A new species of pygmy seahorse (豆丁海马) has been discovered off the coast of South Africa in Sodwana Bay, attracting scientists with its tiny size—only 2.7 centimeters.

An international research team studied the tiny pygmy seahorse in 2019, after it was spotted by chance by diving instructor Savannah Nalu Olivier who was exploring algae (海藻) on the seafloor of the bay. But it wasn’t easy to see it at all, according to a press release from the University of Leeds in Australia. That’s because these sea creatures are camouflaged by their stony golden-brown look.

This is the first time that a pygmy seahorse has ever been discovered in the Indian Ocean. In fact, the closest known pygmy seahorse species live 8,000 kilometers away in a region of the Pacific Ocean called Coral Triangle. Until now, all but one of the seven pygmy seahorse species have been found in the triangle, making this discovery particularly puzzling.

The study was led by Graham Short from the California Academy of Sciences. It discovers a number of detailed features that differentiate this species from other seahorses. While larger seahorses have gills (鳃) on each side of their head, the Sodwana Bay pygmy seahorse has only one gill slit on its back. “That would be like having a nose on the back of your neck,” Short said in an interview. The tiny seahorse also has a set of sharp spines (刺毛) on its back while other pygmy seahorses have flat—tipped spines. The researchers haven’t figured out what they are used for yet.

The tiny pygmy seahorse reminds us that when we open our eyes, the natural world becomes an endless mystery. Unknown species and even entire ecosystems are awaiting to be discovered in places we never thought possible.

In fact, black bear populations across the country have risen dramatically over the last 50 years. And while that’s very good news from a conservation standpoint, more bears also mean more run-ins with humans.

How black bears clawed their way back

The American black bear was once common across much of the continent. 【小题1】 They were killed by farmers who feared for their livestock and hunted for their thick fat. By the mid-20th century, numbers had dwindled (减少), and they were listed as endangered in several states. 【小题2】 Hunting seasons and limits were established, and state-funded research programs helped inform management practices. Previously cleared areas were reforested, and the bears made a remarkable comeback.

Being bear aware

While black bears are active from the late spring through autumn, right now they may be even more likely to enter human properties, lured by trash or another food source. Why is it so? 【小题3】 Therefore, keep the attractants outside of their sight during this particular time of the year.

Even if you’ve removed attractants, it’s possible a curious bear may end up in your yard. In that case, there are a few ways to stay safe. First, bears and dogs don’t mix. When you’re letting your dog out at night, flip on the lights and check your yard. 【小题4】 Don’t run. And if you see the bear before it sees you, stand still and take a moment to enjoy.

【小题5】 It can certainly be worrying or frightening for someone who doesn’t expect to be in bear country. Finding some sort of common ground is really important, and humans are responsible to take that role because a Bear’s just being a bear.

Listening to birds and water can lower stress and improve mood, study finds. Researchers have long known there are benefits from being in nature. Living around trees can help you live longer. Walking in the woods is good for your mood. Being near water can have positive effects on your well-being.

A new study finds that natural sounds offer health benefits too. There is plenty of evidence that spending time in natural areas is good for our health — but typically this research is done from a visual perspective, but we were curious what the role is of sounds we hear in these spaces.

Some examples they found reported in those studies included decreased pain, lowered stress, improved mood, and better cognitive（认知的）function. With these results in hand, they then listened to audio recordings from 251 sites in 68 national parks across the United States.

The sites with the most natural sounds and the lowest man-made sounds were located in Alaska, Hawaii, and the Pacific Northwest and were far from urban areas. Only three locations with high natural sounds and low noise pollution were within 100 kilometers（62 miles）of urban areas.

However, despite human-made noises being heard most of the time at sites in urban locations, birds were still heard about 60% of the time and geophysical sounds like wind and rain were heard about 19% of the time.

Not all natural sounds deliver the same benefits, the researchers found. For example, they discovered that the sounds of water had the largest impact on improving positive emotions and health outcomes, while bird sounds ease stress and annoyance. And the sounds of both birds and water were heard more than 23% of the time in the national park recording sites.

Interestingly, there was also some evidence that natural sounds have benefits over silence. There was also evidence that more different types of natural sounds — more types of birds singing rather than just one type of bird — have benefits over fewer sounds.