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In this edition: pinecone‑inspired shade elements, how oxygen loss and rising heat threaten the underwater world, and the effort to bring flamingos back to Kenya.
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00:06Flamingos often stand on one leg, can swim as well as fly, and like their water salty.
00:13There, they don't compete with fish for resources, only each other.
00:17More colourful birds are more aggressive.
00:20Fish are also more complex than they get credit for.
00:24Researchers have for instance discovered that some species can recognise humans and distinguish between us, at least when food is
00:32involved.
00:35This time around, nature and what we can learn from it. Welcome to Tomorrow Today.
00:45This facade is special. It has a layer of small elements that on hot days provide shade by folding in
00:53one direction.
00:53On cold days, however, they fold the other way to allow as much light as possible to pass through.
01:00The thin elements deform all on their own. No electricity, motors or batteries are involved.
01:07They're based on a clever design that evolved naturally.
01:10Pinecone scales were the inspiration for the architectural elements developed by biologist Thomas Speck.
01:17The basic idea comes from biology. We studied pinecones for a long time. They're little miracles of nature.
01:26When it's damp out, pinecones close. And when it turns dry and warm, their scales open up.
01:34So the cones react to humidity, opening in summer to disperse their seeds.
01:39The research team mimicked this ability to design a new shading system called SolarGate.
01:46When temperatures rise and humidity falls, their artificial scales deform to cast more shade.
01:53When it turns colder and the air grows more humid, the elements allow more light and warmth to pass through,
02:00heating the building.
02:04Our goal is really to make architecture greener, especially now in an era of climate change.
02:10To get away from existing energy-intensive facade shading systems, which are very prone to malfunction,
02:16and move towards very simple systems that are ideally energy neutral.
02:22The scales for the glass facade were produced by a 3D printer.
02:27The team has recreated the secret of the cones here, reproducing them with cellulose fibers.
02:34Their scales are made up of different layers.
02:37The bottom one swells when the humidity is high and tries to expand.
02:41The second remains stable, while the third holds everything together.
02:45The setup creates the tension that causes the artificial scales to deform.
02:51But what are the practical benefits of shading?
02:56The differences are noticeable, but also measurable, around 5 to 7 degrees.
03:02And the best thing is that you don't have to pump in any energy.
03:06It's completely self-sufficient, which is a huge advantage, because air conditioning consumes a lot of energy.
03:14Together with architect Achim Menges, Speck wants to make cooling greener by preventing buildings from heating up in the first
03:21place,
03:22with solutions that are as simple as possible.
03:27Nowadays it's all about precision, because chips and sensors have become so cheap.
03:32Designers just add another, thinking it will make things even better, but often it isn't necessary.
03:37In biology we pay service to the idea of good enough.
03:43Many solutions in biology are far from optimal.
03:46They're just good enough.
03:48But they're also extremely resilient, robust and cheap.
03:53The designers expect their elements to work and look good for 20 years.
04:00I very much prefer the smooth movement created by the humidity, a very harmonious movement,
04:06to a facade shading system that uses five motors to move up and down.
04:11So I take that into account too.
04:15Thomas Speck pursued his research into evergreen cones for over a decade at the botanical garden in the southern German
04:23city of Freiburg.
04:25Another promising design is the flecto-line shade system, installed on a greenhouse here.
04:30A similar system was showcased at South Korea's Expo exhibition in 2012.
04:36Since then, a research team at the University of Stuttgart has developed the technology further.
04:43The new system has been tested for two years. Visitors love it.
04:48They think it's great and find it really aesthetically pleasing.
04:52Here, too, the movement of the plants has been copied.
04:56The elements open and close in a smooth-running, very harmonious process.
05:02Nature also provided the inspiration for this design.
05:05It's based on the water wheel, a carnivorous aquatic plant that can close two leaves smoothly and efficiently.
05:13The researchers replicated this mechanism, powering their version with compressed air.
05:18The system consumes very little energy.
05:22What's needed is generated directly on sunny days in the integrated solar modules.
05:28Like the scale system, this design is currently undergoing long-term testing.
05:34The researcher says so far, we've done little more than brush the surface of nature's potential.
05:40The more I study these plants as models for technical applications, the more my respect for evolution and nature grows.
05:47They're all little miracles, and we're still light-years away from being able to replicate their quality, robustness and functionality.
05:58Developing techniques and systems based on evolved traits.
06:03Carnivorous plants, or evergreen cones, are just the beginning.
06:08There are countless other examples from nature that could one day inspire new technology.
06:17Marine animals also have a lot to teach us.
06:20Like boxfish, for example.
06:23They might look clunky, but their hydrodynamic forms have influenced car design.
06:28Then there are innovations like a protein that Arctic fish make to keep their blood from freezing in the cold.
