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A file photo of a pelican covered in oil. Marine scientists studying the effects of the BP disaster are seeing some strange phenomena.(Agencies) |
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Dolphins and sharks are showing up in surprisingly shallow water just off the Florida coast. Mullets, crabs, rays and small fish congregate by the thousands off an Alabama pier. Birds covered in oil are crawling deep into marshes, never to be seen again. Marine scientists studying the effects of the BP disaster are seeing some strange phenomena. Fish and other wildlife seem to be fleeing the oil out in the Gulf and clustering in cleaner waters along the coast in a trend that some researchers see as a potentially troubling sign. The animals' presence close to shore means their usual habitat is badly polluted, and the crowding could result in mass die-offs as fish run out of oxygen. Also, the animals could easily get devoured by predators. "A parallel would be: Why are the wildlife running to the edge of a forest on fire? There will be a lot of fish, sharks, turtles trying to get out of this water they detect is not suitable," said Larry Crowder, a Duke University marine biologist. The nearly two-month-old oil spill has created an environmental catastrophe unparalleled in US history as tens of millions of gallons of have spewed into the Gulf of Mexico ecosystem. Scientists are seeing some unusual things as they try to understand the effects on thousands of species of marine life. For nearly four hours Monday, a three-person crew with Greenpeace cruised past delicate islands and mangrove-dotted inlets in Barataria Bay off southern Louisiana. They saw dolphins by the dozen frolicking in the oily sheen and oil-tinged pelicans feeding their young. But they spotted no dead animals. "I think part of the reason why we're not seeing more yet is that the impacts of this crisis are really just beginning," Greenpeace marine biologist John Hocevar said. The counting of dead wildlife in the Gulf is more than an academic exercise; the deaths will help determine how much BP pays in damages. As for the fish, researchers are still trying to determine where exactly they are migrating to understand the full scope of the disaster, and no scientific consensus has emerged about the trend. (Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a journalist at the China Daily Web site.) (Agencies) |
海豚和鯊魚竟出現(xiàn)在美國佛羅里達(dá)州海域的淺水區(qū)；鯔魚、螃蟹、鰩魚和其它一些小魚成群聚集在阿拉巴馬州的一個(gè)碼頭外；渾身沾滿油污的海鳥跌入沼澤，再也沒有露出頭來。 對(duì)英國石油公司漏油事件后果進(jìn)行研究的海洋學(xué)家們?nèi)涨坝^察到了一些奇怪的現(xiàn)象。 魚類和其他野生動(dòng)物似乎正逃離被漏油污染的墨西哥灣，聚集到沿岸清潔的水域避難，一些研究人員認(rèn)為這一趨勢可能是個(gè)不好的征兆。 動(dòng)物出現(xiàn)在沿岸水域說明它們的棲息地遭到了嚴(yán)重污染，大量的動(dòng)物聚集在一起則會(huì)導(dǎo)致魚類因缺氧而大批死亡。而且這些動(dòng)物也會(huì)很容易地被食肉動(dòng)物捕食。 杜克大學(xué)海洋生物學(xué)家拉里?克勞德說：“一個(gè)類似的情形是：在森林起火時(shí)，為什么野生動(dòng)物會(huì)逃往森林邊緣地帶？由于棲息的海洋環(huán)境被破壞，將會(huì)有大批的魚類、鯊魚和海龜試圖逃離這一海域。” 持續(xù)了近兩個(gè)月的漏油事件給美國帶來了史上空前的生態(tài)災(zāi)難，目前已有數(shù)千萬加侖的原油泄漏至墨西哥灣生態(tài)系統(tǒng)。科學(xué)家在試圖了解漏油對(duì)數(shù)千種海洋生物影響的同時(shí)，發(fā)現(xiàn)了一些異于尋常的現(xiàn)象。 本周一，綠色和平組織組建的一個(gè)三人工作小組在路易斯安那州南部巴拉塔里亞灣美麗的島嶼和點(diǎn)綴著紅樹林的水灣附近巡游時(shí)，看見十幾只海豚在油污中嬉戲，身上沾滿油污的鵜鶘在哺育幼崽。但他們并沒有發(fā)現(xiàn)死去的動(dòng)物。 綠色和平組織海洋生物學(xué)家約翰?霍瑟瓦爾說：“我覺得我們沒有看到更多受害動(dòng)物的部分原因是因?yàn)檫@場災(zāi)難的影響才剛剛開始。” 計(jì)算墨西哥灣死亡野生生物數(shù)量不僅是項(xiàng)學(xué)術(shù)活動(dòng)，還將有助于確定英國石油公司的賠償數(shù)額。 目前，研究人員仍在努力確定墨西哥灣海洋魚類的確切遷移地點(diǎn)，以全面了解災(zāi)難的整體影響范圍。有關(guān)這一遷移趨勢的科學(xué)結(jié)論尚未達(dá)成。 相關(guān)閱讀 低碳經(jīng)濟(jì) low-carbon economy （中國日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 Julie 編輯蔡姍姍） |
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Vocabulary: die-off：a sudden, natural perishing of large numbers of a species, population, or community（相繼死去） frolic：to gambol merrily; to play in a frisky, light-spirited manner; romp（嬉戲，嬉鬧） |
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