MicroPlanet 3D
WINTER ON A NORTH AMERICAN LAKE.THE CYPRESS TREES ARE DORMANT… AWAITING THE EARTH’S TILT BACK TOWARD THE SUN. EVEN TURTLES TAKE REFUGE FROM THE BONE CHILLING WATER SPRING IS MONTHS AWAY. TO US… IT MAY SEEM THAT LIFE IS ON HOLD. BUT WE ARE LUMBERING. CLUMSY GIANTS STRIDING THROUGH TINY WORLDS. MINIATURE ECO-SYSTEMS THAT THRIVE WITHOUT US… EVEN IN SPITE OF US.
DOWN HERE…. NEAR THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE FOOD CHAIN IS A SECRET WORLD.SHADOWY WATERS WHERE THIEVES… ASSASSINS… AND GENTLE SOULS ALIKE PLY THEIR TRADE.EACH HAS EVOLVED TO PLAY A ROLE…. EVEN IF WE DON’T FULLY UNDERSTAND IT.
THERE ARE COUNTLESS WAYS TO MAKE AN AQUATIC LIVING.
AND LIKE EVERY GOOD COMMUNITY… THIS ONE NEEDS RELIABLE TRASH COLLECTORS.-m-MOST SNAILS ARE SCAVENGERS… FEEDING ON ALGAE AND DECOMPOSING PLANTSTHEIR RASPY TONGUES SCRAPE A PATH THROUGH THE MUCK. -m-THIS CLEANING CREW IS SLOW…BUT VORACIOUS. AND THEY’VE BEEN AT IT FOR HALF A BILLION YEARS… LONG BEFORE DINOSAURS WALKED THE EARTH.
OUTSIDE THE MOLLUSK FAMILY… FEW MIGHT CARE ABOUT THE LOWLY SNAIL… OR THEIR COUSIN… THE CLAM.BUT AS LAKES AND RIVERS GO… THESE MAY BE THE CANARIES IN THE COAL MINE.-- NATURE’S EARLY WARNING SYSTEM FOR WATER QUALITY. TODAY… NEARLY HALF THEIR SPECIES ARE AT RISK.
FULLY GROWN, THESE FRESH WATER CLAMS ARE BARELY LARGER THAN YOUR THUMBNAIL.-m-THEY ARE BI-VALVES… WEARING THEIR HOUSE AS A HINGED SHELL.PERHAPS MOBILE HOME IS MORE ACCURATE. CLAMS SPEND MOST OF THEIR TIME BURIED IN THE SAND.THIS YOUNG CLAM HAS COME UP TO RELEASE ITS LARVAE. BABY CLAMS AREN’T BABIED… THEY’RE SENT OFF INTO THE WORLD TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES.THIS SILKY MUSCLE IS THE CLAM’S FOOT. IN THE RIGHT HANDS…. IT’S A SHOVEL, A WEDGE, AND A WINCH. -m-CLAMS ARE FILTER FEEDERS… SUCKING IN WATER… AND FILTERING OUT MICROSCOPIC SHRIMPLIKE CREATURES CALLED ZOOPLANKTON.EVEN THIS MODEST LITTLE MOLLUSK CAN FILTER ABOUT A HALF GALLON OF WATER A DAY.-music ends-THEY READILY ABSORB MAN-MADE TOXINS LIKE PESTICIDES… WHICH BUILD UP IN THEIR TISSUES AND CAN EVENTUALLY KILL THEM. - montage-OF THE 300 SPECIES NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA… 200 ARE EXTINCT OR IN JEOPARDY.
AS SHELLFISH GO… THIS IS ONE OF THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK .THE CRAYFISH… THE CRAWDAD… THE MUDBUG…. WAS BURROWING INTO LAKE BEDS SOME 115 MILLION YEARS AGO.IT IS THE SWISS POCKET KNIFE OF FRESH WATER CREATURES.CLAWS ARE FOR PROTECTING YOUR TERRITORY… THEY’RE ALSO TOP-NOTCH EXCAVATION GEAR.THE LONG ANTENNAE ARE USED LIKE HANDS TO FEEL THEIR WAY AROUND THE ENVIRONMENT… CREATING AN INTERNAL MAP. THAT’S ESPECIALLY USEFUL WHEN YOU’RE HUNTING FOR A SNACK IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT. THE LITTLE ANTENNULES SENSE MOTION… SMELL FOOD… EVEN DETECT THE CHEMICAL SIGNATURES OF MATES AND PREDATORS.40 PERCENT OF A CRAYFISH’S BRAIN IS DEVOTED TO THE SENSE OF SMELL.FOR US… IT’S 1%.
ITS LEGS ARE AS DEFT AS A SAFECRACKER’S FINGERS… AND HAVE CHEMICAL RECEPTORS TO HONE IN ON FOOD. WORKING BY FEEL ALONE… THEY QUICKLY FIND WHERE PREY IS VULNERABLE.POWERFUL MANDIBLES SHRED THE TENDER MORSEL INTO BITE-SIZED PIECES.EVEN THE SMALLEST CRAYFISH IS A GIANT IN THESE WATERS.
A THICK LAYER OF ALGAE NEAR THE SURFACE PROVIDES A SAFE HAVEN FROM THE PREDATORS BELOW.
