After the reintroduction of wolves to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, significant ecological changes were observed, particularly a substantial decrease in moose populations. This decline was largely attributed to the impact of wolves on elk behavior; where wolves were likely present, elk dedicated more time to vigilance and less to foraging. Biologist John Laundre referred to this phenomenon as a “landscape of fear” in a pivotal 2001 study.
This concept builds on earlier research that suggested predator fear could influence prey behavior. Until then, it was widely assumed that predators primarily affected prey populations through physical predation alone. Laundre’s observations challenged this notion, indicating a potentially complex relationship between fear and wildlife dynamics.
Recent studies led by Liana Zanet at Western University in Ontario, Canada, further explore this landscape of fear. Over the past two decades, Zanet and her colleagues conducted experiments in British Columbia, playing predator calls near wild songbirds. Their findings revealed a marked reduction in egg-laying and hatching rates, with survival rates for hatchlings plummeting when predator sounds were used. Less than half of the hatchlings survived compared to when non-predator sounds were played. This indicates that fear alone can significantly outweigh the effects of direct predation on wildlife populations.
According to Zanet, prey animals often prioritize safety over foraging opportunities, avoiding prime feeding areas when they perceive threats. This fear-based behavior has profound ecological implications. On Canada’s west coast, the absence of natural predators like bears, cougars, and wolves has allowed raccoons to flourish, leading them to scavenge food resources along the coastline.
When Zanet’s team introduced dog barking recordings in coastal regions, they observed that raccoons largely avoided the beach, spending their time instead watching for potential threats. This avoidance behavior has contributed to the dramatic rebound of coastal animal populations in areas where predator fear is heightened. However, similar effects were not observed when seal sounds were played.
Understanding landscapes of fear is crucial for comprehending the profound impacts humans have on wildlife. In a specific study, Zanet’s team utilized camera traps to observe how wild animals responded to various sounds in Kruger National Park, South Africa. Surprisingly, they found that the fear generated by human presence surpassed that of lions, highlighting the extensive influence of human activity on wildlife behavior and ecosystems.
The introduction to tech mogul Alex Karp’s interview on Sourcely, a YouTube show by the digital finance platform Brex, features a mix of him waving the American flag accompanied by a remix of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” While strolling through the company’s offices, Karp avoided questions about Palantir’s contentious ties with ICE, focusing instead on the company’s strengths while playfully brandishing a sword and discussing how he re-buried his childhood dog Rosita’s remains near his current residence.
“It’s really lovely,” comments host Molly O’Shea as she engages with Karp.
For those wanting insights from key figures in the tech sector, platforms like Sourcery provide a refuge for an industry that’s increasingly cautious, if not openly antagonistic, towards critical media. Some new media initiatives are driven by the companies themselves, while others occupy niches favored by the tech billionaire cohort. In recent months, prominent figures like Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Satya Nadella have participated in lengthy, friendly interviews, with companies like Palantir and Andreessen Horowitz launching their own media ventures this year.
A significant portion of Americans harbor distrust towards big tech and believe artificial intelligence is detrimental to society. Silicon Valley is crafting its own alternative media landscape, where CEOs, founders, and investors take center stage. What began as a handful of enthusiastic podcasters has evolved into a comprehensive ecosystem of publications and shows, supported by some of the leading entities in tech.
Pro-tech influencers, such as podcast host Rex Fridman, have historically fostered close ties with figures like Elon Musk, yet some companies this year opted to eliminate intermediaries entirely. In September, venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz introduced the a16z blog on Substack. Notable author Katherine Boyle highlighted her longstanding friendship with JD Vance. This podcast has surged to over 220,000 subscribers on YouTube, featuring OpenAI CEO Sam Altman last month. Andreessen Horowitz is a leading investor.
“What if the future of media is shaped not by algorithms or traditional bodies, but by independent voices directly interacting with audiences?” the company posited in its Substack announcement. Previously, it invested $50 million into digital media startup BuzzFeed with a similar ambition, which ultimately fell to penny stock levels.
