Never Touch These Fish on the Shore!!

these are millions of kapalan washed up on the shores of Newland Canada and they're not just hanging out the fish came ashore to lay their eggs right in the sand this is the beach of Mard del Plata in Argentina and it's literally covered in eggs the Mediterranean Coastline clingfish protect their eggs right on the land you can find other eggs by lifting rocks on the west coast of Alaska it's surprising but all these fish just stopped laying eggs in the water which is what fish usually do instead they're having their offspring on land meet the Grunion and this is a thumbs up don't forget to give it while you still remember Grunion are a type of Ray fined fish that spend most of their lives in the ocean but when Spring and Summer roll around and the tides are high they head to the beaches to mate and lay eggs grunning right in on the biggest waves wiggling and flopping to get as far up the sand as possible despite not being particularly Nimble on land these fish give it their all and they don't even stress out about it well at least that's what scientists say no one's asked the fish themselves female Grunion fish use their tails to bury themselves in loose wet sand until they're completely submerged it's only then that they lay semi-transparent eggs with orange yellow yolks these eggs are tiny each smaller than a peak then the males show up they wrap their bodies around the females and fertilize the eggs then they all head back into the water together catching the next big wave and the big question here is of course why after all venturing on to land is a huge risk for a creature that isn't supposed to be there at all well it's all for the sake of Offspring in the ocean there are just too many predators ready to devour freshly laid tasty eggs Grunion eggs are usually safer on the beach that is unless they're found by land Predators like raccoons or birds birds don't mind a free buffet either but apparently even that threat isn't as serious as the one awaiting the fish eggs in the water here's the surprising thing drying out isn't even an issue the eggs have this protective layer that's kind of like plastic making the eggs tough and get this because the sand is warmer than the ocean the eggs actually grow faster baby Grunion fish are waiting for the next series of high tides which will carry them back to the ocean typically they have to wait around 2 weeks for this to happen however if the tides aren't high enough the Grunion eggs might stick around for another 2 weeks to catch the next cycle When the tide rolls back in the waves carry away granion while cold water acts as a signal for hatching there are just a few fish species that reproduce right on the shore and one of them is the capelin basically it's like this spawning happens either on Sand or gravel at different distances from the water The Twist is some female kins return to the water after spawning while males stay on the shore you might think they're sacrificing themselves for their offspring by choosing this reproduction method but it's not quite like that the thing is these fish are doomed either way after spawning because they're only Built For One reproductive cycle so whether they die from a predator on the shore or naturally in the water does it make much of a difference kaalins are known to spawn both in water and on beaches choosing their spot based on temperature to ensure their eggs develop into healthy Offspring they seek out specific temperatures and work to maintain them believe it or not there's another fish that reproduces in the same way grass puffer of the puffer fish family yes those fish that puff up and stick out spines in all directions naturally they're not related to either kons or Grunion but that doesn't stop them from gathering in large groups in Shallow Waters then flopping on to land to spawn and finally catching a ride back to the sea on a passing wave each spring male plain Fin midshipman fish emerge from the depths of the Pacific Ocean to spawn on the beach they come ashore during low tide squeeze under rocks and dig nests after finishing up males settle down and hum to attract females these fish are truly caring fathers if a plain fish mid shipment is lucky hundreds of tiny eggs will soon appear on the roof of its nest for the next 3 months it'll fiercely guard clean and care for them it's quite a challenging task the area between the ocean and land where Tides come and go is always in motion one moment it's water the next it's air When the tide goes out the water level and oxygen in the nests of plain finin midshipmen drop sharply while the temperature rises not wanting to leave his little ones unprotected the caring dad can literally stay out of water for several hours don't forget it's a fish we're talking about but the plain fish midshipman got lucky Evolution equipped them to handle such harsh conditions so a male guarding its Offspring can tolerate low oxygen levels just fine even after 6 hours out of water the fish only experiences mild metabolic stress no mammal could survive without air for more than a few minutes nonetheless the closer the fish laid their eggs to the water the better researchers looked into it and figured out that fish facing less struggle with dehydration and oxygen shortage not only produced more eggs but also had a higher chance of survival plain fin midshipman endure such extreme conditions for one simple reason it's safer to lay their eggs on Shore than in the water they'd rather risk their own lives than the lives of their unborn Offspring and this is Herring just like most fish Herring usually spawn by releasing their eggs in the water at different depths these eggs find their way to the seabed settling on rocks gravel sand or in seaweed patches some eggs might even descend to the sea floor sticking together in layers or clusters attaching to whatever they can in British Columbia Herring eggs end up in the inter tidal Zone where they spend some time out of the water this happens not by choice but when the first strong spring storm carries them on to the shore along with piles of seaweed eggs incubating in the intertitle zone spend more time out of water than eggs in the lower intertitle zone or deeper underwater despite seeming risky they can actually survive in these conditions for extended periods up to 24 hours they may even find it more comfortable un like eggs deep underwater which struggle with oxygen levels and frequently die those on the shore don't have such problems also because of the ocean acidification oh wait we should say a few words about it since the Industrial Revolution began more than 200 years ago there's been a rise in the levels of carbon dioxide in the air we all know that but what's less known is that roughly 30% of that CO2 gets absorbed by the ocean this triggers chemical reactions that lower the ocean's pH levels making it more acidic so as the ocean is becoming more acidic the little fish eggs down deep are getting filled up with carbon dioxide and that's not a good thing at all however as long as the eggs are out of the water and not covered by it oxygen can