06:34We copied it to do things like prevent ice crystals from forming an ice cream.
06:39There's so much more to learn from sea creatures.
06:42But many are under threat, not least because their home is warming up.
06:48Global warming is causing water temperatures to rise and altering how currents circulate in oceans.
06:55One change is that less oxygen is dissolving at the surface, which means less of the gas reaches the deep
07:02sea.
07:03That has far-reaching consequences for marine organisms.
07:06Scientists at Germany's primary center for ocean research are worried.
07:12They say that since 1960, oxygen levels in marine environments worldwide have fallen on average by more than 2%.
07:21Cold waters in the polar seas are rich in oxygen.
07:25Warmer waters in the tropics have less.
07:28So there are big regional differences.
07:30But what's not natural is the decrease in oxygen content we're seeing everywhere.
07:35It's falling in all the world's oceans and across all regions, wherever we measure it.
07:42And even more dramatic, a UN report says the number of so-called dead zones in the ocean has climbed
07:49significantly.
07:50These are areas where oxygen levels are so low that plants and animals can no longer survive there.
07:58Every day we lose large areas of fish habitat.
08:03Every time I fill up the tank in my car and then convert that gasoline into CO2 by burning it,
08:11we lose an area of habitat for fish that's roughly the size of a three-room apartment.
08:19So marine habitats are changing and how we react is about more than protecting the environment.
08:26It's also about ensuring food security.
08:29Globally, around three billion people fill 20% of their protein requirements with fish.
08:36Not just the oceans are affected.
08:39Freshwater bodies are as well, for similar reasons.
08:43Here at Lake Stächlin, north of the German capital Berlin, the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries runs
08:51a research station and lab.
08:57We have long-term records for Lake Stächlin, dating back 60 years.
09:02And our data shows that, especially in the last 10 to 20 years, water temperatures here have risen significantly.
09:10At the same time, the lake's stratification pattern has changed considerably.
09:19The water in the lake used to mix in two stages.
09:23Like in the ocean, oxygen-rich water from the surface was transported into the depths.
09:29However, higher temperatures have disrupted the mechanism.
09:32When oxygen levels fell, phosphorus dissolved in the sediment on the lake bed was released, and it acted as a
09:40fertilizer that encouraged algae growth.
09:43Eventually, that algae died, sank to the bottom, and was broken down by bacteria that consumed what little oxygen was
09:50left, a vicious circle.
09:54In global terms, whether in America, Asia, or Africa, we're seeing that oxygen at depth is dropping.
10:04The scientists here can access data from an international network of over 650 lakes all over the world.
10:12And measurements show that oxygen depletion seems to be happening everywhere.
10:17The consequences are similar to those seen in the oceans.
10:23You can actually talk about the spread of dead zones.
10:27More complex organisms can't survive without oxygen.
10:32In the last few decades, dead zones the size of Europe have appeared in the world's oceans.
10:38And they're spreading, as shown here in red.
10:41Warming waters are an issue compounded by growing amounts of nutrients from agriculture in coastal waters.
10:48Like in lakes, they fertilize algae, which eventually dies, sinks, and is decomposed.
10:54This not only consumes oxygen, but also produces climate-damaging methane.
11:02Most of the methane devolved in lakes is actually converted again by microbes in a process called methane oxidation.
11:10That means reduced methane is eventually oxidized to CO2.
11:15Carbon dioxide is also a greenhouse gas, of course, but it doesn't affect climate as much as methane.
11:22Methane is 28 times more potent.
11:26But in the oceans, large quantities of nitrous oxide and methane accumulate in dead zones.
11:34At the surface, those gases are then released into the atmosphere.
11:38We're concerned that we might be dealing with a positive feedback loop.
11:44Warming, initially a major cause of oxygen depletion, could be further exacerbated by the production of greenhouse gases.
11:52Nitrous oxide first, then later methane, which enter the atmosphere and drive further warming.
12:00The loss of oxygen could therefore contribute to a climate tipping point, one researchers believe will cause long-term negative
12:08effects.
12:11Even if there were no further warming, oxygen depletion would continue for hundreds of years,
12:17because we've already set a lot of processes in motion that are already taking place in the pipeline,
12:23in the slow circulation of the ocean.
12:26And over the next few hundred years, that will lead to a further decline in oxygen levels,
12:32especially in the deep sea.
12:35It won't be easy to halt.
12:38Oxygen depletion has been observed in oceans and lakes all over the world.
12:45Oxygen depletion poses a huge threat to marine organisms,
12:49as well as underwater noise, pollution, and our insatiable appetite for fish.
12:55But what about other dangers?
12:57A viewer from Indonesia sent in this question.
13:01What happens to fish when lightning strikes the water they live in?
13:07Ever been swimming when a thunderstorm rolls in?
