The Blue Planet
Encyclopedia
The Blue Planet is a BBC
nature documentary
series narrated by David Attenborough
, first transmitted in the UK
from 12 September 2001.
Described as "the first ever comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceans", each of the eight 50-minute episodes examines a different aspect of marine life. The underwater photography
included creatures and behaviour that had previously never been filmed.
The series won multiple Emmy and BAFTA TV awards
for its music and cinematography.
The series was produced in conjunction with the Discovery Channel
. The executive producer was Alastair Fothergill
and the music was composed by George Fenton
.
David Attenborough narrated this series prior to presenting the next in his 'Life' series of programmes, The Life of Mammals
(2002), and the same production team created Planet Earth
(2006).
environment remains a mystery presented the production team with many challenges. Besides witnessing animal behaviour for the first time, the crew also observed some that were new to science. The producers were helped by marine scientists all over the world with state-of-the-art equipment.
Blue whale
s — whose migration routes were previously unknown — were located by air, after some of the animals had been given temporary radio tags. The camera team spent three years on standby, using a microlight
to land on the water nearby when they finally caught up with the creatures in the Gulf of California
. The open ocean proved more difficult and over 400 days were invested in often unsuccessful filming trips. After six weeks, the crew chanced upon a school
of spinner dolphin
s, which in turn led them to a shoal of tuna
. Off Mexico
, the behaviour of a flock of frigatebird
s guided the cameramen to a group of sailfish
and marlin
: the fastest inhabitants of the sea. Near the coast of Natal in South Africa
, the team spent two seasons attempting to film the annual sardine run
, a huge congregation of predators such as shark
s and dolphin
s that assembles to feast on the migrating fish
by corralling them into 'bait balls'. Meanwhile, in Monterey Bay
, orca
were documented trapping grey whale
s and killing a calf. Filming in the deep ocean required the use of special submersible
s. One of them enabled the crew to dive over a mile into the San Diego trench, where the carcass of a 40-ton grey whale had been placed to attract a large variety of scavengers.
Upon its first transmission on BBC One
, over 12 million people watched the series and it regularly achieved an audience share of over 30%.
and the varying position of the sun
. Near a Pacific
seamount
, there is a large concentration of marine animals because when the current makes contact with the submerged rock, it forces upwards plankton
and other organisms. This in turn attracts other fish to the area that are higher up the food chain, like tuna, and those that are higher still, such as silky shark
s. Off South Africa, a similar situation occurs every June when sardine
s migrate and are pursued by a caravan of various predators. The South Atlantic
waters are the roughest, and storms also churn up nutrients to the surface. These feeding grounds have led to the world's largest albatross
breeding colony, on Steeple Jason Island
, west of the Falklands
. Phytoplankton
forms the basis of all sea life, and every night some 1,000 million tonnes of creatures ascend from the deep to search for food. Lunar phase
s can also have a bearing on events and the mass arrival of Ridley sea turtle
s on a Costa Rica
n beach is shown. Herring
initiate the most productive food chain, providing sustenance for humpback whale
s, and Steller's
and California sea lion
s. In addition, their eggs are nutrition for many, both above and in the sea. Along the coast of California, a migrating gray whale
and her calf are targeted by a pod of orca
s, who hunt down and kill the calf. Meanwhile another gray whale carcass has sunk to the bottom of the deep sea. Hagfish, a sleeper shark, and other scavengers arrive to feast on the carcass. A year and a half later the carcass is striped to the bone. This episode won an Emmy Award
for "Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction Programming". George Fenton's work in this episode won another Emmy for "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)". This episode was broadcast in the United States with the title "Ocean World".
Broadcast 19 September 2001, the next programme explores the unknown depths of the ocean. Over 60% of the sea is more than a mile deep and it forms the planet's most mysterious habitat. A sperm whale
descends 1,000 metres to look for food and is followed. On the way down, a number of unusual creatures are witnessed, such as transparent squid
and jellies
, whose photophore
s give pulsating displays of colour. In such dark places, both being able to see (or sense movement) and the means of quick concealment are equally desirable. To that end, some use bioluminescence
as a means of detecting food or evading predators. A descent to the very bottom of the ocean — some 4,000 metres — reveals life even at such cold temperatures, much of it new to science. It is dominated by echinoderm
s that sweep the sea bed; however, there are occasional large hunters, such as chimaera
. In addition, sixgill shark
s can grow up to eight metres in length and have remained unchanged for 150 million years. They are described as "living fossils" and relatively little is known about them. As the continental slope
flattens out it joins the abyssal plain
, which can form huge trenches. At seven miles, the deepest is the Mariana trench
, and fish have been found there right down to the very bottom. Attenborough remarks that more is known about the surface of the moon
. Species captured on film for the first time include the Dumbo octopus
and the hairy angler
fish. This episode was nominated for two Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing and Outstanding Sound Mixing in the non-fiction category. It was also nominated for a BAFTA TV award for Best Innovation.
Broadcast 26 September 2001, the third installment focuses on life in the "marine deserts": seas that are furthest from land. Such waters contain the swiftest and most powerful of ocean hunters. A feeding frenzy is shown, as striped marlin
, tuna and a Sei whale
pick off a shoal of sardines until all within it have been consumed. Manta ray
s also gather to eat the eggs of spawning surgeonfish
. Accumulations of plankton correspond to ocean 'boundaries' and consequently, schools of fish seek them out. This in turn attracts predators, and a sailfish
is filmed on the attack. The only escape for smaller fish is to put as much distance between them and their pursuers as possible. Bluefin tuna
are able to heat their bodies and so can hunt in colder conditions than the others of their species. Off the coast of New Zealand
, an undersea volcano
has formed an island and the nearby currents sweep many kinds of creatures to it, again creating huge feeding grounds. Another Pacific seamount is surrounded by hammerhead shark
s, but not to seek food: they are there to allow other fish to clean them of parasite
s. However, others that are on the lookout for prey arrive in vast numbers. A large pod of common dolphin
s is too big to feed all at once and so splits up into smaller expeditions. One of these ends up near the Azores
with a shoal of mackerel
in its sights, but they have to compete for their quarry with an attendant flock of shearwater
s and a group of adult yellowfin tuna
.
