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00:03Life, as we know it, can only thrive because of the moon.
00:09She is Earth's constant companion,
00:14regulating the rhythms of the planet
00:16so animals can come together and raise the next generation.
00:26The moon influences the daily, monthly and yearly cycles,
00:34including the changing seasons,
00:38which are most extreme nearer the poles.
00:51An arctic fox emerges from a cruel winter.
00:56She has spent the last four months alone
00:59in temperatures far below freezing.
01:10But now a new year begins.
01:14Spring is her cue
01:16to reunite with her lifelong companion.
01:22But if she is to raise a family once more,
01:26she must find him.
01:31And together, they need to keep pace
01:34with the lunar-driven seasons.
01:39Our moon shapes life on Earth in extraordinary ways.
01:46Creating the swelling tides.
01:51Dictating the length of day.
01:54Summoning the seasons.
01:58She can light the way to love.
02:02Reveal hidden pathways.
02:07Bring times of plenty.
02:11Or strip away chances of survival.
02:24Of course.
02:29Don't know if they find someone in a new planet.
02:3040 million years ago,
02:32young Earth is thought to have collided
02:35with another planetary body.
02:41The debris fused,
02:42And our moon was born.
02:51She has been Earth's stabilizing partner ever since.
02:59The Earth is slightly tilted, like a slowing, spinning top.
03:05But it is the moon that holds the planet steady
03:08as they orbit around the sun together.
03:12Earth's tilt means the northern and southern hemispheres
03:16take turns leaning into and away from the sun's light,
03:21bringing us the turning of the seasons
03:24and the perfect moments for romance.
03:39As the moon steers the north toward the sun,
03:42in Iceland, the days are getting warmer and longer.
03:50For the Arctic fox, now is the time to mate.
03:58Arctic foxes pair for life, but they're short-lived.
04:05She is only four years old,
04:08but this could be her last chance to raise cubs.
04:17If her partner has also made it through.
04:27She returns to their former home,
04:33desperately searching.
04:43But there is no sign of him.
04:58a familiar call.
05:04With the change of season,
05:08he is on his way home.
05:32He is on his way home.
05:35The next day,
05:36the wildfires of the Earth are going to be
05:36They need to keep working.
05:36With the Earth, they must reclaim their territory.
05:40From mountain top to the shoreline.
05:53This rich habitat offers both shelter and food to sustain them and their future family
06:00throughout the year.
06:05But during the breeding season, the best land is the most contested, a challenger.
06:24Her mate must act.
06:40This intruder may be the first, but he won't be the last.
06:45To maintain this territory, the pair will need to fiercely defend it for the next six months.
06:54For now, they can focus on each other.
07:01If mating is successful, their cubs will arrive just in time for summer.
07:13The moon-driven seasons create a distinct annual calendar at the poles.
07:21While closer to the equator, the moon's illuminating presence in the night sky creates a more dominant
07:29rhythm, the lunar month.
07:37Over 29 days, she completes one orbit around the Earth.
07:44As she journeys, sunlight shifts across her face, marking time in phases.
07:54And it is this cycle that some of the Earth's oldest life forms have evolved to follow.
08:08Off the Caribbean island of Curacao, a new life begins.
08:18A baby mountainous star coral, a mere speck in the ocean, is embarking on the single greatest
08:27adventure of its life.
08:31To search for a place to settle and call home.
08:38Only the most bustling reef will do, where it can find food and protection.
08:47And this little coral lava can travel over 500 kilometers of open ocean to find it.
09:05Life began for this lava the way it does for many corals around the world.
09:11It's built on a reef built by millions of tiny polyps, individual animals living together
09:25as a colony.
09:33Light-sensitive cells allow them to track the moon's light throughout their lives.
09:41The full moon is the signal for them to get ready to spawn.
09:52In the nights that follow, each species releases their eggs and sperm in synchrony.
10:17A mass spawning that boosts the chances of fertilization.
10:34A new generation is born, all set to seek a new reef of their own.
10:52For the newborn larvae, it begins its descent.
11:01The hair-like cilia on its body, and sensory cells detect tiny vibrations, and
11:10smells of nearby reefs.
11:13Not bad for something smaller than a grain of sand.
11:20It searches for exposed limestone to provide a grippy surface.
