Destination les mers chaudes et les îles coralliennes. Nous allons nous faire tout petits pour entrer dans la ville monde, cet immense édifice de corail élaboré par des créatures aussi minuscules que mystérieuses. Aujourd’hui, chacun sait que les zones coralliennes sont menacées. Explorateurs, nous allons partir à l’aventure dans ce monde si beau et étonnant. Grâce à des techniques de prises de vues uniques, glissons-nous dans cet univers labyrinthique pour voir dans l’infiniment petit, ce qu’aucun oeil humain n’a encore jamais vu.
PLANET CORAL BY LUC JACQUET
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CONTENTS
Why coral? Note of intent Locations envisaged for the expedition Theatrical film Immersive travelling exhibition In summary Our team Our scientific panel Our partners Key aspects of the story Biological notes
03 05 10
11 13 15 16 18
20 2 3 3 3
WHY CORAL?
CORAL REEFS VALUE
Coral reefs are valued at up to $2.7 trillion annually and are relied upon by an estimated 1 billion people
Food Security 2/3 of protein
Coastal Protection $6b
Biodiversity 25% of marine life is supported by coral reefs
Tourism $36b is generated by coral reefs for tourism every year
Medicine >1/2 of all new cancer drug research focuses on marine organisms
Employment 500m jobs are supported by coral reefs
of built capital is protected from flooding by coral reefs
needed for future generations can be provided by marine exosystems
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WHY CORAL?
CRITICAL MOMENT FOR REEF ACTION
90% threatened 90% of the world’s reefs are threatened by human impact
30 years Without urgent action, reefs face extinction by 2050
7x funding gap Current conservation funding is 7x lower than needed
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NOTE OF INTENT
« THERE IS A WORLD OF BREATHTAKING BEAUTY, WHERE THE ANIMAL, THE VEGETABLE, AND THE MINERAL MINGLE, WHERE THE FRONTIER BETWEEN THE MOBILE AND THE IMMOBILE DISSOLVES. »
Luc Jacquet
We are no longer breathing air, but water. The living things here are not upright, but horizontal, and they change sex at will. Stones move, flowers walk, and stars sleep on the sand. The sky is made of waves, the sun and the moon reign far above, yet their discs are never perfect, instead always shimmering and blurred by the deep waters. Here, time and scale are turned upside down. Unknown creatures exist in these depths, each bound to the rest. Let us embark on an adventure into a fragile, uncharted world. A world so close by.
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NOTE OF INTENT
I want cinema goers to feel like explorers setting foot on an unknown planet. They will take a journey of discovery, guided by science and emotion, to places as yet unseen by human eyes: from the heart of the coral reef and the infinitesimally tiny, to the vastest of tableaux. Together, we shall defy the laws of physics to view the submarine world from a new perspective, and glimpse landscapes comparable to those we see above the surface. We invite you to dive into a new universe, a world away from the “aquarium” images that we are accustomed to, as we learn once again to truly see the living, while telling the story beyond it.
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NOTE OF INTENT
WHY THIS PROJECT? Coral. It’s another emergency. After the climate, forests, and biodiversity, what I am attempting to do, in my own way, is to make our species feel a little more at home, a little more invested in this planet of ours. When you love the living world as I do, it feels like you’re constantly running here and there trying to put out fires, without ever really succeeding. So, I am returning to what is closest to my heart: bringing together science and emotion, using stories to win hearts and minds. I am standing alongside all those who work to preserve the great coral reefs, those who study them, or simply love them and cannot bear the idea of bequeathing our children a world devoid of life.
NOTE OF INTENT
A PROJECT BUILT ON DUAL FOUNDATIONS
We are relying on the incredible work done with the scientific community to understand the issues, drawing on the most up-to- date knowledge to tell the best stories and find images that really hit the spot. The ecology of coral will be the page on which our story is written. Symbiosis, competition, mutualism, parasitism, courtship, trickery... All these traits will embellish a unique tale in which our characters’ ups and downs will, under a narrative veneer, efface these scientific concepts, that are useful to study, but too “cold” to win hearts.
The technical side will be our second foundation. Because to show coral the way I see it, we will need to innovate, invent, adapt tools for filming and optics, in order to seek out in high definition what the naked eye cannot see. We will need to capture the infinitely small, the infinitely hidden, the infinitely sonorous, and the landscapes concealed behind the veil of water. And show - at all costs - the often gigantic dimensions of coral reefs, to make viewers understand…
NOTE OF INTENT
ONE SUBJECT, MANY FORMATS We will tell the story of this coral world from multiple viewpoints and through a variety of media to attract different audiences. Because everyone is different, we will look to reach out to the widest possible audience through an immersive exhibition, a theatrical film, graphic novels, and more. There is a multitude of stories to be found in the world of coral reefs, and we will select the most appropriate media formats to share them. Translated into multiple languages, these productions can be distributed all over the world.
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LOCATIONS ENVISAGED FOR THE EXPEDITION
RED SEAGULF OF AQABA
BAHAMAS
MESOAMERICA
PHILIPPINES
KENYA TANZANIA
INDONESIA PAPUA NEW GUINEA
FRENCH POLYNESIA
FIJI
GREAT BARRIER REEF
NEW CALEDONIA
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THEATRICAL FILM
WITH ITS NEVER-SEEN-BEFORE IMAGES, ITS INVENTIVE VISUALS, RHYTHM, SOUND, AND MUSIC, THIS FILM WILL TAKE CINEMA GOERS ON A VOYAGE INTO A WORLD OF SCIENCE FICTION.
