Secret Underwater Paradise | Islands of Indonesia

Between the islands of Indonesia lies a remote underwater paradise which holds some of the world's most rare and incredible species. Evolution has created an unparalleled underwater world of strange shapes, vibrant colors and truly incredible species. The natural ebb and flow of the sea's tides and currents seems to create a constant stream of new species, leading to the continuing discovery of new life forms amongst the 1500 islands of the archipelago. This peaceful water world has created species which can be found nowhere else on earth, creating spectacles of elegant and truly unique beauty. There is no other place where unknown and already discovered species come together in such colorful and striking variety. What started a hundred thousand years ago with a constant motion of the seas has evolved over time to create the unique world of natural diversity which we see today. This world ranges from clear water fringing reefs to the dark but colorful depths of the sea. Come along with us on our journey through the wonderful underwater landscapes of Raja Ampat. Translated from the Sanskrit, Raja Ampat means the four kings. The story behind this name lies within the ancient mythology of the region which states that four kings hatched from eggs rule over the four biggest islands of Raja Ampat. This extraordinary sea world covers an area roughly the same size as the Netherlands. Raja Ampat lies directly in the center of what is known as the Coral Triangle, an area of extreme marine diversity which reaches from the Philippines over Indonesia and Papua New Guinea and up to the Solomon Islands. One of the most common families of animal found in the waters is the wrasse family. Here we found a whole school of wrasse. But although the wrasse are the most common species of fish, they are just the beginning of the hugely diverse range of species to be found in the reefs of the Indo-Pacific. In Raja Ampat, an area the size of a full football pitch is home to a greater number of unique species than can be found among the whole of the Caribbean or the Great Barrier Reef. Because of this unbelievably varied biodiversity, the area is sometimes referred to as the Amazon of Reefs. The four major islands of Raja Ampat are Misul in the south, Waijio in the north, and Salawati and Batanta in the center of the archipelago. The population of the island chain is very small, and those who do live there survive predominantly by working in the fishing or diving tourism industries. The reefs of Raja Ampat have to cope with a multitude of undersea currents. The motion of these currents can stir up the sediment in the water and make it murky. Sometimes, though, the water's movements can create an extraordinary play of colors and light, after the stirred up water and sediment has calmed down again. These reef inhabitants are a subspecies of a group of fish known as grunts. The appearance and behavior of grunts changes throughout their lifespan, with young grunts being far more colorful and active than grunts which have reached full maturity. In the daytime, these fish tend to linger in swarms underneath corals, emerging at night to hunt. Grunts are not shy and can be very friendly to underwater visitors. Let's follow one of these grunts through this section of the reef. The vast biodiversity of species found in these waters cannot be explained by one factor alone. What is thought to be one of the main reasons for this abundance of life is the numerous different biotopes found in the area. Here in Raja Ampat, you can find what are known as fringing reefs, wide lawns of seagrass, and sheltered bays which offer various types of species the perfect conditions to settle down. Clean arases make sure that all of the fish on the reef have healthy skin. The fish who want to be cleaned signify this by opening their gills and jaws, which the clean aras recognizes as a signal of their passiveness. This means that the clean aras can go about his job safe in the knowledge that he won't be eaten. The fish need to be cleaned as dirt builds up in their gills over time, which leads to inflammation, creating breathing problems. This sea turtle is a particularly interesting inhabitant of the area. All sea turtles are born ashore, but only the females return to lay eggs. Here, under the protection offered by the coral reefs, hatchlings stand a far greater chance of survival than if they were to be raised in open water. This area also contains the most important nesting site for leatherback turtles, the largest species of turtle in the world. There are two main coral groups, the soft coral shown in this picture, and the scleractinia, also referred to as stony corals. Soft corals look far more alive and vibrant than their relatives to stony corals. The combination of soft coral and stony coral can look unusual, but the buildup of soft coral can be visually spectacular. When amassed, soft corals are incredibly colorful and can look like strange, otherworldly flowers. The fish seem unfazed by this natural beauty and pass amongst the reefs with seeming indifference. The deeper you go into this coral jungle of beauty and color, the more you are rewarded with an ever-increasing variation of living creatures. The vivid and busied activities of the sea-dwelling creatures give the area the appearance of a thriving city. The deep, dark sea is brought to life by the colorful variety of species. Large and small sea creatures bustle around the reefs, making it seem almost like a playground. This underwater world seems to offer a never-ending supply of surprises. As we swim over the coral field, we discover a huge school of fry who look for shelter in a bay. Each