它们有像马一样的脑袋
They have equine heads,
卷曲的尾巴
prehensile tails…
有骨板而不是鳞片
..and bony body plates instead of scales.
尽管它们有龙一样的外表 很多鱼喜欢吃它们
Despite their dragon appearance, many fish like to eat them.
所以不被发现变成它们的特长
So not being noticed has become their speciality.
剃刀鱼擅长伪装成其它动植物
Ghost pipefish are expert mimics of other animals and plants,
包括海百合和珊瑚
including crinoids and coral.
它们的天敌很难发现它们
Their predators find it hard to see them
它们的食物也一样
and so does their prey.
它们一生中大部分时间都是头朝下
They spend most of their lives upside down,
专注于沙质海底
focused intently on the sandy bottom,
寻找小型甲壳动物
searching for the tiny crustaceans
这是它们的主要食物
that are their principal food.
而海龙的伪装是如此特别
So specific is their camouflage
它们鲜少远离其特定栖地
that pipefish rarely wander far from a particular habitat
同时完善它们的模仿细节
and perfect their mimicry down to the finest detail.
其他种类则是通过像漩涡
Other species conceal their true identity
和水流般运动来隐踪匿迹
by moving like eddies and currents.
有的假装是被沙包裹的木棍
While some pretend to be sand-encrusted sticks
或落叶
or fallen leaves…
或是一片海藻
..or pieces of algae.
如果你知道如何观察 伪装大♥师♥无处不在
If you know how to look, the masters of disguise are everywhere.
在这水下伊甸园
In this underwater Garden of Eden,
甚至看起来是蛇 其实也是鱼而已
even the snake turns out to be a fish.
在海床上 欺骗屡见不鲜
Down on the seabed, deception is commonplace.
单个的珊瑚往往由沙砾区连接
Individual reefs are often connected by areas of sand and rubble,
这是所谓的“底栖地”
and this is where the so-called ‘bottom dwellers’ dwell.
这里数量最多的是虾虎鱼
The most numerous of these are the gobies.
超过2000种虾虎鱼
There are over 2,000 species of goby,
使之成为最大的鱼类家族之一
making them one of the largest fish families.
很少有能长到超过手指大小的
Few of them grow bigger than your finger,
这使它们成为许多掠食鱼类的食物
which makes them a favored food for many large predatory fish.
所以它们很警惕 从不远离海床
So they’re always on the lookout and never far from the seabed.
它们大部分时间都用来觅食
They spend most of their days feeding,
用腮过滤沙子寻找食物微粒
filtering sand through their gills to extract tiny food particles.
对虾虎鱼来说 沙子就是一切
Sand is everything to the goby.
沙子提供食物
Sand puts food in their belly
和藏身地
and also a roof above their heads.
许多虾虎鱼建造洞穴
Many gobies build burrows.
这是辛苦的挖掘工作
Its tiring excavation work,
合作者们有时在该谁干活的问题上不能达成一致
and partners sometimes don’t agree on whose turn it is.
如果内部问题得不到解决
If the domestic argument can’t be worked out,
这种伪装成大眼睛的虾虎鱼
then this species, camouflaged as big eyes,
会出去闲逛一会儿把问题解决
can always go for a stroll to smooth things over.
有些聪明的虾虎鱼已经找到为之服务的奴隶了
Some clever gobies have enlisted the services of a slave.
在这个非凡的伙伴关系中
In a most extraordinary partnership,
虾虎鱼和盲虾因相互需要而生活一起
gobies and blind shrimp live together, bonded by mutual need.
虾虎鱼藏身在盲虾挖出的洞穴中
The shrimps excavate a burrow in which the gobies can hide,
虾则吃它们的残羹剩饭
and they eat the goby’s scraps.
虾虎鱼负责放哨 警告靠近危险的虾
The gobies act as sentinels, warning the shrimps of approaching danger.
鱼和甲壳类动物有如此密切的工作关系
The fish and crustacea have such a close working relationship
它们总是通过尾部 鳍或触角
that they’re always connected,
相互联♥系♥
by tail or fin or feeler.
对于食物链底部的鱼类
For fish close to the bottom of the food chain,
安全的家是至关重要的
a safe home base is essential.
