- BEFORE THIS YEAR, I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I WAS LOOKING AT,
I DIDN'T EVEN UNDERSTAND MICROSCOPES.
BUT NOW, WHEN I SEE IT, IT'S, LIKE, REALLY COOL AND AMAZING.
- I THINK THEY'RE IMPORTANT BECAUSE THEY HELP US SEE THINGS CLEAR THAT ARE REALLY TINY.
- I LIKE MICROSCOPES BECAUSE, OF COURSE,
YOU GET TO SEE THINGS DIFFERENTLY THAN YOU CAN WITH YOUR NAKED EYE.
I THINK IT'S REALLY COOL, TO SEE THINGS UP CLOSE.
- WELCOME TO MICROWORLDS, A WORLD THAT EXISTS ALL AROUND US,
BUT ONE THAT WE CAN'T EVEN SEE WITHOUT THE HELP OF MICROSCOPES.
- WHOA! YOU CAN REALLY SEE THE DETAIL ON THIS.
- THROUGH THIS SERIES OF VIDEOS, YOU'LL LEARN ABOUT DIFFERENT KINDS OF MICROSCOPES
AND MEET MARINE BIOLOGISTS AT NOAA, WHO USE THEM AS PART OF THEIR DAILY WORK.
THESE SCIENTISTS NEED TO SEE INTO THIS MINUTE WORLD
TO ANSWER QUESTIONS LIKE: "HOW OLD IS THIS FISH?"
"WHY DO FISH GET SICK?" AND "WHAT DO SEALS EAT?"
AS A PAST MICROWORLDS STUDENT PUT IT...
- IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE MICROSCOPES, YOU PROBABLY WOULDN'T KNOW A LOT
ABOUT ALL THESE THINGS LIKE FISH, OR ANIMALS, BONES,
AND SO YOU COULDN'T SEE THE REALLY COOL PART ABOUT THEM.
- TONY ORR KNOWS ALL ABOUT THESE COOL PARTS OF ANIMALS.
HE'S A MARINE BIOLOGIST AT NOAA's ALASKA FISHERIES SCIENCE CENTER IN SEATTLE, WASHINGTON,
AND HERE, HE USES MICROSCOPES TO IDENTIFY DIFFERENT ANIMALS
BASED ONLY ON SEEING THEIR SMALLEST PARTS.
IT TURNS OUT THESE WERE EATEN BY A NORTHERN FUR SEAL,
BUT SINCE SEALS HUNT UNDERWATER,
HOW WOULD TONY EVER KNOW WHAT THEY EAT?
- FIRST, WELL YOU HAVE TO CATCH IT AND THEN YOU HAVE TO CUT IT OPEN.
- KILL IT? NO, WE DON'T WANT TO KILL THESE ANIMALS.
IF WE KILL THE ANIMAL, THEN WE WON'T BE ABLE TO DETERMINE WHAT THEY'RE EATING
AT A DIFFERENT TIME OF THE YEAR OR LATER IN THEIR LIFE STAGES,
SO IT'S IMPORTANT TO KEEP THESE ANIMALS ALIVE.
- MAYBE I'D, LIKE, TAKE ONE OF THOSE CAMERAS THAT YOU PUT ON
AND PUT IT ON THE SEAL, THEN SEE HOW IT HUNTS
AND WHERE IT GOES AND WHAT IT EATS.
- PUTTING A CAMERA ON AN ANIMAL IS A REALLY GREAT IDEA.
HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THEIR EXPENSE, IT ONLY ALLOWS US TO PUT CAMERAS ON A FEW ANIMALS,
SO WE DON'T GET INFORMATION ABOUT THE WHOLE SPECIES OR A POPULATION.
- OR YOU COULD ALSO JUST TRACE IT, TRACK IT DOWN WITH A VIDEO CAMERA UNDERWATER.
