How parrotfish poop formed the Maldives

How the paradisiacal islands of the Maldives emerged from the ocean is featured in the new National Geographic documentary series One Strange Rock.

A trailer released Sunday of the upcoming episode shows a coral reef geoscientist diving in a Baa atoll island and explaining how the islands were partly formed from sand excreted by coral-devouring parrotfish.

One parrotfish eats enough coral in one year to produce a ton of sand.

“That same sand material that you find in the parrotfish poop can be found in the islands themselves. On some islands, the sand material is made up of 70 percent parrotfish poop,” says Professor Chris Perry.

The ‘Terraform’ episode airs in the Maldives region throughout next Thursday.

Hosted by Will Smith, the ten-part series by filmmaker Darren Aronofsky tells the story of how life thrives on earth from the perspective of eight astronauts.

If you knew the sand you were walking on was primarily Parrotfish poop, would you still want to go to the Maldives? #OneStrangeRock pic.twitter.com/OPyOvf1Ijy

— Nat Geo Channel (@NatGeoChannel) May 5, 2018