NYMPHS PROWL THIS TANGLED FOREST FOR ANYTHING THEY CAN CATCH. THIS IS THEIR REALM FOR UP TO FOUR YEARS…BEFORE THEY EMERGE FROM THE WATER AND SHED THEIR CAMOUFLAGED SKIN.THEN THEY RULE THE SKIES… AS A DRAGONFLY.THIS DAMSELFLY… A RELATIVE OF THE DRAGONFLY… BREATHES THROUGH THE FEATHERLIKE GILLS ON ITS TAIL.
FLATWORMS DINE ON DECAYING LEAVES. PLANARIA… AS THEY ARE CALLED… POSSESSES ALMOST MIRACULOUS POWERS OF HEALING AND REGENERATION. CUT ONE INTO A HUNDRED PIECES… AND YOU’VE CREATED 100 WORMS. SPECIAL CELLS CAN BECOME ANY NEEDED BODY PART. HEADLESS PIECES WILL DESTROY AND ABOSORB JUST ENOUGH CELLS TO GROW A NEW HEAD. IN JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS… A SLICE OF PLANARIA CAN REBUILD INTO A TINY NEW FLATWORM. THESE SUNLIT SHALLOWS ARE A THICK TANGLE OF VEGETATION… SCAVENGERS… AND PREDATORS.
A GHOST SHRIMP SNATCHES PLANKTON FROM THE WATER. JUST AN INCH-LONG… IT CAN CONTROL THE DOTTED PIGMENTS OF ITS GLASS-LIKE BODY… RENDERING IT NEARLY INVISIBLE.LOOK CLOSELY…. AND YOU CAN SEE ITS HEART BEATING.
BELOW THE GLIMMERING BLOOMS OF ALGAE… AND SCHOOLING MINNOWS….IS THE LAST REFUGE OF THE HUNTED.THIS IS THE DARK UNDERWORLD… THE PRIMORDIAL SOUP OF THE LAKE BOTTOM. TINY AMPHIPODS CLEAN ROTING BITS OF DEBRIS FROM A NYMPH THEY SHARE THESE SHADOWS WITH THE MOST PROLIFIC KILLER THAT HAS EVER LIVED.
THE MOSQUITO.WORLDWIDE… MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASES LIKE MALARIA… DENGUE FEVER… AND WEST NILE VIRUS… KILL AS MANY AS 3 MILLION PEOPLE EVERY YEAR.
MOSQUITO LARVAE DO NOT HAVE GILLS. THEY ARE AIR-BREATHERS. LARVAE HANG UPSIDE DOWN AT THE SURFACE… BREATHING THROUGH A TUBE.IT WILL TAKE ABOUT THREE WEEKS TO GO FROM THE TINIEST LITTLE WIGGLER… TO BIG LARVAE… TO MATURE PUPAE. THESE CURLED TUMBLERS ARE JUST HOURS FROM HATCHING. INSIDE… AN ADULT MOSQUITO IS PACKED AND FOLDED LIKE INSECT OREGAMI. - Music change-- IF WE COULD SNAP OUR FINGERS AND MAKE ALL MOSQUITOES DISAPPEAR… FOREVER. SHOULD WE?THEY HAVE BEEN HERE FOR MORE THAN 100 MILLION YEARS… CO-EVOLVING WITH UNTOLD THOUSANDS OF SPECIES ACROSS THE PLANET.FOR MANY FISH AND BIRDS…. MOSQUITOES ARE A KEY PART OF THEIR DIET.CARIBOU THAT FOLLOW THE SAME WINDY TRAILS YEAR AFTER YEAR TO AVOID THE BLOOD SUCKERS MAY CHANGE THEIR MIGRATION ROUTES… ALTERING THE ECOSYSTEM.THOUSANDS OF PLANT SPECIES DEPEND ON MOSQUITOS FOR POLLINATION.IT’S BEEN SAID THAT ERADICATING MOSQUITOES WOULD BE A MERE HICCUP IN OUR ECOSYSTEMS. WHAT FILLS ITS PLACE COULD BE BETTER… OR WORSE. SHADOW MOVEMENT OR RAPID CHANGES IN LIGHT SEND THEM DIVING FOR COVER.MOSQUITO LARVAE ARE OMNIVORES… EATING ALGAE… BACTERIA… AND OTHER TINY WATER DWELLERS.SOON ENOUGH… THEY WILL FEAST ON BLOOD… AND THEIR YOUNG WILL RETURN TO THE WATER.
WINTER IS COMING TO AN END. EVERY PLANT AND ANIMAL IS WAITING FOR A CUE… A GOOD RAIN… WARMER DAYS… PERHAPS A FULL MOON.IT’S TIME TO LOOK FOR A MATE. -music-TOADS EMERGE FROM THEIR WINTER BURROWS.IF THIS HANDSOME COUPLE CAN FIND SOME WATER... SHE’LL LAY HER EGGS… AND HE’LL FERTILIZE THEM.THEY’LL STAY LOCKED IN THIS EMBRACE FOR DAYS IF NECESSARY.NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO CUT IN ON THIS DANCE.ONCE AGAIN… WATER IS THE KEY TO SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIES.THE OPAQUE, JELLY-LIKE MASSES SINK TO THE BOTTOM AND BLEND IN. EACH COUPLE WILL CONTRIBUTE THOUSANDS OF FERTILIZED EGGS… TO WATER FILLED WITH PREDATORS. THE STRATEGY IS SIMPLE … CREATE SO MANY BABIES… THEY CAN’T ALL GET EATEN.
