"Straddling the equator 600 miles off the western coast of South America lies a special world." "Here, more than a century and a half ago young British naturalist Charles Darwin encountered a community of creatures unlike any others on the face of the Earth." "The insights he gained from his voyage to this remote corner of the globe would forever change our view of the natural world." "Today, scientists aboard the research vessel Seward Johnson retrace the journey of Charles Darwin to the fabled Galapagos islands." "It's the expedition of a lifetime for marine biologist Carole Baldwin from the Smithsonian institution, whose interest in these islands reaches back to her first reading of Darwin's journals." "I've always dreamed of coming here, to see what Darwin saw and to continue the work he began." "And now, using the tools of modern science and technology we can go where he could never go to explore a world he could only imagine." "Arriving with Carole is a team of scientists whose areas of interest range from birds and reptiles to deep-sea fish." "Their mission: to add to our understanding of how life has evolved on these islands and in the relatively unexplored waters off their shores." "Rocky outposts in the vast Pacific the Galapagos bear testament to a volcanic birth and to natural forces that continually reshape their features creating fresh footholds for life." "Compared to the age of the Earth, these islands are young." "Thrust up from the floor of the sea over the past few million years they suggest a land that is still in the process of creation." "It was 1835 when Darwin climbed up here from the shore to get a closer look at this strange landscape." ""Nothing, " he wrote in his journal, "could be less inviting at first appearance. "" "And when you've hiked for an hour over these rivers of frozen lava you do start to wonder how anything could possibly live here." "Then, suddenly, something moves." "With Ecuadorian naturalist Matthias Espinosa Dr. Baldwin charts a course for the expedition." "More than twenty islands make up the Galapagos archipelago." "As part of Ecuador, they are a sanctuary for species whose ancestors arrived here by wind and sea from the distant mainland." "There are lots of underground caves on the islands." "These cavernous tunnels, which solidified around streams of molten lava are good places to look for fossils." "But for someone who's at home in a wetsuit, mask, and fins cave exploration is a real challenge." "Though the inside of the tunnel is as beautiful as a great cathedral it's a scary feeling to be scrambling around in a place where the roof can collapse any minute." "The remains Carole and Matthias find the ancient bones of small birds and rodents offer evidence of ongoing changes in species and may shed light on why some vanish while others continue to thrive." "Found nowhere else on Earth, he giant Galapagos tortoise is one of the islands' survivors." "Built like a half-ton tank, the hefty reptile may not win any races but It can live over a hundred years." "Darwin's discovery that tortoises on different islands have different shells was one of the key observations that led him to propose the theory of evolution by natural selection a concept that would revolutionize biology." "When comparing the shells of tortoises, the differences are really obvious." "This one, with his low, domed shell, feeds near the ground while the ones with high, arched shells can munch the leaves others can't reach." "Darwin realized that both of these tortoises evolved from a single species that washed up on these shores millions of years ago." "In the same way, a single species of finch that arrived here on the wind led, in time to thirteen different species, each with its own distinctive beak." "As with the tortoises, natural selection shaped the beaks for special functions:" "Bigger beaks crack the heavy seeds, and slender bills probe for tiny insects." "In the thousands of years since their ancestors arrived the Galapagos cormorants have lost the ability to fly." "With no natural predators to threaten them the birds can nest in safety on these shores." "Over long generations, strong wings once vital for escape, gave way to short, stubby ones more energy-efficient, and useful for steering when swimming after fish." "The Galapagos land iguana is another odd creature found nowhere else on Earth." "A lizard whose favorite food is the fruit of the giant prickly pear cactus." "The cactus' tree-like form may have evolved as a defense." "Taller-stemmed plants were beyond the reach of hungry reptiles and as a result were more likely to survive and reproduce." "In this way, animals and plants shape one another and the natural environment shapes them both." "For biologists like Dr. Baldwin the isolation of these islands is a powerful lure a place where the processes and results of evolution may be more easily observed." "Where