All language subtitles for Coral Sea Dreaming Awaken 2010 1080p BluRay Remux AVC DTS-HD MA 5 1

İt is November.

A full moon rises.

Almost 400,000 kilometers away,
Planet Earth falls under its spell.

Our oceans stir.

An ancient undersea ritual
is underway.

The outcome of this event

will not only affect marine life
in the surrounding waters,

but will also give us a clue

about the health
of the entire ocean system.

The creature responsible is coraol.

And this is coral's story.

The story begins here,

with the incredible phenomenon
that is mass coral spawning.

İf's an annual event,
cued by the sun and the moon.

İt involves
over 140 different speclies,

and has been occurring
for thousands oOf yedcırs.

Although corals
have no brain and no eyes,

somehow individual species
spawn together,

sometimes down to the minute.

Like tiny love-letters,

the genetic material
İs cast into the ocean currenİs,

connecting reefs
over hundreds of kilometers.

Like us, corals take up to
nine months to prepare for birth.

But many are hermaphrodites,
so they gestate both egg and sperm.

On spawning night,

these are grouped into bundles and
delivered through the coral's mouth.

For most, itf's a gentle birth.

Over a shorft time-span,
the bundles break apart

and the egg and sperm must find their
counterparts from another colony.

Billions set forth, but few survive.

Many ofher creatures
choose the same conditions to spawn

and the reef waters are transformedi

into a vast İigulid womb,
clouded with eggs and sperm.

Mass spawning
overwhelms potential predators,

so the coral eggs have more chance to
be fertilized and begin a new colony.

By daybreak, vast slicks
on the surface mark their passage.

Coral is an architect
not only of the ündersedc world,

but above the surface too.

Dead coral breaks down İnto sand

that eventuallly builds up
to credate coral cays.

These shores and shallows
provide sanctuary -

and imporfant breeding grounds -—
for a varlety of other credctures.

All told, reef-building corals
have colonized every tropical ocean,

shaped and proftected
thousands of kilometers of coastline

and influenced marine evolution
for millions of years.

Birds like these nodody terns

rely on coral reefs for food
and coral cays for shelter.

Birds help vegetate cays
by depositing seeds.

These seeds grow
into trees and forests

which in turn provide the birds
with nesting sites,

These sandy outposts are freguented
by many tropical seabirds,

with some pairs returning to the same
nesting sites yecir after yecır.

Primitive corals date back
over 450 million years.

Modern reef-building corals first
emerged around 250 million years ago

and their reefs
have provided homes and sustenance

for innumerable specles ever since.

Over cordal's long history, five
mass extinctions have come and gone.

During each,
up to 905 of oall life-forms perished.

Two of these extinctions

occuürred during the rise
of modern reef-building corals.

Rather than falter,
they somehow survived,

rebuillt their reefs

and transformed the oceans anew.

Today, coral reef ecosystems
are important nursery grounds

for many iİconic marine animals,
such as the seda türfle.

There dare seven speciles
of seda turftle

and all are long-lived
and slow-growing.

They take between 10 to 30 yecrs
to sexually mature and matfte af sed.

These marine reptiles are nomadic

and swim thousands of kilometers
during therr lives,

But strong instinct and
mysterious natural forces gulde them,

so that when a female
needs to lay her egogs,

she returns to the very beach
where she was born to do so.

Here, she digs a nest
and coral sand becomes the womb.

Hundreds hateh, but only one or two
will make it to adulthood.

They can then live
for up to a century.

When a turtle hatched 100 yedcırs ago,

it would have seen the world's
coral reefs in all their glory.

Pre-industrial seas
were clean and clecr

and corals had enjoyed good
conditions for millions of years.

Throughout the İndian
and Pacific oceans,

and into the Caribbean
and west Atlantic,

reefs were thriving.

The turfle spent its youth
exploring these reefs

and witnessed the engineering marvel
that is coral.

By harnessing the power of the sun
and perfecting recyoeling,

coral bullt energy-efficient cities
that put many of ours to shame.

Collectively,
these cities creafed vast empires,

some visible from oufter space.

Here, the turtle found itself
in great company,

for these ündersea empires were home
to vast numbers of marine specles

of every imaginable shape and size

and were crowded, colorful places.

Today, reefs have one ofthe
highest levels of biodiversity

of any ecosystem

and are some of the most biologically
important places on Earth.

Together, turtles and corals
have witnessed many changes

to their watery world.

They are some ofthe only beings

to have survived
the last mass extinction event

65 million years ago.

Scientists predict
that in İhe coming century,

they will face ocean conditions

as catastrophic
as during that last extinction.

Wise old turtles have seen
the warning signs for a while.

7055 of the world's reefs
have already been destroyed

or are seriously threatenedi.