- I DON'T KNOW HOW FAST YOU CAN SWIM, BUT I CAN'T SWIM THAT FAST,
AND WE CAN'T USUALLY ATTAIN THE DEPTHS WHERE THESE ANIMALS ARE DIVING TO GET THEIR FOOD,
SO GREAT IDEA, BUT I DON'T THINK IT'S FEASIBLE.
- WELL, MAYBE I WOULD TAKE SOME OF THEIR FECES AND LOOK THROUGH THAT.
- YUP, YOU GOT IT. TONY DIGS THROUGH POOP.
- BLECCH! - EWW!
- [RETCHES]
- REALLY? HA HA!
I GUESS THAT WOULD ACTUALLY HELP.
- WELL, THEY COULD SEE WHAT THEY ATE IN THEIR POOP
BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T DIGEST IT, THEN THEY HAVE TO POOP IT OUT.
- I THINK, WELL... IT'S KIND OF GROSS.
- THERE MIGHT BE SOME FEELINGS THAT WORKING WITH POOP IS PRETTY GROSS AND NASTY.
I GUESS I CAN AGREE WITH THAT TO A CERTAIN EXTENT,
BUT IT'S INCREDIBLE HOW MUCH INFORMATION YOU CAN GET
BY LOOKING AT SOMETHING THAT IS KIND OF GROSS OR WHATEVER,
BUT WE CAN FIND OUT A LOT OF INFORMATION ABOUT THESE ANIMALS, WHICH IS PRETTY COOL.
- BUT BEFORE TONY CAN START SIFTING THROUGH THE POOP TO GIVE US THESE ANSWERS,
HE'S GOT TO COLLECT IT, AND ONE OF THE COOL PLACES THAT TONY GETS TO TRAVEL
IS SAN MIGUEL ISLAND, OFF THE COAST OF CALIFORNIA.
HERE, CALIFORNIA SEA LIONS BREED IN HUGE NUMBERS...   [SEALS BARKING]
AND UP NORTH ON THE PRIBILOF ISLANDS IN THE FRIGID BERING SEA,
THIS IS WHERE ANOTHER SCIENTIST COLLECTED THE FIRST SEAL SCAT WE SAW EARLIER IN THE LAB.
- AFTER WE'VE COLLECTED THE SCAT AT THE VARIOUS HAUL-OUTS OR ROOKERIES,
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND BRING THEM BACK TO THE LAB AND WE'LL USE SIEVES
TO REMOVE ALL THAT POOP AWAY, AND AS YOU GO THROUGH EACH SIEVE,
PROGRESSIVELY THE MESH SIZE GETS SMALLER AND SMALLER AND SMALLER
TO COLLECT SMALLER AND SMALLER ITEMS,
AND WHAT REMAINS ARE THE HARD PARTS OF THE PREY.
THIS INCLUDES BONES AND LENSES AND OTOLITHS; FROM FISH, SCALES,
AS WELL AS BEAKS AND PENS FROM CEPHALOPODS, OR SQUID AND OCTOPUSES.
- ONCE THE SOFT PARTS OF THE POOP ARE WASHED AWAY, TONY NEEDS TO DRY THE SPECIMENS.
- SO I'M OFF TO THE DRYING ROOM.
IT'S MY LEAST FAVORITE PART ABOUT THE JOB.
[SNIFFS] OH! IT SMELLS SO BAD!
- IT'S NOT JUST POOP REMAINS THAT ARE DRYING OUT IN HERE,
BUT OTHER RESEARCH SAMPLES AND SPECIMENS,
INCLUDING WHALE VERTEBRAE AND OTHER SKELETONS.
TWO DAYS LATER, THE HARD PARTS ARE DRIED OUT AND DON'T SMELL SO BAD,
SO TONY CAN FOCUS ON THEM UNDER THE DISSECTING SCOPE.
- PROCESSING THE SCAT IS PRETTY SMELLY AND DISGUSTING, BUT THIS IS THE FUN PART.
THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN BECOME A DETECTIVE AND TRY TO FIND OUT WHAT THESE ANIMALS ATE.
SO I'VE GOT SOME VERTEBRAE HERE I CAN SEE,
AND THESE VERTEBRAE ARE FROM SALMON.
HERE'S ANOTHER VERTEBRAE FROM A SALMON.
OH, WE'VE GOT A TREAT. I CAN SEE AN OTOLITH.
AND HERE AT THE NATIONAL MARINE MAMMAL LABORATORY,
WE'VE GOT DIFFERENT GUIDES, AS WELL AS REFERENCE COLLECTIONS
THAT I CAN COMPARE THIS OTOLITH WITH AND DISCERN WHAT SPECIES IT'S FROM.
- THIS OTOLITH CAME FROM A SCULPIN.
IN THIS FIRST SEAL'S POOP, TONY ALSO FOUND THE BEAK OF A SQUID,
SALMON VERTEBRAE, AND MUCH MORE,
SO IT LOOKS LIKE NORTHERN FUR SEALS HAVE A PRETTY DIVERSE DIET.
BUT REALLY, WHY DOES THIS ALL MATTER?
WHY SHOULD WE GO THROUGH THE TROUBLE TO FIND OUT WHAT KINDS OF FISH A SEAL EATS?
- BECAUSE FISH ARE ONE OF THE ANIMALS ON THE EARTH,
AND, UM--OH, IF THEY STOP,
THEN IT AFFECTS THE WHOLE FOOD CHAIN,
AND THEN EVENTUALLY, ALL OF MANKIND WILL BE ZIPPED OUT.
- AND IF THE FISH DIE OFF, THE SEALS DIE OFF
AND THEN A LOT OF THE WHALES DIE OFF,
AND THEN A LOT OF THE PLANKTON WILL INCREASE,
AND IT JUST TOTALLY BLOWS UP OUR WHOLE SYSTEM.
[SEAL GROWLING]
- AROUND THE WORLD, SCIENTISTS STUDY EVENTS LIKE THIS,
WHERE ONE SPECIES DECLINES AND CAUSES A CASCADE OF EFFECTS ACROSS AN ECOSYSTEM.
PRESENTLY, THE NORTHERN FUR SEAL POPULATION IS DECLINING,
AND THE POTENTIAL FACTORS ARE VERY COMPLICATED AND THE IMPLICATIONS WORRISOME,
SO SCIENTISTS LIKE TONY WORK HARD TO UNDERSTAND FUR SEALS MORE AND MORE.
BUT ONE THING'S FOR SURE: THE MORE SCIENTISTS TRY TO FIND ANSWERS,
THE MORE QUESTIONS COME UP; QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO SOMEDAY ANSWER
BY PEERING INTO MICROWORLDS.
- ARE YOU SURE? - YEAH, I CAN SEE IT.
- YEAH, ME, TOO. YOU JUST NEED TO GET A BIT CLOSER, THAT'S ALL.
- SO, IN PROCESSING A SCAT,
THE FIRST THING WE WANT TO DO
IS GO AHEAD AND GET A LITTLE--
[SNIFFS]-- A LITTLE WHIFF OF IT.
MMM. IT'S GOOD. GOOD YEAR.
AND THEN WE'LL GO AHEAD
AND GET A LITTLE TASTE OF IT.
MMM.
TASTES LIKE--
LIKE SALMON...
LITTLE SQUID...
AND, UM--OH! ANCHOVY.
I HATE ANCHOVIES-- DISGUSTING.
YEAH, YOU GUYS ARE RIGHT.
THAT IS PRETTY GROSS.
AND DEFINITELY DON'T TRY TO EAT POOP AT HOME.
I'M A TRAINED PROFESSIONAL,
AND I WAS JUST JOKING ANYWAY.
IT'S JUST CHOCOLATE PUDDING.