Adopting a resolutely esthetic and offbeat style, living creatures will be magnified and filmed from new angles. Viewers will be drawn outside their traditional frame of reference, deprived of the visual bearings they are used to, and swept into a whirlpool of images and emotions. Through this wordless exploration, we will speak directly to their imagination and sensations: dizziness, disorientation, surprise, fear, fascination, amusement, amazement. The general public has no frame of reference when it comes to underwater noise. This gives us considerable latitude to create, drawing on the findings of all current research in this field, which has consigned to history the myth of the “silent world”. Planet Coral rustles with a thousand sounds: a parrotfish nibbles the coral, a giant clam closes with a sound like a cathedral door shutting, fish growl, whistle, and burp, and shrimp squeak. The atmosphere evokes the strange otherworldliness of the known. Planet Coral will offer a fascinating spectacle, often funny, sometimes tragic, depicting the life of the inhabitants of this marine metropolis.
The originality of Planet Coral lies in the collaboration between the sound design and music teams, who will work not one after the other but together, to create a truly original, coral-inspired world. This film is intended for an international family audience. Viewers of all ages will share the joy and emotion of discovering this astonishing world as it has never been filmed before. Ideally, pre-production would begin during 2023 for delivery by 2027, to support political efforts in 2028. At this stage, besides the technical development planned over a period of months, considerable work remains to be done in collaboration with scientists to establish the current state of scientific knowledge about coral. A second phase will then entail incorporating this knowledge into a story worthy of winning the hearts and minds of the widest possible audience.
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THEATRICAL FILM
The story might begin :
Once upon a time, there was a zooid floating in the nothingness... One day, this mote of life must have fallen on a fragment of stone. From this chance happening, a thin branch budded and grew like a desert rose on its rock... Eventually, other zooids wandering through the void also came to rest on the branch. The branch continued to grow, spreading like an antler, allowing the creatures to settle and reproduce. Their abundant offspring attracted hunters capable of moving through the emptiness that held the oasis. The hunters found this haven to be pleasant and plentiful. So they stayed. And that is the story of how Planet Coral came to be. These millions of creatures now found themselves forced to live on top of one another, alongside one another, against one another, with no choice but to tolerate each other, or fight.
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6 TO 8 EUROPEAN CAPITAL CITIES
A special “big top” is made for each exhibition, with a remarkable shape and design. Like an emblem, this artistic and architecture creation creates a real buzz in the city where it is installed. IMMERSIVE TRAVELING EXHIBITION
EXPECTED TOTAL ATTENDANCE: 2 MILLION
LIFE SPAN OF TOURING EXHIBITION: 72 MONTHS
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IMMERSIVE TRAVELING EXHIBITION
1 PURPOSE- BUILT PORTABLE MARQUEE
AVAILABLE IN 24 LANGUAGES
Our exhibition is designed as a new media format , a mix of cinema, artistic experience, and scientific mediation. It is a medium that blends pure entertainment, emotion and storytelling with education and popular science. The exhibition’s content is the result of extensive work done with scientists , and allows us to pass on and share the latest scientific knowledge. With its custom-designed big top, the exhibition is an invitation to embark on a great voyage . No sooner have they arrived on site, than visitors are immersed in the world of coral. The journey begins even before they enter! Thanks to the XXL format, packed with images and sounds, visitors dive into the mysteries of science . The exhibition walks families through an emotional and instructive experience. Our exhibitions go beyond entertainment and their effect continues after a visit: a little seed is planted in the visitor’s mind .
MORE THAN 2 HOURS
EXHIBITION FLOOR SPACE: 1 600 M 2
OF CINEMA SEQUENCES
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IN SUMMARY
EXPLORING coral reefs, DISCOVERING this world of interactions, UNDERSTANDING the mechanisms of life.
TELLING A STORY from multiple viewpoints and through a variety of media to attract different audiences: • a theatrical film • a touring exhibition
STIMULATING CURIOSITY by showing the coral world as it has never been seen before, with all new images. DEVELOPING NEW AUDIOVISUAL TECHNOLOGIES to capture the rich tapestry of the coral reefs. PUTTING THE SPOTLIGHT on local stakeholders and governments working daily to protect coral reefs. PRODUCING MULTIPLE-LANGUAGE VERSIONS of all expedition-related content, for international distribution.
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OUR TEAM
ICEBREAKER STUDIOS
ICEBREAKER STUDIOS was founded by Luc Jacquet and Patrick Faivre, from their shared belief that the need to love and understand the world is universal. The more we understand the world, the better humans will take care of it. With that positive ambition, they aim to use their experience to build a virtuous economic system, producing a whole new kind of films and exhibitions that promote those values. An economic model that relies on the highest standards of quality and artistic flair, to create productions that speak to a global audience through the universal language of images and emotions.
LUC JACQUET
Filmmaker, associate founder of Icebreaker Studios
After a higher education in biology, spending 14 months in Antarctica at the French Dumont d’Urville base led Luc Jacquet to discover his two greatest passions: the image and scientific mediation. His first feature-length film, March of the Penguins has been seen by over 25 million people around the world. He has won many awards, including the prestigious Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Oscar for Best Documentary (Feature) in 2006. In 2010, he founded the Wild-Touch Association, aimed at nature conservation by means of the emotions of images and film. After Once upon a Forest (2013), Luc Jacquet continued his cinematographic adventure alongside the retired glaciologist Claude Lorius, by making another feature film, Ice and the Sky , released in autumn 2015. This project was accompanied by an ambitious transmedia program, led by the association, revolving around the major issue of climate change. Today, Luc Jacquet is working with Icebreaker Studios on new projects related to evolution, biodiversity...