And all but one
of the seven sea turtle species

are classified 'endangered'
or 'eritically endangered'.

For the first time
in millions of years,

the future of both turtle and coral
is uncerftain.

Many things affect
the hedalth of coral reefs,

in parficular, sea temperature,
sea level and water chemistry.

Reefs may look mightiy,
but corals themselves are fragile

and can be fatally harmed by just
subtle changes in their environment.

When seda levels rise too rapidiy,
corals can't grow fast enough

and reefs drown.

As atmospheric
carbon dioxide levels increase,

ocedan acidification intensifies
and reefs will dissolve.

And a sustadined increase of only
1-2 degrees İn ocean temperature

can codüse corals to bledch and die.

By the end of this century,
it's predicted that the global climate

could be 5 degrees Celsius hotter
or more.

At this rate, bleaching
will become an annual occurrence,

and this colorful landscape
will literally fade away.

A hedalthy coral reef
is edasy to spot.

A complex structure dawash
with color, variety and activity.

This is a tangled, tropical garden
to rival anything on land.

Most amazing about this garden

is that many of the 'plants'
are detualiy animals.

Like grasping hands,

coral mouths hungrily sift
the passing currents for food

day and night.

The creature we call coral
is a primitive sac-like polyp,

part animal, part plant.

The animal part feeds on plankton.

The plant part
consists of microscopic algae -

called zooxanthellae -
that photosynthesize using sunlight.

Each polyp is connected
to its neighbor,

passing along energy and nuütrients.

These polyps mulfiply
to create colonies,

which combine to form reefs.

Iİn this way, energy is produced,
shared and recyeled

throughout the entire ecosystem.

With the energy they produce,
corals not only thrive

but also manufacture
calcilum carbonate,

the specidal concrete'
that builds reefs.

This is öne secret
behind corals' great empire building.

The ofther is budding.

Budding is a process
where coral polyps produce

genetically identical copies
of themselves

and extend their colonies
without spdwning.

The calcilum carbonate foundation
secreted by hard corals

can be one kilometer thick in places

and hundreds of thousands
of years old.

The living reef we see today
is Just a thin veneer on top,

made up of many different specles,

including soft corals...

.fan corals...

.and sponges,
goörgonidans and crinoids.

All told, coral has evolved into
more than 1,000 hard coral species

and over /00 soff corals,

each perfectly specialized
to fill its own niche.

Ünderstanding how corals build reefs

highlights the seriousness
of cliimate change

and how it threatens
this complex ecosystem.

Our öoceans have always absorbed
atmospheric CO2 like a giant sponge.

But now those levels are so high that
the water chemistry is changing -

d process referred to
as 'ocean acidification'.

Alkalinity is falling

and naturally-occurring
carbonate ions are being affected.

Many marine creatures need İhese ions
to produce calcium carbonate

for their shells and skeletons.

Hard corals need them to bulld reefs.

Ocean acidification seriously
threatens all these processes.

But in every natural catastrophe,
there are winners and İosers.

Jellyfish
are distant relatives of coral,

but unlike coral,
they are more adaptable

to changes İn water temperature
and chemistry.

Their numbers
are already on The rise,

And they are making our seas sting.

Coral's other ancient cousin
is the sed anemone.

Like coral,

the anemone is a simple being
that has been highliy successful.

In fact, the anemone
is like a huge coral polyp.

At its center is a mouth

surrounded by a vast mantle
of stinging tentacles.

Within the mouth is a big stomach
filed with acidic enzymes.

Because the anemone does not have
a solid physical structure or skeleton,

it does not rely
on calcilum carbonate,

so İf's not as vulnerable as coral
to ocedan acidification.

But, like coral, some species
possess zooxanthellde algae

and warming seds
will also cause them to bleach.

There are over 800 specles
of sed anemone.

10 are sulitable homes
for anemone fish

and this is one of the reefs
most marvelous partnerships.

The anemones tentacles
normally sting İnvaders.

But these fish are coated
with a protective mucus

and can dance İn and out unharmedi.

The fish rarely wander
more than a meter away.

Everything they need is right here -

seraps of food,
protection and community.

Not surprisingily,

the fish lay their eggs near
the protective folds of the anemone,

ajerating and defending them
until they hatech.

And being stuck in one place
hasn't harmed their sex life.

In fact, it's enhanced İT.

To keep everyone satisfied,
they've mastered sex change.

If a dominant female is redulred,
a male can change sex.

If a dominant male is needed,,

a subordinate moale
accelerates into sexual maturity.

As öocedan conditions change, anemone
fish seem more protected than most,

safe within those stinging arms.

But even they are notimmune
from danger.

All fish have internal structures
and organs

which may be weakened
by ocedan acidification.

Even now, scientists are finding

that the ear bones of fish
are being affected,

which is impacting
the way they communicate.

