Lost Worlds: Life in the Balance Page #3

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of rainwater where...

larvae and other organisms

break down the insect,

the plant absorbs the nutrients

in the water.

Roraima seems like a great place

for amphibians,

with ponds and streams everywhere.

But at first we saw nothing at all.

And our tests showed that the water

is as poor a food source as the soil.

Any creatures living here have to be

very resourceful.

Then we found our first amphibians:

Tadpoles feeding on clusters

of unhatched eggs.

The mother frog apparently produced

extra eggs,

so her offspring would have

plenty to eat!

Nearby, we saw a frog laying eggs

in a plant -

the only carnivorous bromeliad

known to science.

The water below is full of

captured insects.

Once her eggs hatch, the tadpoles

can make a feast of this soup...

and maybe the plant

gets something too -

like nitrogen from

their waste products.

At dusk, we heard a sound

we never heard before...

definitely amphibian,

but strange...

We look for it until the sound stop.

In the morning we heard it again.

Celsi recorded the sound,

but we never saw the creature

that made it...

Later, we did come across something

truly unique.

A tiny black toad,

threatened by a tarantula.

It didn't jump...

it just walked away...

and climbed the rock.

When the tarantula moved on, the toad

curled itself up and rolled down again.

Now, that I've never seen before!

Why would nature produce a tiny toad

that walks and rolls

instead of jumping?

No doubt,

we still have a lot to learn...

People often ask me why we should

care about creatures like this.

Well, it may have something we need -

like chemicals or medicines.

Or maybe because it's living proof

of nature's ability

to diversify and survive...

in ways we never even imagined.

It's a long way from the Lost World

of Venezuela

to the suburbs of New York,

but the diversity of life here is just

as fragile and just as important

Like the life of remote

rain forests and mountains,

the creatures in our backyard all

play their part in the balance

of relationships that

keeps the world healthy.

Insects need flowers,

flowers need insects,

and we need the food

that pollination produces.

In just one square meter,

young explorers on a field trip

can find a lot of life.

If they look hard enough,

they'll find things even scientists

haven't seen before.

We all need to know what lives here...

what it does...

and what it means to us.

But as we take up more and

more space on the Earth,

we may tip the balance of life...

without even knowing it

It wouldn't be the first time.

The lost city of Tikal was

discovered just over a century ago,

buried in the tropical forest

of Guatemala.

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