Broadcast 4 October 2001, the next episode compares oceanic life in the Arctic
and Antarctica. The winter in these regions brings temperatures of minus 50°C and frozen seas that create the biggest challenge. However, there are polynya
s in the Arctic, which are free of ice owing to the pressure of currents on either side, and such places do provide refuge for some species, like the walrus
and the bowhead whale
. A pod of belugas is shown: their movements are limited to a single hole in the ice — therefore putting them at risk of attack from polar bear
s. Everything changes with the arrival of summer, when melting ice brings a variety of migratory visitors. At the other end of the planet, in the Antarctic, winter is even more harsh, but emperor penguin
s and Weddell seal
s stay throughout. Under the sea ice, krill
shrink in size and revert to their juvenile form in order to save energy. Chinstrap penguin
s overwinter to the north, beyond the ice, but return during the spring to breed. Having managed to get ashore, they have to walk a great distance to find a nest site, and the most favoured is Zavodovski Island
, an active volcano whose warmth keeps ice from forming. Further south, as the icebergs break up, humpback and minke whale
s appear, their target the abundant krill. The leopard seal
is the Antarctic's top predator. It is most effective underwater, and emperor penguins propel themselves at speed through its territory. Nonetheless, it almost invariably makes a kill.
Broadcast 10 October 2001, this programme surveys the effects of the season
s on the world's temperate seas — the most productive on Earth. Sable Island
near Nova Scotia
boasts the largest colony of grey seal
s, which breed there when the weather is at its worst. The pups remain marooned for weeks until the spring, when they are strong enough to swim. Spring also heralds the bloom of phytoplankton: it provides food for copepod
s, and they in turn are prey to jellyfish, which assemble in vast, million-strong swarms. On the California
n coast, giant kelp
also flourishes and by summer, grows at the rate of a metre a day. It provides a sanctuary for shoals of fish and sea otter
s, the latter anchoring themselves to the seaweed
when resting and keeping its grazers in check by eating them. Late summer in Alaska
sees Pacific salmon
heading inshore to breed. However, the level of their favoured river is too low and they are forced to wait in the open sea, where they fall prey to a salmon shark
. The early autumn near Vancouver Island
, and the temperature drops slowly. There, the last of the year's baby herring become the focus for a feeding frenzy by diving auk
s and murre
s, and marauding rockfish
. Pacific white-sided dolphins
also inhabit these waters and, when not hunting nocturnally, socialise during the day. As winter arrives in the north, adult herring seek shelter but are hunted by orca, which club the fish with their tails to subdue them by creating waves of pressure.
s, which are so crowded that they play host to a perpetual battle for space, even among the coral
itself. It starts life as a larva that becomes a polyp
. Having multiplied, it hardens into a limestone
skeleton and grows to form a reef. As the community flourishes, animals develop relationships with one another and such a place can feature a huge variety of ocean life. Although corals feed nocturnally on plankton, sunlight] is vital because even though they are animals, each contains millions of single-celled algae
. This in turn is the favoured sustenance of the humphead parrotfish
, whose jaws are so powerful that it erodes much of the reef into fine sand. Algae also grows on the top of the reef and a battle for grazing rights between shoals of powder blue
and convict tang
s is shown, the former being initially overwhelmed by the latter's weight of numbers before regaining the upper hand. The night-time hunting of a marbled ray
alerts other predators and a group of whitetip reef shark
s moves in, from which few are safe. Several breeding strategies are examined, including the acrobatic habits of brown surgeonfish and the colourful courtship of the flamboyant cuttlefish
. Humpback whales are visitors to the reef and males establish their seniority by the loudness and strength of their song
. Being fixed to the seabed, corals must synchronise their reproduction with lunar phases and the rising spring temperatures.
Broadcast 24 October 2001, the penultimate episode deals with marine life that is structured around the rising and falling tide
s. These are caused by the gravitational pull of the orbiting moon
, but in some locations, this can also combine with the power of the sun to create a tidal bore
. The world's largest tides are to be found in the Bay of Fundy
in Nova Scotia and therefore it is a rich feeding ground. A school of finback whale
s is closely shadowed by a flock of Cory's shearwater
s. However, they only have a limited time to feed before low tide, when they must retreat and other creatures appear. Elsewhere, some of the latter include sand bubbler crab
s, bear
s (which feed on shellfish
) and a snail
species that can 'surf'. The extreme spring tides allow opportunists to forage further, and racoon
s are shown tackling a red rock crab
. Some larger fish that hunt on the seabed, such as nurse shark
s and stingray
s, are forced to sit and wait until there is sufficient water in which to swim. A giant horse conch
is shown devouring a tulip snail, and hermit crab
s battle over its vacant shell. The varying water levels are no obstacle to tarpon
: they can breathe air. This enables them to inhabit stagnant areas and hunt in them. The autumn equinox
combines with a hurricane off the Bahamas to create a much higher tide than is usual, flooding large parts of the coast. When the sea recedes, it leaves behind salt
: food for brine shrimp
s and the perfect habitat in which flamingo
s can breed.
_-pair.jpg)
Broadcast 31 October 2001, the final programme examines the world's coastal environments, "the most dynamic of all ocean habitats". The perils of living in such places are highlighted by Marine Iguana
s on the Galápagos Islands
, whose diet of seaweed is quickly grabbed between crashing breakers. Many shores provide sites in which to breed or lay eggs. Apart from bird
s, turtles are among other major species to do so, and the mass emergence of flatback
s on Crab Island in Australia
is reduced by predatory heron
s, pelican
s and other hunters. Each year, four million seabirds, comprising fourteen species, return to the island of Talan in eastern Russia
to nest. By ensuring that all their chicks eventually leave at the same time, they lessen the impact of predators. The rough seas of the Southern Ocean
play host to penguin
s, and a group of them is shown being pursued by an aggressive bull sea lion
. The planet's coldest seas are in Antarctica, and on South Georgia each spring, thousands of Southern elephant seal
s arrive to breed. A pair of males is shown fighting a bloody battle to control a harem of females. In Patagonia
, the social nature of sea lions is shown as they establish colonies, each of them several hundred strong. While in some respects it is an ideal location for the growing young, high tide brings danger for the colony as a pod of orca
s habitually goes on the attack. Having snatched a victim, the predator returns to the open ocean to 'play' with it.
