Secrets Of The Australian Ocean ! | Real Wild

the coast of southern Australia is one of the most inhospitable in the world lashed by storms that roll unchecked all away from the Antarctic ice captain across the barren southern ocean to beat themselves into the rampart cliffs of the continent [Music] cut off by sea from the rest of the planet the land creatures of Australia have evolved in a totally different way to those elsewhere and off the shores of this island continent the undersea world is equally fascinating around it's cooler and rugged southern coastline there are many hidden secrets and species of sea creatures that have found nowhere else because just as on the land life under the ocean's surface has evolved in its own unique and little-known way [Music] [Music] washed up on a beach these egg cases are a clue to the whereabouts of one of Australia's weirdest sharks every year in July which is the depth of winter in the southern hemisphere Port Jackson sharks traveled many hundreds of kilometers to gather in huge numbers with shallow coastal waters of southern Australia it's the long-distance traveller of Australian sharks and it has just one purpose in mind to find a mate one of the most unusual sharks port Jackson's skin is made up of tiny tentacles that give it a rough texture spines in front of its fins give added protection from larger sharks that range in these Southern Oceans actively hunting for food they scour the seafloor rummaging for urgence starfish mollusks and crustaceans most people's preconceptions of sharks is that they all have viciously sharp teeth but that's far from the truth the port Jackson's powerful jaw is adapted not to tearing and ripping the flesh of other creatures but rather to crushing and grinding its prey gulping mouthfuls of sand they filter it through their gills to sieve out from it anything edible sometimes feeding can become a frenzy as more and more port Jackson's pile into an area where food is being most species of sharks have to keep swimming it in order to maintain the flow of water over their gills to breathe however port Jackson's don't need to do this as they are able to lie on the seabed and pump sufficient water through their gills to enable them to breathe without continuously being on the move but the main reason they're here is to mate what appears from a distance to be a dead shark on the sea floor is in fact two sharks in the throes of what for port jackson's it's the height of passion locked together in mating and it's another reason why their skin needs to be so tough this shark still bears marks of a previous mating encounter by late in the southern winter the female will deposit individual egg cases deep in the rocks often returning to the same nesting sites year after year it's a uniquely shaped hard spiral egg case and it would be between nine to twelve months before a perfectly formed baby Port Jackson emerges right but in these storm lashed waters many become dislodged and end up washed up on the shoreline and it may be that the egg cases face danger too from an unexpected source from their own species this port Jackson sucking the contents from an egg case is behavior that has never before been observed or filmed an unexplained mystery of these southern shores even though these sharks are relatively common along this coast we still have a lot to learn about their secret lives [Music] mention the underwater world of Australia to anyone and they'll immediately think of the Great Barrier Reef the giant coral structure running for 2,000 kilometers of the northeastern coast of the continent but this vast land has many other environments and it's the colder waters of southern shores that hold for the most secrets it's a coastline that several thousand kilometers long with a landscape that epitomizes the image of the dry sun-baked wide open spaces of the outback Australian is a huge isolated island continent almost the size of the whole of mainland Europe so it's hardly surprising that land animals here have evolved very differently to the rest of the world however what's far more surprising is that in the cooler and little known oceanic waters off the south of the continent the sea life has also developed in isolation with a large proportion of the species found here being unique to these seas and found nowhere else on the planet [Music] octopus are members of a larger grouping of sea creatures known to science as cephalopods a combination of two Greek words that together mean and head footed because all their limbs come directly off their head cuttlefish and squid are also members of this family which contains some of the most complex diverse and fascinating creatures on earth they're among the oldest species in our planet's oceans even before dinosaurs roamed the land and millions of years before fish evolved fossil record show that the oceans teemed with swarming cephalopods the seas of southern Australia are home to a wide variety of these ancient beings including some of the strangest members of the cephalopod family their eyesight is among the most highly developed of any sea creature as they rely on their heightened sense of vision to hunt completely to spot predators their eyes have also evolved to enable them to see in the dark night sea when many of them emerge to hunt within their skins are thousands of tiny ink filled sacks called chromatophores which enable them to rapidly change their color and appearance these color changes can signify alarm differing moods can be used for camouflage mimicry and for communication with others of the same species all are carnivorous feeding on other fish and on mollusks and all are fallacious predators shooting out their feeding tentacles with lightning-fast speed to grab their prey which is then drawn back to the shark hard beaks to be chewed before swallowing