SPRING RAINS ARE HERE. A HEALTHY SHOWER IS ESSENTIAL TO FLOWERING PLANTS… NEW GROWTH… THE CYCLE OF LIFE.BUT NOT FOR THE TINY FIRE ANT. IF THIS COLONY DOESN’T GET ALL OF ITS CITIZENS ABOVE THE SATURATED GROUND… THEY WILL DROWN.WORKERS SCRAMBLE TO OPEN HOLES IN THE NEST.
THE QUEEN… EGGS… AND LARVAE MUST BE EVACUATED QUICKLY.
BUT THE SHOWER HAS BECOME A FLOOD. ANY OTHER ANT WOULD BE DOOMED.BUT THE FIRE ANT IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER CREATURE ON EARTH.WORKERS BUILD A RAFT…. PULL EVERYONE ABOARD… AND SIMPLY FLOAT AWAY. WHEN THEY HIT LAND… THE WORKERS WILL DIG ANOTHER NEST. AND THE COLONY WILL SURVIVE.
SUMMER… CICADAS SING HIGH IN THE TREES… FAR FROM THE PREDATORS ON THE FOREST FLOOR.
DON’T LET THE INNOCENT FACE FOOL YOU. THE BARBOURS MAP TURTLE IS A COLD-BLOODED CARNIVORE.IF THEY CAN CATCH IT OR CRUSH IT IN THEIR POWERFUL JAWS… IT’S ON THE MENU.FISH AND SNAILS ARE GOOD…. BUT INSECTS ARE LIKE CHOCOLATE TO A BABY TURTLE. FUNNY AS IT MAY SOUND… TURTLES ARE THE GREAT WHITE SHARKS OF A FRESHWATER RIVER. FULLY GROWN… THEY HAVE NO ENEMIES AND KEEP MID-LEVEL PREDATORS FROM OVER RUNNING THE ECOSYSTEM. THE MALES WILL GROW TO ABOUT 5 INCHES… AND BE READY TO MATE IN THREE OR FOUR YEARS. THE FEMALES WILL DWARF THEM… REACHING 12 INCHES ACROSS. BUT TO BECOME A MOTHER… A FEMALE MUST SURVIVE 15 TO 20 YEARS BEFORE SHE’S READY TO MATE.RIVER POLLUTION, DREDGING, HABITAT DESTRUCTION… AND THE PET TRADE HAVE TAKEN A HEAVY TOLL ON THE BARBOURS MAP TURTLE.STUDIES INDIICATE THAT THERE ARE FEWER THAN 10,000 LEFT... WORLDWIDE
TURTLES CAN’T EASILY PICK UP AND LEAVE WHEN THEIR HOME IS IN JEOPARDY. BUT THEIR UPSTAIRS NEIGHBORS CAN.
THE WATER SKIMMER… WATER SCOOTER… WATER SKATER…. WATER SKIPPPER… IS PERHAPS BEST KNOWN AS THE WATER STRIDER.IT DOES INDEED WALK ON WATER. NOT ALL WATER STRIDERS ARE CREATED EQUAL. THEIR VERY SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON IT. SOME JUVENILE STRIDERS HAVE WINGS… SOME HALF-WINGS…. SOME NO WINGS AT ALL. THE STRIDERS WITHOUT WINGS ARE LIGHTER… MORE NIMBLE… MORE LIKELY TO CATCH PREY AND THRIVE.BUT IF THE STREAM RUNS DRY OR POND DISAPPEARS… THE WINGED STRIDERS CAN FLY OFF TO FIND A NEW HOME. AND THE SPECIES CONTINUES.LOOK CLOSELY AT THE SHADOW CAST ON THE SAND BELOW. THOSE CIRCLES AT THE ENDS OF ITS LEGS HOLD THE SECRET TO WATER WALKING.THE TOP LAYER OF WATER MOLECULES CREATES SURFACE TENSION… A THIN FILM OF SORTS. THE STRIDER SPREADS ITS WEIGHT ACROSS A MUCH LARGER AREA THAN ITS THIN LEGS SHOULD ALLOW. THIS AQUATIC INSECT IS EXQUISITELY BUILT TO REPEL WATER FROM STEM TO STERN. ITS BODY AND LEGS ARE COVERED WITH THOUSANDS OF MICROSCOPIC HAIRS PER SQUARE MILLIMETER. A NEARLY-PERFECT RAINCOAT.GETTING WET WHILE WALKING ON WATER COULD PROVE DEADLY. A SOAKED BUG IS A SLOW BUG. BETTER KNOWN AS FISH FOOD.WIND… RAIN… EVEN SWIFT WATER… BARELY SLOW THE STRIDER DOWN. IT CAN SUPPORT 15 TIMES ITS WEIGHT BEFORE SINKING.
