I See You Baby Barney's Barrier Reef

Australia, home of the possum, cool surfer dudes, strange lingo...

"fair dinkum."

Lots of sunshine and the bonzer Barrier Reef.

It's the biggest, most spectacular coral reef in the world,

and what's more, every creature is linked to another.

Just imagine one huge family tree dating back 18 million years.

From the miniscule to the mammoth, to the miraculous, they're all

connected in Barney's Barrier Reef.

-Foggy mask, can't see!

-I've lost my goggles... I can't see either!

This is why to see clearly underwater you've gotta have

a well-fitting mask, or one that's really clear and even then,

what you see underwater is still distorted.

I'll prove the point. Gem...

-Yeah.

-What colour are my shorts?

-Don't know... I'm busy looking at fishes.

I'll do a dive, have a look and just tell me what colour they are.

-Brown, definitely brown, yeah.

-Are you sure?

I'll tell you what, I'll dive down, you have another look.

Ah, OK, they're red.

Here comes the science bit. Now the reason they're red is

because the further down you go, the more colours disappear.

What do fish see, then?

Patterns and colours that we can't see.

They have either really weird or amazing eyesight and some have

bizarre ways of checking each other out,

which leads us very nicely to today's Barney's Barrier Reef.

I see you baby, shaking that...tail!

Our first super-sighted species

is this little fellow... the Damsel fish.

And Damsel fish are hard to miss, they're very colourful,

but if fish can see so well, why do they need to be so bright?

I mean they look good, but why else?

It's mainly to tell friends from enemies.

Oh, I guess it's a bit like an outfit

worn by a whole team or something?

Exactly, like a football strip, that tells us whether

someone supports your team or the opposition, it's a bit similar.

This team might play for Shellsea FC for example...

Or Swimmerpool United!

But these markings are a little

more crucial to their survival than football shirts?

Yeah, which is why some fish or species have a whole different

level of vision that really gives them an idea of who's

on their team and who definitely isn't.

Don't they just see lots of yellow fish, cos that's all I can see?

Well, this is the underwater world.

You've heard of UV light, yeah?

Yep, it stands for ultraviolet.

It's the light from the sun that sun lotion protects us against.

Exactly, well done. Well, Damsel fish can actually

see ultraviolet light and each fish

has special markings in ultraviolet that only the others can see.

Oh, my brain hurts!

It is a bit technical. Watch this. This is how we see the Damsel fish.

Ah, pretty, but quite plain, though.

Exactly, but this is how Damsel fish might see other Damsel fish.

-Can you see all those patterns?

-Oh, yeah!

-So that's their individual football strip?

-Exactly! Cool, isn't it?

So, our delightful Damsel fish see patterns that we can't see

at all through their unbelievable ultra-violet eyes. Cool, eh?

OK. My turn. Here's our super sight contender number two.

Wake up, mate! Oh, don't mind us we're only presenting a TV show!

-That's better.

-Ah, the crocodile, or should I say croc eye dile!

Am I to understand from

that extremely rubbish joke that you know all about his eyesight?

Yep. This is a saltwater croc, or "salties"

as the Aussies like to call them. They have pretty good eyesight both

above and below water, which is partly what makes them so deadly.

Not forgetting the fact that one croc can weigh as much as 15 people.

And they wouldn't be so good at hunting if they couldn't

-see so well now, would they?

-So, what's their secret?

OK. There's one eyelid at the top,

there's another eyelid at the bottom.

OK. So far, so normal.

-And here is a third eyelid.

-Third eyelid? That's weird!

-Why does it need three?

-The third one is known as a "nictitating eyelid"

which means blinking eyelid.

-Show-off!

-Ha ha ha!

It's a clear eyelid that cleans the eye with fluid

from the croc's tear ducts. Ever heard the phrase "crocodile tears"?

I have. OK, so crocodiles do cry?

Yes, but not because they're sad,

they're just washing their eyes but their eyelids help them see clearer,

both on land and underwater, so they can stay very still,

doing their impression of a log, until they're ready to strike.

-Goodbye, cute animal.

-That was a wallaby.

You're right there! That WAS a wallaby.

