Original subtitles

An eastern myth says that a sea turtle carries the universe on its shell

And no universe could be more colorful and diverse than this

The warm sea around the islands of Indonesia

Indonesia seas have been a cradle for the evolution of marine life

Even by the flamboyant standards of the tropics

This variety and profusion are exceptional

This turtle's universe is truly an underwater wonderland

The fertility of these waters is no myth

Lying in the heart of Indonesia is the tiny Spice island of Banda

In 1988, after sleeping almost a century Banda's volcano woke into violent life

Lava cascaded down the mountain

scorching and smothering everything in its path

Underwater the island's fringing reef was totally destroyed

crushed and scalded under tons of sterile rock

Ten years on, the volcano's still scarred by the lava that flow down its northern slope

On land, the lava is still barren of life

no plants have found a foothold

but underwater, it's a very different story

In just a few years, the corals have returned

completely covering the rocks that bury the older reef

The speed of this rebirth has been astonishing

The new reef has even more kinds of coral than the old

with the corals come fish

and all the other animals that depend on the coral for their livelihood

For all of them, the destruction of the old reef was an opportunity

a wiping clean of the slate and a new beginning

That so many different creatures took advantage so fast

is a sign of the richness of Indonesia seas

The Indonesian archipelago has over 17000 islands

stretching 5000km along the equator

at the crossroads between the Indian and Pacific Oceans

Almost every island is an opportunity for the growth of coral reefs

These reefs are the rainforests of the ocean

and are one reason why Indonesia seas are so fertile

At the reef's edge, underwater cliffs plunge into the deep

As far down as the sunlight reaches,

these island walls are crusted with a vibrant profusion of living things

In the darkness of the deep below, life is sparse

but most of Indonesia seas are shallow

often shallow enough for light to reach the seabed

Even islands that don't break the surface can rise high enough into the sunshine to support coral reefs

Oasis of life in what would otherwise be an ocean desert

These seamounts attract wanderers, like the turtle

Here it can rest from the burden of carrying the universe

and with the help from the fish, even lose a little weight from its shell

parasites and encrusting algae

Some fish make their whole living like this

cleaning others of parasites

Seamounts are often a rendezvous for these specialized cleaner fish and their clients

A shoal of yellow-backed fusiliers have come to be cleaned

though the tiny, black and white cleaner wrasse will have its work cut out with an army like this

The variety of life in these seas is extraordinary

but just as striking is the sheer abundance

For most fish, coral reefs such as at-home

For bumphead parrotfish, they are food

Their teeth are fused into a beak, ideal for biting off chunks of living coral and encrusting algae

They sometimes use the bump on their head to ram corals and break them up

They can weigh 55k, so they pack quite a punch

The hard parts of the coral are ground up and passed through the fish's gut, coming out the other end as sand

The reef may be scarred by the grazing

but the corals grow fast in these sunlit waters

For cuttlefish, Indonesia's reefs are both a hunting ground

and a safe place to lay their eggs

they hide them in deep crevices in the coral

These extraordinary creatures are the comedians of the sea

Their skin has thousands of tiny sacs of pigment

which can expand and contract to give an almost instantaneous change of color

You can tell when a female has just laid an egg

she turns white perhaps a signal to her attendant male

After they're laid, the eggs absorb water and expand

that wages them firmly into the coral and makes them hard to dislodge

but new-laid eggs are still loose

so they are vulnerable to long-nosed predators

like butterfly fish

Reefs are a place to feed and a place to breed

They can also be a place to hide

Little fish escape the attentions of larger hunters by sheltering in nooks and crannies

