Wild Caribbean reef fish anywhere in the Caribbean. The final island to be featured is Trinidad, cut off from South America by rising sea levels 2,000 years ago. Its island fauna include many mainland species such as red howler monkeys, capuchins and scarlet ibis. Coral reefs, which thrive in the warm, shallow waters around Caribbean Islands, are the subject of the second programme. Hard corals are the reef-builders, and grow their tough external skeletons by extracting nutrients from algae growing within them. Time-lapse footage shows coral polyps emerging at night to trap drifting plankton. Marine life featured includes Caribbean reef squid, octopus
Bedarra Island Bedarra Island Bedarra Island (also known as Richards Island) in the Cassowary Coast Region off the Queensland coast in Australia. Bedarra Island is approximately seven kilometres off the tropical North Queensland coast, midway between Townsville and Cairns, the nearest coastal town being Mission Beach. It is in the middle of Family Islands National Park. The granite island was part of the mainland before the last sea level rise began 8,000 years ago. The island consists of pristine coral sandy beaches with coves formed by giant granite boulders and fringed with lush green jungle. Bedarra is a continental island made up