正在消失的物种
许多人可能面对这样的报道只会嗤之以鼻--蝴蝶、鸟类和植物在英国的种群数量正在不断减少。这样的报道与新近关于战争、恐怖主义或总统选战经过的新闻头条相比，看上去好像是该扔到火炉里的填料。
这种态度正是问题所在，也是上周《科学》杂志（Science）上发表的研究观点。杰里米-托马斯（Jeremy Thomas），英国国家环境研究委员会的生态学家，和他的同事提供的数据支持下述理论：我们的星球可能处于科学家称之为地球"第六次物种大灭绝"（sixth major extinction event）的境地。原因在于健忘的人类。
自然界将前五次灭绝带给了恐龙和地球上的其它居民，它们以冰河、陨星或火山的形式到来。但是这次的杀手被认为是这个星球上两条腿的原住民，以及他消耗能源、污染空气、破坏生境、改变气候的生活方式。
英国的研究报告着眼于由2万名志愿者收集的数据，大部分志愿者绝对不属于那些对种群减少漠不关心的人，因为这些志愿者细心地统计了自20世纪60年代以来的调查报告中英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士每一个隐蔽角落的动植物种群。结果发现，20年来本地蝴蝶的数量下降了71%、鸟的数量下降了54%。40年来植物的数量减少了28%。
"令人担忧的是消逝的速度，"克里斯-利伊（Chris Leahy），马萨诸塞州奥特朋协会（Massachusetts Audubon Society）的一位自然学家这样讲。他注意到，尽管目前地球仍然具有丰富的生物多样性，但前景令人担忧。他说，英国的报道和其它研究都显示出一种持续的"全球生态退化"（global ecological decline），一种对生物圈结构的侵蚀。
如果生物圈有麻烦，人类就会有麻烦，因为人类不能够自外于物种灭绝，虽然他们喜欢这样认为。利伊指出，人类在地球编年史上最终的墓志铭可能会这样写道："这一物种一度干得不错，但是做得过了头。"
这就是为什么有关英国正在消失的珍珠边豹纹蝶（pearl-bordered fritillary）、红背伯劳鸟（red-backed shrike）和已经消失的幽灵兰花（ghost orchid）的消息应该和任何新闻报告一样引人关切。新英格兰帝王豹纹蝶的消失也应如此。橙色、紫色和银色蝴蝶在90年代消失了，可能是人们引进寄生黄蜂（parasitic wasps）和两翼昆虫（flies）来对付舞毒蛾（gypsy moth）促成了它们的消失，这是人类的又一巨大失误。
曾经为数很多的食米鸟（bobolink）和草地鹨（meadowlark）的种群数量在新英格兰（New England）也减少了，利伊认为英国的报告提醒环保主义者要关注普通物种，就像关注稀有濒危物种那样。
它们、我们、以及草丛中的小昆虫都联结在生物多样性这张网上，其中一种的消亡就是对全体的警告。
A lot of people probably shrugged off the report - declining butterfly, bird, and plant populations in Britain can seem like backburner stuff compared with the latest headlines on war, terrorism or the trajectory of a presidential campaign.
That shrug is the problem, and the point of the research published last week in the journal Science. The numbers presented by Jeremy Thomas, an ecologist with Britain's National Environmental Research Council, and his colleagues support the theory that the planet could be on track for what scientists refer to as earth's "sixth major extinction event." The cause is oblivious man.
The previous five extinctions were visited upon the dinosaurs and other denizens of the earth by the natural world, coming as glaciers, meteorites, or volcanoes. But the current killer is believed to be the planet's two-legged prime tenant and all his fuel-gulping, air-polluting, habitat-destroying, climate-changing ways.
The British study looked at data gathered by 20,000 volunteers - most definitely not among the shruggers, for they have meticulously counted flora and fauna in just about every nook of England, Scotland and Wales in surveys taken since the 1960s. The findings showed that over 20 years there was a 71 percent drop in native butterfly populations and a 54 percent drop in bird populations. Plants decreased by 28 percent over 40 years.
"What's alarming is the rapidity of decline," said Chris Leahy, a naturalist with the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He noted that while there is still rich biodiversity on the earth today, the implications for the future are scary. He said that the British report and other studies indicate a steady "global ecological decline, an eating away at the fabric of the biosphere."
And if the biosphere is in trouble, then man is in trouble, for human beings are not immune to extinction, though they may like to think so. Leahy noted that man's eventual epitaph in earth's chronicles might read: "This species did well for a while but overreached."
That's why word of Britain's disappearing pearl-bordered fritillary, red-backed shrike and lost ghost orchid should be as riveting as any news bulletin. So should New England's loss of the regal fritillary. The orange, purple and silver butterfly vanished in the 1990s, possibly aided by man's use of parasitic wasps and flies brought in to combat the gypsy moth - another whopping human error.
The once plentifulbobolink and meadowlark are also dwindling in New England, and Leahy noted that the British research is a reminder to conservationists to keep their eye on the common species as well as the rare endangered ones.
