National Geographic: Rhythms of Life Page #2
- Year:
- 1995
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use the light to see.
They need it to grow their food
gardens of brown algae
transparent bodies.
Denied sunshine,
they would starve.
As the sun arcs overhead,
shadows of the surrounding walls
darken the surface of the lagoon.
Just below, the jellyfish ferry their
microscopic passengers,
keeping them always in the light.
When the sun sinks,
so do the jellyfish,
dropping down to the ocean floor
where the algae can find their own
nourishment.
Even without sight, the jellyfish will
know when the sun returns again.
In the surface waters of the oceans
to feed or rest
from the rhythm
of light and dark.
Now, members of the night
shift hurry to take the stage.
Roused by light-sensitive cells that
announce the return of darkness,
these prickly browsers
set out to graze.
and their way around
by touch and by taste.
Each night clouds of plankton rise
from the deep to feed
drawing out the coral who fish
the waters with feathery nets.
A few, sharp-eyed fish operate by
sight in the dim light before dawn.
Like a cat in the dark, the lionfish
can pick out its prey.
The lionfish will slip into a crevice
to hide from the daytime;
eyes sensitive enough for half light
may be too delicate for bright sun.
Daybreak brings the morning
rush hour to the reef.
Far more complex than jellyfish
or sea urchins,
most fish depend on sight to survive.
Without the sun they are virtually
blind to navigate their world,
to find their food,
A kaleidoscope of colors enhances
the play of daylight on the reef.
For the fish, stripe and hue holds
clues and communications,
helping them to identify mates,
predators, and prey
in the busy rainbow of the reef.
Trailing twilight in its wake,
to harvest plankton when again
they rise with evening.
Sunlight fades, taking with it
the world of color,
and the day shift streams off the
reef for the safety of deeper water.
And once again,
The line between light and darkness
divides those that live by land
as well as the creatures of the sea.
And even the land and sea themselves
breathe with the rhythms
of day and night.
Given off by day,
water vapor now rises, cools,
and condenses in the night air.
From earth, through plants,
into the air,
and back to the earth again
the endless cycles of replenishment
and renewal.
The plants of this Australian
rain forest
have been in tune with the rhythms
of the sun for eons.
and stretches for the dawn.
Like a sundial in the trees,
the play of light and shadow
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"National Geographic: Rhythms of Life" Scripts.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 18 Apr. 2024. <https://www.scripts.com/script/national_geographic:_rhythms_of_life_14562>.
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