisoning due to ingesting fragments from land animals shot with lead ammunition. Fortunately, their population has been slowly recovering thanks to extensive breeding and reintroduction efforts.&nbsp;



Since coastal habitats present a lower risk of exposure to lead because of the availability of marine species that condors can feed on, these sites appeared highly advantageous for condor reintroduction. However, old contaminants detected in marine mammal carcasses are now posing a new threat to coastal condors.



Although HOCs were banned a long time ago, they are highly resistant to environmental degradation and continue to accumulate in marine food webs. Some of these compounds, such as DDT or PCBs, are endocrine-disrupting chemicals, leading to reproductive problems in the animals that consume them.&nbsp;



The scientists found that on the California coast, marine mammals had about seven times more DDT and 3.5 times more PCBs than their counterparts in Baja California, Mexico.



“This kind of broad survey of contaminants shows us that the condors and the marine mammals have a multitude of contaminants that have never really been examined before, especially in detail,” explained senior author Nathan Dodder, an analytical chemist at SDSU. “The non-targeted contaminant analysis we used not only identifies known legacy contaminants, but has the added advantage of identifying novel contaminants, in addition to known but less-examined contaminants that are not routinely screened.”



Dr. Dodder and his colleagues detected an average of 32 contaminants in the coastal condor blood samples, compared to only eight in their inland counterparts. Besides a high prevalence of DDT and PCBs (seven times and 40 times more abundant, respectively, in coastal condors compared to inland ones), other harmful contaminants such as TCMP and TCPMOH have also been found in these birds, posing new threats to an already highly endangered species.



“Some of the contaminants present in marine mammal samples that we collected are ‘unknown’ in terms of their structure and potential to disrupt hormone function,” said study co-author Christopher Tubbs, the associate director of the <a href="https://sandiegozoowildlifealliance.org/">San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance</a>. “This study exclusively looked at one hormone pathway, estrogen, but many of the contaminants identified are well known to interfere with multiple hormone pathways. These warrant further study,” he concluded.



The research is published in the journal <a href="https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.1c07302">Environmental Science &amp; Technology</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

California condors are threatened by organic contaminants

A new study led by San Diego State University (SDSU)...

Although yawning is a shared trait across multiple species, its evolutionary functions have remained a mystery until now. Scientists have proposed different theories to explain why animals <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/humans-yawn/">yawn</a>, mostly focusing on this behavior’s possible physiological functions, such as replenishing oxygen supplies, cooling the brain, or even stretching the lungs.&nbsp;



A recent study conducted by Andrew C. Gallup, a behavioral scientist at the <a href="https://sunypoly.edu/">State University of New York Polytechnic Institute</a>, has now argued that yawning evolved as a social cue aiming to warn others that an individual is less alert, so they need to be extra vigilant in the lookout for predators. The contagiousness of yawning could in turn enhance group synchrony and collective vigilance.&nbsp;



“Yawning is a neurophysiological adaptation that is omnipresent across vertebrates, and the detection of this action pattern in others appears to be biologically important among social species,” explained Professor Gallup. “[It] serves as a cue that enhances individual vigilance and promotes motor synchrony through contagion.”



Yawns can be either spontaneous or contagious. Since each contagious yawn can be traced back to an original spontaneous yawn, the former must have evolved more recently. “Evidence suggests yawning evolved originally as a spontaneous event, and therefore physiological in nature. Contagious yawning emerged thereafter, and has only been documented in social species,” said Professor Gallup.&nbsp;



Moreover, contagious yawning develops later in ontogeny too, emerging only after infancy. One of the evolutionary functions of this phenomenon appears to be motor and behavioral coordination within social groups (the “synchronization hypothesis”), which could provide survival benefits to the group members. In addition, yawn contagion could also increase collective vigilance against threats such as predators (the “vigilance hypothesis”).



According to Professor Gallup, further analysis of yawning in animals could led to important insights into the social role of this behavior and its function in structuring group dynamics. Clarifying these issues “could offer applications for improving performance in surveillance settings and organized group activities in our own species.”&nbsp;



Bridging human and non-human animal research will provide a deeper understanding of this fascinating behavior that was conserved throughout evolutionary history.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347222000719?via%3Dihub#sec4">Animal Behavior</a>.&nbsp;



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Yawning may have evolved to increase group vigilance

Although yawning is a shared trait across multiple species, its...

Forests have long been considered to act as <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/carbon-bomb-projects-must-be-halted-to-limit-global-warming/">carbon</a> sinks, locations where carbon from the atmosphere can be stored in the form of organic molecules and sequestered from circulation. Such sinks are predicted to become more and more important as the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increase due to human activities. However, the results of a study on tropical trees in Australia’s rainforests indicate that this may not be a role that forests will fulfil in future. 



