VOA常速英语2018--科学家试图通过动物粪便来寻找增加繁育量的方法

Researchers are trying to identify the reasons behind the poor population growth of some of Africa’s wild animals including the Grevy and Cape¹ Mountain zebras. A major focus is the endangered black rhino². What we’ve done with the University of Manchester has developed this toolkit to understand why species like black rhino might not be breeding very well and if we could understand that, then we can inform management to make decisions to maybe alter the way the animals are being managed to increase reproduction.

研究人员正试图找到个别非洲野生动物种群增长缓慢的原因，其中就包括格里维和开普山斑马。他们的主要关注点是濒危的黑犀牛。我们跟曼彻斯特大学通力合作研发了这款工具包，目的是为了理解黑犀牛这样的物种为何可能会繁殖乏力。如果我们能了解其中的原因，就能通知管理层做决策，这样或许就能改变这些动物的管理方式，从而增加他们的繁殖量。

At the Chester Zoo Lab, researchers are experimenting with a non-invasive method to gather data by using physiological³ biomarkers present in animal feces.

切斯特动物园实验室的研究人员正在通过非侵入性的方法来进行实验，目的是收集数据，方法是使用动物粪便中的生理标志物。

Through the poo, we can see how stress the animals are, what condition they are, their individual health; are they reproducing. The goal of the nearly 1.5 million dollar joint⁴ initiative is to develop a strategy to promote natural reproduction.

通过他们的分辨，我们可以了解到它们感受的压力是否很大、现在的状态怎样、个人健康如何、是否可以生育。这个联合计划斥资近150万美元，其目标是发展一种能促进自然繁殖的策略。

We do a lot of sample collection in the wild of the animal poo because actually we can know a lot about the disease status, we know about their reproductive status, we know about their diet, we know about their stress levels. So actually we can get a holistic⁵ picture of the condition of these animals from these samples.

我们收集了很多野生动物粪便的样本，因为其实我们可以通过粪便了解到很多，比如病情、繁育状态、饮食状况、压力水平。所以，其实，我们可以通过这些样本全面了解动物的情况。

The researchers hope to take what they’ve learned from captive animals and apply it to wild populations. Increasing animal birth rates is especially important because of the increasing threat from poaching in recent years across sub-Saharan Africa despite efforts by governments and park rangers⁶ to stop the illegal practice.

这些研究人员能将他们从圈养动物身上学到的知识应用于野生动物身上。增加动物出生率尤为重要，因为近年来，狩猎导致野生动物面临越来越大的威胁，这种情况在撒哈拉沙漠以南的非洲十分普遍，虽然各政府和公园护林员竭力阻止非法活动的发生。

1 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

2 rhino   

n.犀牛，钱, 现金

参考例句：

• The rhino charged headlong towards us.犀牛急速地向我们冲来。
• They have driven the rhino to the edge of extinction.他们已经令犀牛濒临灭绝。

3 physiological   

adj.生理学的，生理学上的

参考例句：

• He bought a physiological book.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• Every individual has a physiological requirement for each nutrient.每个人对每种营养成分都有一种生理上的需要。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 holistic   

adj.从整体着眼的，全面的

参考例句：

• There is a fundamental ambiguity in the use of word "whole" in recent holistic literature.在近代的整体主义著作中，“整体”这个词的用法极其含混。
• In so far as historicism is technological,its approach is not piecemeal,but "holistic".仅就历史决定论是一种技术而论，它的方法不是渐进的，而是“整体主义的”。

6 rangers   

护林者( ranger的名词复数 )； 突击队员

参考例句：

• Do you know where the Rangers Stadium is? 你知道Rangers体育场在哪吗？ 来自超越目标英语 第3册
• Now I'm a Rangers' fan, so I like to be near the stadium. 现在我是Rangers的爱好者，所以我想离体育场近一点。 来自超越目标英语 第3册