"Hi, I'm Steve Leonard and I'm going to show you how surveillance technology is infiltrating the natural world." "It's giving us new insights into creatures once way beyond reach and more familiar animals." "ln the open ocean and right under our noses animals are inspiring technology and shaping our future." "Join me to find out how innovations in surveillance technology mean we can go deeper, see in more detail" "and reach further than we've ever been before." "Ha ha ha." "The oceans are vast" " they cover three quarters of the planet and plunge to 10 kilometres deep." "How can we even begin to understand them?" "Join me, Steve Leonard, to give it a try, beginning with the nice part... the warm, shallow waters of the coral reef." "They are the rainforests of the sea." "They cover less than one per cent of all the ocean floor, yet provide food and shelter for a quarter of all marine life" " 4000 types of fish and many other plants and animals." "But coral is fragile, and as humans have more impact and sea temperatures rise, they're declining all over the world." "To try and stop this, scientists are racing against time to learn how coral works." "But how do you study an organism that grows just quarter of an inch a year?" "Here, off America's Florida Keys, more than 20 metres deep, lies an incredible creation..." "No, it's not the city of Atlantis, but it is an amazing technological breakthrough, allowing researchers to live under the sea... lt's always been the dream of science fiction writers... now it's happening for real." "This is a unique undersea laboratory called Aquarius... the latest word in long-term coral reef surveillance." "Marine scientists, or aquanauts, can stay down here for nearly 2 weeks at a time, so they can dive as often as they like without having to decompress They're literally immersed in their work." "And this is the only way in." "Everything's got to come through this porthole and that includes computers and your toothbrush." "Unbelievable!" "Hi Steve, welcome to Aquarius." "Would you believe they're gonna make me take a shower so I don't contaminate the capsule." "Supplies are brought down in a sealed container every day, but my clothes got left behind..." "thanks guys!" "What an amazing view from your shower window - this is great." "There've been more than 70 research missions on Aquarius so far... lmagine six of you squeezed into an underwater caravan for a couple of weeks and you'll get the picture." "ln true Animal Camera style, our hi-tech aquanauts are also being watched." "Aquarius is constantly monitored via cameras, internet, telephone and radio." "The facility is awesome because, unlike diving from the surface, the scientists can spend huge amounts of time on the bottom." "Diving from the surface you'll spend a couple of hours, maybe 5 dives, just getting glimpses, but down here they can spend 9 hours in the water just doing their research." "I prefer playing with the cameras." "Thanks to this long-term surveillance operation," "Aquanauts from Aquarius are rewriting the book on how coral reefs function..." "Now they know that cold deep-sea currents are vital to the reef;" "that heat-bleached coral, thought to be dead, may yet recover they can even tell how old the reef is." "Hi-tech research stations like this may well help coral reefs survive..." "And after just 2 years, Aquarius itself looks like part of the scenery..." "The things you see out your bedroom window." "This place is really crowded, I don't know if I could spend a few days in here, but it is a fantastic view." "It's ok spending hours in warm tropical water, but the Antarctic ocean can plunge to a bone-numbing minus 1 and a half degrees." "Without the best diving kit, I'd freeze to death in less than 5 minutes." "So how can researchers study inaccessible marine animals which can cope with this extreme cold?" "Weddell seals spend only about 5 per cent of their time on the surface where researchers can observe them." "So how can they find out about the rest of their lives underwater?" "Wouldn't it be great if we could follow them beneath the ice and peek over their shoulder?" "Well, Randall Davies and his team have done just that with an infrared head cam." "These Weddell seals aren't bothered by the camera and they're giving us remarkable insights into their lives, like how to use bubbles to flush out fish." "...but the really special thing is that we can dive with them down to 500 metres." "These infrared lights are invisible to the seals... but for the first time we can see what they're doing on the ocean floor... they're actually hunting!" "Ooh, what's on the menu?" "Octopus, that's not bad." "Wow, that's a bit more like it, that's a whopper!" "That's an Antarctic Toothfish and a fair catch by the looks of things." "It's incredible that this is all happening about 500 metres deep and it's pitch black down here." "...gotcha." "Amazing footage, and the seals make it look so easy." "The big question that hit the researchers when they saw these images