------Program code: NS-080815-04464 (what's this?)
Source: CCTV.com
08-15-2008 10:50
The mangroves’ viviparous seedlings have grown sufficiently to leave their mothers. The typhoon season hasn’t arrived yet, so they still have time to choose their new residence.
 |
Double Fifth Day is the traditional Chinese festival marking the fifth day of the fifth lunar month. The people living by the sea have organized a dragon boat race. It’s also a time to say farewell to the young men who will soon be putting to sea at the start of the fishing season.
If they are to grow properly, the viviparous seedlings must leave their mothers now.
 |
Because its root section is heavier, the viviparous seedling can penetrate the silt when it falls.
The surface of the viviparous seedling contains bitter tannin. This puts the grapsidae off eating it.
The heavy rainfall is precious for the viviparous seedlings that have already entered the soil. The rain reduces the salinity of the soil, so a seedling is able to absorb water quickly and expand its root system so that it grows into a small tree.
The aigrets’ nest is again caught in a downpour. But the young aigrets have developed waterproof plumage by now, so they are not afraid of the rain.
With the arrival of evening, people hang Kongming lamps in the mangrove gulf. It’s a way of praying for a good catch as the start of the fishing season approaches.
The boats that have been harboured in the gulf are putting to sea. The offshore sea areas have rich fish stocks. Many of the smaller fishes grow in the mangrove forest, which offers a plentiful food supply.
The viviparous seedlings are still growing. But they can’t penetrate the soil any further because the mudflat has been flooded by seawater.
The viviparous seedlings prepared themselves for the high tide before they fell from the trees. The tannin on their surface is an antiseptic, the effects of which can last for one or even two months. The floating seedlings quickly enter a dormant state. This stops all photosynthesis until they have been carried back to the mudflat.
The tide carries the mangrove seeds to faraway places. Biologists have discovered that all the mangroves in the world share remarkably similar genes.
The viviparous seedlings pass a coral reef during their journey out to sea. The mangrove forest and the coral reef are engaged in constant exchanges: the forest provides the coral and other living organisms with organic food, while some of the fish on the coral reef spawn in the forest. The mangrove forest, the coral reef and the islands are considered three distinct ecological systems in this offshore area.
Guided by their parents, the baby aigrets learn to fly around their nest.
In the evening, the aigrets take their young to seek food on the mudflat. But the baby aigrets are more interested in playing.
The viviparous seedlings are floating on the vast sea. There’s a small island ahead.
The waves push the viviparous seedlings onto shore, where the bare stones make it impossible for them to grow.
Under the extreme heat of the tropical sun, the viviparous seedlings that have found their way onto shore will become pieces of dry wood within a day.
The waves beat against the shore ceaselessly. A viviparous seedling finally sprouts. However, with no other mangroves around, it faces an unpredictable future.
The fiddler crab family has many members now. The male crab that had the most beautiful bridal chamber is now leaving home with his bride. The living conditions may be tough, but life carries on.
Editor:Yang
