CNN News:拯救海洋生物

Algae makes up the base of food for pretty much all life in the water: plants, animals, fish, everything. When a red tide happens, the algae let off a toxin that can be poisonous to that same marine life. John Zarrella examines how that sudden shift in habitat is taking a toll on one species around Florida.

海藻是海底生物食物鏈的開(kāi)端，包括植物，動(dòng)物，魚(yú)類，幾乎所有物種。當(dāng)赤潮發(fā)生時(shí)，海藻便會(huì)釋放出有毒物質(zhì)使得海里生物中毒喪生。John Zarrella正在研究佛羅里達(dá)州附近由于物種變化而造成的一系列影響。

For wildlife biologist Denise Boyd, this was one of the best days in a long time.

對(duì)野生物專家Denise Boyd來(lái)說(shuō)，這是很久以來(lái)為數(shù)不多的好日子。

Those two noses are behind us, right at that corner.

在我們身后跟著兩個(gè)探測(cè)器，就在右邊的角上。

Boyd was out with Florida wildlife officers on the Orange River near Fort Myers, looking for sick or dead manatees and endangered species. None so far, a hopeful sign after a brutal start to the year.

Boyd 是與佛羅里達(dá)州野生物辦公室工作人員在邁爾斯堡附近的奧蘭治河進(jìn)行研究。主要尋找一些病或者死亡的海牛和一些瀕危物種。目前為止，今年還沒(méi)有出現(xiàn)一個(gè)令人振奮的消息。

The number of mortalities has exceeded anything I`ve seen in the past.

這里生物的死亡數(shù)量已經(jīng)遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)了過(guò)去我所知道的數(shù)量。

The lethal toxin from an algae bloom called red tide had settled in the worst possible place: the sea grass beds off south west Florida where manatees feed during the winter, killing more than 180 since January. A lack of winter rains, scientists say, may have caused a more widespread bloom this year.

海藻發(fā)出及致命毒素現(xiàn)象稱為赤潮，已經(jīng)在最不可能發(fā)生的地方發(fā)生了。在佛羅里達(dá)南部的海底草場(chǎng)作為海牛冬天的棲息地，到一月份為止已經(jīng)致使180多只海牛死亡?？茖W(xué)家指出，由于今年冬季缺少降雨，赤潮很可能已經(jīng)擴(kuò)展到了更加大的面積。

We started getting five or six in day and now, there was - there was a few days when you`d have ten calls for manatees.

我們現(xiàn)在一天做五次或者六次測(cè)量，有些天里要做十次。

They eat the toxic grass, breathe the toxic air at the surface, and by the time they move up into the river, their warm water winter retreat, paralysis sets in and they drown.

他們食用有毒的海草，呼吸表面有毒的空氣，到了一定時(shí)間他們將遷徙到河里，冬天溫暖的河水消失之后，寒冷致使海牛身體麻木，追中溺死水中。

Wildlife officers say it`s a good sign when they`re approaching a manatee, and it`s moving to get out of the way. Because when they are sick, with the toxin in them, they usually just sit there.

野生辦指出，工作人員能接近海牛是一個(gè)很好的跡象，這樣就可以使更多的海牛獲得救助，更好解決這一現(xiàn)狀。因?yàn)橹卸旧〉暮ＥＭǔ６际庆o靜坐在那里。

But even when the creatures are in distress from the toxin, it`s not too late, if they are found, they can be saved.

即使生物中毒了也沒(méi)關(guān)系，只要他們被發(fā)現(xiàn)了就能得到救助。

We get them to fresh water, they`ll get rid of the toxin, and once it`s out of their system, then they`re feeling like a new manatee.

我們將他們帶到薪水中去，他們的中毒現(xiàn)象就會(huì)緩解。一旦脫離了現(xiàn)在的生物系統(tǒng)中，他們將會(huì)成長(zhǎng)為一個(gè)全新的海牛。

Virginia Edmonds is the animal care manager at Tampa`s Lowery Park Zoo. The lucky ones, the dozen or so that have been rescued are brought here. To keep them from drowning, their heads are held out of the water, until the toxin clears their system.

維吉尼亞的Edmonds是Tampa`s Lowery公園動(dòng)物園的動(dòng)物健康管理部經(jīng)理。幸運(yùn)得救的都會(huì)被帶到這里。為了防止他們溺水，他們的頭部都會(huì)被擱在水面往上，直到稀釋掉自身中毒系統(tǒng)。

when they come in, they are - they are comatose in a way, and can`t move their heads or the bodies and that`s why we have to support their heads and help them get a breath.

當(dāng)這些動(dòng)物被送來(lái)的時(shí)候都是出于昏迷狀態(tài)的，他們不能自己移動(dòng)自己的頭部或者身體，所以我們要幫助他們支撐頭部獲得空氣。

It`s estimated there are no more than 5,000 manatees left in Florida. For biologists, the most frustrating part of this episode has been not finding them in time to save more of them. The outbreak, biologists think, may finally be nearing its end. But the toll has never been worth.

有數(shù)據(jù)顯示，現(xiàn)在佛羅里達(dá)州所擁有的海牛數(shù)量不超過(guò)5,000頭。對(duì)生物學(xué)家來(lái)說(shuō)，最痛苦莫及的是沒(méi)有能及時(shí)發(fā)現(xiàn)和救助更多的中毒海牛。生物學(xué)家認(rèn)為病情可能終于要接近尾聲了，但是現(xiàn)在的數(shù)量卻是史上最糟糕的。