The a16z Substack also revealed this month its new eight-week media fellowship aimed at “operators, creators, and storytellers shaping the future of media.” This initiative involves collaboration with a16z’s new media team, characterized as a collective of “online legends” aiming to furnish founders with the clout, flair, branding, expertise, and momentum essential for winning the online narrative.
In parallel to a16z’s media endeavors, Palantir launched a digital and print journal named Republic earlier this year, emulating the format of academic journals and think tank publications like Foreign Affairs. The journal is financially backed by the nonprofit Palantir Foundation for Defense Policy and International Affairs, headed by Karp, who reportedly contributes just 0.01 hours a week, as per his 2023 tax return.
“Too many individuals who shouldn’t have a voice are amplified, while those who ought to be heard are sidelined,” remarked Republic, which boasts an editorial team comprised of high-ranking Palantir executives.
Among the articles featured in Republic is a piece criticizing U.S. copyright restrictions for hindering AI leadership, alongside another by two Palantir employees reiterating Karp’s affirmation that Silicon Valley’s collaboration with the military benefits society at large.
Republic joins a burgeoning roster of pro-tech outlets like Arena Magazine, launched late last year by Austin-based venture capitalist Max Meyer. Arena’s motto nods to “The New Needs Friends” line from Disney’s Ratatouille.
“Arena avoids covering ‘The News.’ Instead, we spotlight The New,” reads the editor’s letter in the inaugural issue. “Our mission is to uplift those incrementally, or at times rapidly, bringing the future into the present.”
This sentiment echoes that of founders who have taken issue with publications like Wired and TechCrunch for their overly critical perspectives on the industry.
“Historically, magazines that covered this sector have become excessively negative. We plan to counter that by adopting a bold and optimistic viewpoint,” Meyer stated during an appearance on Joe Lonsdale’s podcast.
Certain facets of emerging media in the tech realm weren’t established as formal corporate media extensions but rather emerged organically, even while sharing a similarly positive tone. The TBPN video podcast, which interprets the intricacies of the tech world as high-stakes spectacles akin to the NFL Draft, has gained swift influence since its inception last year. Its self-aware yet protective atmosphere has drawn notable fans and guests, including Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who conducted an in-person interview to promote Meta’s smart glasses.
Another podcaster, 24-year-old Dwarkesh Patel, has built a mini-media empire in recent years with extensive collaborative discussions featuring tech leaders and AI researchers. Earlier this month, Patel interviewed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and toured one of the company’s newest data facilities.
Among the various trends in the tech landscape, Elon Musk has been a pioneer in adopting this method of pro-tech media engagement. Following his acquisition of Twitter in 2022, the platform has restricted links to key news entities and established auto-responses with poop emojis for reporter inquiries. Musk conducts few interviews with mainstream media yet engages in extensive discussions with friendly hosts like Rex Fridman and Joe Rogan, facing minimal challenge to his viewpoints.
Musk’s inclination to cultivate a media bubble around himself illustrates how such content can foster a disconnect from reality and promote alternative facts. His long-standing criticism of Wikipedia spurred him to create Grokipedia, an AI replica generating blatant falsehoods and results aligning with his far-right perspective. Concurrently, Musk’s chatbot Grok has frequently echoed Musk’s opinions, even going to absurd lengths to flatter him, such as asserting last week that Musk is healthier than LeBron James and could defeat Mike Tyson in a boxing match.
The emergence of new technology-centric media is part of a broader transformation in how celebrities portray themselves and the access they grant journalists. The tech industry has a historical aversion to media scrutiny, a trend amplified by scandals like the Facebook Files, which unveiled internal documents and potential harms. Journalist Karen Hao exemplified the tech sector’s sensitivity to negative press, noting in her 2025 book “Empire of AI” that OpenAI refrained from engaging with her for three years after a critical article she wrote in 2019.
