Summary: Until very recently the vast area under the world's ocean surfaces was virtually unknown and unreachable by humans. However, groundbreaking technologies and cutting edge research have opened the doors to the deepest and most well-kept secrets of the sea. In Beneath the Sea, a part of the PBS Scientific American Frontier series, viewers will take stock in the big unknowns of the sea and see how...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2002
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Summary: Called "the rainforests of the sea," the world's coral reefs are home to millions of species. But these underwater ecosystems are in grave danger. This program travels to Chumbe Island Coral Park, Zanzibar; Mafia Island Marine Park, Tanzania; and Ras Mohammed National Park, Egypt, to study the fragile ecology and amazing biodiversity of coral reefs-and the impacts of tourism, pollution,...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: Long ago, the oceans were home to all living things. Then some creatures moved ashore. But how? This program outlines the stages of natural selection that enabled water-dwelling animals and plants to survive, and then thrive, on land. Key evolutionary innovations such as exoskeletons and endoskeletons, legs and feet, cold blood and warm blood, lungs, hard-shelled eggs, fur, and live young are...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This Science Screen Report examines different ways marine species confront their environments using elaborate, specialized survival adaptations. Parallels between hunting techniques and defensive methods are described by contrasting aquatic predators with more vulnerable creatures, which rely on camouflage and sophisticated mobility. The program emphasizes that the oceans are not only the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Plenty of fish in the sea may endure as a platitude, but the expression runs afoul of current marine biology. This program examines the dangerous depletion of Pacific Ocean fish stocks, an echo of the overfishing that has ravaged the Atlantic. Contrasting the tuna industries of wealthy countries with the localized fishing many developing nations engage in, the video features case studies of the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: How long will the biosphere tolerate exploitation of the oceans? Are local fishermen a doomed species? What can be done to reverse the decline of fish stocks around the planet? This program documents the environmental and socioeconomic costs of excessive fishing. The film contrasts ancient maritime practices-like those of Mauritania's Imragen fishermen and Djibouti's pearl divers and lobster...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: Canal systems, ballast water from oceangoing ships, and seemingly little things such as fish stocking, bait bucket emptying, and trailering recreational boats all provide ways for non-native invasive species to infest North America's aquatic environments. Using the Great Lakes-unwilling home to the sea lamprey, zebra mussel, round goby, and Eurasian ruffe-as a case study, this program takes a...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: Once conducted almost entirely on dry land, the hunt for biochemical and pharmaceutical resources is shifting to the world's oceans. This program examines various phases of that research-algae and sponge extraction around the globe, the growing utilization of toxic substances produced by some marine organisms, and the practical application of treatments and cures that are often a dozen years in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: This Science Screen Report explores the challenges that marine plants and animals face in rocky shoreline areas, and vividly illustrates the diversity of those life forms. Examining crustaceans, gastropods, mollusks, and other shoreline creatures, the program shows how tide pools form a marine sub-habitat, and how rocky shore dwellers have evolved specific abilities to survive powerful waves...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: This Science Screen Report shows how human interests and the needs of aquatic life can be balanced. It describes the efforts of scientists, engineers, farmers, and fishermen to address shoreline habitat problems and support endangered species. Citing ways these cooperative efforts have succeeded-for example, by rehabilitating gray seal populations, redesigning dikes to aid migratory birds, and...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Scottish fishermen have trawled for cod in the North Sea for generations. Under new European Union laws, many families are being forced out of the trade. This Wide Angle documentary poignantly depicts a year in the life of Fraserburgh, a hard-hit community caught between E.U. policies designed to preserve fish stocks and the need to earn a living. Showing how commercial overfishing has...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006