04x11 - Invasive Species and The Deepest Dive

[bunniefuu]

[upbeat music]

- [Announcer] Coming up next

on "Jonathan Bird's Blue World",

Jonathan explores 1,000
feet down in a submarine.

[upbeat music]

But first, a look at alien invaders

from other parts of the world.

All of this today on
"Jonathan Bird's Blue World".

Meet Jonathan Bird.

[upbeat music]

One of the world's top underwater
nature cinematographers.

Traveling the world on assignment

for all the major networks,

he is an Emmy Award-winning authority

on the underwater world.

[upbeat music]

In fresh water or salt,
reefs, wrecks or caves,

Jonathan documents the
world beneath the waves.

[upbeat music]

Welcome to the "Blue World".

[upbeat music]

[bubbles ripple]

[upbeat music]

- [Jonathan] An ecosystem
is a community of organisms

living together in
balance with each other.

In theory, a balanced
ecosystem will stay balanced

and healthy as long as
nothing interrupts the harmony

of the interrelationships
between all of the organisms.

Many things can throw the
balance of an ecosystem

out of whack.

For example, overfishing
can remove certain animals

from a reef ecosystem, creating
a gap in the food chain

that causes the whole ecosystem to suffer.

But another increasingly
common disruption of ecosystems

comes in the form of invasive species.

An invasive species is an organism

that has been introduced into an ecosystem

from somewhere else, often
causing a change in the balance

of that ecosystem.

Perhaps one of the most
well-known invasive species

in North America is the zebra mussel.

This harmless looking
mollusk lives in fresh water.

They call them zebra mussels

because of the zebra-like
pattern on the shell.

The zebra mussel has
invaded the Great Lakes,

St. Lawrence River and numerous
smaller lakes and ponds

around the United States and Canada.

It was brought from Europe as larvae

in the ballast water of ships.

When a cargo ship travels
with a proper load,

it settles down into the water

to the depth for which it was designed.

But sometimes on the return journey,

there isn't enough cargo

and the ship floats too high
in the water, which isn't safe.

So the ship has tanks
called ballast tanks,

which are filled with water
to weigh the ship down.

When the ship arrives at its destination,

the ballast tanks are emptied.

Sometimes the water carries
tiny planktonic invaders

from another country,

which are inadvertently
released into the environment.

Since cargo ships go up
and down the St. Lawrence

on their way from all over
the world to the Great Lakes,

ballast tanks are a big issue.

The zebra mussel was first detected

in the Great Lakes in 1988.

Because it reproduces so quickly,

within only a few years,
everything in the Great Lakes

was soon covered in a
layer of zebra mussels.

While the zebra mussel might
not seem like much of a threat,

they grow so densely that
they clog the water intakes

of hydroelectric power facilities,

the hulls of boats and
ships, docks and buoys.

It's estimated that the
annual cost to control them

in the Great Lakes exceeds a
hundred million dollars a year.

Having never seen a zebra mussel,

I head up to Clayton, New York

to visit the beautiful
Thousand Island region

of the St. Lawrence River.

I joined David Doubilet,

the famous National
Geographic photographer,

on a shore dive in the river
to check out the mussels.

David lives nearby and this
is practically his backyard.

We're diving an old
wooden hulled shipwreck

called The Islander right near shore.

[Jonathan chatters]

[water splashes]

As soon as I sink beneath the waves,

I see zebra mussels attached to the wreck

and the rocks on the bottom.

Zebra mussels haven't been all bad,

at least from a diving point of view.

Because they eat by filtering
plankton from the water,

zebra mussels have massively improved

the underwater visibility in
the river and the Great Lakes

by removing so much of the
plankton that clouds the water.

As I examine the bottom of the river,

I start to notice that
the rocks are moving.

Wait a minute, those
aren't rocks, they're fish!

And they're not just any
fish, they're round gobies,

another invasive species.

Round gobies also came to
the St. Lawrence from Europe

in ballast water.

Round gobies are so good
at eating and reproducing

that their population has
exploded in the St. Lawrence.

These little bottom-dwelling
fish are everywhere you look!

Why have they done so well here?

Guess what they love to eat?

You guessed it, zebra mussels,
but it's not all good news.

The round goby also eats
the same crustaceans,

worms and insect larvae that
are food for native species

like sculpin, so they're
out-competing the local fish

for resources.

On the flip side, it turns out
that larger fish like bass,

walleye, salmon and trout
all love to chow down

on round gobies.

The result?

The influx of round gobies
has fueled a comeback

in several depleted
species of larger fish.


another invasive species is making waves.

