Incredible Life In Strange Coral Reefs

ice bags deep sea monsters coral reefs worlds apart the alien frontier of Earth's biology the last great unknown landscape International scientists explore the deep can they unlock the secrets of this mysterious world that it's strange inhabitants before it is lost forever [Music] Coldwater reefs are an enigma their secret shielded by the dark ocean depths divers have explored all the world's warm shallow water beasts but their Coldwater cousins are out of reach how can quorum which loves the light exist in this darkness what is happening in the icy waters become c 4,000 meters down once the surface of the Moon was more familiar than the deep ocean but that's changing a team of international scientists is probing this alien world from the ice edge of the North Atlantic to the west coast of Africa where the Sahara meets the sea they spy on the world beneath and are amazed by what they see six hundred meters down cold dark water this doesn't look like Africa sixty kilometers in the shoreline this is a Coldwater green [Music] in 2011 this reef was completely unknown now new technology is opening up this alien world to explore [Music] revealing a landscape as diverse and important as the rainforest towering 60 meters up from the seabed and a hundred and ninety miles long the reef has never been charted now work has begun to record its bizarre inhabitants coral start off life as tiny larvae or plan Euler drifting with the plankton once they land on a suitable rock surface they can begin to grow and secrete a tough calcium shell they will never again move from this spot and their shells would be laid down throughout their lives creating a coral fortress the tool using carrier crab holds coral over his head with a specially modified fifth leg crabhammer among the strains deep sea creatures are rarely seen sharks the bird beak dogfish snatches shrimps from the sand [Music] and a true denizen of the dog and metre-long kitefin shock [Music] it's oily body helps it to maintain its ballast in the ocean tense another mysterious creature of the deep the color conch a 90 centimeter eel only found here one of a host of new species discovered in the last 50 years there is a real thrill [Music] hardly ever been seen alive before now to meet a lung jelly nose fish with a soft rubbery body and cartilage skeleton the diversity delights the scientists but hot on their tail the fishing industry wanting to share the riches like these orange ruffy's tens of thousands of tons are now caught each year once thriving they are now considered threatened they can live for more than a hundred and fifty years but breeds slowly they are being harvested faster than they can replace their numbers deep-sea trawling has driven them from their safe haven [Music] dragging a weighted net along the seabed trawlers destroyed everything in that path a reef that took thousands of years to grow can be obliterated in minutes in some areas 50% of reefs have already been destroyed who knows what went as well [Music] it's vital that our experts work out what is at stake and how best to protect it a new location and a new challenge the Mediterranean once supported all the countries rounded stools but it's rich surface waters have been plundered and left much depleted the question is how are our deep-sea fish doing off the southern coast of France some of the team prepared to find out the Mediterranean is not all shallow seas and sandy beaches in some places it plunges to five kilometers far beyond the divers reach this is a job for high-tech explorers multi-million dollar instruments need careful maintenance any accidents would be deadly exploring our deep oceans this is challenging a space travel and here too technology is the key the destination 32 kilometers from the coast and the Cannes Duthie a Canyon it's a vast trench over 900 meters deep nutrient-rich waters well up against the face of submarine cliffs where they meet the Mediterranean sunshine life abounds a playful pod of dolphins drawn by the rich water [Music] [Applause] once over the deep canyon a team prepared to enter the unknown world beneath them the seafloor plummets into darkness [Music] thousands of years ago great river systems carved these shapes on the seafloor [Music] captain gives the all-clear the vessels GPS controlled motor spins back and forth to keep them in position it's too deep to drop anchor first to be launched is the Remora a two-man submarine its walls are ten centimeters thick vital to withstand the massive pressure of the deep it's dangerous and cramped but the two-man crew can stay down for many hours exploring the seabed the four and a half tons sub is craned overboard [Music] in the water the diver releases it from the mothership [Music] unlocks the arc lights into position they will be vital down below a world where darkness reigns ready to leave they are interrupted a pot of long-finned pilot whale there are still around 20 species of whale and dolphin in the meds deep seas [Music] these pilots are also deep divers drawn to the canyon where they can hunt for squid a thousand-meter descent is easy for them for the human crew not so easy next up the other technical marvel that is opening on the depths an ROV this remotely operated deep-sea camera as a protective cage tethered to the mothership but when needed they can swim free to film these Robo cams are an essential tool in deep-sea exploration they can go much deeper than the SUP with its human crew [Music] the Remora crew