十一月
It is November.
一轮明月升起
A full moon rises.
约40万公里之遥的地球仿佛中了魔法一般
Almost 400,000 kilometers away, Planet Earth falls under its spell.
海波微动
Our oceans stir.
正在进行一场古老的海底仪式
An ancient undersea ritual is underway.
这件事的结果
The outcome of this event
不仅影响周围海水中的海洋生物
will not only affect marine life in the surrounding waters,
而且也会给我们一个关于
but will also give us a clue
整个海洋系统状况的线索
about the health of the entire ocean system.
主角生物就是珊瑚
The creature responsible is coral.
这是珊瑚的故事
And this is coral’s story.
故事伴随着大量珊瑚产卵
The story begins here,
这一难以置信的场景开始
with the incredible phenomenon that is mass coral spawning.
这是由太阳和月亮控制的年度大事
It’s an annual event, cued by the sun and the moon.
它涉及超过140个不同物种
It involves over 140 different species,
并且已经持续了数千年之久
and has been occurring for thousands of years.
尽管珊瑚没有大脑和眼睛
Although corals have no brain and no eyes,
但单一物种却能同时繁殖
somehow individual species spawn together,
有时就在几分钟之内
sometimes down to the minute.
就像微型情书
Like tiny love-letters,
基因物质混入洋流
the genetic material is cast into the ocean currents,
连接数千公里长的珊瑚礁
connecting reefs over hundreds of kilometers.
像我们一样 珊瑚花9个月准备繁殖
Like us, corals take up to nine months to prepare for birth.
但很多是雌雄同体 所以它们同时释放卵子和精♥子♥
But many are hermaphrodites, so they gestate both egg and sperm.
在产卵之夜
On spawning night,
它们聚成团块 并从珊瑚嘴中释放出来
these are grouped into bundles and delivered through the coral’s mouth.
对大多数来说 这是一次无痛的出生
For most, it’s a gentle birth.
这一大团很快就分♥裂♥开
Over a short time-span, the bundles break apart
卵子和精♥子♥必须从其它地方找到它们的另一半
and the egg and sperm must find their counterparts from another colony.
数十亿里只有很少能存活下来
Billions set forth, but few survive.
很多其它生物用同样方法繁殖
Many other creatures choose the same conditions to spawn
礁脉中的水流变成了
and the reef waters are transformed
一个巨大的充满精♥子♥和卵子的液态子♥宫♥
into a vast liquid womb, clouded with eggs and sperm.
大规模产卵使潜在的捕食者忙不过来
Mass spawning overwhelms potential predators,
这使珊瑚卵有更多机会受精并占领一片新天地
so the coral eggs have more chance to be fertilized and begin a new colony.
白天 巨大的光滑海面标记出它们的路线
By daybreak, vast slicks on the surface mark their passage.
珊瑚不仅是水下建筑师
Coral is an architect not only of the undersea world,
在水面上也同样
but above the surface too.
死去的珊瑚掉落沙中
Dead coral breaks down into sand
并最终形成珊瑚礁
that eventually builds up to create coral cays.
这些海岸和浅滩为许多
These shores and shallows provide sanctuary –
别的生物提供庇护所和重要的繁殖地
and important breeding grounds – for a variety of other creatures.
总而言之 数百万年来 造礁珊瑚
All told, reef-building corals have colonized every tropical ocean,
占领了每一片热带海域 塑造并保护了数千公里的海岸线
shaped and protected thousands of kilometers of coastline
还影响了海洋的演化
and influenced marine evolution for millions of years.
鸟类 比如这些燕鸥
Birds like these noddy terns
依靠珊瑚礁提供食物 珊瑚环岛提供栖地
rely on coral reefs for food and coral cays for shelter.
鸟类排泄出种子 使植物在此生长
Birds help vegetate cays by depositing seeds.
这些种子长成树和森林
These seeds grow into trees and forests
它们反过来又为鸟类提供筑巢的场所
which in turn provide the birds with nesting sites.
热带海鸟常来光顾这些多沙的边远之地
These sandy outposts are frequented by many tropical seabirds,
一些成对的鸟会返回相同的筑巢点 年复一年
with some pairs returning to the same nesting sites year after year.
原始珊瑚可追溯到四亿五千万年前
Primitive corals date back over 450 million years.
现代造礁珊瑚则出现在大约两亿五千万年前
Modern reef-building corals first emerged around 250 million years ago
从此 珊瑚礁为不计其数的
and their reefs have provided homes and sustenance
物种提供家园和食物
for innumerable species ever since.
在珊瑚的漫长历史中 经历过五次大灭绝
Over coral’s long history, five mass extinctions have come and gone.
每次都有超过90%的生命形态消失
During each, up to 90% of all life-forms perished.
其中的两次
Two of these extinctions
发生在现代造礁珊瑚崛起时
occurred during the rise of modern reef-building corals.
它们并没有失去活力 而是存活下来
Rather than falter, they somehow survived,
重塑岸礁
rebuilt their reefs
并再次改变了海洋
and transformed the oceans anew.
现在 珊瑚礁生态系统是许多标志性
Today, coral reef ecosystems are important nursery grounds
海洋生物的重要繁殖地 如海龟
for many iconic marine animals, such as the sea turtle.
有7种海龟
There are seven species of sea turtle
寿命很长且生长缓慢
and all are long-lived and slow-growing.
