South Florida’s subtropical climate makes it a comfortable place to settle down, and not just for us humans.
There’s a reason why a food pyramid is shaped, well, like a pyramid, and a reason why food pyramids and food chains are divided into trophic levels. Watch the video, we’ll clue you in.
In the Everglades, as in all ecosystems, every living thing is linked to gether to form a very complex community. A simple “food chain” is a good illustration to show just a few of these important relationships!
Choices, choices, choices…so much food to choose from!
Believe it or not, this annoying little blood-sucker is way more amazing than we give it credit! Explore the weird, incredible life cycle of the mosquito…..but don’t forget your bug-spray.
Metamorphosis is an incredible, mysterious process, and it happens in nature everyday…even in your own back yard!
Parasites: some suck your blood, others live off your insides. Don’t watch this one before dinner.
Life’s great when two different species partner up!
Commensalism: a symbiotic relationship in which only one of the organisms benefit. Sounds a lot like free-loading to us.
The world’s tropical forests are in trouble. The Maya, however, received everything they needed from the jungle’s bounty and developed a highly sustainable system of agriculture.
Cave diving in the world’s largest underground river system is an adventure we’ll never forget. Welcome to the Maya Underworld!
The cypress dome habitat is one of the most mysterious, fascinating and important habitats in the Everglades. If you’re up for some adventure and don’t mind getting a little muddy, a trip into a cypress dome is an experience you’ll never forget!
If you look at South Florida from above, the coast is fringed with…houses and hotels. But go back in time and you would have seen dense forests of mangroves. The coastal Everglades is still loaded with mangroves, which is a really good thing.
Ever wonder how the Everglades came to be known as the “river of grass?” Explore the amazing world of the sawgrass prairie with us and you’ll get it.
Seagrasses don’t get enough love, but they’re really, really, super important. Follow us on a 360 tour of a typical seagrass meadow to find out why.
By Richard Kern Lesson7-filming-course
Edited by Guy Gugliotta, John Yeoman, and Neva Sullaway Swift Boats at War in Vietnam
Ditch the machete and grab a mask and snorkel. We’re gonna explore the “tropical rainforests” of the sea!
Bonefish, AKA the “Grey Ghost,” are powerful, fast and highly prized by flats-fishermen in South Florida’s coastal waters. But they are disappearing. Fortunately, scientists and fishing guides are banding together to save these amazing predatory fish.
If you live in South Florida, lucky you! Because this chunk of subtropical paradise is home to 4, you heard it….4 incredible National Parks. Get out and explore!
Ocean currents connect the world. For the most part, that’s a very good thing. However they also transport millions of tons of man made debris around the planet. That’s a very bad thing.
Take a journey into the depths of Cuba’s Zapata Swamp, or as some call it, Cuba’s Everglades. The largest wetland in the Caribbean, this place explodes with unique plants and animals!
Cuba, like many islands, is rich with endemic life. Twenty seven species of birds can be found nowhere else in the world!
You might say the Everglades are a vast, stagnant swamp, full of slithering reptiles and stinging insects. But did you know they are considered to be an incredibly wide, slow moving river? Crazy huh!
Cuba’s Jardines de la Reina might just be the most pristine and wild places left in the Caribbean!
Who knew the largest cat in Florida would be so vulnerable?
Welcome to the swamp, folks!
Who knew the dragonfly was such a mysterious shape-shifter?!
Exciting things can happen when dedicated people work together…like bringing a rare orchid back from the brink of extinction!
In South Florida there are crocodiles living in a nuclear power plant…but it’s not exactly what you’re thinking right now!
Chomp chomp.
Hungry, anyone?!
Ever wonder how spiders make babies?
It’s mangrove baby-making time!!
Take a peek inside the amazing and amazingly important world of the seagrass habitat!
Find out how biologists and sport-fishermen are joining forces to understand fish populations in the coastal Everglades!
They might seem cute and fluffy, but lets just say they’re the silent but deadly type.
With a name like “snakehead,” what’s there to like?!
What the heck is that?! About the weirdest-looking turtle you’ve ever seen!
It’s like a submarine salad…a squishy, slimy slithering salad.
A wild cat named Bob. Now that’s funny.
The yellow-head jawfish is a terrifying monster of the sea. I’m totally kidding.
On just a few beaches in the world, thousands of ridley sea turtles come ashore to nest at the same time. Check out one of nature’s great spectacles!
What makes rainforests so unique? Well, lots of rain to start with.
D. Paul Reillo and the Rare Species Conservatory Foundation are trying to save the planet, with the help of a few rock-star animals!
