科学美国人60秒 SSS 气候变化与动物迁徙

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Scott Hershberger.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是斯科特·赫什伯格。

Climate change is altering the migration¹ routes of animals worldwide.

气候变化正在改变世界各地动物的迁徙路线。

Here's a look at new research on how two species have been affected².

下面我们来看一项聚焦两种物种如何受到影响的新研究。

First, mule³ deer. Every spring in Wyoming, vegetation first appears at lower altitudes before progressing up the mountainside.

首先是北美黑尾鹿。每年春天，怀俄明州的植被首先出现在较低的海拔地区，之后再向山坡蔓延。

Migrating mule deer follow and forage⁴ on this green wave.

迁徙的北美黑尾鹿会跟随这片绿色的波浪并觅食。

But as a changing climate leads to more frequent and more severe droughts, the greenery is not as bountiful as it used to be.

但是，由于气候变化导致越来越频繁且严重的干旱，绿色植被不再像以前那样茂密。

For her Ph.D. research at the University of Wyoming, Ellen Aikens tracked mule deer as they surfed the green wave.

艾伦·艾肯斯将追踪北美黑尾鹿在绿浪生活的过程作为其在怀俄明大学的博士研究。

"The green-up lasted across the landscape for about half as long in drought years, in comparison to wet years.

“干旱年份景观绿化的持续时间约为湿润年份的一半。

And also, the order of green-up along these routes were less sequential.

而且，迁徙路线绿化顺序的连续性也有所下降。

So in essence, drought compresses and reshuffles the green wave

因此从本质上来说，干旱压缩并重新安排了绿浪，

and just makes it so that this foraging⁵ bonanza⁶ that deer depend on in their spring migration is really compressed in time."

使北美黑尾鹿在春季迁徙时所依赖的觅食天堂被及时压缩。”

And although the deer were able to keep up with the faster green wave, the nutritional⁷ value was lower—

尽管北美黑尾鹿能够跟上加速的绿浪，但食物的营养价值却变低，

leaving the animals less prepared for the challenges of the year ahead.

这使得这些动物对未来一年的挑战准备不足。

Meanwhile in Europe, the population of Bewick's swans that spend the winter in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands is declining.

与此同时，在欧洲国家英国和荷兰过冬的比尤克斯天鹅的数量正在下降。

But when researchers looked at the data more closely, they found an increase in the wintering population of swans in Germany.

但当研究人员更仔细地研究这些数据时，他们发现在德国越冬的比尤克斯天鹅的数量增加了。

It turns out that since the 1970s, the swans' wintering habitat has shifted an average of 13 kilometers to the east each year.

结果发现，自上世纪70年代以来，比尤克斯天鹅的越冬栖息地每年平均向东迁移13公里。

"What we think is that the swans like to spend time in areas where it's five degrees Celsius⁸.

“我们认为，比尤克斯天鹅喜欢在5摄氏度的地区过冬。

And this isotherm has shifted in the same rate as the swans shifted eastward⁹.

5摄氏度等温线的移动速度与比尤克斯天鹅向东移动的速度相同。

So that's a strong indication for us that the swans actually move with this temperature line."

这对我们来说是个有力指标，说明比尤克斯天鹅实际上是随着这条温度线移动的。”

Rascha Nuijten of the Netherlands Institute of Ecology.

荷兰生态研究所的拉查努·伊吉滕说到。

Her team also found that the swans were spending less time in their winter homes before flying back to the Russian tundra¹⁰ to breed.

她的团队还发现，比尤克斯天鹅飞回俄罗斯冻原地带繁殖之前，在越冬地待的时间越来越短。

Neither the mule deer nor the Bewick's swan is endangered, but the findings have broader importance for our understanding of the conservation of migratory¹¹ animals.

北美黑尾鹿和比尤克斯天鹅都不是濒危动物，但对于我们理解迁徙动物保护来说，这一研究结果具有更广泛的重要性。

"Because if you start thinking of protecting a certain plot of land, it's not just the current situation that is there. Nature is dynamic.

“如果你开始考虑保护某块土地，不只要考虑当前的状态。自然是动态的。

And the species that are present now might not be present in 10 years' time—

目前存在的物种可能在10年后就不复存在，

and not because we didn't protect it but maybe because these species are actually dynamic in their ways.

并不是因为我们没有保护它，而可能是因为这些物种以自已的方式动态发展。

And we need to include this resilience and the dynamics¹² of nature into our legislation and management."

我们需要将这种自然的弹性和动态纳入我们的立法和管理中。”

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Scott Hershberger.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是斯科特·赫什伯格。

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

3 mule   

n.骡子，杂种，执拗的人

参考例句：

• A mule is a cross between a mare and a donkey.骡子是母马和公驴的杂交后代。
• He is an old mule.他是个老顽固。

4 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

5 foraging   

v.搜寻（食物），尤指动物觅（食）( forage的现在分词 )；（尤指用手）搜寻（东西）

参考例句：

• They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句

6 bonanza   

n.富矿带，幸运，带来好运的事

参考例句：

• Bargain hunters enjoyed a real bonanza today.到处买便宜货的人今天真是交了好运。
• What a bonanza for the winning ticket holders!对于手持胜券的人来说，这是多好的运气啊。

7 nutritional   

adj.营养的，滋养的

参考例句：

• A diet lacking in nutritional value will not keep a person healthy.缺乏营养价值的饮食不能维持人的健康。
• The labels on food products give a lot of information about their nutritional content.食品上的标签提供很多关于营养成分的信息。

8 Celsius   

adj.摄氏温度计的，摄氏的

参考例句：

• The temperature tonight will fall to seven degrees Celsius.今晚气温将下降到七摄氏度。
• The maximum temperature in July may be 36 degrees Celsius.七月份最高温度可能达到36摄氏度。

9 eastward   

adv.向东；adj.向东的；n.东方，东部

参考例句：

• The river here tends eastward.这条河从这里向东流。
• The crowd is heading eastward,believing that they can find gold there.人群正在向东移去，他们认为在那里可以找到黄金。

10 tundra   

n.苔原，冻土地带

参考例句：

• The arctic tundra is at the top of the world around the North Pole.北极冻原是指北极点周边的地区，是世界最高的地方。
• There is a large amount of methane gas under the Siberian tundra.西伯利亚的冻土地带之下有大量的甲烷气体。

11 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

12 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。