Adventure Ocean Quest: 24 Hours on the Reef | Episode 5 | Free Documentary Nature

they're known as the rain forests of the sea coral reefs some of the most diverse ecosystems on earth despite the serene impression this is no paradise predators roam the reefs and stiff competition for space and food makes life incredibly tough so how do reef inhabitants get through a day to find out and experience life on the reef you first have to become part of it [Music] adventure ocean quest an encounter with a world under the waves [Music] with divers who become underwater beings themselves they work together with scientists on all the world's oceans [Music] deep under the surface of the water without a sound and without a breath [Music] adventure in the depths of the sea the likes of which has never been seen before the south pacific where coral reefs act as a barrier to waves and storms a world of small islands and open sea they form a realm of their own which opens up to those willing to adapt to its rules intimate encounters with the creatures of the reefs are only possible if the divers are prepared to enter their world without the comforts of technology this is the product of nature's luxurious bounty as it can be seen hardly anywhere else on earth french polynesia is the ideal location for marine biologists to study this highly complex ecosystem beneath the waves that's why maria is the base for french and american university research stations this is their starting point for research excursions into the tropical sea of french polynesia this time they've teamed up with the french underwater cameraman christian petron and two underwater specialists the world-class freedivers frederick bowie and william winram the two divers work as a highly experienced team and can rely on each other in every situation the sea might throw at them they know the waters of the south pacific well diving here with whales and sharks is nothing new for them fred has come here to meet professor serge plan on maria a french researcher specializing on the underwater fauna of french polynesia so fred um i'm glad you're here in moya my interest in having you here is your capability of staying in the water without breathing for sometimes and especially regarding uh the the analysis and uh the survey of the behavior of the uh the fauna we have on the sea and you think as a freediver i can help you with that the interest is that for doing sampling you can always do that with doing bubbles with scuba tank on the classical tool but as soon as you're looking at behavior as soon as you're interested in how a fish or how a worm or how a shrimp reacts towards another one or towards regarding reproduction or regarding some kind of activity the noise that bubbles are making are certainly been shown that it's disturbing partly this activity and it's also then and it's then difficult to really understand what is part of the natural behavior from what is a part of the reaction of the behavior related to bubble the disturbance the disturbance so corey far in some ways the cone of tropical rainforest that you find in amazon corey are supposed to be the sources of high diversity ecosystem i'd say that the reef itself is based on a few animals that are numerous in numbers but they are creating themselves a high diversifier it's known to be about twenty thousand species of fish that is almost fifty percent of all fish inhabited in the earth just in coral reef but correlated to that it's only about 1 000 500 species of coral so it's a few number of species of coral creating a huge diversity and actually there is now estimate that there is already 20 of reef that are gone and there's about 30 to 40 percent that we think they're in high danger of disappearing and then the rest that is more or less going a little bit corals are the building blocks of the reef but are highly sensitive to temperature fluctuations that's why global warming could be particularly harmful to them and once they've been damaged recovery is a slow and unpredictable process it creates a disastrous chain reaction once the coral is gone all the species that depend on it will also disappear [Music] that's why more research and further insights into the complex reef ecosystems are so important in order to save them detailed knowledge of their intricate workings is essential fred william and christian are hoping to help gain further crucial insights [Music] the team gets ready for their first reef dive a night dive so we we're going to to follow the scientists with the lights and uh and see what's happening uh it's a new experience so we'll see while the freedivers have no technical equipment at all the specialist camera gear used to record the dive is incredibly heavy [Music] it's dark not diving is dark there's no light so uh you have different animals that go outside some animals are sleeping some animals are more active so that's the main difference in terms of diving doesn't change anything and uh but uh sometimes it's nice to do some night dive it's not my favorite thing uh because i like to enjoy the scenery more but uh it's fun from time to time and here i think we'll have very good condition on a shallow reef so it's going to be a good dive but first the team head for the berkeley university research station to pick up a further specialist professor gustav paule of the university of florida he is an expert on invertebrate animals there will be no moon in the sky tonight ideal conditions to observe a very special event the arrival of new reef inhabitants in their millions this night is of particular interest for gustav paule