Equator: The Complete Collection (2005)

At the equator, has formed a special climate, by which the evolution was rapid. In the equatorial zone is half the wealth of flora and fauna of the planet, but animals and plants is more difficult to survive there than anywhere else.

Production land: New Zeland


Take a high definition tour of the area that covers only five percent of the Earth's surface, yet serves as home to over fifty percent of its animal and plant species in this documentary exploring the mysteries of the Equator. The Equator is not only the line that divides our planet in half, but also a powerful line of life where the pace of evolution quickens. There, animals are able to breed all year round thanks to the warm and humid conditions, though their fight for survival never ceases. In this documentary, filmmakers revel how and why flora and fauna grow faster, larger, and weirder on the Equator than any other place on Earth. As the equatorial sun shines down on the ocean, moist air rises to create trade winds, and ocean currents reach out to energize life on distant areas of the planet. So come along, and chase the sun on a 40,000-kilometre adventure to some of the most extreme and ecologically diverse areas on the planet.






In Southern Asia's lush forests one remarkable group of trees cast their pervasive shadows over the extraordinary array of planets and animals living below. The equatorial rainforests of South East Asia are amongst the tallest and richest forests on earth towering up to 80 meters high. The canopy is dominated by a single family of forest giants called diterocarps, which cast enormous influence on the huge diversity of plants and animals living in their shadow. While the bottom-dwelling plants must battle for their tiny share of the light, the giant towering trunks have affected the animals here too - forcing them to become acrobats, leapers and gliders while crossing the gaps between them.






At the equator the sun rises over the greatest rainforest on earth - Amazonia. Here one thousand rivers flow, the water and the sun fuelling an environment that is home to half the known species in the world. Here there is a diversity of species like nowhere else on earth, the bizarre and the beautiful, the iconic and the obscure. This great abundance of life is the result of intense heat from the equatorial sun and the rains that come every November. Brought by trade winds from far out in the Atlantic, heavy clouds pass over the great South American landmass. Grown even more bloated from the rich forest, the clouds reach saturation point, the rain is released.






The Indonesian archipelago in the Indo-Pacific Ocean comprises thousands of islands, atolls and the largest concentration of coral reefs in the world. This rich and varied environment is a product of a unique set of natural circumstances. The equatorial sun powers ocean currents among the tiny dots of land. Where the archipelago meets the western tip of New Guinea an intersection of ocean currents creates perhaps the world s richest reefs in the region of the Rajah Ampat Islands. A coral reef houses a myriad of colours, shapes and patterns: from the bulb tentacle anemone which protects, and in turn is protected by, the brightly coloured clownfish; to the multi-branched gorgonian, home of the tiny pygmy seahorses. Coral animals have tiny symbiotic plants living within their tissues. Brought together by sunlight, it is one of the most powerful biological partnerships on earth. Young coral ingest free-swimming algae, but because of some ancient genetic signal, the algae are not eaten. Instead the coral wraps the tiny plants in membrane and moves them to tissues exposed to light. The algae are nourished and in response produce sugars that both they, and the coral, consume increasing the corals growth rate. Coral is far from a passive inhabitant of the ocean and once a year many species combine for an event that is both spectacular and of scientific intrigue. A mass spawning, which usually occurs during a full moon, provides not only a breeding opportunity, but also inter-breeding between coral species. It is this ease and adaptability of hybridization that is leading scientists to re-examine the most basic elements of what comprises a species.






In the high Andes mountains of Ecuador, the intense power of the equatorial sun beats down through thin air onto a grassland world fringed by glaciers and cloud forest. Every day is like summer, and every night is like winter. Within a 24-hour cycle, plants and animals adapt to both blistering heat and freezing temperatures - but how?






For much of the year the African Savannah bakes under the oppressive equatorial sun. The dryness is unusual for the equator, whose regions are often covered with dense rainforests and associated with a seasonless annual cycle. In equatorial Africa, animals are still evolving and adapting to the challenge of change. In Tsavo, where it is hotter than other places on the savannah, male lions have lost their usual symbol of dominance, their mane, to keep as cool as possible. And in Gabon, forest animals such as elephants feed on mangrove seeds washed up on the beach, and hippos swim in the surf.