* Oscar for Best Documentary (Feature), March of the Penguins
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OUR TEAM
Line producer Martin Blum has worked on movie industry sound stages for over 16 years. To begin with, he learned his craft working with filmmakers of the caliber of Alain Corneau, Édouard Molinaro and Claude Lelouch. As an Assistant Director, he started working with Luc Jacquet in 2006. Jacquet taught him all about major nature films, laying the groundwork for their fruitful long-term collaboration. From 2012 to 2014, he worked alongside Jacques Perrin on his film Seasons . From the Amazon to the Gobi desert, Martin is an expert in the tricky task of complicated filmmaking on the other side of the world. MARTIN BLUM
PATRICK FAIVRE
President of Icebreaker Studios Patrick Faivre began his career as an audiovisual producer for key accounts (EDF, Air France and others), and turned freelance in 1990. He established and directs the Big Bang communications consultancy, which now has 17 permanent employees. In 1998, he founded the École Bleue in Paris, an interior design and architecture school and associate member of the Collège de Paris, which joined the Campus of Excellence in Art and Design in 2020. A highly curious entrepreneur, he grasps the opportunities that cometo him to move into new industries and offer new services. He thus established D-klik Interactiv, a specialist in digital solutions, then purchased the Gala Communication agency, a packaging specialist and founded the Boao Edition publishing house. He then worked in Bucharest at the Romania branch of the Big Bang agency and purchased the multimedia agency Andesys, followed by the Malice advertising agency in Lyon. When he bought Aster, a production company specialized in nature and animal documentaries for CANAL+ and France Télévision, he returned to his original passion. About a decade ago, he met Luc Jacquet and worked on developing the films Once upon a Forest and Ice and the Sky . In 2018, they joined forces to found ICEBREAKER to develop major cultural projects focused on nature.
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OUR SCIENTIFIC PANEL
SERGE PLANES
Director of Research at CNRS Director of Studies at EPHE Director of the French Center for Excellence for the study of coral reefs (LABEX “CORAIL”) Associate Professor at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) Serge Planes is a senior research director at CNRS, a director of studies at EPHE, and an associate professor at the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS). He was director of the CRIOBE (USR 3278) for 12 years (2007-2018), during which time he helped build up the center to become a national and global leader in the field of research and expertise on coral reefs. Today, the CRIOBE is a showcase for French research on coral reefs. He is currently director of LabEx Corail, the center of excellence for all French scientists working the ecology of coral reefs in the broad sense. He is also director of the Service d’Observation Corail and manages links with the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), which publishes four-yearly updates on the condition of coral reefs worldwide as part of the International Coral Reef Initiative. He is the scientific director of the Tara Pacific expedition launched in May 2016 for two years, and has since been responsible for coordinating the Tara Pacific consortium, which includes over 20
institutions from around the world. Since the start of his career, Serge Planes’ research efforts have focused on studying the genetics of marine organism populations. He has published nearly 350 articles in international journals with over 20,000 citations confirming the close interest in his work in the scientific community. More recently, the application of kinship analysis methods to the marine environment for the first time has opened up new questions about the very evolution of the dispersive model in marine species. Alongside these fundamental issues, Serge Planes is presently providing his expertise to develop coral reef restoration programs in response to climate change, and is also helping to transfer knowledge and make it more accessible to the general public, as shown by the development of Faré Natura in Polynesia. In recognition for his work, Serge Planes was awarded the title of Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur, at the request of the Minister for Overseas Affairs.
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OUR SCIENTIFIC PANEL
FRANCIS STAUB
Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI). He acted as strategic advisor to most of the governments who have chaired ICRI (USA, France, Australia, Japan among others). He is currently ICRI’s coordinator on behalf of the government of the United States of America. He is also a member of the Steering committee of the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN) and a strategic advisor to the French Coral Reef Initiative.
Founder and Director of Blue Pangolin Consulting Francis started his career working for the French Ministry of Environment, then the World Bank headquarters in Washington D.C. at the Environment Department before becoming a consultant. He has been working for more than 20 years in providing services related to the conservation and sustainable use of natural – terrestrial, coastal and marine – resources including international cooperation projects development, implementation and evaluation worldwide. Further experience includes policy analysis and recommendations, project development and evaluation, capacity building and communication, education and public awareness (he was the international coordinator of the International Year of the Reef in 2008). Francis also has a strong interest in Marine Protected Areas and developed several tools to evaluate their effectiveness. These experiences combined allowed him to acquire a comprehensive understanding of international negotiations while developing a strong global network with the international marine community. He has also been spending a fair amount of time working closely with on-the-ground realities faced by the – marine – protected managers and other stakeholders, hence developing a comprehensive vision of the local communities and governmental policies toward marine protection in various part of the world. For the last 15 years, Francis has been involved in the International
Francis Staub has been involved in a number of publications.
BLUE PANGOLING CONSULTING
Blue Pangolin Consulting is a private limited company based in London (UK) and founded by Francis Staub. Blue Pangolin Consulting offers a range of services to governments, non- governmental organizations, and international agencies related to the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. When necessary, Blue Pangolin can rely on its large network of international experts.