The lionfish is a beautiful
but deadly invader.

This venomous fish has
spines that act like syringes

filled with a deadly toxin.

Because of the excellent
protection afforded by the spines,

very few animals can actually
eat a fully grown lionfish.

A fish native to the Indo-Pacific,

the lionfish was thought
to have been introduced

to the Caribbean in the 1980s

by people releasing lionfish
from the aquarium trade.

literally millions of lionfish

in the Caribbean

and the population seems
to be growing unabated.

Lionfish are voracious predators.

A single individual can
eat dozens of fish a day,

and that's the problem.

People are concerned

that they're eating up
all the other small fish

in the Caribbean,

and no predators exist to
control their population.

[dramatic music]

Another opinion, however,

suggests that the fish have
only been able to take over

so easily because
they're occupying a niche

in the food chain that was vacant

due to over-hunting of
other species like grouper.

These critics argue that nature

will eventually control the
lionfish population itself,

through prey availability.

To learn more, I head
on down to St. Thomas

in the US Virgin Islands.

[pleasant music]

At the Coki Beach dive shop,

I hook up with local
dive guru Peter Jackson.

We head down to his
boat and load our gear.

[pleasant music]

We push off the dock and
head out to the dive site.

This is no ordinary dive though.

We're meeting up with a group of divers

from the CORE foundation,

an organization that is
attempting to contain

the lionfish expl*si*n in the waters

of the US Virgin Islands.

I gear up to join the
CORE Foundation on a dive.

[pleasant music]

[buckle snaps]

[diving fin squeaks]

[diving fin squeaks]

[water splashes]

Underwater, I follow divers Kitty Edwards,

John Rubattino and Jason
Quetel as they scour the reef

looking for lionfish.

As it turns out, lionfish
are not hard to find.

In fact, they're just about everywhere.

Jason takes aim with his spear
g*n and snags a lionfish.

[suspenseful music]

Carefully, it's placed into a tube.

The spines are still quite dangerous,

even after the fish has been speared.

Just about everywhere I look,
there are more lionfish.

[spear clanks]

[suspenseful music]

The CORE team misses a few,

but they manage to bag
more than a dozen lionfish

on a single dive.

Unfortunately, this
doesn't even put a dent

in the population of lionfish
at that one dive site.

Following the CORE team has
shown me just how invasive

these fish are.

I really don't think
there's any stopping them

in the Caribbean at this point.

Back on shore, they measure
and pack up the fish.

They're going off to a researcher

who will analyze the stomach contents

to see what they're eating.

- [Jason] A guy about doing it,

but it just turned out
to be, schedule wise,

a little bit difficult,
and these things are.

- [Jonathan] As international
shipping and transportation

increases all around the world,

plants and animals are able to hitch rides

and travel to places they
never existed in the past.

These invasive species affect change

in the ecosystems they invade.

It's not always harmful
to the environment,

but one thing has become obvious.

Invasive species are
extremely hard to remove

once they've been introduced,

and may in fact become
a permanent addition

to a local ecosystem, like it or not.

So when it comes to invasive species,

it seems that the best
and perhaps only solution

is to prevent the invasion
in the first place.

[upbeat music]

- [Announcer] Don't go away,

Jonathan is using a submarine

to hunt for some elusive deep sea sharks.

[heartfelt music]

- [Jonathan] Scuba
diving is more than just

an exciting sport.

It's also a very effective way

to explore the underwater
portions of our planet

and even conduct scientific research.

But it has one limitation: depth.

Traditional scuba gear has
a practical depth limit

of about 200 feet.

As a result, we know
very little about life

beyond this limit because
exploration in deeper water

is so much more difficult.

But you know me, I always have a plan.

Today I'm going to explore the deep waters

around Cocos Island in a submarine.

This isn't just any submarine.

This is the Deep Sea operated
by the Undersea Hunter group,

off the support ship Argo.

It can dive to over 1,000 feet.

Our team is 300 miles off
the coast of Costa Rica

at Cocos Island.

It takes 30 hours just to get here.

This uninhabited speck of
paradise in the Pacific Ocean

is filled with waterfalls
and lush rainforest.

Anchored in the calm lee of the island,

the Argo is my home away
from home for a week.

The waters around Cocos
feature steep drop-offs

filled with fish

and sharks.

Hammerheads come here to
be cleaned of parasites

and dead skin by legions of
hardworking butterfly fish.

[tranquil music]

Sometimes the water above is filled

with shivers of hammerheads.

Occasionally, the world's
largest fish makes an appearance.

