佛羅里達水族館的突破，沒準可以拯救美國唯一的大堡礁

佛羅里達水族館的突破，沒準可以拯救美國唯一的大堡礁

The world’s coral reefs are struggling. Warming ocean waters and pollution have led to mass die-offs of coral in many places around the planet. The only barrier reef in the United States sits off the coast of Florida, and it’s been dealing with its own set of problems, including the spread of coral-killing disease that has devastated portions of the reef.

世界上的珊瑚礁都在生存線掙扎。海水變暖和污染導致全球許多地方的珊瑚大量死亡。美國唯一的大堡礁位于佛羅里達州海岸外，它一直在處理自己的一系列問題，包括珊瑚死亡疾病的蔓延，這種疾病已經破壞了大堡礁的部分區(qū)域。

Now, for the first time ever, a species of coral recovered from the reef has been grown by humans in an aquarium. Ridged cactus coral at the Florida Aquarium reproduced in an artificial setting, offering hope that scientists may be able to rescue areas of the reef that have been hit hard by the disease.

現(xiàn)在，人類第一次在水族館里培育出一種從珊瑚礁中恢復的珊瑚。佛羅里達水族館的脊狀仙人掌珊瑚在人工環(huán)境中成功繁殖，這給科學家們帶來了希望，他們也許能夠拯救被這種疾病嚴重破壞的珊瑚礁。

Coral reefs are incredibly vital to the health of Earth’s oceans. They provide the backbone of the ocean ecosystem, serving as sanctuaries for young fish and many other ocean creatures. Barrier reefs like the one off the coast of Florida are important to humans as well, as they provide coastal structure and stability.

珊瑚礁對地球海洋的健康至關重要。它們是海洋生態(tài)系統(tǒng)的支柱，是幼魚和許多其他海洋生物的避難所。像佛羅里達海岸那樣的珊瑚礁對人類也很重要，因為它們提供了海岸結構和穩(wěn)定性。

If we let the reefs die off, we’re asking for trouble. In fact, recent studies have shown that the cost of letting coral die — thereby inviting increased damage to coastal cities from flooding and tropical storms — will cost us more than taking measures to preserve the reefs and protect them.

如果我們任由珊瑚礁滅絕，那就是在自找麻煩。事實上，最近的研究表明，讓珊瑚死亡的成本——導致沿海城市因洪水和熱帶風暴遭受更大的破壞——將比采取措施保護珊瑚礁付出更多的代價。

Now, scientists at the Florida Aquarium have to play a bit of a waiting game. Knowing that they can get the coral to reproduce in a lab is a huge step, but rebuilding isn’t possible while the disease is still ravaging the reefs. In the meantime, the researchers are learning a great deal of new information about the corals.

現(xiàn)在，佛羅里達水族館的科學家們不得不耐心等待。知道他們可以讓珊瑚在實驗室里繁殖是一個巨大的進步，但在疾病仍在破壞珊瑚礁的情況下，重建是不可能的。與此同時，研究人員正在研究大量有關珊瑚的新信息。

“We are losing coral species faster than we can learn about them,” Keri O’Neil, a senior coral scientist with the Florida Aquarium, told CNN. “This breakthrough is just really exciting; we’re still learning basic new things you’d think we’ve known for hundreds of years. It’s just people never worked with this species before and now that we have the opportunity to work with these corals in the lab, we’re going to find out so much more about them.”

佛羅里達水族館的資深珊瑚科學家Keri O 'Neil告訴CNN:“珊瑚物種的消失速度比我們了解它們的速度還快。”“這個突破真的很令人興奮;我們還在學習一些基本的新東西，你可能以為我們已經知道幾百年了。只是人們以前從來沒有研究過這個物種，現(xiàn)在我們有機會在實驗室里研究這些珊瑚，我們一定會發(fā)現(xiàn)更多關于它們的信息。”

It’s still unclear exactly how long the disease outbreak among the coral might last, or at what point it would make sense for scientists to start seeding the reef with new coral. For now, the researchers will continue to monitor the situation and encourage coral reproduction in the lab.

目前還不清楚這種疾病在珊瑚群中爆發(fā)會持續(xù)多長時間，也不清楚科學家在什么時候開始在珊瑚群中播種新珊瑚是有意義的。目前，研究人員將繼續(xù)監(jiān)測情況，并鼓勵珊瑚在實驗室繁殖。