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OUR PARTNERS
GFCR
The Global Fund for Coral Reefs (GFCR) is the first and only blended finance vehicle dedicated to coral reefs globally. Hosting both a Grant Fund and an Investment Fund, the GFCR is designed to scale financial solutions and blue economic transition that bolsters the resilience of coral reefs and the communities that depend on them. GFCR focuses on incubating and scaling financial interventions and enterprises that address local drivers of coral reef degradation, unlock conservation funding flows, and increase communities’ adaptive capacities.
The GFCR Coalition is a public-private partnership driven by Member States, UN Agencies, financial institutions, philanthropies, impact investors and organisations. The GFCR Coalition includes the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation; Prince Albert II Monaco Foundation; Minderoo Foundation; the Governments of Germany, France, Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom; the Green Climate Fund; Pegasus Capital Advisors; Builders Vision; Bloomberg Philanthropies; the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP); United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF); the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP); the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance (ORRAA) and the Coral Research & Development Accelerator Platform (CORDAP).
https://globalfundcoralreefs.org/news/monacooceanweek/
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OUR PARTNERS
UNESCO
UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, works to foster peace through international cooperation in these areas. Acting as a testing ground for ideas, UNESCO runs programs that encourage the free circulation of ideas and the sharing of knowledge. It is around these values that ICEBREAKER and UNESCO came together to sign a partnership deal, under which ICEBREAKER provides the talents of its storytellers and creative visual content specialists, while UNESCO shares ICEBREAKER’s productions and educational content through its international network.
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OUR PARTNERS
CANOPÉ
LUMNI
The Canopé Network, a public institution attached to the French National Education Ministry, publishes educational multimedia resources (print, digital, smartphone apps, TV) for the teaching community, to promote academic success for students. This public operator is present across France.
Lumni is the digital educational platform of the French public audiovisual service (Arte, France Médias Monde, France Télévisions, INA, Radio France, and TV5Monde) providing content for school pupils, students, teachers, and educators. This unique, free, expert assessed and ad-free offering provides access to culture and knowledge for all children and young people aged 3 to 20, and covers all school subjects from elementary to high school level. The Lumni catalogue includes over 12,000 videos, audio recordings, games, and other theme-based content. For the GALAPAGOS project, LUMNI will develop TV programs for children and young people.
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
1- CORAL
Whenever a new rain of plankton falls, the coral ‘hatches’ once more, tentacles reaching out at night to feed on the suspended particles. We see thousands of coral polyps as they catch the particles in an orgy. The coral polyps reproduce by dividing, and we watch the final contractions of a polyp that will soon release a kind of microscopic jellyfish. Separating from the reef that supports them, the baby corals are set free in the water. They won’t linger there for long. Soon, they will find a surface to settle on and begin a new colony. It snows backwards, with billions of tiny flakes of life floating away into the dark and the current. The moon is full, the coral is reproducing, and constellating the blue with myriads of fragile promises. We follow a delicate “branch” as it grows, forming millimeters of offshoots that spread and soon become active, for the colony needs food fast. The coral is very slow to grow, around 1 cm each year (see images from the summary). Some branching corals grow rapidly (10 cm/year).
The open polyps reaching out toward the open water are stirred by the current. The flows of water bring ample opportunities to catch
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
creatures. There will be enough for everyone. At night, the coral is fluorescent. Some are visible only at night with their fluorescent yellow, pink, or blue coloring. The shapes disappear and we see only silhouettes. In the labyrinth or French garden of leptoria (‘brain corals’), millions of years of evolution have created a magnificent underwater mountain chain, in which fish larvae and translucent shrimp become lost. Favia coral polyps resemble little volcanoes. Like the goby fish, we meander across a stinging plain dotted with little hills, each sensitive to the slightest touch. Acropora corals, when looked at with the naked eye or under a magnifying glass, are reminiscent of an Alpine forest of a thousand pines. 2- FILTERERS A fish defecates at the top of the reef, its “brown cloud” gradually sinks toward the bottom, sifted by the countless “hands”, corollae, rakes, and filters of all the filterers ranged along the reef and by the many mobile creatures. Here, food literally falls from above. The water is filtered and re- filtered a thousand times over by so many different creatures (sponges, corals, gorgonians, sea lilies, etc.). The cascade of plankton is never-ending. One night, a crinoid with golden branches awakens and spreads out its gracile fan towards the welcome rain. Buried in the sand during the day, the feather of the sea pen deploys once night falls. A new filterer faces the current. All around, the sea is sorted and sifted. The chalice sponges breathe. Like lungs in the
water continuously inhaling and exhaling, the sponges of the reef are in fact not breathing but rather filtering the sea, on a vast scale. Follow the journey taken by the filtered particles. Visualize the course of the sea water, as it is aspirated and ejected. There are ascidians of a striking blue. A superb seawater filtering machine. 3- PARROTFISH Every night, the parrotfish envelops itself in a set of mucus pajamas so that it can sleep in peace, without its odorous presence betraying it to nocturnal predators such as the moray eel, which leaves its burrow nightly to smell out its prey. (cf. its well-developed nostrils). The sounds of the reef are many, a parrotfish nibbling the coral, a giant clam closing with a sound like a cathedral door shutting, fish growl and rustle. Shrimp click their joints, and angel fish graze on sponges. 4- TWILIGHT When the sun sets, there is a kind of truce, a half-hour when all falls totally still in the reef, when the diurnal fish disappear and the nocturnal inhabitants emerge in a precise and well-established routine. The smaller diurnal fish are the first to retire, followed by the medium-sized and finally the largest among them, and vice versa for their nocturnal counterparts. During the twilight period when day turns to night, the plankton migrate, signaling the moment for all of the many filterers in the sea (hard and soft corals, gorgonians, sea lilies, etc.) to suddenly blossom.