If ocean acidification
goes unchecked,

it may affect key metabolic processes
for all marine animals.

Whenever conditions
get more challenging,

the natural process of selection
just gets more ruthless.

Those that cannot cope
will be gulckly cast aside.

Every citizen must edcrn its keep.

These shrimp gather in locations
referred to as cleaning stations'.

This particular station also happens
to be the home of a moray eel.

But the shrimp arent running away.

If anything,
theyre competing to get closer.

And although the eel
finds the shrimp irritating,

he just grins and bears İt.

The readson why
these entirely different species

tolerate öone another

is becaduse they have
an unspoken agreemenit.

The shrimp has the important job
of removing parasites

as well as dying or dead flesh.

These can be faftal to the moray,

but provide a delicious banguet
for the shrimp.

Animals are engaged in complex
relationships right across the reef.

Going solo is risky business.

And if youTe golng to attempt it,
you'd better be very clever.

One clever survival tactic
is camouflage.

Decorator crabs attach tiny sponges,
corals and anemones to their shells

and look more like walking flowerbeds
than animals.

Others attempt to go incognito by
placing toxic sponges on İheir heads,

like these aptfly-named
hat-carrying crabs.

Sponges are living creatures,
but the crab doesn' care,

cutting the sponge Up
into whatever size fits.

Other crabs collect forest leaves

and use them for disguise
and as hang-gliders.

Boxer crabs
are always ready for a fight,

with tiny polsonous anemones
as boxing gloves,

Hermit crabs reinforce their own body
armor by wearing second-hand shells.

Bigger shells must be found

as the crab grows

and this gives the crab lots of time
to develop its own unidue İook.

More sophisticated hermit crabs
collect stinging anemones

and will remove these anemones
and reattach them

whenever they change shells.

Crabs date back to Jurassic times
200 million years ago

and over 10,000 specles exist.

They're hardy souls - even missing
half their legs won 't slow them down.

And they're great opportunists -

some feasting inside
a sea cucumber's mouth.

Sea cucumbers have some remarkable
physical adaptations themselves.

They breathe through their rear end,

move on hydrauülicaliy-powered
tube feet,

and have a special collagen
in their body wall

that enables them
to radically change shape.

They also spawn from tTheir forehead.

Sea cucumbers
have few natural predators.

So it's no wonder they're a popular
taxi ride for crabs and shrimp.

Because the sed cucumber
stirs up food with its front end,

there's even a free meaoal
as parft of the ticket.

Nudibranchs
are also great to hitchhike.

These highiy poisonous sec slugs

offer guaranteed safe passage
through dangerous open tTerritory,

with the shrimps
scavenging on the run.

But for first-class travel,

nothing compares
to a jJet-propelled jellyfish.

Magic carpets also glide above
the reef, in the form of flatworms.

Flatworms and nudibranechs
don't have shells,

so draw on chemical warfare
as defense.

Some eat toxic hydroids and anemones

and seduester poison in their skin,

which in turn makes them poisonous
to any potential predator.

They advertise their toxicity with
bright, bold colors and patterns,

which have conspired to make them
incredibly beautiful.

They are as wild in character
as they are İn appearance.

They have gills on their backs,
sex organs on Their sides

and all of them are hermaphrodlites.

And some are fierce cannibals.

Trying to eat your lover during sex
is not gulfte acceptable,

but snacking on a cousin İs fine.

Joining the sea slugs on
the ocedan's floor are the sea stars.

Sea stars are often referred to
as starfish,

but theyre not fish at all,
theyTe echinoderms.

Echinoderms date back
over 500 million years,

so predate the evolution of coral.

They have evolved
into a wide range of life forms

and what many have in common
is the spine.

Urchins are some of
the most heavily spined of all,

but for some color-coordinated crabs
and shrimp, this isn't a deterrent.

They've adapted
to live amongst the spines

and remadin there oll their lives.

İf's a classic case of symbiosis
on a reef and worlds within worlds.

Tropical ocedans are like vast blue
deserts and largely nutrient poor.

On coral reefs,
nothing goes to waste.

Various specialist filter feeders
have evolved

to sift the passing currents -—

capturing, digesting and recyoeling
every available bit of food.

Worms are among the most numerous
and diverse of all filter feeders.

20,000 marine speciles exist

and, unlike the earth worms,
theyre an exotic buneh.

Befitting their name,

Christmas-tree worms unfurl
festive, feathery mouth parits,

which they use like tiny nets.

Their bodies, meanwhile, are buried
in the coral and rarely seen.

Egually shy are ribbon eels.

They spend most of their time
concedled in deep burrows,

with just their heads peeking oUrt.

They're relatives of moray eels

and their gaping mouths
make them look aggressive.