13:11Dangerous place to be.
13:13Get to shore as fast as possible, and away from the water's edge.
13:18The same goes if you're in a boat.
13:21That's because they're usually the tallest things out on a body of water's surface,
13:26making them more likely to get hit by lightning.
13:31And as everyone knows, that can have deadly consequences.
13:40But what about all the fish?
13:42Why aren't they electrocuted when lightning hits the water they're in?
13:47Well, some might be, but most aren't affected.
13:50Here's what happens.
13:53Before a thunderstorm, clouds develop areas of positive and negative charge,
13:58with a negative charge building up in its lower regions.
14:01That induces a positive charge on the surface of the ground or water below.
14:06When the difference between the charge in the cloud and water grows too great,
14:11a discharge happens suddenly and violently.
14:14Lightning.
14:15But the energy from this discharge flows mostly along the water's surface.
14:20Because ions in the water make it a good conductor,
14:23the current disperses easily by spreading out.
14:26It doesn't penetrate very far below the surface.
14:29Anything swimming more than a meter or two down won't feel it.
14:36So when lightning strikes a body of water,
14:39any fish really close to the surface directly beneath might be injured or killed.
14:44But most aren't in any danger, even from the worst of thunderstorms.
14:52What are stars made of?
14:55How many colours can butterflies see?
14:58Could robots have babies one day?
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15:11So, just ask.
15:17So, lightning is no problem.
15:20But how do fish react when the water temperature around them rises?
15:24Well, it affects reproduction because more of their larvae die than usual.
15:29And foraging behaviours also change under heat stress.
15:33Many fish get less choosy and are content with food that provides less energy,
15:38even though they actually need more energy than usual.
15:41And warmer waters impact aquatic ecosystems in other ways as well.
15:47Just under the surface of Lake Constance in Switzerland on a day in June,
15:53these European perch swim in water that's over 23 degrees Celsius,
15:58far warmer than usual.
16:00The average in June for this day is 19.6 degrees.
16:04But sunny, hot weather has made the lake unseasonally warm
16:08and meteorologists say the hot spell isn't the only reason for high water temperatures.
16:15June has been really warm, the hottest June we've had since 2023.
16:19We've also had an extraordinary amount of sunshine, which has really heated up surfaces.
16:24And what's unusual this year is that there's virtually no snow melt left.
16:28The snow already disappeared in spring, so we're missing the cooling effect we'd normally still have in June.
16:37So what happens when temperatures climb this high?
16:41Here at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science,
16:45these research ponds have also grown warmer than lead scientist Christoph Vorburger expected.
16:51The heat is disturbing aquatic ecosystems.
16:58When it's this hot, the surface water becomes too warm for fish.
17:03They can't escape it because the cold, deep water in nutrient-rich lakes doesn't have enough oxygen,
17:09and the two layers don't mix.
17:11Warm water species are now growing more common, while cold water species are declining.
17:17And it's not just happening in lakes.
17:19Rivers are also warming up, especially those flowing out from lakes.
17:23Species like trout or grayling are under significant stress,
17:28and prolonged exposure to high temperatures can even kill them.
17:34Catfish, on the other hand, thrive in warmer water and can reproduce more successfully.
17:40But the so-called heat cap has other consequences as well.
17:44In anaerobic conditions, so oxygen-depleted waters,
17:48phosphorus can be released from the sediment,
17:50the same phosphorus we try to remove in sewage treatment plants.
17:56Phosphorus promotes the growth of blue-green algae,
17:59bacteria that produce toxins.
18:01Warm conditions accelerate their development even further.
18:05Water quality is monitored all year round, not just in summer.
18:09E. coli bacteria are of particular concern.
18:13But despite the heat wave, they're not posing a threat.
18:18On one hand, warm water temperatures encourage bacterial growth.
18:22But our experience shows that strong sunlight also kills bacteria in the top layers.
18:28So the water quality remains good.
18:33Despite the heat, the bacteria levels have been given the all clear.
18:38But what are called duck fleas, a parasitic worm larvae, can still be common.
18:43So swimmers should avoid areas with large flocks of water birds
18:47and be sure to shower properly after swimming.
18:54Flamingos are pink, but they aren't born that way.
18:57The chicks start life a light grey colour.
18:59But then they begin eating tiny organisms that contain naturally occurring pigments.
19:04These eventually turn the birds feathers their typical rosy colour.
19:08Their impressive beaks are filters for providing a pretty specialised diet.
19:13And in the wild, they congregate in huge flocks.
19:16But finding enough food isn't easy in a changing environment.
19:24Flamingos as far as the eye can see.
19:27A pink carpet of birds that's simultaneously a classic postcard motif
19:32and symbol of East Africa's salt lakes.