begin their descent a giant manta ray doesn't seem to appreciate its own towards [Music] an ocean sunfish the heaviest of bony fish weighing over a time a monkfish is a sure sign that they are approaching the bottom [Music] it likes to hide on a muddy seabed and can descend to a thousand meters or more but it can't hide from the fishing fleet it's highly prized worth more than lobster in the market the mothership is in constant contact guiding the ROV and recording all its ease the sub hits a wall the edge of the canyon now all they need to do is to find suitable ledges and edges where coral might have taken hold only an expert pilot can tackle the treacherous rock face [Music] it's highly dangerous there are strong currents and awful underwater avalanches but it's worth it [Music] robocam takes a closer look cube worms and forests of an enemy true aliens of the deep a larval Medusa dances past the lemons a flamboyant red girl a fish that walks finger-like raise extend from the fields and act like spider legs to carry it over the sediment it threatens the intruder with its poison tip spines the finger-like projection help it search for food hidden in the mud the girl odd is another deep-sea Dennison now being haunted a shallow water stocks are depleted fishermen must roll ever lower to make a living [Music] finally the first glimpse of chorim tropical corals can't live in water colder than 23 degrees but these extraordinary species are the opposite over eight degrees centigrade is too warm for them these extraordinary reefs are part of a massive cold water system stretching 4,500 kilometers along the coast of Europe twice the size of Australia's Great Barrier Reef it's almost completely unexplored the dominant species here is the stony Coral Madre pora just how and why corals arrive at these dramatic locations is one of the key questions facing the scientists the pilot reports his latest discovery from now on he'll need all his skill to avoid damaging the fragile coral over centuries the modular pora have built the reef creating a habitat that other animals can share delicate-looking lophelia can fly four thousand meters down looking like plants corals are actually tiny animals related to starfish and sea urchins only the polyp on the tip of each branch is alive this extraordinary reef thrives without any Sun getting all its nutrients from marine snow floating debris [Music] anything that dies up above gradually rots and the organic remains rain down feeding this world below the crew on the mothership some the robocam on missions into the darkness the prize to find a new species since deep-sea exploration began to conquer this realm hundreds of new species of plants and animals have been found this unseen alien world is full of mystery and possibility some discoveries are worrying discarded fishing gear evidence of the demands humans are making on the reefs but the fishing lines are slowly becoming part of the living system Colleen can take a foothold on the most unlikely surfaces the Remora is at its limit 600 metres below this even the 10 centimeter thick steel Holland can't protect its human crude from the immense pressure of the abyss the reef continues for several thousand metres below but it's beyond their reach with new territory charted the ROV is returned to its bunker on both vessels head for the surface in spite of the teens skill the ROV is snagged on one of the fishing lines bringing with it unexpected treasure from the deep it's a rare chance for scientists to be able to handle and examine the precious caller and they make the most of it [Music] it'll be carefully stored until the scientists are back on dry land only laboratory testing can unlock its secrets on the other side of the Atlantic some of those secrets are already coming to light [Music] the Harbor branch Oceanographic Institute Florida here corals and sponges and the cold depths are examined as well as the fungi and bacteria that grow thousands of specimens are stored and studied and here unexpected and extraordinary properties are being revealed a fungus collected from a deep-sea sponge was found to destroy pancreatic cancer cells much work is still needed to identify and synthesize the active ingredients but one day these cold reefs might provide tools to help fight disease the pioneering work is paid off all cold water reefs from the Gulf of Mexico to North Carolina are under US government protection from the famous Florida coastline it's a short trip to the warm shallow reefs with its familiar diversity of creature [Music] this loggerhead has his eyes on dinner but the slipper lobster has other ideas further offshore is the new frontier of marine science [Music] 24 kilometres out and 80 meters down our mysterious life-forms [Music] strange spider crabs primitive rad fish seein enemies and of course coral the coral survived here because of powerful currents in the Gulf of Mexico they carry the plankton and detritus they need but on this reef it's one group of animals in particular that attract the scientists sponges there are more than 10,000 species worldwide and science is uncovering remarkable traits not just properties to help fight cancer but antibacterial and antifungal as well [Music] like sponges on tropical reefs they often exhibit stunning colors and that's another mystery what uses color in these dark seas where nothing can see them there's commercial potential too these are spawning sites for many of the world's most important food fish groupers snappers and jugs