The series was available as a 3-disc DVD
set (BBCDVD1089, released 3 December 2001), including interviews with the production team, a photo gallery and three additional programmes:
The first DVD has now been superseded by a 4-disc Special Edition (BBCDVD1792, released 3 October 2005), which features three extra programmes:
In the US, there is a different 5-disk Special Edition (BBC040754, released October 2, 2007). It contains the featured presentations as well as a 5th disk containing 4 special presentations:
The accompanying book, The Blue Planet: A Natural History of the Oceans by Andrew Byatt, Alastair Fothergill and Martha Holmes
(with a foreword by David Attenborough), was published by BBC Books
on 27 September 2001 (ISBN 0-563-38498-0).
it consisted mainly of re-edited footage shot for The Blue Planet, accompanied by narration from Michael Gambon
.
For the show, some of the most spectacular sequences from the series have been edited together and are displayed on a huge screen (18 metres wide and 3 storeys high). The presentation is introduced by a special guest.
The tour continued in April 2008 with dates at Wembley Arena, Nottingham Arena, Manchester Central, Cardiff St. David's and Birmingham Symphony Hall.
, it was shown as The Blue Planet: Seas of Life with the episodes in a different order, the first one being retitled "Ocean World". The series aired on the Discovery Channel
and was narrated by Pierce Brosnan
.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
nature documentary
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
series narrated by David Attenborough
David Attenborough
Sir David Frederick Attenborough OM, CH, CVO, CBE, FRS, FZS, FSA is a British broadcaster and naturalist. His career as the face and voice of natural history programmes has endured for more than 50 years...
, first transmitted in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from 12 September 2001.
Described as "the first ever comprehensive series on the natural history of the world's oceans", each of the eight 50-minute episodes examines a different aspect of marine life. The underwater photography
Underwater photography
Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while snorkeling or swimming.-Overview:...
included creatures and behaviour that had previously never been filmed.
The series won multiple Emmy and BAFTA TV awards
British Academy Television Awards
The British Academy Television Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . They have been awarded annually since 1954, and are analogous to the Emmy Awards in the United States.-Background:...
for its music and cinematography.
The series was produced in conjunction with the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
. The executive producer was Alastair Fothergill
Alastair Fothergill
Alastair Fothergill is a producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the executive producer of the multi-award winning series The Blue Planet and Planet Earth and the co-director of the associated feature films Deep Blue and Earth.Fothergill attended Harrow...
and the music was composed by George Fenton
George Fenton
George Fenton is a British composer best known for his work writing film scores and music for television, although he also writes music for the theatre. His real name is George Howe but he is better known by his pseudonym of George Fenton.-Selected film and television credits:Fenton has composed...
.
David Attenborough narrated this series prior to presenting the next in his 'Life' series of programmes, The Life of Mammals
The Life of Mammals
The Life of Mammals is a nature documentary series written and presented by David Attenborough, first transmitted in the UK from 20 November 2002....
(2002), and the same production team created Planet Earth
Planet Earth (TV series)
Planet Earth is a 2006 television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and also the first to be filmed in high definition...
(2006).
Background
The series took almost five years to make, involving nearly 200 filming locations. The fact that most of the oceanOcean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
environment remains a mystery presented the production team with many challenges. Besides witnessing animal behaviour for the first time, the crew also observed some that were new to science. The producers were helped by marine scientists all over the world with state-of-the-art equipment.
Blue whale
Blue Whale
The blue whale is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales . At in length and or more in weight, it is the largest known animal to have ever existed....
s — whose migration routes were previously unknown — were located by air, after some of the animals had been given temporary radio tags. The camera team spent three years on standby, using a microlight
Ultralight aviation
The term "ultralight aviation" refers to light-weight, 1- or 2-person airplanes., also called microlight aircraft in the UK, India and New Zealand...
to land on the water nearby when they finally caught up with the creatures in the Gulf of California
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California is a body of water that separates the Baja California Peninsula from the Mexican mainland...
. The open ocean proved more difficult and over 400 days were invested in often unsuccessful filming trips. After six weeks, the crew chanced upon a school
Shoaling and schooling
In biology, any group of fish that stay together for social reasons are said to be shoaling , and if, in addition, the group is swimming in the same direction in a coordinated manner, they are said to be schooling . In common usage, the terms are sometimes used rather loosely...
of spinner dolphin
Spinner Dolphin
The Spinner Dolphin is a small dolphin found in off-shore tropical waters around the world. It is famous for its acrobatic displays in which they spin longitudinally along their axis as they leap through the air.-Taxonomy:...
s, which in turn led them to a shoal of tuna
Tuna
Tuna is a salt water fish from the family Scombridae, mostly in the genus Thunnus. Tuna are fast swimmers, and some species are capable of speeds of . Unlike most fish, which have white flesh, the muscle tissue of tuna ranges from pink to dark red. The red coloration derives from myoglobin, an...
. Off Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, the behaviour of a flock of frigatebird
Frigatebird
The frigatebirds are a family, Fregatidae, of seabirds. There are five species in the single genus Fregata. They are also sometimes called Man of War birds or Pirate birds. Since they are related to the pelicans, the term "frigate pelican" is also a name applied to them...
s guided the cameramen to a group of sailfish
Sailfish
'Sailfish' are two species of fish in the genus Istiophorus, living in warmer sections of all the oceans of the world. They are predominately blue to gray in color and have a characteristic erectile dorsal fin known as a sail, which often stretches the entire length of the back...
and marlin
Marlin
Marlin, family Istiophoridae, are fish with an elongated body, a spear-like snout or bill, and a long rigid dorsal fin, which extends forward to form a crest. Its common name is thought to derive from its resemblance to a sailor's marlinspike...
: the fastest inhabitants of the sea. Near the coast of Natal in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the team spent two seasons attempting to film the annual sardine run
Sardine run
The sardine run of southern Africa occurs from May through July when billions of sardines – or more specifically the Southern African pilchard Sardinops sagax – spawn in the cool waters of the Agulhas Bank and move northward along the east coast of South Africa...
, a huge congregation of predators such as shark
Shark
Sharks are a type of fish with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a highly streamlined body. The earliest known sharks date from more than 420 million years ago....
s and dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
s that assembles to feast on the migrating fish
Fish migration
Many types of fish migrate on a regular basis, on time scales ranging from daily to annually or longer, and over distances ranging from a few metres to thousands of kilometres...
by corralling them into 'bait balls'. Meanwhile, in Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay
Monterey Bay is a bay of the Pacific Ocean, along the central coast of California. The bay is south of San Francisco and San Jose, between the cities of Santa Cruz and Monterey....
, orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
were documented trapping grey whale
Gray Whale
The gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about , a weight of , and lives 50–70 years. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were...
s and killing a calf. Filming in the deep ocean required the use of special submersible
Submersible
A submersible is a small vehicle designed to operate underwater. The term submersible is often used to differentiate from other underwater vehicles known as submarines, in that a submarine is a fully autonomous craft, capable of renewing its own power and breathing air, whereas a submersible is...
s. One of them enabled the crew to dive over a mile into the San Diego trench, where the carcass of a 40-ton grey whale had been placed to attract a large variety of scavengers.
Upon its first transmission on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
, over 12 million people watched the series and it regularly achieved an audience share of over 30%.
Episodes
1. "The Blue Planet"
Broadcast 12 September 2001, the first episode looks at how ocean life is regulated around the globe by currentsOcean current
An ocean current is a continuous, directed movement of ocean water generated by the forces acting upon this mean flow, such as breaking waves, wind, Coriolis effect, cabbeling, temperature and salinity differences and tides caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and the Sun...
and the varying position of the sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
. Near a Pacific
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
seamount
Seamount
A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the water's surface , and thus is not an island. These are typically formed from extinct volcanoes, that rise abruptly and are usually found rising from a seafloor of depth. They are defined by oceanographers as...
, there is a large concentration of marine animals because when the current makes contact with the submerged rock, it forces upwards plankton
Plankton
Plankton are any drifting organisms that inhabit the pelagic zone of oceans, seas, or bodies of fresh water. That is, plankton are defined by their ecological niche rather than phylogenetic or taxonomic classification...
and other organisms. This in turn attracts other fish to the area that are higher up the food chain, like tuna, and those that are higher still, such as silky shark
Silky shark
The silky shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, named for the smooth texture of its skin. It is one of the most abundant sharks in the pelagic zone, and can be found around the world in tropical waters. Highly mobile and migratory, this shark is most often found over the edge...
s. Off South Africa, a similar situation occurs every June when sardine
Sardine
Sardines, or pilchards, are several types of small, oily fish related to herrings, family Clupeidae. Sardines are named after the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, around which they were once abundant....
s migrate and are pursued by a caravan of various predators. The South Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
waters are the roughest, and storms also churn up nutrients to the surface. These feeding grounds have led to the world's largest albatross
Albatross
Albatrosses, of the biological family Diomedeidae, are large seabirds allied to the procellariids, storm-petrels and diving-petrels in the order Procellariiformes . They range widely in the Southern Ocean and the North Pacific...
breeding colony, on Steeple Jason Island
Steeple Jason Island
Steeple Jason Island is a small island located at , west of the Grand Jason Island. It is a part of the Jason Islands in the Falkland Islands. Along with Grand Jason it is one of the "Islas los Salvajes" in Spanish .-Population and geography:None of the Jason Islands has ever been properly inhabited...
, west of the Falklands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
. Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
forms the basis of all sea life, and every night some 1,000 million tonnes of creatures ascend from the deep to search for food. Lunar phase
Lunar phase
A lunar phase or phase of the moon is the appearance of the illuminated portion of the Moon as seen by an observer, usually on Earth. The lunar phases change cyclically as the Moon orbits the Earth, according to the changing relative positions of the Earth, Moon, and Sun...
s can also have a bearing on events and the mass arrival of Ridley sea turtle
Ridley sea turtle
Ridley sea turtles are a genus of sea turtles comprising two species: Kemp's ridley sea turtle and the olive ridley sea turtle.Kemp's ridley sea turtles are currently on the New York and federal endangered species lists.-Anatomy:...
s on a Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
n beach is shown. Herring
Herring
Herring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
initiate the most productive food chain, providing sustenance for humpback whale
Humpback Whale
The humpback whale is a species of baleen whale. One of the larger rorqual species, adults range in length from and weigh approximately . The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. It is an acrobatic animal, often breaching and slapping the...
s, and Steller's
Steller's Sea Lion
The Steller sea lion also known as the northern sea lion, is a threatened species of sea lion in the northern Pacific. It is the sole member of the genus Eumetopias and the largest of the eared seals . Among pinnipeds, it is inferior in size only to the walrus and the two elephant seals...
and California sea lion
California Sea Lion
The California sea lion is a coastal sea lion of western North America. Their numbers are abundant , and the population continues to expand about 5% annually. They are quite intelligent and can adapt to man-made environments...
s. In addition, their eggs are nutrition for many, both above and in the sea. Along the coast of California, a migrating gray whale
Gray Whale
The gray whale, Eschrichtius robustus, is a baleen whale that migrates between feeding and breeding grounds yearly. It reaches a length of about , a weight of , and lives 50–70 years. The common name of the whale comes from the gray patches and white mottling on its dark skin. Gray whales were...
and her calf are targeted by a pod of orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
s, who hunt down and kill the calf. Meanwhile another gray whale carcass has sunk to the bottom of the deep sea. Hagfish, a sleeper shark, and other scavengers arrive to feast on the carcass. A year and a half later the carcass is striped to the bone. This episode won an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for "Outstanding Cinematography for Non-Fiction Programming". George Fenton's work in this episode won another Emmy for "Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore)". This episode was broadcast in the United States with the title "Ocean World".
2. "The Deep"
Sperm Whale
The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, is a marine mammal species, order Cetacea, a toothed whale having the largest brain of any animal. The name comes from the milky-white waxy substance, spermaceti, found in the animal's head. The sperm whale is the only living member of genus Physeter...
descends 1,000 metres to look for food and is followed. On the way down, a number of unusual creatures are witnessed, such as transparent squid
Squid
Squid are cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer, tentacles...
and jellies
Jellyfish
Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
, whose photophore
Photophore
A photophore is a light-emitting organ which appears as luminous spots on various marine animals, including fish and cephalopods. The organ can be simple, or as complex as the human eye; equipped with lenses, shutters, color filters and reflectors...
s give pulsating displays of colour. In such dark places, both being able to see (or sense movement) and the means of quick concealment are equally desirable. To that end, some use bioluminescence
Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism. Its name is a hybrid word, originating from the Greek bios for "living" and the Latin lumen "light". Bioluminescence is a naturally occurring form of chemiluminescence where energy is released by a chemical reaction in...
as a means of detecting food or evading predators. A descent to the very bottom of the ocean — some 4,000 metres — reveals life even at such cold temperatures, much of it new to science. It is dominated by echinoderm
Echinoderm
Echinoderms are a phylum of marine animals. Echinoderms are found at every ocean depth, from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone....
s that sweep the sea bed; however, there are occasional large hunters, such as chimaera
Chimaera
Chimaeras are cartilaginous fish in the order Chimaeriformes, known informally as ghost sharks, ratfish , spookfish , or rabbitfishes...