different species has invented its own individual way to survive. The clownfish, for example, is able to hide in anemones. Other reef species, like the lionfish, prefer more extraordinary disguise methods. And some fish just hope that enough of their fellow species can survive. The question of which method of survival is most effective is put to the test by nature every year. If a species is not able to adapt and change to meet the challenges, it will not find a place to live. These are the harsh rules of nature, which exist even in a paradise like Raja Ampat. The different sea creatures of this area have been forced to change and adapt over time, in order to survive the natural selection process of evolution. This leads to the breathtakingly varied array of species with which we are presented today. To survive in nature, every species produces offspring which have adapted ever so slightly from the previous generation in order to better cope with the ever-changing conditions created by their habitat. This process creates species which look unusual, and some creatures have developed features which at first sight appear to be a hindrance. But every characteristic created by evolution has its own specific purpose for existing. The sea dwellers of this region develop a huge range of different strategies to survive. These surgeonfish group together in large swarms and nibble on the algae which live on the coral. Surgeonfish owe their name to the sharp spines on the tips of their tails, which have been likened to a surgeon's scalpel. These spines are used by the fish to defend themselves against larger predators. Other creatures wait patiently in a hiding place until an unsuspecting victim crosses their path, striking at the perfect moment. This is the preferred strategy of the wabagongs or the carpet sharks. The number of sharks in the region has been dramatically reduced by the prevalence of shark finning in the coral triangle, meaning that sharks are now very rare in the area. The triggerfish, with its colorful and quirky patterns, is one of the highlights of the Raja Ampat. It's not often that such variation in color and pattern can be found on a single fish. Another reason for the unmatched richness of natural species in this area is the mangrove forests, which can be found all around the island's coasts. The roots of the mangrove trees offer not only perfect shelter in which fish can raise their offspring, they also offer protection for the delicate coral reefs. This is because the roots of the mangrove trees help to hold the shoreline together, minimizing erosion, which could be incredibly damaging to the reefs. The amazing variation in the area is not just isolated to animal species. There is also massive variation in terms of landscape, which leads to massive variation in types of reef. While fringing reefs are often flat and less than half a meter beneath the water's surface, barrier reefs appear more like columns, which reach from the seabed to the water's surface in deeper areas. Vast diversity can be found among the tall barrier reefs. Over the passage of time, Earth has developed four tectonic plates here. Each of these tectonic plates supports different life forms due to differing conditions. Raja Ampat is located in the center of where the four different tectonic plates meet, creating unrivaled biodiversity and competition between different species. This competition means that evolutionary change is still very much occurring in the Raja Ampat region. The harsh process of natural selection does not, however, mean that some differing species can live in relative harmony. This fish, with its distinctive zebra-stripe pattern, stands out from the crowd of predominantly brown-colored fish. Some fish change color and behavior as they move through their life cycle, and some fish even change gender. The wrasse family, for example, looks vastly different in terms of color and pattern before and after puberty. But the change from female to male also occurs in all 200 species of wrasse. The strongest wrasse will make the change fully from female to male. A little bit of chauvinism in the natural world. This little sea turtle somewhat clumsily fights its way to the brink of the reef. But as soon as it has conquered this brink, it looks utterly majestic. It's quite remarkable to think that these majestic reptiles start life measuring just a couple of centimeters in length. It's not just turtles that start life tiny, though. Coral reefs are built by tiny animals called polyps. They gather in large colonies and build the base for all corals. Through a chemical reaction, they transform the calcium ions found in water into chalk. Large islands can grow from these chalk skeletons over hundreds of years, but the polyps need a lot of energy to achieve this majestic feat. The secret of coral's energy production is the sun. Unlike most land-based plants, polyps cannot transfer light directly into energy. Instead, they form a symbiosis with small algae called symbiodinium. These algae colonize the polyps and carry out photosynthesis. The extracted energy transforms into sugar and helps the corals produce calcium. Thanks to the sunlight, polyps are able to build the biggest buildings on Earth — the coral reefs. Corals can protect themselves with stinging cells, which fend off their enemies with the use of poison. This creates the amazing colors seen here, which act as a warning to potential predators. Other species try to protect themselves by camouflage. This is the method employed by the sinister-looking scorpion stonefish. The poisonous barb on its back can be extremely dangerous for divers, and they are often hidden to the naked eye due to their incredibly