IT’S BEEN ABOUT THREE WEEKS SINCE OUR TOADS WENT SKINNY DIPPING.THE KIDS HAVE ARRIVED… BY THE THOUSANDS. JUST AS INECTS HAVE LARVAL STAGES…. SO DO FROGS AND TOADS. TADPOLES BEGIN LIFE WITH GILLS…LIKE A FISH. THE LARGE ONES ARE NO BIGGER THAN A PEA. TADPOLES ARE MAINLY HERBIVORES… EATING PLANTS… ALGAE… AND BITS OF ROTTING STUFF FULL OF NUTRIENT-RICH BACTERIA.BUT THEY’VE BEEN KNOWN TO SNACK ON SMALLER TADPOLES NOW AND THEN.AS LEGS APPEAR… SO DO LUNGS. IN ABOUT 12 WEEKS… THEY’RE READY FOR LIFE ON LAND.
AMPHIBIANS HAVE BEEN SWIMMING… HOPPING… AND CRAWLING THE EARTH FOR SOME 360 MILLION YEARS. TODAY… THEY MAY BE STANDING ON THE BRINK OF DESTRUCTION. GLOBAL WARMING… WATER POLLUTION… AND HABITAT LOSS HAVE KILLED OFF 170 SPECIES IN JUST THE PAST 10 YEARS.ANOTHER NINETEEN HUNDRED ARE THREATENED… HEADING TOWARD EXTINCTION.
THE HUMBLE GOPHER TORTOISE MAY BE SLOW… BUT IT IS INEED PERSISTENT.A SINGLE TORTOISE CAN DIG A 48 FOOT LONG TUNNEL 3 FEET DEEP TO GET OUT OF THE ELEMENTS AND AWAY FROM PREDATORS.ITS BURROWS EVENTUALLY PROVIDE HOMES FOR NEARLY 400 OTHER SPECIES… SUCH AS FROGS… SNAKES… AND EVEN OWLS.THEY ARE SCAVENGERS… GETTING MOST OF THEIR WATER FROM PLANTSTHORNY THISTLE FLOWERS ARE A TREAT.
A FULLY GROWN TORTOISE HAS FEW NATURAL ENEMIES EXCEPT BEARS AND ALLIGATORS. BUT IS ON A SLOW MARCH TOWARD EXTINCTION. AND WE’RE HURRING IT ALONG…. DESTROYING TORTOISE HABITAT… CAPTURING THEM FOR PETS… EVEN EATING THEM.GOPHER TORTOISE SIGHTINGS HAVE BECOME RARE IN MOST OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES.
THE ANT COLONY HAS FOUND A NEW HOME. WORKERS EXCAVATE A COMPLEX NETWORK OF TUNNELS AND CHAMBERS… THAT MAY REACH 10 FEET DOWN INTO THE GROUND.THESE ANTS ARE OMNIVORES… EATING ANYTHING THAT OFFERS ENERGY… FATS… OR PROTEINS.INCLUDING OTHER INSECTS.
A FIRE ANT SCOUT MAY BE FEARLESS… BUT THIS IS NO PLACE TO BE BRAVE.A LUNAR LANDSCAPE… CREATED BY A CLEVER PREDATOR…. THE ANTLION DIGS A CONE SHAPED PIT IN THE SAND… EASILY TOSSING OUT ROCKS TWICE ITS WEIGHT. THE TRAP IS SETVIBRATION FROM THE STRUGGLING INSECT ALERTS THE ANTLION HIDING JUST BELOW THE SURFACE.THE ANTLION FLINGS SAND AT ITS PREY… KNOCKING THE ANT OFF BALANCE. IT’S LIKE TRYING TO RUN UP A 40 FOOT SAND DUNE… AND BEING SHOWERED WITH ROCKS.THIS FIRE ANT ISN’T GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT. SHE THINKS THE CLUMP OF DIRT IS HER ATTACKER… LATCHES ON… AND STINGS IT FURIOUSLY.THE ANT LION TRIES TO PULL HER AND THE DIRT DOWN IN ONE SHOT. IT’S AN EPIC BATTLE. ONE THE ANT RARELY WINS.THIS SCOUT ISN’T AS LUCKY. SHE’S DRAGGED TO HER DOOM BENEATH THE SAND. IT IS NOT A QUICK AND PAINLESS WAY TO GO.THE ANTLION’S JAWS ARE LINED WITH HOLLOW SPIKES. IT INJECTS THE VICTIM WITH DIGESTIVE ENZYMES… TURNING ITS INNARDS INTO A KIND OF BUG SOUP. AND THEN LITERALLY SUCKS ITS GUTS OUT.--attack montage--
LIKE OTHER INSECT LARVAE… THIS ANTLION WILL SOMEDAY TAKE TO THE SKIES. -begin Blue Planet drums-FOR NOW… IT WILL REMAIN IN IT’S SECRET WORLD… ONE OF MANY TINY KINGDOMS THAT THRIVE WITHOUT US… EVEN IN SPITE OF US.
THERE ARE SOME WHO SAY THAT HUMANS COULD NOT POSSIBLY ALTER THE ECOSYSTEM WE KNOW AS PLANET EARTH. AFTER ALL… THE EARTH IS SO BIG. AND WE ARE SO SMALL.BUT CONSIDER THIS. THE AIR… LAND… AND OCEAN… THE BIOSPHERE CONTAINING LIFE… IS LITTLE MORE THAN A SHEET OF PAPER ON A CLASSROOM GLOBE.