The strategy of tech firms establishing their own autonomous and resonant media mirrors the entertainment sector’s approach from several years back. Press tours for film and album promotions have historically been tightly monitored, with actors and musicians subjected to high-pressure interviews judged by shows like “Hot Ones.” Political figures are adopting a similar framework, granting them access to fresh audiences and a more secure environment for self-promotion, as showcased by President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign engaging with podcasters like Theo Fung, and California Governor Gavin Newsom’s introduction of his own political podcast this year.
While much of this emerging media does not aim to unveil misconduct or confront the powerful, it still holds certain merits. The content produced by the tech sector often reflects the self-image of its elite and the world they aspire to create, within an industry characterized by minimal government oversight and fewer probing inquiries into operational practices. Even the simplest of questions offer insights into the minds of individuals who primarily inhabit secured boardrooms and gated environments.
“If you were a cupcake, what kind would you be?” O’Shea queried Karp about Brex’s sauces.
“I prefer not to be a cupcake, as I don’t want to be consumed,” Karp replied. “I resist being a cupcake.”
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The inhabitants of the ocean’s depths are more extraordinary than ever.
Utilizing an advanced submarine that dives deeper than Mount Everest, researchers have unearthed a vibrant ecosystem approximately 30,000 feet beneath the Pacific Ocean’s surface.
A research team led by Chinese scientists found it racing through fields of vivid crimson tubes and interacting with a unique type of worm that resembles a flower sprouting from the Earth’s crust.
Each organism thrived in dense beds of up to nine inches in length, with snow-like microbial mats creating ethereal underwater dust that spanned tens of feet.
Dominique Papineau, a senior research scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, shared insights with NBC News.
Hadal chemical synthesis-based community, CAS’s Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering
Papineau, one of the study’s authors, announced the findings in a Wednesday publication in Nature. “Many Hadal organisms from these trenches exhibit remarkable shapes and colors,” he noted, explaining that they survive by hosting microorganisms that metabolize methane instead of relying on photosynthesis.
The depth of 19,000 to 30,000 feet is the deepest zone in the ocean, occurring where one tectonic plate collides with another. “Existing theories suggest that chemical bond-based communities are becoming increasingly common in the Hadal Trench, yet few have been discovered,” Papineau stated.
Karien Schnabel, a marine ecologist from New Zealand’s Earth Sciences, commented that the discovery was “truly remarkable” even though she was not part of the study.
“In these extraordinarily deep regions, there were an abundance of signs of life and wildlife,” she remarked.
A winter valley recorded by the crew’s dive fendou at 30,000 feet. CAS’s Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering Polycharts inhabit the tube dominate at the deepest 22,500 meters of the Aleutian, with spots of white microbial mats. CAS’s Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering
“We don’t generally expect life to flourish in these extreme conditions due to the immense pressure,” she commented regarding the organisms.
The researchers highlighted, “The depths explored here, alongside the robust communities found, significantly broaden the known habitats, depths, and biogeographic distributions of numerous species.”
With sunlight unable to penetrate, these organisms depend on chemical synthesis for nourishment, rather than photosynthesis.
“These ecosystems are abundant in hydrogen sulfide, methane-rich fluids flowing through faults amid deep sediment layers in the trench,” the researchers explained.
They also endure crushing pressures of up to 98 megapascals (MPA), exceeding six times the force of a crocodile’s bite.
The diving for this recent study took place in July and August of the previous year, conducted by an international group of scientists from the Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
A small porthole of three submarines. Karien Schnabel
They examined the trenches of Krill Kamchatka, which stretch from Hokkaido in Japan to the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, spanning approximately 1,300 miles and integrating with the Aleutian trench that measures around 1,800 miles from Alaska to the Kenai Peninsula.
Schnabel had previously undertaken deep-sea studies aboard the same three submarines, known as Fendouzhe, utilized in this research.