effective camouflage. A sting from one of these fish can be life-threatening for humans. Some fish on the reef, like the clownfish, can immunize themselves against the poison of the mollusks. They take on the mucus of the anemones, which stops the anemones attacking them with their poison. The small fish will then clean off any dirty residues, which build up on the anemones in return. This is a small price to pay, considering the danger of these neighbors. Most residents of the reef will mainly eat mollusks or even just plants. This is what the rather strange-looking yellow blowfish does. The most important food source on the reef, however, is plankton. Most female clownfish live almost exclusively with other females. This female, however, lives with many males, with which she copulates. Like wrasses, clownfish are able to change their gender. In this case, the males will transform into females if a leading female in their group disappears. More than two-thirds of all species living in the world's reefs live in Raja Ampat. There are also more than 75 percent of all stone corals in the region, ten times more than in the whole of the Caribbean. Nowhere else on Earth is home to such a large number of coral and fish species than this unique underwater realm. One kind of coral found in the region, called the leather coral, doesn't exist anywhere outside of the Indo-Pacific. Here, it is free to spread as it pleases. But in other areas, fierce competition from other species means it has to fight for every centimeter of ground. Only 1,000 species of anemones in the whole world get into a partnership with clownfish. In Raja Ampat, we can find all of these 1,000 species of anemones paired up with their clownfish. Many similarities can be drawn between the sites of the underwater world and those of the world above. This coral, for example, bears a striking resemblance to a branched tree. And this fan coral could easily be likened to the veins seen on a leaf. Let us float through the different underwater gardens and coral bases for a moment. Also, above water, the small and larger island of the archipelago, with their thriving trees and white beaches, look like the perfect vision of paradise. Even though these natural wonders look almost indestructible and seemingly permanent, they are in fact incredibly vulnerable. The mining and timber industries have already destroyed much of the natural beauty of the islands and have contributed to increased rates of erosion. They also contribute to the pollution of the air with their creation of greenhouse gases. The destruction of the rainforests on land can be fatal for the coral reefs. Without tree roots to hold the earth together, erosion will lead to an accumulation of mud, which will be followed by the sedimentation of the coral reefs, which will eventually lead to their deaths. If there were no forests and corals, all life in the reef would just disappear. If we do not act fast to prevent the cultivation of these sensitive areas, we will no longer be able to observe the complex and spectacular life cycles of species like the wrasse and clownfish. Of course, there are countless more types of coral reef, each with their own unique characteristics. But it would be impossible to talk about every one of these in just one documentary. The relationship between clownfish and anemones alone could fill several books. The soft coral and their different species have many interesting aspects, too. They, for example, have no calcium skeleton like the stone corals, but do, however, have numerous tiny needle-shaped skeletons, which give the soft coral their flexibility. As there is no leftover calcium skeleton when the soft coral dies, there are very few fossil remains to be found. Because of this fact, it has proven extremely difficult to fully understand their evolutionary cycle in the Raja Ampat region and in the rest of the world. Here, this swarm of big-eye mackerel is a direct result of evolution. For years, scientists have tried to understand the processes which occur in shoal fish over time. Here, they focus their research particularly on mirror neurons. These nerve cells help to recognize and copy the movements of familiar individuals. This is an important feature, which enables the swarm to move about freely and uniformly through the reef. The coral reefs are far more than just chalk frameworks in the ocean. While growing, they absorb a huge amount of carbon dioxide and seawater from the air. This process helps to work against the greenhouse effect. Furthermore, corals are a magnificent source of nourishment for many fish, as plants often settle on the branches. These fish return the favor by preventing too large a buildup of plant life, which would obscure the coral's surface and prevent it from absorbing sunlight. One of the main reasons for the colorful mixture of different plants and animals is the dramatic change in the mean sea level over the last 100,000 years. Because of the ice ages, which came and went over this period, the water between the two poles became linked. Consequently, the mean sea level sank significantly. Eventually, there was no water left in Raja Ampat. As a direct result of this, completely separate species of animal and plant life developed in the two seashores, divided by the land of West New Guinea. When the ice ages passed and the ice thawed into water, the mean sea level rose again, and the previously completely separate marine environments joined together and transformed Raja Ampat into the colorful and vibrant paradise which we see today. Up to this point, evidence has been discovered to suggest the existence of more than 600 different hard coral species, 700 snail and shell species, as well