WINTER ON A NORTH AMERICAN LAKE.THE CYPRESS TREES ARE DORMANT… AWAITING THE EARTH’S TILT BACK TOWARD THE SUN. EVEN TURTLES TAKE REFUGE FROM THE BONE CHILLING WATER SPRING IS MONTHS AWAY. TO US… IT MAY SEEM THAT LIFE IS ON HOLD. BUT WE ARE LUMBERING. CLUMSY GIANTS STRIDING THROUGH TINY WORLDS. MINIATURE ECO-SYSTEMS THAT THRIVE WITHOUT US… EVEN IN SPITE OF US.
DOWN HERE…. NEAR THE VERY BOTTOM OF THE FOOD CHAIN IS A SECRET WORLD.SHADOWY WATERS WHERE THIEVES… ASSASSINS… AND GENTLE SOULS ALIKE PLY THEIR TRADE.EACH HAS EVOLVED TO PLAY A ROLE…. EVEN IF WE DON’T FULLY UNDERSTAND IT.
THERE ARE COUNTLESS WAYS TO MAKE AN AQUATIC LIVING.
AND LIKE EVERY GOOD COMMUNITY… THIS ONE NEEDS RELIABLE TRASH COLLECTORS.-m-MOST SNAILS ARE SCAVENGERS… FEEDING ON ALGAE AND DECOMPOSING PLANTSTHEIR RASPY TONGUES SCRAPE A PATH THROUGH THE MUCK. -m-THIS CLEANING CREW IS SLOW…BUT VORACIOUS. AND THEY’VE BEEN AT IT FOR HALF A BILLION YEARS… LONG BEFORE DINOSAURS WALKED THE EARTH.
OUTSIDE THE MOLLUSK FAMILY… FEW MIGHT CARE ABOUT THE LOWLY SNAIL… OR THEIR COUSIN… THE CLAM.BUT AS LAKES AND RIVERS GO… THESE MAY BE THE CANARIES IN THE COAL MINE.-- NATURE’S EARLY WARNING SYSTEM FOR WATER QUALITY. TODAY… NEARLY HALF THEIR SPECIES ARE AT RISK.
FULLY GROWN, THESE FRESH WATER CLAMS ARE BARELY LARGER THAN YOUR THUMBNAIL.-m-THEY ARE BI-VALVES… WEARING THEIR HOUSE AS A HINGED SHELL.PERHAPS MOBILE HOME IS MORE ACCURATE. CLAMS SPEND MOST OF THEIR TIME BURIED IN THE SAND.THIS YOUNG CLAM HAS COME UP TO RELEASE ITS LARVAE. BABY CLAMS AREN’T BABIED… THEY’RE SENT OFF INTO THE WORLD TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES.THIS SILKY MUSCLE IS THE CLAM’S FOOT. IN THE RIGHT HANDS…. IT’S A SHOVEL, A WEDGE, AND A WINCH. -m-CLAMS ARE FILTER FEEDERS… SUCKING IN WATER… AND FILTERING OUT MICROSCOPIC SHRIMPLIKE CREATURES CALLED ZOOPLANKTON.EVEN THIS MODEST LITTLE MOLLUSK CAN FILTER ABOUT A HALF GALLON OF WATER A DAY.-music ends-THEY READILY ABSORB MAN-MADE TOXINS LIKE PESTICIDES… WHICH BUILD UP IN THEIR TISSUES AND CAN EVENTUALLY KILL THEM. - montage-OF THE 300 SPECIES NATIVE TO NORTH AMERICA… 200 ARE EXTINCT OR IN JEOPARDY.
AS SHELLFISH GO… THIS IS ONE OF THE NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK .THE CRAYFISH… THE CRAWDAD… THE MUDBUG…. WAS BURROWING INTO LAKE BEDS SOME 115 MILLION YEARS AGO.IT IS THE SWISS POCKET KNIFE OF FRESH WATER CREATURES.CLAWS ARE FOR PROTECTING YOUR TERRITORY… THEY’RE ALSO TOP-NOTCH EXCAVATION GEAR.THE LONG ANTENNAE ARE USED LIKE HANDS TO FEEL THEIR WAY AROUND THE ENVIRONMENT… CREATING AN INTERNAL MAP. THAT’S ESPECIALLY USEFUL WHEN YOU’RE HUNTING FOR A SNACK IN THE DEAD OF NIGHT. THE LITTLE ANTENNULES SENSE MOTION… SMELL FOOD… EVEN DETECT THE CHEMICAL SIGNATURES OF MATES AND PREDATORS.40 PERCENT OF A CRAYFISH’S BRAIN IS DEVOTED TO THE SENSE OF SMELL.FOR US… IT’S 1%.
ITS LEGS ARE AS DEFT AS A SAFECRACKER’S FINGERS… AND HAVE CHEMICAL RECEPTORS TO HONE IN ON FOOD. WORKING BY FEEL ALONE… THEY QUICKLY FIND WHERE PREY IS VULNERABLE.POWERFUL MANDIBLES SHRED THE TENDER MORSEL INTO BITE-SIZED PIECES.EVEN THE SMALLEST CRAYFISH IS A GIANT IN THESE WATERS.
A THICK LAYER OF ALGAE NEAR THE SURFACE PROVIDES A SAFE HAVEN FROM THE PREDATORS BELOW.
