How is climate change affecting whales?
Delving into the lives of Antarctica's giants. We're with a team of wildlife scientists studying humpback whales up close. (This is so beautiful. This might be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.) The researchers have special permits to check the health of whales in this part of Antarctica.
深入了解南极洲巨鲸的生活。我们和一队野生动物科学家正在近距离研究座头鲸。(太美了,这可能是我见过的最美的东西了。)研究人员有特别许可证,可以在南极洲的这个地方检查鲸鱼的健康状况。
(The climate is shifting in the Antarctic Peninsula faster than anywhere else in Antarctica.) Scientists want to know what impact rising temperatures and other pressures like tourism and fishing have on wildlife here. They have a surprising way of finding that out.
(南极半岛的气候变化速度比南极洲其他任何地方都快。)科学家们想知道气温上升、以及旅游和捕鱼等其他压力对这里的野生动物有什么影响。他们有一个惊人的发现方法。
(So is that a weapon? No, it's not a weapon, it's a tool.) That tool allows Natalia to take whale tissue biopsies. A tube on the end of each arrow takes just a tiny nick out of each animal's body. (Well, it clearly didn't bother them very much because they're hanging around the boat.) Analysing this tissue can reveal if a female humpback is pregnant. (In years that we have low sea ice, then the following year you have lower pregnancy rates. And that's as good as it gets in getting to know the environment and getting to know the effects of all these conservation threats on the animals.)
(那是武器吗?不,这不是武器,这是一种工具。)这种工具可以让纳塔利娅进行鲸鱼组织活检。每支箭末端的一根管子只从每只动物身上取下一个小缺口。(很明显,这并没有给它们带来太大困扰,因为它们在船上徘徊。)分析这些组织可以揭示雌性座头鲸是否怀孕了。(在海冰较少的年份,次年的怀孕率会较低。这是了解环境以及、所有这些威胁对动物的影响的最好方式。)
This is what the whales and many other animals here feed on, Antarctic krill. Swarms of them thrive here because they eat algae that lives in sea ice. So researchers want to know if this crucial marine food supply is decreasing as rising temperatures melt the ice.
这里的鲸鱼和许多其他动物都以南极磷虾为食。成群的磷虾在这里繁衍生息,因为它们吃的是长在海冰中的藻类。因此,研究人员想知道,随着气温升高,冰层融化,这种重要的海洋食物供应是否会减少。
And they're using another scientific tool. (Oh, this is fantastic.) The social, intelligent giants work together to catch krill inside a net of bubbles. As well as recording their behaviour, scientists use the drone to work out the whale's weight. (Some populations around the world are getting skinny because they're not getting enough to eat because of climate change impacts. )
它们还使用了另一种科学工具。(哦,这真是太棒了!)这些会社交、有智慧的巨鲸一起在气泡网中捕捉磷虾。除了记录它们的行为,科学家们还用无人机计算鲸鱼的体重。(由于气候变化的影响,鲸鱼吃不饱,因此全球有些鲸鱼种群正越变越瘦。)
(Juvie's coming up on the left, mum's pooping.) One quick health check on this environment is to examine what's coming out of the animals that depend on krill. (Liquid gold! Is that what I think it is? It is exactly what you think it is and it smells exactly like you think it would. It's whale poo. Whale poo, yeah. )
(小家伙在左边,妈妈在排便。)要对这一环境进行快速的健康检查,可以检查一下以磷虾为生的动物体内排出了什么。(液体黄金!是我想的那样吗?和你想的一模一样,闻起来也和你想的一样。这是鲸鱼的便便。)
By keeping a check on its gigantic residence, researchers hope to understand how to protect this fragile wilderness for all the wildlife here.
研究人员希望通过对其巨大的住所进行检查,了解如何为这里的所有野生动物保护这片脆弱的荒野
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