Curio Cabinet

Wood you look at that? The world’s largest living organism is Pando, a network of quaking aspens (Populus tremuloides) in Utah. Now, a group of researchers believe that it might also be the oldest living thing, according to a new paper (though it hasn’t been peer-reviewed yet.) When most people think of big living things, they might imagine leviathans like blue whales or long-gone beasts like dinosaurs. However, the truth is weirder. Located in south-central Utah, Pando Aspen Grove consists of 47,000 individual aspen trees on the surface. Underneath, however, they’re all connected by a single root system, and every tree is mostly genetically identical. That's because this species of aspen reproduces asexually, creating a clone of itself that is still connected to the same root system. Essentially, the individual organism is a forest unto itself. This trait also makes it tricky for scientists to accurately age Pando, and estimates have ranged anywhere between a few thousand years to a few million. In the latest attempt to age the aspens, researchers collected 500 pieces of roots, leaves, and bark and compared it to other species of aspen by sequencing their DNA. They then identified around 4,000 genetic variations in Pando that came about over time due to mutations as it cloned itself. Researchers expected trees that were close to each other to have more of these variations in common, revealing a spatial signal, but they didn’t necessarily find this to be the case. The spatial signal was weaker than expected, perhaps indicating that Pando has some way of protecting its genome, but based on one of their models, the researchers believe that Pando could be anywhere between 16,000 and 80,000 years old. While that is a far cry from the millions of years some have suggested, it’s still far older than the oldest solitary tree, a 5,000-year-old bristlecone pine in California. Imagine being able to call a five-millennia-old tree a whippersnapper.

[Image description: A grove of quaking aspen trees in Zion National Park, in Utah.] Credit & copyright: U.S. National Park Service, Wikimedia Commons. This image or media file contains material based on a work of a National Park Service employee, created as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, such work is in the public domain in the United States. Original Source.

Here’s a critter that seems permanently dressed for fall. With their beautiful auburn coats that perfectly match falling leaves, it’s no wonder that red foxes have come to be associated with autumn. That’s not the only reason for the fox-to-fall connection, though. Like many North American mammals, red foxes are particularly active in the fall as they stock up on calories ahead of the cold winter. This means that people tend to spot them more frequently during the fall, and thus they became conflated with the season itself. The truth is, red foxes are fascinating animals all year long.
 
Red foxes are the largest fox species in the world, and the most widely distributed. They’re found throughout the northern hemisphere in North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. Red foxes are also highly adaptable, meaning that they’re able to live in a variety of environments within their range. A red fox can thrive in open fields, forests, or even in urban areas by scavenging through humans’ trash and eating common urban pests like mice and rats. They can also adapt to various weather conditions. Red foxes living further north may grow longer, thicker coats in the winter, while foxes in warmer environments maintain short coats and use their large ears to disperse heat from their bodies.
 
It is thought that red foxes evolved in the Middle East or in what is now China around 3.4 to 1.8 million years ago. The species’ ancestor was either Vulpes alopecoides or V. chikushanensis, both of which were smaller than the modern red fox and are now extinct. Some scientists believe that red foxes then crossed from Eurasia to North America over a land bridge that once existed across the Bering Strait. These red foxes mainly stayed in the northernmost parts of North America. Then, in the mid-1700s, European colonists introduced red foxes to the Eastern U.S. so that they could continue the sport of fox hunting in their new home. These red foxes interbred with other, native North American species, like Gray foxes and Swift foxes, and eventually came to live just about everywhere within the continental U.S.
 
Modern red foxes are active all year, meaning that even those who live in very cold areas don’t hibernate through the winter. Instead, they make use of their excellent hearing to locate prey, like mice and voles, under snow. Although red foxes dig dens during mating season to protect their pups, adult foxes tend to live out in the open, using their thick tails to curl over their bodies for warmth. Despite being successful predators, red foxes still have to worry about becoming prey themselves when it comes to larger predators like wolves, coyotes, bears, and mountain lions. Humans also have a long history of hunting red foxes for their fur, and deforestation is dangerous to the species as a whole. Luckily, there are still plenty of red foxes around, and the species isn’t considered threatened or endangered. It’s testament to the impressive, year-round, multi-climate survival skills of these tenacious canines.

 
[Image description: A red fox standing in snow with its head lowered.] Credit & copyright: Joanne Redwood/jem9redwood, Wikimedia Commons via iNaturalist. This file is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication.

Here’s a deep dive into some big news from the sea. A National Geographic expedition diving the waters around the Solomon Islands have discovered the largest coral in the world, and it breaks the record by a large margin. It’s a wonder it hadn’t been noticed before, because it’s apparently big enough to be seen from space. The massive coral is the size of a blue whale, nearly three times larger than the previous record holder. That one, named “Big Momma,: is located near American Samoa and is “only” as long as a giraffe. The newly discovered coral, which belongs to the Pavona clavus species, apparently consists of over a billion individual polyps and was initially mistaken for a shipwreck by the diver who spotted it.
 