Its most powerful form of attack is called a "death roll"

where he grabs his prey and rolls it underwater.

And nothing is safe from this big guy. I bet he eats anything!

Yeah, anything and everything,

including humans, if we get too close.

Well, I won't be paddling in crocodile creek!

They don't have a real taste for humans, but can be aggressive.

One croc hassled some fishermen

so much it had to be locked in a police cell to calm down!

Oh, come on! No way! Crocodile criminals!

If you ask me, their super strong jaws, their super size and their

speed are enough, without the extra help on the eyesight front.

Their third eyelid gives them heaps of advantages, both above

-and underwater.

-Oh, this is getting embarrassing!

Damsel fish can see better than us, as well!

Yep. The Damsel fish and crocodile are connected because they have

superhuman sight underwater.

OK. So, who's our next super-sighted sea dweller?

Well, I couldn't resist this beautiful graceful turtle.

Look at him go! Definitely one of the Reef's best swimmers.

Oh, tell me about it! These guys can swim more than 2000 km in one go...

that's like swimming all the way round England and Scotland!

Yeah. In the water, they can see really well, much better than us

with a special spherical eye lens which they need to see their food.

So they must qualify as one of the best ocean-lookers!

Not that kind of looker, obviously!

Hum... It all goes swimmingly for the turtles until they hit dry land.

-Why? What happens then?

-Well, they're a bit rubbish, really.

They become short-sighted,

and have a habit of not looking where they're going.

Aagh! Well, I would offer to give them a lift back up,

but they weigh 160 kg... that's the same as 40 cats!

-Or one very big one!

-So how do they link to the sharp-eyed croc?

They're connected because they can see above and below water.

OK, so turtles have a mini-link to the croc,

but who is our main croc connection?

Hang on! Where's all the water gone?

These are mangroves...

they're kind of small forests near the edge of the Barrier Reef.

They hold the coastlines and islands together

to stop dirt spilling into the ocean.

-What are you looking at?

-More importantly, what are we looking at?

Is it a shrimp, a newt, a fish?

He is a Mudskipper... now these truly are fish out of water!

Hey?

He's a fish, but they live out of water for most of the time.

They have a technique of holding water in their mouth

and gills which allows them to breathe on land.

-They can also breathe through their skin.

-Breathe through their skin?

-That's a new one!

-For fish, they're pretty rubbish

at swimming and that's why they do this weird skip-hop movement.

A-ha! Mud skippers... now I get it!

See, there you go, and if they were held underwater,

some could drown, because they need air to breathe.

That is so weird. I've never heard of a fish that's scared of water!

But Gem, the best thing about these guys... their eyesight.

And they certainly have big eyes for little creatures!

They're funny-looking things, aren't they?

With their fat necks and googly, rainbow-coloured eyes?

And those googly rainbow eyes are on stalks. They have 200 degree vision

of the world... in other words, they can see in panoramic vision.

You mean they can basically watch their own backs?

Yeah, without even a tiny turn of the head. And, like the croc,

their eyes are designed to see both under and above the water.

Cool for a critter about 100,000 smaller than the croc!

The Mantis Shrimp, cleaning out his hole, again.

He's a busy little thing, isn't he?

-Oh, look, he's waving. Hello!

-Hello!

As well as being the ocean's tidiest creature, take a close

look and you'll find out that he's not just any old shrimp.

Well, this one looks like an alien, from a certain angle!

Those eyes may look like mini microphones...

testing, testing, but they're busy checking out everything around them.

He has the eyesight that superheroes could only dream of.

Each eye can move on its own

and they have 360 degree vision, so they can see all around them.

Each has three pupils.

With this, he can see things broken down

-into three overlapping fields of vision.

-Do you know what?

His eyes are so super-techno he can't even fit them in his head!

It's the central pupil that has the real super-vision.

It scans an area and colours the image in and kind of

refreshes the other two pupils, so they work well together

as a kind of team super-eye.

And what's more, his world is in proper technicolour.

Now we see the world through three different colour palettes,

and so we would see that bird in the tree like this.

