NATURE: The Serengeti Rules

By Jennifer Robinson / Web Producer

Published October 7, 2019 at 12:34 PM PDT

Tony Sinclair (Greg Kriek) sits in Serengeti's tall grasslands looking through binoculars.

Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024 at 8 p.m. on KPBS TV / Stream now with the PBS App

Exploring some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth, five pioneering scientists make surprising discoveries that flip our understanding of nature on its head, and offer new hope for restoring our world in NATURE "The Serengeti Rules." This is one of the most important, but untold, science stories of our time—a tale with profound implications for the fate of life on our planet.

Travel back in time with a pioneering group of scientists who make surprising discoveries that transform human understanding of how nature works. Based on a book of the same name.

Beginning in the 1960s, a small band of young scientists headed out into the wilderness, driven by an insatiable curiosity about how nature works. Immersed in some of the most remote and spectacular places on Earth — from the majestic Serengeti to the Amazon jungle; from the Arctic Ocean to Pacific tide pools — they discovered a single set of rules that govern all life.

Become a KPBS sponsor

Witness scientist Bob Paine's breakthrough discovery of keystone species, through his ingenious experiment with tidepool starfish.

Now in the twilight of their eminent careers, these five unsung heroes of modern ecology — Bob Paine, Jim Estes, Mary Power, Tony Sinclair, and John Terborgh — share the stories of their adventures, and how their pioneering work flipped our view of nature on its head.

With severe myopia hindering her vision on land, scientist Mary Power's love for aquatic life began when she realized she could see much better underwater. The refraction of the water in her snorkeling mask allowed her to see clearly for the very first time.

Across the globe, they discovered that among the millions of species on our planet, some are far more important than others. They called these species “keystones” because they hold communities of plants and animals together, just like a keystone holds a stone arch in place. When keystones are removed, ecosystems unravel and collapse — a phenomenon no one had imagined or understood until their revolutionary discoveries.

In the 1960s, ecologist Tony Sinclair made a breakthrough discovery when he observed a huge population surge of wildebeest in the Serengeti. He found that the wildebeest were the key to keeping the ecosystem balanced and that keystone species could be prey as well as predators.

But with new knowledge also comes new hope, and these same visionaries reveal the remarkable resilience of nature — and how the rules they discovered can be used to restore the natural world, from American lakes to war-ravaged African parks.

In this bonus scene from-The Serengeti Rules, scientist Jim Estes discovers the collapse of the kelp forest ecosystem he had once seen thriving in the 1970s. He determines how it’s caused by a ripple effect from the Pacific Northwest whaling business in the 1990s, changing the predation of orcas, thereby decimating the otter population and the kelp forest ecosystem by extension.

Based on the book by Sean B. Carroll, "The Serengeti Rules" will forever change the way we see nature!

A young John Terborgh (Johnathan Newport) watches a rare bird in the forest. Allegheny National Forest, Tionesta, Pa.

REVIEW + AWARDS:

Become a KPBS sponsor

The film, a New York Times critic’s pick, which they dubbed, “science made spellbinding,” had its world premiere at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and won awards at top-film festivals worldwide including Wildscreen’s “Smithsonian Channel Theatrical Award,” “Best Environmental Film” at the 2019 Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, “Jury Award” at the 2018 Wild & Scenic Film Festival, “Green Fire Award” at the 2018 American Conservation Film Festival, “Family Friendly Documentary” at the 2018 Maui Film Festival, and the “Golden Owl” at the 2018 Bergen International Film Festival.

Mary Power is a freshwater ecologist who has spent her life studying river ecosystems all over the world. Her work has revolutionized our understanding of how these complex habitats work.

WATCH ON YOUR SCHEDULE:

This episode is available to stream with the PBS App. Extend your viewing window with KPBS Passport, a benefit for members at $60 or more yearly, using your computer, smartphone, tablet, Roku, AppleTV, Amazon Fire or Chromecast. Learn how to activate your benefit now.

Bob Paine was one of the greatest ecologists of all time. He experimented by removing different species from tidepools and his discoveries turned the field of ecology on its head.

JOIN THE CONVERSATION:

NATURE is on Facebook, Instagram #NaturePBS

"The Serengeti Rules" is on Facebook and Instagram.

Jim Estes got his start as an ecologist by chance. Half a century later, his research on sea otters is heralded as a classic case study on keystone species.

CREDITS:

NATURE is a production of THIRTEEN PRODUCTIONS LLC for WNET and PBS. For NATURE, Fred Kaufman is executive producer, Bill Murphy is series producer and Janet Hess is series editor. The broadcast version of "The Serengeti Rules" is a production of HHMI Tangled Bank Studios and Passion Planet Ltd in association with Sandbox Films, Thirteen Productions LLC, and WNET. The feature documentary was directed by Nicolas Brown, produced by David Allen and executive produced by David Guy Elisco, Dennis Liu, John Battsek and Andrew Ruherman. The broadcast edit was directed by Alex West, produced by Gaby Bastyra and executive produced by David Guy Elisco and Jared Lipworth.

NATURE: The Serengeti Rules

Tags

Fact-based local news is essential