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
5- CROWN-OF-THORNS STARFISH The Acanthaster starfish eats and kills corals, leaving a trail of dead corals in its wake. The corals defend themselves with the help of their team of associates, a worm and a shrimp who join forces to attack the “crown-of-thorns”. The impressive giant triton, which is the starfish’s main predator, hunts its prey, catching it on the dead coral, spearing it and enveloping it in its stomach (see photos). Between two reefs, on the white sand, the creatures of the coral are frightened by a formidable mass of Acanthaster, gathered to reproduce. There are perhaps 50 or 100 of them, spines intermingled. This vampires’ ball is a sadly brief respite for the reef. They will return, and in numbers. 6- SEA TURTLES The fall of the entangled sea turtles sinking gently towards the bottom as they frolic together, can sometimes crush a valuable hero. 7- HARLEQUIN SHRIMP A harlequin shrimp in its clown-like outfit, darts through the coral branches. It meets a neighbor, and they come together as they contemplate their prey, a young starfish. They harry it, paralyze it. The prey is turned over, cut open, and consumed.
8- CRABS A small porcelain crab hoists its colors, with its enormous pallet-like claws, two huge plankton-filters. Reaching out, it draws in all the particles as they drift down through the water. The boxer crab carries two sea anemones on its claws, giving it a fearsome appearance and a venomous defense against predators. Some crabs, too colorful, cannot venture too far from the protection of the anemone’s tentacles. To each his host...
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
9- NIGHTLIFE The bioluminescent plankton casts a halo of light on the sudden movements of a predator, and the panic of its prey … In a large cave with an open sky above, a bank of silvery larvae shivers occasionally, and after a time we see the shadow of a larger fish as it darts through. In another cave, the light reveals the cadavers of turtles that got lost in the underwater labyrinths... and were unable to find their way out of the formidable network of galleries. A night-time stroll for a slate pencil urchin ends badly, as it is devoured by a clown triggerfish. 10- MANTIS SHRIMP Lying in wait at the entrance to its lair, the mantis shrimp’s faceted eyes observe a small prawn as it goes back and forth, not yet quite close enough. The mantis shrimp is reluctant to leave its burrow, but has no choice. The prawn has fled, but it spies a slow-moving mollusk, attacks, and pierces the shell with a blow from its powerful forelimbs. The mantis is a serious predator, but is itself at risk from larger creatures, and constantly works to secure its home. 11- MONSTROUS ECHINODERMS The fire urchin, with its multi-colored venom-tipped spines, is a veritable war machine that constantly stalks the reef. A mass of living arms with thousands of spines, it appears behind a small mound, as if piloted by two fragile squat shrimp. The micro-fauna parts. Sea cucumbers appear as huge sand worms, with extraordinary
shapes and colors, invading the sea bed. (Like on the planet Dune). The spectacular horned sea star with its sharp points and vibrant colors only appears dangerous. It is the march of the sea stars, with 15,000 tube feet all walking in the same direction. 12- WORMS, FREE OR IMPRISONED Fan worms allow themselves to be imprisoned in the corals’ skeleton, leaving only their colorful tentacles outside. These creatures grow in time with the coral. Once their tentacles are developed, the reef appears as if scattered with bouquets. In places, groups of worms create a beautiful bloom, which disappears if disturbed.
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
13- MIMICRY Black ghost knifefish quickly disappear among the long spines of black sea urchins. Elsewhere, they might be mistaken for seaweed or the leaves of underwater plants. These fish have only two dimensions. From certain angles, they are invisible. Pygmy seahorses transform into gorgonian polyps, their small size and ability to melt into the tortuous shapes of the coral make for the perfect hiding spot. A part of the rock lifts up and falls down like an enormous set of bellows, two worried eyes scanning the blue espy the slightest movements caused by small fish swimming nearby. The octopus, a master mimic, instantly changes shape and color, nimbly stretching out or curling up to take the form of whatever place it has chosen to hide, in preparation for the hunt. 14- THE POLLEN-GATHERERS OF THE REEF A butterflyfish, using its long snout, is reminiscent of a honeybee collecting pollen, as it sucks up coral polyps one by one. Beside it, angelfish nibble at sponges, and there are traces of chewed coral, torn polyps, and half-eaten sponges. We zoom in for a close look at the teeth marks. The coral is damaged, small piles of sand are all that remain. A mantis is disturbed by sand thrown up, and quickly begins hunting for the culprit. Shoals of fish scour the coral in search of seaweed to graze on. It is a veritable micro-cataclysm for our friends below the surface.
A group of huge humphead wrasse with their formidable mouths are chomping on the coral, extracting the algae and discarding the sand, all at once, producing a spectacular cloud. A fish nibbles the coral and releases a cloud of powdery white sand that covers a Fungia, a solitary mushroom-like polyp with the ability to detach itself from the sand by creating arabesque shapes.
15- THE BUILDER OF THE REEF The goby uses its mouth to dig and repair its burrow constantly. It is the mantis’ neighbor. The pair tolerate one another’s presence. Some fish, like the goby, protect their offspring in their mouth, while others,
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
like the clownfish, hide their eggs in a venomous shield. The shield closes and enfolds the fish, but does not harm it, for the fish is not its prey. It is merely a shelter. Occasionally, a shrimp will share the goby’s burrow. It is a win-win relationship, as the two small-timers help each other out, awaiting their ‘home delivery’, and the fish will soon need them to remove their parasites.. 16- THE ANEMONE, THE KILLER COROLLA An anemone offers us a close-up view of its gluttony, as it swallows crustaceans or tiny organisms. Its mouth is the end of the line for prey caught in the stinging tentacles. An anemone retracts completely, after feeding, or being suddenly disturbed. Later, we see it spread fully - and not by chance, for the rain of particles has already begun. Deep among the anemones, all kinds of shrimp are tolerated. They take good care of their hosts, and rejoice in the demise of their reef-dwelling neighbors, who carelessly venture too close to their protectors.
