Nature's Wonderlands: Islands of Evolution poster

Basic Info

First Air: January 18, 2016

Status: Ended

Seasons & Episodes

Seasons: 1

Episodes: 3

Last Episode

Name: Madeira: Island Ark

Season: 1, Episode: 3

Air Date: 2016-02-01

In the final episode, Richard Fortey travels to Madeira to examine what happens to a volcanic island as it nears the end of its life cycle and starts sinking back into the sea. Here, in the island's laurisilva forest, he examines the remains of an ancient forest that once carpeted all of Europe, finds island lizards that live to be four times older than their mainland counterparts, and meets a huge wolf spider. With the help of local divers, he also discovers an unexpectedly rich marine habitat populated by whales, dolphins and unusual deep-sea species that have much to tell us about the changing nature of our seas.

Nature's Wonderlands: Islands of Evolution

2016 1 seasons 3 episodes

Overview

Three-part series in which Professor Richard Fortey investigates why islands are natural laboratories of evolution and meets some of the unique and remarkable species that live on them. Examining some of the crucial influences on natural selection that are normally overlooked - like geology, geography, isolation and time - the series reveals that there is much more to evolution than 'survival of the fittest'. Charting the lifecycle of islands - from their birth and colonisation to the flowering of evolutionary creativity that often accompanies their maturity, and what happens when an island grows old and nears its end - Fortey encounters wild lemurs in the rainforest of Madagascar, acid-resistant shrimps in the rock pools of Hawaii, and giant wolf spiders in Madeira as he searches for the hidden rules of island evolution.

Genres

Documentary

Production Countries

United Kingdom

Spoken Languages

English en

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Cast

Richard Fortey

Self - Presenter

Crew

Backdrops

Posters

External Links

IMDB

Official Website