[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Can you guess what you’re looking at?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Is it a fuzzy sock? An overripe banana? \NA moldy tube of toothpaste?
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In fact, this is the humble sea cucumber, \Nand while it might look odd,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,its daily toil paves the way for entire \Necosystems to thrive.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sea cucumbers are members of the phylum\NEchinodermata,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,along with sea urchins, starfish and \Nother radially symmetrical,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,“spiny-skinned” marine invertebrates.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some sea cucumbers have feathery tentacles\Nflowing from their mouths,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some are puffed like bloated balloons, \Nand others simply look like Headless Chicken Monsters –
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the actual name given to a rare \Ndeep-sea species.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But they are generally characterized \Nby their long, cylindrical shape.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A sea cucumber is essentially a brainless,\Nfleshy form surrounding a digestive tract,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,bookended by a mouth and an anus.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Adhesive tube feet run the \Nlength of their bodies
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and allow them to scoot along \Nthe seafloor.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Specialized tube feet can be used \Nfor feeding and respiration,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,though many sea cucumbers actually \Nbreathe through their anuses.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Rhythmically contracting and relaxing \Ntheir muscles,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they draw water in and out over an \Ninternal lung-like structure
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,called a respiratory tree\Nthat extracts oxygen from seawater.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Certain species of crabs and pearlfish
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,take advantage of this \Nrhythmic action and,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,once the sea cucumber’s anus is dilated,\Nthey shimmy in and take shelter.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The rear end of a single sea cucumber can \Nharbor up to fifteen pearlfish at a time.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,However, it seems that not all sea \Ncucumbers
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,put up with this intrusive behavior.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Some species are equipped with five teeth\Naround their anus,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,suggesting that they may have taken
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an evolutionary stand against \Nunwanted guests.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But even sea cucumbers that lack anal \Nteeth
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,are outfitted with tools to \Ndefend themselves.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,They evade threats and launch \Ncounter-attacks
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,using their mutable collagenous \Ntissue, or MCT.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This gel-like tissue contains bundles of \Ncollagen, called “fibrils.”
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Proteins can interact with these fibrils \Nto slide them together,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,stiffening the tissue, or apart, \Nsoftening it.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This versatile tissue has many advantages:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it aids in efficient locomotion, enables \Nsea cucumbers to fit into small spaces,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and allows them to reproduce \Nasexually by splitting apart.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But MCT’s most explosive application \Nis employed when a predator attacks.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,By loosening the attachments of internal \Ntissues
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then quickly softening and \Ncontracting their muscles,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many species are capable of shooting \Na wide range of organs out of their anuses.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This act is called “evisceration”
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it’s a surprisingly effective \Ndefense mechanism.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In addition to startling and \Ndistracting predators,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the innards of some sea cucumber \Nspecies are sticky and toxic.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Evisceration may seem drastic,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but sea cucumbers are able to regenerate \Nwhat they’ve lost to their gut reaction
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in just a few weeks’ time.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Aside from the few species that have \Nevolved to swim
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and those that feed without moving,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,many of these cumbersome creatures \Npass their time grazing the seabed.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sea cucumbers are found everywhere from \Nshallow shores
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to abyssal trenches 6,000 meters \Nbelow sea level.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On the deep sea floor, they comprise the \Nmajority of animal biomass,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,reaching up to 95% in some areas.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As these sausage-shaped wonders trudge \Nalong, they vacuum up sand,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,digest the organic matter it contains, \Nand excrete the byproduct.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this process, sea cucumbers clean \Nand oxygenate the seafloor
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by breaking down detritus and recycling \Nnutrients.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This creates the conditions for sea grass \Nbeds and shellfish to thrive.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sea cucumber excretions can also aid in \Ncoral formation
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and may play a role in buffering marine \Nenvironments from ocean acidification.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As the ocean’s vacuum cleaners, they \Nare very good at their job:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about half of the sandy seafloor
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is thought to have passed through the \Ndigestive tract of a sea cucumber.
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So, the next time you’re \Nrejoicing in the feeling
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of sand crunching between your toes,\Nconsider this:
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those very grains of sand might have, \Nat one point or another,
Dialogue: 0,9:59:59.99,9:59:59.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,been excreted by a pickle that breathes \Nthrough its butt.