17- ILL-FATED ENCOUNTERS An oceanic whitetip shark from the lagoon digs in the current and frightens the smaller fry out of their holes. They scatter one after another at the predator’s approach. The nurse shark has opted to spend the night in a cave. The saber squirrelfish are nervous. The shark appears to be dozing at the back of the cave, but it is a super- predator, with a highly developed sense of smell and excellent eyesight, even at night. It would not be a good idea to linger in this cave. Another nurse shark appears to have teamed up with a moray eel, and both are resting beneath a block of rock. 18- THE BARBER’S SHOP Some rocks, and some blocks of coral, are popular and bustling places. This is like a barber’s shop for shrimp and bluestreak cleaner wrasse. The shrimp waggle their antennae and call in potential customers, while the gobies are in their starting blocks, observing the fish that pause outside their hiding spot. Suddenly, fish take up strange postures and open their mouths - this is the signal. A false cleanerfish dares to approach one of the local monsters, but it is not taken in by the subterfuge, and quickly gobbles it up. The false cleanerfish’s bold deception had finally failed it.
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
19- AN IMPORTANT APPOINTMENT The eggs of the fish that live on the reef are mostly laid in passes, where the current ensures a plentiful supply of oxygen. All the newborns find themselves cast out in the deep waters. They must then make their way back to the reef, and generally do so at the same time and on a given date (e.g. the full moon). 20- NEVER JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS COVER, DECORATION, OR PERFECT CAMOUFLAGE The relativity of the mobile and the immobile. A sea anemone appears as if fixed in place, but all at once it begins to move very quickly. It is in fact attached to the shell of a hermit crab. The anemone suddenly sprouts antennae, two gleaming eyes, feet deploy beneath its cloak, a part of the reef moves and the hermit crab flees. A tiny crab seems to have requisitioned virtually every kind of organism on the reef to camouflage itself. Along with others of its kind, it competes to see who the best mimic is. 21- THE WELCOMING HOSTS OF THE REEF Exploring the reef, one sometimes comes too close to a living cave, the most formidable. The stonefish. Perfectly camouflaged, it even allows seaweed to grow on its shell to maintain the illusion. Equally
discreet, the weedy scorpionfish resembles a mass of algae, its wide- open mouth like a cave with too-bright walls. The red lionfish swims around gracefully, sending a clear message that it is not to be trifled with, before returning to its cave where it will wait for night to fall, and food to emerge.
22- SNAKES SLIP THROUGH THE REEF
A wave roots around the nooks and crannies of the reef. It is a sea krait, a type of sea snake, and it is on the hunt.
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
23- A WORLD OF CAVES In a cave, we see glittering lights, phosphorescent twinkling, an eye opens and closes, then nothing. Then again, more glittering lights, and something moves in the darkness. Sabre squirrelfish and lanterneye fishes have reflectors on their fins. 24- LILIES FLOWER ON THE REEF A sea lily swims in the night, looking for a block of coral on which to settle, where it can stir the water, and its little protégé, the delicate squat lobster with long claws, more decorative than dangerous, appears among its branches, it too awaiting the nightly feast. Crinoids explore the gorgonians. It is impossible to see what is fixed and what is mobile. The gold and silver of the sea lilies sparkle against the purple umbrellas of the gorgonians. 25- THE GIANT CLAM The sumptuous mantle of the giant clam, a luminous glow undulating amid the rocks. It seems as if this volute is about to fly away, but instead the glow vanishes, swallowed up by the biggest of the shellfish. 26- MYSTERIOUS SHELLFISH
its habit of colorful sponges, the mollusk is not easy to pick out. It has chosen to vanish under a highly visible layer of protection, like a spongey top hat. The cockscomb oyster’s blue smile disappears when it closes, leaving only a carmine-colored sponge. The mollusk has a pronounced taste for geometric shapes. The sea cowries. The patella protects its shell by deploying its mantle. Like most gastropods, it the only way for the creature to avoid being devoured by a starfish. Cowries with their richly decorated shells apply the same protective layer of protuberances with changing colors. These marvels, the home of cowries, are formidable on the reef. We track them, and it is impossible to miss the remains of their feasts on the sponges. 27- TRANSLUCENT VESSELS The crab’s offspring takes a journey in a jellyfish. A floating world that carries this vulnerable larva far from the reef where it was born. One day, its voyage will come to an end in the shallows, where it will leave its host. By then, it will be an adult with a shell, ready to take on the challenge of life on the reef. Some of these vessels, protecting the next generation in the tentacles, have adopted fluorescent colors, like floating spotlights. The jellyfish have caught their meal. Planktonic crustaceans or tiny fish harpooned by their tentacles will now head to the predator’s mouth. On the pallets of the poisoner’s corollae, the paralyzed crustacean seems to be drawn by some invisible force towards the mouth. The jellyfish has a kind of elevator system to bring food towards it.
