VOA常速英语2008年-Scientists Map Madagascar's Unique Species

By Jessica Berman
Washington
10 April 2008

An international team of scientists has conducted an exhaustive survey of Madagascar's thousands of endangered plant and animal species¹.  The information will be used to protect the creatures and vegetation² that are unique to Madagascar, an island nation off the southeast coast of Africa.  VOA's Jessica Berman reports.

The 22 researchers that created the survey are hoping it will help with the conservation of more than 2,300 species of plants and animals that are found only in Madagascar. 

The endangered species include tree-dwelling lemurs, ants, butterflies, frogs, geckos and plants that live throughout the island nation located in the Indian Ocean. 

Only 587,000 square kilometers in size, Madagascar is considered one of the most significant of the so-called biodiversity "hot spots," threatened areas of the world that are among the most biologically rich.
  
Conservation of Biology Professor Claire Kremen, of the University of California Berkeley, led the study.  She says conservation efforts have traditionally focused on setting aside a parcel of land to protect a single species.

But Kremen says the Madagascar project is the first national scale analysis of thousands of endangered plant and animals species. 

"We had a lot of species and we wanted to use the data at the finest scale that we possibly could, at the most precise scale and the most detailed³ scale," she said.  "And that means that the computational problem becomes very large.  And that why one of the big advances was the availability of a new piece of software that allowed us to tackle⁴ so many species over such a large area and with so much detail or at such a fine resolution."

A large team of researchers pulled together detailed data to determine the exact location of each species across Madagascar. 

The investigators⁵ then used specially⁶ designed computer software to identify plants and animals that had suffered the greatest loss due to deforestation and areas in need of the most protection.

Kremen says a similar method can be used to develop plans to protect endangered animals and plants in other biodiversity "hotspots" around the world.

About half the world's plant species and three-quarters of vertebrate animals are concentrated in "hotspots" that make up only 2.3 percent of the Earth's land surface. 

The researchers describe their analysis of Madagascar's endangered species in this week's issue of the journal Science.

1 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

2 vegetation   

n.植物，草木，（植物）生长

参考例句：

• As we drove towards the desert,the vegetation became sparse.我们驱车前往沙漠，沿途的草木渐渐变得稀疏。
• The earth bore a thick green mantle of vegetation.大地覆盖着一层厚厚的绿色植物。

3 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

4 tackle   

n.工具，复滑车，扭倒；v.处理，抓住

参考例句：

• Don't forget to bring your sports tackle with you tomorrow.别忘了明天带上你的体育用具。
• We have gained sufficient experience to tackle this problem.我们已经有了足够的经验来处理这个问题。

5 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。