the land meets the sea in the Galapagos, tide pools are plentiful and they make a perfect playground for young sea lions." "In these sheltered nurseries pups can frolic free from the sharks and other predators that wait for them in the deeper waters offshore." "Nearly every creature here depends on the sea for its food." "That's especially true of the marine iguanas the dragon-like lizards that Darwin called "the imps of darkness. "" "As a marine biologist, I'm fascinated by the adaptations of these amazing reptiles." "Unlike other lizards, they've evolved the ability to take advantage of the resources of both the sea and the land." "It's believed that land-dwelling iguanas reached these islands by riding on floating mats of vegetation or by island-hopping across fragments of land that are now submerged." "Almost invisible amid the black lava rocks where they bask the descendants of those first pioneers evolved the sooty-gray hides that help them soak up the sun's heat before they set off into the cold coastal waters to feed." "Each day, when their body temperatures have risen the iguanas turn their attention to the sea." "And, like an alien army, they abandon their posts on the rocks and march into the waves to feast on the seaweed that grows off the shore." "Equally at home in two worlds the amphibious lizards prosper in the wild Galapagos where they've staked their claim to some of the islands' best surfing spots." "The Galapagos islands are merely the tip of the iceberg or, more properly the volcano." "And very little is known of the wonders that lie underwater." "In a world that Darwin saw only through the window of a glass-bottomed bucket the real work of the marine biologist begins." "The first thing you notice down here is the extraordinary abundance of marine life." "The currents bring both cold and warm-water species to the islands." "And they all benefit from the nutrients that well up from the deep." "You also can't help noticing how tame all the creatures seem to be." "Just as on land, the underwater inhabitants like the inquisitive sea lions, have little fear of humans." "They seem to enjoy distracting me from my work." "As comfortable as I am in the water, when I see a big shark my first reaction is fear." "Though shark attacks on humans are rare it pays to be wary." "Sharks aren't known for their keen eyesight, and in this murky water they might just mistake me for something they like to eat." "Hammerhead sharks swarm in huge numbers around these islands." "Although they come close, It's clear they're no threat to me." "And as I watch them I become intrigued wondering how their oddly shaped heads evolved." "We know that the heads contain sensors that pick up electro-magnetic fields." "This sixth sense may help the sharks locate their prey." "But whatever their secret, It's working." "They've been around for millions of years, while other species have gone extinct." "In the sea, as on land, It's eat or be eaten adapt and survive, and pass on your genes to the next generation." "Scientists like Carole Baldwin have only begun probing the marvels and mysteries that lurk in these waters." "The diversity of sea life is dazzling." "But the same forces at work on the land have shaped each creature here to survive in its own unique way." "While some hunt for fish in the open waters, others like the stingray, use camouflage to hide from predators or to surprise their prey." "Observing what's here is just part of Carole's work." "Collecting specimens for study is another." "Each tiny fish that she takes home may add to her understanding of natural selection and the interconnectedness of life in the sea." "The marine ecosystem of the Galapagos is enriched by mineral-laden gases continuously released by active vents in the ocean floor a sign that the islands are still under construction." "The lava rocks that litter the sea floor are the haunt of one of the least alluring of the Galapagos creatures:" "The spotted Moray Eel." "The snake-shaped fish has a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth and powerful jaws that can snap with the force of a bear trap." "I've met morays before, and they're usually shy and secretive." "But there's something very different about these morays...." "Morays, like sharks, have poor eyesight, but an excellent sense of smell." "I wonder, is It the fishes I've collected in my net that interest them?" "Or is It me?" "I'm not about to stick around to find out." "With her shallow-water collecting completed Dr. Baldwin returns to the ship where the most exciting and risky part of her mission gets underway:" "The exploration of the deep waters off the Galapagos islands in the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible." "Capable of descending to a depth of3,000 feet the sub can take scientists into worlds that still today remain veiled in mystery." "This is to be Carole's first sub dive." "A