A tracking shot reveals the 10,000 eyes of the Spondulus. Beneath
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
28- UMBRELLAS UNDER THE SEA The forest of soft corals. Alcyonacea are gigantic living umbrellas, sending out shoots in search of plankton, bouquets in constant bloom that cover every last bit of free space with their beauty. 29- MULTICOLORED CREEPERS
30- THE ANEMONE AND THE WISE GUY Everywhere there are funny little clowns, darting through the terrifying venomous tentacles of one of the reef’s most fearsome inhabitants. The story of the clownfish and the anemone is a timeless classic. A dive into the heart of its poisonous chamber reveals its secrets. Clownfish are smart and savvy, able to distract the attention of the curious or the bellicose.
A cortege of flatworms of all shapes and colors. A cortege of nudibranches of all shapes and colors.
Two magnificent nudibranches advance slowly, their fragile “sails” waving above the sleeping polyps. They come together, touch, and begin a slow-motion dance where their two bodies entwine, a ballet of yellow, purple, or red gills against the backdrop of the stirring coral. We see the ballet of the Spanish dancer (a nocturnal nudibranch), one of the largest nudibranches. It contorts and moves gently in what resembles a solo ballet. Tonight, this volute lost in the middle of nowhere appears as if suspended in flight. The yellow nudibranch (sea lemon) only eats the yellow sponge, that so closely resembles it. Everything about this nudibranch is yellow - its eggs, its food, its body.
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KEY ASPECTS OF THE STORY
31- ALL CHANGES AT NIGHTFALL
33- SPACE RACE All over the reef, there is a constant struggle. These soft corals and their solitary coral cousins are uncomfortable bedfellows. The rock is too small, and they cannot live on top of one another. The battle of colors and shapes is joined, the tentacles reach out for the minuscule plankton that will feed the winner. 34- EEL GARDEN In their individual burrows, from which they seem never to emerge, the garden eels are packed together so closely that they could touch snouts. There are hundreds of them, their bodies and heads gently billowing, snapping up their planktonic food as they go. When danger approaches, they retreat to the depths of their shelter in a graceful, wavelike movement. 35- HAZARDS OF THE SAND The danger is there, in the sediment, almost completely buried with just the tip of its fearsome mouth showing. The Atlantic stargazer lies in wait, pouncing on fish surprised by the suddenly moving sand. With a formidable mouth, appearing to be just another seaweed- covered rock, concretions of all kinds, perfectly motionless, patiently waiting hours for its wriggling reward, the Inimicus or sea goblin, a relation of the stonefish, is every bit as adept at camouflage as its cousin. The crocodilefish haunts the sandy seabed. What traits does it share with its reptilian namesake? Perhaps its gluttony, its patience, its enormous mouth, or its ability to melt into the background. Only its gleaming, all-seeing eye might give it away, but the fish has learned to camouflage it.
A fish dims its colors to sleep in the shelter of a gorgonian, then another, and another... Night is falling. 32- IN THE WAKE OF GIANTS A passing shoal of manta rays casts a shadow over the reef, as the winged monsters sail overhead in search of their tiny prey. Suddenly, the winged devil positions itself above the reef, opens its cavernous mouth, and waits. The fish soon come.
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BIOLOGICAL NOTES
In the clear and shallow waters of the tropical seas, where the light is plentiful and the temperature never dips below 16 degrees, vast rocky constructions can be found. The walls of this reef have been built from calcium carbonate by successive generations of living creatures, and though they look like rock, they are in fact formed by millions of corals, tiny organisms that, despite appearances, are very much part of the animal kingdom. Each coral polyp, a kind of minuscule jellyfish, surrounds itself with a calcium carbonate exoskeleton that provides its home. All that can be seen of this animal are its tiny tentacles, which stretch out from the stone branches, and are deployed or folded, depending on the time of day. All the polyps in the colony play their part in building the coral, and each species has its own shapes and sizes. There are branching bushes, rounded blocks, massive forms, and fragile ramifications. Over thousands and thousands of years, they gradually construct gigantic reefs. The most spectacular example is the Australian Great Barrier Reef, which stretches for some 3,000 km. By analogy, coral looks rather like a tree, with the polyps its leaves, and the massed exoskeletons forming the branches.
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BIOLOGICAL NOTES
This system never stops growing and building its own foundations. When single polyps die, or entire areas are killed by predators, they leave behind an empty skeletal frame that is quickly recolonized by live polyps which, by covering the dead corals over time, gradually establish these immense constructions. Corals reproduce either by division, infinitely recreating the original template, or by releasing their seed into the water where their young, already resembling tiny jellyfish, will be born. The polyps will not swim free in the open water for long. They will move only as far as they need to find a new site to colonize. At which point they will settle and start building, drawing the elements they need to grow from the water. Once settled, the young coral polyp cannot build its skeleton alone. It needs help from another organism, called zooxanthellae. This colorful alga is capable of photosynthesis, using solar energy to create the raw material that will feed the polyp as it grows and builds its home of calcium carbonate. The polyp’s contribution to this symbiotic relationship is to protect the tiny algae in its very tissues. Over time, with their ability to constantly produce living material, the corals have attracted vast communities to their reefs, of a diversity fit to rival that of any other living ecosystem on the planet. Around the coral reef, brightly colored fish swim proudly in pairs or in shoals. Above a sleeping turtle, Carangidae move in an eternal circle. Nearby, a solitary barracuda is ready to pounce, waiting for a careless fish to stray too far from its shoal. A parrotfish glides from one head
of coral to another, taking big bites that it grinds to sand between its powerful jaws. Two by two, the butterflyfish and angelfish patrol their territory, delicately nibbling away at sponges, corals, and other invertebrates. Sponges grow on the coral walls, taking in water through the countless pores that cover their bodies, filtering out nutrients, before ejecting the waste via a large central orifice. In areas where the currents bring the plankton into reach of their stinging polyps, the gorgonians proliferate. Almost every available surface of the reef is covered with corals or gorgonians, which in turn provide shelter for dozens of fish, crustaceans, and other marine creatures. Above a gorgonian, crinoids or sea lilies sift the water for nutrients. A closer look reveals minuscule shrimp and crabs, or even couples of remoras, all taking up home between the outstretched arms of crinoids, competing with them for food. When night falls, the reef’s diurnal inhabitants retreat to their caves or crevices. Angelfish and butterflyfish sleep in the midst of a sponge or a hole in the sand, their bright colors fading. In the deepening shadows, the vibrant tones of a parrotfish can still be glimpsed as it slips away into its coral cave. Immediately, it begins secreting the mucus that will cover its entire body like a cocoon, to prevent its odor from escaping and alerting the nocturnal predators that hunt by smell, like the fearsome moray eel.