as more than 1,600 fish species in the region around Raja Ampat. Several years ago, almost 300 different fish species were discovered in one dive. In the eclectic mixture of different habitats, thousands of different species have developed their own individual and ingenious ways of surviving. The archipelago in the center of the Coral Triangle is a crucible of evolution. It is only here, in the Indonesian coral jungle, that such a variety of living things could come into existence in a purely natural environment. Nowhere else can so many differing species of sea-dwellers be found coexisting in such harmony. Who these pink-colored contemporaries with skillful movements and perfect maneuverability try to out-swim remains uncertain to us. But surely they will find their hiding place. Here in this abundant underwater world. This incredibly unique and precious area is under constant threat from overfishing and climate change. The natural environment of West New Guinea, though, does remain relatively untouched by human activity. This reef has been turned into a natural reserve in order to prevent damage from humans, and is protected by the Indonesian government as effectively as possible in order to preserve this marine paradise for future generations. Thanks to this action, species which exist nowhere else on Earth continue to thrive around the coast of western New Guinea. Despite numerous expeditions, it has been impossible to calculate the number of species living in the coral gardens. To this day, the number of species known to exist in Raja Ampat has increased every year. But for how long will this continue? Hopefully, these coral gardens will remain protected, and will thrive long into the future, so that the number of new species discovered here will carry on increasing. Sometimes, very special and rare guests of mysterious and breathtaking beauty come to visit the area. When the spectacular manta rays appear, all other fish suddenly seem far less impressive in comparison. They are friendly creatures, and boast an impressive 23-foot wingspan. Due to the two lobes around their mouths, these fish are also known as devil rays. Manta rays are filter feeders, meaning they survive almost exclusively on a diet of plankton. When they visit Raja Ampat, these fish are welcomed by wrasses who clean their skin of parasites. These places are known as cleaning stations. On these occasions, manta rays move incredibly gracefully, gliding slowly and cautiously through the water. This delightful spot, with its beautiful sandy beaches and crystal clear water, attracts all manner of people from all over the world. When viewed from a bird's-eye perspective, the magic of the interaction between the islands is striking. This is far more impressive than traversing the narrow canals by boat, as from here, the rainforests and coral reefs look untouched by time, appearing almost prehistoric, and as if they have existed for eternity. The wide extended woods, which can only be seen in full from up here, are very typical for this equatorial tropical rainforest area, with its many different palm species. Many trees are growing on cliffs and stony, steep faces. One species of tree is very typical for this area, and does not need a lot of soil to grow — the cocoa palm. During the Pacific War between America and Japan in World War II, the number of wrecks around the archipelago increased dramatically. Here, you can marvel at the plane wreck of a P-47 Thunderbolt, one of the most commonly flown American aircraft in World War II. Even though wrecks such as this can be quite easy to spot among the coral, it is sometimes quite difficult to define the exact position of a wreck. The most effective methods of locating a wreck are air reconnaissance and sonar technology, a technique which is similar to the echo method used by bats, whales, or dolphins. Over time, the wrecks decay, and can be left as just large hunks of metal. However, nature is very good at working around these wrecks, and uses them as a frame on which new life can be created, turning the old plane into an artificial reef. Although this process originally occurred accidentally, artificial reefs have since been built intentionally in places like Australia and the Caribbean. Slowly, we approach the end of our journey. A journey which has taken us through an unforgettable paradise of nature, a paradise which now lies behind us. Nowadays, Raja Ampat is one of the most beautiful nature sanctuaries in the world. The reefs are still in very good condition. We, the visitors of such an exotic paradise, have a duty to take care of it so that it stays as it is. Every visitor, be it a diver, a scientist, or a swimmer, can contribute their part in order to safeguard this astonishing nature. There is hope for these areas of beauty in the future. For years now, the islands have been monitored as effectively as possible by conservationists. Currently, there is talk of designating the islands UNESCO World Heritage Sites. This would not only increase public interest in the area, but also ensure its protection and well-being for the future. Artificial reefs can bring life back to regions which were seemingly irrevocably damaged and give the areas back their sprawling beauty. If it is treated with this care, Raja Ampat will remain in exactly this state for the future. We fly over the coral reef one last time, admiring the greatest abundance of species to be found anywhere in the world. With all its innumerable secrets and treasures, this place will continue to fascinate humans for many more years to come. It doesn't matter how much time goes by, Raja Ampat will forever have what makes it so incomparable. The magic of the Indo-Pacific region.