. In addition, sixgill shark
Bluntnose sixgill shark
The bluntnose sixgill shark, Hexanchus griseus, often simply called the cow shark, is the largest hexanchoid shark, growing to more than 5.4 m in length.-Taxonomy:...
s can grow up to eight metres in length and have remained unchanged for 150 million years. They are described as "living fossils" and relatively little is known about them. As the continental slope
Continental shelf
The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain. Much of the shelf was exposed during glacial periods, but is now submerged under relatively shallow seas and gulfs, and was similarly submerged during other interglacial periods. The continental margin,...
flattens out it joins the abyssal plain
Abyssal plain
An abyssal plain is an underwater plain on the deep ocean floor, usually found at depths between 3000 and 6000 metres. Lying generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge, abyssal plains cover more than 50% of the Earth’s surface. They are among the flattest, smoothest...
, which can form huge trenches. At seven miles, the deepest is the Mariana trench
Mariana Trench
The Mariana Trench or Marianas Trench is the deepest part of the world's oceans. It is located in the western Pacific Ocean, to the east of the Mariana Islands. The trench is about long but has a mean width of only...
, and fish have been found there right down to the very bottom. Attenborough remarks that more is known about the surface of the moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
. Species captured on film for the first time include the Dumbo octopus
Grimpoteuthis
The octopuses of the genus Grimpoteuthis are also known as Dumbo octopuses from the ear-like fins protruding from the top of their head-like bodies, resembling the ears of Walt Disney's flying elephant Dumbo. They are bathyal creatures, living at extreme depths of , with some living up to below...
and the hairy angler
Hairy angler
The Hairy angler is a deep sea fish.The female is about the size of a football and its body is covered in long antennae, used to detect the movements of any prey nearby. The male is about a tenth her size - the size of a ping pong ball...
fish. This episode was nominated for two Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing and Outstanding Sound Mixing in the non-fiction category. It was also nominated for a BAFTA TV award for Best Innovation.
3. "Open Ocean"
Striped marlin
The striped marlin, Tetrapturus audax, is a species of marlin found in tropical to temperate Indo-Pacific oceans not far from the surface. It is a large commercial game fish with a record weight of 190 kg, and a maximum length of 420 cm. The striped marlin is a predator that hunts during the day...
, tuna and a Sei whale
Sei Whale
The sei whale , Balaenoptera borealis, is a baleen whale, the third-largest rorqual after the blue whale and the fin whale. It inhabits most oceans and adjoining seas, and prefers deep offshore waters. It avoids polar and tropical waters and semi-enclosed bodies of water...
pick off a shoal of sardines until all within it have been consumed. Manta ray
Manta ray
The manta ray is the largest species of the rays. The largest known specimen was more than across, with a weight of about . It ranges throughout waters of the world, typically around coral reefs...
s also gather to eat the eggs of spawning surgeonfish
Acanthuridae
Acanthuridae is the family of surgeonfishes, tangs, and unicornfishes. The family includes about 80 species in six genera, all of which are marine fish living in tropical seas, usually around coral reefs...
. Accumulations of plankton correspond to ocean 'boundaries' and consequently, schools of fish seek them out. This in turn attracts predators, and a sailfish
Sailfish
'Sailfish' are two species of fish in the genus Istiophorus, living in warmer sections of all the oceans of the world. They are predominately blue to gray in color and have a characteristic erectile dorsal fin known as a sail, which often stretches the entire length of the back...
is filmed on the attack. The only escape for smaller fish is to put as much distance between them and their pursuers as possible. Bluefin tuna
Southern bluefin tuna
The southern bluefin tuna, Thunnus maccoyii, is a tuna of the family Scombridae found in open southern hemisphere waters of all the world's oceans mainly between 30°S and 50°S, to nearly 60°S...
are able to heat their bodies and so can hunt in colder conditions than the others of their species. Off the coast of New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, an undersea volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
has formed an island and the nearby currents sweep many kinds of creatures to it, again creating huge feeding grounds. Another Pacific seamount is surrounded by hammerhead shark
Hammerhead shark
The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a "cephalofoil". Most hammerhead species are placed in the genus Sphyrna while the...
s, but not to seek food: they are there to allow other fish to clean them of parasite
Parasitism
Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
s. However, others that are on the lookout for prey arrive in vast numbers. A large pod of common dolphin
Common dolphin
The common dolphin is the name given to two species of dolphin making up the genus Delphinus.Prior to the mid-1990s, most taxonomists only recognised one species in this genus, the common dolphin Delphinus delphis...
s is too big to feed all at once and so splits up into smaller expeditions. One of these ends up near the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
with a shoal of mackerel
Mackerel
Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of fish, mostly, but not exclusively, from the family Scombridae. They may be found in all tropical and temperate seas. Most live offshore in the oceanic environment but a few, like the Spanish mackerel , enter bays and can be...
in its sights, but they have to compete for their quarry with an attendant flock of shearwater
Shearwater
Shearwaters are medium-sized long-winged seabirds. There are more than 30 species of shearwaters, a few larger ones in the genus Calonectris and many smaller species in the genus Puffinus...
s and a group of adult yellowfin tuna
Yellowfin tuna
The yellowfin tuna is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.Yellowfin is often marketed as ahi, from its Hawaiian name ahi although the name ahi in Hawaiian also refers to the closely related bigeye tuna. The species name, albacares can lead to...
.
4. "Frozen Seas"
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
and Antarctica. The winter in these regions brings temperatures of minus 50°C and frozen seas that create the biggest challenge. However, there are polynya
Polynya
A polynya or polynia is an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. It is now used as geographical term for an area of unfrozen sea within the ice pack. It is a loanword from , , which means a natural ice hole, and was adopted in the 19th century by polar explorers to describe navigable...
s in the Arctic, which are free of ice owing to the pressure of currents on either side, and such places do provide refuge for some species, like the walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
and the bowhead whale
Bowhead Whale
The bowhead whale is a baleen whale of the right whale family Balaenidae in suborder Mysticeti. A stocky dark-colored whale without a dorsal fin, it can grow to in length. This thick-bodied species can weigh to , second only to the blue whale, although the bowhead's maximum length is less than...
