If you think all frogs croak, you’d be wrong. Seven newly discovered species from the tree frog genus Boophis, found across the rainforests of Madagascar, emit special bird-like whistling sounds in their communication with other frogs.

These whistling sounds reminded the research team, led by Professor Miguel Vences of the Technische Universität Braunschweig, Germany, of Star Trek, where similar whistle-like sound effects are frequently used.

“That’s why we named the frogs after Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, Archer, Burnham, and Pike — seven of the most iconic captains from the sci-fi series,” says Professor Vences.

“Not only do these frogs sound like sound-effects from Star Trek, but it seems also fitting that to find them, you often have to do quite a bit of trekking! A few species are found in places accessible to tourists, but to find several of these species, we had to undertake major expeditions to remote forest fragments and mountain peaks. There’s a real sense of scientific discovery and exploration here, which we think is in the spirit of Star Trek,” explains Assistant Professor Mark D. Scherz from the Natural History Museum of Denmark at the University of Copenhagen, who was senior author on the study.

To Drown Out the Sound of Water

The otherworldly calls of these frogs are known as “advertisement calls” — a type of self-promotion that, according to the researchers, may convey information about the male frog’s suitability as a mate to females. This particular group live along fast-flowing streams in the most mountainous regions of Madagascar — a loud background that may explain why the frogs call at such high pitches.

For fans of Star Trek, some of the frog calls might remind them of sounds from the so-called ‘boatswain whistle’ and a device called the ‘tricorder.’ To others, they might sound like a bird or an insect.

“If the frogs just croaked like our familiar European frogs, they might not be audible over the sound of rushing water from the rivers they live near. Their high-pitched trills and whistles stand out against all that noise,” explains Dr Jörn Köhler, Senior Curator of Vertebrate Zoology at the Hessisches Landesmuseum Darmstadt, Germany, who played a key role in analyzing the calls of the frogs.

“The appearance of the frogs has led to them being confused with similar species until now, but each species makes a distinctive series of these high-pitched whistles, that has allowed us to tell them apart from each other, and from other frogs,” he says.

The calls also lined up with the genetic analysis the team performed.

Vulnerable to Climate Change

Madagascar is renowned for its immense biodiversity, and research in its rainforests continues to uncover hidden species, making it a true paradise for frogs. Madagascar, an island roughly the size of France, is home to about 9% of all the world’s frog species.

“We’ve only scratched the surface of what Madagascar’s rainforests have to offer. Every time we go into the forest, we find new species, and just in terms of frogs, there are still several hundred species we haven’t yet described,” says Professor Andolalao Rakotoarison of the Université d’Itasy in Madagascar. Just in the last ten years, she and the rest of this team have described around 100 new species from the island.

The researchers behind the discovery hope that this new knowledge will strengthen conservation efforts in Madagascar’s rainforests. The species often live in close geographic proximity but at different altitudes and in different microhabitats. This division makes them particularly vulnerable to changes in climate or the environment.

Thus, the research team urges greater awareness around the conservation of Madagascar’s biodiversity to ensure that these unique species and their habitats are preserved for the future. But they also hope to continue exploring, to seek out new species in forests where no scientist has gone before.

The research is important because small mammals such as the western spotted skunk face major threats from human-induced land use change, said Marie Tosa, who as an Oregon State University graduate student spent 2½ years studying the skunks. Her findings provide data to shape future skunk monitoring efforts and identify threats they face.

The western spotted skunk, which typically weighs 1 to 2 pounds and is about the size of a squirrel, is smaller than the striped skunk that is common in urban environments.

“The easiest way to describe them is a tube sock,” said Tosa, who is now a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon State. “They’re a black and white tube sock. They are mostly black but they have white spots all over them. They have this giant white spot on their forehead. And they’re really, really adorable.”

The western spotted skunk prefers more undisturbed habitat, such as mountainous areas, and is nocturnal, so it is rarely seen. Yet it lives in areas from New Mexico to British Columbia and California to Colorado

“For such an abundant carnivore in these forests, we don’t really know anything about them,” said Taal Levi, an associate professor at Oregon State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and advisor to Tosa. “This project was trying to figure out more about them: trying to learn about their natural history; what they do in these forests; what do they need; how do they influence the ecosystem that they are in.”

Tosa, Levi and Damon Lesmeister of the U.S. Forest Service’s Pacific Northwest Research Station in Corvallis studied the western spotted skunk in part because of what happened to the eastern spotted skunk, which lives in the central and southeastern United States.

The population of that species declined about 90% between 1940 and 1950 and by 99% by 1980. It is now listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and was considered for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

“Habitat loss is believed to be a factor in the population decline, but the reasons are not well understood because the species was not well studied prior to or during the decline,” said Lesmeister, who conducted research on the eastern spotted skunk in the 2000s.

