Under the Sea 3D Page #2

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at the end of the last Ice Age.

Then, sea levels were 400 feet lower

than they are today.

As the ice began to melt, the seas rose.

Corals grew on top of coral...

building undersea mountains

made of limestone or calcium carbonate.

Corals grow by combining

carbon dioxide and sunlight.

But the balance of carbon dioxide

in our atmosphere is critical...

especially to coral reefs,

and the creatures that call them home.

Every animal here depends on another

in some fashion.

This potato cod

is ready for her beautician.

And let's face it, when you're a cod,

you need all the help you can get.

Cleaner fish provide a gentle service

no self-respecting cod can be without.

While giving her a facial,

the cleaners eat parasites.

And in exchange, the potato cod

resists the temptation to gobble them up.

Another good deal.

A crown jellyfish slowly pulsates...

forcing tiny animals to pass

through its stinging tentacles.

When the current carries

a jellyfish into the reef...

butterfly fish join up.

Even if it makes their little lips sting.

Some creatures

are not satisfied with only a taste.

Green sea turtles love to fill their

cast-iron stomachs with venomous jelly.

As the turtle devours its prey...

it carefully closes its eyes to avoid

the sting to sensitive corneas.

The eastern edge

of the Great Barrier Reef...

plummets into the depths

of the coral sea.

Many deep-water creatures gather

on these undersea escarpments.

A chambered nautilus bobs its way

toward deeper water.

Its shell contains gas-filled chambers

that can withstand tremendous pressure...

and its primitive eye is little more than a

pinhole in front of the light-sensitive retina.

Like the coral reef itself...

its strong shell

is made of calcium carbonate.

Once, over 2,000 species of nautiloids

dominated life under the sea.

But that was long before

dinosaurs roamed the planet.

And the climate above and within the ocean

has changed many times since.

Today, only 6 species of nautilus

haunt the deep sea.

Sudden changes in climate can exterminate

species that cannot adapt quickly.

Corals need carbon dioxide to grow...

but we're putting so much

of it into our atmosphere...

that it's causing

global temperatures to rise.

If sea water gets too warm,

coral reefs bleach white and die.

But even more deadly

is a new threat called ocean acidification.

Too much carbon dioxide inhibits

the formation of calcium carbonate...

the stuff coral reefs are made of,

and the shells of the chambered nautilus...

the cuttlebone, and the skeletons

of thousands of other species.

Many animals could become extinct.

Coral reefs could begin to dissolve.

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