The Blue Planet 1x6

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Bathed in bright sunlight and warm clear water, the coral reef is a rich oasis of life - the rainforest of the sea. Bizarrely adorned harlequin shrimp carry off a starfish several times their size, while haunting songs reverberate around the reef, heralding the arrival of humpback whales. Shimmering schools of brightly colored fish battle for territory in this competitive world where you have to stand out to survive.

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1. In all the seas of the world the warm waters of the tropics contain the richest

2. and the most colourful communities

3. Coral reefs

4. They may seem like underwater paradise,

5. but they are perpetual battle grounds... for space

6. Even the corals have to fight for it

7. In this crowded, frenetic community every individual has to find its own place,

8. its own way of surviving

9. But none of these creatures would be here if it were not for the coral

10. A coral larva drifts in the open sea floating in a soup of young reef animals

11. If just one of these coral larvae settles in a suitable spot

12. and survives a new reef will be founded

13. In just a few days the larva changes form and becomes a polyp,

14. similar to a sea anemone

15. Identical copies bud off and gradually a colony develops

16. Each polyp surrounds itself with a hard skeleton

17. and from this solid base begins to grow

18. It increases in length by an impressive fifteen centimetres a year

19. This branching coral is only two years old - a mature reef can be thousands

20. Corals provide the foundations on which the entire reef community relies

21. Some organisms, like the Christmas Tree Worms actually live within the coral

22. Others climb out, away from the reef, to filter their food from the water

23. As the community grows intimate relationships are formed

24. and different creatures become increasingly dependent on one another

25. Even animals that spend much of their time

26. travelling in the open ocean return to the reef for a clean

27. Corals reefs can be home to astounding numbers of fish

28. Here swim the smallest and the largest fish in the sea

29. Whale sharks are only visitors

30. When currents bring nutrient-rich water up from the deep, they come here to feed

31. All these animals are here because of the coral

32. This extraordinary complex maze is built layer upon layer

33. by millions and millions of individual animals - polyps

34. Each polyp's flesh is supported by a limestone skeleton

35. Below the gut...

36. is the place where most of the growth occurs

37. Here, the living tissue deposits an intricate lattice of limestone

38. Beneath that, the limestone skeleton is bare,

39. having been vacated by the living coral tissues

40. This is the hard structure that forms the foundation of the reef

41. and a single reef can extend for many miles

42. Coral reefs are only found in the clear, warm shallow waters of the tropics

43. Sunlight is vital to them, even though they are animals,

44. because inside their flesh live millions of tiny single-celled algae - plants