11:29But for every moment spent searching, the tiny lava is rapidly losing energy.
11:40And at risk of becoming food.
11:50Even so, it continues to be fussy.
11:55After all, the colony it forms could be here for over 500 years.
12:13This is the place.
12:28Over hours, the lava transforms, flattening into a tiny polyp, anchoring itself to the limestone.
12:43Within days, tiny tentacles emerge, reaching out for any morsel of food that happens to float by.
12:58Their photosensitive cells begin to tune in to the cycle of moonlight.
13:10Over time, the once-single drifting larva will grow into a towering colony and form part of a reef.
13:27Where it will become part of an ecosystem that protects coastlines, provides oxygen, and supports a quarter of all life
13:39beneath the waves.
13:49Earth bursts with an incredible diversity of life, supported by the moon, a barren rock with almost no atmosphere.
14:04Every species that has ever existed on Earth has evolved under her familiar face, scarred, wrinkled, blemished, marked by over
14:18500,000 craters, with black basalt plains and pale mountain peaks.
14:32Strikingly beautiful and powerful.
14:54Strikingly beautiful and powerful.
14:55Strikingly beautiful and powerful.
14:59In the Atlantic rainforest of Brazil, the moon's bright light forces many to retreat into the shadows.
15:15Striking in the longest days of birds which exist upon the creatives of the birds,
15:16aimientos east or soitite, without Houzzham Growth and through
15:17Striking from the곳 of the robot may not serve as command- nghĩaward.
15:18They become more active and embrace the glow!
15:26Striking from the incredible birds of land.
15:27Striking from the án приход is making an warming in its own foreign aqusteps.
15:36is well under way.
15:42And this bachelor has a lot to do
15:45before the moon sets in ten hours' time.
15:54To be worthy of a female,
15:56he builds a crater-like nest the size of a dinner plate.
16:03The lunar light will reveal any flaws.
16:10Too deep, and the eggs may drown.
16:13Too shallow, and they'll dry out.
16:19It's a labor of love,
16:22and he must guard it with his life.
16:26Competing males will kill to steal nests.
16:32But his work isn't done yet.
16:36As the moon casts her spotlight on his creation,
16:42it's time to get the attention of the females.
16:57He calls up to 120 times a minute
17:02to showcase his newly-built nest.
17:17And someone's taken notice.
17:27A rival.
17:37It's a standoff.
17:56Close to drowning.
17:58He must fight for his life.
18:14Trespasser evicted.
18:22But the moon waits for no one,
18:25and there is no time to lose.
18:36tocauze.
18:39This time...
18:40A female.
18:56With his nest in the spotlight,
18:59she inspects it for floors.
19:03Not too deep.
19:08Not too shallow.
19:16She approves.
19:33Under the moon's light, together, they make it theirs.
19:55She lays over 2,000 eggs.
20:05And leaves before sunrise.
20:15This dedicated dad will nurture their brood.
20:21With only the moon for company.
20:36When full, the moon completes her longest stretch across the night sky.
20:44Rising and setting opposite the sun.
20:51Though she is nearly 400,000 kilometers away, her dazzling glow can illuminate empty planes on Earth.
21:02Making all the difference between success and failure when choosing a mate.
21:11April.
21:13On a plateau in Utah.
21:18For the last two weeks, sage grouse have been gathering at the arena known as a lek for their breeding
21:26season.
21:29Each morning, when predators are scarce, males compete in a dance-off before sunrise.
21:42But tonight, the contest is about to peak.
21:48The arrival of the full moon illuminates the plateau.
21:53Extending dawn by more than three hours.
22:00It gives the males extra time to strut their stuff.
22:07And for this female, longer to judge them.
22:17Over 70 males are competing for her attention.
22:24But only the best will make the cut.
22:28As they strut, they gulp into their large air sacs.
22:36With each forceful exhale, they rapidly deflate.
22:43Creating a distinctive pop.
22:51This male works the moonlight to his advantage.
22:55It illuminates the whites of his chest and spots on his plumage.
23:09She's noticed.
23:15But looking good only gets you so far.
23:19She's after a male with stamina.
23:22The longer he struts, the stronger her future chicks may be.
23:35Eager young males rush in, desperate for attention.
23:48But unsolicited advances are not welcome.
23:51She sets the rules here.
