There is nothing more romantic than a moonlit night. So goes
many a love song. But for animals from bat rays to wriggling,
seagoing palolo worms, the moon is more than a romantic backdrop
— it’s a key signal that the time has come to mate. Such signals
are the focus of A TIME AND A PLACE, Part 2 of NATURE’s THE
NATURE OF. From the changing phases of the moon to subtle
chemical surges, the program outlines the many cues that trigger
activity. Indeed, without these landmarks, many animals would
send their newborns into the world at the wrong place and wrong
time, with little chance of survival. Consider the Pacific
grunion, for instance. Each spring, millions of these little
fish fling themselves up onto Pacific beaches to deposit their
eggs in the wet sand. But they don’t choose just any night for.
They ride the spring tide, one of the highest tides of the year,
when the moon’s pull is the strongest. The choice ensures that
there will be enough big waves to get back to the ocean — and
that their eggs will be h