Imagine a world composed solely of a single,
endless desert. What extreme forms of life might we find here? Would this be a world of microscopic organisms…
or of unfathomable giants? Arrakis, also called ‘Dune’ is the titular
planet at the center of the world-famous science fiction book and recent film of the same name. And although the planet is a desert of intense
heat and extreme scarcity, it is also abundant with unexpected life. So, join me in this tour of the ecosystems
of Arrakis, which will dive deep into the extended material from the books and other
sources. We’ll uncover how such fantastical forms
of life might function, and find biological analogues in the most unexpected places on
our own planet. So, let’s begin our expedition across Arrakis. Be sure to walk without rhythm… Few places in the universe compare to Arrakis. In terms of precipitation, the planet is as
dry as the surface of Mars. Compared to such a world, Earth is a land
practically overflowing with water. Desert animals on Earth have evolved countless
strategies to survive the intense heat and sand, but many of these adaptations will be
of little use on Arrakis. Yet according to the novel, virtually all
species on the planet of Arrakis were introduced from elsewhere, so some familiar creatures
must be able to endure this climate. As we set off to find some… stay close. For the Desert takes the weak. Hopping across the sands, is a very special
form of hopping desert rodent. Known as Muad’Dib by the Freh-men populace,
the jumping rodent is an introduced species from Earth called a Jerboa. A creature that lives in the hottest regions
of North Africa and Asia, Jerboas are excellent fits for the brutal deserts of Arrakis — where
they have evolved an unexpected new behavior… The Villeneuve film shows the Muad’Dib collecting
dew gathered on its ears for moisture. This behavior is highly convergent with the
survival strategy of one of the most extreme desert lifeforms on Earth: the Namib Desert
Darkling Beetles. On foggy desert days, these beetles collect
water droplets on their body’s surface thanks to specialized hydrophilic bumps on their
forewings. This incredible behavior, known as ‘fog-basking,’
requires the beetles to stay motionless for long periods in this posture — which allows
for the collected water to trickle down into their mouths. Looking at these species’ hydrophilic zones
under magnification reveals just how advanced their miniature moisture-farms have become. Truly, life can adapt to almost any environment… So, it is likely the ears of the Arrakeen
Muad’Dib rodent possess similar hydrophilic zones to facilitate the collection of water
from the atmosphere. In this extremely arid environment, very few
species of introduced plants have been able to take root. Certain genuses of cacti are some of the only
florae that can endure the scorching Arakeen sun. And aside from the Muad’Dib, only a small
number of Earth animals have managed to sustain an existence in this land of scarcity. According to the book, a genus of desert hawks
has successfully survived as mid-sized predators, and an unspecified genus of desert foxes has
also made their home here, filling a similar niche. But these predators are comically low on the
food-chain, compared to the largest and most famous lifeform on Arrakis. No species holds more power or commands more
awe than the mighty Sandworm — a creature of endless biological mysteries. The common name of these colossi calls back
to the tiny worms of earth, although the two share no genetic relation. While Sandworms and earthworms are both lifeforms
with tube-shaped body-plans that burrow underground in search of organic matter — the main difference
comes, of course, in size. Earthworms average a few inches or centimeters
long, whereas sandworms can reach 1,400 feet, or 450 meters in length… In sheer volume, the closest thing we have
on earth to a sandworm are the largest species of whales. And in the Villeneuve film especially, sandworms
seem to have a lot in common with whales, with their teeth almost looking like baleen. This makes a lot of sense, as in whales baleen
bristles are highly effective at filtering the vast schools of tiny organisms that whales
feed on to reach their ridiculous sizes. And we know from the Dune books that Sandworms
have a very similar food source, which helps make their absurd sizes a bit more realistic… We’ll discuss the surprising food source
of the Sandworms soon. For now, there’s another great mystery of
the Sandworms we need to solve. How could a creature ‘swim’ through the
sand? Sand as we know it is made up of granular
material, not exactly good for swimming through. Well, it’s possible the sandworms are able
to make the sand of Arrakis behave more like water through a process called fluidization. The concept of fluidizing a granular material
like sand might sound like science fiction, but scientists have long been able to achieve
this by introducing gas, which surprisingly makes sand behave like a liquid. And it’s not just scientists who have figured
this out. When earthly sand-swimming animals like the
wedge-snouted skink burrow, their movements create more fluid-like sand that is easier
to move through. Director Villeneuve implies that sandworms
swim through the dunes of Arrakis via a similar process by having the sand subtly liquify
before they surface. Notably, Sandworms can also sense rhythmic
vibrations and irregular shifts on the surface of the sand, and aggressively pursue the origin
of such vibrations to defend their territory. Once again, there are numerous surprising
examples in nature of animals that can sense vibration to track other lifeforms, including
snakes — and, perhaps more surprisingly, frogs. But the most intriguing example for our purposes
are spiders, which can detect tremors caused by panicking prey caught in their web. Spiders can detect these subtle vibrations
thanks to mechanoreceptory organs on their exoskeletons called Slit Sensilla. It’s possible that Sandworms possess their
own mechanoreceptory organs that allow them to ‘hear’ vibrations on the surface. And when a Sandworm surfaces, it’s quite
the spectacle. As a result of static electricity being released
into positively charged air, dry lightning illuminates the Arrakeen sky. Seeing a sandworm breaching would likely be
like witnessing the approach of a deity. And some Sandworms might be even more impressive. There are rumors in the novel of worms that
grow up to 2,000 to 3,000 feet, or 700 to 1000 meters, in the southern polar regions,
although this could not be confirmed. If such creatures are hiding on Arrakis, they’d
be the largest creatures I’ve ever covered on this channel… bigger than two Empire
State Buildings—put together. So what are these creatures’ food source? To find the abundant life that feeds the great
Sandworm, one must look under a microscope. The lower sands of Arrakis are filled with
planktonic life, which the Sandworm feeds on. But what’s most bizarre is that these tiny
organisms — called Sandplankton — are actually the larval stage of the Sandworms! That’s right, the sandworm feeds on members
of their own species, and are both the foundation and top predators of the Arakeen ecosystem. But is such a bizarre, cyclical food-chain
even possible? Once again, a possible answer lies in nature… Studies of North American Tiger Salamanders
have uncovered a highly bizarre and somewhat similar life-cycle. Most Tiger Salamander Larva are small creatures
with round, almost nonexistent teeth which proliferate in large numbers. On rare occasions, however, some larva morph
into larger organisms, with wider mouths and enlarged teeth — and honestly, they look
a bit like Sandworms from certain angles. And like the Sandworms, these predators feed
primarily on the smaller larvae of their own kind. And there is one other stage of the Sandworms
lifecycle: the blob-like, intermediary form of the Sandtrout — or the ‘little makers.’ Although these slow, amoebic forms might not
seem significant, their biological processes naturally create one of the most important
substances in the Dune universe: the Spice Melange. In the Dune universe, the spice is one of
the most valuable substances due to its effect on the human mind — unlocking the key to
interstellar navigation and having so much sway it can topple empires. So, it might sound unusual that it comes from
a routine process of an organism like a Sandtrout. Yet numerous earth animals — from frogs
to sea slugs — naturally produce concentrations of unique chemicals with valuable medicinal
and scientific applications. Granted, the sci-fi powers of the Spice are
far more extreme… But Arrakis is a planet of extremes. It is a world where the very smallest and
very largest lifeforms play a role in the destiny of all who venture into the desert. And although we’re at the end of our investigation
of this perilous and mysterious world, remember the great desert can never be understood in
its entirety... As always, thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this entry, please help make
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up to date on all things Curious. See you in the next video.