Now when it comes to shrimps, they have twelve different

colour palettes, and it's impossible to work out exactly

what they see, but it could be something like this.

So, if my mathematical calculations are correct, he sees things at least

four times better than we do.

They can see colours we don't even know exist. Wow!

I guess it might be like kind of watching HD TV in 3D vision.

Yeah, kind of, although we'll probably never know

exactly how they see the world... And combine this super-power with

a punch faster than a speeding bullet makes this super-shrimp

small but pretty deadly.

As this crab is about to find out!

Not only does he have the best eyesight in the ocean,

but one of the best in the animal kingdom.

Not bad for something which grows to about the size of a pencil.

If this shrimp was human, he'd be a superhero, or a super-villain.

Or very, very scary and kill us all!

And you thought the Mudskipper was cool because he could see all

around him, so our super-seeing shrimp is connected to the

panoramic Mudskipper through his amazing super-human eyesight.

Step up our next contender.

From a shrimp with super-power sight

to the Pistol Shrimp that can barely see.

That's the wonderful and weird world of the ocean for you.

Are you sure he can't see? He's

making a good job of digging up the sand for something with no eyesight!

Well, that's only because he has his buddy -the Goby Fish -

-keeping watch for him.

-What? The fish and shrimps are mates?

-I thought the fish were just hanging out?

-No. These two are bezzy mates.

The shrimp lives in a burrow in the sand, along with the Goby.

Looks like the shrimp is doing all the work.

The Goby's watching for danger...

that's why he's nicknamed "the Watchman Goby".

The shrimp has really bad eyesight, so the Goby sees for him.

Assuming they can't speak, well you never know in this

weird watery world, how does the shrimp know what's going on?

Well, the shrimp contacts the Goby using his antennae, and when danger

approaches, the Goby flicks

the shrimp with his tail and they dive for cover in the hole.

But he's not as brave as our boxing Mantis Shrimp though, is he?

So our shrimp is connected to our shrimp,

one has superhuman sight, but the other uses his mate to help him see.

Time for a reef-cap of our creatures who see, and who want to be seen.

So, we started at the Damsel Fish and got all

the way to the Blind Pistol Shrimp.

Let's talk about the Damsel Fish, Gem.

What makes these guys stand out so clearly to their mates?

-Easy... their beautiful ultraviolet markings. Amazing.

-Oh, yes!

But what's so special about our croc eye dile...

That's the second time you've used that joke, that's too many times!

-Well, our crocodile here has a third eyelid, isn't that right?

-Yes.

And that means they can see above and under the water. Is that true?

-Yes.

-Like the turtle, but bless him, he's rubbish on land!

-OK. Who came next?

-Easy. The big-eyed and fat-necked

tiny Mudskipper with his panoramic vision of land and sea. Your turn.

OK. Next was one of the shrimps.

Oh, yes, the Mantis Shrimp, with his 3D super-colour vision,

ludicrously good for a shrimp.

Which leaves us with our badly-sighted Pistol Shrimp

who relies on his buddy, the Goby, to tell him when he's in danger.

Quite a selection. Whoever next?

I don't know!

Silent, ghostly and deadly.

-I'm scared!

-One of the most venomous creatures in the world...

the Box Jellyfish.

Get out of the water, bikini lady!

Box Jellies are practically invisible to us,

which is not so good when you're paddling.

They have 5,000 million stinging barbs, 60 tentacles and 24 eyes.

24! Why so many?

All the better to see you with! They have eyes all around their head.

So they really do have eyes in the back of their heads?

-And the sides.

-Oh, great! You really don't want something that has 5,000

million chances of stinging you to be able to see you from every angle!

What's doubly weird is that despite the fact they don't have a brain,

they have a pair of eyes on each of their four sides

that are really similar to human eyes.

They have a lens, retina and iris...

it's a bit of a scientific puzzle.

-No brain, but eyes that can see really well.

-I don't understand!

You're not the only one!

It's one of those ocean mysteries.

-OK.

-Now this is how they might see,

-and this is a close-up of a jellyfish eye.

-Ooh, weird or what!

I mean I always thought they were just jelly-like floaty things?