23:58As the moon begins to set, the weaker males quickly have run out of steam.
24:05Now she can separate the men from the boys.
24:34After circling the dance floor.
24:39He's the one standing head and shoulders above the rest.
24:46Three beat pops, ten times a minute.
24:51Each one landing perfectly in time with his strut.
24:58And he's been going for seven hours straight.
25:04One last serenade.
25:08And her choice is made.
25:19The other females appear to agree.
25:22And form an orderly queue.
25:25Time is up.
25:27This contest is over.
25:36His winning performance was made possible by the light of the full moon.
25:46And she has secured herself.
25:48The strongest male here.
26:00While the moon determines the brightness of the night.
26:06She also influences the light we receive in the day.
26:14Her gravitational pull slows Earth's spin to a 24-hour cycle.
26:23And supports the tilt that decides the relative length of day and night.
26:31At the equator, they stay almost equal all year.
26:39But nearer the poles, when the north leans into the sun, it rarely sets.
26:48Midsummer, in Iceland.
26:52The landscape is transformed.
26:59The Arctic foxes' lives have changed too.
27:06With temperatures rising, their winter coats are shed.
27:15And they are now parents to six new cubs.
27:25But they only have ten weeks to get them to independence, before winter returns.
27:36For the cubs, play is always the priority.
27:57Sparring and stalking build their strength and hunting skills.
28:04And, like all youngsters, they are always hungry.
28:10At just under two kilograms, they will need to double their weight to face the world ahead.
28:19Mom has raised them on milk.
28:23But now she must wean them.
28:32Dad must guard their prized territory, now more than ever.
28:38To keep rivals out, and his young family fed.
28:46At the coast, seabirds have arrived in their thousands.
28:55Here to rear their chicks, lured by the abundant waters and warmer weather.
29:11A reliable feast for mum to feed her growing family.
29:16She was so famous as she was in the lured .
29:24She lost her not too.
29:25She lost her.
29:32She lost her firsthand.
29:35The bird met her son, and the birds could not deny theox.
29:35And she was a man, and she was a man.
29:36She was in the sea.
29:37She was a bitch.
29:37She said, I know she could not have.
29:45After you, she can do whatever she was on the ground.
29:45One bird is only enough to feed around two cubs.
29:52Every hour counts.
29:56So she must make the most of the 20 hours of daylight
29:59summer brings her.
30:16But this feast won't last.
30:19The majority of seabirds will leave
30:21as soon as their chicks fledge.
30:30The relentless hunts and intense heat
30:32begin to take their toll on mom.
30:37But the cubs' hunger never wanes.
30:44She must keep going.
30:52A missed meal could threaten the cubs' future.
30:57A third won't survive their first year from a lack of food.
31:06Soon, the days will become shorter.
31:10As the moon guides Iceland into autumn.
31:21The Earth is the only planet in our solar system
31:25under the influence of a single moon.
31:31Her gravity draws the seas towards her.
31:35on Earth.
31:38Setting a consistent rhythm that travels across the entire planet.
31:45The tides.
31:53Where land meets sea, the repeated ebb and flow of tides
31:57carved solid rock to form tidal pools.
32:06Warmed by the sun, these pools have been nurturing new life
32:11for over 600 million years.
32:16Shallow refuges cut off from the ocean,
32:19yet deep enough to hold water.
32:26And today, still act as natural incubators and safe havens.
32:44Off the coast of Brazil, nurse sharks are drawn to these tidal pools.
32:51The open ocean is a ruthless place to give birth,
32:56as predators lurk everywhere.
33:00Crossing the barrier, they find safety together,
33:08forming neonatal sisterhoods, while the warm water incubates and speeds up their pregnancies.
33:18But the pools only open once every 12 hours, when the tides rise almost 2 meters.
33:30Just enough to flood the rocky barrier and open safe passage.
33:37But this young mum-to-be is running late.
33:48The water is too shallow, and she cannot reach safety with the other females.
33:53She has no choice but to wait.
34:01Alone, she is vulnerable.
34:06Predators roam these waters.
34:12Tiger sharks.
34:15Aggressive, opportunistic hunters.
34:18And they will eat other sharks.
34:21Their electro-receptors detect even the slightest movement of prey.
34:29She must lie low.
