National Geographic: Jewels of the Caribbean Sea Page #3

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the sargassum fronds, later head north,

then eastward across the Atlantic

to the Azores and the Canary Islands.

The flotsam of the sea accumulates

where ocean currents converge.

Sargassum weed and other drifting plant

and animal life also gather here,

along with an increasing mass of

human rubbish.

Jellyfish congregate here too,

and one is the first meal

for the newly hatched loggerhead.

These waters often teem with jellyfish

and some of them are

voracious predators.

This large stinging cauliflower

has captured several moon jellies.

They are helpless

in its deadly tentacles.

The medusa fish may be resistant to

the cauliflower's stinging cells

or just incredibly nimble.

It feeds on scraps and leftovers from

the cauliflower's meals

and uses the broad bell as

a personal magic carpet.

Convergent currents drive

moon jellyfish together

by the tens of thousands.

Their translucent bodies form

a gently pulsing cathedral in the sea.

The sargassum weed is a safe nursery

for many Caribbean reef fish.

Spawned on the reef, schools of

baby fish hide here in the open sea

until they are old enough to return

to their more hazardous home.

A loggerhead turtle

is hunting for lobster.

The lobster uses its spiny antennae.

They are covered with sharp barbs

and the lobster aims them

at the turtle's eyes

with uncanny accuracy.

Eventually the loggerhead discouraged

and returns to his home in the wreck.

In a long, slow-paced life,

one lobster more or less

makes little difference.

Adult loggerheads lead settled lives.

They hunt by day and at night

usually hole up to sleep

in a favorite crevice.

Another turtle, a hawksbill,

is on the prowl.

She eats sponges.

She spends her days searching out

the varieties she likes best.

When she finds one, she contents

herself with just a few bites

and then moves on.

The sponge will survive.

Its tissue will heal and later

the turtle will be back for more.

For the French angelfish the sponge

is now an easy meal,

because the turtle has torn through

its outer layer.

But this sponge has a defender.

Some damselfish are farmers.

They cultivate patches of algae

on sponges that they rely on for food.

Although the queen angelfish is

many times the size of a damsel,

the little fish is unrelenting.

It will attack almost anything

to protect the algae farm.

Other kinds of algae have changed

the face of the Caribbean.

As they grow, several species

concentrate calcium in their tissues.

When they die, the calcified skeletons

of these plants decompose

and become find sand.

It's known for its delicate grain

and brilliant whiteness.

After thousands of years this sand has

created sand banks that can stretch

for miles between and shore.

Plains of this and other types of sand

are scattered throughout the Caribbean.

Seemingly barren deserts,

they are home for many creatures

that specialize in concealment

and camouflage.

A male peacock flounder

has excellent eyesight.

He watches from a high sand mound,

trying to spot a mate.

At last, a female.

He confronts her

and displays his long pectoral fin.

Seducing her will not be easy.

The female is not sufficiently

impressed. He must try again.

He displays all the signals

proper for his species,

but still she is unresponsive.

A cold fish indeed.

A curious mutton snapper butts

in just as the reluctant female

begins to show some interest.

Finally she responds.

It all ends with a single exquisite

shiver and a tiny puff of spawn.

During the long summer day

the voices of dolphins

can often be heard

across the sandy plains.

These are Atlantic spotted dolphin.

Like other mammals, dolphin babies

are nourished by mother's milk,

which is squirted into their mouths

under pressure.

Baby spotted dolphins don't develop

their spots for a few years.

Dolphins are social and very

intelligent animals,

and their private lives are

highly visible here in the open.

These dolphins relax here

after a night of vigorous hunting.

During the day the look for flounder

and razorfish that lie concealed

on the bottom.

The dolphin's sensitive sonar

can locate prey partially buried

in the sand.

Once discovered, a small fish

has little chance to escape.

Dolphin's are extremely

efficient hunters.

They are very playful and have

plenty of time to fool around.

Like chimpanzees

and other intelligent mammals,

they often reinforce their

social bonds with sexual behavior.

What starts as gentle foreplay

soon turns to mating.

Dolphins mate belly to belly.

The large gray dolphins here are

male bottlenose dolphins

a completely different species.

Female spotted dolphins pet

the bottlenoses and coax them to play.

Soon this becomes a sensual frenzy.

The two species will mate, an event

only recently recorded in the wild.

As a result there may be hybrid young,

but they will probably be sterile

and have no offspring of their own.

Dolphins show hyper-sexuality

in captivity

and this is often attributed

to boredom.

But films like this confirm that they

are also highly sexual

in the wild.

It has never been demonstrate that

dolphins have language as we know it.

But these dolphin vocalizations,

slowed down six times,

show just how much

information could be conveyed

by their intricate sounds.

The dolphin language, if any,

remains an unsolved riddle to science.

Whatever their meaning, dolphin sounds

are rich and varied, an essential part

of their social lives and an

expression of their soaring spirit.

For weeks in summer the dolphins'

playground is mirror-still,

a warm and crystal sea

seemingly frozen in time.

Then, finally, the long summer ends

when the first winter storm clouds

start to gather over the reef.

The jewels of the Caribbean

take shelter.

As winter arrives among the creatures

that seek safety and security

on the reef is the spiny lobster.

Lobsters group together and dash for

the safety of deep water

at the edge of the reef.

They are in the open here,

vulnerable to predators,

so speed equals survival.

One lobster takes the lead,

seeking the shortest course

to the protection of the reef.

Each following lobster uses

its antennae to engage the one ahead.

Like racing cars,

they take advantage of the draft.

The train of lobsters makes the trip

faster than one could traveling alone.

Their trek ends at the reef.

Here they find calm water

protected from storms.

Spreading out over the reef,

each will find a sheltering hole

or crevice that will serve as

its winter home.

Another winter visitor

has only just arrived.

Returning to this city in the sea,

humpback whales have

come back from the north.

A mother humpback whale is sleeping.

Her newborn calf snuggles

under her chin.

Calves spend their days playing,

nursing, and just basking

in an ocean filled with

the songs of whales.

The Caribbean is an ideal nursery

for the baby humpbacks.

They're 12 to 14 feet long

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