19:36The flocks are a big tourist draw in Kenya that ranger James Kimaru takes pride in.
19:43Lake Bogoria is hosting almost half of the world population of the flamingos.
19:47Flamingos is one of the main tourism attractions in this destination.
19:52But the fragile ecosystem here is teetering on the edge.
19:57In the past decade, Kenya's population of lesser flamingos has declined by a third.
20:03Ornithologist Timothy Muinami is investigating the reasons for the decline at Lake Bogoria,
20:08one of Kenya's five salt lakes.
20:12Muinami measures its turbidity to determine the density of the algae
20:16that plays a key role in the birds' diet.
20:19We used to see a complete pink show when you go and say you want to see
20:25or you want to view flamingos.
20:27But right now, it's tens of thousands.
20:31You rarely meet hundreds of thousands, the way it used to be.
20:37Protein-rich spirulina algae are the most important food source for lesser flamingos.
20:43The carotenoid pigments they contain give the birds their characteristic pink color.
20:49But humans and climate change are altering the ecosystem.
20:53Water levels in the salt lakes are rising, while salinity is falling, along with amounts of spirulina.
21:00In the past, massive blooms occurred here every four to five years.
21:06But now, layers of dead algae often coat the water's surface.
21:11If nothing is going to be done in the next few years, the flock of flamingos is no longer to
21:19be the same,
21:20what we used to say, pink carpet.
21:22There will be disintegration of small population here and there, struggling to adopt and survive on the riftable lakes.
21:31Lake Nakuru is located in the middle of a national park home to water buffalo, zebras, rhinos, lions, giraffes, and
21:42hundreds of species of waterfowl.
21:45But in the last few years, water levels in the lake have risen dramatically in the wake of increasingly heavy
21:52rainfall and extreme weather conditions.
21:55And humans are also having a more direct impact.
21:59Surrounding forests that once served as natural reservoirs have been cleared for farmland.
22:04And as settlements spread, more wastewater flows into the lake.
22:09Right here, we are at the former main gate to Lake Nakuru National Park.
22:15It's right there.
22:17Since the year 2011, the water level has been rising significantly from a depth of about just four meters to
22:24the current depth of 11 meters.
22:26All this area was heavily forested with this yellow-backed acacia.
22:31But they have now all dried up because the lake is sally.
22:36Humans have substantially altered the water quality of the lake.
22:41Sewage, garbage, and sediment from surrounding cities flow into it.
22:46A sewage treatment plant is now just meters from the lake's expanding shoreline.
22:51And Jackson Rainey fears it could soon be inundated.
22:55He's calling for policymakers to take action to preserve Lake Nakuru's extraordinary biodiversity.
23:02So we have a lot of work to do to conserve the forest upstream.
23:06We have a lot of work to do to control soil erosion, to control runoff from the farms, runoff from
23:14the cities.
23:15We have a lot of work to do to control degradation of the ecosystem so that the lake is suitable
23:24and ideal for the flamingos, as well as the biodiversity that the lake supports.
23:30Kenya's Institute of Wildlife Research is taking things a step further.
23:35To lure the flamingos back to Nakuru, Jared Lumbasi wants to cultivate large quantities of algae for use as feed
23:43for the birds in the lake.
23:44We either enhance the pH of Lake Nakuru, or we provide food for Lake Nakuru.
23:52Enhancing the pH means buying salt to change the pH of the lake, and that will be extremely expensive.
23:59So without production of spirulina outside the lake and reintroduction into the lake will be cheaper for us.
24:07In the lab, the biologist has examined different strains of spirulina found in Kenya's salt lakes.
24:14The first step is to find types that are both robust and fast-growing.
24:20We have actually identified a spirulina strain that is very good for propagation, and that is from Lake Simpi, which
24:28is so good.
24:29And then it's followed by spirulina from Lake Alimentaida.
24:33So the two strains are very good. They grow rapidly, and they must produce.
24:41Once the basins and greenhouses are in place, the researchers want to start growing and harvesting algae once a week.
24:49But there are many open questions.
24:52A big one is whether the cultured algae will survive in the lake.
24:56Another is whether the flamingos will actually return to Nakuru.
25:00The scientists hope to strike a balance in the lake, with enough of their favored food to keep the birds
25:07from disappearing.
25:09Ornithologist Timothy Muinami, however, is skeptical.
25:12The reason why I say this is no project that can be successful is because we've not turned with what
25:22is killing the natural food on its natural lakes.
25:26But we want to introduce more food that will be killed with the same, same factors.
25:31He thinks that preserving the fascination of the flamingos will require minimizing human influence, sewage and sediment,
25:41and stabilizing the ecosystem.
25:47Time to wrap things up.
25:49Thanks for watching, and see you again next time on Tomorrow Today.
25:54Bye for now.
25:55Bye for now.
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