A research team led by <a href="https://www.ox.ac.uk/">Oxford University</a> monitored more than 8,300 trees in 24 permanent moist tropical forest plots in rainforests across Australia. The unique data set stretches back over 50 years and is thus able to track demographic details of these typically long-lived trees.&nbsp;



“Many decades of data are needed to detect long-term changes in long-lived organisms, and the signal of a change can be overwhelmed by the noise of many processes," said study senior author Dr. Sean McMahon.&nbsp;



The results of the study, published today in the journal <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/952693">Nature</a>, show that trees in these forests are dying faster than they used to. In fact, the average tree death rates in these forests have doubled over the past four decades. The researchers found trees are living around half as long as they did previously, a pattern that is repeated across species and across sites in the region. 



“It was a shock to detect such a marked increase in tree mortality, let alone a trend consistent across the diversity of species and sites we studied," said study lead author Dr. David Bauman. "A sustained doubling of mortality risk would imply the carbon stored in trees returns twice as fast to the atmosphere.”&nbsp;



“One remarkable result from this study is that, not only do we detect an increase in mortality, but this increase seems to have started in the 1980s, indicating the Earth’s natural systems may have been responding to changing climate for decades," noted the researchers.&nbsp;



Healthy tropical forests have acted as significant carbon sinks in the past, removing carbon from the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis, and storing it in the living tissues of the trees. As such, these forests were able to slow down the rate of climate change by absorbing around 12 percent of human-generated carbon dioxide emissions.



Study co-author Yadvinder Malhi pointed out that, in recent years, the effects of climate change on the corals of the Great Barrier Reef have become well known. But this is not where the impacts of climate change end.



“Our work shows if you look shoreward from the Reef, Australia’s famous rainforests are also changing rapidly. Moreover, the likely driving factor we identify, the increasing drying power of the atmosphere caused by global warming, suggests similar increases in tree death rates may be occurring across the world’s tropical forests. If that is the case, tropical forests may soon become carbon sources, and the challenge of limiting global warming well below 2 °C becomes both more urgent and more difficult.”



When forest trees die, they cease to absorb CO2 from the atmosphere and can no longer act as carbon sinks. In fact, as their great trunks and branches slowly decompose, their carbon-based organic molecules are broken down and CO2 is released back into the atmosphere, making them additional sources of CO2 emissions.&nbsp;



Interestingly, recent studies in Amazonia have also suggested that the death rates of tropical trees are increasing, thus weakening the global carbon sink. The reason for these increased mortalities in Amazonia is, as yet, unclear.



In the Australian study, the researchers examined the climate ranges of the tree species that show the highest death rates, and concluded that the main climate driver of tree mortality is the increasing drying power of the atmosphere. As the atmosphere warms, evaporation rates increase and more moisture is drawn from plants, resulting in increased water stress in trees and ultimately increased risk of death.



When the researchers conducted further analysis, they found that the loss of biomass from the increased mortality of trees over the past decades has not been offset by biomass gains from the growth of living trees, or by the recruitment of new trees. This implies the mortality increase has translated into a net decrease in the potential of these forests to offset carbon emissions.



“Long-term datasets like this one are very rare and very important for studying forest changes in response to climate change," said study co-author Susan Laurance. "This is because rainforest trees can have such long lives and also because tree death is not always immediate.”



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By <a href="mailto:bosman@truewan.co.za">Alison Bosman</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer

Rainforest tree death rates have doubled since the 80s

Forests have long been considered to act as carbon sinks,...

A recent study led by <a href="https://oregonstate.edu/">Oregon State University</a> (OSU) has found that over 98 percent of U.S. waters outside the central Pacific Ocean are not part of a marine protected area (MPA), and even those that are tend to be only “lightly” or “minimally” protected from harmful <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/tropical-island-birds-are-changing-and-human-activities-are-to-blame/">human activities</a>.&nbsp;



According to the experts, urgent actions are needed to improve the level of protection offered by existing marine protected areas, and to expand the number of such areas in the Antarctic, Arctic, and northeast Pacific Oceans, as well as in the Caribbean Sea.



“These findings highlight an urgent need to improve the quality, quantity and representativeness of MPA protection across U.S. waters to bring benefits to human and marine communities,” said study lead author Jenna Sullivan-Stack, a postdoctoral fellow in Integrative Biology at OSU.