34:34But the oceans are always shifting.
34:39Her own senses detect increases in pressure as the water rises above her.
34:49High tide is coming.
34:53This is the moment.
35:34It is only with the moon's gravitational pull that the sisterhood has this oasis.
35:42The tide allowing them to reach the otherwise unreachable.
35:58The moon's pull keeps the Earth's tides in constant motion.
36:08But twice a month, the moon, Earth, and Sun align.
36:16Their combined gravitational force causes the ocean to surge higher than usual.
36:23These events are known as the spring tides.
36:29One species entire reproductive cycle is synchronized to them.
36:40The sloped, sandy beaches of California play host to one of nature's most lusty beach parties.
36:52Anticipation is building beneath the waves.
36:57Gatecrashers line the shore.
37:10No one wants to be the first to a party.
37:29Soon, the shoreline turns silver as thousands land on the beach.
37:48Californian grunion.
37:55Females lead the way, drilling into the sand with their tails, each laying around 3,000 eggs.
38:05And for the males, it's a race to fertilize as many as possible.
38:17All before the tide recedes in two hours.
38:22It's a mating frenzy.
38:29But fish out of water can only breathe with a passing wave.
38:44The moon high, the party peaks.
38:56But for some, it can be a little overwhelming.
39:10He can't reach a female.
39:13And no one wants to be left high and dry.
39:18It's time to get back to it.
39:36Finally, he reaches a female.
39:49The tide begins to recede.
39:54And the party ends as quickly as it started.
40:08The last waves wash sand over the exposed eggs.
40:13Leaving no trace.
40:28After 14 days, the second spring tide of the month arrives.
40:47Beneath the warm, moist sand.
40:50Away from the regular waves.
40:53The grunion eggs have been developing.
40:58To be ready for this moment.
41:20The turbulence triggers the eggs to hatch.
41:27Beneath the ocean.
41:27Limits on the erreur.
41:31If all of the animals were forced to get back to it.
41:32That is a剛mer.
41:32The downwind.
41:34If all of the animals were forced to escape.
41:48The wind.
41:49The wind.
41:55and a new generation enters the sea.
42:03The moon sets the rhythm for life along shores across the planet.
42:10But its influence doesn't stop there.
42:15Even on land, top predators rely on its tides to fuel their success in courtship.
42:26On Costa Rica's coast, a male jaguar is on patrol.
42:35He spends most of the year alone in the forest.
42:41But for the past few weeks, he has been stalking this beach.
42:51He knows the full moon's high tide brings opportunity to feed.
43:01Sea turtles.
43:03Sea turtles.
43:08They are returning from across the ocean to lay eggs in the dry sand where they were born.
43:17For just a few nights, they reach further up the beach with the high tides.
43:24Slow and predictable.
43:27They are easy to catch.
43:29The beach.
43:29The beach.
43:53The beach.
43:58One turtle will sustain him for up to three days.
44:05This energy boost puts him in prime condition for courtship.
44:11If he can find a female, they will mate as much as possible while she is receptive.
44:21He has learned to take advantage of the rhythms of the moon, which increases his chance of
44:28fathering the next generation.
44:47Although the moon is only one percent of the Earth's mass, her gravitational pull is strong
44:54enough to hold Earth steady on its tilt.
44:59Twice a year, light falls evenly on both hemispheres.
45:07And day and night are of equal length across the planet.
45:12The equinox.
45:19It's autumn in Iceland.
45:22The seasons are shifting again.
45:27For the Arctic foxes, it's the final race to prepare for winter.
45:35Their time as a family is coming to an end.
45:44As food becomes scarcer by the day, each fox must fend for itself.
45:51Five cubs have already found independence, carrying enough fat reserves to face the bitter cold
45:58ahead.
46:05But one still lingers, underweight and reluctant to leave home.
46:20At the shoreline, his father forages.
46:27Even he must gain more than half his body weight if he is to make it through the impending winter.
46:37He has guarded this territory for good reason.
46:41Though most of the birds have gone, the shore offers him a lifeline.
46:49Protein-rich mollusks and crustaceans.
46:55And now, his smallest cub wants in on it too.
47:13He needs to learn fast.
47:17This could be his last chance to bulk up.
47:33He's leaving no rock unturned.
48:01He's leaving no rock unturned.