She recounted her deep-sea experiences, one of which gained notoriety when a submarine malfunctioned during a 2023 mission to the Titanic wreck.
“Naturally, there’s a bit of anxiety when hanging over a 10-kilometer chasm on Earth,” she recalled, having explored New Zealand’s northern trenches in 2022, plunging over 32,000 feet below the Pacific Ocean’s surface.
“The window is merely 12 centimeters in diameter. It’s impossible to stretch your legs while seated on a tiny bench within a compact titanium sphere measuring only 1.8 meters in width,” she detailed.
Free-Moving Polychaete navigates dense colonies of Frenor Siboglinide. CAS’s Institute of Deep Sea Science and Engineering
She expressed her amazement at the sights encountered at the trench’s bottom, viewed through the submarine’s 4.7-inch window.
“As I began my descent and eventually came to rest on the seabed, I was astonished by the multitude of life forms I witnessed,” she reflected.
While it was expected that life could persist at these depths, the sheer abundance of ecosystems was a pleasant surprise for the researchers.
The results “challenge existing models of life in extreme conditions” and indicate that such ecosystems may be more prevalent than previously recognized.
Searching for the land refugia is essential for human survival during the hypothetical sixth mass extinction. Studying comparable crises in the past can provide insights, but there is no evidence of fossils of diverse giant fluid ecosystems that survived the most severe biological crisis of the past 540 million years. In a new study, paleontologists have investigated plant and tetrapod fossils and various microfossils in the Permian-Triassic Nantaodonggou section in Xinjiang, China. Their fossil records reveal the presence of gymnasium forests and fern fields in a vibrant area, but marine life has experienced mass extinction.
Artistic reconstruction of the end of Permian mass extinctions based on fossil parinomorphs, plants, and tetrapods, and the end of Permian mass extinctions based on sedimentary data from the Southern Jiang section of China's New Jiang. Image credit: DH Yang.
The mass extinction of Permian, which occurred about 252 million years ago, is widely recognized as the most serious of the five major plant zoic extinctions.
This catastrophic event leads to the extinction of about 80% of known species and is a fact that is well supported by marine fossil records.
Some scientists suggest that volcanic eruptions in Siberia caused widespread terrestrial destruction through wildfires, acid rain and toxic gases.
This evidence includes the continuous extinction of properties. Gigantopteris Flora in southern China Grosso Pteris Flora crossing Gondwanaland around the mass extinction of the Endopermians.
However, other scientists argue that these devastating effects are limited by latitude and atmospheric circulation.
Several fossil discoveries suggest that certain Mesozoic plants exist before extinction events, referring to uninterrupted evolution.
Newly discovered fossils from the southern taodonggou section, located in the Tapan Hami Basin in Xinjiang Province, northwestern China, offer a unique perspective.
“We further confirm that the presence of intact tree trunks and fern stems represents local vegetation rather than transported remains,” said Professor Minli Wang, a researcher at the Institute of Geology and Paleontology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Although some plant species have disappeared locally, researchers have found that the overall extinction rate for spores and pollen species is probably only about 21%.
This conclusion is based on the discovery of many “missing” species in the early Triassic formations elsewhere, indicating temporary migration rather than permanent extinction.
This stable vegetation base was essential for the rapid recovery of local ecosystems.
Fossil evidence shows that within just 75,000 years after the extinction ended, the region supported a diverse tetrapod, including herbivorous. lystrosaurus And carnivorous chronicers show that they can quickly return to complex food webs.
This finding contrasts with previous understanding that it took more than a million years for the ecological restoration of the Endopermians to follow the extinction.
New evidence suggests that local ecological diversity in this field has recovered more than 10 times faster than in other regions.
Scientists cited the region's stable, semi-humid climate as essential to its biological resilience. According to a Paleosol Matrix analysis, the area received consistent rainfall of approximately 1,000 mm per year during this period.
Its consistent precipitation has provided southern gu with more abundant vegetation and habitable environment than other regions following the mass extinction of Permians, providing important support for migrating migrant animals.
