Changing Antarctica 南極海洋生物與環境變化

學習要點

有關 “survival（生存）” 的詞匯

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What is the temperature of the ocean around Antarctica?

文字稿

Antarctica is the most extreme continent on Earth. Few animals can survive the bitter cold. But one Antarctic environment is surprisingly stable – the ocean. But it is cold – minus two degrees centigrade.

南極是地球上環境最惡劣的大陸。幾乎沒有動物能承受那裡的嚴寒。但有一個南極環境卻驚人地穩定——海洋。不過海水很冷，零下二攝氏度。

Like everywhere else in the world, the Antarctic environment is changing. In some places the water is already warming – a huge challenge for animals that have never experienced any change.

和世界上其它地區一樣，南極的環境也在變化。在一些地方，水已開始變暖，這對一些動物來說是個巨大的考驗，這些動物從未經歷過任何變化。

Justin Rowlatt, AYYBLOG correspondent
So some of the incredible Antarctic animals are in this tank. Now Anne Todgham is a marine biologist; you’ve been studying these animals for years…

賈斯汀·羅拉特 AYYBLOG 通訊員
“這個水箱裡有一些奇妙的的南極動物。安妮·托吉姆是一位海洋生物學傢。你多年來一直在研究這些動物……”

Dr Anne Todgham, Associate Professor, University of California Davis
So they have anti-freeze proteins inside of them that keep them from freezing. They have different red blood cells that are in fact not red. They have compensated for the cold, so they can go about their daily lives and actually thrive in an environment that most animals will find very stressful.

安妮·托吉姆博士副教授加利福尼亞大學戴維斯分校
“這些動物的體內有抗凍蛋白質，可以防止它們被凍住。它們有與眾不同的紅細胞，這些紅細胞實際上並不是紅色的。它們的身體為瞭抗凍而進行瞭自我彌補，從而能夠在這種環境中正常地生活，並茁壯生長，盡管這種環境讓大多數動物難以生存。

The big question for Anne is how well these extraordinary creatures will be able to adapt. The results so far are not promising.

對安妮來說，最大的問題是：這些非凡的生物適應環境的能力有多強。到目前為止，結果並不樂觀。

Dr Anne Todgham, Associate Professor, University of California Davis
I am actually pretty worried, I wish the data was wrong, I wish I didn’t have to be worried. But you know there are a lot of things that are going to change in the ocean, and these animals are being stressed to their max.

安妮·托奇姆博士副教授加利福尼亞大學戴維斯分校
“我其實很擔心，我希望數據是錯誤的，我多希望我不必擔心。但海洋中有很多東西將會發生變化，而這些動物承受的壓力已經到瞭極限。”

You may wonder why we should worry about the fate of a few unusual species, but the scientists here say we should think of what’s happening as a warning. If these animals can’t survive in our changing world, what does that say about our future?

也許你想知道為什麼我們要為一些不尋常物種的命運而擔憂，但這裡的科學傢們說，我們應把正在發生的事情視為一個警告。如果這些動物無法在我們不斷變化的世界中生存，那這對我們的未來意味著什麼？