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Lakes are living creatures.
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These precious reserves
of water live and die
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according to distinct natural cycles.
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Their peaceful waters seem dormant,
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yet they teem with mysterious life.
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Lakes only reveal themselves
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to the men and women who take time
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to patiently linger beside their shores.
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Together, we are going to
discover their secrets.
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By the Atlantic ocean
coast in northeast Brazil
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is a huge expanse of sand dunes,
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peppered with a string of lakes.
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A place of breathtaking beauty,
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the Lencois Maranhenses.
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Paradoxically, this desert gets
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more rain every year than Scotland.
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Thousands of freshwater lakes then form
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in the hollows of the dunes,
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turning the white desert
into one huge tropical beach.
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This water makes it possible
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for some rare but tenacious creatures,
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human beings, too,
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to survive in this extreme environment.
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But the wet season is only one part
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of the life cycle of
the Lencois Maranhenses.
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The water disappears almost as quickly
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as it appears.
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During the dry season,
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the sand becomes, once again, dominant.
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The Lencois Maranhenses are the product
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of a unique combination
of water, sand, and wind,
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creating a mysterious ecosystem
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with many secrets still to be revealed.
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It's an astonishing landscape
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of magnificent nature.
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It would be a perfect laboratory
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for any biologist,
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but for me, it's more than that.
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This is my land.
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I was born here.
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I love this place,
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I love the people that live here.
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I would say that a type of the ecosystem
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is quite special as well.
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It's unique, we cannot
find something like this
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in the world.
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Located near the equator,
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in Maranhao state,
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the dunes that form Lencois
Maranhenses National Park
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cover a surface area of over
1,500 square kilometers.
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Lencois Maranhenses is Portuguese for
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"linen of Maranhao."
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And it's true that these
dunes of white sand,
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stretching as far as the eye can see,
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do look like a sheet,
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negligently thrown over an immense bed
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the size of the landscape.
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It is now May, the end
of the rainy season,
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and water is the dominant feature.
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15 years ago, while he was
working on his doctorate,
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Jivanildo Miranda spent over a year
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camping among the dunes.
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This Brazilian biologist
and reptile expert
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wrote the first in-depth
study of the fauna
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of the Lencois Maranhenses.
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The scientist has done
truly pioneering work,
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devoting his life to the study
of this little understood
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but fascinating region.
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Since then, the poor student has become
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a respected academic, more than happy
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to guide his students
barefoot through the dunes
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and share his passion
for this magical place.
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For Royana and Ramazio,
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every day spent in Jivanildo's company
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is yet another unique chance to improve
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their understanding of this
little-known ecosystem.
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We are in the very heart of
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a huge transition of biomes in Brazil.
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We are in the transition
of the Amazon forest,
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Cerrado, which is a
savanna-like vegetation,
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00:05:00,884 --> 00:05:04,864
and Caatinga, a type of arid biome
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that you have here in Brazil, and
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this is why, here in this spot,
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have a mix of species
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from those different type of biomes,
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and those make it very, very special,
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very particular, and
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besides, we have an additional
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transition, that is the transition from
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this sea to the inland,
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under strong influence
of Cerrado vegetation.
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Apparently, this land could look
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like a dead land.
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No life around here,
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only dead logs.
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But if you look carefully,
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you're going to have amazing surprise,
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there are a lot of life
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hidden in this area.
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This area we have two species of lizard
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that can be found,
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it's one lizard, the Cnemidophorus genus,
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it's a lizard that's adapted to dig holes,
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and then it can thermoregulate
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when it's too hot for them.
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They can just show here,
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this Tropidurus,
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it's a lizard that's not able
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for this digging stuff, but
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its able to hidden and
control its temperature
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just looking for some shelters,
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and the logs and little piece of materials
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that are around the park.
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There are a lot of life, as well.
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We have a turtle that,
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probably it's active now,
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because it's active only
during the rain season,
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and we have also tadpoles of many frogs
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that reproduce in this
type of environment,
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and you have fish.
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Despite
the presence of water,
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vegetation is still rare among the dunes.
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It's sand which predominates.
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Yet Jivanildo knows that life,
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albeit on a small scale
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and with a fragile hold,
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does hide in and around these lakes.
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- There are a lot of mystery,
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because most species are poorly studied,
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and I'm pretty sure
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that as we increase our
knowledge about them,
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we are going to find out
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amazing and very interesting
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stories to tell.
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The scientist's research
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has brought to light an
unexpected particularity
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about this mostly mineral environment:
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the presence of a large
number of aquatic creatures.
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Pleurodema diplolister,
a small frog no bigger
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than a fingernail, has
particularly caught his attention.
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It takes a real expert to
spot this minuscule amphibian
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in its natural environment.
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It divides its time between the sand,
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into which it burrows in
order to protect itself
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from the heat, and the lakes,
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where it finds its food.
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But these tiny Batrachians rarely venture
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into deep water in this season,
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because one of their main predators
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will most likely be found there, hunting.
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Rare and protected, the peninga
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is a turtle with an insatiable appetite.
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The biologist knows that
during the wet season,
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the turtle spends most
of its day underwater,
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hunting down its prey.
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Its diet consists mostly of small fish,
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insect larvae, and tadpoles.
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It is constantly hunting for food,
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because it must store the
maximum amount of energy
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and then reproduce before
the water is all gone.
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The scientist has noticed
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that a lot of the denizens
of these temporary lakes
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live a speeded up life,
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having only a few months
in which to accomplish
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their biological life cycle.
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Jivanildo Miranda knows
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that the least of them
is as important a part
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of the ecosystem as any other.
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He considers even the
most minuscule creature
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of this environment worthy of study.
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Late in the afternoon,
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when the sun's rays are less fierce,
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the peninga changes lakes,
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in search of new prey.
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At the center of the national park
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is an oasis of greenery
surrounded by dunes,
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which the inhabitants call an island,
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Queimada dos Britos.
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It's the only place in
this part of the desert
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which offers a little shade,
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so it's here that the
professor and his students
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have decided to bed down for the night.
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But to get there, they must first cross
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the Rio Negro, the park's
only permanent river.
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Without it, there would
be no oasis or village
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at the heart of the dunes.
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Visitors are rare here,
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but always given a warm welcome.
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- Hello, Raymundo, how are you?
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Very well, thanks.
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- Do you remember me?
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Of course I do.
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- You know who I am?
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- The frog catcher.
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These are my
students, Royana and Ramazio.
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Pleased to meet you.
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- Raymundo, do you have somewhere
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we can put the horses?
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- Yes, just behind.
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- Thanks, see ya in a bit.
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00:11:40,525 --> 00:11:42,925
Raymundo is
the patriarch of the village.
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His grandfather, Zebrito,
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was the first person
to settle in this place
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almost 100 years ago.
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At the time, his native
region to the east of Maranhao
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was suffering a terrible drought.
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So the nomadic fisherman
traveled up the coast by boat,
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until he discovered the
mouth of the Rio Negro.
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Amazed to find so much fresh water
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surging out of the desert,
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he worked his way upstream,
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discovered this oasis,
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and decided to settle here.
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Zebrito and his family
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were the very first inhabitants
of the Lencois Maranhenses.
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00:12:20,081 --> 00:12:22,541
And thus was born Queimada dos Britos,
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the hamlet named after the family.
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00:12:31,640 --> 00:12:34,370
- What has changed the
most, in your opinion?
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- The dunes,
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00:12:38,161 --> 00:12:40,511
which are encroaching on us more and more.
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00:12:42,619 --> 00:12:43,999
- Have they buried homes?
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- Yes, mine, my first house,
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the dunes took it from me.
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00:12:47,617 --> 00:12:50,757
- So the dunes are encroaching
more than they used to?
225
00:12:50,757 --> 00:12:52,137
- That's right.
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00:12:52,138 --> 00:12:53,778
- Because it rains less?
227
00:12:53,778 --> 00:12:55,898
- Yes, less and less.
228
00:12:55,897 --> 00:12:57,917
- But it's rained a lot
this year, hasn't it?
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00:12:57,918 --> 00:12:59,858
- Yes, it's rained, thank god.
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00:12:59,858 --> 00:13:02,118
- Raymundo, has the work
that the people do here
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changed, too?