45. And all plants need sunlight to photosynthesise sugars

46. Ninety eight per cent of the food that corals consume is produced by the algae

47. Without them the reef would not exist

48. Like any other plant, algae need just the right amount of light,

49. not too much, not too little

50. The corals regulate that with pigments that we can only see

51. when they are illuminated by ultraviolet light

52. Most corals for protection spend the day withdrawn into their stony fortresses

53. But even then they are not safe from the jaws of these butterfly fish

54. At night the corals take in water, expand their tentacles and emerge to feed

55. They collect plankton

56. Each tentacle has batteries of stinging cells, which fire on contact

57. Once the prey is caught, it's passed down to the polyp's mouth

58. It's at night, when the polyps are extended,

59. that they add to the limestone foundations beneath them

60. Inevitably, the corals begin to overgrow each other and that means trouble

61. When neighbours get too close, they detect one another's presence chemically

62. The aggressor on the right prepares for battle

63. The polyps extrude their guts and simply digest their rivals alive

64. A no man's land, a band of white skeleton is

65. the only evidence of the night's border dispute

66. Some corals are targeted by yet more deadly predators

67. Predators that can crawl in search of their victims

68. Crown of thorns starfish, poisonous, invincible eating machines

69. They also extrude their gut and digest coral wholesale

70. But some corals have help

71. Small crabs living within their branches resist

72. these onslaughts and defend their home

73. From beneath they launch an attack on the vulnerable underside of the starfish

74. Even the crown of thorns will retreat from such a determined attack

75. and this coral is left unharmed

76. Humphead parrotfish - nearly a metre and a half in length

77. Their jaws are so powerful they can bite through rock

78. When they descend to feed the reef itself is under threat

79. They are indiscriminate feeders, taking both rock and coral

80. alike in their quest for algae

81. These fish play a large part in the erosion of the reef

82. The rock and coral they swallow emerges later as a fine sand

83. On a single reef they can produce tonnes of it every year

84. This soft sand forms the tropical beaches that we find so alluring

85. Over time the sand builds up to form an island,

86. which is then colonised by animals and plants

87. Trees take root... birds arrive

88. The guano from thousands of terns which have chosen to nest here

89. enriches the sandy soil, which then can support more plants

90. But these terns, like other seabirds, depend on the ocean for their food

91. Below water on the reef there is not only competition for living space,

92. but a continual contest between predators and prey

93. It's the arms race between them that over millions of years

94. has produced today's extraordinary diversity of form

95. Jacks are one of the key predators on the reef

96. Their weapon is speed

97. They seek silversides and their defence is to congregate

98. in confusing shoals of shimmering silver

99. The Jacks try to deal with that by herding the silversides onto the reef

100. Here the Jacks have a better chance

101. of separating individual fish from the shoal

102. The Jacks can now catch the isolated individuals with lightning attacks

103. It's far safer to be hidden on the reef itself,

104. within the tunnels of a sponge, for example

105. These tiny shrimp are no bigger than grains of rice

106. These shrimps are unique

107. It's recently been discovered that

108. they have a highly sophisticated social system, similar to that of bees

109. All members of the colony are the offspring of one female

110. She is the queen and the only one to produce eggs

111. As in a colony of bees,

112. different individuals are specialised for particular tasks

113. Some are guards and are armed with particularly large and powerful claws

114. They are on watch at all times, ready to tackle intruders

115. A polychaete worm

116. For it a sponge is an excellent hunting ground

117. In such a maze of tunnels, attack can come at any time from any quarter

118. Once the guards are alerted the worm loses its advantage

119. Better to retreat intact, than risk serious injury

120. The sponge not only makes a safe home for the shrimps,

121. it also supplies them with food, so that they never need venture outside

122. And establishment that provides for all their needs is clearly well worth defending

123. Just as shrimps guard their home, other animals defend their hunting grounds

124. Glassfish make tempting prey for the redmouth grouper

125. Its strategy is to swim slowly amongst them

126. until they no longer see it as a threat

127. There are other fish here, too

128. Lionfish are ambush predators,

129. taking their time and watching for the right moment

130. But there isn't room here for two predators

131. The grouper, braving the lionfish's poisonous spines, tries to evict its rival

132. But lionfish are persistent

133. This grouper spent many hours simply defending his hunting patch

134. Some animals prefer to avoid conflict whenever possible

135. These harlequin shrimp, having captured a starfish,

136. are taking it back to a safe house beyond the reach of competitors and danger