Tosa conducted her research from 2017 to 2019 in the H.G. Andrews Experimental Forest, a nearly 16,000-acre research forest about an hour east of Eugene. The landscape is steep, with hills and deep valleys and elevation ranges from 1,350 to 5,340 feet.

That landscape made finding and tracking skunks difficult. Tosa started by setting trail cameras with sardines and cat food as bait to lure the skunks. Camera images gave her a general sense of where the skunks were and informed where she placed box traps, which she also baited and camouflaged with burlap, moss and bark.

She then spent hundreds of days driving thousands of miles to check more than 100 cameras and 50 to 100 traps.

When she found a skunk in a trap, she would carefully open it up, secure the animal, tranquilize it to temporarily sedate it and place a radio collar on it. This inevitably led to being sprayed. She estimates she was sprayed 50 to 100 times.

She said the spray smells like really strong raw garlic. Her method to remove the smell? A paste of hydrogen peroxide, Dawn dish soap and baking soda.

Once collared, she could use radio telemetry day and night to locate and track the skunks’ movement.

With that data, she determined that the skunks have a home range up to 12 square miles. That far exceeds similar size mammals and even deer, which have a home range of less than one-half of a square mile. She thinks the skunks are covering so much ground because of limited food resources.

Other findings included:

• The skunks appear to like old growth forests and younger forests. The younger forests are likely appealing because they contain more food, such as berries and small mammals.
• Skunks are vulnerable to winter weather, particularly cold temperatures and accumulated snow. This was particularly evident during a heavy snow event in February 2019.
• Skunks were distributed across 63% of the study area with highly overlapping home ranges, indicating a lack of territoriality.

Tosa’s field research concluded before three wildfires burned in the forest during the past four years. She speculated that the skunks are likely well adapted to fire and is interested in conducting a post-fire study of the skunks.

The research findings were recently published in Ecosphere.

The three groups of bonobos have been living separately in different regions in Central Africa for tens of thousands of years, according to the study published in Current Biology by an international research team co-led by UCL, University of Vienna, and Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology scientists.

Using genetic tests, the researchers confirmed previous evidence suggesting that there are three distinct groups of bonobos, originating in central, western, and far-western regions of the bonobo range. By quantifying the differences between these groups, the research team found that they can be as different from one another as the most closely-related chimpanzee subspecies.

Bonobos, commonly seen as the peace-loving primate, are, together with chimpanzees, the closest living relatives to humans as our genomes differ from theirs in only 1% of genetic bases.

The bonobo is endangered, with about 20,000 individuals alive in the wild, and are the most understudied great ape as they live exclusively in the Congo Basin of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where social unrest has constrained research activities.

Joint first author Dr Sojung Han (University of Vienna, Austria, and Institut de Biologia Evolutiva, Spain) said: “Bonobos are a fascinating species, very closely related to humans, with unique patterns of social behaviour. They live in tight social groups which, despite some conflicts, are markedly peaceful and egalitarian. Interestingly, males stay in their birth social group while females migrate across groups, but females still form close alliances and can have higher dominance than males.”

The research team analysed the genomic data of 30 bonobos born in the wild but now living in captivity. They sequenced the exomes (the protein-coding part of the genome) of 20 individuals living in an African sanctuary and analysed the full genomes of 10 other bonobos. While they could not always be certain what region of the Congo basin each bonobo had originated in, the researchers cross-referenced their dataset with previously published mitochondrial DNA data collected from 136 wild bonobos to paint a fuller picture of genetic diversity across the animal’s range.

The researchers estimated that the central group diverged from the other two groups 145,000 years ago, with the two western groups diverging 60,000 years ago, with little mixing between the groups ever since.

Lead author Professor Aida Andrés (UCL Genetics Institute) said: “Bonobos may be even more vulnerable than previously thought, as their population actually consists of at least three smaller populations, some of which may historically have been amongst the smallest across similar primates.

“In order to survive, every species needs sufficient genetic diversity to adapt to a changing environment, and for bonobos, losing one of these three groups would be a devastating loss to the total genetic diversity of the species. It is vital that all three groups of bonobos are conserved in order to protect this fascinating and charismatic species.”

The researchers say the differences between the bonobo groups should be further studied and considered in conservation efforts when planning efforts such as habitat preservation, translocations or potential reintroductions in case individuals are adapted to specific environments.

Dr Sojung Han said: “Unlike modern humans, who are spread all over the world, bonobos are limited to the Congo basin, but our work shows that there are indeed genetic differences between groups. This is exciting, and it will be very interesting to study, in the future, if there are any differential adaptations among these groups.”