too tight for pursuers to enter

Bigger fish must devise other means of defense

they gather in huge shoals hundreds even thousands

when hunters like tuna attack them there'll be safety in numbers

It's hard for a predator to pick a target in this crowd

Even if a hunter does single one out, the twists and turns of the shoal

distract the pursuer

There's another hunter on the reef

but this one's slower and more cunning

While tuna rely on speed

the cuttlefish hunts by stealth

The reason for those shimmering changes in pattern isn't known

It could be camouflage against a wave ripple background

or perhaps they mesmerize and distract the prey

Whatever their effect,

this is a hunter that seldom misses its target

It seizes its prey with a pair of modified tentacles

Its strike is one of the fastest movements in the animal kingdom

When hunting is over

the cuttlefish changes its dinner dress

The bumphead parrotfish have ended their meal too

They've ground coral into fine sand

Parrotfish can be major contributors to the buildup of sand

Sand provides a home for garden eels

These sinuous fish are plankton eaters

They rely on ocean currents to bring them food

but they keep their tails firmly anchored in the sand

ready to retreat into their burrows if danger threatens

With so many pairs of eyes on watch, any hunter would have to be very fast

or very well-camouflaged

A flounder would eat an eel

but first it has to catch it

On these scattered islands,

people reap harvest from both land and sea

Many believe that bounty flows from the Goddess of the sea - Nyale

especially on the island of Sumba

The object of this extraordinary mock battle is to shed blood

an honor to the Goddess and atonement for the past year's misdeeds

These days these spears are blunted

but in years gone by many warriors would be killed

The battle takes place each February just after the full moon

Nyale was the daughter of the king of the moon

She gave her life so the people of the earth would have food

and now that promise is fulfilled

Nyale worms

for believers they're the body of Nyale

coming to shore to give fertility to the land

to scientists, they are the reproductive segments of a marine worm

Whatever the explanation, local people find them good to eat

but the worm's orgy of spawning will soon be over

so the race is on to catch as many as they can

The adult worms live hidden in holes in the reef

And one night after the full moon

their tail ends break off and wriggle to the surface

There they shed eggs and sperm by the million

The seeds for nyale's return in the years ahead

This may not look appetizing, but to the local people, it's a delicacy

Nyale's gift will be taken home

and fried

Nyale comes just once a year

and the beaches are soon deserted

but other creatures are more frequent visitors

Baby turtles

newly hatched from eggs buried in the sand

In Indonesia, turtles breed all year round

As soon as they emerge, these bite-sized morsels dash for the safety of the water

The beach is a dangerous place

especially on one island

The Komodo dragon

the largest lizard in the world

These 3m giants

are scavengers and hunters

though much of their diet is carrion

they will kill quite large animals

even people

The dragons live only on Komodo

and a handful of islands nearby

They are good swimmers

but perhaps the strong currents between the islands

limit their spread

Through a unique accident of geography

these deep narrow channels

are some of the most treacherous waters in Indonesia

The Indonesian archipelago separates 2 great oceans

The waters of the Pacific are piled up by the trade winds

so they're a foot higher than the Indian ocean and there's a strong southerly flow

As it forces its way between the islands

it creates some of the fastest currents in the world

For creatures of the reef

these currents are both a challenge and an opportunity

They have to be securely anchored if they are not to be swept away

but the flow water brings a steady stream of food

The tiny particles of plankton

are snared by filter feeders

Each has its own way of trapping them

seemingly more flamboyant and ingenious than the last

These are Christmas tree worms

Filter feeders operate in all sorts of ways

some colorful, some elegant, some down right bizarre

Sea squirts are simple sacs with holes at the end

A sea cucumber spreads a net of feathery tentacles

each in turn transfers trapped food particles to its central mouth

A porcelain crab combs the current

with claws fringed with delicate hairs

But all these filter feeders have one thing in common

they rely on flowing water to bring them food

Powerful surface currents

have effects far beyond their immediate surroundings

they draw colder water up from the deep

These upwellings are the powerhouses of the ocean

they're rich in nutrients

the decayed remains of organisms long dead and sunk to the bottom

They support massive blooms of plankton

the minute plants and animals on which all other marine life

ultimately depends

Because they have so many upwellings

Indonesia's tropical seas

are some of the most productive on earth

The plankton may be tiny

but some of the creatures they support

are huge

Manta rays,

they have a wingspan of 3m

but they live entirely on plankton combed from the water that passes through their gills

Like so many of the fixed creatures of the reef

they are filter feeders

but they create their own current as they fly

Shallow seas support coral and the life that depends on it

Away from the reefs and islands, the open ocean would be a desert

were it not for the upwellings that enrich its deep blue water

These seas are so fertile that ocean wanderers

like turtles can breed all year round

they never have to go far from their nesting beaches

This one's a male

distinguished by his long tail

He's searching for a mate

Now that he's found her he'll try to hang on

until they've mated

but he may not have things all his own way

Another male tries to dislodge him

The challenger is defeated

Here in the open ocean

giants can appear out of the blue

The largest fish in the world

the whale shark

12m long, it's like a living reef

a shelter for shoals of smaller fish that shadow it on its travels

The whale shark's mouth is so wide

it could swallow a man whole

yet like the manta ray, this massive creature lives

entirely on plankton

it filters water through its gills

For thousands of years the ocean has played a vital part

in feeding Indonesia's peoples

One group of people live literally on the sea

This village on stilts is home to the Baga - the sea gypsies

The Baga were the hunter-gathers of the ocean

until recently they lived entirely on boats

wandering throughout the archipelago

Now most of them are settled

but they haven't lost their links with the sea

Even today, their lives are closely entwined with the ocean

A child's pet for instance

is most likely to be a frigate bird

The Baga villages are built over coral reefs

and the sea still provides almost all their food

From an early age, children learn how to make a living

from these tropical waters

Settling in villages may have increased the pressure on the reefs

but the Baga still respect the sea

Elsewhere in Indonesia

the close links between people and their natural world have been broken

Fishing methods are often far more destructive

they use dynamite, even cyanide

Tradition still permeates all aspects of Baga life

Young women still whiten their faces with rice flour

as a screen against the fierce tropical sun

For children this is a carefree life

But the children's world is changing fast

Their parents and grandparents gave up nomadic existence

for settled villages

if the younger generation can't find a living here

they may be tempted on to the land

severing the final links between the Baga and the ocean that was once their home

With so many islands Indonesia has a longer coastline

than almost any other country on earth

There's every kind of shore

from steep cliffs

to flat sandy beaches

each with its own distinct marine life

Muddy shallows are ideal for mangrove forest

Indonesia has some of the greatest expanses of mangrove on the planet

These different coastlines are one more reason

for the richness of Indonesia's marine world

and nowhere is that variety greater

than round the island of Sulawesi

Lombok strait, on the northern tip of Sulawesi.