Despite its proximity to the volcanic activity that caused the extinction of the Endopermians, the Tarpanhami Basin provides safe shelter for terrestrial life, indicating that even seemingly dangerous places can harbor important biodiversity.
“This suggests that local climate and geographical factors create an incredible pocket of resilience and hope for conservation efforts in the face of changes in the global environment,” says Professor Feng Shui of Nanjing Geology Institute, the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“In light of current concerns about a potential sixth large-scale extinction driven by human activity, this discovery of a “life oasis” underscores the importance of identifying and protecting such natural refsias. ”
study Published in the journal Advances in science.
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Huiping Peng et al. 2025. Refludium in the abandoned indid: Unearthing the lost flora that escaped the mass extinction of Permians. Advances in science 11 (11); doi:10.1126/sciadv.ads5614
Tropical riverbank ecosystems – what can be seen along rivers and wetlands – have now recovered within just two million years of North China's extinction. Terrestrial ecosystem.
An illustration depicting the beginning of the mass extinction of the Endopermians. Image credits: Dawid Adam Iurino/Paleofactory, Sapienza Rome University of Rome/Jurikova et aldoi: 10.1038/s41561-020-00646-4.
The mass extinction of the Endopermians occurred about 252 million years ago, and due to extreme environmental changes such as global warming, ocean acidification and long-term drought, more than 80% of marine species and 70% of terrestrial species. I've cleared up all of that.
Dr. Li Tian, a researcher at the China University of Earth Sciences, said:
“It has long been theorized that low-latitude land areas remained uninhabited for a long period of time, 7-10 million years after extinction, but our results suggest that some ecosystems have previously been considered. It suggests it's more adaptable than it was.”
To reconstruct the timeline of ecosystem recovery on the land, Dr. Tian and colleagues analyzed trace fossils (such as burrows and footprints), plant relics, plant relics, and vertebrate fossils . 247 million years ago.
These fossils were obtained from lake and river deposits in central central China.
Researchers used a combination of techniques such as biostratigraphy, biology (studying microfossils), sedimentology, and geochemical analysis.
Their research suggests harsh environments at the beginning of the early Triassic period, with only sparse and simple living remaining.
Fossils of this era represent monospecific communities. This means that there is little evidence of biodiversity, and only a single type of organism dominates.
Fossils showed a significant decrease in biological size compared to before the end of Permian, a common indicator of extreme environmental stress.
However, fossils from the Spacyan stage (approximately 249 million years ago) show increased plant stems, root traces, and signs of piercing activity, suggesting a more stable and structured environment .
Scientists also discovered fossils of medium-sized carnivorous vertebrates, indicating that a multi-level food web was established at this stage.
The revival of the action that dug a hole that was largely vanished after the events of extinction was a significant discovery.
Hole-digging behavior promotes sediment and plays an important role in cycling nutrients in riverbank ecosystems, suggesting that animals adapted to environmental stress by escaping underground during this period. Masu.
The findings challenge the view that ecosystem recovery on post-extinction lands is far behind marine life, and that some ecosystems are already stable within relatively short geological time frames. It is revealed.
“Our research is the first to suggest that, contrary to past assumptions, life in the tropical House of Representatives' riparian ecosystems has recovered relatively quickly after the mass extinction of Permians,” said Jinnan. Dr. Tong also spoke from China's University of Earth Sciences.
“The fossil records we studied suggest that riparian zones played an important role in stabilizing post-extinction ecosystems.”
“The rivers and wetlands served as shelters, providing more stable conditions and more stable conditions, allowing life to rebound faster than in arid inland areas.”
Team's paper Published online in the journal Elif.