Science is for everybody. I mean everybody.
Ancient. Powerful. Toothy. Threatened. Sharks have been the inspiration for books, movies and nightmares since humans took to the seas…but they’re way more important than we ever gave them credit. Now that we know, can we save them before it’s too late?!
This is a video all about hammocks. No, not the kind you string between two palm trees and take a nap in…. the hardwood variety.
Shoots ink. Has eight arms. Highly intelligent. Can you think of another animal as bizzare and fascinating as the common octopus?!
What do you call an unusual jellyfish that spends much of it’s time upside-down, soaking up the sun’s rays on the ocean floor? Well, the “upside-down jellyfish,” of course.
Meet the world’s only semi-aquatic viper. He swims, he’s got venomous fangs, and he can even squirt a stinky, repelling musk. No wonder he survives so well in a harsh environment like the Everglades.
How many times have you popped open a plastic bottle of spring water and wondered where it came from? Probably not that often. But chances are that crystal clear water came gurgling out of Florida’s incredible, massive spring system. If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourself!
CHEW ON THIS: The nine-banded armadillo is a land mammal. Once in a while, however, he has to cross a small body of water. He has two very unique methods of doing this. Method one is floating on the surface. The armadillo can literally inflate his intestines with air, creating the buoyancy he needs to […]
Mastadons. Giant ground sloths. Saber toothed cats. If you were a prehistoric human living in Florida around 10,000 B.C., you had bigger things to worry about than like…..what video game am I going to play next…..
Home. It’s an important concept for us….as well as countless marine organisms that live in our oceans. We’re also finding out that artificially constructed habitats might be a great thing for everyone!
3/4/12 At 6:30 on a Saturday morning most people are enjoying their weekend slumber. I’m chugging coffee, blasting NPR, and clicking my way down US1 towards Islamorada. This time, skimping on sleep is an enthusiastic compromise. Today I’m embarking on a real adventure. 7:45 am. Mile marker 85 appears. I turn towards the bay side […]
As a wildlife filmmaker, two of my great passions are constantly colliding. Nature and art are, respectively, my subject matter and my craft. As far as I know the following statement hasn’t been scientifically proven, but my gut tells me this is true: a deep appreciation for nature requires a deep appreciation for art. I […]
Water, or H2O, is an unusual compound with amazing properties. Find out why water is essential to the existence of every living thing on Earth!
This video explores the amorous habits and life-cycle of the American Alligator. Who knew this cold blooded beast had such a soft side!
A tangled mangrove forest might not be that attractive to your typical beach goer, but they’re pretty darn important. These highly specialized trees perform many functions that we take for granted….or probably don’t even realize!
When we think of South Florida, even those of us who grew up here, I bet this is what we usually picture: the postcard snap-shot of an arching coconut palm framed by a rosy sunset on a wide, sandy beach. Sorry dude, you got the wrong picture. First of all, that arching coconut palm that […]
Being a small fish in a freshwater pond is no fun. You’re pretty low on the food chain, and you have to constantly watch your back. Alligators, turtles, birds….. even insects might find you to be a tasty treat!
Meet the gibbons, orangutans, chimpanzees and gorillas. These are the apes: The largest and smartest of the primates. Oh, did I mention humans are included in that crazy ape bunch?
A brief look into the fantastic and diverse world of some of our smaller primate species. They might not be as large or intelligent as the apes….but you can’t deny, monkeys are pretty great!
Monkeys, apes, humans…..we’re all part of the same order of mammals called the Primates. This video explains what makes a primate, well….a primate!
Filmmakers Richard C. and Richard S. Kern explore the history, habitat and behavior of the lovable West Indian manatee
Shakespeare famously said (in my own words…. I hope I’m not butchering it), life’s a stage, and we’re just playing out our role.” He was a smart guy. I like that analogy. Life’s like one big drama…one big movie. And if you think about it, it’s almost like we go through life accompanied by […]
Filmmakers Richard C. and Richard S. Kern explore the predatory habits of the American Alligator. Impressive footage featured includes up close and personal shots of a 10′ alligator underwater, as well as a night-feeding scene.
The Anhinga is an Everglades resident uniquely suited to its wet habitat. With interesting adaptations that make the bird equally at home in the water as well as it is in the air, it truly is designed for survival.
Filmmaker Rich Kern swims with whale sharks off the coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
I used to complain a lot, when I was a kid, about not having or doing what all the other kids could. Boo-hoo. The main thing was the T.V. We had a little black-and-white set that my folks actually kept stashed in the attic space of our house. This is a true story. […]
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