others simply envelop their prey though on this occasion the hermit crab survives with a little help from its mate easy prey too many fishes they have evolved different modes of survival many are nocturnal hunters hiding in crevices and under rocks during the day others like these tiny bobtail squid simply dig into the seafloor for safety using their fins and Jets of water to dig themselves in this appropriately named pyjama squid is found nowhere else but this southern Australian ocean little round bodied squid they spend the day buried emerging only at night to feed some lay eggs in large clutches are they attached to a fixed object on the seabed others carry their eggs on their bodies until they hatch the blue ringed octopus is an exception among cephalopods as it is deadly poisonous to predators its iridescent blue rings warning potential attackers of its lethal venom few other octopus are poisonous and they have to rely on color change and camouflage for their protection or if danger threatens they can simply sink into the sand [Music] like subsea Meadows vast swathe of sea grass carp in large areas of the seabed of southern Australia sea creatures have evolved to live in these highly specialized environments and are totally different to those found on the open ocean to blend in with the seagrass firstly shape is important so that the fish appears to be just another strand of vegetation secondly pattern is essential it's only when this clean fish moves that it becomes apparent that the fish is not just another strand of grass the closer you investigate the seagrass the more secrets are found hidden there probably even now many pairs of perfectly hidden eyes appearing cautiously back at the camera totally unseen among their environment appearing like a brown stalk of grass makes this pipefish almost invisible in its environment the final element of survival in the sea grass is color some fish have become so specialized and so localized to just one type of vegetation that their color is an absolutely perfect match to their surroundings this pygmy leather jacket looks like just another leaf of sea so exact is the color match because camouflage is essential to escape from the Predators that roam in from the open sea bed to hunt in the vast sea grass Plains very different creatures have evolved to live in these specialized environments cramps don't have the ability to change color and the hard sharp outline of their shell would make them stand out among the soft contours of the seafloor vegetation making them easy pickings for predators so they pluck grass and weed from their surroundings and adorn themselves with it so that they can blend in the crab shell is covered with tiny hook like hairs almost like velcro which holds this camouflage in place this baby Port Jackson shark has only just hatched from its egg case like juvenile fish of many species it seeks the protection offered by the sea grass which is essential if it is to survive to grow to maturity the rich profusion of life in the southern ocean supports large colonies of seals and the rocky coastline sparsely inhabited by humans is the ideal terrain than to live and breathe in the early 19th century hunters for seal pelts drove this species to the edge of extinction today seals are protected in these waters and their numbers are increasing some estimates place the population as high as 25,000 that successful recovery has brought its own problems some blame them for falling commercial fish caches and many fishermen would like to see their protection renewed on land seals our ungainly clumsy and slow moving underwater their transformed into sleek and graceful dancers they need every ounce of speed and agility they can muster underwater to evade their main enemy the great white shark sharp watching has become big business off the coast of southern Australia divers traveling from all around the world for the chance of a face-to-face encounter with the oceans apex predator the great white the shark are drawn in by chumming the water with fish blood and guts you don't get much closer to a great white shark than this most of the pictures and films that you see of these ultimate hunters would have been taken from shark cages like this one the great white may be the main attraction for shark watchers but another equally fascinating species of shark is found in these waters which bites more people a year than great whites [Music] first named by the Aborigines the wobbegongs camouflage helps it to blend in with its reef home even the tasseled flaps of skin around its mouth breaking up its outline because they're so well hidden wobbegongs actually bite more people than any other shot in Australian waters though usually their bite is defensive rather than aggressive often because a diver accidentally disturbs or touches one without even seeing it it's not the most vicious of bites and it's rarely life-threatening as wobbegongs tend to lock onto their prey rather than slash and cut wobbegongs like most shark species a slow growing slow to mature and have relatively few young with a recently established fishery targeting them to meet the demand from the fish and chip trade there's been a marked decline in the numbers of this once common and typically Australia but the strangest of all sharks is the saw shark and this creature is found nowhere else than over the southern Australian coast very little is known about this bizarre and secretive shell it's generally found only in deep water and usually only encountered when trolled up in fishing nets a bottom-feeding shark it feeds by digging small fish and crabs from the seabed sensing the prey with the sensitive barbels hanging from its snout and using the saw like extension to dig them out and then strike and slash at them before eating [Music] another sharp has adopted perhaps