is how are the seals hunting in the dark?" "Could it be that their eyes are ultra-sensitive?" "Or was it something else?" "Luckily, in Germany, some other seal researchers were asking the same question and they have some very willing volunteers... ahh, they're just streamlined dogs really, aren't they?" "Anyway, to find out how seals hunt fish in the dark, you need:" "One friendly harbour seal..." "Henry!" "One happy scientist" " Guido Denhardt And one remote control submarine..." "Guido's devised a special game for Henry to try and find out exactly how the seals detect their prey." "First he asks Henry to track down the sub after it's been deployed and hidden behind the gate..." "Easy" " Henry's so sure of himself he even takes a short cut." "But after all it's daylight and the water's crystal clear..." "To simulate conditions in the deep sea," "Guido has to make the game a bit more challenging..." "First he gets Henry used to swimming with his eyes and ears blocked... then he runs the test again..." "There's the sub's track, let's see if Henry can follow it." "Henry can't wait..." "and he rises to the challenge... incredibly, unable to see or hear, he follows the sub's exact path." "It's likely seals would trail a fish the same way..." "But how?" "What senses do they use?" "What sort of signal could a submarine or a fish give out, that could guide a seal in the dark?" "It isn't sight or sound, and can't be scent; the sub has no smell..." "So for more clues let's turn to another team-member..." "Wolfe Hanke, who's studying fish swimming patterns." "To show up currents and disturbance in the water, Wolfe uses sparkly particles... and a laser to light up the whole thing like a glitter storm." "Still water looks like this... but when something moves through it..." "this happens." "Very pretty!" "'Laser particle image velocimetry', as it's known in the trade, reveals that though they're streamlined, fish still churn up the water as they swim." "Small fish leave a telltale wake that lasts at least 3 minutes... larger fish, like the Antarctic tooth fish, leave wakes for more than 5 minutes... ample time for a seal to home in and make pursuit... lt's the same with the sub... but still, how does Henry pick up the trail?" "With no sight, sound or smell, there's just one option left - to feel his way..." "Seals' whiskers have 10 times more nerve cells than a cat's." "They can sense even the slightest turbulence." "A thermal camera shows how hot the whisker area is" "pumped up with blood to feed thousands of nerve cells." "Meanwhile, Henry's still enjoying the game" " but in the wild it's the difference between eating and going hungry." "Thanks to helpful Henry and a hi-tech mix of onboard cameras and surveillance work... another ocean puzzle solved..." "Like seals, Gannets spend only a short amount of time on land." "Here in South Africa, more than 30,000 of them converge onto this tiny island in Spring, with one thing on their minds to find a partner, mate and raise a chick." "It's the only time of year they touch ground for a while." "For the next 3 and a half months they concentrate on bringing up the baby..." "What's intriguing is that by 8 weeks old it will be so fat it will weigh more than its parents and that involves them heading out to sea every day to find enough fish to support themselves and their enormous chick." "Marine biologists David Gremillet and Giacomo Dell'Omo wanted to find out where they were going and how they managed this phenomenal feat." "They've turned to the latest in microchip technology... and came up with the perfect gannet gadget." "They fix a mini datalogger to the gannet's tail feathers... lt's so small the birds hardly even know it's there, and special tape means it can be easily removed later." "But the interesting part is what's inside..." "A global positioning Satellite receiver records speed and position every 10 seconds..." "Accelerometer: measures every wing beat above and below the water." "Once the tag's in place the gannets take off on their morning flight as usual." "Beyond this point, they used to be completely off the radar... no one knew where they went or what they did." "But with the help of the gannet gadget, David and Giacomo hope to spill the beans..." "All they have to do is wait until their tagged birds come back to the colony in the evening." "Then they remove the dataloggers, which like tiny black boxes, now hold all the secrets of the gannet's oceanic flight." "Broadly what the loggers showed was that the birds flew south in the morning, then they plunge dived, feeding themselves silly on anchovies and sardines." "And the accelerometer revealed some eye-popping statistics!" "The gannets fold their wings just over one tenth of a second before they hit the water and though they dive from maybe 30 metres up, the water surface hardly slows them down at all... they're so streamlined they slice through it like an arrow... at up to 86 kilometres per hour..." "The depth gauge registered dives of 10 metres