Cyclops and its intrepid crew of explorers dive into open water where they encounter the denizens of the plankton: micro-crustaceans, insects, rotifers, and protists, all organisms that show unique adaptations for open water life.
Cruising through the weedy shallows, the crew is amazed at the diversity of protozoans swimming by the observation ports. Through careful observation they discover how these amazing single cells feed, reproduce, and escape.
In this episode, a single algae cell is rescued, and its green secrets are revealed through experiments performed on board the Cyclops. The micro-explorers discover how algae start the food chains that ultimately sustain the fish, birds, amphibians, and mammals living in and around the pond.
While engrossed in observing the food capturing and feeding methods used by Planaria, a flatworm, the tentacles of Hydra trap the Cyclops crew where they receive a hands-on lesson in the process of digestion.
Settling their craft into the bottom, the micro-explorers discover that the bottom ooze is populated by bacteria, the microbes that break down and recycle organic materials--an unforgettable visual introduction to the concept of organic decomposition.
Trying to return to their pond base, the microexplorers are channeled into the pond outlet, where they tumble into a rapidly flowing stream and discover a world of aquatic insects adapted for life in flowing water--even waterfalls.
Washed onto a sandbar, the Cyclops crew assembles their terra-rover and discovers a world dominated by bacteria, fungi, termites, and tiny invertebrate animals--a forest floor community on which the trees and other plants depend.
The microexplorers discover that gardens support an amazing community of small life including herbivorous and predatory insects, pollinating insects, and giant earthworms. They tour a worm's burrow, where they develop theories on the vital roles earthworms play in terrestrial ecosystems.