空间有限 好的房♥地♥产♥可谓来之不易
Space is limited and good real estate hard to come by.
擅入领地是不能容忍♥的
Trespassing isn’t tolerated.
领土争端通常会被快速解决掉
Territorial disputes are normally quick to work out.
但也不尽然
But not always.
没有必要和
There’s definitely no point picking a fight
这强大的装甲兽为敌
with this mighty armored beast.
棘冠海星是珊瑚的死敌
It’s the crown-of-thorns starfish, corals’ mortal enemy.
它们把胃吐出 并用胃酸覆盖珊瑚虫
By disgorging their stomachs and drenching polyps with acid,
它们吃活珊瑚 把珊瑚虫从礁石里吸食出来
they eat living coral and suck the life out of a reef.
海星在清洁空间和促进
The starfish play an important role,
生物多样性方面扮演了重要角色
clearing space and fostering biodiversity.
很少有和它们同样地位的生物
And few have stood in their way.
海星一直都是自然循环的一部分
The starfish have always been a natural part of the cycle.
但现在不那么自然了
But now the cycle is unnatural.
农业污染增加了水中的营养
Agricultural pollution has increased nutrients in the water,
引发赤潮（藻华）
which in turn causes algal blooms.
幼体海星在享受海藻大餐
Starfish juveniles are feasting on this algae
同时越来越多的海星活到成年
and many more are surviving into adulthood.
现在棘冠海星的爆发定期出现在
Plagues of crown-of-thorns starfish are now regularly experienced
全世界的珊瑚礁中
on reefs worldwide.
但不是所有的都是坏消息
But not all infestations are bad news.
完美的例子就是有个不寻常的联盟
A perfect example is the unlikely alliance
出现在耳海绵与粉海参之间
between the eared sponge and the pink sea cucumber.
这种海绵对大多数生物来说是剧毒的
This sponge is highly toxic to most.
但海参已经适应它 并在此大量聚居
But the sea cucumber has adapted to live here in huge numbers,
并跑到海绵边缘产卵
rising off the edges to spawn.
这是一片生物蓬勃生长的不宜居住之地
This is an inhospitable habitat where creatures are thriving.
在不断变化的海洋里 这也许提供了生活的希望
Perhaps it offers hope for life in our changing seas.
这是万事皆有可能的绝佳佐证
It’s certainly proof that anything is possible.
海洋世界永远在变化
The oceanic world is ever changing.
没有什么是一成不变的
Nothing stays the same here for more than a moment.
历史上 珊瑚总是来来去去
Over the ages, corals have come and gone.
今天 它们正在再次消失
Today, they are disappearing again.
但正是人类的存在 使它不同于
But what sets this cycle apart from any other in geological history
地质史上的其他几次循环
is the presence of us.
珊瑚的生存史上 这是第一次
For the first time in corals’ existence,
人类直接影响海洋的化学成分
humans are having a direct impact on the ocean’s chemistry
和珊瑚的命运
and corals’ destiny.
许多科学家认为
Many scientists believe
我们正面临下一个大灭绝
we are heading towards our next mass extinction
而且人类就是罪魁祸首
and that humans are the cause.
造礁珊瑚已严重濒危
Reef-building corals are now seriously endangered.
当珊瑚礁消失时
And as reefs disappear,
众多依赖它们的生物也会随之消失
hundreds of thousands of dependent creatures disappear with them.
此外 珊瑚礁的消亡是海洋死亡的
Furthermore, the demise of coral reefs is a clear indicator
明确指示
that our ocean is dying,
海洋是地球的生命支持系统
and our ocean is our planet’s life-support system.
拯救海洋的唯一方法就是
The only way to save our ocean
在未来一二十年内
is to radically curb our CO2 emissions
从根本上遏制二氧化碳的排放量
within the next one or two decades.
我们有实现这个目标的所有工具
We have all the tools to do it.
如果我们成功了 将不仅拯救珊瑚礁
And if we succeed, we will not only save our reefs,
最终还会拯救我们自己
we will ultimately save ourselves.
珊瑚的未来 珊瑚的故事如何结束
The future of coral, and how this story ends,
都取决于我们
is up to us.