232
00:13:03,677 --> 00:13:06,217
- There's more livestock farming.
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00:13:07,258 --> 00:13:08,908
- Twice what there used to be?
234
00:13:09,855 --> 00:13:12,395
- Yes, there's more than twice as much.
235
00:13:13,953 --> 00:13:15,613
We've had to stop growing crops
236
00:13:15,614 --> 00:13:17,464
because of the dunes.
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00:13:18,313 --> 00:13:20,173
We advise people not to grow crops,
238
00:13:20,173 --> 00:13:22,743
in order to slow down the dunes' advance.
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00:13:23,871 --> 00:13:24,951
- I see.
240
00:13:24,951 --> 00:13:26,511
You are trying to hold back the constant
241
00:13:26,511 --> 00:13:27,911
encroachment of the dunes.
242
00:13:27,909 --> 00:13:29,459
- That's right.
243
00:13:32,549 --> 00:13:34,369
Crop
farming and livestock are,
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00:13:34,369 --> 00:13:36,309
in theory, forbidden in the park,
245
00:13:36,310 --> 00:13:38,830
because they destroy
the fragile vegetation
246
00:13:38,829 --> 00:13:40,699
which keeps the dunes steady.
247
00:13:41,569 --> 00:13:43,569
Yet the authorities
show a certain amount of
248
00:13:43,568 --> 00:13:45,428
tolerance for these activities,
249
00:13:45,430 --> 00:13:47,130
because they have neither the means
250
00:13:47,130 --> 00:13:49,590
nor the will to rehouse families
251
00:13:49,588 --> 00:13:51,878
which have lived in the
park for generations.
252
00:13:58,109 --> 00:14:00,549
The year Jivanildo spent studying the park
253
00:14:00,548 --> 00:14:02,668
taught him that a large part of its fauna
254
00:14:02,667 --> 00:14:04,717
can only be observed at night.
255
00:14:06,428 --> 00:14:08,628
But nocturnal hunting has its dangers.
256
00:14:08,626 --> 00:14:11,706
Although rare, a few
poisonous snakes and spiders
257
00:14:11,707 --> 00:14:13,677
live in these bushes.
258
00:14:14,225 --> 00:14:15,725
To carry out
259
00:14:15,727 --> 00:14:17,647
fieldwork during the night,
260
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it's really important for me,
261
00:14:19,726 --> 00:14:23,226
otherwise we are not going to be able
262
00:14:23,225 --> 00:14:27,285
to record all the species
that live in this park,
263
00:14:27,286 --> 00:14:30,726
because many of them
264
00:14:30,725 --> 00:14:33,245
are reactive only during the night.
265
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This is a Kuru toad,
266
00:14:43,444 --> 00:14:45,844
native to the Lencois Maranhenses.
267
00:14:48,405 --> 00:14:50,635
It has venom glands on its rear limbs,
268
00:14:50,644 --> 00:14:52,204
and by its cloaca,
269
00:14:52,204 --> 00:14:54,274
so its skin is toxic.
270
00:14:55,544 --> 00:14:58,384
It's a close relative of Rhinella marina,
271
00:14:58,384 --> 00:15:00,204
an invasive species of toad
272
00:15:00,203 --> 00:15:02,813
which has caused lots of
problems in Australia.
273
00:15:03,563 --> 00:15:06,083
It's a common toad in
the Lencois Maranhenses,
274
00:15:06,084 --> 00:15:09,124
found in the restingas,
among the trees and shrubs,
275
00:15:09,123 --> 00:15:10,643
as well as in the dunes.
276
00:15:10,641 --> 00:15:12,801
You have to look very closely to see it,
277
00:15:12,802 --> 00:15:14,322
because of its coloration.
278
00:15:14,319 --> 00:15:17,289
It's perfectly camouflaged
for this kind of environment.
279
00:15:30,740 --> 00:15:32,040
Go that way.
280
00:15:32,039 --> 00:15:33,399
Be careful, it's very quick.
281
00:15:33,396 --> 00:15:34,906
It'll try and get away.
282
00:15:37,978 --> 00:15:39,918
Take care not to harm the vegetation.
283
00:15:40,887 --> 00:15:43,037
It's not poisonous, but it's very quick.
284
00:15:48,356 --> 00:15:51,046
This is a Thamnodynastes hypoconia,
285
00:15:51,054 --> 00:15:54,154
one of the most common snakes in the park.
286
00:15:55,415 --> 00:15:57,225
People are very frightened
of this species,
287
00:15:57,234 --> 00:15:59,624
because of its aggressive behavior.
288
00:16:00,334 --> 00:16:02,414
It acts in a very threatening way,
289
00:16:02,414 --> 00:16:03,694
darting with its head
290
00:16:03,694 --> 00:16:05,164
and trying to bite.
291
00:16:06,575 --> 00:16:08,815
This makes it appear really dangerous.
292
00:16:09,854 --> 00:16:11,154
It has vertical pupils,
293
00:16:11,154 --> 00:16:12,994
because it's a nocturnal creature.
294
00:16:16,473 --> 00:16:18,193
It's also a very interesting snake
295
00:16:18,193 --> 00:16:20,233
because it's a viviparous species,
296
00:16:20,233 --> 00:16:21,833
meaning that it doesn't lay eggs,
297
00:16:21,834 --> 00:16:24,044
but gives birth to live young.
298
00:16:25,693 --> 00:16:28,213
The local name for it is "goipeba,"
299
00:16:28,213 --> 00:16:30,143
and people are really frightened of it.
300
00:16:31,432 --> 00:16:33,792
They think it's deadly poisonous,
301
00:16:33,792 --> 00:16:35,642
but that simply isn't so.
302
00:16:48,371 --> 00:16:50,391
This morning,
Jivanildo and his students
303
00:16:50,391 --> 00:16:51,911
are moving on again,
304
00:16:51,911 --> 00:16:54,271
this time to the hamlet of Santo Amaro,
305
00:16:54,272 --> 00:16:56,552
located on the western edge of the park.
306
00:16:56,550 --> 00:16:59,020
It's a good five hour walk away.
307
00:17:00,510 --> 00:17:03,230
In the dry and extremely
loose sand of this desert,
308
00:17:03,230 --> 00:17:05,260
making headway is difficult.
309
00:17:06,711 --> 00:17:08,991
The dunes of the Lencois Maranhenses
310
00:17:08,989 --> 00:17:11,209
consist of a fine white sand,
311
00:17:11,210 --> 00:17:14,220
originating in the mountains
to the south of the park.
312
00:17:15,649 --> 00:17:17,829
For hundreds and thousands of years,
313
00:17:17,829 --> 00:17:19,589
the major rivers of Maranhao
314
00:17:19,589 --> 00:17:22,489
have torn off pieces of
the continent's rock,
315
00:17:22,489 --> 00:17:25,019
sweeping it into the Atlantic ocean.
316
00:17:25,870 --> 00:17:28,050
On their long river journey to the sea,
317
00:17:28,050 --> 00:17:30,450
these mineral fragments
are gradually ground down
318
00:17:30,449 --> 00:17:33,099
into particles as fine as dust.
319
00:17:36,589 --> 00:17:39,909
It's these tiny grains of
naturally polished quartz,
320
00:17:39,909 --> 00:17:41,929
as transparent as glass,
321
00:17:41,929 --> 00:17:45,219
that make the Lencois
Maranhenses sand so white.
322
00:17:46,088 --> 00:17:48,858
The sand is also exceptionally fine.
323
00:17:57,228 --> 00:17:59,448
Blown from the shore by the wind,
324
00:17:59,449 --> 00:18:02,529
the sand has accumulated over
this coastal area of Maranhao
325
00:18:02,529 --> 00:18:04,039
for millennia.
326
00:18:06,128 --> 00:18:08,208
On a geological time scale,
327
00:18:08,207 --> 00:18:11,817
the Lencois Maranhenses are
a relatively young landscape.
328
00:18:12,847 --> 00:18:14,487
Most of the sand of these dunes
329
00:18:14,489 --> 00:18:16,799
has only been here a few thousand years.
