October 1, 2024: Two chickadee species are interbreeding, the south is still reeling from Helene, and physicists observe a rare particle process. —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | | Teresa Kopec/Getty Images | | | Carolina chickadees and Black-capped chickadees are two distinct species. They sing different songs (to the trained ear) and inhabit different parts of the country: Carolina chickadees exclusively live in the eastern and southern U.S., while Black-cappeds live in the northeast, out west and Canada. BUT, in a stretch of territory winding from the Midwest through Ohio, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the two chickadees have been interbreeding for decades. The chicks in this "hybrid zone" have a combined genome.
Why this is interesting: Hybridization introduces new genes into a population and can sometimes help species adapt to new and different conditions. In the case of hybrid chickadees, overall the chicks have poor hatching success, inefficient metabolism and inferior cognitive abilities. But that doesn't mean that in the future, some gene combination might confer a strong advantage for survival in the environment.
What the experts say: Hybridization can help a species flourish, says Amber Rice of Lehigh University, by acting as "a bridge for new genes to enter another species [and] provide fitness benefits in certain environments." As Earth continues to warm, some species may intermix. And those new genetic lines could determine whether a population goes extinct or flourishes. | | | Western North Carolina, as well as eastern Tennessee, western South Carolina, and much of Georgia, are reeling in the wake of Hurricane Helene, which hit western Florida as a Category 4 storm last Thursday before trekking inland. Rainfall was particularly heavy in parts of Appalachia (more than 20 inches fell in western North Carolina), where tropical storms can do extreme damage because the mountainous topography leaves water with nowhere to go. Why this matters: Helene dumped water everywhere it went, but worst of all in western North Carolina, in predominantly rural and lower-income areas. "These are not areas that get a lot of attention and investment for resilience and planning and improved infrastructure," says Janey Camp, a civil engineer at the University of Memphis. Most local infrastructure like bridges and power substations were not likely built to withstand a 1000-year rainfall event like Helene.
What the experts say: "These are historic flooding levels in an area where the terrain is not conducive to being able to withstand those levels of precipitation," says Camp. "Unfortunately, it's a perfect storm for one of the worst-case situations you could have." --Meghan Bartels, Senior News Reporter | | | • Pickleball is the fastest growing sport in America. Here's the physics of the game, according to an acoustics and structural dynamics engineer. | 4 min read | | | • A new race for lunar dominance is underway. And at this moment, the U.S. is poised to lose to China, writes former NASA official Thomas Zurbuchen. The international space community should hold a series of meetings to set the standards for moon exploration, he says. "This discourse should clarify how lunar exploration can occur peacefully, avoiding carrying earthly conflicts into space." | 5 min read | | | In the coming years, more and more animals and plants will relocate into new territories as global temperatures continue to rise. This is already happening--tree ranges are slowly moving north in the Northern Hemisphere, and with them go the animals and insects whose livelihoods rely on those trees. Fish and other oceanic creatures are swimming into new ranges, impacting those local marine habitats. As species start interacting more like the two chickadees above, genetic intermixing may become a new normal. | Reach out anytime with suggestions for how to improve this newsletter: newsletters@sciam.com. Same time tomorrow! | —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor | | Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters . | | | | Scientific American
One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004 | | | | | | Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American | | | | | | | | | |