Far from it, but because Box Jellies use vision to hunt, they're a bit

lost at night, and that's the best time to find them sleeping.

That's crazy!

Box Jellies have 24 eyes and Mantis Shrimps have 3 pupils in each eye.

So the Box Jelly must be connected to the Mantis Shrimp

because they both have multiple eyes.

Aha, the octopus, or "occie"

-as I like to call him.

-Where's he gone?

Hello, I'm here but I've decided to change colour. Ooh, and again!

It must be great fun to be able to change colour all the time!

It looks like he's just showing off!

Actually he's blending in with his surroundings.

He's saying "I'm not here, no really, I'm not here. Go away".

So why does he turn red? He's not blending in now, is he?

Well, now he's saying OK, so you've found me, but leave me alone.

Are you saying he's talking through his colour-change?

-No, don't believe you!

-It's true.

-He communicates through his skin.

-Hello!

But what's even better is that he also sees through it.

He sees through his skin? Now you're really winding me up!

OK, well maybe not sees through his skin,

because that's what his eyes are for, but they can't see colour.

Well, how can they blend into a background, then, if they don't

know what colour the background is?

Well, they can feel different colours through their skin

and that's how they know how to change, like this guy here.

His skin is so sensitive he knows exactly when to change colour

and when to set off his colour alarm bell.

The yellow and blue means 'back-off, buster. I'm angry'.

Wow! This guy really does look angry, then! Look at his blue rings!

They're so bright. They look like they have glitter on them!

And this is one octopus you really don't want to get on the wrong side

of... the Blue-Ringed Octopus... one of the most venomous creatures

in the world. Now those flashing blue rings mean back-off now.

In fact, don't even think about it - I am very, very dangerous.

So it's a bit like us going red in the face when we're angry?

Yeah, well apart from the venomous bit.

So we had the blobby Box Jellyfish, followed by the wobbly Octopus.

Exactly. Occie and Box Jelly are linked by their wobbly, soft bodies.

OK. My turn. Now you think you've seen weird.

Try this geezer.

Our next creature is a Cephalopod.

A what-la-pod? Are you sure it's alive, by the way?

A Cephalopod and yes, it's alive.

In fact, his relatives have been alive for the last

-100 million years.

-100 million?

He must have a good moisturiser!

This is a Nautilus... one of the ocean's most ancient creatures.

Well, it's very weird and you still haven't told me what it is.

A Cephalopod. It means "head foot". Their molluscs...

soft, squishy animals whose heads are attached to their modified feet.

I'm afraid I can't make head nor foot of this!

Well, it's all tucked into the shell

and they do have a head, because that's where their eyes are.

They don't look like they've got good eyesight.

Look at them bobbing around like that!

Well, it's amazing these guys can see at all. For starters,

they're very old and could see pretty much before anything else

and secondly, they live up to 600 metres deep.

That's like twice as high as the Empire State Building!

I know! So, they live in the dark and they've hardly evolved

-since they first existed, but they can still see.

-How?

Well, it's through a very small eye, formed like a little pin-hole

camera. They don't see well, but then they are getting on a bit.

Their eye doesn't see in focus because it has no lens but it allows

them to see their food... the little animals that glow in the dark.

So basically they're weird, floating, ancient shells that

developed an eye like a pin-hole camera long before cameras were

even invented. That's kind of weird!

Yeah, and guess what? Octopuses are Cephalopods, too.

OK, so the Octopus is linked to the ancient Nautilus because

they're both "head-foots". Cool!

These are Giant Clams. They look even bigger when they're open.

They can weigh the same as three grown men.

They're molluscs so they're related to the slugs and snails.

OK, so they're part of the squishy, slimy family?

They're squishy on the inside but not on the outside.

No-one really hunts these guys when they're this big

which is probably why they can live to more than 70 years old.

Wow, that's impressive! A pensioner clam!

But that's not the best bit.

They have not one, not two, but hundreds of eyes.

Do you know what? I think we might need the assistance of Dr Barnacles.

OK, here's the science bit.

Listen and learn.

Clams are home to the Zooxanthellae.

Why do they have to make these names so complicated to pronounce?!