330
00:18:24,627 --> 00:18:27,807
Another remarkable feature
of the Lencois Maranhenses
331
00:18:27,805 --> 00:18:30,015
is that water is omnipresent here.
332
00:18:30,024 --> 00:18:31,764
Not only in the lakes,
333
00:18:31,762 --> 00:18:33,732
but also under the ground.
334
00:18:35,203 --> 00:18:37,583
Under the basins in the
hollows of the dunes,
335
00:18:37,583 --> 00:18:39,423
the groundwater can be reached at a depth
336
00:18:39,423 --> 00:18:42,033
of only 10 or 20 centimeters.
337
00:18:48,562 --> 00:18:50,802
People used to
drink the water in the lakes.
338
00:18:50,802 --> 00:18:53,162
But now, with cattle in the park,
339
00:18:53,161 --> 00:18:55,911
the water isn't as clean as it used to be.
340
00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:00,270
There. That's water naturally
filtered by the sand.
341
00:19:03,040 --> 00:19:06,790
- So, the groundwater isn't
very deep down at all?
342
00:19:07,500 --> 00:19:10,110
You just have to dig a
little hole to get at it?
343
00:19:13,461 --> 00:19:16,141
- All the water in the Lencois Maranhenses
344
00:19:16,140 --> 00:19:19,040
comes from the Inter
Tropical Convergence Zone,
345
00:19:19,039 --> 00:19:20,549
near the equator.
346
00:19:21,757 --> 00:19:23,197
That's where the clouds come from
347
00:19:23,198 --> 00:19:24,888
that bring the rain here.
348
00:19:26,618 --> 00:19:29,398
The northern Maranhao
region, where we are now,
349
00:19:29,397 --> 00:19:30,957
is very sandy,
350
00:19:30,956 --> 00:19:34,486
and the groundwater is
at a very shallow depth.
351
00:19:37,557 --> 00:19:40,217
The water accumulates between the dunes,
352
00:19:40,217 --> 00:19:42,607
and causes all these lakes to appear.
353
00:19:44,536 --> 00:19:48,236
In fact, you could think of
it more as one huge lake,
354
00:19:48,237 --> 00:19:50,597
formed by many smaller lake-lets,
355
00:19:50,596 --> 00:19:52,786
all of them interconnected.
356
00:20:01,797 --> 00:20:03,857
Built near one
of the Lencois Maranhenses's
357
00:20:03,857 --> 00:20:05,977
few permanent lakes,
358
00:20:05,976 --> 00:20:07,856
the houses of Santo Amaro are protected
359
00:20:07,857 --> 00:20:10,497
from the sun and the
encroachment of the dunes
360
00:20:10,495 --> 00:20:13,975
by the restinga, a thick
tangle of thorny bushes
361
00:20:13,976 --> 00:20:17,626
whose deep roots give some
stability to the sand.
362
00:20:30,134 --> 00:20:31,784
During the wet season,
363
00:20:31,775 --> 00:20:34,915
the hamlet's inhabitants spend
much of their time fishing.
364
00:20:36,275 --> 00:20:38,935
In their nets, they catch
considerable quantities of
365
00:20:38,935 --> 00:20:42,375
traiarao, cara bicuda, and jacunda,
366
00:20:42,375 --> 00:20:44,665
the lake's most common fish species.
367
00:20:47,755 --> 00:20:49,745
In a region as poor as this,
368
00:20:49,754 --> 00:20:51,934
having such a readily
available food source
369
00:20:51,934 --> 00:20:53,904
is a real godsend.
370
00:21:03,215 --> 00:21:05,355
- Whether it's winter or summer, we fish.
371
00:21:06,314 --> 00:21:08,114
During the dry season,
the water level drops,
372
00:21:08,114 --> 00:21:10,024
and it gets harder to catch the fish.
373
00:21:12,874 --> 00:21:15,234
That is why the people here
don't live only on fish.
374
00:21:15,234 --> 00:21:16,554
They have to work on their farms
375
00:21:16,553 --> 00:21:18,543
and do other little jobs to survive.
376
00:21:20,653 --> 00:21:22,893
But in spite of all that,
people love the life here.
377
00:21:22,893 --> 00:21:24,693
They wouldn't leave for
anything in the world.
378
00:21:24,691 --> 00:21:26,601
And the same goes for me.
379
00:21:28,370 --> 00:21:30,490
Even those who leave end up coming back,
380
00:21:30,492 --> 00:21:31,992
because they miss it so much.
381
00:21:31,991 --> 00:21:34,161
They can't bear to live anywhere but here.
382
00:21:37,503 --> 00:21:39,583
Despite the
fish, the main activity
383
00:21:39,582 --> 00:21:42,182
of many Lencois Maranhenses inhabitants
384
00:21:42,181 --> 00:21:44,271
is the rearing of livestock.
385
00:21:44,881 --> 00:21:46,161
During the wet season,
386
00:21:46,162 --> 00:21:48,582
most of the herds roam
free among the dunes,
387
00:21:48,582 --> 00:21:51,612
picking at the rare bits of
vegetation they can find.
388
00:22:12,271 --> 00:22:14,561
- Hello!
- Hello.
389
00:22:15,834 --> 00:22:17,924
- How are you?
- Fine.
390
00:22:19,229 --> 00:22:20,589
How are the goats doing?
391
00:22:20,589 --> 00:22:22,299
Okay.
392
00:22:23,269 --> 00:22:24,769
Do they get sick a lot?
393
00:22:24,769 --> 00:22:26,149
Yes, quite a lot.
394
00:22:26,149 --> 00:22:28,209
What sort of things?
395
00:22:28,209 --> 00:22:30,939
- A cough, like a sort of pneumonia.
396
00:22:32,128 --> 00:22:34,668
They also get a problem with
their feet from the rain.
397
00:22:34,666 --> 00:22:36,576
It rots their hooves.
398
00:22:38,106 --> 00:22:39,846
Have you lost many?
399
00:22:41,106 --> 00:22:43,116
- Yes, especially in February,
400
00:22:43,124 --> 00:22:45,994
during the rainy season,
we lose a lot of goats.
401
00:22:48,764 --> 00:22:50,344
They get swollen bellies,
402
00:22:50,344 --> 00:22:52,514
and we have to give them sugar water,
403
00:22:52,505 --> 00:22:54,675
a remedy which helps them a little.
404
00:22:57,984 --> 00:23:00,014
We deal with it the best we can.
405
00:23:03,364 --> 00:23:06,344
- They have a very,
very simple way of life.
406
00:23:06,344 --> 00:23:08,754
They are tough people.
407
00:23:09,502 --> 00:23:11,702
They work a lot, they work all the time,
408
00:23:11,702 --> 00:23:14,892
they fish, they raise those animals,
409
00:23:16,582 --> 00:23:20,772
it's a very, very old way of living.
410
00:23:21,501 --> 00:23:24,351
And they live in a very difficult area.
411
00:23:25,201 --> 00:23:27,741
And they have to work hard to provide
412
00:23:27,741 --> 00:23:29,581
food for the families.
413
00:23:29,578 --> 00:23:32,238
I met them by chance, I was
414
00:23:32,239 --> 00:23:34,639
walking around this area,
415
00:23:34,637 --> 00:23:38,537
and decided to knock the door one day,
416
00:23:38,536 --> 00:23:41,926
and then introduced myself and explained
417
00:23:43,385 --> 00:23:46,645
what I was trying to do around this park,
418
00:23:46,653 --> 00:23:48,033
and they were very friendly,
419
00:23:48,032 --> 00:23:49,872
they are a very friendly people,
420
00:23:49,873 --> 00:23:51,833
and they helped me a lot.
421
00:23:51,831 --> 00:23:54,891
At the time it was also nice
422
00:23:54,890 --> 00:23:58,590
for me, psychologically,
to have this contact
423
00:23:58,590 --> 00:24:01,630
to these people, because I spent many days
424
00:24:01,630 --> 00:24:04,170
in the field and sometimes it was hard,
425
00:24:04,169 --> 00:24:07,169
and today, for me, they
are like my family.
426
00:24:07,169 --> 00:24:09,209
I really appreciate when I have the chance
427
00:24:09,210 --> 00:24:11,530
to come back and talk to them.