But theyre simply breathing,

with their exaggerated nostrils
sniffing for food.

Adopting the same lifestyle
are garden eels.

These delicate seda serpenits rise
from the sand İn vast communities,

performing their hypnotic
Indian snake dance.

Ever watechful for predators,

they nervously pluck plankton
from passing currents,

their tails anchoring them down.

Becduse of corals'longevity
on cur planet,

they're considered
our living fossils.

Another living fossil
still with us today is the nauütilus.

İf's an ancient mollusk, whose
line eventually dropped its shell...

«and gave Trise
to the age of the cephalopods.

Cephalopods
are synonymous with the reef

and one of the most intriguing
is İhe mimic octopus.

As its name implies,

the octopus mimics
the physical likeness and movements

of more than 15 different specles,

including sea snakes, İlionfish,
flounder and ghost crabs.

İf's öne of nature's
great confortionists.

Ifit doesn't want to be seen,
it certadinly won't be.

Many species of octopus
live in the vicinity of reefs

and a İrue reef speciolist is this -

the day octopus.

These octopus are grecat huünters
and fish hurry to defend their eggs.

And being so tasty themselves,

octopus have had to develop
excellent martial arfts skills.

They have the most complex brain
of any iİnvertebrate

and can process İnformation
from all eight arms at once.

They have short
as well as long-term memory

and possess a specidal way
to communicate with their skin.

They'e also highiy interactive
and tactile.

Courtship rituals can last for hours,

with couples intertwining all 16 arms
in a sticky embrace.

Once they mate,
their bodies are programmed to die.

For some species, this means
a lifespan of just 6 months.

For others, up to 5 years.

Cousin of the octopus İs the sauild,

seen here delicately laying eggs
in forest fronds.

We know sagulid more commonly
as calamarıi,

but despite being a favored delicacy
around the world,

many species
are increasing İn number.

Like other cephalopods,

theyre making the most of oceans
depleted of naftural predators

and seem more resilient than others
to changing water conditions.

Another charismatic member
of the family is the cuttlefish.

These credtures
have magicaol atftributes,.

On the outside,
large eyes as expressive ds ouUr own.

On the inside,
three hedcarts that pump blue blood.

During their breeding season,
they gather in small groups,

zooming amongst one anofher
like miniature spaceships.

Masters of jet propulsion,

they can move backwards, forwards
or sideways with egual edase.

Every year they return
to favorite nesting sites,

like this colony
of venomous fire coral.

Males üuse dramatic body displays
and postures

to compete for mating rights.

So although competition is intense,
it's rarely physical.

Clutching her brood of eggs
in her mouth,

a female surrenders her young
to the care of coral.

The flamboyant cuttlefish
is one of the tiniest cephalopods,

yet lives up to its name.

İts cuttlebone is too smolll to float,
so İt walks more than swims.

And it has a highiy poisonous flesh,
adverftised by its pulsing skin.

İF's also a deadiy predator.

Two specidlized tentacles dre
contained within a muscular sleeve,

which is launched like a speor.

With this kind of hunting prowess,
it's no wonder

the cephalopods have been
such a success story on İhe reef

and will no doubt
rüule the seabed for eons to come.

Reefs are not only İmportant
to their permanent residenis,

but also to many oceanic visitors.

Strong currents and rich upwellings
of food often occur around reefs

and attract nomads such as rays.

In fact, the total number of marine
crecatures dependent on coral reefs

is immedasurable.

Perhaps as many as
seven million species coexist here.

Over 4,000 species of tropical fish
are associated with coral reefs,

of which 755 depend on the reef
for their survival.

They may look
like just colorful confetti,

but each fish is its own individual.

Fish can smell, hear, see and touch.

They feel pain
and have complex relationships.

The vast majority of reef fish
have defined home ranges.

The reef sustains them, houses them
and concedals them from predators.

Like tiny kites on invisible strings,

the fish hover above
their beloved reefs,

venturing only far enough
to snatch a medl,

but otfherwise inseparable.

The connection between fish and coral

is öne of nafure's
most enduring İlove stories.

Humans too benefit from
a healthy relationship with coral

and the seas atlarge.

Reefs create barriers to the sea
and protect shorelines.

Various life-saving medicines
are extracted from reefs.

Ocean-derived chemicals
are üsed to treat many illnesses,

including cancer.

Microscopic marine algae
processes our atmospheric CO2

and produces /70X
of the oxygen we breathe.

So, like these fish,
we need hedalthy ocedans to survive

and reefs to secüre our homes.

In both our terrestrial world
and the undersea,

there have been constant cycles
of creation and destruction.

The rüle of natuüre is chaos.

Although a reef looks harmonious,

its as chaotfic
as any other ecosystem.

And oöone of the ways
to survive chaos,

whether you're above
or below the surface,

is t© cooperate.