-The Zo what?

-The Zooxanthellae, Gemma.

They're tiny plants that live in several types

of animals exposed to the sun which makes them solar powered.

Can we just call them Zo's?

Sure. So to give the Zo's, as we call them, the light they need,

the clams push their lips outside their shell into the sunlight.

That leaves their delicate inside tissue exposed to any fish wanting

a nibble, but the Clam has these clever cells that can tell slight

-little light changes.

-Ah, like eyes?

Yes, well very basic eyes,

but basic's fine when you have hundreds of them.

When they see a shadow of a passing predator, the clam pulls itself in

and just to be on the safe side, pushes water out of its siphon.

Aah, and I thought that was his bottom!

How come we don't have hundreds of eyes?

They'd come in really useful, I think.

The ancient Nautilus has simple eyes, too.

So the Clam is connected to the Nautilus because they both

have basic eyes, but they're not the only link to our Nautilus shell.

During the day, the Barrier Reef is a cheerful place,

full of animals going about their business.

From the weird and wacky and playful to the craziest colours...

but once night falls, it's a whole different ocean.

And this is when the night owls come out to play.

Or, in the case of these White-Tipped Sharks, to hunt.

The White Tips are one of the Reef's most common sharks.

They're asleep during the day.

Which is why the Reef looks a lot happier then.

They have night vision. During the day, the pupil in their eye

is small, to restrict the amount of light coming through,

but at night, the pupil gets much larger

to allow more light in so they can see more.

And allow them to spot any prey that was silly enough

not to go to bed earlier.

Now, sharks are twice as good as cats at seeing in the dark.

They may only be able to see in black and white,

but their clever eyes allow them to use the moon,

stars or any available light to get around.

White Tips have clever ocean eyes

that don't need light to see, just like the Nautilus.

So they must be connected to the Nautilus as they can both

see in the dark.

Let's catch up on our ocean wonders so far. Time for another reef-cap.

So, our super-sighted shrimp

is linked to another creature with superhuman sight.

I'm gonna give you a clue. He's deadly and invisible.

Easy - the Box Jellyfish?

With 24 eyes, far more than he needs, I'm sure,

but who is the Box Jelly's wobbly connection?

The Octopus. He sees through his skin...

weird, but pretty cool, I think.

OK. Our Nautilus is connected by the fact

that he's also just a head and a foot.

-Head-foot.

-Mmm.

Barney, please tell, what's the proper name for a head-foot?

Right, that is Cephla, Cephla... Cephla-something.

-Cephalopod.

-Yes, that's it.

-Failed!

-No, but I do remember that the Nautilus also has

a mini-link to the Clam... both with basic but effective eyesight.

Our main Nautilus link is of course the shark. Both are insomniacs

-and can see in the dark.

-So, who's our next visionary wonder, I wonder.

Alien contact has been established.

Eh? Are we still in the ocean?

Where's the sea gone? Have you switched the lights off, Gem?

No, we're still in the ocean depths.

This is the Flashlight Fish, named after flashlights

-because they flash their lights at each other.

-Like this.

This means 'hello, chuck'.

What you can see glowing

is bi-luminescent pouches underneath the eyes.

The fish use their glow to find food and communicate with each other.

Incoming transmission.

-Can they turn it off?

-Yeah.

Handy, eh? They have a lip that can

cover their glowing pouch, otherwise predators would gobble them up.

So they see by flashing each other?

Like having your own car headlights.

Cool! It's no wonder they can see so well at night.

A bit like the White-Tipped Reef Shark that hunt at night, remember?

I get it. Flashlight Fish see perfectly well in the dark,

which connects them to the White-Tipped Reef Shark.

Woah, who's this crazy colour-changer?

This is a Cuttlefish.

Like the Octopus, he uses colour-change to communicate.

Looks like he's talking pretty quickly.

-He's giving me a headache!

-The difference between

the Octopus and the Cuttlefish is that he is a total show-off!

I just wish he'd make his mind up what colour he wants to be!

Well, Cuttlefish certainly make use of their colour-changing skills.

They use it to blend in, but also to chat and flirt.