428
00:24:11,528 --> 00:24:13,378
It's very nice people.
429
00:24:15,588 --> 00:24:18,348
- It's funny, everyone
thinks you're a local.
430
00:24:19,427 --> 00:24:21,027
- Yes, I feel at home with you.
431
00:24:27,087 --> 00:24:29,747
As a scientist,
Jivanildo understands
432
00:24:29,746 --> 00:24:31,726
that the livestock have a negative impact
433
00:24:31,725 --> 00:24:33,875
on the park and its vegetation.
434
00:24:34,426 --> 00:24:36,946
But as a child of Maranhao, he also knows
435
00:24:36,947 --> 00:24:39,327
that the inhabitants
of Lencois Maranhenses
436
00:24:39,325 --> 00:24:41,835
depend on their herds in order to survive.
437
00:24:44,345 --> 00:24:46,425
For a long time now he's
been fighting a campaign
438
00:24:46,425 --> 00:24:48,605
for the park's environmental policy
439
00:24:48,606 --> 00:24:51,276
to take the human factor
into consideration.
440
00:24:53,666 --> 00:24:56,266
Being close to these people
and speaking their language,
441
00:24:56,266 --> 00:24:58,986
Jivanildo Miranda hopes he
can convince the inhabitants
442
00:24:58,986 --> 00:25:02,206
of the Lencois Maranhenses
of the priceless nature
443
00:25:02,205 --> 00:25:04,045
of the riches to be found
444
00:25:04,045 --> 00:25:06,265
right outside their own front doors.
445
00:25:29,684 --> 00:25:31,354
From August to December,
446
00:25:31,345 --> 00:25:34,495
a strong northeasterly wind
blows almost constantly,
447
00:25:34,504 --> 00:25:37,914
at an average speed of
50 kilometers per hour.
448
00:25:41,644 --> 00:25:44,684
This wind is the harbinger
of the great metamorphosis
449
00:25:44,683 --> 00:25:47,143
the Lencois Maranhenses will undergo.
450
00:25:47,142 --> 00:25:50,772
The end of the rain, and
the start of the dry season.
451
00:26:21,121 --> 00:26:22,721
Spread out among the dunes,
452
00:26:22,721 --> 00:26:24,461
the cattle have cropped all they can
453
00:26:24,460 --> 00:26:27,450
of the meager clumps of
vegetation growing in the hollows.
454
00:26:28,681 --> 00:26:31,091
Everything will soon have dried out.
455
00:26:31,880 --> 00:26:33,080
It's high time the cattle
456
00:26:33,079 --> 00:26:34,889
were back in their enclosures.
457
00:26:40,340 --> 00:26:41,880
For months on end,
458
00:26:41,880 --> 00:26:44,980
the sun, sand, and wind will join forces
459
00:26:44,979 --> 00:26:48,309
in a pitiless war waged on the water.
460
00:26:52,480 --> 00:26:54,640
Under the wind's constant blowing,
461
00:26:54,639 --> 00:26:56,359
the dunes slowly advance
462
00:26:56,359 --> 00:26:58,959
at a pace that's invisible
to the naked eye,
463
00:26:58,959 --> 00:27:01,049
but inexorable all the same.
464
00:27:01,639 --> 00:27:03,399
And under the burning sun,
465
00:27:03,399 --> 00:27:05,179
the lakes dry out,
466
00:27:05,179 --> 00:27:07,059
turning into deadly traps
467
00:27:07,059 --> 00:27:08,839
for the last few fish.
468
00:27:08,839 --> 00:27:10,679
The elements don't let up
469
00:27:10,679 --> 00:27:13,339
until the last drop of
water has evaporated
470
00:27:13,338 --> 00:27:16,238
and the Lencois Maranhenses
have turned into
471
00:27:16,238 --> 00:27:18,328
one vast desert.
472
00:27:36,257 --> 00:27:37,717
To the east of the park
473
00:27:37,716 --> 00:27:39,956
is the lush, copiously irrigated landscape
474
00:27:39,956 --> 00:27:41,846
of River Preguicas.
475
00:27:45,127 --> 00:27:46,467
It is now October.
476
00:27:46,474 --> 00:27:49,074
In the dunes, water has lost the battle,
477
00:27:49,072 --> 00:27:51,022
but here, it's triumphant.
478
00:27:52,012 --> 00:27:54,032
Belgian biologist Kay Van Damme
479
00:27:54,033 --> 00:27:57,543
is back in the region for
the first time in 18 years.
480
00:27:58,174 --> 00:27:59,974
The Lencois is a
very interesting ecosystem
481
00:27:59,973 --> 00:28:03,093
to study because although
it is relatively young
482
00:28:03,094 --> 00:28:07,514
geological phenomenon, or
relatively young ecosystem,
483
00:28:07,513 --> 00:28:10,353
it is extremely dynamic, and so
484
00:28:10,352 --> 00:28:12,732
populations that survive here can show you
485
00:28:12,733 --> 00:28:14,933
evolution on a very short time scale.
486
00:28:15,793 --> 00:28:17,973
They have to survive these
487
00:28:17,972 --> 00:28:21,002
pools that dry out and
come back every year,
488
00:28:21,711 --> 00:28:23,491
and also they survive in
all these different pools
489
00:28:23,491 --> 00:28:25,711
that are sometimes connected,
sometimes not connected,
490
00:28:25,712 --> 00:28:28,832
so populations get fragmented
into different parts,
491
00:28:28,832 --> 00:28:30,332
and then they get rejoined,
492
00:28:30,331 --> 00:28:32,611
and this is one of the
processes that drives
493
00:28:32,612 --> 00:28:35,852
genetic diversity and drives speciation.
494
00:28:36,741 --> 00:28:39,251
To the Lencois is an
ideal place to actually
495
00:28:39,250 --> 00:28:42,950
study speciation and study
the drivers of evolution
496
00:28:42,950 --> 00:28:44,790
and the drivers of biodiversity,
497
00:28:44,790 --> 00:28:46,950
and there are very few
areas where you can actually
498
00:28:46,950 --> 00:28:49,670
study this, and this is
a hot topic in biology,
499
00:28:49,670 --> 00:28:52,680
and it is a very interesting
thing for me to study.
500
00:28:58,029 --> 00:28:59,689
Kay Van Damme
is one of the very few
501
00:28:59,689 --> 00:29:02,169
non-Brazilian scientists to have studied
502
00:29:02,170 --> 00:29:04,960
the Lencois Maranhenses in any depth.
503
00:29:05,909 --> 00:29:08,429
He's back now to study
this special ecosystem
504
00:29:08,429 --> 00:29:11,289
during the most mysterious
phase of its cycle:
505
00:29:11,288 --> 00:29:12,898
the dry season.
506
00:29:13,628 --> 00:29:15,588
His area of expertise is the fauna
507
00:29:15,588 --> 00:29:19,218
that lives in and around the
periodically dried out dunes.
508
00:29:20,208 --> 00:29:22,388
But before venturing off among the dunes,
509
00:29:22,388 --> 00:29:25,338
Kay goes to visit Nestor,
an old acquaintance.
510
00:29:26,089 --> 00:29:28,449
Part shopkeeper, part livestock breeder,
511
00:29:28,448 --> 00:29:31,288
Nestor built his house between
the river and the dunes
512
00:29:31,287 --> 00:29:34,897
at the very spot where the
two opposing worlds meet.
513
00:29:35,547 --> 00:29:37,347
It seems like a peaceful spot,
514
00:29:37,347 --> 00:29:39,387
but appearances can be deceptive.
515
00:29:39,385 --> 00:29:41,795
In truth, it is a battlefield
516
00:29:41,804 --> 00:29:44,414
between powerful opposing forces.
517
00:29:45,385 --> 00:29:47,625
As elsewhere here, the truce that reigns
518
00:29:47,625 --> 00:29:50,295
between salt and water is a fragile one,
519
00:29:50,304 --> 00:29:52,544
liable to be broken at any moment.
520
00:30:13,723 --> 00:30:15,123
Hello!
521
00:30:15,123 --> 00:30:16,363
Hello.
522
00:30:16,362 --> 00:30:17,862
- How are things with you?