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Wenwei Guo et al. 2025. Following the mass extinction of Permians, rapid recovery of riparian ecosystems in the hypoxic environment of northern China. Elif 14: RP104205; doi: 10.7554/Elife.104205.1
Sui Basecamp, the first global conference of the Sui ecosystem, opened today in Paris, welcoming developers and entrepreneurs from around the world to celebrate Paris Blockchain Week. Sui Basecamp, his two-day event held at two venues, will feature his Web2 and Web3 speakers spanning industry verticals from payments to gaming to e-commerce to Major League Sports. Celebrating and exploring the latest developments in Web3, this event takes attendees to presentations on cryptography from the world's leading technologists, fireside chats on improving market liquidity, and panel discussions on real-world technology use cases. You will be invited.
Key announcements from the conference include:
Introducing SuiPlay0x1 – A lightweight handheld gaming device designed in collaboration with Playtron. SuiPlay0x1 runs Playtron's device-independent gaming operating system, building compatibility with a variety of hardware configurations, gaming storefronts, and direct download gaming partners. SuiPlay is the first handheld gaming device with native Web3 functionality and is expected to be available in stores worldwide in 2025.
first digital lab launches FDUSD, the fastest growing stablecoin in cryptocurrencies, on Sui, becoming the ecosystem's first native stablecoin. Initially deployed on Ethereum and BNB, there are plans to expand to other blockchains, and Sui will be the first blockchain that FDUSD has expanded to since its creation. FDUSD was established in August 2023 and already has a market capitalization of over $3.5 billion. Last week, FDUSD's trading volume was his fifth highest in the entire industry, with daily trading volume exceeding his $8 billion.
Enoki – Mysten Labs, an original Sui contributor, announced the launch of the Enoki platform, the gateway to next-generation customer experiences. Within the Enoki portal, businesses can access, leverage, and embed public ledger solutions within their applications, products, and services thanks to his SDK that leverages Sui's native functionality, zkLogin. The following partners will be integrating Enoki at launch:
blue fina perpetual DEX with super-fast payments and a seamless trading experience.
dry lifeis a blockchain-powered decentralized ride-hailing platform that aims to empower both drivers and commuters.
quantum templea digital platform for immersive cultural travel.
This is a two-day event starting on Wednesday, April 10th at 9:30am local time and ending on Thursday, April 11th at 4:15pm Central European Time. On Wednesday nights, registered guests are invited to a Sui Soiree. Enjoy a night of cocktails, snacks and dancing, along with performances by Boyz, a German electronic music record producer, songwriter and DJ, His Noise. Learn more about. sui.io/Basecamp.
About Sui—Sui is a first-of-its-kind Layer 1 blockchain and smart contract platform designed from the bottom up to make digital asset ownership fast, private, secure, and accessible to everyone. An object-centric model based on the Move programming language enables parallel execution, sub-second finality, and rich on-chain assets. With horizontally scalable processing and storage, Sui supports a wide range of applications at low cost and unmatched speed. Sui is a step-function advancement in blockchain and a platform that allows creators and developers to build amazing user-friendly experiences. learn more: https://sui.io
About Mysten Labs—Mysten Labs is a team of leading experts in distributed systems, programming languages, and cryptography, and its founders were senior executives and lead architects of pioneering blockchain projects. Mysten Labs' mission is to create the foundational infrastructure for Web3. learn more: https://mystenlabs.com
About First Digital Labs—First Digital Labs is a brand name of FD121 Limited, a Hong Kong registered subsidiary of First Digital Group. First Digital Labs focuses on cutting-edge research and development dedicated to the innovation and advancement of digital assets. First Digital Labs is the issuer of his FDUSD stablecoin. For more information about First Digital Lab, please visit: https://firstdigitallabs.com/.
