University of The Balearic Islands

Researchers incorporate language ideologies, along with the impact of interaction between individuals with opposing preferences, on the language shift process. The team chose a quantitative approach based on a society in which only one language with two varieties, the standard and the vernacular, existed. The resulting mathematical model can predict the conditions that allow for the coexistence of different languages, presenting a comprehensive view of how language varieties are distributed within societies. Language has the power to shape our perceptions and interactions with the world. Different languages can coexist, but their dynamics are shaped by the communities that speak them -- and how those communities interact with each other. Shared beliefs, assumptions, and feelings toward specific language forms often determine whether a specific language will survive or disappear, especially within multilinguistic societies. In Chaos, by AIP Publishing,researchers from the University of the Balearic Islands in Spain incorporate language ideologies, along with the impact of interaction between individuals with opposing preferences, on the language shift process. "Our findings lead to the conclusion that the more mixing that occurs between different social groups, the more challenging it becomes for language varieties to coexist within the same society," said author Pablo Rosillo-Rodes. "The dynamics of the system has a subtle dependence on both the preferences of the speakers and the coupling between different communities." Existing work from sociolinguistics showed that the social prestige of a language was considered the main factor leading to its extinction or survival. Insights in language contact from these previous studies, in combination with sociolinguistic studies on language ideologies, were used by the researchers to present a comprehensive picture of how language varieties are distributed in societies. The team chose a quantitative approach based on a society in which only one language with two varieties, the standard and the vernacular, existed. The resulting mathematical model can predict the conditions that allow for the coexistence of different languages, presenting a comprehensive view of how language varieties are distributed within societies. Individual preferences for specific languages play a pivotal role in language dynamics, sometimes overcoming any social prestige associated with a particular language variety. Under certain conditions, various levels of interaction between people with different language preferences can lead to the extinction of one of the languages. However, the event can be followed by the return of the dead language and ultimately its eventual dominance. By studying finite-size effects, the researchers also found that the duration of the coexistence of language varieties increases exponentially with society size. "This work influences linguistics with quantitative perspectives, contributes to models of applied mathematics, and encourages interdisciplinary collaboration while emphasizing the need for more comprehensive data in computational linguistics," said Rosillo-Rodes. "It holds significant insight for language planning and public policies aimed at preserving endangered languages."

Through intricate study of cave deposits in Spain, geologists identified a rapid rise in sea level that started during the Industrial Revolution. The early 1900s were an exciting time across the world, with rapid advances in the steel, electric and automobile industries. The industrial changes also mark an inflection point in our climate. According to an international team of researchers led by the University of South Florida (USF), the sea level has risen 18 centimeters since the start of the 20th century. The study, featured on the cover of the July 1 issue of Science Advances, works to identify preindustrial sea levels and examines the impact of modern greenhouse warming on sea-level rise. The team, which includes USF graduate students, traveled to Mallorca, Spain -- home to more than 1,000 cave systems, some of which have deposits that formed millions of years ago. For this study, they focused on analyzing deposits from 4,000 years ago to present day. The team found evidence of a previously unknown 20 centimeter sea-level rise that occurred nearly 3,200 years ago when ice caps melted naturally over the course of 400 years at a rate of 0.5 millimeters per year. Otherwise, despite major climatic events like Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age, the sea level remained exceptionally stable until 1900. "The results reported in our study are alarming," said lead author Bogdan P. Onac, geology professor at USF. "The sea-level rise since the 1900s is unprecedented when compared to the natural change in ice volumes over the last 4,000 years. This implies that if global temperatures continue to rise, sea levels could eventually reach higher levels than scientists previously estimated." To create the timeline, the team gathered 13 samples from eight caves along the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea. The deposits are rare -- only forming near the coastline in cave passages that were repeatedly flooded by sea water, making them accurate markers of sea-level changes overtime. Each deposit holds valuable insight into both the past and future, helping researchers determine how quickly the sea level will rise in the coming decades and centuries. The samples were taken to the University of New Mexico and University of Bern in Switzerland, where special instruments were used to determine their age by uranium-series method. Over time, uranium decays into other elements such as thorium and lead, allowing researchers to create a timeline of the sea level documented in each deposit. A complex software at Harvard University helped generate predictions using various ice models and Earth's parameters to showcase an accurate history of the sea level. These predictions are essential because they allow researchers to estimate past global mean sea level, which is key in addressing future sea-level rise. "If humans continue to be the main driver and the temperature increases 1.5 degrees in the near future, there will be irreversible damage," Onac said. "There will be no turning back from that point on." Based on ice mass loss from the Antarctic and Greenland, the average sea-level rise since 2008 is 1.43 millimeters per year. Permanent flooding from the rising sea level won't happen overnight, but Onac says it will be seen more and more during storm surges and hurricanes. With nearly 40 percent of the world's population living within 62 miles of a coast, the rising sea level could be catastrophic with substantial societal and economic impacts. "Even if we stop right now, sea level will continue to rise for at least a couple of decades, if not centuries, simply because the system is warmed up." In June, Onac received a new research grant from the National Science Foundation to continue his research to predict future sea-level rise due to global warming. The grant will allow Onac to expand the research further into history by 130,000 years and create a better understanding of sea level globally. Starting in September, Onac and his team will begin analyzing cave deposits from around the globe, including Italy, Greece, Mexico and Cuba. This study was conducted in collaboration with the scientists from Harvard University, University of New Mexico, University of the Balearic Islands, University Rome Tre, Rutgers University, Australian National University, Los Alamos National Laboratory and University of Bern.