523
00:30:19,012 --> 00:30:20,872
- Not too bad, thank god.
524
00:30:23,322 --> 00:30:25,602
- Nestor, it is after,
525
00:30:25,601 --> 00:30:29,141
since 1996 that I come
back to the Lencois,
526
00:30:29,141 --> 00:30:31,441
and a lot of things
have changed, I've seen,
527
00:30:31,441 --> 00:30:34,361
so I was wondering how
this is for you as well,
528
00:30:34,361 --> 00:30:36,411
if you have the same feeling.
529
00:30:41,780 --> 00:30:43,820
- The dunes used to come right up to here.
530
00:30:43,821 --> 00:30:45,941
And the water flowed behind and front of
531
00:30:45,940 --> 00:30:48,670
the sand bank that my house stood on.
532
00:30:50,801 --> 00:30:53,841
But one day the water just
poured in and formed a lake.
533
00:30:53,841 --> 00:30:55,721
In the end, I had to abandon my house
534
00:30:55,721 --> 00:30:57,481
because the water was too high,
535
00:30:57,481 --> 00:31:00,291
it came all the way up to here.
536
00:31:01,819 --> 00:31:03,479
I couldn't stay trapped between
537
00:31:03,481 --> 00:31:06,261
the water on one side,
the dunes on the other,
538
00:31:07,300 --> 00:31:09,260
and then, after about a year,
539
00:31:09,258 --> 00:31:10,958
the lake completely disappeared,
540
00:31:10,958 --> 00:31:13,798
as though the ground had
just swallowed it up.
541
00:31:13,798 --> 00:31:15,818
The wind blew the sand back,
542
00:31:15,819 --> 00:31:17,579
and it filled up the hole.
543
00:31:17,579 --> 00:31:20,069
All of a sudden there was no water at all.
544
00:31:23,877 --> 00:31:25,907
That's the way things go around here.
545
00:31:29,179 --> 00:31:30,939
- Thank you, Nestor. May God be with you.
546
00:31:30,936 --> 00:31:32,686
- Thank you.
547
00:31:33,755 --> 00:31:35,185
- Thanks, Nestor.
548
00:31:36,696 --> 00:31:38,226
- Yeah, see you soon.
549
00:31:54,394 --> 00:31:56,144
It is very
important for a scientist
550
00:31:56,135 --> 00:31:58,315
that this is considered a national park,
551
00:31:58,315 --> 00:32:02,235
because the Lencois, like
other areas in the world,
552
00:32:02,235 --> 00:32:04,215
are very attractive, very nice,
553
00:32:04,215 --> 00:32:06,165
and without a certain protection
554
00:32:06,174 --> 00:32:09,204
of the whole area, it
could change very rapidly,
555
00:32:09,195 --> 00:32:12,115
and it could become completely different.
556
00:32:16,353 --> 00:32:18,023
The shortest
route to the dunes
557
00:32:18,015 --> 00:32:19,835
is the beach along the Atlantic ocean,
558
00:32:19,835 --> 00:32:21,695
the northern boundary of the park.
559
00:32:24,254 --> 00:32:27,784
Kay's expedition is heading
for the mouth of the Rio Negro.
560
00:32:29,691 --> 00:32:31,531
This is the spot where the only river
561
00:32:31,531 --> 00:32:33,391
that still flows through the dunes during
562
00:32:33,392 --> 00:32:35,862
the dry season reaches the sea.
563
00:32:38,153 --> 00:32:40,153
The continuous running of water here
564
00:32:40,151 --> 00:32:42,381
has dug a deep trench in the sand.
565
00:32:44,512 --> 00:32:45,952
It's one of the few spots
566
00:32:45,952 --> 00:32:48,852
where the very particular
geological structure of the park
567
00:32:48,850 --> 00:32:50,800
can be clearly seen.
568
00:32:56,971 --> 00:32:59,391
The secret of the
Lencois lays under the sand.
569
00:32:59,390 --> 00:33:02,630
There is a layer of peat,
570
00:33:02,630 --> 00:33:05,810
there is a layer of turf,
and there is a layer of clay,
571
00:33:06,810 --> 00:33:09,100
on which the sand is deposited.
572
00:33:09,828 --> 00:33:11,608
These layers contain organic material
573
00:33:11,608 --> 00:33:13,528
from former vegetation that was here
574
00:33:13,526 --> 00:33:15,446
before the sand was deposited,
575
00:33:15,446 --> 00:33:17,606
and we can see the proof of this
576
00:33:17,608 --> 00:33:20,948
by the color of the
sediment that is below.
577
00:33:20,947 --> 00:33:24,627
The Lencois is geologically
relatively young,
578
00:33:24,627 --> 00:33:25,967
most of the sand that you see here
579
00:33:25,965 --> 00:33:29,675
was deposited between
15,000 and 4,000 years ago.
580
00:33:34,343 --> 00:33:36,083
20,000 years ago,
581
00:33:36,082 --> 00:33:38,102
during the last glacial maximum,
582
00:33:38,102 --> 00:33:39,902
a large proportion of the planet's water
583
00:33:39,902 --> 00:33:41,912
was frozen in glaciers.
584
00:33:42,521 --> 00:33:45,041
The average sea level was
from 80 to 100 meters lower
585
00:33:45,040 --> 00:33:46,770
than it is today.
586
00:33:48,702 --> 00:33:50,922
The sand, which had
accumulated under the sea,
587
00:33:50,921 --> 00:33:53,251
was therefore exposed to the air.
588
00:33:54,681 --> 00:33:56,061
For thousands of years,
589
00:33:56,062 --> 00:33:58,722
the wind drove this sea
sand at the continent,
590
00:33:58,720 --> 00:34:02,650
until it totally covered the
coastal areas and vegetation.
591
00:34:05,680 --> 00:34:08,240
The organic matter thus
buried under the sand
592
00:34:08,241 --> 00:34:10,461
underwent a slow metamorphosis,
593
00:34:10,460 --> 00:34:12,960
finally forming the dark geological layers
594
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:15,470
that we find under the dunes today.
595
00:34:17,721 --> 00:34:19,621
The secret of the
Lencois lies in the fact that
596
00:34:19,619 --> 00:34:22,179
below the sand, which
is permeable for water,
597
00:34:22,179 --> 00:34:24,419
there is a harder layer that
598
00:34:24,420 --> 00:34:26,880
keeps the water during the wet season,
599
00:34:26,881 --> 00:34:28,521
and then, once it's full,
600
00:34:28,521 --> 00:34:31,761
this water will overflow
in the deeper cuvettes,
601
00:34:31,760 --> 00:34:35,490
and these cuvettes are
the pools in the Lencois.
602
00:34:37,040 --> 00:34:39,160
There are thousands of
small pools and lakes,
603
00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:41,440
but in a way, we can
consider this area as having
604
00:34:41,439 --> 00:34:43,109
one large lake.
605
00:34:43,857 --> 00:34:46,217
We cannot see the lake,
it is under the sand,
606
00:34:46,216 --> 00:34:48,896
and it is actually the
large phreatic water table
607
00:34:48,896 --> 00:34:51,806
that connects all these pools
during the rainy season.
608
00:34:56,836 --> 00:34:59,076
Few creatures
still venture through the dunes
609
00:34:59,077 --> 00:35:00,887
during the dry season.
610
00:35:01,635 --> 00:35:03,615
This seemingly lost armadillo
611
00:35:03,615 --> 00:35:06,435
won't survive for long
in the debilitating heat
612
00:35:06,436 --> 00:35:08,366
if it doesn't find some shelter.
613
00:35:11,556 --> 00:35:13,336
Finding creatures in the burning desert
614
00:35:13,336 --> 00:35:15,256
will be no easy task.
615
00:35:15,256 --> 00:35:18,626
Fortunately, Kay can count on Joilson,
616
00:35:18,634 --> 00:35:21,224
who comes originally from Baixada Grande,
617
00:35:21,216 --> 00:35:23,426
the park's other oasis.
618
00:35:32,354 --> 00:35:34,484
I chose to do
research in the Lencois
619
00:35:34,475 --> 00:35:36,745
because it has some basic elements
620
00:35:36,754 --> 00:35:40,004
that appeal very much
to a young biologist.