This cooperation
is called symbiosis,

a mutudclly beneficial relationship

between two
entirely different species.

These little blue and black striped
wrasse would be perfect fish food

if they hadn't made themselves
so usefüul.

They're cledner wrasse
and edarn İheir keep by cleaning.

So vital is this service

that none of their grateful hosts
WoUld ever dare to eat tThem.

Both parties benefit
and a form of balance is achieved.

There is constant tension on the reef

as different speciles
work oUt this balance

and İry to maximize
their moment in history.

For some of the bigger fish,

that moment
used to streteh into decades.

Some even lived
for a century or more.

But old age is a rarity now

and İconic reef specles
are vanishing even as we waftch.

Angelfish live
for 10 to 15 yedcrs in the wild

and are some of the reefs
most recognizable species.,

They are highly prized by collectors

and, tragicaoally, many live out
their long lives in ağuaria.

A fish in a tank
is like a bird in a cage -

we're dble to observe them
but we getlittle idea of their wildness.

İf's only here, on the reef,

that we can truly appreciate just
how complex a fish's life can be.

Some angelfish are promiscuous,

some bond forlife,

others have male-driven harems.

And marny fish, including these
delicate leafed scorpionfish,

engage in long courtship rituals.

New species of fish
are discovered every week,

and with each discovery
comes a wedalth of new information.

Some spawn düaily,

others do not begin breeding
until they are 20 or 30 yedars old.

Many start life as a male
but die a female.

Most are highliy social

and have İnftelliğgence
beyond ouUr comprehension.

Like wildebeest and zebra
on the African plains,

tangs and parroffish
often graze together.

Both fish are herbivores

and dine on algae
and even İive coral.

Other species converge
on the reef crest.

This area is exposed to wave action
and lots of sunlight

and İs rich in nutrients.

Fish like this rock-mover wrasse

literally move rocks in the search
of worms and mollusks.

Dining this way is hard work,

and they're notf always willing
to share their patech.

Others excavate the substrate
and swoallow large mouthfuls of sand.

Their bodies are specioally designed
to filter the sand for algae,

dispelling waste through their gills.

Access to the reef crest is limited.

İf's only at cerftain tides
and during calm seas

that if's possible to feed here.

When all the conditions are right,

fish arrive from miles around to take
advantage of this rare opportunity.

Some are İn couples,
others dine alone,

and completely different species
feed side by side.

If's biodiversity at its best.

Eccentric earth-movers,
like triggerfish,

also join the dinner parity.

They use their powerful beaks
to cast aside whole chunks of coral,

as they search for cams,

shrimp and crabs.

Theyre much too busy to worry
about their table manners.

Like a human city,

a reef boasts
an eclectic Jumble of characters

conducting themselves
in a varlety of ways.

There are loners and dlrifters.

There are clandestine meetings

and ünderground movemenits.

There are the watchful and The wary.

And different forms
of self-expression.

As in all of our cities,
strange alliances occur...

.and odd fashion is tolerated.

Every beduty and bedcast
has its place.

Just like the terrestrial world,
a reef has a 24-hour eyocle.

As the afternoon light
begins to fade,

fish, like these anthias,
spawn wifh abandon,

knowing that night
will soon follow

and conceol their eggs.

Meanwhile, tiny fish
shudder their bodies,

indicating their readiness to mate.

And countless other daytime fish
are inspired by the waning light

to court or breedi.

Here, a pair of flutemouths
engage in a seductfive sword dance.

İf's their form of foreplay,

and they've been at it for hours.

Over the millennia,
the battle between predator and prey

has fueled an evolutionary arms race
under the seda.

Mother Nature is always
updating her designs

and making old ones redundani?.

Animals have had to constantly refine

their offensive
and defensive capaobilities.

The result
can be pure science fiction.

Angler and scorpion fish
are as bizarre as they come.

They're expert mimics of sponges,

but have one of the fastest strikes
on Earth.

But theyrTe certdiniy
not oUt to win a beduty prize.

When it comes to some of these
credtions, love is certainliy blind.

This myriad life has enthralled us
since the beginning of human history.

We did originally evolve
from the seda.

And ever since early humans
first emerged,

we've been drawn back to İts shores.

Seafood has been a favored diet.

Shells have been our money
and jewelry.

Coral limestone paves our roads.

Sand cemenits our houses.

Our myfhs and legends,
books and films

are all full of characters
derived from the seda.

And as light fades,
these characters begin to change

and the story of coral moves
into C very different narrative.

Big predatory fish cruise the reefs
edge, searching for a final kill.

Daytime fish hurry into hiding.

This is a dangerous time
of transition.

All across the reef,
there is a changing of the guard.

The night shift has begun.

Little is khnown about oUr öocedins.