. A pod of belugas is shown: their movements are limited to a single hole in the ice — therefore putting them at risk of attack from polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
s. Everything changes with the arrival of summer, when melting ice brings a variety of migratory visitors. At the other end of the planet, in the Antarctic, winter is even more harsh, but emperor penguin
Emperor Penguin
The Emperor Penguin is the tallest and heaviest of all living penguin species and is endemic to Antarctica. The male and female are similar in plumage and size, reaching in height and weighing anywhere from . The dorsal side and head are black and sharply delineated from the white belly,...
s and Weddell seal
Weddell Seal
The Weddell seal , is a relatively large and abundant true seal with a circumpolar distribution surrounding Antarctica. Weddell seals have the most southerly distribution of any mammal, with a habitat that extends as far south as McMurdo Sound...
s stay throughout. Under the sea ice, krill
Krill
Krill is the common name given to the order Euphausiacea of shrimp-like marine crustaceans. Also known as euphausiids, these small invertebrates are found in all oceans of the world...
shrink in size and revert to their juvenile form in order to save energy. Chinstrap penguin
Chinstrap Penguin
The Chinstrap Penguin is a species of penguin which is found in the South Sandwich Islands, Antarctica, the South Orkneys, South Shetland, South Georgia, Bouvet Island and Balleny...
s overwinter to the north, beyond the ice, but return during the spring to breed. Having managed to get ashore, they have to walk a great distance to find a nest site, and the most favoured is Zavodovski Island
Zavodovski Island
Zavodovski Island is an uninhabited volcanic island in the Traversay Islands group of the South Sandwich Islands. It lies southeast of South Georgia Island...
, an active volcano whose warmth keeps ice from forming. Further south, as the icebergs break up, humpback and minke whale
Minke Whale
Minke whale , or lesser rorqual, is a name given to two species of marine mammal belonging to a clade within the suborder of baleen whales. The minke whale was given its official designation by Lacepède in 1804, who described a dwarf form of Balænoptera acuto-rostrata...
s appear, their target the abundant krill. The leopard seal
Leopard Seal
The leopard seal , also referred to as the sea leopard, is the second largest species of seal in the Antarctic...
is the Antarctic's top predator. It is most effective underwater, and emperor penguins propel themselves at speed through its territory. Nonetheless, it almost invariably makes a kill.
5. "Seasonal Seas"
Season
A season is a division of the year, marked by changes in weather, ecology, and hours of daylight.Seasons result from the yearly revolution of the Earth around the Sun and the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of revolution...
s on the world's temperate seas — the most productive on Earth. Sable Island
Sable Island
Sable Island is a small Canadian island situated 300 km southeast of mainland Nova Scotia in the Atlantic Ocean. The island is a year-round home to approximately five people...
near Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
boasts the largest colony of grey seal
Grey Seal
The grey seal is found on both shores of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large seal of the family Phocidae or "true seals". It is the only species classified in the genus Halichoerus...
s, which breed there when the weather is at its worst. The pups remain marooned for weeks until the spring, when they are strong enough to swim. Spring also heralds the bloom of phytoplankton: it provides food for copepod
Copepod
Copepods are a group of small crustaceans found in the sea and nearly every freshwater habitat. Some species are planktonic , some are benthic , and some continental species may live in limno-terrestrial habitats and other wet terrestrial places, such as swamps, under leaf fall in wet forests,...
s, and they in turn are prey to jellyfish, which assemble in vast, million-strong swarms. On the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
n coast, giant kelp
Kelp
Kelps are large seaweeds belonging to the brown algae in the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera....
also flourishes and by summer, grows at the rate of a metre a day. It provides a sanctuary for shoals of fish and sea otter
Sea Otter
The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...
s, the latter anchoring themselves to the seaweed
Seaweed
Seaweed is a loose, colloquial term encompassing macroscopic, multicellular, benthic marine algae. The term includes some members of the red, brown and green algae...
when resting and keeping its grazers in check by eating them. Late summer in Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
sees Pacific salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
heading inshore to breed. However, the level of their favoured river is too low and they are forced to wait in the open sea, where they fall prey to a salmon shark
Salmon shark
The salmon shark, Lamna ditropis, is a species of shark occurring in the north Pacific ocean. As an apex predator, the salmon shark feeds on salmon, and also on squid, sablefish, and herring...
. The early autumn near Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island is a large island in British Columbia, Canada. It is one of several North American locations named after George Vancouver, the British Royal Navy officer who explored the Pacific Northwest coast of North America between 1791 and 1794...
, and the temperature drops slowly. There, the last of the year's baby herring become the focus for a feeding frenzy by diving auk
Auk
An auk is a bird of the family Alcidae in the order Charadriiformes. Auks are superficially similar to penguins due to their black-and-white colours, their upright posture and some of their habits...
s and murre
Guillemot
Guillemots is the common name for several species of seabird in the auk family . In British use, the term comprises two genera: Uria and Cepphus. In North America the Uria species are called "murres" and only the Cepphus species are called "guillemots"...
s, and marauding rockfish
Rockfish
Rockfish may refer to one of the following fishes:* One of several species in the Sebastes genus of the Sebastidae family, including the Shortraker rockfish, Rougheye rockfish, Blue rockfish, Yellow tail rockfish and many others....
. Pacific white-sided dolphins
Pacific White-sided Dolphin
The Pacific White-sided Dolphin is a very active dolphin found in the cool to temperate waters of the North Pacific Ocean.-Taxonomy:...
also inhabit these waters and, when not hunting nocturnally, socialise during the day. As winter arrives in the north, adult herring seek shelter but are hunted by orca, which club the fish with their tails to subdue them by creating waves of pressure.
6. "Coral Seas"
Broadcast 17 October 2001, the next instalment is about coral reefCoral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s, which are so crowded that they play host to a perpetual battle for space, even among the coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
itself. It starts life as a larva that becomes a polyp
Polyp
A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are approximately cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the body...
. Having multiplied, it hardens into a limestone
Limestone
Limestone is a sedimentary rock composed largely of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate . Many limestones are composed from skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral or foraminifera....
skeleton and grows to form a reef. As the community flourishes, animals develop relationships with one another and such a place can feature a huge variety of ocean life. Although corals feed nocturnally on plankton, sunlight] is vital because even though they are animals, each contains millions of single-celled algae
Algae
Algae are a large and diverse group of simple, typically autotrophic organisms, ranging from unicellular to multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length. They are photosynthetic like plants, and "simple" because their tissues are not organized into the many...