NYMPHS PROWL THIS TANGLED FOREST FOR ANYTHING THEY CAN CATCH. THIS IS THEIR REALM FOR UP TO FOUR YEARS…BEFORE THEY EMERGE FROM THE WATER AND SHED THEIR CAMOUFLAGED SKIN.THEN THEY RULE THE SKIES… AS A DRAGONFLY.THIS DAMSELFLY… A RELATIVE OF THE DRAGONFLY… BREATHES THROUGH THE FEATHERLIKE GILLS ON ITS TAIL.
FLATWORMS DINE ON DECAYING LEAVES. PLANARIA… AS THEY ARE CALLED… POSSESSES ALMOST MIRACULOUS POWERS OF HEALING AND REGENERATION. CUT ONE INTO A HUNDRED PIECES… AND YOU’VE CREATED 100 WORMS. SPECIAL CELLS CAN BECOME ANY NEEDED BODY PART. HEADLESS PIECES WILL DESTROY AND ABOSORB JUST ENOUGH CELLS TO GROW A NEW HEAD. IN JUST A COUPLE OF WEEKS… A SLICE OF PLANARIA CAN REBUILD INTO A TINY NEW FLATWORM. THESE SUNLIT SHALLOWS ARE A THICK TANGLE OF VEGETATION… SCAVENGERS… AND PREDATORS.
A GHOST SHRIMP SNATCHES PLANKTON FROM THE WATER. JUST AN INCH-LONG… IT CAN CONTROL THE DOTTED PIGMENTS OF ITS GLASS-LIKE BODY… RENDERING IT NEARLY INVISIBLE.LOOK CLOSELY…. AND YOU CAN SEE ITS HEART BEATING.
BELOW THE GLIMMERING BLOOMS OF ALGAE… AND SCHOOLING MINNOWS….IS THE LAST REFUGE OF THE HUNTED.THIS IS THE DARK UNDERWORLD… THE PRIMORDIAL SOUP OF THE LAKE BOTTOM. TINY AMPHIPODS CLEAN ROTING BITS OF DEBRIS FROM A NYMPH THEY SHARE THESE SHADOWS WITH THE MOST PROLIFIC KILLER THAT HAS EVER LIVED.
THE MOSQUITO.WORLDWIDE… MOSQUITO-BORNE DISEASES LIKE MALARIA… DENGUE FEVER… AND WEST NILE VIRUS… KILL AS MANY AS 3 MILLION PEOPLE EVERY YEAR.
MOSQUITO LARVAE DO NOT HAVE GILLS. THEY ARE AIR-BREATHERS. LARVAE HANG UPSIDE DOWN AT THE SURFACE… BREATHING THROUGH A TUBE.IT WILL TAKE ABOUT THREE WEEKS TO GO FROM THE TINIEST LITTLE WIGGLER… TO BIG LARVAE… TO MATURE PUPAE. THESE CURLED TUMBLERS ARE JUST HOURS FROM HATCHING. INSIDE… AN ADULT MOSQUITO IS PACKED AND FOLDED LIKE INSECT OREGAMI. - Music change-- IF WE COULD SNAP OUR FINGERS AND MAKE ALL MOSQUITOES DISAPPEAR… FOREVER. SHOULD WE?THEY HAVE BEEN HERE FOR MORE THAN 100 MILLION YEARS… CO-EVOLVING WITH UNTOLD THOUSANDS OF SPECIES ACROSS THE PLANET.FOR MANY FISH AND BIRDS…. MOSQUITOES ARE A KEY PART OF THEIR DIET.CARIBOU THAT FOLLOW THE SAME WINDY TRAILS YEAR AFTER YEAR TO AVOID THE BLOOD SUCKERS MAY CHANGE THEIR MIGRATION ROUTES… ALTERING THE ECOSYSTEM.THOUSANDS OF PLANT SPECIES DEPEND ON MOSQUITOS FOR POLLINATION.IT’S BEEN SAID THAT ERADICATING MOSQUITOES WOULD BE A MERE HICCUP IN OUR ECOSYSTEMS. WHAT FILLS ITS PLACE COULD BE BETTER… OR WORSE. SHADOW MOVEMENT OR RAPID CHANGES IN LIGHT SEND THEM DIVING FOR COVER.MOSQUITO LARVAE ARE OMNIVORES… EATING ALGAE… BACTERIA… AND OTHER TINY WATER DWELLERS.SOON ENOUGH… THEY WILL FEAST ON BLOOD… AND THEIR YOUNG WILL RETURN TO THE WATER.
WINTER IS COMING TO AN END. EVERY PLANT AND ANIMAL IS WAITING FOR A CUE… A GOOD RAIN… WARMER DAYS… PERHAPS A FULL MOON.IT’S TIME TO LOOK FOR A MATE. -music-TOADS EMERGE FROM THEIR WINTER BURROWS.IF THIS HANDSOME COUPLE CAN FIND SOME WATER... SHE’LL LAY HER EGGS… AND HE’LL FERTILIZE THEM.THEY’LL STAY LOCKED IN THIS EMBRACE FOR DAYS IF NECESSARY.NO ONE IS ALLOWED TO CUT IN ON THIS DANCE.ONCE AGAIN… WATER IS THE KEY TO SURVIVAL OF THE SPECIES.THE OPAQUE, JELLY-LIKE MASSES SINK TO THE BOTTOM AND BLEND IN. EACH COUPLE WILL CONTRIBUTE THOUSANDS OF FERTILIZED EGGS… TO WATER FILLED WITH PREDATORS. THE STRATEGY IS SIMPLE … CREATE SO MANY BABIES… THEY CAN’T ALL GET EATEN.