What’s not surprising is its location. Found near the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean and near the border of the Coral Sea, the area boasts the second most diverse coral population in the world with over 490 known species. Aside from its size, the coral is also an incredible find as climate change and warming oceans are devastating reefs worldwide. Despite its size, even this record-breaking coral isn’t safe from the effects of climate change, and that could spell disaster for coastal communities and the marine life supported by the coral. Healthy reefs help mitigate the effects of powerful storms by acting as underwater barriers against large waves, and their absence could accelerate erosion in coastal regions. Climate change isn’t the only threat this particular reef faces, either. Logging accounts for up to 70 percent of the country’s export revenue each year, and the industry is responsible for high amounts of water pollution that has been damaging the coral in the region. Here’s hoping this discovery prompts strong protections for this absolute unit of a reef.

 
[Image description: A close-up photo of the surface of water.] Credit & copyright: Matt Hardy, Pexels

Where there’s a will, there’s a way…even if it takes a lot of digging. Connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea seems like an impossible feat, but it actually happened several times throughout history. From the ancient Egyptians to the Byzantines, various rulers attempted and failed to maintain a maritime passage between the two seas. The latest—and possibly the greatest—iteration yet is the Suez Canal. Located on the Isthmus of Suez, the canal opened on this day in 1869, and it continues to be crucial to global commerce as it connects Asia and Europe without the need to navigate around the southern tip of Africa.
 
Historians believe that the notion of connecting the Red and Mediterranean seas was first ideated by Pharaoh Senausert III of the Twelfth Dynasty in the 19th century B.C.E. The pharaoh envisioned a canal that would lead ships to the Nile River and through the Bitter Lakes, creating a lucrative trade route to Asia. A canal was created, but it became impassable by 610 B.C.E. due to sand deposition. Later attempts to connect the seas were limited in scope, capacity, and permanence. Various canal systems connecting the seas through the Nile and the Bitter Lakes came and went, and in at least one instance, the destruction of the passage was deliberate. Abu Jafar El-Mansur of the Abbasid Caliphate ordered the canal to be filled with sand in 760 C.E. to quell a rebellion in Mecca and Medina, and that was the last time that a passage between the seas existed for over a thousand years. It wasn’t until the 19th century that anyone would make earnest efforts to reconnect the seas. Instead of a system of small canals that made use of the Nile for the majority of its length, this new passage was designed to run straight through the Isthmus of Suez, making it the longest sea level canal in the world at the time.
 
The Suez Canal was commissioned by Mohamed Sa'id Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Egypt in 1854. That year, he tasked French diplomat Ferdinand de Lesseps with constructing the canal, and in 1856, the Suez Canal Company was given the right to manage it for 99 years starting from the date of completion. Construction was initially expected to take around six years, but was delayed by various setbacks. At first, construction was performed by forced laborers who were only equipped with hand tools and baskets. Many of the laborers died in 1865 when a cholera epidemic swept through the area, and the project eventually switched over to the use of dredgers and steam shovels, which greatly accelerated the pace of construction. Finally, the Suez Canal opened on November 17, 1869, to great fanfare, with the inaugural voyage attended by the wife of Napoleon III, Empress Eugénie. The canal was originally only 25 feet deep, 72 feet wide at the bottom, and up to 300 feet wide at the surface, but was expanded in 1876 to accommodate larger ships.
 
During its first full year of operation, the canal saw an average of two ships pass through it. Today, an average of 58 ships a day, carrying 437,000 tons of cargo, sail its waters. The canal remains significant to global commerce, and when a cargo ship got stuck and caused a blockage in 2021, it held up 369 ships at a cost of $9.6 billion in trade a day. Lesseps, however, didn’t fare as well as his creation. Following the success of the Suez, he was hired to construct the Panama Canal. Unfortunately, Lesseps wasn’t an engineer. Rather, his previous feat was largely that of organizing financing and creating political will. His attempt to dig another sea level canal through the isthmus nation proved disastrous. Between disease and the much more difficult terrain, Lesseps failed to make meaningful progress using the same techniques he employed before. The Panama Canal was eventually completed later by the U.S., which opted for a system of canal locks that allowed ships to change elevations, eliminating the need to dig straight through the entire length. Lesseps was one man who really should have rested on his laurels.

 
[Image description: A photo of a navy ship on the Suez Canal, from above.] Credit & copyright: W. M. Welch/US Navy, Wikimedia Commons. This file is a work of a sailor or employee of the U.S. Navy, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, it is in the public domain in the United States.