daunting prospect for anyone." "Release." "Okay, Don, your lines are clear." "You have permission to dive." "Roger that." "We're diving." "It's a little unnerving when the last link to the ship is released and you leave the surface behind." "I guess It's the way It must feel to be an astronaut in a space capsule you don't know whether to be excited or terrified." "I can't help thinking:" ""One small crack in the sub's plastic sphere and It's all over! "" "But then I remember how privileged I am to be here." "Every dive on the sub is a voyage into the unknown." "Into a world that a generation ago we could only dream about and could never really hope to see." "To consider that less than 1 percent of the world's ocean floor has been explored you realize we may know more about outer space than we do our own planet." "It's no exaggeration to say that the deep sea is Earth's last great frontier." "At a depth of300 feet the sub descends beyond the range of traditional scuba gear." "The sub's lasers frame its remote-controlled cameras and its robot arm is made ready to collect living specimens to bring back to the ship for study." "The sub has a whole toolbox of devices for pickling up deep-sea dwellers." "But we limit our collecting to the ones that are new and important to our research." "The first catch of the day a peculiar fish with leg-like fins rides in the craft's collection bucket." "Next to be whisked aboard, an unusual eel." "But not all those who are chosen prove to be cooperative." "Don, can you give us a report?" "Okay, we've collected a few samples." "Okay, we're on the bottom." "Our depth is 3,004 feet. 3-0-0-4." "Your first impression on the bottom is of another world." "But when you switch on the lights and reach into the darkness you discover that there's lots of life down here." "The bottom is sand." "The slope is probably about 25 or 30 degrees." "You've just got to know where to look." "This should be an easy one." "It's a pelagic sea cucumber." "Hey, guys, we just got a sea cucumber and some things I'm not familiar with." "We're just going to collect some sand and we'll check in with you soon." "We request permission to leave the bottom." "You have permission to leave the bottom." "I hate to leave the bottom with a world down here waiting to be discovered." "But It's a long, slow ride to the surface, 30 minutes from 3,000 feet and we've got work to do aboard ship." "The dive has been an incredible high and I can't wait to see up close the amazing things we've collected." "Hey, John, come look at this Jell-O nose." "What do you have there?" "Look at that." "Each new species will be carefully studied by scientists at the Smithsonian and other institutions around the world." "And together we'll try to find answers to the questions about how they swim and feed and reproduce and how their adaptations help them survive in the deep waters where they live." "I have a real fascination with everything we found." "And It's an unbelievable experience to hold in my hands a creature that until now, no one has ever seen alive." "All of us on the team share a respect for these sea creatures and for the strategies they've evolved to survive in a cold, dark world, where we wouldn't last a minute." "Carole, come and look at this." "What have you got?" "Look at that sea cucumber there." "We thought they were sponges." "It was many years after Charles Darwin returned from the Galapagos before he arrived at his conclusions about the evolution of life on Earth." "In their own way, the new species collected are as weird and wonderful as any that Darwin encountered." "And, in time, like the finches, tortoises, and iguanas on the land they, too, may yield clues that will help to explain the secrets of their success." "An observation Darwin jotted in his journal in 1835 is as true today as It was then." ""These islands, " he said, "seem to be a little world within themselves..." ""...a perennial source of new things. "" "For my colleagues and me, the work is only beginning." "It may be years before our studies will reveal the role that these deepwater dwellers plays in the world of the sea." "But we know they all have secrets they can teach us." "The unique creatures of the Galapagos islands and their surrounding waters share an important and vulnerable place in the great web of life on our planet." "Scientists now know that evolution is an ongoing process and that living things everywhere are constantly changing adapting, and giving rise to new forms." "I was leaving the Galapagos with far more than I had hoped to find here." "With my co-workers we discovered at least a dozen new species including some that might have gone from Earth without being seen alive." "My imagination had been fired by this magical place." "As Darwin knew long before me, and as new naturalists will discover the quest to unlock life's secrets is an adventure that will never end."