The surface of Mars is better mapped.

Most living coral reefs
descend to only b0 meters or so,

due to the reliance on sünlight.

But the sedafloor
falls to 11 kilometers in places.

This is whaf we call the abyss.

Night-time on the reef
gives us d sense

of what this abyss might be like.

The inky black is very much oalive
and full of aliens.

İn special places
where reefs drop to great depth,

deep sea plankton rise to the surface

to hunt shallow water phytoplankton.

They travel hundreds of meters.

They number in their billions

and they repeat the journey
every night.

İf's öne of the biggest migrations
in the animal kingdom.

The chase of plankton-hunter
and plankton-prey

triggers a larger chain reaction
right across the night-time reef.

Baitfish snateh mouthfuls,

while basking stars
emerge from their lairs

and extend wehb-like arms.

The water flashes with color

as the plankton frantically
communicate with one another.

Coral is not an idle bystander.

The reef has become a waoall of mouths.

The true animal nature
of corol is revealed.

Eguipped with polisonous harpoons
and acid,

each polyp becomes a deadiy trap
from which escape İs İmpossible.

Meanwhile, catfish eat on the run.

Parroftfish sleep
with eyes wide open

or conceol themselves
in mMuCcUsS cocoons.

Without torches,
humans are blind at night.

Underwater,
we'd barely know up from down.

But the üundersea hunters
are not at all disadvantaged.

Instead of sight, they use vibration,
electrical impulses

and chemical traces
to find what they're affer.

Stone walls are, in fact,
living stonefish waiting in ambush...

.while the sharp teeth
of stargazers lurk benecath the muck.

İf's easy to swim towards danger
without realizing it.

This anemone has become
a serlal killer.

A lucky sguid escapes, releasing ink
to cover its tracks.

A pipefish looks on,

as fish scatter and more fall victim.

Down on the seabed,

scavengers collect the scraps...

.while lionfish use their long spines
to herd unsuspecting prey.

There is activity in all directions,

as night hunters of every description
eat therr fill.

The anglerfish is back
and now completely in its elemenit.

İt may not move with grace,

but that doesn't affect
its chances for a kill.

All if needs to do İs wait for a meal
to come to İts mouth.

When ift comes to nocturnal hunting,

moray eels are known
for their viciousness.

But other killers
are not so edasy to spot.

Mantis shrimp are sophisticated
and savage.

They're armed with supreme eyesight

and actively hunt live prey

while other ecrustaceans,
like lobsters,

scour the seada floor for leftovers.

With a busy time ahead,

day fish try to sleep
despite all the activity.

Some drrifting
like ghosts in the dark.

The anemone fish are also trying to
sleep, but aren 't finding it easy.

Their flat-mates, the dotted crabs,
are enjoying a midnight snack.

Some of the most active
night prowlers are shells.

Many of us only know them from
shell shops or dead on the beach.

But shells alive
are much more precious -

9ypsy caravans, varnished by the
ocedans, constantiy on the move.

Darkness also suits
courting mandarin fish.

They have an unusuüdlly high
sex drive

and can spdwn every night
if the urge takes them.

Although our ünderwater lights
give us a glimpse,

we still khnow very little about
what happens on a reef at night.

And our unwarranted fears
have made İt harder to learn.

Our attitude to the sea
has been full of contradiction.

On the öne hand we've reveredi İt,

on the other
we've seen İt as an enemy -

dark and unfathomable,
full of dragons and monsters.

These monsters of the deep

have long been proven figments
of our collective imagination.

But some believe they still exist
in the form of sharks.

How wrong they are,

These magnificent creatures
predate dinosdurs.

Like coral, they've survived
several mass extinctions

and have played an eduüdcllİy vital role
in shaping ocedn evolution.

Sharks have been roaming our seas
for over 400 million yedars.

Fossil records show that thousands
of species have come and gone,

of which 370 are with us today.

They can be found worldwide,

with many dependent on coral reef
ecosystems for protection and food.

As top predators,

sharks have influenced adaptation
and evolution

all the way down the food chain.

But, contrary to popular myfth,

sharks are not just instinctive
eating machines.

Many species exhibit
powerful problem-solving skills

and their brain-to-body-mass ratio
is similar to MAaNy MAMMAIİS

and other higher order vertebrates.

So they are as intelligent,
curlous and socldal

as some of our more favored animals.

They nof only possess
the 5 senses we do -

sight, hearing,
touch, smell and taste -

but can also perceive
electrical currents

and magnetic fields.

If we're in the water with them,

they can detect our presence
from miles away.

They can monitor
the bedating of our heart...

«and read our Moodi..

When it comes to humans,
they are normally cautious creatures.

Whenever possible, they avoid us.

With good reason.

Every year,
over 100 million sharks are killed,

the majority just for their fins.