documenting the cold water Florida reefs also sheds light on the bigger picture of coral spread by mapping the position of the colonies the team can reveal their distribution the Gulf Stream the oceans most important current flows north from here it carries the coral larvae an ends near the Arctic Circle the northern frontier for coral growth this is where the expedition must head across the Atlantic destination Norway [Music] but far out at sea the crew are at the mercy of the ocean the endless rocking of transatlantic swell is hard going and a stove is brewing expensive and sensitive equipment must be safely secured with an 11 meter swell work is out of the question they must hunker down and wait for the weather to settle morning brings clear skies [Music] and a surprise visit from a pot of sperm and [Music] these are the largest tooth animals on the planet and an indication of the ocean depths below the vessel sperm whales routinely dive a kilometer or more to hunt the squid Coldwater reefs like hundreds or even thousands of meters below the surface far beyond the reach of divers but there is one place that breaks the rules the cold arctic waters of Norway allowed the cold loving corals to grow closer to the surface this is Crompton field the reef is 39 meters below uniquely reachable by free diving but it will be a dangerous time the seas are chilly and there are fierce currents racing along the fuels there is one brief window of opportunity slack tide if they get their timings wrong it could be fatal cold water is a shot barely reaching four degrees dark mysterious and sinister [Music] working cautiously against the currents the divers must try and locate the actual reef it's slow-going to begin with they must negotiate the thick count forest the eerie forest was with the current kelp is the largest of algae or seaweed the forest can grow half a metre a day unreached an 80 metres high but as they get deeper they begin to make out the shapes of animals living in this marine jungle the spiny armor of a spider crab helps keep predators at bay a Pollock uses the kelp for shelter brittle stars large cousins of starfish clamber high to ensnare tiny prey as it drifts past between their five legs are five jaws ready to devour almost anything they can catch their distant relatives the sea urchins are here to eat the kelp itself [Music] Burchard is the old English word for Hedgehog which is what they look like they don't have eyes but feel their way around with tiny sticky legs to prickly for most predators they can destroy whole forests of algae luckily there are a few hunters with the guts to take them all such as the mean-looking to meet a wolf feel the seafloor is a paradise for invertebrates especially crowds they seem to be everywhere including this edible crab much sought-after for the table as the sunlight fades spotlights are needed a pale ghost like shape glimmers in the gloom a chimera [Music] chimera means made from parts of different animals this primitive fish is the missing link between sharks and rays evolving around 340 million years ago when the two species split it's mostly shark but still glides on large ray like fins they are the oldest group of fish widespread in ancient seas but now mostly confined to the deep they are a rare sight in such shallow water even in the dark abyss it can find food and navigate with its sensitive nose despite the dark the seabed has some remarkably colorful inhabitants seein enemies distant relatives of coral not delicate flowers but predatory animals the wafting tentacles are waiting for contact with a passing fish or crab when the victim brushes past the head of the tentacle explodes harpooning the prey and pumping it full of neurotoxin beautiful but deadly the wreck of a boat but around its cause there are signs of life it's providing much-needed shelter on the seabed for wildlife sea squirts cling to the sides there gaping tube like bodies filtering water to extract plankton from the currents and to burns extend their delicate fans to sift through the passing debris they are all creatures that would normally seek a coral reef but the wreckage creates similar opportunities there are lots of sponges but no coral time to move on the chimera seems to dance in front of the diver perhaps picking off clinton attracted by their lines [Music] finally some quorum [Music] this is a tiny real just 30 meters low but very productive [Music] it may not be loan but it's tall its skeletal mass towering above the seafloor here are sponges and other familiar creatures [Music] basking stars are huge relatives of starfish that can be 70 centimeters across they're wriggling Medusa like tentacles Worf trying to count passing debris colorful sea fan coral sit high on the reef nudibranch farm the sea fans the sea slugs absorb the sea fans toxins and use it in self-defense adding poison to their colorful tentacles the Chimera is joined by one of his cousins a true shark the Smoothhound also a deep sea hunter this reef is a tiny treasure but to really get to grips with the cold water science the research team must go deeper and further north [Music] northern Norway well within the Arctic Circle herring gathering fuels attracting one of the oceans top predators killer whales the whales hunt like moons working together pack hunting to corral the fish into a tight ball making them an easier target they use powerful blasts of sound and slaps and their tail to shop the fish making them easier to pick off [Music] it's been observed that