in the dead of night millions of larvae drift with occurrence towards the island the eggs of the animals populating the lagoon reach maturity on the ocean floor or even out in the open sea now the freshly hatched larvae are ready to return to the lagoon drifting on the currents under cover of night they do what they can to avoid falling prey to larger predators the reef itself is not very impressive the tumbling clouds of larvae are breathtaking [Music] a few years ago the corals here fell victim to an invasion of crown of thorn starfish that feed on the delicate coral polyps it's been a recurring problem in french polynesia corals on several reefs have already met the same fate and have been almost completely wiped out uh we haven't seen anything a lot of uh large larvaes in the in the water but beside that nothing [Music] the following day fred meets up with professor paule the larvae may seem insignificant but they form a vital part of the scientists plan to understand the entire coral reef what are you ecosystem looking at some larvae oh the larvae we cooked yesterday during the night dive yeah yeah yeah okay so there's a whole bunch of different species these are some of the samples in here yeah there's a lot of really big ones and these are for larvae for uh larvae of marine life this is very large yes so most things have tiny larvae but these are for uh stomatopods mantis shrimp the big prawn killers and these are probably about an inch long more than an inch just two three centimeters and there were lots and lots of them coming in on the reef so we got a really nice sample to play with nice so we'll see what kind of species they are and how many we got and make preserve samples from everything and then get some images of them and get dna samples okay so we'll get a little bit of everything not much on the reef though but uh not this time now yeah no but in open water it was just crazy yeah yeah well this reef here has died in in a lot of ways because of the crown of thorns a cantastro yeah so the corals are too few and far between so even when they spawn it's not gonna be exciting but i'm hoping that when the the worms come out and the sea cucumbers come out it's going to be good so you go back in yep yeah tonight of course yeah every night until uh well for a couple of nights i got two more nights before i have to leave the island so let's run out of time but at least we're here for this cycle so want to take advantage of it from maria the team move on to the next station of their mission rangiroa the biggest coral atoll in french polynesia atolls are the remains of old islands that submerge beneath the waves while the surrounding fringe reefs continue to grow upwards rangi roa is a ring of 240 small islands 80 kilometers long and up to 32 kilometers wide the team is heading to a particular place le faye or the break the reef has literally broken into fragments here the resulting underwater landscape of caves and canyons has given rise to a new ecosystem the origin of this deep crack in the reef is still unclear here it looks uh like you have the reef and then you have a sheer drop so we'll have a big wall and we'll see what kind of uh sea life we find maybe we'll find some pelagic fish coming in to hunt but uh probably not this time of day but you never know always interesting free divers are always quick to prepare for their dives le faye lies right in front of the blue lagoon a protected area that is home to a myriad of bird species the reef here is incredibly shallow and fred hovers at the water surface to take in its natural beauty and sheer diversity of animals [Music] [Music] [Music] and holding their breaths for around three minutes at a time has taken its toll time for a well-earned rest but as the day nears its end it's only the beginning for a very special event on rangiroa the traditional rangiroa dance competition over 20 different dance groups have gathered to compete against each other the winner will take part in the final in tahiti this spectacle is far from just a tourist experience dancing is a big part of life here and everyone takes part women men and children [Music] [Music] oh [Music] it's time for the team to move on faka rava is an even better place to study the coral reef ecosystem french polynesia's second largest atoll is a unesco biosphere reserve its six islands host a particularly rich and impressive collection of plants and animals including some very rare species [Music] this reserve isn't just designed to protect nature for the people of these flat atolls it's supposed to facilitate a lifestyle and harmony with nature that also provides a secure resource space for the future of the islanders one of the main sources of income here is the export of one of the legendary symbols of the south pacific the black tahiti pearl fred meets up with maitata one of the divers working on the pearl farm water quality the composition of the sea floor and local currents are all decisive factors for the growth of giant black lipped oysters the only oysters to produce polynesian black pearls they live off microscopic sea creatures collectively called plankton and plant components found in the lagoons today pearl farms have taken the place of the traditional polynesian pearl industry putting an end to the destructive over-exploitation of wild pearl oysters by divers towards the end of the 19th century people realized that this precious species was under threat over harvesting spelled disaster for the naturally slow growing oyster beds pollution from agriculture fertilizers and raw sewage added to the problems oysters