621
00:35:42,254 --> 00:35:44,644
One is the novelty,
622
00:35:44,635 --> 00:35:47,085
it is a region that is
not very much studied.
623
00:35:47,094 --> 00:35:49,454
The second is the aesthetic value,
624
00:35:49,453 --> 00:35:52,123
it is a beautiful area
to come and explore,
625
00:35:54,293 --> 00:35:56,253
and a third is to actually explore
626
00:35:56,252 --> 00:36:00,122
and look at animals that are
relatively badly studied.
627
00:36:02,092 --> 00:36:03,662
So that appealed to me, but even
628
00:36:03,662 --> 00:36:05,282
after 18 years, the feeling is
629
00:36:05,279 --> 00:36:07,569
exactly the same coming back here.
630
00:36:30,188 --> 00:36:31,848
We'll take the air temperature.
631
00:36:33,214 --> 00:36:35,014
- Wow, that's hot!
632
00:36:36,494 --> 00:36:37,604
- It really is very hot.
633
00:36:37,598 --> 00:36:39,348
39 degrees Celsius.
634
00:36:43,658 --> 00:36:45,038
Shall we go that way?
635
00:36:45,038 --> 00:36:46,588
- Okay, let's go.
636
00:36:49,558 --> 00:36:51,518
When we look at a lake like this,
637
00:36:51,518 --> 00:36:53,438
one would not think it is a lake,
638
00:36:53,436 --> 00:36:54,776
because everything is dried out,
639
00:36:54,778 --> 00:36:56,538
and here in the Lencois,
640
00:36:56,538 --> 00:36:58,298
the water dries out
641
00:36:59,207 --> 00:37:00,687
and then it comes back, so
642
00:37:00,693 --> 00:37:02,823
waters are very temporary and short-lived.
643
00:37:04,073 --> 00:37:05,653
It seems to be that there is
644
00:37:05,653 --> 00:37:07,673
no life in this place, not right now,
645
00:37:07,673 --> 00:37:09,853
but this is the wrong perception.
646
00:37:09,849 --> 00:37:11,589
Within a small piece of sediment,
647
00:37:11,589 --> 00:37:13,629
it's full of different animals,
648
00:37:13,629 --> 00:37:16,409
and also plants that can be revived
649
00:37:16,409 --> 00:37:18,499
once water comes into contact.
650
00:37:19,269 --> 00:37:21,489
In changing environments such as this,
651
00:37:21,489 --> 00:37:23,569
animals have to adapt,
652
00:37:23,568 --> 00:37:26,148
and if they do not adapt,
they will go extinct.
653
00:37:26,149 --> 00:37:29,949
So it is an environment
such as the Lencois
654
00:37:29,949 --> 00:37:33,329
where animals adapt quickly,
655
00:37:33,328 --> 00:37:34,748
both on a yearly basis,
656
00:37:34,748 --> 00:37:37,218
but also on a longer time scale.
657
00:37:52,884 --> 00:37:55,444
- Kay! I found a peninga!
658
00:38:05,428 --> 00:38:06,918
- That's great!
659
00:38:13,708 --> 00:38:16,128
- It's usually really hard to find one.
660
00:38:18,226 --> 00:38:19,606
- Pretty rare, huh?
661
00:38:19,605 --> 00:38:21,065
- Very rare.
662
00:38:21,704 --> 00:38:22,984
It's magnificent.
663
00:38:22,983 --> 00:38:24,983
- It's a female, a young female.
664
00:38:24,981 --> 00:38:26,841
- How can you tell?
665
00:38:26,841 --> 00:38:29,011
- The coloring is a bit lighter.
666
00:38:29,641 --> 00:38:31,711
There are light ones,
and slightly darker ones.
667
00:38:32,481 --> 00:38:34,781
So, this turtle is an
example of species that are
668
00:38:34,782 --> 00:38:37,362
adapted to this special environment,
669
00:38:37,361 --> 00:38:39,901
whereas in Europe we have species that are
670
00:38:39,900 --> 00:38:42,020
adapted to very cold winters,
671
00:38:42,021 --> 00:38:44,701
which is the harshest
climate that we have,
672
00:38:45,271 --> 00:38:48,001
and animals go into
hibernation to survive.
673
00:38:48,000 --> 00:38:50,800
In here, in tropical and arid ecosystems,
674
00:38:50,797 --> 00:38:53,597
animals can into estevation.
675
00:38:53,598 --> 00:38:55,318
They can reduce up to 90 percent of their
676
00:38:55,318 --> 00:38:57,878
metabolic activity on a cellular level,
677
00:38:57,878 --> 00:38:59,878
which means in this period, for months,
678
00:38:59,877 --> 00:39:01,637
they will not need food
679
00:39:01,638 --> 00:39:05,688
and they will go into
a kind of sleep mode.
680
00:39:06,697 --> 00:39:09,017
The environment allows them to actually
681
00:39:09,017 --> 00:39:11,137
emerge again from the sand
682
00:39:11,138 --> 00:39:12,718
and come into, again,
683
00:39:12,717 --> 00:39:14,887
a new, freshly formed aqua ecosystem.
684
00:39:18,230 --> 00:39:20,030
The Belgian
scientist's special area
685
00:39:20,031 --> 00:39:23,691
of expertise is cladocera, or water fleas,
686
00:39:23,691 --> 00:39:25,931
tiny crustaceans which form the basis of
687
00:39:25,931 --> 00:39:27,901
the food chain in the lakes.
688
00:39:31,450 --> 00:39:34,730
The samples he takes contain
thousands of these water fleas,
689
00:39:34,731 --> 00:39:37,881
but the minuscule creatures
are invisible to the naked eye.
690
00:39:38,530 --> 00:39:39,870
To see them at all,
691
00:39:39,870 --> 00:39:41,710
the scientist will at the very least
692
00:39:41,710 --> 00:39:43,580
need a magnifying glass.
693
00:39:52,030 --> 00:39:54,970
When the lakes of the
Lencois Maranhenses dry up,
694
00:39:54,970 --> 00:39:56,940
life doesn't totally disappear.
695
00:39:57,465 --> 00:39:59,565
Many of the creatures, including the fish,
696
00:39:59,566 --> 00:40:02,936
lay eggs, which are able to
survive the dry conditions.
697
00:40:03,806 --> 00:40:05,806
Buried in the dehydrated sediment,
698
00:40:05,806 --> 00:40:07,666
these dormant eggs are resuscitated
699
00:40:07,665 --> 00:40:09,755
as soon as the water returns.
700
00:40:10,665 --> 00:40:12,395
And life returns to the lakes
701
00:40:12,404 --> 00:40:15,584
according to an astonishingly
precise chronology.
702
00:40:16,384 --> 00:40:17,954
First there's the plankton,
703
00:40:17,946 --> 00:40:19,646
soon followed by water fleas,
704
00:40:19,646 --> 00:40:22,666
then the fish, and finally
the frogs and turtles,
705
00:40:22,665 --> 00:40:24,285
which emerge from the sand
706
00:40:24,285 --> 00:40:26,305
in which they buried themselves.
707
00:40:27,064 --> 00:40:29,154
The food chain always reestablishes itself
708
00:40:29,145 --> 00:40:30,255
in the right order.
709
00:40:30,260 --> 00:40:32,420
If it didn't, the survival of all of these
710
00:40:32,420 --> 00:40:34,690
interdependent species would be at risk.
711
00:40:38,959 --> 00:40:40,499
It is now October.
712
00:40:40,500 --> 00:40:42,770
Just a few shallow ponds remain.
713
00:40:47,078 --> 00:40:49,798
And yet, despite the arid
conditions all around,
714
00:40:49,798 --> 00:40:51,808
water is never far away.
715
00:40:52,340 --> 00:40:54,160
Only a few meters under the sand
716
00:40:54,159 --> 00:40:56,139
lies the Lencois Maranhenses's
717
00:40:56,140 --> 00:40:58,510
huge body of groundwater.
718
00:41:04,538 --> 00:41:06,398
No one knows exactly what the volume
719
00:41:06,399 --> 00:41:08,939
of this immense underground lake might be,
720
00:41:08,938 --> 00:41:10,718
but there is no doubt that its water
721
00:41:10,717 --> 00:41:13,087
is an inestimable treasure.