. This in turn is the favoured sustenance of the humphead parrotfish
Green humphead parrotfish
The green humphead parrotfish, Bolbometopon muricatum, is the largest species of parrotfish growing to lengths of and weighing up to . It is found on reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, from the Red Sea in the west to Samoa in the east, and from the Yaeyama Islands in the north to the Great...
, whose jaws are so powerful that it erodes much of the reef into fine sand. Algae also grows on the top of the reef and a battle for grazing rights between shoals of powder blue
Acanthurus leucosternon
Acanthurus leucosternon is a tropical fish with the common names powder blue tang and powderblue surgeonfish.-Appearance:The powder blue tang is light blue with yellow and white highlighted fins. Its face is a uniform black with a white outline. The fish does not undergo color changes as it...
and convict tang
Acanthurus triostegus
The manini is a small surgeonfish in family Acanthuridae of order Perciformes. Its about long. It is whitish-yellow with zebra-like black stripes on its side. Its resemblance to a prisoner’s uniform gave it the nicknames of convict surgeonfish and convict tang. Manini is a favorite food fish...
s is shown, the former being initially overwhelmed by the latter's weight of numbers before regaining the upper hand. The night-time hunting of a marbled ray
Batoidea
Batoidea is a superorder of cartilaginous fish commonly known as rays and skates, containing more than 500 described species in thirteen families...
alerts other predators and a group of whitetip reef shark
Whitetip reef shark
The whitetip reef shark is a species of requiem shark, family Carcharhinidae, and the only member of its genus. A small shark usually not exceeding in length, this species is easily recognizable by its slender body and short but broad head, as well as tubular skin flaps beside the nostrils, oval...
s moves in, from which few are safe. Several breeding strategies are examined, including the acrobatic habits of brown surgeonfish and the colourful courtship of the flamboyant cuttlefish
Cuttlefish
Cuttlefish are marine animals of the order Sepiida. They belong to the class Cephalopoda . Despite their name, cuttlefish are not fish but molluscs....
. Humpback whales are visitors to the reef and males establish their seniority by the loudness and strength of their song
Whale song
Whale sounds are the sounds made by whales and which are used for different kinds of communication.The word "song" is used to describe the pattern of regular and predictable sounds made by some species of whales, notably the Humpback Whale...
. Being fixed to the seabed, corals must synchronise their reproduction with lunar phases and the rising spring temperatures.
7. "Tidal Seas"
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
s. These are caused by the gravitational pull of the orbiting moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, but in some locations, this can also combine with the power of the sun to create a tidal bore
Tidal bore
A tidal bore is a tidal phenomenon in which the leading edge of the incoming tide forms a wave of water that travel up a river or narrow bay against the direction of the river or bay's current...
. The world's largest tides are to be found in the Bay of Fundy
Bay of Fundy
The Bay of Fundy is a bay on the Atlantic coast of North America, on the northeast end of the Gulf of Maine between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine...
in Nova Scotia and therefore it is a rich feeding ground. A school of finback whale
Fin Whale
The fin whale , also called the finback whale, razorback, or common rorqual, is a marine mammal belonging to the suborder of baleen whales. It is the second longest whale and the sixth largest living animal after the blue whale, bowhead whale, and right whales, growing to nearly 27 metres long...
s is closely shadowed by a flock of Cory's shearwater
Cory's Shearwater
The Cory's Shearwater is a large shearwater in the seabird family Procellariidae.This species breeds on islands and cliffs in the Mediterranean, with the odd outpost on the Atlantic coast of Iberia. The nest is on open ground or among rocks or less often in a burrow where one white egg is laid,...
s. However, they only have a limited time to feed before low tide, when they must retreat and other creatures appear. Elsewhere, some of the latter include sand bubbler crab
Sand Bubbler Crab
Sand bubbler crabs are crabs of the genera Scopimera and Dotilla in the family Dotillidae. They are small crabs that live on sandy beaches in the tropical Indo-Pacific; during the low tide, they form inflated sand pellets which are destroyed by the incoming high tide.-Description:Sand bubbler...
s, bear
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
s (which feed on shellfish
Shellfish
Shellfish is a culinary and fisheries term for exoskeleton-bearing aquatic invertebrates used as food, including various species of molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms. Although most kinds of shellfish are harvested from saltwater environments, some kinds are found only in freshwater...
) and a snail
Neogastropoda
Neogastropoda is an unranked taxonomic clade of sea snails, marine gastropod mollusks. For many years prior to 2005 Neogastropoda was an order.- Description :...
species that can 'surf'. The extreme spring tides allow opportunists to forage further, and racoon
Racoon
Racoon is a Dutch rock band, formed in 1997. Their first big appearance was at the 1999 Noorderslagfestival. First album Till Monkeys Fly appeared in January 2000, produced by Michael Schoots . The first single, Feel Like Flying, became a hit and got a lot of airplay on the Dutch radiostation 3FM...
s are shown tackling a red rock crab
Grapsus grapsus
The crab Grapsus grapsus is one of the most common crabs along the western coast of the Americas. It is known variously as "red rock crab", "abuete negro", and, together with other crabs such as Percnon gibbesi, as "Sally Lightfoot"...
. Some larger fish that hunt on the seabed, such as nurse shark
Nurse shark
The nurse shark, Ginglymostoma cirratum, sometimes referred to as the Nur Shark is a shark in the nurse sharks family, the only member of its genus Ginglymostoma...
s and stingray
Stingray
The stingrays are a group of rays, which are cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are classified in the suborder Myliobatoidei of the order Myliobatiformes, and consist of eight families: Hexatrygonidae , Plesiobatidae , Urolophidae , Urotrygonidae , Dasyatidae , Potamotrygonidae The...
s, are forced to sit and wait until there is sufficient water in which to swim. A giant horse conch
Pleuroploca gigantea
Pleuroploca gigantea, common name the Florida horse conch, is a species of extremely large predatory subtropical and tropical sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Fasciolariidae, the spindle snails, tulip snails and their allies....
is shown devouring a tulip snail, and hermit crab
Hermit crab
Hermit crabs are decapod crustaceans of the superfamily Paguroidea. Most of the 1100 species possess an asymmetrical abdomen which is concealed in an empty gastropod shell that is carried around by the hermit crab.-Description:...
s battle over its vacant shell. The varying water levels are no obstacle to tarpon
Tarpon
Tarpons are large fish of the genus Megalops. There are two species of Megalops, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans.They are the only members of the family Megalopidae.- Species and habitats :...