Many other animals that rest during the day emerge into the
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BIOLOGICAL NOTES
darkness, to feed in safety. A basketstar climbs up the gorgonian at whose foot it dwells. It deploys hundreds of finely ramified arms to snatch the tiny particles of nutrients floating in the currents, like the other ophiuroids and comatulida or feather stars. During the day, most of these invertebrates which feed through filtration stay curled up, to prevent parrotfish from nibbling their arms. Crabs, shrimp, and small cardinalfish also take advantage of the darkness to emerge from their hiding places, and venomous sea urchins with menacing stings gnaw at the corals while formidable mollusks hunt them. Soldierfish are everywhere, opening their oversized eyes to spot minuscule shrimp and krill. The flickering lights are those of lanternfish, which use bioluminescent pouches below their eyes to communicate with one another, particularly during the mating season or when they chance upon a particularly appetizing prey. They simply lift or lower a flap of skin to turn their lanterns “on” or “off”. An octopus makes its way along the foot of the reef, pausing to examine its new backyard. On spotting a half-buried bivalve, it emits a series of pulses. Finally, the coral polyps emerge from their calcium skeleton to join the party, and the whole appearance of the reef is transformed. In the blackness of night, a manta ray passes through the reef illuminated by the light of the ophiuroids and shrimp, leaving a phosphorescent trail in its wake.
Reefs develop in tropical waters with little in the way of food resources, each forming a sort of aquatic oasis in which each inhabitant recycles the elements available in a perfectly economical system. The activity of the coral reef provides a striking example of the living world’s ability to recycle and reuse. Everyone can take part. The rich minerals obtained from a decomposing angelshark carcass, the last prey of the moray eel, have not yet been swept away by the current. They feed the symbiotic algae that will make nutrients in the mantle of the giant clam or will embed themselves into the corals’ skeleton. Finally, by grazing on the coral in the search for algae and ejecting its ground up skeleton like grains of sand, the parrotfish will recycle the last traces of the angelshark.
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BIOLOGICAL NOTES
In this vibrant bustle of life that develops through and for the benefit of the reef, there are rules and laws. Promiscuity between species is pushed to its limit. No organism is isolated and alone. Predators and partners of a day must live side by side. The little creatures of the coral galleries are engaged in a permanent struggle to conquer and defend their living space. To that end, anything goes. Camouflage, chemical attacks, or deception. Every last corner of the reef is colonized or exploited. Over time, fissures, caves, and tunnels gradually form. Worms, oysters, and other burrowing animals, that dig into the coral heads, also leave behind a maze of caves and holes in which all kinds of creatures take up residence. At first sight, this gorgonian seems to be unoccupied. But a closer inspection reveals countless inhabitants, from sea spiders to long- nose butterflyfish, whose colors always blend in with those of their host. They hide between its branches, like the minuscule gobies that quickly disappear into its meanders. Cowries, ophiuroids, worms, shrimp, and small fish also invade the gorgonians, to feed and protect themselves from predators. Not only every last corner of the reef, but also every animal is colonized. Symbiosis is the watchword on the reef, the ultimate in tolerance between animals. It is the name given to the mutually beneficial contract that exists between two species. The best-known example is the clownfish and the venomous sea anemone, but it quickly
becomes clear that the entire coral structure is built on symbiotic relationships.
Despite their stinging tentacles, sea anemones provide shelter to a whole population of fish and crustaceans, and some even lay their eggs there. Do these anemones become accustomed to having squatters? Do their tenants have antidotes that allow them to ignore otherwise fatal stings? What is clear, is that these mutual relationships are built up patiently, prudently. Gradually, by repeating the same movements over and over, they are able to move through the poisonous jungle without harm. In exchange, the junior symbionts clean the anemone and protect it against intruders or aggressors. The anemone’s toxicity in turn ensures they are protected from external predators. Besides the anemone, the cleaner shrimp and the bluestreak cleaner wrasse provide more examples of a symbiotic relationship, each of these species helping remove the parasites that infest all marine creatures. They display their vibrant colors to their clients, which include groupers, snappers, and morays. In any other circumstances, away from the little helpers’ “cleaning stations”, these predators would happily gobble up such appetizing prey. But these tiny barbers have permission to inspect their clients’ bodies, gills, and even their mouths, and to calm them down, they even give them a little massage as they work.
Some profit from this mutualism. The false cleanerfish, for example,
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