722
00:41:22,078 --> 00:41:24,318
Kay has chosen to set up his base camp
723
00:41:24,318 --> 00:41:25,858
in Baixada Grande,
724
00:41:25,858 --> 00:41:27,868
Joilson's native village.
725
00:41:28,897 --> 00:41:31,117
While the horses enjoy a cooling down,
726
00:41:31,118 --> 00:41:33,118
the scientist is finally able to examine
727
00:41:33,118 --> 00:41:35,488
the samples he took from the lake beds.
728
00:41:40,817 --> 00:41:45,137
- Until I came here in 1996 and 1997,
729
00:41:45,136 --> 00:41:47,376
there was no research that had been done
730
00:41:47,377 --> 00:41:50,177
on the microscopic invertebrate life
731
00:41:50,176 --> 00:41:51,556
of the Lencois.
732
00:41:51,557 --> 00:41:53,397
And we described several species
733
00:41:53,397 --> 00:41:56,117
for the first time from this area.
734
00:41:58,466 --> 00:42:01,026
So in fact, for diversity in Brazil,
735
00:42:01,033 --> 00:42:03,013
this is a special place, because
736
00:42:03,013 --> 00:42:05,753
this is what we call a type
locality for several species,
737
00:42:05,752 --> 00:42:08,072
this means this is the original place
738
00:42:08,072 --> 00:42:10,512
where this particular
species has been described.
739
00:42:13,432 --> 00:42:16,532
When I take samples
from these dried areas,
740
00:42:17,708 --> 00:42:19,098
I am very interested in looking
741
00:42:19,104 --> 00:42:21,524
which animals are in the sediment,
742
00:42:21,524 --> 00:42:24,974
and how they resurrected from there.
743
00:42:24,965 --> 00:42:27,595
So there is a field of
biology which is called
744
00:42:27,603 --> 00:42:30,523
resurrection biology,
and animals that come out
745
00:42:30,523 --> 00:42:32,153
are very interesting.
746
00:42:35,603 --> 00:42:37,143
Water fleas are very interesting,
747
00:42:37,144 --> 00:42:39,044
they have a very interesting life cycle.
748
00:42:39,043 --> 00:42:41,583
They are animals that
can reproduce clonally,
749
00:42:41,583 --> 00:42:45,433
without a need of a sexual stage.
750
00:42:46,484 --> 00:42:48,924
However, they can do this
only if the ecosystem
751
00:42:48,922 --> 00:42:51,162
remains stable, so when
752
00:42:51,163 --> 00:42:53,343
the animals that will
hatch will be females
753
00:42:53,343 --> 00:42:56,343
that will reproduce identical
clones to themselves,
754
00:42:56,342 --> 00:42:59,402
eggs that are constantly reproduced,
755
00:42:59,397 --> 00:43:02,237
so they have a lot of twins, so to say,
756
00:43:02,238 --> 00:43:05,118
and sisters and daughters
that are identically,
757
00:43:05,117 --> 00:43:07,287
genetically identical within the pool.
758
00:43:08,438 --> 00:43:12,038
And then, when the ecosystem changes,
759
00:43:12,036 --> 00:43:13,696
they will produce males
760
00:43:13,697 --> 00:43:15,917
only in this case, and then by
761
00:43:15,916 --> 00:43:17,736
recombining the males with the females,
762
00:43:17,737 --> 00:43:19,537
they will produce an egg that is
763
00:43:19,537 --> 00:43:22,617
more adapted for the next
generation to survive.
764
00:43:22,616 --> 00:43:25,036
So this means that each season,
765
00:43:25,037 --> 00:43:27,507
there is a new generation that hatches.
766
00:43:28,636 --> 00:43:31,876
And because the cue for making,
767
00:43:31,877 --> 00:43:35,857
for changing, for example,
the sex of the offspring,
768
00:43:35,857 --> 00:43:37,897
is purely ecological,
769
00:43:37,897 --> 00:43:40,597
so instead of being originally genetic,
770
00:43:40,596 --> 00:43:43,376
it is purely ecological cue that says,
771
00:43:43,376 --> 00:43:45,156
okay, now we have to produce males,
772
00:43:45,157 --> 00:43:47,217
because the season will change,
773
00:43:47,216 --> 00:43:48,796
and this is very, very special,
774
00:43:48,796 --> 00:43:51,376
and this is a very interesting topic
775
00:43:51,375 --> 00:43:52,755
because the males and the females
776
00:43:52,756 --> 00:43:54,996
are genetically completely identical,
777
00:43:54,995 --> 00:43:57,905
but they are completely
different morphologically.
778
00:43:59,496 --> 00:44:01,676
Then they will form a new resting egg
779
00:44:01,676 --> 00:44:04,156
that they can dry out completely, and so
780
00:44:04,156 --> 00:44:08,076
after a period of dry season,
781
00:44:08,075 --> 00:44:10,125
for example, they can hatch again,
782
00:44:10,134 --> 00:44:12,174
and then the cycle starts again.
783
00:44:15,515 --> 00:44:17,535
The samples
Kay Van Damme collected
784
00:44:17,536 --> 00:44:20,736
have by no means yet
revealed all their secrets.
785
00:44:21,316 --> 00:44:23,196
In a few weeks, when the scientist is back
786
00:44:23,195 --> 00:44:25,665
in his laboratory, all he will need to do
787
00:44:25,666 --> 00:44:28,306
is pour a little water
onto the dried out sediment
788
00:44:28,305 --> 00:44:30,585
to stir an incredible diversity
789
00:44:30,586 --> 00:44:33,256
of animal and vegetal
life from its slumber.
790
00:44:37,525 --> 00:44:39,765
Once studied, these samples may be found
791
00:44:39,765 --> 00:44:42,615
to contain new species, or reveal yet more
792
00:44:42,624 --> 00:44:45,684
hitherto unknown aspects
of the secret life
793
00:44:45,684 --> 00:44:47,824
of the Lencois Maranhenses.
794
00:44:52,926 --> 00:44:55,916
In February, the wind
finally changes direction,
795
00:44:55,924 --> 00:44:57,634
and gets a new name.
796
00:44:58,465 --> 00:45:00,795
It is no longer the banal "vento"
797
00:45:00,804 --> 00:45:02,634
blowing from the northeast,
798
00:45:02,625 --> 00:45:05,245
but the "terral," a wind from the land
799
00:45:05,245 --> 00:45:07,005
which blows from the south,
800
00:45:07,005 --> 00:45:10,515
bringing with it clouds
heavily laden with water.
801
00:45:15,664 --> 00:45:18,164
The rainy season is finally back again.
802
00:45:18,159 --> 00:45:21,779
For four months, intermittent
but torrential downpours
803
00:45:21,780 --> 00:45:24,990
will batter the Lencois Maranhenses.
804
00:45:25,499 --> 00:45:28,249
More than a meter and
half per square meter.
805
00:45:31,219 --> 00:45:32,939
Resurrected by the water,
806
00:45:32,939 --> 00:45:34,539
the lake's animal and vegetal life
807
00:45:34,542 --> 00:45:36,652
doesn't take long to reappear.
808
00:45:37,302 --> 00:45:39,562
Once again, the Lencois Maranhenses
809
00:45:39,563 --> 00:45:41,673
will have completed their life cycle.
810
00:45:48,163 --> 00:45:49,763
The return of the rains
811
00:45:49,761 --> 00:45:52,571
also marks the beginning
of the sea fishing season.
812
00:45:53,082 --> 00:45:55,242
It's time for Joilson to join his father
813
00:45:55,242 --> 00:45:57,482
and the other fishermen of Baixada Grande
814
00:45:57,482 --> 00:45:58,972
on the beach.
815
00:46:01,642 --> 00:46:03,882
My grandfather
lived in Ceara state,
816
00:46:03,879 --> 00:46:05,669
in a very dry area.
817
00:46:06,897 --> 00:46:08,357
He discovered this place
818
00:46:08,356 --> 00:46:10,236
where there's never any lack of water,
819
00:46:10,237 --> 00:46:11,537
and he fell in love with it.