-Flirt?

-Yep. The males have a moving rippling

colour running down their back.

That's them trying to get the attention of the females

and it definitely works. It's slightly hypnotic.

Look into my eyes, or rather, look into my ripples!

It looks like the females are saying "I see you baby!"

Oh, yeah, and it works OK,

as you can see, by the face-sucking going on!

But I can't see how they're all linked to the Flashlight Fish?

It's easy! They both use vision to communicate...

the Cuttlefish through colour effects and the Flashlight Fish

by flashing their little torches.

Thanks for clearing that up. OK, next.

Why, Mr Fish, what a big mouth you have!

-He's called the Napoleon Wrasse, or the Humphead Wrasse.

-Ah, he has got

a hump-head! In fact, I couldn't have put it better myself!

So what's so special about this geezer, apart from the fact

he must have the biggest gob in the ocean!

Well, he's another ocean flirt.

He blushes when he fancies a female!

Ah, so he has got a soft side?

He doesn't look the romantic type!

What's weird about these guys, or girl should I say,

is that they all start out as females.

Hey, how does that work?

They all live under the protection of one male who

looks after them all and then he chooses who he wants to mate with.

-Lucky him!

-And when the males want to flirt, their hump darkens.

I suppose you could say they wear their heart on their hump!

Well, I guess it's a different way of saying "I fancy you!"

It's like the dazzling Cuttlefish,

who also uses colour to get attention.

So, our romantic but not-so-handsome Napoleon Wrasse

is connected to the Cuttlefish

as both like to flirt and communicate using colour-change.

So, who's our next visual wonder?

You don't often get the chance

to use the phrase "I've got you stuck to my face".

Gem, have you changed the show to make it all about romance?

There's even more fish-flirting, or are they stuck together?

Nothing to do with me!

They are cute, though. I think they're dancing, cheek to cheek.

Or, maybe the little one is too forward.

The big one could be saying "here, back off, lass, give me some space".

Well, they're flirting, actually.

Not very subtle, is it?

The reason they recognise each other though is because they change colour

from babies, who are this colour, to females who end up looking like

this, but even stranger, they all

-change colour again when they're older and turn into a male!

-What?

So, the females change colour and then into men? Well, that's weird!

I know! This is another example of how fish recognise each other.

They know who to hook up a mate with and when to do it. Clever, eh?

Colour-change links the Parrotfish back

to our blushing Napoleon Wrasse.

And this links us right back to our first contender...

the Damsel Fish...

who recognise each other through their ultraviolet markings

which only they can see. What a cool collection of connections.

-Let's see those again.

-I agree!

OK, first up, Damsel Fish and Crocodiles

are connected because they both see better than humans.

The Turtle was next a mini-connection,

because they can see both above and below water, like the Croc.

-But not as well on land. Your turn.

-I need a clue.

Ah, the Mudskipper with his 200 degree panoramic vision.

Linked to our other super-sighted little guy, the Mantis Shrimp.

Followed by the Pistol Shrimp, another mini connection.

They can't see as well, but they have their mates,

the Goby Fish, to give them a hand.

-So, who's next? The Octopus?

-Nope.

-Another wobbly animal, though.

-Ah, the Box Jelly, of course.

Deadly, venomous and with 24 eyes!

The next connection is the Octopus who talks by changing colour.

And he is a Cephla...Cephalopod.

Finally you got it! One of them!

-Thank you!

-Yeah!

-The Nautilus is as old as the ocean

but can still see in the dark through his pin-hole camera eye.

And it's linked to the Clam, with its hundreds of basic eyes.

A mini-connection, our night-hunter, the Shark,

-can also see in the dark.

-Like the Flashlight Fish.

And they are connected to the Cuttlefish, as they both use

flashy techniques to communicate.

So, we are left with our two flirters...

the Napoleon Wrasse, another colour communicator...

And last, but not least, the smoochy Parrotfish.

-They stick together in more ways than one!

-Are these yours?

-You found them! Cool!

-Well, I've confiscated them.

I mean fish might not see quite like

we do, but with their super-sighted vision, I think they deserve better!

But they're my favourites!

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