and the accelerometer showed that they can swim at up to 50 kilometres per hour before gliding up to the surface." "But most surprising is that they fed also on the way back home, and this meal they brought back to the chicks." "So in the morning it was breakfast for them and in the evening it was take-out for the kids." "Sometimes the gannets make a round trip of 600 kilometres with over 132 dives." "But by sunset they're back home with a delicious throatful of warmed sushi for supper..." "No wonder they grow up so fast." "The gannet gadgets have revealed a real fishing marathon... in just one breeding season, each pair clocks up around 25,000 kilometres and nearly 10,000 plunge dives..." "With this up to the minute microchip technology, we have discovered incredible details of a gannet's life at sea." "But how can we find out about animals that live entirely below the surface?" "This is Mossel Bay - a top surf spot in South Africa." "It's also the best place for spotting one fish everyone has heard of, but which scientists know very little about..." "To discover more..." "we're teaming up with them to test one of the latest underwater monitoring techniques" " 'acoustic surveillance technology'." "Some big words - and we're dealing with a very big fish..." "Would you believe I'm talking about the Great White Shark?" "Are these guys crazy?" "Was I crazy?" "Well I didn't see anything, but if the latest research is to believed, there are loads of great whites cruising along just beyond those breaking waves... and to get a glimpse of them I'm gonna need one of these..." "lncredibly, it doesn't take long to find one." "And another." "There are loads of them round here." "I'm really glad I'm not surfing at the moment." "But the chances are there were plenty of sharks around when I was in the water, almost in touching distance of surfers and swimmers." "Look at that shark there..." "it's only about 30 to 40 metres offshore." "But why are they here?" "I hardly dare ask..." "The trouble with spotting sharks from the air or in a boat is that you only get a snapshot of them." "We have no idea what they're doing so close to the shore... why they're here or where they go after they've gone..." "But that's all about to change..." "Ryan Johnson and his team are using hi-tech surveillance to tune into the sharks' long-term movements." "The plan is to attach this acoustic tag to the back of a great white shark." "The tag transmits an ultrasonic signal that can be picked up by a special receiver... at the bottom of the ocean." "Each shark's acoustic pinger sends out a unique bleep." "Every time it swims within range of the receivers, they identify the shark;" "clock its position and record the date and time." "The snag of course is how do you attach the pinger to the great white shark?" "...The answer ...very carefully." "So far 58 sharks have been given pinger tags." "Every few months, the researchers retrieve the hydrophone receivers from the ocean floor and analyse the shark location data." "It's starting to create a very intriguing picture of the Great White's habits." "So far it shows it's mostly the large female sharks that regularly hang out near the beach - especially around mid-day." "But what's attracting them?" "ls it the surfer-snacks?" "Unlikely... there have only been three shark attacks in this area over the last 25 years, and none at all off this beach..." "which is reassuring." "So, what else could it be?" "One theory is that like us, they might come to the beach just to relax." "Aerial surveys back that up." "Sharks in the surf zone hang there almost motionless." "Normally sharks need to keep moving to get fresh oxygen across their gills." "But the massive waves on this beach churn the water, super-charging it with oxygen." "The waves may well be bringing oxygen to the sharks for a change... which means they can afford to take a breather." "So it looks like those great white sharks aren't loitering in the surf to pick up a tasty surfer." "They're just pussycats really..." "That Jaws reputation is looking a bit dodgy." "Time for some more adrenaline-packed fun..." "Actually, I think I'll get a coffee first!" "Off the coast of Britain swims a giant shark I'd happily swim with... even though it's twice the size of a great white." "But don't worry, this big mouth is a basking shark and it eats nothing larger than plankton." "British shark investigators are trying to solve a riddle that's been baffling them for half a century... by using space technology." "Until very recently, basking sharks' winter habits were a total mystery." "They simply disappeared in autumn and returned in summer to feast on the plankton rich waters off Devon and Cornwall." "So, where do they actually go?" "For the last 50 years researchers believed that they hibernated in winter but no-one really knew for sure." "To tackle this brainteaser, scientist David Sims wants to track basking sharks during the winter months." "He's sending them off wearing pop-up satellite transmitters, which