Their fins are a traditional
ingredient in Asian soup

and their value rivals caviar.

The sharks are offten finned oalive

and thrown back into the water
to drown.

One third of all öopen-ccean shark
species are now facing extinction,

primarily due to over-fishing.

So if there is a killing machine
in ouUr seas, İt's not them,

İf's Uus.

No shark is safe,

not even the biggest of them all,
the whale shark.

Up to 15 meters long and 12 tonsin
weight, they're an impressive sight.

But theyre sirictly filter feeders
and dine mostly on plankton.

Unbelievabiy, they are also victims
of illegal fishing.

Whale sharks are not actudally whales
but sharks.

True whales that visit the reefs
inelude these, the minke.

Incredibly, these graceful animals
are still being harpooned.

What trust they show us, regardless.

Before we began to plunder the seas,
this is what they were İike.

Linking the abyss with the surface,

layer upon layer
of shimmering silver.

A big sechool of fish
is a defining image of a heolthy sedc.

İf's a show of strength and
incredible physiological adaptation.

Running head to tail in most fish

İs a row oOf scales
known as the lateral line.

Connected to nerves in the brain,

this line consists
of specidcalized cells

that are sensitive
to wafer displacement and movemenit.

Meanwhile, fishes' eyes are located
on the sides of their heads

to make İf easy to see where they are
in relation to one another.

So, vision helps maintain angle
and distance between fish,

while the lateral line dictates speed
and direction of the entire school.

In this way,
many fish can move as one

and choreograph
their own adudtic ballet.

Many fish school as juveniles

and around half of all fish species
form aggregations

at some polnt İn their lifecyoele.

Even fish that prefer their solitude
join a school from time to time.

Barracuda hunt on their own at night

but hang out in packs during the day
for protectlon and company.

With their pointed hecads
and streamlined bodies -

up to 2 meters long -

they fiy in unison through
the blue like polished arrows.

Sechooling makes it hard for
a predatfor to focus on one target

and is a great defense mechanism.

İf's also a force to be reckonedi with
when it comes to feeding.

Few plankton in the areca will escape
this sweep of open mouths,

as İhese rare filter-feeding mackerel
make their coordinated attack.

Over the eons, the art of schooling
has helped fish in many ways.

But now, ironically,
it contributes to their downfall.

Just öone net can collect
a ton offish at once.

And over 100 million tons of fish
are havuled from the oceans each yedr.

For the few big schools left,

it must feel guite eerie moving
through so much empiy liguid blue.

These days, one ofthe only
safe places for schooling fish

is a marine sanctudry.

Whenever sanctuaries
have been established and policed,

fish stocks have slowly increased,

helping to restore biodiversity.

A süccessful sanctuary
becomes a precious time capsule...

...G reminder of how rich
the seas öonce were.

And could be again.

Unlike a zoo,
a marine sanctuary has no waolls.

So it has the capacity to not only
replenish the immediate dreda,

but the oceans around İT.

Because we have İndividual names
for oUur oceans

and have territorial borders,

we forget that
there's only one system.

There is only one sea.

Water, covering 706 of our planet's
surface, connecis us doll.

Whaft occurs even in our polar regions
will eventually affect coral.

And,, conversely, each new marine
sanctudary is another powerful step

towoacrds saving OUr seas.

And when you consider

that the global ocean makes up 995
of the living biosphere of the planet,

every step counts.

Because reefs
are such important breeding grounds

for so many marine creatures,

this İs where a new future might lie.

Renewal here is a daily affair

and brings with itf
magical transformation.

Here, a coral cod blushes a different
color when wooed by iİts mate.

A thriving reef
is an agğudatic radinbow,

And like the skin of the coral cod,

these colors have medaning
and function.

Silver scales reflect light

and allow fish to blend
into their watery backgrounds.

Bold, strong colors allow fish
to recognize their own species

İN A Crowdl.

Color also indicates whether a fish
is a juvenile or adult,

and some fish change color
Aguite radicoaliy as they mature.

Once fish are palred up,

they can then use body posturing
and color displays

to communicate their intentions.

A maoale parrotfish erects his dorsal fin
to intimidate other males

and impress a nearby female who
happens to look completely different.

And all across the reef, fish are
on the lookout for a chance to mate

and pass on their precious genes.

Most seda creatures have short,
intense lives compared to ours.

For some fish, a few years
constitutes an entire lifetime.

So every good day on a reef
is truly great.

A good decade is even greater,

the chance
for countless marine creatures

to live their lives to the fullest

and give rise to new generations.

In the güuest to sürvive
in these tropical seas,

animals have had to be
highly inventive

and sometimes nature's own ruüles
are broken.

Consider the seahorse.

These mystical creatures
come in dll sizes.