820
00:46:11,535 --> 00:46:13,195
Not only was it beautiful,
821
00:46:13,195 --> 00:46:15,405
but there was water in abundance.
822
00:46:17,756 --> 00:46:19,226
That's the Rio Negro.
823
00:46:19,234 --> 00:46:21,304
I used to play in it when I was a kid.
824
00:46:23,195 --> 00:46:26,485
But today, the dunes have
invaded half of the river,
825
00:46:26,492 --> 00:46:28,802
and its level has dropped considerably.
826
00:46:36,412 --> 00:46:37,952
The cabins
built by the fishermen
827
00:46:37,951 --> 00:46:40,331
at the ocean's edge are exactly the same
828
00:46:40,328 --> 00:46:42,368
as the ones the Tremembe Indians,
829
00:46:42,368 --> 00:46:44,568
who formerly lived in this region,
830
00:46:44,568 --> 00:46:46,308
used to construct.
831
00:46:46,309 --> 00:46:48,729
Simple but strong, these shelters,
832
00:46:48,727 --> 00:46:50,407
with their low-hanging roofs,
833
00:46:50,407 --> 00:46:53,187
are economical in their use
of construction materials,
834
00:46:53,189 --> 00:46:55,479
and require little in the way of upkeep.
835
00:46:58,507 --> 00:47:00,007
Although the flow of the Rio Negro
836
00:47:00,007 --> 00:47:02,567
has diminished a lot
over the last few years,
837
00:47:02,567 --> 00:47:04,247
the spot where it meets the sea
838
00:47:04,248 --> 00:47:06,858
is still especially good for fishing.
839
00:47:12,147 --> 00:47:14,287
The casoiera, the net which the fishermen
840
00:47:14,286 --> 00:47:16,506
of the Lencois Maranhenses use,
841
00:47:16,506 --> 00:47:18,526
is about 30 meters long,
842
00:47:18,527 --> 00:47:20,537
but less than 2 meters deep.
843
00:47:22,507 --> 00:47:24,327
The wading fishing technique,
844
00:47:24,326 --> 00:47:26,506
one of the most ancient in existence,
845
00:47:26,506 --> 00:47:29,656
consists of driving the
fish onto the beach.
846
00:47:37,607 --> 00:47:38,797
We live right next to the sea,
847
00:47:38,802 --> 00:47:40,172
and it's full of fish.
848
00:47:43,260 --> 00:47:45,220
So when we want to eat fresh fish,
849
00:47:45,220 --> 00:47:47,230
we just go and catch some.
850
00:47:47,839 --> 00:47:50,169
It's for our own
consumption, not for selling.
851
00:47:54,059 --> 00:47:56,889
For the most part, we only
fish what we're going to eat.
852
00:47:57,720 --> 00:47:59,760
If we catch too much, it has to be salted,
853
00:47:59,759 --> 00:48:01,699
which gives it a very strong flavor.
854
00:48:01,698 --> 00:48:04,418
So we mostly just take two or three kilos,
855
00:48:04,419 --> 00:48:06,149
enough for our daily needs.
856
00:48:14,078 --> 00:48:15,338
While most of the fish
857
00:48:15,338 --> 00:48:18,578
that the oasis's inhabitants
catch is eaten without delay,
858
00:48:18,578 --> 00:48:20,818
there is sometimes a small surplus
859
00:48:20,818 --> 00:48:23,238
that's immediately
preserved for consumption
860
00:48:23,238 --> 00:48:24,928
at a later date.
861
00:48:29,497 --> 00:48:31,857
Once the fish has been gutted and scaled,
862
00:48:31,857 --> 00:48:34,297
it's salted, and then left to dry
863
00:48:34,298 --> 00:48:36,108
on the roofs of the houses.
864
00:48:38,018 --> 00:48:39,698
Preserved in this way,
865
00:48:39,698 --> 00:48:41,968
the fish will keep for several months.
866
00:48:42,876 --> 00:48:45,396
The fearsome sun of
the Lencois Maranhenses
867
00:48:45,396 --> 00:48:48,706
can thus sometimes prove
to be a useful ally.
868
00:48:53,675 --> 00:48:54,955
- I think that one day
869
00:48:54,955 --> 00:48:57,425
the dunes will end up burying my house.
870
00:48:59,315 --> 00:49:01,775
When the summer comes,
the dunes encroach a lot,
871
00:49:01,775 --> 00:49:04,535
driven by the really strong wind.
872
00:49:05,626 --> 00:49:07,386
In winter they don't move so much,
873
00:49:07,393 --> 00:49:09,653
but as soon as summer comes around again,
874
00:49:09,652 --> 00:49:12,012
they destroy all the vegetation,
875
00:49:12,012 --> 00:49:14,722
advancing quickly and covering everything.
876
00:49:17,093 --> 00:49:20,273
I think that one day the dunes
will cover everything here.
877
00:49:20,272 --> 00:49:22,022
Including my house.
878
00:49:22,953 --> 00:49:25,953
It was a perfect spot for planting crops.
879
00:49:25,953 --> 00:49:27,453
It's my farm.
880
00:49:27,452 --> 00:49:30,012
And I'm sure I couldn't
find such a beautiful place
881
00:49:30,013 --> 00:49:31,583
anywhere else.
882
00:49:32,512 --> 00:49:34,312
That'd be hard, wouldn't it,
883
00:49:34,312 --> 00:49:36,092
finding somewhere like this,
884
00:49:36,092 --> 00:49:38,322
where I could plant my crops.
885
00:49:40,892 --> 00:49:44,292
It saddens me not to have
my crops anymore, but
886
00:49:44,291 --> 00:49:45,881
what can I do?
887
00:49:51,952 --> 00:49:53,352
How much longer can this
888
00:49:53,352 --> 00:49:55,212
simple way of life go on
889
00:49:55,211 --> 00:49:58,251
in the ever changing
world of sand and water
890
00:49:58,252 --> 00:50:00,742
that is the Lencois Maranhenses?
891
00:50:26,790 --> 00:50:30,320
The Lencois Maranhenses are
a paradoxical landscape.
892
00:50:30,849 --> 00:50:32,269
Depending on the season,
893
00:50:32,270 --> 00:50:34,050
they may appear to be a region of lakes
894
00:50:34,050 --> 00:50:35,850
invaded by sand dunes,
895
00:50:35,849 --> 00:50:37,329
or, conversely, a desert
896
00:50:37,331 --> 00:50:39,221
flooded with fresh water.
897
00:50:39,669 --> 00:50:41,709
It's undeniably a hostile environment,
898
00:50:41,709 --> 00:50:43,469
which imposes severe constraints
899
00:50:43,470 --> 00:50:45,400
on the creatures that live here.
900
00:50:46,150 --> 00:50:47,810
But this unique environment
901
00:50:47,810 --> 00:50:49,890
has also created an ecosystem worthy
902
00:50:49,889 --> 00:50:51,579
of its great beauty.
903
00:50:52,069 --> 00:50:54,109
Plants, animals, and human beings
904
00:50:54,109 --> 00:50:55,889
have adapted to it,
905
00:50:55,889 --> 00:50:58,429
and learned to live in
accordance with the life cycle
906
00:50:58,429 --> 00:51:00,479
of these lakes of sand.
907
00:51:01,449 --> 00:51:02,789
And yet, when measured against
908
00:51:02,790 --> 00:51:04,690
the immensity of Brazil,
909
00:51:04,690 --> 00:51:06,790
the Lencois Maranhenses are just
910
00:51:06,790 --> 00:51:09,310
small islands of sand and water,
911
00:51:09,308 --> 00:51:11,628
caught between the rest of the continent
912
00:51:11,630 --> 00:51:13,040
and the ocean.
913
00:51:13,589 --> 00:51:15,209
Seen from this perspective,
914
00:51:15,208 --> 00:51:18,488
this extreme ecosystem
reveals its true nature,
915
00:51:18,488 --> 00:51:21,118
and suddenly seems terribly fragile.
916
00:51:22,249 --> 00:51:24,489
And the need to protect it
from the inevitable changes
917
00:51:24,489 --> 00:51:28,359
awaiting it becomes all the more urgent.
68708
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