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Researchers: Coastal¹ Marine² Life Found Living on Ocean Waste

Plastic waste in the world's oceans is affecting marine life in new and unusual ways, researchers reported recently.

研究人员最近报告称，世界海洋中的塑料垃圾正在以一种新的、不同寻常的方式影响海洋生物。

A group of U.S. and Canadian scientists found that some species are living on a huge area of plastic garbage floating in the Pacific Ocean.

美国和加拿大的一组科学家发现，一些物种生活在漂浮在太平洋上的一大片塑料垃圾上。

The team discovered animals such as oceanic barnacles and crabs³ living alongside coastal barnacles and anemones⁴.

该小组发现诸如海洋藤壶和螃蟹等动物生活在沿海藤壶和海葵旁边。

Linsey Haram of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center was the lead writer of the report that appeared recently in the publication Nature Communications.

史密森环境研究中心的林赛·哈拉姆是最近发表在《自然-通讯》杂志上的这份报告的主要作者。

"We expected to find oceanic marine species that have adapted on plastics, but we were…surprised to discover coastal marine species as well," Haram said.

哈拉姆说：“我们原以为会发现适应塑料的海洋物种，但我们却意外地发现了沿海海洋物种。”

It is not known how some coastal marine life got out into the ocean, added Haram.

哈拉姆还说，目前还不清楚一些沿海海洋生物是如何进入海洋的。

"They may already be out there settling on the plastics, but most likely they are being…transported from the coast on floating debris⁵," she told VOA.

她告诉美国之音：“它们可能已经在那里定居在塑料上了，但最有可能的是，它们是通过漂浮的垃圾被……从海岸运到那里的。”

Debris is another term for waste.

Debris是垃圾的另一种说法。

The study looked at the Great Pacific Garbage Patch between Hawaii and California.

这项研究观察了夏威夷和加利福尼亚州之间的大太平洋垃圾带。

The patch, or area, is more than 1.5 million square kilometers.

这片区域的面积超过150万平方公里。

It is mostly plastic waste.

大部分是塑料垃圾。

The debris includes large amounts of very small pieces of plastic, along with water bottles, toothbrushes and fishing gear.

这些垃圾包括大量非常小的塑料碎片，以及水瓶、牙刷和渔具。

The garbage is drawn⁶ together in circular ocean flows called gyres.

垃圾被聚集在被称为环流的环形洋流中。

The plastics can float together like that for years.

塑料可以像那样浮在一起很多年。

Amy Uhrin is chief scientist of the Marine Debris Program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁷ Administration in Washington.

艾米·乌林是华盛顿国家海洋和大气管理局海洋垃圾项目的首席科学家。

The size of the patch can change depending on the wind and ocean currents, Uhrin told VOA.

乌林告诉美国之音，这片区域的大小可能会随着风和洋流的变化而变化。

The Ocean Voyages Institute in Sausalito, California, is a nonprofit group that works to remove garbage from the ocean.

加利福尼亚州索萨利托的海洋航海研究所是一个致力于清除海洋垃圾的非营利性组织。

It gave the researchers the debris needed for the study.

它为研究人员提供了研究所需的垃圾。

Ocean Voyages President Mary Crowley said a large ship with special equipment pulls tons of garbage from the patch.

海洋航海研究所的主席玛丽·克劳利表示，一艘装有特殊设备的大船从这片区域拖走了数吨的垃圾。

She said the effort seeks especially to remove "the very harmful elements like plastic fishing nets that still catch and kill whales, dolphins and turtles."

她说，这项努力旨在清除“非常有害的垃圾，比如仍然在捕杀鲸鱼、海豚和海龟的塑料渔网。”

The researchers were surprised by what they found.

研究人员对他们的发现感到惊讶。

"What has been most eye-opening is that the coastal marine species were not only thriving but reproducing," Haram said.

哈拉姆说：“最让人大开眼界的是，沿海海洋生物不仅在茁壮成长，而且还在繁殖。”

However, many questions are still unanswered.

然而，许多问题仍未得到解答。

"How do you survive being on a piece of plastic in the middle of the ocean?" asks Greg Ruiz of the Smithsonian's Environmental Research Center and a writer of the report.

史密森环境研究中心的格雷格·鲁伊斯是该报告的作者之一，他问道：“你们是如何在海洋中央的一块塑料上生存下来的呢？”

"The coastal species may be creating their own ecosystem⁸ on the plastic debris," Ruiz said.

鲁伊斯说：“沿海物种可能在塑料垃圾上创造了自己的生态系统。”

Fish and bird waste in the water may provide food.

水中的鱼和鸟的排泄物可以提供食物。

"We also want to figure out how the coastal and oceanic species are interacting since they are competing for limited space on the objects," Haram said.

哈拉姆说：“我们还想弄清楚沿海和海洋物种是如何相互作用的，因为它们在争夺这些物体上有限的空间。”

"They could be using each other as a source of food."

“它们可能会把彼此当作食物来源。”

There is also some concern that some of the creatures may become invasive species.

还有一些人担心，一些生物可能会成为入侵物种。

"We want to know if other coastal marine life are on plastics in all of the five main ocean gyres worldwide," Haram said.

哈拉姆说：“我们想知道世界上所有五个主要海洋环流中的塑料垃圾上是否都有其他沿海海洋生物。”

Ruiz added, "we're concerned that coastal organisms from different regions could form colonies and spread disease to other marine life, including fish."

鲁伊斯补充说，“我们担心来自不同地区的沿海生物可能会形成群落，并将疾病传播给包括鱼类在内的其他海洋生物。”