tell you much more than just where the sharks are." "The tag senses water depth, temperature and light levels." "As the shark swims along, all this data is stored in a miniature computer inside the tag." "When it detaches from the shark and pops to the surface is sends a stream of information to a satellite in space." "Then, as David logs on, he's e-mailed a stream of numbers... the code encrypting those basking sharks' movements during those mysterious winter months." "Analysing the satellite information from large numbers of basking sharks revealed that they definitely don't hibernate." "ln summer, they stay near the surface inshore, where the plankton is most plentiful." "ln winter, however, the plankton moves to much deeper water off the continental shelf..." "and guess who follows?" "The satellite tags revealed that in winter basking sharks dive up to a 1000 metres... deeper than even blue or humpback whales." "They spend most of the winter down there sieving the rich plankton soup." "And it's not only basking sharks that are being tracked." "A major project in the Pacific is satellite tracking the rare blue whale." "And a further twenty species of marine animals." "They include blue shark ..." "Sunfish ..." "And tuna." "And even some l've had personal encounters with, like the great white shark and elephant seals." "Then there are turtles, sea lions and lemon sharks." "And I couldn't forget the mysterious Humboldt squid." "This collaboration allows scientists to track all these animals simultaneously, to see how they interact with each other and their environment." "This knowledge will help us to conserve the earth's oceans." "They might even solve the mystery of where blue whales go to give birth." "lsn't it ironic that we can put people into space, but we only know a fragment about our natural world?" "With the help of technological innovations all that's changing fast." "ln cities and towns across the world, we're being watched by satellites, radar, CCTV and miniature cameras." "New innovations in camera technology are transforming the way we look at nature." "Even the tiniest cameras are giving us a new view of the animals that share our lives, including one of our most familiar city neighbours." "You may not think that pigeons are the brightest birds." "But that's where you'd be wrong." "Could you find your way home in unfamiliar territory without a map?" "Probably not - so how do pigeons do it?" "Well, using some very special pigeons like Whitey here, and an onboard camera with a microwave transmitter, we're going to find out..." "But before we can do that, I've got to get these guys lost..." "No peeping now." "Scientists already know that pigeons have an inbuilt compass, but is there more to their navigation skills than that?" "To find out, I'm first going to disorientate them." "We also know that pigeons use the sun to judge direction, so the fact that it's a dull day may help to make their life harder too." "While Whitey acts as a cameraman, another pigeon carries a GPS - allowing us to track the birds' flight path from space." "Global Positioning System - receives signals transmitted from satellites and uses them to pinpoint its exact location." "Amazingly it can pick up signals from satellites 20,000 kilometres above the earth's surface." "Using four of those satellites, it can then calculate its position to the nearest metre..." "Oh yeah and in case you're worried, this thing is completely harmless." "It's attached to a very snug harness on the pigeon's back and it weighs less than one of his average meals." "So, with all the pre-flight checks completed time to fly away home..." "As Whitey flies with the flock, the little onboard camera is beaming a microwave transmission back to this satellite dish here, which I can review on this monitor." "We've released them 8 kilometres from their loft and remember we disorientated them in the car earlier so they shouldn't have a clue where they are." "Let's see if they can find their way home." "Here we are, a real pigeon's eye view." "Whoa!" "..." "I hope they don't get airsick..." "As I said, they have a built in compass, and they're also guided by the sun." "But will the GPS uncover other navigation aids as well?" "Before we find out let's see how advances in camera technology are allowing us to see beyond our senses." "The latest innovations in camera technology aren't only being used to give us bird's eye views;" "they're also being used to spy on us." "Most cameras, like this one we're using now, see objects in colour very much like our eyes." "But as scientists build better and more sensitive cameras, they're finding out there's more to life than meets the eye." "Some cameras view the world in weird and wonderful ways." "This ultra violet camera can see patterns that are invisible to our eyes and others can even see heat." "This thermal camera is so sensitive, it can detect differences in temperature of less than a twentieth of a degree." "There are even X ray cameras that can see