I get lucky when a whale shark passes by,

but I wanna see what's way down deep,

and to do that, I'll need that submarine.

My adventure begins
with a safety briefing.

Shmuel Blum, known to
his friends as Shmulik,

gives me an introduction
to the emergency features

of the submersible.

Shmulik is the manager
of the sub operation

and the chief pilot.

Next, I weigh in.

In order to load the correct
amount of ballast in the sub,

they need to know the total
weight of everything in it,

including the passengers.

It's a little tricky to
get an accurate reading

on a rocking boat.

Next, it's time to change into
my blue submarine jumpsuit.

[whip cracks]
[whimsical music]

[air whips]

Everybody in the sub wears a blue jumpsuit

to minimize reflections in the dome,

because the water outside is blue too.

While I'm getting my briefing,
the sub is being launched.

They keep it out of the water for safety

until just before it's time
to depart on a mission.

[tranquil music]

That big sphere on the front
is where the people go,

and it affords a wide view
of the underwater world.

[tranquil music]

Okay, red handle, I see that.

Now it's the moment of truth,

time for me to climb into the sub.

It has started to rain,

so the crew has placed a
rain cover over the sub

to keep water out of the c*ck.

Once I finagle my way
into the cramped c*ck,

the crew closes the dome
and latches it down,

sealing it shut.

Inside, Avi, the pilot
for today's mission,

and Shmulik, work through
their pre-dive checklist

and outside the crew prepares
the sub for departure.

[tranquil music]

First, we pull away from the Argo.

[tranquil music]

Next, we're connected to a surface tender

for a tow out to the dive site.

This saves the batteries on
the sub for the actual dive

and also makes getting to the site faster.

Shmulik is on the radio with the tender

coordinating the mission.

- [Tender] Three, three.
Three, five, three, three.

- Okay, so we are going with
the current right now, correct?

- [Jonathan] The first time
you guys drove this thing,

did it completely freak you out

that there's water at the bottom? [laughs]

- [Shmulik] It's actually, we start to out

when the water gets to our feet.

[Jonathan laughs]

- [Jonathan] It's a very strange feeling

to be sitting inside what is essentially

a half-submerged fishbowl in the ocean,

and the conditions today
are not particularly calm.

It's a rough ride to the dive site.

Soon, Jose, the diver, comes
over to disengage our tow rope

so we can submerge.

Avi releases air from the ballast tanks

and we start to sink.

[tranquil music]

Soon, we slip beneath the waves.

Shmulik waves goodbye to Jose

as we sink away from the
rough water at the surface.

I can't believe the amazing view

out of the top of this submarine.

I can see 360 degrees in all directions!

It's incredible!

As we sink into the first
hundred feet of water,

the light coming into the
c*ck gets really blue

like the ocean, but there
isn't much sensation of depth

because there's nothing to see outside

and there's no change in pressure inside.

A school of hammerheads passes over,

not concerned about the sub.

Soon we reach the top of a sea mount

that the crew refers to as Mount Everest.

It's one of their favorite dive sites.

We're at the top of Mount Everest,

which is actually a huge rock.

The bottom is 300 feet deep,
and the top is 150 feet deep.

The currents, the deep water currents,

come along and they hit this
rock and they go up the side.

They bring upwelling
and nutrients with them,

and it's a great place for the fish.

They love to hang out here,

and we're just hiding behind the rock,

checking out the fish.

As we reach 67 meters, a
little more than 200 feet deep,

the rock outside is covered
in a beautiful octocoral

that only grows in the
cooler water down here.

We film it with the sub's
built-in camera system.

I look up and passing over
the summit of Mount Everest

is a whale shark!

The shark turns and makes
another pass by the sub,

so Avi drives the sub
right alongside the shark

for a closeup view.

Many times in my life
I've exhausted myself

trying to keep up with a whale shark,

doing it in a submarine
is almost too easy.

But if we spook the shark,

there's no question it
can get away from the sub.

This sub is nowhere near
as fast as a whale shark.

Avi does a beautiful
job of following along

behind the shark while Shmulik films.

Impressed by Avi's
abilities driving the sub,

I had to learn how it's done.

Explain these controls to me here?

- [Avi] We have the joystick here,

which control all the
maneuvers of the sub.

This is forward, backwards,
side and up and down,

and then we can crab sideways with this,

and then we can decide how
much power we want to give

to the thrusters.

- [Jonathan] Heading
back to Mount Everest,

we encounter a Galapagos
shark passing by the sub

at a depth of about 200 feet.