could only be saved by putting strict controls on their collection [Music] the value of individual pearls range from one hundred dollars for a small pearl of average quality to ten thousand dollars for a perfectly round pearl with a diameter of 19 millimeters it's rainbow colors are created by the different layers of the pearl which serve as a kind of prism and break the light just like raindrops do can you give me a tip where to dive around here yes at the south pass the south pass is smaller than the north pass that's where you find more sharks and when you find more sharks there are also more fish since people don't tend to fish the waters with many sharks that's why you'll always find a lot of fish where there are lots of sharks and that's why i think you should we'll have to traverse the lagoon we can dive there for a few days [Music] the team decide to take their chance with my tata's tip-off and soon get on the way [Music] dawn on the reef [Music] it is five in the morning first light bathes the shore the team is ready for their first outing but the weather isn't exactly as one might imagine the south pacific despite this the divers try to stay optimistic no it'll be interesting i've never done it so i'm curious to see what's here i hear there's a big school of grey reef sharks three or four hundred of them so i'm excited to see that but you never know if uh if they're gonna be here today or uh you never know what you're gonna see so that's always the exciting part about the first time diving any spot so we'll see what happens a challenge time for a well-earned break for the divers free diving is exhausting they have to be careful to conserve their energy for the other dives planned later that day there's fresh hope that the weather might clear up in time for their dive at midday midday temperatures have risen to their daily maximum and it's not just land animals that are having a rest below water a pace of life is also changing the sun is of the utmost importance for the reef as the corals grow they need light to accomplish this feat of engineering reefs are essentially like metropolises of the sea their builders and architects are tiny coral polyps that live off plankton floating in the water but they tend to live in nutrient poor waters and have recruited the help of tiny algae to survive these microscopic plants have colonized their tissues and by turning sunlight into sugars supply about 90 percent of the coral polyps nutrient requirements that's why the reefs grow towards the sun they can only live in shallow waters full of light the algae also give them their vibrant coloration around two million single-celled algae crowd every square centimeter of coral stem the industrious coral polyps and their algae provide a haven for thousands of other species coral reefs are home to a staggering 25 percent of all marine life and form nurseries for many oceanic fish but this fruitful arrangement comes at a price the algae cannot thrive in waters that are too warm or too cold many fish are now having a rest they congregate and dense shoals at the reef trying to protect themselves from attackers the sheer diversity of shapes and colors found among the creatures of this coral reef is breathtaking four o'clock in the afternoon clouds begin to darken the sky once again it's never easy to film animals we have to pay attention to a lot of things the weather the animals but there are a lot of things we can't plan ahead including if there'll be any animals if this is their season the weather is always important at the moment there's a tropical storm it's been raining for three days now and the wind is really strong it's raining around the atoll and the lagoon and the rainwater is draining into the lagoon which means the visibility in the water is not good all of these factors combined make our work very difficult but today luck is on their side the weather improves again the team can start another dive they want to check out a number of locations in the reef channel to see which animals are active here [Music] a detailed briefing before every dive is extremely important the divers have to take note of the currents which shift their direction and strength throughout the day a strong current also saps a lot of energy which in turn means higher oxygen consumption for free divers this is especially important since it can seriously compromise their safety freedivers can quickly get into the water without much preparation check out the situation and return to the boat they should be able to get a good all-round impression of life in the channel at dusk fred wants to observe the reef sharks [Music] the channel is extremely busy these green cromies are on their way to spawn on mass [Music] grey reef sharks rest and sleep in a large shoal they're waiting for nightfall to patrol the reef in search of prey once again until then they rest suspended by the current in the channel sharks don't have swim bladders so without actively swimming they sink but the water currents in the channel help suspend them without much effort on their part another dive and the team come across white-tipped reef sharks fred and will are able to approach them without spooking the animals in the slightest these sharks are very different able to lie on the channel bed to rest because they can actively pump water through their gills to breathe other types of shark have to keep swimming to get enough water through their gills [Music] then one of the largest animals in the ocean makes an appearance manta rays can grow to have a wingspan of over seven meters this gentle giant is now in full