SPRING RAINS ARE HERE. A HEALTHY SHOWER IS ESSENTIAL TO FLOWERING PLANTS… NEW GROWTH… THE CYCLE OF LIFE.BUT NOT FOR THE TINY FIRE ANT. IF THIS COLONY DOESN’T GET ALL OF ITS CITIZENS ABOVE THE SATURATED GROUND… THEY WILL DROWN.WORKERS SCRAMBLE TO OPEN HOLES IN THE NEST.
THE QUEEN… EGGS… AND LARVAE MUST BE EVACUATED QUICKLY.
BUT THE SHOWER HAS BECOME A FLOOD. ANY OTHER ANT WOULD BE DOOMED.BUT THE FIRE ANT IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER CREATURE ON EARTH.WORKERS BUILD A RAFT…. PULL EVERYONE ABOARD… AND SIMPLY FLOAT AWAY. WHEN THEY HIT LAND… THE WORKERS WILL DIG ANOTHER NEST. AND THE COLONY WILL SURVIVE.
SUMMER… CICADAS SING HIGH IN THE TREES… FAR FROM THE PREDATORS ON THE FOREST FLOOR.
DON’T LET THE INNOCENT FACE FOOL YOU. THE BARBOURS MAP TURTLE IS A COLD-BLOODED CARNIVORE.IF THEY CAN CATCH IT OR CRUSH IT IN THEIR POWERFUL JAWS… IT’S ON THE MENU.FISH AND SNAILS ARE GOOD…. BUT INSECTS ARE LIKE CHOCOLATE TO A BABY TURTLE. FUNNY AS IT MAY SOUND… TURTLES ARE THE GREAT WHITE SHARKS OF A FRESHWATER RIVER. FULLY GROWN… THEY HAVE NO ENEMIES AND KEEP MID-LEVEL PREDATORS FROM OVER RUNNING THE ECOSYSTEM. THE MALES WILL GROW TO ABOUT 5 INCHES… AND BE READY TO MATE IN THREE OR FOUR YEARS. THE FEMALES WILL DWARF THEM… REACHING 12 INCHES ACROSS. BUT TO BECOME A MOTHER… A FEMALE MUST SURVIVE 15 TO 20 YEARS BEFORE SHE’S READY TO MATE.RIVER POLLUTION, DREDGING, HABITAT DESTRUCTION… AND THE PET TRADE HAVE TAKEN A HEAVY TOLL ON THE BARBOURS MAP TURTLE.STUDIES INDIICATE THAT THERE ARE FEWER THAN 10,000 LEFT... WORLDWIDE
TURTLES CAN’T EASILY PICK UP AND LEAVE WHEN THEIR HOME IS IN JEOPARDY. BUT THEIR UPSTAIRS NEIGHBORS CAN.
THE WATER SKIMMER… WATER SCOOTER… WATER SKATER…. WATER SKIPPPER… IS PERHAPS BEST KNOWN AS THE WATER STRIDER.IT DOES INDEED WALK ON WATER. NOT ALL WATER STRIDERS ARE CREATED EQUAL. THEIR VERY SURVIVAL DEPENDS ON IT. SOME JUVENILE STRIDERS HAVE WINGS… SOME HALF-WINGS…. SOME NO WINGS AT ALL. THE STRIDERS WITHOUT WINGS ARE LIGHTER… MORE NIMBLE… MORE LIKELY TO CATCH PREY AND THRIVE.BUT IF THE STREAM RUNS DRY OR POND DISAPPEARS… THE WINGED STRIDERS CAN FLY OFF TO FIND A NEW HOME. AND THE SPECIES CONTINUES.LOOK CLOSELY AT THE SHADOW CAST ON THE SAND BELOW. THOSE CIRCLES AT THE ENDS OF ITS LEGS HOLD THE SECRET TO WATER WALKING.THE TOP LAYER OF WATER MOLECULES CREATES SURFACE TENSION… A THIN FILM OF SORTS. THE STRIDER SPREADS ITS WEIGHT ACROSS A MUCH LARGER AREA THAN ITS THIN LEGS SHOULD ALLOW. THIS AQUATIC INSECT IS EXQUISITELY BUILT TO REPEL WATER FROM STEM TO STERN. ITS BODY AND LEGS ARE COVERED WITH THOUSANDS OF MICROSCOPIC HAIRS PER SQUARE MILLIMETER. A NEARLY-PERFECT RAINCOAT.GETTING WET WHILE WALKING ON WATER COULD PROVE DEADLY. A SOAKED BUG IS A SLOW BUG. BETTER KNOWN AS FISH FOOD.WIND… RAIN… EVEN SWIFT WATER… BARELY SLOW THE STRIDER DOWN. IT CAN SUPPORT 15 TIMES ITS WEIGHT BEFORE SINKING.