It had always been thought that the Mediterranean population of the European storm petrel -- the smallest seabird in the Mediterranean -- spent the year in this sea and that only a small part of the population migrated to the Atlantic during the winter season. Now, a study reveals that most of the European storm petrels that nest in the western Mediterranean move to the Atlantic Ocean as their main wintering area. It had always been thought that the Mediterranean population of the European storm petrel -- the smallest seabird in the Mediterranean -- spent the year in this sea and that only a small part of the population migrated to the Atlantic during the winter season. Now, a study reveals that most of the European storm petrels that nest in the western Mediterranean move to the Atlantic Ocean as their main wintering area. The results, published in the journal International Journal of Avian Science (IBIS), contrast with the previously known migratory pattern in the central Mediterranean and outline a new migratory map for this small seabird. The study is led by the researchers Raül Ramos and Teresa Militão, members of the Group on Seabird Ecology of the Faculty of Biology and the Biodiversity Research Institute of the University of Barcelona (IRBio-UB). Among the participants in the study are Ana Sanz-Aguilar and Andreu Rotger, from the University of the Balearic Islands and the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA, CSIC-UIB). The smallest seabird in the Mediterranean basin The European storm petrel (Hydrobates pelagicus) is a long-lived species, with a low reproductive rate and a relatively late age of sexual maturity -- highly sensitive to threats affecting the adult survival -- that only sets foot on land to breed. There are two subspecies: one that nests in the Mediterranean Sea (H. p. melitensis) and another, more abundant, that nests in several European islands of the Atlantic (H. p. pelagicus). "Data from ring recoveries and open-sea sightings on board suggested that the Atlantic subspecies could migrate towards the southern waters of the African continent. In the Mediterranean subspecies, biogeochemical data and geolocation data indicated that most of the wintering took place in this sea," notes lecturer Raül Ramos, from the Department of Evolutionary Biology, Ecology and Environmental Sciences. In the study, the team used light-level geolocators to infer on the location of the Mediterranean population during a complete migratory cycle. Using these devices, placed on the birds' tarsus -- not on their backs with a harness, as usual until now -- , the solar intensity has been recorded for nearly a year. This methodology enables the researchers to collect complementary data, such as saltwater conductivity and sea temperature. "The results allow us to better understand the activity patterns of seabirds throughout the wintering season -- i.e. when they fly and when they rest in the water -- , information that was previously unknown," says researcher Teresa Militão, first author of the study. "During the entire winter period, the species spends more time resting in the water during the day than at night. This tells us that the species forages mainly at night, and probably feeds on zooplankton and small fish that migrate to the sea surface at that time," the researcher points out. Heading for the North Atlantic waters The main feeding areas of this species are still unknown. During the breeding period, it finds food in areas located at distances of up to 500 kilometres from the colony, according to other studies. During the rest of the year, "everything indicates that, in the case of the population studied, it feeds mainly in the Atlantic, in a marine area that extends from the Canary Islands to the south of Iceland," the authors say. "The results contrast with the case of the Maltese storm petrel, which maintains its main wintering area in the central Mediterranean." Migratory species such as the European Storm petrel move periodically between distant areas to take better advantage of local resources or to find the most suitable habitat and climate at each stage of their life cycle. In the population this study analysed, breeding adults return to the breeding colony between February and April to rejoin their partner and prepare for breeding. Between August and December, individuals leave the colony and begin postnuptial migration in a highly variable manner. According to the collected geolocation data, the Atlantic Ocean would be the main wintering area for the European storm petrel that nests in the western Mediterranean. In particular, all the individuals that were tagged in 2018 and recaptured in 2019 wintered in the North Atlantic, a model that contrasts with the migratory pattern identified in the central Mediterranean. "The extrinsic and intrinsic factors that determine the different migration patterns of the European storm petrel are still not well understood. According to the first results of the study, some extrinsic factors, such as oceanic conditions, could favour the migration of the population studied towards the North Atlantic, which would then take advantage of the productive oceanic waters during the wintering period," says Raül Ramos. The natal and breeding population also determines the migration patterns of each individual. There are also other intrinsic factors that cannot be ignored: genetic predisposition, age, physical condition, gender, reproductive success, moulting status of feathers or physical condition, among others. That is why "we need more studies and data to understand the influence of all these factors on the migratory movements of the species," note the authors. Knowing the wintering areas in order to protect the species The paper published in the journal IBIS improves our knowledge of the ecology of these birds and their distribution during their life cycle. "Knowing the wintering areas of this species will help to identify the environmental variables that condition its distribution," say the authors. Studies such as this one are crucial to understand the overlap between the areas explored by marine fauna and anthropogenic threats in the marine environment. "On land, during the breeding season, the European storm petrel is threatened by the introduction of invasive predators, such as cats or rats, which prey on eggs, lice and adults, and by the destruction or modification of nesting habitats. In the open ocean, light pollution from ships or oil stations, climate change and extreme weather events such as cyclones or tornadoes also affect the survival of these small seabirds, which should be protected," the researchers conclude.