About Playtron—Playtron builds a lightweight gaming OS optimized for a new generation of powerful handheld gaming PCs and beyond. Play all your games from any store, including Steam, Epic, and GOG. Playtron's founders oversaw an operational systems team of several hundred people to break the existing mobile monopoly while developing Android for a billion users. Playtron is backed by Samsung Next, Polychain, Circle, Mysten Labs, Alumni Ventures, and others. Playtron-powered devices will ship worldwide later this year, ready to join his next 100 million core and casual gamers.
in new paper in diary natural ecology and evolution, paleontologists described the diversity of the Cabrières biota, a new Early Ordovician site in the Montagne Noire in southern France. During the Early Ordovician, this region was an open marine environment located in the southern hemisphere at high polar latitudes, on the margin of the Gondwana supercontinent.
Artistic reconstruction of Cabrière Biota: in the foreground, Unpix (trilobites) and various ostracods including brachiopods and cryoliths (bottom left corner). Behind the trilobites are lobopods, chelicerates, cnidarians (blue), sponges (green), thin branched algae (red and green), hemichordates (purple), and some soft bodies. There are animals. Bivalve arthropods live in the water column along with graptolites. Image credit: Christian McCall, Prehistorya Art.
“Early Paleozoic sites with preserved soft tissues provide a wealth of information about the evolution of past life and improve our understanding of earlier ecosystems, but they are unevenly distributed in time and space. ,” said paleontologist Farid Saleh of the University of Lausanne and his colleagues.
“About 100 soft-tissue preserved assemblages have been recorded from the Cambrian, while about 30 are known from the Ordovician, and only a few have been discovered in early Ordovician rocks. .”
“The distribution of early Paleozoic remains is also paleogeographically biased, as approximately 97% of the biota discovered represents tropical and temperate ecosystems within 65 degrees north and south of the paleoequator.”
“This pattern is especially true for the Ordovician, where very few sites are known to have polar environments.”
“Among the most famous Ordovician sites, Sumchere in South Africa, Big Hill in the United States, and Winneshiek exhibit tropical ecosystems.”
“Given the rarity of Ordovician sites and their lopsided paleogeographical distribution, discovering new biota with preserved soft tissues across the aforementioned paleogeographic zones and environments will deepen our understanding of this period and This is crucial for gaining better insight into the factors driving increases in animal diversity on Earth. ”
Biomineralized species of the Cabriere biota: (a) Trilobites of the genus Unpix(b) gastropods with tubular structures, probably conuraids Sphenothalas(c) biomineralized canine cnidarians; (d) Arthrobrachiopod attached to a spongiosa, probably of the leptomid family. (e) Assemblage formed by an articulated brachiopod (center), a flattened carapace of a probably bivalve arthropod (left and right of center), and the skull of a calimenin trilobite (left). (f) Possibly visceral cyst. Scale bars – (a) and (e) 4 mm, (b) and (d) 1 cm, (c) 5 mm, (f) 2 mm.Image credit: Saleh other., doi: 10.1038/s41559-024-02331-w.
In a new paper, paleontologists describe a group of 470-million-year-old (early Ordovician) fossils, named Cabrière Biota, discovered in southern France's Montagne Noire.
The fossil site was discovered by two French amateurs, Eric Montseret and Sylvie Montseret Goujon.
Saleh and his co-authors examined about 400 extremely well-preserved soft tissue fossils taken from the site.
Fossils typically exhibit shades of brown, red, or orange and are embedded within a siliciclastic matrix of mudstone and siltstone, and their colors range from blue to green to yellow.
The Cabriere biota is characterized by a prevalence of sponges and branched algae, which constitute 26% of all identified fossils.
Also included are molluscs (14%), trilobites (12%), brachiopods (9%), cystoliths (7%), and cnidarians (6%).
An interesting feature of this biota is its rarity, with echinoderms being represented by only three specimens.
The Cabrières biota also exhibits the shells of various bivalve arthropods, which constitute 16% of the fossils identified.
Some wormlike organisms are also present in the biota (approximately 1% of identified fossils).
“The Cabrière biota was once located in close proximity to Antarctica and reveals the composition of the southernmost Ordovician ecosystem,” Dr Saleh said.
“The high biodiversity of this site suggests that the area served as a refuge for species fleeing the high temperatures that were prevalent further north at the time.”