Even though we're now
well beyond the limits

of sports scuba diving,

all the fish still look like
the fish I'm used to seeing

on my dives.

When we reach the bottom of Mount Everest,

we've arrived on a shelf
at a depth of 300 feet.

Avi and Shmulick are
navigating using sonar,

which shows the shelf, the sea mount

and the drop off where we're heading.

Well, I'm at 300 feet,
officially the deepest

I've ever been, but
what's really amazing is

there's still light.

It's dark, but it's not completely dark,

and look at how much marine
life there is at 300 feet.

Even at 300 feet, we still see
schools of hammerheads above

in the blue.

- You see how they fighting the
position during the current?

- [Jonathan] As we sink past 400 feet,

we come across a group of jellynose fish

aggregating in the wall.

Jellynose fish are only
found in deep water

and very little is known about them.

I've certainly never seen one before.

[tranquil music]

They get the name jellynose

because they have a cartilaginous
skeleton like sharks,

but they're not closely related to sharks.

Virtually everything about these fish,

including the purpose of this gathering,

is a complete mystery.

[tranquil music]

Nearby, a goosefish.

Although there are species of goosefish

that live in shallow water,
this one is only seen down deep.

It lies on the bottom, camouflaged,

its huge mouth waiting for prey.

Nearby, a colony of tunicates
in the shape of a tube,

like a sponge.

Crabs seem to be picking it over for food,

but who knows what's going on.

The deep sea provides more
questions than answers.

In the dim light, a mobula
ray glides by the sub.

The mobula is basically a small manta,

and this species is frequently
seen in shallow water.

What it's doing down here,

surface, is anyone's guess.

We're now at 218 meters, about 700 feet.

From a distance, the
bottom looks lifeless.

Closer inspection, however,
reveals tiny white cup corals.

Who could imagine corals at 700 feet?

But then while concentrating
on tiny little corals,

something swims into our lights.

A ragged-tooth shark.

The ragged-tooth shark,

also known as the small-tooth sand tiger,

is only occasionally
found in shallow water,

but much more commonly associated
with depths over 500 feet.

Here at almost 1,000 feet,
this shark is in its element.

Down here, the light is almost gone,

but a pale blue glow comes from above.

And then just as we pass 1,000 feet,

the deepest shark I've ever seen,

a prickly shark swims towards
the lights on the sub.

Prickly sharks like cold water,

so they usually hang out down deep,

but they have been seen
in shallow, cold water

in some places.

I've certainly never seen one before.

The shark is intrigued
by the lights on the sub

and comes towards us.

[suspenseful music]

All sharks have sand papery skin

due to their dermal denticles,

but the ones on the prickly shark

are particularly thorn-like,

which is where this shark gets its name.

The sharks circles the sub several times

before vanishing into the darkness.

[suspenseful music]

Soon it's time to head
back to the surface,

but along the way, we stop
again at Mount Everest

for one task to be done before we leave.

Shmulik has to use the
mechanical arm on the sub

to retrieve a remote temperature sensor.

Inside the sub, he manipulates the arm

with a remote control.

The temperature sensor has
been down here for six months

recording water temperature
data for scientific research.

Shmulik will use the
arm to grab the sensor

and bring it to the surface

to download the information
it has recorded.

He lines up the jaws of
the arm and he has it.

Ooh, nice work.

Avi drives the sub back
to the Argo underwater,

we won't need to be towed home.

Besides, the water at
the surface is rough,

and it's nice and calm down here.

[tranquil music]

We slowly ascend right
near the stern of the Argo.

Well, I made it back from
the depths of the ocean

and I never even got wet.

And we can see that it
has started to rain again,

with raindrops appearing
on the water above.

With perfect accuracy, Avi has brought us

right to the back of the ship.

We bob around a little while
while Avi gets the sub aligned

with the sub bay in the Argo.

He will drive it right in,
like putting a car in a garage.

[water splashes]
[tranquil music]

Jose jumps aboard and helps
guide the sub the last few feet,

and then we're back.

The crew covers the dome to keep rain out

when they open up the c*ck.

And then I climb out.

[Jonathan cheers]

Yay, I'm back!

My experience in the submersible
certainly ranked up there

as one of the most fascinating
things I've ever done,

and getting to see marine life

far deeper than I can ever scuba dive

was a once in a lifetime experience.

I can say for sure that
while this might have been

my first trip in a submarine,
I hope it's not my last,

because I really wanna
do this again someday.

Who knows what we'll discover next time.

[inspirational music]

[upbeat music]

[inspirational music]