This region has been a centre for the evolution of marine life

Its scattered reefs and sandy seabed

are a kaleidoscope of improbable shapes and colors

Here, hunters and hunted run an evolutionary arms race

developing ever more unlikely ways of warning and deceiving

Deceit starts with simple camouflage

hunk flounders are easy enough to see when they are swimming

but what about the one that didn't move

The flounders are master of disguise

they can change both the color and texture of its skin in an instant

Some animals disguise themselves as other species

This looks like a sponge but in fact, it's a predatory frogfish

And this could be its prey - a pipe fish

but a pipe fish looks like part of a feather star

so long as it stays within its waving arms

it's almost invisible

Pipe fish are related to sea horses

and like them, it's the males that carry the eggs in a special brood pouch

The trumpet fish hides in the fronds of a sea fan

but what it may not see is the pygmy seahorse

that lives there too

These tiny fish are no longer than a finger nail

they mimic every detail of their background

Rather than just looking like other species

some animals enlist other creatures' defenses for their own protection

The Coleman shrimp

lives safe along the venomous spines of a sea urchin

with its hard outer shell there's no risk of being stung

To survive in a stinging tentacles of anemones

these clown fish have to take extra precautions

They steal chemical from the anemone and rub it on to their skin

so it doesn't recognize them as prey

They can live safely in what would be lethal surroundings for other fish

In most tropical seas

clown fish have enemies to themselves

but here in Indonesia, all sorts of other fish

are developing the same immunity

Cardinal fish for instance

and hogfish

it's beginning to get crowded

This is evolution in progress

from here, the habit could spread right across the ocean

In Lombok Strait

everything that makes Indonesia's ocean so rich comes together

a varied coastline

shallow seas warmed by a tropical sun

fertile upwellings from the deep

There's a greater variety of life here

than almost anywhere else in Indonesia

It's enhanced by animals that come and go with the seasons

Squid come here to mate

but first they must take their partners

in an elegant dance of courtship

The arms race between predators and prey

reaches a peak on Lombok Strait's open expanses of sand

Out here, there is nowhere to hide

often the best defense is to pretend to be something else

Not an inedible dead leaf

but a young batfish

It's almost indistinguishable from the real thing

That movement in the background isn't a squid swimming past an anemone

but a frogfish flaunting a lure

Predators too use mimicry to deceive

Sooner or later a curious fish

will swim within reach of those waiting jaws

but these aren't taking the bait

Everything about the frogfish is peculiar

rather than swim, it walks

The frogfish is bizarre

but there's another mimic even more extraordinary

It's only just been discovered and it's truly amazing

The mimic octopus

It's a masterly quirk change artist

altering not just its shape but even its behavior

to impersonate a whole range of other creatures

If danger threatens

a menacing color change is no problem

Time to move on

so it alters its shape to imitate a flounder

flattening its body and matching the color of the sand

It undulates low across the bottom

just like a real flounder

Most octopus are very vulnerable in open water

usually they hide amongst rocks or corals

And if they have to flee, they dart away behind a cloud of ink

but this mimic has another trick up its sleeve

It alters both shape and behavior

to impersonate a fish that swims well above the bottom

a lionfish

Lionfish's fins are tipped with venom

so predators learn to avoid them

by its deceit the octopus shares that protection

Back on the sand, and it's being pestered by an aggressive damselfish

so it imitates something else

a sea snake

Sea snakes are amongst the most poisonous animals on earth

They use their venom to immobilize their prey

small fishes like damselfish

If all else fails,

the mimic octopus can always retreat down its hole

When the ancestors of today's Indonesians created the legend of the sea turtle

they could have had no inkling of the true wonders of the marine universe that lay all around them

hidden beneath the waves

Only now are we even beginning to understand this remarkable world

and with each new discovery

the reality becomes yet more extraordinary than the myth

Indonesia never ceases to amaze

It has it all, from the tiny to the huge

Not far offshore within sight of Sulawesi's volcanos

there's a resident population of sperm whales

Sperm whales may seem out of place in the tropics

yet they are not as far from cold water as you might think

all they have to do is dive

They feed on squid in the ocean trenches offshore

up to 1000m down

In the darkness of the deep, it's as cold as any polar sea

They live in family groups of about a dozen

mostly females and young

But each May they're joined by wandering bulls that swim up from the Antarctic

to search for a mate

The water rings with the bulls' calls of courtship

For the whales this is a brief encounter

In just a few weeks the sea will fall silent again

and the bows return to the ice-strewn waters of the Antarctic

In Indonesia, the forces of nature have combined

to produce an underwater wonderland

But if the sea is full of surprises,

so too is the land

Indonesia's islands are stepping stones between Asia and Australia

They were settled by the castaways of 2 continents

Monkeys like these often forage on the shore

but their true home is the forest

It's where we'll go on in next program

the green jungle that clothes the islands of Indonesia

Transcription by Andrew and Hattie www.mvgroup.org