inside chameleons and egg-eating snakes." "But this one is really amazing!" "This camera - coming to an airport near you - actually sees through clothes!" "This special camera takes pictures using millimetre waves, which pass straight through clothing - so it can spot a concealed weapon or explosives." "ln the future biologists might be able to spy on animals hidden underground." "Animal technology has been the inspiration for some of our most cutting edge ideas." "Dolphins use sonar to find fish buried beneath the sand." "'Seeing with sound' like this is also useful when the water's murky, and you can't see your flipper in front of your face." "Now human engineers have developed an acoustic camera that works in the same way as the dolphins' sonar." "The acoustic camera bounces 96 sonar beams off an underwater object to form a picture out of sound." "This camera has been used by the US navy to detect enemy mines or divers in dark or cloudy water..." "Here it is, focused on divers 5 metres away..." "And when these fish disappear into muddy water this camera cuts through the murk, giving scientists unique insights into a world that was once invisible." "And it's all thanks to what dolphins have been doing naturally." "And it's not just our new-fangled cameras that are helping us to spy on animals." "We're now using technology that is quite literally out of this world ... satellites." "Now you wouldn't expect this BMW to have anything to do with elephants, but that's where you'd be wrong - and we've got to steal it to show you how." "Ok, so I'm not really stealing the car - but I am on an exercise with the South African police - so fasten your seatbelts!" "Satellite trackers for expensive cars have been around for some time - but now they're even more foolproof." "Now police can control the vehicle remotely from space - cutting the engine and locking the doors." "Ha ha ..." "It's a fair cop!" "But what's this got to do with elephants?" "Well the same technology is also making it easier to keep up with the herd." "An elephant weighs up to 7 tonnes and stands up to 5 metres tall ... not an easy animal to lose, you might think..." "Well, elephants can travel hundreds of kilometres in a day and in forest or thick bushland an individual is very difficult to spot." "So scientists had the excellent idea of giving them the same tracking box as on cars." "The box beams information to satellites, then it's downloaded showing the box's location and speed." "Fixing the box to a jumbo-sized collar means scientists can follow the elephants anywhere." ""Hey, how're we doing?"" "And that's a blessing for people like lan Douglas-Hamilton who's an elephant expert." "Hi, Diets ..." "Today we're in South Africa looking for a big male called MAC who's wearing a GPS collar." "Using the GPS data it doesn't take us long to find MAC's herd - but tracking him down in this bushy landscape is a different story." "The GPS is telling us he's here somewhere, but it's almost impossible to see him." "At last, it's him!" "But just a moment's clear view ..." "then he melts into the bush again." "Imagine trying to track this elephant 24 hours a day, seven days a week in this!" "You just can't do it " "But now the scientists can follow MAC's every move, remotely." "And it's not only Mac." "Satellite technology has revolutionised the study of elephant behaviour." "Scientists have collared elephants all over Africa and they can now monitor them from anywhere in the world." "I'm off back to England to see how it works." "All I need is an internet cafe, a cup of coffee and the elephants should be just a click away." "Because the information from the satellite is beamed directly to the internet, if you know the address and the secret password, you can just log on." "The password has to be kept secret, to stop poachers from logging on." "There we go..." "Mac is residing somewhere in South Africa, and if we zoom in, we'll be able to take a look at exactly where..." "As you can see, he's been tearing around the countryside and just dipped inside Kruger National Park where there happens to be a female in season." "For the first time scientists can now see exactly where an individual elephant is going." "This map shows another male doing his own surveillance - pursuing two females around a game park in Kenya." "It's breeding season and the bulls are trying to track down a mate... the same reason why Mac's been putting in so much legwork!" "Like the police controlling the stolen car, scientists can re-program the collar via satellites to transmit every minute, hour or day, to really follow in elephant's footsteps." "Remember Whitey and his mates?" "Let's find out how they're getting on and I'm gonna need another bit of technology to keep up..." "We're getting a fantastic view on our onboard camera here... he's circling over the golf course, he actually seems a little bit disorientated... he's going to have a look at the 13th tee..." "The first thing the birds do is circle, using their inbuilt compass