the most unusual hunting techniques it lies in hiding and then ambushes its prey is this just a ridge on the sea floor small school of scat Olivia's to danger or watcher in the sand [Music] and a deadly strike from one of the oceans best hidden predators here it is again frame by frame the figures are hundredths of a second the actual strike takes just two camera friends just eight hundredths of a second within point two of a second the shark has caught the fish and is already dragging it down and in less than two seconds the fish has totally disappeared the angel sharks technique is completely different to the foraging of the Port Jackson though they share the same living space it's a perfect ambush predator motionless and concealed until it strikes [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] the sheer size and scale of Australia is astonishing seemingly endless stretching as far as the eye can see while roads now link the vast open spaces of the southern Australian outback this hasn't always been so before the arrival of the roads wheat and wool the staple cash crops of the region could only be shipped by sea to the cities and so in the late 19th century jetties sprang up along this stretch of inhospitable coastline disused now many have fallen into disrepair others have been preserved a small number are still in use all have become landmark features of this coastline and for the creatures of the sea they have provided a new living space a place of safety from the open ocean [Music] [Music] [Music] the pilings themselves have provided a surface for an enemy's sponges and decisions every inch being coated with they're bright colored coverings and they and their own turn offer a sanctuary to fish that have evolved to match perfectly their cards old industrial structures of steel and would have become festooned with color and other creatures that live under the jetties have their own coats for protection [Music] decorator crabs have evolved an individual and unique style of camouflage plucking parts of an enemy's and sponges they attach them to their bodies softening the contours and helping them to blend in with their surroundings if in areas of weed then that is plucked as their chosen camouflage attire frogfish go one better than decorator crabs they actually grow filaments on their bodies and remaining motionless merge into the background it's only when they move that the frogfish becomes visible and is at risk from predators [Music] even the best of camouflage may not prove to be enough a group of fish pick over the carcass of an unlucky crab the slugs of the sea are called nudibranch and they come in a rainbow DeRay of colors and shapes [Music] nudibranch slay thousands of eggs attaching them to a rock or some other solid object on the seafloor these pygmy leather jackets are feasting on a freshly laid egg cluster no matter how sharp and numerous your spines no matter how seemingly impenetrable your defenses may be there is always someone who can break through them few would take on a spiny sea urchin but the spines are no problem for the tough mouth of the berlin grouper other strange creatures of the southern ocean shallows also make their homes below the man-made structures [Music] much of the ocean floor is just flat sand offering little shelter and few creatures live there it's where the sea meets the land where rocky reefs and islets occur that there are the greatest concentrations of life these outcrops and reefs offer shelter and protection a surface on which weed and sponges can grow inevitably such profusion of life attract predators on the whole food chain lives in a fragile balance man-made structures in the sea weather accidentals such as shipwrecks or deliberate such as jetties provide welcome additional living space and rapidly become colonized an artificial environment which quickly becomes a complete undersea community [Music] this undersea battle lasted for two days and each time we returned to this particular spot under a jetty to film the fight was still continuing to humanize there seemed no good reason for the crabs to slug it out for so long why didn't one simply retreat or move on to a more peaceful spot on the seabed but de soft-bodied crabs like the hermit crab the empty shell of a sea snail is the secret to survival as they outgrow their temporary homes finding a larger one it becomes essential maybe this was a contest to determine which crab would move into a larger shell and so gain its protection have you ever walked along the city street at night looking over your shoulder feeling that someone's watching following you maybe going to muggy well there are also villains in the nocturnal scene carry a crab's of creatures of the night they cut lumps of living sponge to use as both shield as camouflage so valuable is this protection but they will even resort to mugging other cramps of choice beats when this cramp spots another with a coat of sponge that he fancies himself he starts to pull it from the back of a small arrival 20 separates the sponge from his previous owner who takes it for himself to wear adjusting the fit of the sponge with his back legs the victor leaves the scene of the crime with his spoils perfect fit [Music] seahorses are big business whether for souvenirs or to meet the insatiable demand from the traditional Chinese medicine trade the market is ever-increasing if taken from the wild the species will become extinct in no time at all so in Australia in a proactive move to protect the population in the wild sea horse farms are now in business to supply the sea horse trade this factory specializes in breeding for the aquarium trade and seahorses from here may be exported to collectors around the world pregnancy horses give birth to huge numbers of perfectly-formed live young which are then separated from the parent