48:08He's leaving no rock unturned.
48:09As he seeks to carve out his own territory.
48:29Mum is no longer foraging, the last six months have drained her, and she is exhausted.
48:40But she has succeeded in raising yet another generation.
48:47And just in time.
49:03If her cubs make it through the winter, they will begin to
49:07seek mates and start families of their own.
49:15As they too learn to keep pace in this unforgiving land, rising to the challenges of the seasons,
49:27steadied by the rhythms of the moon.
49:44To capture the coral larvae on film, the moon team joined researchers from the Kamabi Institute.
49:54Corals have the ability to sense the moonlight and how many days after the full moon it is.
50:01They can sense light, they can sense colors, they actually have a lot of the same sensory
50:05systems that we have, they just don't have big eyeballs measuring light the way we do.
50:12When the moon's getting full and it's time for spawning, we have to be ready as well.
50:16My name is Kristin Marhaver, and I'm a coral scientist, and I'm lucky enough to study the
50:22coral reefs here in Curacao in the Southern Caribbean.
50:26Our main mission is to solve the trickiest puzzles in coral reproduction and coral breeding.
50:33Coral reefs around the world are facing one setback and one trauma after another, and it
50:38can be really hard to watch.
50:39And it's gotten so bad that for many corals, they haven't actually successfully made any
50:46babies in decades.
50:49But we know that they can still make eggs, we know they can still get their eggs fertilized.
50:54So we have to figure out how to restore all of the conditions in nature that let corals
50:59be parents and let corals have babies.
51:03But one thing that really keeps us motivated is the fact that we're surrounded by babies,
51:07and it's really hard to be sad and pessimistic when you're surrounded by really cute babies.
51:16The corals all know how big the moon is, and they use the moon to synchronize their spawning.
51:22We basically have to have a sort of neonatal intensive care unit ready for baby corals right after
51:27we go on an expedition scuba diving at night.
51:34We've got divers in multiple parts of this reef, there are divers diving in multiple parts
51:38of the island, and we're going to do two dives here tonight.
51:41And hopefully by the end of the night we will have caught a bunch of spawn and we'll be back
51:45in the lab raising coral babies for science and for conservation.
51:49We end up taking almost a comical amount of stuff in the water on some dives.
51:57Some corals make it pretty easy for us and we can just use a big tent over the coral colony
52:02that just helps funnel their eggs into a collection tube at the top.
52:08Some corals are a little trickier and they just spray a mist of eggs into the seawater and
52:12so we'll use maybe a bag or a syringe to try to collect them.
52:18Once the spawning peak is done, we're heading back to shore and we're heading back to the
52:22lab while those eggs are still good.
52:27They're only viable, they'll only stay alive for a few hours.
52:34So we had a really good dive.
52:36So we've got a few different males and females collected and we're headed back to the lab to
52:40mix them and hopefully get good fertilization.
52:47What we are doing in the lab is we are trying to shepherd these corals through the whole
52:50fertilization process, then get them to metamorphose and settle and grow and then get those babies
52:57to get bigger and bigger and actually grow into eventually adult corals.
53:02So we're essentially running an IVF clinic and a daycare for baby endangered species.
53:16We've been able to learn so much about the timing of coral spawning, how you collect it,
53:21how you keep it healthy in the laboratory as you get the eggs to fertilize.
53:25And as we figure out more elements of the puzzle, we're sharing those answers with the global community.
53:38We're in year 50 of a 200-year project.
53:45So I'm not going to be around to see the really cool results of the amazing restoration
53:49work that people do in the future.
53:58We're already seeing the impact of our work and we know that with hundreds of more years of innovation,
54:05there's going to be some really cool coral restoration projects happening.
54:13When I started my career, it was pretty much considered impossible to raise baby corals.
54:20We took something from impossible to possible.
54:23And now the next generation has the challenge of scaling it up
54:27and deciding how we're going to rebuild coral reefs.
54:59So Vive twelve years back.
55:04So I think that's a really cool thing.
55:04I've got to be a similar curve in this decade.
55:05I think that's why we're in our community.
55:05So I think that's why we budget about this event,
55:05and like we're going to have to learn our spiritual work together.
55:05So that's why we're doing so well.
55:06So if you're going to need a little bit of time,
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