enter the eggs while carbon dioxide on the contrary escapes and as I mentioned earlier temperature is also a plus the warmer well within reasonable limits so the warmer it is the faster the egg development and quick development will lead to quicker hatching and increased survival it's all good news it seems that eggs might actually suffer more in water because it absorbs carbon dioxide and with the ongoing acidification of the oceans Herring eggs which sometimes aren't submerged in water end up being better off on the beach as long as it's not for too long of course and this is Splash Tetra what makes them unique among fish is how they lay their eggs not just outside the water but right on Plants this takes some serious effort the male Splash Tetra shows the eggs to passing females beneath the overhanging vegetation in their native habitats when a willing female accepts The Mating offer she positions herself right beside the male and the duo leaps out of the water clinging to the underside of a leaf with their FS eggs are fertilized with approximately 6 to eight eggs being deposited each time until there are around 200 eggs on the leaf after that the female swims away while the male stays behind to watch over the nest and occasionally splashes water on The Offspring to keep them from drying out in between these water sessions it hides among nearby plants putting eggs on Plants is actually a great idea for those tired of their offspring being constantly eaten no predatory fish will leap out of the water for dinner found in places like Brazil these Splash tetras make their homes in gently flowing streams and flooded woodlands where they rely on overhanging Plants otherwise where would they have to jump moreover the Waters of the Amazon are teeming with thousands of fish species that could easily include caviar in their diet warm acidic water bodies rich in organic matter also suffer from low oxygen levels which is why laying eggs in the air could have an additional Advantage let's talk about the benefits of laying eggs away from water one big plus is how quickly the embryos develop on land they get more warmth and oxygen so they grow up faster and get safer sooner you see when they're just eggs they're really vulnerable it's great if a parents around to protect them but what if they're not anything could harm those eggs so the best bet for the little ones is to hatch as fast as possible but here's the catch without water most eggs won't make it unless they have certain special tools or a carrying parent who splashes water on them that's why the best scenario for this kind of development is when the eggs stay on dry land but get a little wet every now and then pulling this off is not exactly easy and most fish simply can't afford the risk the only alternative might be to find some suitable damp sand and bury the eggs in it but that's not always an option as for the risk it's always there fish parents can easily end up dead while spawning right at the water's edge not only can they become prey for Predators but they can also leap too far onto the land failing to find a partner for breeding and then it's all in vain but the chance to give their offspring the very best drives fish to take risks fish parents might not be familiar with Statistics but scientists have figured out something interesting about their offspring they found out that fish eggs laid out of water develop much faster than those underwater a whopping 95 % of land laid eggs reached a stage where they could hatch in just 15 days compared to only 45% of underwater eggs so if a fish lays eggs on land it could have fully grown Offspring in Just 2 weeks in water less than half of The Offspring would be ready to fend for themselves scientists also found that raising Offspring by the shore is more beneficial in terms of energy partly because of the oxygen why does oxygen affect egg development speed well simply put it's like fuel for living things even for fish oxygen is essential for various important biological processes during embryonic development simply put without sufficient oxygen the body can't develop properly I have to say that while land is great for fish eggs it's a different story for sea snails recently in 2021 folks in Buenos Aries the capital of Argentina stumbled upon quite a sight on the beach a blanket of thousands of pearl-like balls scattered across the sand turns out it wasn't aliens after all but rather the eggs of a SE snail species known as adelon brasiliana snail eggs washed onto the shore is usually no big deal but this time there were way too many naturally people started figuring out the reason snails are actually found deep in the ocean so naturally their eggs are too however movements in the water tides and winds carry the future Offspring and wash them ashore the Pearly spheres are like egg capsules each actually made up of two capsules inner and outer for Extra Protection inside the inner capsule are new numerous snail embryos sometimes over a dozen these embryos stay there for a few months until they're big enough to crawl out snails of this kind use a different method of laying eggs compared to their counterparts typically parents look for some kind of stability favoring surfaces like rocks for their offspring stability in a sense offers a measure of safety because when eggs are washed ashore like this the embryos die some are eaten by birds who see them as a tasty snack While others simply dry up under the sun the only hope for the survival of these future sea snails is to make it back into the water because snails like other marine species absolutely need water to survive it's the most important condition the snail eggs got washed away accidentally with no parents around on the shore to keep them wet though I'd love to see snails spitting water and the water happened to be too far away for the waves to carry the eggs back all in all it's just a bunch of unfortunate mishaps besides this species isn't cut out for this kind of reproduction any marine animal looking to make the move to shore base breeding would need some special evolutionary tweaks or the eggs would need to have built-in adaptations to handle the unfamiliar environment by the way a similar thing happened in Australia in 2021 the locals were also asked to be careful but not because these small jelly-like sacks posed any danger as one might expect from Australia it's just that these little sacks like the eggs found on a beach in Argentina were full of countless babies they were snails though a different species and each egg contains thousands of embryos normally these sacks float in the water near Sandy areas and in Spring they're often washed up on beaches to save snails folks were encouraged to put them back in the water instead of throwing them at each other even if they were tempted to this way they can rescue at least some of the little ones if you hit the like button we really appreciate it and thanks for watching the video all the way through see you later

Channel: WATOP

Views: 254,223

Keywords: WATOP, Wa Top

Id: MIJB5hTRtIE

Length: 13min 31sec (811 seconds)

Published: Tue Apr 30 2024