and raised here until large enough to either join the breeding stock or to be sold [Music] but in the wild not only is this Southern Ocean a haven for seahorses but also for their close relatives the weedy and leafy sea dragons the most treasured secret of these seas [Music] the leafy sea dragon is perhaps the most spectacularly camouflaged fish in the ocean [Music] it's leafy appendages are there for just one purpose to make them invisible against their environment [Music] [Music] and both leafy and weedy sea dragons are only found in one area of the ocean in the cool waters of the southern Australian coast this is one of the most ancient creatures in the world's oceans it's also one of the Seas most voracious predators they hunt by day and little is safe from their lethal strike and of all the cuttlefish found in the world's seas growing to over a metre in length the giant Australian cuttlefish is the biggest once a year they congregate in their thousands in a very small area of the southern Australian coast moving in from deep water to shallow reefs only a couple of meters deep where they engage in a frenzy of mating it's an ancient and stylized ritual the pulsating patterns of the larger male have two purposes they serve both to attract females and to warn off potential rivals in this mating free-for-all to rule the female the male shows his finest display if she's receptive than they couple face to face locked together the male passes sperm filled packets to a pouch under the females mouth she then starts to lay her eggs he's sealing them individually and carefully crevices and under rocks on the seabed passing them each in turn both the male's sperm package in order to fertilize them but it's at this stage that there's trouble rival males attempt to replace the sperm with their own so the male must stand guard over the female while she lays her eggs it's an example of the principle of natural selection and survival of the species the strongest will fertilize the eggs passing on his genes to the next generation in the frenzy there can be many rivals attempting to get to the female as she lays competitions fierce and in the free-for-all competing males can mob a single available female flaring his arms out to their full length to make himself appear as largest and with colors pulsating their electronic signals the male squares up to his rival both rolling on to their sides to maximize the impact of their display the speed and intensity of the signals varying with the message and emotion that the cuttlefish is transmitting often the posturing alone is enough to chase off a weaker or smaller rival but if two evenly matched males square up a fight can develop and many bear breeding scars from the bites and suckers of their writings while the males attentions are distracted by one rival others seize the opportunity to sneak into the momentarily unguarded female once the eggs are laid the interest of both male and female animals and the eggs are left alone to hatch mating is the culmination of the life of the cuttlefish and after the mating aggregation the cuttlefish returned to the open ocean the lifespan of the giant cuttlefish is just a couple of years and they see just one mating aggregation in their short lives wherever fisherman I grew up to clean their catch there is always the chance of a free meal stingrays have learnt this lesson over time and they thrive around the fishing harbors scattered along the coast in this southern Australian Bay smooth Ray's spend their days cruising the harbour shallows in search of scraps it's very unusual to see eagle rays in shallow water they're usually fish of the open ocean but they have also learnt of the chance of free food and are from time to time also spotted here and the shallow waters of harvest grays and shark are all part of the same family of fishes known to scientists at laz mob ranks and the seafloor of southern Australia is home to many unusual rays there are about 50 different species of greys and Australian waters much of their lives are spent hidden under the sand only their eyes protruding their mouths are on the underside of their flattened bodies and they feed on crabs and fish buried in the sand but there are other rays that have a far more sinister hunting technique the number a has a very unique method of taking spray 220 volts a severe electrical shock the same as the jolt you get from your home electrical system if you know what that feels like to a fully grown human being and try and imagine the effect on the fish the shock is more than enough to stand on properly killer fish giving the Ray all the time it needs to eat it and the number is capable of repeating that charge as many as 50 times from just 10 minutes the speed of the strike is faster than the eye can see as the race spits out a fish stunned shuddering from the voltage coursing through its body but why let the fish escape let's rewind the tape and watch it again it's only when the shot is replayed in slow motion that the answer becomes apparent in a lightning-fast movement the REA envelops not one but two fish and even this creature of nightmares can only consume one fish at a time there are many surprising often beautiful and sometimes shocking secrets hidden beneath the Seas of southern Australia you

Channel: Real Wild

Views: 1,450,625

Rating: 4.6341615 out of 5

Keywords: nature documentary, full documentary, documentary movie, wildlife documentary, english, hd, deep sea, vice africa, discovery channel, national geographic, bbc, natgeo wild, Nature documentaries - topic, Animals - topic, sharks - topic, angel shark, sawshark, octopus, cephalopod, octopus intelligence, how intelligent are octopus, giant squid, australian ocean, ocean creatures, port jackson shark

Id: C3xUjOyvjpo

Length: 51min 8sec (3068 seconds)

Published: Wed May 24 2017