The Intertidal Zone

La zone intertidale est cette partie de terrain que viennent couvrir et découvrir les plus hautes et les plus basses marées. C'est un lieu d'abondance riche en nourriture et où croissent entre autres les oursins, les moules, les algues, le concombre de mer, le plancton et des millions de micro-organismes qui se sont adaptés au rude battage des flots. Filmé le long du littoral de la Colombie-Britannique, ce film regorge d'images extraordinaires de cet endroit où se marient la terre et la mer.

Perhaps because estuaries seem so ordinary, many on the west coast of Canada are being drained to accommodate new housing and industry. This film demonstrates the importance of the estuary; its environmental function, the natural forces that control it, and its particular ecology. Superb microphotography affords unusual shots of tiny creatures hunting and eating their prey.

The richness, complexity and fragility of marine life unfold like a Persian carpet in this beautiful film. The bay of the title is the Bay of Fundy, and where it meets the sea a unique ecosystem has developed. The film traces the intricate interrelationships within the food chain, from tiny plankton, through birds and seals, and finally to whales and humans. More than just a visual feast, the film is a plea for careful management of our ocean resources. First telecast as part of the Nature of Things series.