Joint first author Dr Cesare de Filippo (Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Germany) said: “This work demonstrates how studying the genomes of endangered species can help better understand their populations and eventually aid conservation efforts. Even the genomes of captive individuals can help us, sometimes, understand their wild populations. Our findings show he vulnerability of bonobos as an endangered species, and stress the need to protect their environment to ensure their conservation.”

The research was supported by Wellcome and the Max Planck Society, and involved researchers based in the UK, Austria, Germany, Spain, Denmark, and Israel.

The largest spacecraft NASA ever built for a mission headed to another planet, Europa Clipper also is the first NASA mission dedicated to studying an ocean world beyond Earth. The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) on a trajectory that will leverage the power of gravity assists, first to Mars in four months and then back to Earth for another gravity assist flyby in 2026. After it begins orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, the spacecraft will fly past Europa 49 times.

“Congratulations to our Europa Clipper team for beginning the first journey to an ocean world beyond Earth,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA leads the world in exploration and discovery, and the Europa Clipper mission is no different. By exploring the unknown, Europa Clipper will help us better understand whether there is the potential for life not just within our solar system, but among the billions of moons and planets beyond our Sun.”

Approximately five minutes after liftoff, the rocket’s second stage fired up and the payload fairing, or the rocket’s nose cone, opened to reveal Europa Clipper. About an hour after launch, the spacecraft separated from the rocket. Ground controllers received a signal soon after, and two-way communication was established at 1:13 p.m. with NASA’s Deep Space Network facility in Canberra, Australia. Mission teams celebrated as initial telemetry reports showed Europa Clipper is in good health and operating as expected.

“We could not be more excited for the incredible and unprecedented science NASA’s Europa Clipper mission will deliver in the generations to come,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “Everything in NASA science is interconnected, and Europa Clipper’s scientific discoveries will build upon the legacy that our other missions exploring Jupiter — including Juno, Galileo, and Voyager — created in our search for habitable worlds beyond our home planet.”

The main goal of the mission is to determine whether Europa has conditions that could support life. Europa is about the size of our own Moon, but its interior is different. Information from NASA’s Galileo mission in the 1990s showed strong evidence that under Europa’s ice lies an enormous, salty ocean with more water than all of Earth’s oceans combined. Scientists also have found evidence that Europa may host organic compounds and energy sources under its surface.

If the mission determines Europa is habitable, it may mean there are more habitable worlds in our solar system and beyond than imagined.

“We’re ecstatic to send Europa Clipper on its way to explore a potentially habitable ocean world, thanks to our colleagues and partners who’ve worked so hard to get us to this day,” said Laurie Leshin, director, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Europa Clipper will undoubtedly deliver mind-blowing science. While always bittersweet to send something we’ve labored over for years off on its long journey, we know this remarkable team and spacecraft will expand our knowledge of our solar system and inspire future exploration.”

In 2031, the spacecraft will begin conducting its science-dedicated flybys of Europa. Coming as close as 16 miles (25 kilometers) to the surface, Europa Clipper is equipped with nine science instruments and a gravity experiment, including an ice-penetrating radar, cameras, and a thermal instrument to look for areas of warmer ice and any recent eruptions of water. As the most sophisticated suite of science instruments NASA has ever sent to Jupiter, they will work in concert to learn more about the moon’s icy shell, thin atmosphere, and deep interior.

To power those instruments in the faint sunlight that reaches Jupiter, Europa Clipper also carries the largest solar arrays NASA has ever used for an interplanetary mission. With arrays extended, the spacecraft spans 100 feet (30.5 meters) from end to end. With propellant loaded, it weighs about 13,000 pounds (5,900 kilograms).

In all, more than 4,000 people have contributed to Europa Clipper mission since it was formally approved in 2015.

“As Europa Clipper embarks on its journey, I’ll be thinking about the countless hours of dedication, innovation, and teamwork that made this moment possible,” said Jordan Evans, project manager, NASA JPL. “This launch isn’t just the next chapter in our exploration of the solar system; it’s a leap toward uncovering the mysteries of another ocean world, driven by our shared curiosity and continued search to answer the question, ‘are we alone?'”

More About Europa Clipper

Europa Clipper’s three main science objectives are to determine the thickness of the moon’s icy shell and its interactions with the ocean below, to investigate its composition, and to characterize its geology. The mission’s detailed exploration of Europa will help scientists better understand the astrobiological potential for habitable worlds beyond our planet.

Managed by Caltech in Pasadena, California, NASA JPL leads the development of the Europa Clipper mission in partnership with the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The main spacecraft body was designed by APL in collaboration with NASA JPL and NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. The Planetary Missions Program Office at Marshall executes program management of the Europa Clipper mission.

NASA’s Launch Services Program, based at NASA Kennedy, managed the launch service for the Europa Clipper spacecraft.

Find more information about NASA’s Europa Clipper mission here:

https://science.nasa.gov/mission/europa-clipper/