“The benefits from marine protected areas are key for our future,” added study senior author Kirsten Grorud-Colvert, a marine ecologist at OSU, who led the <a href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abf0861?adobe_mc=MCMID%3D49172270223902357213481499257602856343%7CMCORGID%3D242B6472541199F70A4C98A6%2540AdobeOrg%7CTS%3D1652865871&amp;_ga=2.200266542.1296602334.1652688862-2046344334.1629960599">MPA Guide project</a> in 2021, which proposed a set of comprehensive criteria to assess the distribution and effectiveness of MPAs.&nbsp;



“The MPA coverage in regions outside the central Pacific is surprisingly sparse, and the gaps in protection represent a challenge to meeting the goals laid out in the Biden administration’s&nbsp;<a href="https://www.doi.gov/priorities/america-the-beautiful">America the Beautiful</a>&nbsp;initiative,” which promises to conserve at least 30 percent of the country’s lands and waters by 2030.



By using the MPA Guide to assess the 50 largest U.S. marine protected areas, the scientists found that most of them are located in the central Pacific Ocean, and that only 25.2 percent are “fully” or at least “highly” protected.&nbsp;



These findings highlight the need to establish new, networked MPAs with better representation of marine biodiversity, and to improve equity and other social and ecological conditions needed for the new and already existing areas to be effective. Moreover, in order for the MPAs to last and function as efficiently as possible, governance structures and long-term funding support for staffing, monitoring, and other activities should be established or strengthened.&nbsp;&nbsp;



“It is important to recognize that well-managed MPAs, designed with the local context in mind, can deliver benefits that extend beyond marine life to coastal communities that depend on sustainable marine resources for their livelihoods and cultural survival,” concluded study co-author Ana Spalding, an associate professor of Marine and Coastal Policy at OSU.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.849927">Frontiers in Marine Science</a>.



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By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

Marine protected areas are "key for our future"

A recent study led by Oregon State University (OSU) has...

Compared to factors such as education or occupation, fertility has not yet received much scientific attention as a potential predictor of late-life cognition. However, a team of researchers led by the <a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/">Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health</a> has now found that having three or more children has a marked negative effect on late-life cognition, by speeding-up parents’ age-related cognitive decline due to factors including financial difficulties and increased <a href="https://www.earth.com/news/stress-may-be-linked-to-female-fertility-issues/">stress</a>. The experts found that this effect was stronger in Northern Europe, where higher fertility rates significantly deplete financial, social, and psychological resources.



“Understanding the factors that contribute to optimal late-life cognition is essential for ensuring successful aging at the individual and societal levels - particularly in Europe, where family sizes have shrunk and populations are aging rapidly,” said study co-author Vegard Skirbekk, a professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia Mailman School.



&nbsp;“For individuals, late life cognitive health is essential for maintaining independence and being socially active and productive in late life. For societies, ensuring the cognitive health of the older population is essential for extending work lives and reducing health care costs and care needs,” added study lead author Eric Bonsang, a professor at the <a href="https://dauphine.psl.eu/">Paris Dauphine University</a>.&nbsp;



The scientists analyzed data from the <a href="http://www.share-project.org/">Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe</a> (SHARE) to compare the effects of having two versus three or more children in a cohort of participants aged 65 or older. By using advanced econometric methods able to disentangle causality from simple associations, the researchers found that having more than two children leads to significant cognitive decline in both men and women, having similar effects to an additional 6.2 years of aging.&nbsp;



Having a third child often leads to considerable financial costs, reduces family income, and increases the chance of families falling below the poverty line, thus decreasing the standard of living for all family members and promoting cognitive deterioration. Moreover, having more children can be highly stressful, which affects health risk behaviors and impairs adult cognitive development. Finally, an additional child is causally related to women’s lower labor market participation, fewer hours worked, and lower earnings.



“Given the magnitude of the effect, future studies on late-life cognition should also examine fertility as a prognosticator alongside more commonly researched predictors, such as education, occupational experiences, physical exercise, and mental and physical health,” said Professor Skirbekk.&nbsp;



“In addition, future studies should address the potential effects of childlessness or having one child on late-life cognition. We also need more information on the types of interactions, supports, and conflicts that occur between parents and children, which may influence cognitive outcomes,” he concluded.



The study is published in the journal <a href="https://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article/doi/10.1215/00703370-9930490/299390/Does-Childbearing-Affect-Cognitive-Health-in-Later">Demography</a>.----



By <a href="mailto:andrei.ionescu5891@gmail.com">Andrei Ionescu</a>, <a href="https://www.earth.com/staff/">Earth.com</a> Staff Writer&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

Parents with more children risk faster cognitive decline

Compared to factors such as education or occupation, fertility has...