They, and we, and the smallest gnat in the grass are linked in the web of biodiversity - and the demise of one is a warning to all. - The Boston Globe
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许多人可能面对这样的报道只会嗤之以鼻--蝴蝶、鸟类和植物在英国的种群数量正在不断减少。这样的报道与新近关于战争、恐怖主义或总统选战经过的新闻头条相比，看上去好像是该扔到火炉里的填料。
这种态度正是问题所在，也是上周《科学》杂志（Science）上发表的研究观点。杰里米-托马斯（Jeremy Thomas），英国国家环境研究委员会的生态学家，和他的同事提供的数据支持下述理论：我们的星球可能处于科学家称之为地球"第六次物种大灭绝"（sixth major extinction event）的境地。原因在于健忘的人类。
自然界将前五次灭绝带给了恐龙和地球上的其它居民，它们以冰河、陨星或火山的形式到来。但是这次的杀手被认为是这个星球上两条腿的原住民，以及他消耗能源、污染空气、破坏生境、改变气候的生活方式。
英国的研究报告着眼于由2万名志愿者收集的数据，大部分志愿者绝对不属于那些对种群减少漠不关心的人，因为这些志愿者细心地统计了自20世纪60年代以来的调查报告中英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士每一个隐蔽角落的动植物种群。结果发现，20年来本地蝴蝶的数量下降了71%、鸟的数量下降了54%。40年来植物的数量减少了28%。
"令人担忧的是消逝的速度，"克里斯-利伊（Chris Leahy），马萨诸塞州奥特朋协会（Massachusetts Audubon Society）的一位自然学家这样讲。他注意到，尽管目前地球仍然具有丰富的生物多样性，但前景令人担忧。他说，英国的报道和其它研究都显示出一种持续的"全球生态退化"（global ecological decline），一种对生物圈结构的侵蚀。
如果生物圈有麻烦，人类就会有麻烦，因为人类不能够自外于物种灭绝，虽然他们喜欢这样认为。利伊指出，人类在地球编年史上最终的墓志铭可能会这样写道："这一物种一度干得不错，但是做得过了头。"
这就是为什么有关英国正在消失的珍珠边豹纹蝶（pearl-bordered fritillary）、红背伯劳鸟（red-backed shrike）和已经消失的幽灵兰花（ghost orchid）的消息应该和任何新闻报告一样引人关切。新英格兰帝王豹纹蝶的消失也应如此。橙色、紫色和银色蝴蝶在90年代消失了，可能是人们引进寄生黄蜂（parasitic wasps）和两翼昆虫（flies）来对付舞毒蛾（gypsy moth）促成了它们的消失，这是人类的又一巨大失误。
曾经为数很多的食米鸟（bobolink）和草地鹨（meadowlark）的种群数量在新英格兰（New England）也减少了，利伊认为英国的报告提醒环保主义者要关注普通物种，就像关注稀有濒危物种那样。
它们、我们、以及草丛中的小昆虫都联结在生物多样性这张网上，其中一种的消亡就是对全体的警告。
A lot of people probably shrugged off the report - declining butterfly, bird, and plant populations in Britain can seem like backburner stuff compared with the latest headlines on war, terrorism or the trajectory of a presidential campaign.
That shrug is the problem, and the point of the research published last week in the journal Science. The numbers presented by Jeremy Thomas, an ecologist with Britain's National Environmental Research Council, and his colleagues support the theory that the planet could be on track for what scientists refer to as earth's "sixth major extinction event." The cause is oblivious man.
The previous five extinctions were visited upon the dinosaurs and other denizens of the earth by the natural world, coming as glaciers, meteorites, or volcanoes. But the current killer is believed to be the planet's two-legged prime tenant and all his fuel-gulping, air-polluting, habitat-destroying, climate-changing ways.
The British study looked at data gathered by 20,000 volunteers - most definitely not among the shruggers, for they have meticulously counted flora and fauna in just about every nook of England, Scotland and Wales in surveys taken since the 1960s. The findings showed that over 20 years there was a 71 percent drop in native butterfly populations and a 54 percent drop in bird populations. Plants decreased by 28 percent over 40 years.
"What's alarming is the rapidity of decline," said Chris Leahy, a naturalist with the Massachusetts Audubon Society. He noted that while there is still rich biodiversity on the earth today, the implications for the future are scary. He said that the British report and other studies indicate a steady "global ecological decline, an eating away at the fabric of the biosphere."
And if the biosphere is in trouble, then man is in trouble, for human beings are not immune to extinction, though they may like to think so. Leahy noted that man's eventual epitaph in earth's chronicles might read: "This species did well for a while but overreached."
That's why word of Britain's disappearing pearl-bordered fritillary, red-backed shrike and lost ghost orchid should be as riveting as any news bulletin. So should New England's loss of the regal fritillary. The orange, purple and silver butterfly vanished in the 1990s, possibly aided by man's use of parasitic wasps and flies brought in to combat the gypsy moth - another whopping human error.
The once plentifulbobolink and meadowlark are also dwindling in New England, and Leahy noted that the British research is a reminder to conservationists to keep their eye on the common species as well as the rare endangered ones.
They, and we, and the smallest gnat in the grass are linked in the web of biodiversity - and the demise of one is a warning to all. - The Boston Globe
关键字:双语阅读
生词表:
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