“During this period of global warming, animals were certainly living in high-latitude refuges, escaping the extreme temperatures at the equator.”
Dr Jonathan Antcliffe, a paleontologist at the University of Lausanne, said: “The distant past gives us a glimpse of the near future that could happen to us.''
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F. Saleh other. Cabrières Biota (France) provides insight into Ordovician polar ecosystems. Nat Ecole Evol, published online on February 9, 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41559-024-02331-w
New research reveals that fire ice, or frozen methane, trapped as a solid under the oceans is at risk of melting due to climate change, potentially releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. I did. Using advanced seismic imaging, the research team found that dissociated methane can travel significant distances, overturning previous assumptions about its stability.
Research shows that ocean fire ice, or frozen methane, is more likely to melt due to climate change and poses a significant threat to methane emissions into the atmosphere.
An international research team led by the University of Newcastle has discovered that when frozen methane and ice melt, the powerful greenhouse gas methane is released and travels from the deepest parts of continental slopes to the edges of underwater shelves. They also found a pocket that had traveled 25 miles (40 kilometers).
Publication in magazine natural earth scienceresearchers say this means more methane could potentially become vulnerable and released into the atmosphere as a result of climate warming.
Methane hydrate: the hidden climate change threat
Methane hydrate, also known as fire ice, is an ice-like structure containing methane buried under the ocean. Huge amounts of methane are stored in the ocean as marine methane. As the ocean warms, it melts, releasing methane, known as dissociated methane, into the ocean and atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
The researchers used advanced three-dimensional seismic imaging techniques to examine sections of hydrate that have dissociated during climate warming off the coast of Mauritania in northwest Africa. They identified specific cases where dissociated methane traveled more than 40 kilometers and was released through underwater depressions known as pockmarks during warm periods in the past.
Researchers at Newcastle University have found that frozen methane trapped on the ocean floor is more likely to melt due to climate change and could be released into the ocean.Credit: Newcastle University
Discovery and its impact
Professor Richard Davies, lead author and Vice-Chancellor for Global and Sustainability at Newcastle University, said: . Our study shows that they formed as methane released from hydrates from the deepest parts of the continental slope spewed into the ocean. Scientists previously thought these hydrates would be less susceptible to climate warming, but it turns out some are more susceptible. ”
Researchers have previously studied how changes in seafloor temperatures near continental margins affect methane release from hydrates. However, these studies mainly focused on regions where only a small fraction of the earth’s methane hydrate exists. This is one of the few studies to investigate methane emissions from the bottom of hydrate stability zones deep underwater. The results show that the methane released from the hydrate stability zone migrated a significant distance towards land.
Broader research perspective and future plans
Professor Christian Berndt, Head of the Ocean Geodynamics Research Unit at GEOMAR in Kiel, Germany, added:
“This is an important finding. Previous research efforts have focused on the shallowest part of the hydrate stability zone, because we thought this was the only part that would be susceptible to climate change.
“New data clearly shows that far greater amounts of methane can be released from ocean hydrates, and a thorough understanding of this fact is needed to better understand the role of hydrates in the climate system. need to be clarified.”
Methane is the second most common anthropogenic greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide (CO2). Methane accounts for about 16% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency figures.
The findings could play an important role in predicting and addressing methane’s impact on a changing climate.
The researchers plan to continue looking for evidence of methane vents along the margin and predict where large methane seeps may occur as the planet warms. Researchers are now planning a scientific expedition to examine the pockmarks more closely and see if they can be more closely linked to past climate warming events.
Reference: “Long-distance transport and emissions of methane from the base of the hydrate stability zone” Richard J. Davies, Jinxiu Yang, Mark T. Ireland, Christian Berndt, Miguel Ángel Morales Maqueda, Mads Huuse, December 6, 2023 , natural earth science. DOI: 10.1038/s41561-023-01333-w
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