feeding mode despite their size they feed on some of the smallest animals in the sea in the twilight of the fading day many larvae drift in from the open sea to get into the lagoon ideal feeding conditions for the manta rays which can each filter as much as 140 kilos of plankton from the water every single day fred and will return to the boat to wait for the sun to set that's when some types of surgeon fish begin to spawn the divers take a look around the exit of the reef channel the noise generated by the reef creatures is constant and accompanies the divers on their excursions with the changing light conditions on the reef a different set of fish emerge from their daytime hideouts these white-spotted surgeonfish have come here from the upper part of the reef to spawn this is where fred is waiting calmly and noiselessly a spawning frenzy ensues the females swim upwards and expel a cloud of eggs the males follow quickly to fertilize them in the twilight white cheek surgeon fish show off their elaborate mating dance file fish too have gathered to spawn the last light slowly fades away night approaches and with it the time of the hunters there is a changing of the guards at the reef [Music] the fish shoals that gathered to rest and seek protection from daytime hunters are now ready to turn stalkers themselves time for day active animals to seek suitable hideouts if you want to survive the night it pays to find a way of making yourself invisible to the night stalkers [Music] the divers prepare for their last dive of the day an expedition right into the heart of the nighttime reef or fakarava castion petron explains from the extraordinary ways fish try to outwit their nemesis certain types of fish like the parrotfish for example protect themselves at night with a cocoon it's a transparent layer of mucus that hides the scent from predators there are a lot of sharks here and with their sense of smell the white tip reef sharks spend their nights looking for sleeping fish so the parrot fish is using this mucus cocoon to stop hunters being able to smell it forever the change from twilight to night time happens quickly in the tropics this is really interesting because now we see animals that spend their days sleeping when they're sleeping we can take nice pictures and film them easily because they don't flee for example there are a lot of reef crabs like these big red crabs here these are animals you only get to see at night it can be a little unsettling to come here and see the great whites she likes hang on a second don't forget your light i won't underwater visibility is now extremely limited and the divers have to use lights to find their way the first night hunter the divers come across is a moire eel soldier fish rise from their caves up to the surface this is where they feed sleeping fish now have to worry about nurse sharks and the seemingly placid groupers show their true colors the divers searched the floor of the channel for caves in which parrotfish might have found sanctuary they do well to withdraw deep into the caves to avoid becoming somebody else's dinner this parrotfish is sleeping deeply its protective mucus cocoon clearly visible but will it be enough to shield it from the thorough attentions of this nurse shark this predator seems intent not to leave any stone unturned in its search for prey once again the free divers are able to approach and observe both the hunters and the hunted without spooking the animals the behavior they witness is natural and not flawed by outside influences sun corals live in these caves unlike the reef building corals they don't host algae and work as stationary predators using their long tentacles to catch plankton but their nighttime feast means taking risks sea slugs are out looking for them on the reef the hunter can quickly become the hunted it's time for the divers to finish their expedition it's been an exhausting day spending 24 hours with the inhabitants of the coral reef the sheer diversity and density of life on these reefs throughout the different stages of a single day has been overwhelming in places like whakarava it becomes clear just how important it is for humanity to conserve these last few edens left on earth the first reason why i'm freediving is of course because i love that and i enjoy being in the ocean i think for me it's the best way of life and i really enjoy that but the second reason also uh and that's mainly why i'm working with scientists and i'm trying to uh to spread the information is somehow to uh contribute to uh help for the protection of the ocean of course um even though i think uh it's getting urgent to do something it's not too late i think it's important to contribute that's my contribution i'm doing it really for the the protection of the the animals first for their right to exist there just to be there as animals like they've been for millions and millions of years i'm there to tell the animals to be themselves you

Channel: Free Documentary - Nature

Views: 152,565

Keywords: Free Documentary, Documentaries, Full documentary, HD documentary, Adventure Ocean, Action, under water, scuba diving, reef, Shark, Fakarava Island, The Reef, Coral Reef, Diving, Water, Swimming, ecosystem, Fish, documentary - topic, coral reef, coral reef documentary, reef documentary, Free Documentary Nature, Adventure Ocean Quest, Ocean, Ocean Documentary, Marine Life, Ocean Life, Wildlife Documentary, Wildlife, Polynesia, French Polynesia Diving, Coral, Coral Reef Diving, Environment

Id: GRmbFgOw55g

Length: 52min 13sec (3133 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 19 2020