Some bigger than your palm,
others as small as your fingernail.

The daintiest of them c
is the pygmy seahorse,

whose life is completely bound
to gorgonlan coral.,

The extended seahorse family
consists of 320 specles,

and includes pipefishes,
pipehorses and sea dragons.

In most speciles of pipefish
and sedhorse,

its the male
that broods the young.

İf's not just this unusuUaAl parenting
that sets them apart.

They have eguine heads,

prehensile tails...

and bony body plates
instead of scoales.

Despite their dragon appearance,
many fish like to eat them.

So not being noticed
has become Their speciolity.

Ghost pipefish are expert mimics
of other animals and plants,

including crinoids and corol.,

Their predators
find it hard to see them

and so does their prey.

They spend most of their lives
upside down,

focused İntentiy
on the sandy bottom,

searching for the tiny crustaceans

that are their principal food.

So specific is their camouflage

that pipefish rarely wander far
from a particular habitat

and perfect their mimicry
down to the finest detall.

Other species
concedl their true identity

by moving like eddies and currents.

While some pretend
to be sand-encrusted sticks

or fallen leaves...

...Or pleces of algae.

If you know how to look, the masters
of disgulise are everywhere.

In this underwater Garden of Eden,

even the snake
turns out to be a fish.

Down on the seabed,
deception is commonplace.

Individual reefs are often connected
by areas of sand and rübble,

and this is where the so-called
'bottom dwellers' dwell.

The most numerous of these
are the gobies.

There are over 2,000 species of goby,

making them
one of the largest fish families.

Few of them
grow bigger than your finger,

which makes them a favored food
for many large predatory fish.

So theyrre always on the lookout
and never far from the seabed.

They spend most of their days
feeding,

filtering sand through their gills
to extract tiny food particles.

Sand is everyithing to the goby.

Sand puts food in their belly

and also a roof above their heads.

Many gobies build burrows.

İts tiring excavation work,

and partners sometimes dont agree
on whose turn İT is.

If the domestic argument
can't be worked out,

then this species,
camouflaged as big eyes,

can always go for a stroll
to smooth things over.

Some clever gobies have enlisted
the services of a slave.

İn a most extraordinary parfnership,

gobies and blind shrimp
live together, bonded by mutual need.

The shrimps excavate a burrow
in which the gobies can hide,

and they eat the göobys seraps.

The gobies act as sentinels, warning
the shrimps of approaching danger.

The fish and crustacea have
such a close working relationship

that they're always connectedi,

by tail or fin or feeler.

For fish close to the bottom
of the food chdin,

a safe home base İs essential.

Space is limited
and good reoal estate hard to come by.

Trespassing isn't tolerated.

Territorial disputes
are normally gulck to work out.

But not always.

There's definitely no point
picking a fight

with this mighty armored beast.

If's the crown-of-thorns starfish,
corals' mortal enemy.

By disgorging their stomachs
and drenching polyps with acid,

they eatliving coral
and suck the life out of a reef.

The starfish play an importan 't role,

clearing space
and fostering biodiversity.

And few have stood in thelir way.

The starfish have always been
a natural part of the eycle.

But now the eycle is unnatural.

Agricultural pollution
has increased nutrients in the water,

which in turn causes algal blooms.

Starfish juveniles
are feasting on this algae

and many more
are surviving into adulthood.

Plagues of crown-of-thorns starfish
are now regulariy experienced

on reefs worldwide.

But not all infestations
are bad news.

A perfect example
is the unlikely allıance

between the edared sponge
and the pink sed cucumber.

This sponge is highly toxic to most.

But the seda cucumber has adapted
to live here in huge numbers,

rising off the edges to spawn.

This is an inhospitable habitat
where credatures are Tthriving.

Perhaps it offers hope
for life in our changing seas.

İf's certadinly proof
that anything is possible.

The ocednic world is ever changing.

Nothing stays the same here
for more than a moment.

Over the ages,
corals have come and goöne.

Today, they are disappearing agdin.

But what sets this cycle apart
from any other in geological history

is the presence of us.

For the first time
in corals' existence,

humans are having a direct impact
on İhe ocean's chemistry

and corals' destiny.

Many scientists believe

we are heading towards
ouUr next mass extinction

and that humans are the cadüse.

Reef-building corals
are now seriousliy endangered.

And as reefs disappear,

hundreds of thousands of dependent
credatures disappear with them.

Furthermore, the demise
of coral reefs is a clear indicator

that our ocedan İs dying,

and oUr öcedan İs our planets
life-support system.

The only way to save our ocean

is to radically curb
our CO2 emissions

within the next one or two decades.

We have all the tools to do İt.

And if we succeed,
we will not only save our reefs,

we will ultimately save ourselves.

The future of coral,
and how this story ends,

is Uup to Us.