A barracuda pauses at a cleaning station as gobies clean parasites from its sharp teeth. A 200-pound loggerhead turtle descends to pick up and crush a conch shell, then uses its front flippers to pull out the tough meat. Instead of hard corals, these cold water reefs are covered with anemones, coral-like algae and starfish. The program profiles the behaviors of many species in this strange environment, including wolf eels, who crush and swallow spiny sea urchins, and fringehead fish, whose mouths are half as wide as their bodies are long. Stunning time-lapse photography shows that starfish dance and fight with fascinating personality.
Specialized equipment is used to film whales, dolphins, sharks and many other creatures.
The crew then looks back with humor upon the successes and mishaps that resulted in filming the series. Secrets of the Ocean Realm is a prime example of PBS' longstanding commitment to present the finest in natural history programming. Funding is provided by Public Television Viewers, PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Howard Hall Productions.