137. The problem with starfish is that they have minds of their own

138. and five large sticky arms

139. By the time the shrimps have prised off arm another has reattached itself

140. Only by manoeuvring the starfish onto its back

141. can they have any hope of gaining the advantage

142. Even so, getting it back home is a major undertaking

143. The starfish is now a living larder

144. If the shrimps can hang onto it, it will feed them for days to come

145. The top of the reef is usually covered by a thin layer of green algae,

146. another living larder

147. And many fish depend on it

148. Powder blue tangs defend their right to graze on a particular patch

149. But for a larder as well-stocked as this, there is always competition

150. When a shoal of convict tangs decide to graze, little can stop them

151. The powder blue tangs try to keep them off

152. But they are overwhelmed by sheer numbers

153. The territory is stripped of algae in minutes

154. The blue tangs appear to be fighting a losing battle

155. But eventually they begin to get the upper hand

156. They persist with their attacks until the marauders are well on their way

157. When night falls, some very strange creatures

158. creep out of crevices and crawl over the reef

159. This moving bush is an animal - a basket star

160. - which spread out its arms to catch the night's plankton

161. The reef becomes uncannily tranquil

162. Fish retire, hiding themselves where they can

163. Marbled rays come out to hunt for prey buried in the sand...

164. using electro-receptors to scan the seabed

165. Their activity attracts sharks

166. White tips

167. At night, when vision is of little use, sharks have a real advantage

168. They can still use both smell and electro-reception to track fish

169. These sharks are also hunting for fish concealed within the reef

170. Their slender shape enables them to squeeze through surprisingly narrow gaps

171. There is nowhere to hide

172. Few animals are safe during these feeding frenzies

173. Night after night the reef animals are subjected to these raids

174. But life on the reef is not just about food, it's also about sex

175. There are many different breeding strategies,

176. but each is aimed at maximising the number of young that will survive

177. Every afternoon for two months brown surgeonfish

178. can be seen streaming across reefs in the Red Sea

179. They all head for the same place, usually some prominent feature

180. Here, they wait for the light to fade

181. Suddenly, females within the group make a dash away

182. from the reef to release their eggs

183. They're immediately followed by the quickest and closest of the males,

184. all of whom are striving to fertilise the eggs

185. Inevitably, others come here to feast on such easy food

186. As the surgeonfish spawn, fusiliers move in above to eat the nutritious eggs

187. These are just the first of many predators which will feed on the eggs

188. and developing larvae as they drift in the ocean during the next few weeks

189. Other fish are less casual about their eggs

190. Banded pipe fish stay close to a small chosen area on the reef

191. Every morning at sunrise the female leaves her sleeping site

192. and swims to find her partner

193. For ten minutes or so they remain together,

194. reaffirming the bond that is essential to their partnership

195. They swim together around his territory in a simple greeting dance

196. Throughout the Summer, when the female's eggs are ripe,

197. courtship begins in earnest in the early morning

198. It takes time and after about two hours

199. they rise together off the seabed entwining their bodies

200. The male rubs himself against the female, stimulating her to release her eggs

201. And now, swiftly, the male takes them

202. The eggs, now stuck to his belly,

203. are patted down to ensure that they stay there

204. The female then leaves him, but every morning

205. she will return for a session of synchronised swimming

206. and so ensure that their bond is maintained

207. Ten days later, under the cover of darkness,

208. the male shakes his body and the young pipe fish are born

209. Only now are they independent of their parents

210. Since the male takes charge of the eggs as soon as they are laid,

211. the female can start immediately producing the next batch

212. Without his help, the pair could only breed every twenty days,

213. rather than every ten

214. So, by sharing the work, they're doubling the number of young

215. they can produce in any one year

216. A flamboyant cuttlefish

217. Unlike most cuttlefish, this one spends much of its time

218. walking rather than jetting across the seabed

219. This is a male

220. He is using his colourful display to try and seduce the larger female,

221. who seems unimpressed

222. Eventually, she concedes

223. The final event, the transfer of sperm, is very quick

224. A singing male humpback whale

225. Humpbacks are only visitors to the reef

226. After a pregnancy that lasted a whole year

227. the females come here to give birth and suckle their newly-born young

228. Their investment in their single offspring is considerable,

229. for each female will continue to nurse it for a further six to twelve months

230. But the males are here to mate

231. The lone males sing to establish their relative seniority

232. The louder and longer the song, the bigger and stronger the singer

233. The better the song, the larger the male,

234. the more mating opportunities he will get

235. All these different mating strategies have the same aim,

236. to ensure that the greatest possible number of offspring

237. will live long enough to breed themselves

238. Corals also reproduce sexually, but being fixed to the seabed,

239. they can't move to find a mate

240. Somehow, they must synchronise their sexual activity

241. and they do so using the rising water temperatures of Spring

242. and the phases of the moon

243. A few days after the full moon in late Spring,

244. when tidal currents are at their weakest,

245. the corals of the Great Barrier Reef are ready to spawn

246. Some corals are male and release clouds of sperm

247. Nearby, a female will be releasing eggs

248. Other species of coral are both male and female

249. These release packages of eggs already pre-wrapped in sperm

250. Bundles of eggs and sperm float to the surface

251. to mix with others from further along the reef

252. Each kind of coral times its release to a certain hour on a certain night

253. That maximises the chances of cross-fertilisation

254. The fertilised eggs drift away from the reef

255. The stormy season brings real danger to the animals of the reef

256. Lobsters in the Caribbean sense a change in the water

257. The temperature drops and powerful ocean swells disturb the sand

258. Under the cover of darkness they emerge to run before the storm

259. and risk crossing the exposed sand flats to seek shelter in deeper water

260. Every year they make this journey

261. From all over the reef lobsters come to join the march

262. They conserve their energy by travelling in one another's slipstream

263. And there is the added benefit f safety in numbers

264. By daybreak they've reached the edge of the deep reef and down they go

265. For the rest of the stormy season

266. they will remain in the shelter of deep water out of harm's way

267. Sometimes during the stormy season a hurricane builds

268. and then the very structure of the reef itself is under threat

269. An entire reef can be destroyed by just one big storm

270. Hundreds of years of growth gone in a few hours

271. Out in the ocean, new life continues to develop

272. In time, coral larvae will return to colonise the rubble

273. and a new reef will grow on the wasteland