IT’S BEEN ABOUT THREE WEEKS SINCE OUR TOADS WENT SKINNY DIPPING.THE KIDS HAVE ARRIVED… BY THE THOUSANDS. JUST AS INECTS HAVE LARVAL STAGES…. SO DO FROGS AND TOADS. TADPOLES BEGIN LIFE WITH GILLS…LIKE A FISH. THE LARGE ONES ARE NO BIGGER THAN A PEA. TADPOLES ARE MAINLY HERBIVORES… EATING PLANTS… ALGAE… AND BITS OF ROTTING STUFF FULL OF NUTRIENT-RICH BACTERIA.BUT THEY’VE BEEN KNOWN TO SNACK ON SMALLER TADPOLES NOW AND THEN.AS LEGS APPEAR… SO DO LUNGS. IN ABOUT 12 WEEKS… THEY’RE READY FOR LIFE ON LAND.
AMPHIBIANS HAVE BEEN SWIMMING… HOPPING… AND CRAWLING THE EARTH FOR SOME 360 MILLION YEARS. TODAY… THEY MAY BE STANDING ON THE BRINK OF DESTRUCTION. GLOBAL WARMING… WATER POLLUTION… AND HABITAT LOSS HAVE KILLED OFF 170 SPECIES IN JUST THE PAST 10 YEARS.ANOTHER NINETEEN HUNDRED ARE THREATENED… HEADING TOWARD EXTINCTION.
THE HUMBLE GOPHER TORTOISE MAY BE SLOW… BUT IT IS INEED PERSISTENT.A SINGLE TORTOISE CAN DIG A 48 FOOT LONG TUNNEL 3 FEET DEEP TO GET OUT OF THE ELEMENTS AND AWAY FROM PREDATORS.ITS BURROWS EVENTUALLY PROVIDE HOMES FOR NEARLY 400 OTHER SPECIES… SUCH AS FROGS… SNAKES… AND EVEN OWLS.THEY ARE SCAVENGERS… GETTING MOST OF THEIR WATER FROM PLANTSTHORNY THISTLE FLOWERS ARE A TREAT.
A FULLY GROWN TORTOISE HAS FEW NATURAL ENEMIES EXCEPT BEARS AND ALLIGATORS. BUT IS ON A SLOW MARCH TOWARD EXTINCTION. AND WE’RE HURRING IT ALONG…. DESTROYING TORTOISE HABITAT… CAPTURING THEM FOR PETS… EVEN EATING THEM.GOPHER TORTOISE SIGHTINGS HAVE BECOME RARE IN MOST OF THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES.
THE ANT COLONY HAS FOUND A NEW HOME. WORKERS EXCAVATE A COMPLEX NETWORK OF TUNNELS AND CHAMBERS… THAT MAY REACH 10 FEET DOWN INTO THE GROUND.THESE ANTS ARE OMNIVORES… EATING ANYTHING THAT OFFERS ENERGY… FATS… OR PROTEINS.INCLUDING OTHER INSECTS.
A FIRE ANT SCOUT MAY BE FEARLESS… BUT THIS IS NO PLACE TO BE BRAVE.A LUNAR LANDSCAPE… CREATED BY A CLEVER PREDATOR…. THE ANTLION DIGS A CONE SHAPED PIT IN THE SAND… EASILY TOSSING OUT ROCKS TWICE ITS WEIGHT. THE TRAP IS SETVIBRATION FROM THE STRUGGLING INSECT ALERTS THE ANTLION HIDING JUST BELOW THE SURFACE.THE ANTLION FLINGS SAND AT ITS PREY… KNOCKING THE ANT OFF BALANCE. IT’S LIKE TRYING TO RUN UP A 40 FOOT SAND DUNE… AND BEING SHOWERED WITH ROCKS.THIS FIRE ANT ISN’T GOING DOWN WITHOUT A FIGHT. SHE THINKS THE CLUMP OF DIRT IS HER ATTACKER… LATCHES ON… AND STINGS IT FURIOUSLY.THE ANT LION TRIES TO PULL HER AND THE DIRT DOWN IN ONE SHOT. IT’S AN EPIC BATTLE. ONE THE ANT RARELY WINS.THIS SCOUT ISN’T AS LUCKY. SHE’S DRAGGED TO HER DOOM BENEATH THE SAND. IT IS NOT A QUICK AND PAINLESS WAY TO GO.THE ANTLION’S JAWS ARE LINED WITH HOLLOW SPIKES. IT INJECTS THE VICTIM WITH DIGESTIVE ENZYMES… TURNING ITS INNARDS INTO A KIND OF BUG SOUP. AND THEN LITERALLY SUCKS ITS GUTS OUT.--attack montage--
LIKE OTHER INSECT LARVAE… THIS ANTLION WILL SOMEDAY TAKE TO THE SKIES. -begin Blue Planet drums-FOR NOW… IT WILL REMAIN IN IT’S SECRET WORLD… ONE OF MANY TINY KINGDOMS THAT THRIVE WITHOUT US… EVEN IN SPITE OF US.
THERE ARE SOME WHO SAY THAT HUMANS COULD NOT POSSIBLY ALTER THE ECOSYSTEM WE KNOW AS PLANET EARTH. AFTER ALL… THE EARTH IS SO BIG. AND WE ARE SO SMALL.BUT CONSIDER THIS. THE AIR… LAND… AND OCEAN… THE BIOSPHERE CONTAINING LIFE… IS LITTLE MORE THAN A SHEET OF PAPER ON A CLASSROOM GLOBE.