VOA慢速英语--科学家用无人机研究鲸鱼的健康

Scientists Use Drone Aircraft to Study Whale Health

Historically, sailors called out the words “Thar she blows!” whenever they saw whales.

Today, the old cry of sailors is taking on new meaning as scientists turn to modern technology to study whales.

Some scientists have begun using drone aircraft, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, to collect some of the fluids expelled by whales.

Vanessa Pirotta is a researcher with Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia. She told the Reuters news agency that a drone has been used for the first time to collect whale mucus from humpback whales at sea. She believes that drones could help improve scientists’ understanding of whales around the world.

“We’re collecting...that visible plume¹ of spray rising from the whale’s blowhole, as they come to the surface to breathe,” she said.

The method, she added, could provide a better understanding of the patterns and drivers of disease in wild populations.

Pirotta was one of the writers of a paper on the use of drones to study whales. The paper appeared in the online publication, Viruses.

She and other scientists reported that they collected whale blow from 19 humpbacks during 2017. At the time, the whales were traveling northward² from Antarctica to northern Australia.

The report said the spray is collected in a small container connected to the top of a drone. The person operating the drone opens the container just as the aircraft flies above the whale.

Pirotta described the new method as less invasive than using a boat to get close enough to collect fluids. And it is better than methods that depend on killing³ whales or on whales that are trapped. The whale spray collected by a drone contains DNA⁴, the carrier of genetic⁵ information, proteins and different kinds of bacteria.

Pirotta said her team can collect bacteria that lives in a whale’s lungs to measure whale health.

In this way, drones serve as an early-warning system of possible changes in whales’ health.

An international ban on whaling took effect in 1986. But Japan announced last year that it would restart commercial whaling this July in its waters and restricted economic area.

I’m Caty Weaver⁶.

Words in This Story

mucus – n. a wet, sticky liquid produced inside the nose and other body parts

visible – adj. able to be seen

plume – n. something (such as smoke, steam, or water) that rises into the air in a tall, thin shape

spray – n. liquid that is forced or blown through the air

pattern – n. a model; a repeated design

1 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。

2 northward   

adv.向北；n.北方的地区

参考例句：

• He pointed his boat northward.他将船驶向北方。
• I would have a chance to head northward quickly.我就很快有机会去北方了。

3 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

4 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

5 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

6 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。