killer whales from different regions have varied hunting techniques the ones here specialized in herring round fishing is the main industry here and the fishermen need to know the condition of the seas below many important fish species feed and breed on the deep reefs polic back road and halibut and cold [Music] they see cool deep water going as far down as 600 meters harvesting of these species is intense [Music] thousands of court are hung out to dry ready for the local market hundreds of thousands are taken every year and the cod is now officially an endangered species are they surviving in the reefs below finally the crew in place over the biggest known Coldwater reef the Rost reef of the Lofoten archipelago three kilometers across and 40 kilometers long it's probably the oldest cold war to be furfle it's estimated to be around 8,500 years old first lay down as the last great Ice Age drew to a close using a company a camera with built-in legs to stand on the seabed unbated to attract fish the scientists intend to count the species it's destination 300 meters beneath the mothership in these overfished waters it's vital to monitor the health of the reef a vibrant world is soon revealed another walking gurnard hunts prawns [Music] a large red prune walks dangerously close to a monkfish lurking on the ocean floor [Music] it hopes it's camouflage skin will fool the prawn into coming within the striking distance but the cautious prawn backs off [Music] smaller prawns groom the monkfish is plump textured skin keep him well clear of the head end meanwhile dinners got away [Music] [Music] looking like space movie monsters king crabs are truly alien to these reefs hailing from the North Pacific their larvae arrived as illegal stowaways on the undersides of ships but now they thrive on wrost reef one feeds on its dead neighbor in this tough deep-sea environment every animal must use any nutrients it can find a myriad of new species adapted to the deep behaviors never seen before [Music] a basket star saves plankton from the currents lights reveal optic aural the cabbage column known as dead man's hand life here grows slowly adding less than six millimeters a year but it's had over 8,000 years to expand and its immense twice the size of Manhattan the information the scientists are gathering shows a vast amount of marine life is flourishing here in the icy waters the camp odds hold the board ready to reveal the results of its dive [Music] the data is collected footage from the dark seabed the bait has dawned dozens of meter long lungfish or Cusk these are a vital resource to local fishermen this ancient Coldwater survivor is full of life but its very success could be its greatest threat protecting the reef and the fish from the destructive trawlers will be a difficult balancing act Rost Reef and others like it run well up inside the Arctic Circle right to the very edge of winter pack ice and the question of why reefs take root where they do is revealing an unexpected link between coral and ice when the ice age ended 10,000 years ago the great ice sheet covering most of Europe began to break up massive chunks fell away as they do from glaciers and ice sheets today [Music] this is the birth of ice giants carried by the current they begin a slow journey icebergs monstrous and their proportions drift across the ocean tens of meters and hundreds of tons projecting from the surface but unseen under the water hundreds of metres are dragging across the seabed Gauteng deep trenches out of the bedrock [Music] it's a destructive force removing everything in its path but what it leaves behind is a platform of opportunity coral planula drifting across the ocean land they find everything they need a hard bedrock exposed to nutrient-rich currents it turns out that thanks to iceberg drags new coral colonies are born Ice Age glaciers may have given rise to many of the world's cold water reefs and the process is still happening today Coldwater reefs have colonized the planets deep seas but their world is changing [Music] climate change has hit the headlines there has been a call to action because Arctic ice is melting iconic species like the polar bear have become flagship species for conservationists Arctic wildlife finds itself in hot water but beneath the waves the unknown world of cold water reefs also hangs in the balance industry continues to expand the greenhouse effect is slowly turning the oceans more acidic making it harder for corals to build their calcium skeletons over heated water can kill off more water reefs but nobody is sure what effect it will have on their Coldwater cousins evolved to live at eight degrees or lower by the end of the century most of the world's seas will be warmer and more acidic and so the race is on to understand this hidden realm and its unseen treasures before it is too late [Music] because life in many guises can rise out of the alien reefs [Music] [Music] you

Channel: TRACKS - Travel Documentaries

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Keywords: TRACKS, tracks travel, nature documentary, full documentary, documentary movie, cute animals, baby animals, animals attack, big cats, wildlife documentary, english, hd, discovery channel, national geographic, natgeo wild, Nature documentaries - topic, Animals - topic, planet earth, david attenborough, coral, reefs, south pacific, pacific ocean, coral reefs, Caribben, sea, water, sealife, planet blue II

Id: 9I-OjB8cmeI

Length: 47min 54sec (2874 seconds)

Published: Thu Jul 25 2019