and the sun to get their bearings..." "Then they head off in the general direction of the loft." "But our camera pigeon is taking a rather unexpected detour... is he trying to shake us off?" "No, he's turned away, but where's he going?" "He's flying straight to the road, which is not the direction he wants to go." "But look at that." "That's amazing, he's gone straight up to the road and now he's just following it ... he's decided to peel off and go back to the junction." "At the junction, he seems to get confused and goes round twice before he chooses the right exit..." "on down the A40 highway." "Seems to be happier now, a bit more purpose... you can see the road in this camera really clearly... that's amazing, it appears to be following the road." "Whitey seems to be using human landmarks as a guide, although it's not the quickest way." "He's still following the road - at some point he's going to have to go right... there at this junction ... he's just turned right and headed towards the other road." "But finally, he takes a left and shoots straight across the fields." "And now, he's following another lane." "This lane takes him to a farm not far from the loft." "Oh now he's making a beeline, he knows where he is..." "and he's going straight across this field." "His trip has by no means been a straight line at all, he really has just taken the same route as you'd near enough drive... how very odd!" "So bang goes the phrase 'as the crow flies'..." "He's very close now, skimming over the buildings, yep, he's nearly there." "He's landed, he's back home." "So, a pigeon's compass isn't pinpoint accurate and the sun can't be totally relied on, so landmarks are perfect to tell you exactly where you need to go - we do it, and pigeons seem to do it too." "Who's a clever bird then?" "Well, our technology lets us spy on animals, but it's often the animals who give us our inspiration in the first place." "I'm here in an English suburban garden, waiting for some animals that could drastically change our lives... slugs." "Now slugs aren't many people's favourite animals - they invade your garden, devastate your vegetables and all they leave is that slimy trail." "But believe it or not, scientists are now trying to decipher this sticky mess." "It may be goo to us, but scientists now realise that slug slime holds important messages." "It tells other slugs details about the owner's sexual state, where it's been and where it's going... vital information in the world of garden politics." "lncredibly, working out how slime molecules store and pass on data may one day lead to a brand new generation of super computers." "Computers with memories carrying the data of a million CD ROMs, all in the space of a coin." "Dwell on that the next time you reach for the slug pellets!" "From your back garden to the back of beyond, the least explored realm on earth ..." "the deep ocean." "But how do we get there?" "Well, we need cutting edge transport for a start ... the latest Remotely Operated Vehicles or ROVs ..." "Ventana may only be the size of a VW Beetle but it's jam-packed with cameras, lights, sensors, mechanical arms, sampling devices and the latest high definition video." "It's designed to bring scientists a unique view of the very bottom of the sea." "All the components are operated by fine remote control from a special bridge on shore." "It's like being on the Starship Enterprise in an alien galaxy." "As these deep-sea vehicles take us down into the dark zone below 1000 metres the world as we know it fades away... lt's incredible down here..." "like being teleported to another planet." ""Giant amphipod"." "Home to weird extra-terrestrials every bit as alien as anything in science fiction films..." ""Barrel amphipod"." "... Extraordinary creatures that move in ways that we've never seen before." ""Comb Jellies"" "... devoid of light they have to generate their own." ""Sea gooseberries"" "ln a submersible like this you can go down for over a mile and cruise the abyssal plain ..." ""Sponge"" "... it covers more than half the planet." ""Deep sea red jellyfish"" "ln some parts a new life form is being discovered every ten days." ""Larvacean"" "But as yet we know almost nothing about them." ""Salp"" "All we do know is that they live under enormous water pressure - 3000lbs per square inch." ""Six-gilled shark"" "Apart from the pressure ..." ""Squid"   animals that live down here cope with total darkness ..." ""Dumbo octopus"" "... a temperature of only one or two degrees and a severe shortage of food and oxygen." ""Tomopteris worm"" "With more than 99 percent of our deep oceans still unexplored, there's still so much yet to fathom of the world beneath the sea, not to mention the rest of the planet." "Through scientific innovation under water and on land we're discovering amazing things about animals." "Animals which now inspire technology." "They're all giving us a new view of life on our planet." "So, that's what the future holds ..." "technology and nature working together."