: they can breathe air. This enables them to inhabit stagnant areas and hunt in them. The autumn equinox
Equinox
An equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the center of the Sun being in the same plane as the Earth's equator...
combines with a hurricane off the Bahamas to create a much higher tide than is usual, flooding large parts of the coast. When the sea recedes, it leaves behind salt
Salt
In chemistry, salts are ionic compounds that result from the neutralization reaction of an acid and a base. They are composed of cations and anions so that the product is electrically neutral...
: food for brine shrimp
Brine shrimp
Artemia is a genus of aquatic crustaceans known as brine shrimp. Artemia, the only genus in the family Artemiidae, has changed little externally since the Triassic period...
s and the perfect habitat in which flamingo
Flamingo
Flamingos or flamingoes are gregarious wading birds in the genus Phoenicopterus , the only genus in the family Phoenicopteridae...
s can breed.
8. "Coasts"
Marine iguana
The Marine Iguana is an iguana found only on the Galápagos Islands that has the ability, unique among modern lizards, to live and forage in the sea, making it a marine reptile. The Iguana can dive over 30 ft into the water. It has spread to all the islands in the archipelago, and is...
s on the Galápagos Islands
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands are an archipelago of volcanic islands distributed around the equator in the Pacific Ocean, west of continental Ecuador, of which they are a part.The Galápagos Islands and its surrounding waters form an Ecuadorian province, a national park, and a...
, whose diet of seaweed is quickly grabbed between crashing breakers. Many shores provide sites in which to breed or lay eggs. Apart from bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, turtles are among other major species to do so, and the mass emergence of flatback
Flatback Turtle
The flatback sea turtle is a sea turtle that is endemic to the continental shelf of Australia. Flatback turtles belong to the Cheloniidae, or sea turtle, superfamily and are the only species found in the genus Natator....
s on Crab Island in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
is reduced by predatory heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s, pelican
Pelican
A pelican, derived from the Greek word πελεκυς pelekys is a large water bird with a large throat pouch, belonging to the bird family Pelecanidae....
s and other hunters. Each year, four million seabirds, comprising fourteen species, return to the island of Talan in eastern Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
to nest. By ensuring that all their chicks eventually leave at the same time, they lessen the impact of predators. The rough seas of the Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
play host to penguin
Southern Rockhopper Penguin
The Southern Rockhopper Penguin group , are two subspecies of rockhopper penguin, that together are sometimes considered distinct from the Northern Rockhopper Penguin...
s, and a group of them is shown being pursued by an aggressive bull sea lion
South American Sea Lion
The South American sea lion , also called the southern sea lion and the Patagonian sea lion, is a sea lion found on the Chilean, Peruvian, Uruguayan, Argentine and Southern Brazilian coasts. It is the only member of the genus Otaria...
. The planet's coldest seas are in Antarctica, and on South Georgia each spring, thousands of Southern elephant seal
Southern Elephant Seal
The Southern Elephant Seal is one of the two extant species of elephant seal. It is both the most massive pinniped and member of the order Carnivora living today...
s arrive to breed. A pair of males is shown fighting a bloody battle to control a harem of females. In Patagonia
Patagonia
Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean...
, the social nature of sea lions is shown as they establish colonies, each of them several hundred strong. While in some respects it is an ideal location for the growing young, high tide brings danger for the colony as a pod of orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
s habitually goes on the attack. Having snatched a victim, the predator returns to the open ocean to 'play' with it.
DVDs and book
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set (BBCDVD1089, released 3 December 2001), including interviews with the production team, a photo gallery and three additional programmes:
- Making Waves: the making of The Blue Planet (50 mins)
- Deep Trouble: an ecological documentary (50 mins)
- Blue: a five-minute theatrical short
The first DVD has now been superseded by a 4-disc Special Edition (BBCDVD1792, released 3 October 2005), which features three extra programmes:
- The Abyss
- Dive to Shark Volcano
- Amazon Abyss
In the US, there is a different 5-disk Special Edition (BBC040754, released October 2, 2007). It contains the featured presentations as well as a 5th disk containing 4 special presentations:
- Amazon Abyss: discover an array of creatures living in the Amazon
- Dive to Shark Volcano: venture to Cocoa Island, an underwater volcano
- Beneath the Tides: explore an estuary in winter
- Anarctica
The accompanying book, The Blue Planet: A Natural History of the Oceans by Andrew Byatt, Alastair Fothergill and Martha Holmes
Martha Holmes (broadcaster)
Martha Holmes is a BAFTA award winning BBC Television producer and writer known for her wildlife documentaries.-Biography:Holmes studied for a PhD in marine biology at the University of York....
(with a foreword by David Attenborough), was published by BBC Books
BBC Books
BBC Books is an imprint majority owned and managed by Random House. The minority shareholder is BBC Worldwide, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation...
on 27 September 2001 (ISBN 0-563-38498-0).
Film
A feature-length theatrical presentation called Deep Blue was released in 2003. Directed by Alastair FothergillAlastair Fothergill
Alastair Fothergill is a producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the executive producer of the multi-award winning series The Blue Planet and Planet Earth and the co-director of the associated feature films Deep Blue and Earth.Fothergill attended Harrow...
it consisted mainly of re-edited footage shot for The Blue Planet, accompanied by narration from Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
.
Live concert tour
The Blue Planet was turned into a theatrical presentation entitled The Blue Planet Live! and toured the UK in 2006. The UK live shows were presented by World Class Service Ltd. George Fenton conducted the Manchester Camerata Orchestra in Manchester, Newcastle and Nottingham during December 2006, in three critically acclaimed shows. The tour continued in April 2007, again conducted by George Fenton, in London, Cardiff, Birmingham and returning to Manchester and Nottingham.For the show, some of the most spectacular sequences from the series have been edited together and are displayed on a huge screen (18 metres wide and 3 storeys high). The presentation is introduced by a special guest.
The tour continued in April 2008 with dates at Wembley Arena, Nottingham Arena, Manchester Central, Cardiff St. David's and Birmingham Symphony Hall.
Overseas
The series was sold to over 50 countries. In the USAUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it was shown as The Blue Planet: Seas of Life with the episodes in a different order, the first one being retitled "Ocean World". The series aired on the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
and was narrated by Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brendan Brosnan, OBE is an Irish actor, film producer and environmentalist. After leaving school at 16, Brosnan began training in commercial illustration, but trained at the Drama Centre in London for three years...
.