Ratting Out Traffickers

More than 210 people died, and many were still missing five days after the deluge. Pictures of the devastation showed urban streets with many cars piled on top of each other and mud everywhere. Riverbanks were swept clean of vegetation. Many who died were leaving work around 6 p.m. when the flash flooding began on Tuesday, October 29. One problem that may have led to the casualties was the lack of any warnings until eight hours after ravines had started to fill, according to the Spanish newspaper, El País. Dozens of people spent the night on the tops of cars, trucks, and buildings until they could be rescued.

The inundation was caused by a weather condition that is common in the area at this time of year, called the gota fría in Spanish or “cold drop,” when cold air moves over the warm water of the Mediterranean Sea and forms heavy rain clouds. According to scientists, human-caused climate change that increases the warmth of oceans and seas is making storms in many regions worse, although more research is needed to make that conclusion for this flood. The Mediterranean hit its highest recorded temperature in August, the New York Times reported.

The flooding in the Valencia region was made worse from two years of intense drought that had dried the soils, so that the ground could not absorb the massive quantity of water. Additionally, in recent years, concrete has been covering natural spaces.

The tool, created by researchers at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), can detect differences in the light reflected by sand, water, or plastics, allowing the pollution to be seen on shores all over the Earth from 400 miles above. In a release, the scientists explain that existing technology that spots garbage patches in the ocean doesn’t work as well on beaches, where plastics can blend in with sand.

The lead author of the study, Jenna Guffogg, said in a statement that just as it does on open water, plastic on beaches can have severe impacts on wildlife and habitat. Some animals mistake it for food and some can become entangled or trapped in things like plastic containers. She added that remote island beaches have some of the densest areas of plastic in the world.

The scientists at RMIT have also developed similar tools to monitor forests and wildfires from space.

The study will be published in December in the journal Marine Pollution Bulletin.

The water fern, also known as mosquito fern, ferry moss, and Carolina azolla, is able to double its biomass in two days as well as capture nitrogen from the air. Earlier this year, Penn State researchers studied Carolina azolla (Azolla caroliniana) that’s native to the eastern U.S. and found it had excellent potential to be a green fertilizer and feedstock for animals. The fern is fast-growing and requires minimal inputs and upkeep.

Azolla is also high in protein and nutrients like potassium, zinc, iron, and calcium, so could it be safe for human consumption? That was a vexing question because the fern contains cyanobacteria that might produce cyanotoxins, which have been linked to neurodegenerative disorders in humans, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, liver and kidney failure, muscle paralysis, and other severe health issues.

Last week, the researchers published a study showing that cyanobacteria living in azolla don’t have the genes to create toxins. While that is welcome news, they do not recommend that people scoop leaves off the surface of a pond and eat it. More research is needed, they say, but it does point to the plant’s potential to provide nutritious, easy-to-grow, low-cost food for humans, especially for smallholder farms and in low-income areas around the globe.

The study was published in the journal Plants.

Pangolin scales, elephant tusks, rhino horn, and rare hardwoods are popular among illegal wildlife traders, but the rats—which weigh up to three pounds and are around 30 inches long—are now able to smell the contraband hidden in cargo. The animals have also been taught the odors of cotton socks, coffee beans, and peanuts, which are frequently used to mask trafficking operations.

The scientists have partnered with the nonprofit APOPO based in Tanzania, which has been using their so-called “HeroRATs” to detect landmines as well as the pathogen that causes tuberculosis. In this new research, eight rats were able to identify four commonly smuggled wildlife species among 146 non-target substances.

Now that the rats have honed their skills to detect contraband, the next step will be to deploy them to ports in Africa, where much of the trade originates. That will involve outfitting the critters with vests that have a small ball attached, which they will pull with their front paws to emit a beeping sound when they detect a target.

While the researchers say a rat’s sniffing ability is on par with a dog’s, Dr. Isabelle Szott, a researcher at the Okeanos Foundation and first co-author of the study, said rats might prove more agile in tight spaces like densely packed shipping containers. Co-author Kate Webb at Duke University said in a statement that wildlife smuggling is often conducted by individuals engaged in other illegal activities, including human, drug, and arms trafficking, so these vest-wearing animals may one day soon rat out illegal activities that exploit both animals and humans.

The study was published in Frontiers in Conservation Science.