它们需要10到30年才能性成熟并在海洋中交♥配♥
They take between 10 to 30 years to sexually mature and mate at sea.
这些海洋爬行动物一生中
These marine reptiles are nomadic
要在海洋中游历数千公里
and swim thousands of kilometers during their lives.
但强烈的本能和谜一样的自然力量引导着它们
But strong instinct and mysterious natural forces guide them,
以致当雌龟要产卵时
so that when a female needs to lay her eggs,
会回到它出生的海滩
she returns to the very beach where she was born to do so.
她在沙地上挖洞作为孵化室
Here, she digs a nest and coral sand becomes the womb.
数百只蛋孵化 却只有一两个能长到成年
Hundreds hatch, but only one or two will make it to adulthood.
然后它们可以存活一个世纪
They can then live for up to a century.
如果有只100年前出生的海龟
When a turtle hatched 100 years ago,
它会目睹珊瑚礁的全盛时期
it would have seen the world’s coral reefs in all their glory.
工业文明前的海是清澈干净的
Pre-industrial seas were clean and clear
数百万年来 珊瑚拥有良好的生长环境
and corals had enjoyed good conditions for millions of years.
从印度洋到太平洋
Throughout the Indian and Pacific oceans,
从加勒比海到西大西洋
and into the Caribbean and west Atlantic,
珊瑚礁茁壮成长
reefs were thriving.
年轻的海龟游历于珊瑚礁之中
The turtle spent its youth exploring these reefs
并见证了珊瑚创造的工程奇迹
and witnessed the engineering marvel that is coral.
通过利用太阳能和完美的回收机制
By harnessing the power of the sun and perfecting recycling,
珊瑚建造了使人类自愧弗如的节能都市
coral built energy-efficient cities that put many of ours to shame.
这些都市聚集在一起成为巨大的帝国
Collectively, these cities created vast empires,
有些从外太空都能看见
some visible from outer space.
在这里 海龟发现自己有很多伙伴
Here, the turtle found itself in great company,
因为这些海底帝国是许多海洋生物的家园
for these undersea empires were home to vast numbers of marine species
任何形状 任何体型 只要你想象得到
of every imaginable shape and size
这里是个热闹非凡 五彩缤纷的世界
and were crowded, colorful places.
在众生态系统中 珊瑚礁是最富生物多样性的
Today, reefs have one of the highest levels of biodiversity
地方之一
of any ecosystem
也是地球上对生物学研究最重要的地区之一
and are some of the most biologically important places on Earth.
海龟和珊瑚共同目睹了
Together, turtles and corals have witnessed many changes
水下世界的变化
to their watery world.
它们是在6500万年前发生的
They are some of the only beings
最后一次大灭绝事件中
to have survived the last mass extinction event
幸存下来的生物
65 million years ago.
科学家预测在下个世纪
Scientists predict that in the coming century,
它们将会面临比上次大灭绝
they will face ocean conditions
更具灾难性的海洋环境
as catastrophic as during that last extinction.
精明的老海龟已经看到了警告
Wise old turtles have seen the warning signs for a while.
全世界70%的珊瑚礁已经被毁灭
70% of the world’s reefs have already been destroyed
或被严重威胁
or are seriously threatened.
七种海龟中有六种
And all but one of the seven sea turtle species
被列为濒危或非常接近灭绝
are classified ‘endangered’ or ‘critically endangered’.
几百万年来第一次
For the first time in millions of years,
海龟和珊瑚的未来变得那么不确定
the future of both turtle and coral is uncertain.
珊瑚礁的健康状况受许多因素影响
Many things affect the health of coral reefs,
特别是水温 海平面高度和海水成分
in particular, sea temperature, sea level and water chemistry.
珊瑚礁可能看起来很坚固 但珊瑚本身很脆弱
Reefs may look mighty, but corals themselves are fragile
它们会因环境的细小变化而受到致命伤害
and can be fatally harmed by just subtle changes in their environment.
当海平面上升过快时 珊瑚生长不够快
When sea levels rise too rapidly, corals can’t grow fast enough
导致珊瑚礁被淹没
and reefs drown.
由于大气中二氧化碳含量增加
As atmospheric carbon dioxide levels increase,
海洋酸化加剧 珊瑚礁将会溶解
ocean acidification intensifies and reefs will dissolve.
海水温度持续升高1-2℃时
And a sustained increase of only 1-2 degrees in ocean temperature
会导致珊瑚白化并死亡
can cause corals to bleach and die.
据预测 全球气温将在本世纪末
By the end of this century, it’s predicted that the global climate
升高5°C甚至更多
could be 5 degrees Celsius hotter or more.
按照这一速度 珊瑚白化每年都会发生
At this rate, bleaching will become an annual occurrence,
这多姿多彩的美景将最终消逝
and this colorful landscape will literally fade away.
健康的珊瑚礁很容易被看到
A healthy coral reef is easy to spot.
这是个充满色彩 多样性和生命活动的复杂结构
A complex structure awash with color, variety and activity.
这个复杂的热带花♥园♥能与陆地上任何事物匹敌
This is a tangled, tropical garden to rival anything on land.
这花♥园♥中最令人惊异的是
Most amazing about this garden
许多“植物”其实是动物
is that many of the ‘plants’ are actually animals.