大太平洋（2017）

今天 加拉帕戈斯群岛是
Today, the Galapagos are an ultimate destination
野生动物旅游最终目的地
for wildlife tourism...
这是五百年来外来物种
...the latest in five centuries of contact
和本地物种之间最新一次接触
between outsider and native.
随着人类的到来 也带来其他哺乳动物 山羊
But with the people came other mammals- goats.
蹂躏了草地和森林
They ravaged meadows and forests,
破坏了象龟的食物供应
destroying the tortoises' food supply.
一种有着数百万年历史的物种
A species millions of years old
即将失去生存的竞争
was about to lose the race to survive.
尽管人类的入侵
Yet even as human invasion
使象龟陷入危险之中
plunged the tortoise into peril,
无意中却给了一条生命线
we unwittingly threw it a lifeline...
一种禁果
...a forbidden fruit.
番石榴
Guava.
多肉 多汁
Succulent, juicy...
就像山羊 是人类带来的
...but, like the goats, brought here by people.
慢吞吞的象龟适应了鞭打般的速度
The sluggish tortoise adapted with whiplash speed.
在一些岛屿上 番石榴现在是
On some islands, guava is now their fruit of choice,
象龟首选水果 是主食
a mainstay of their diet.
与此同时 山羊几乎绝迹
Goats, meanwhile, have all but vanished,
被公园管♥理♥员♥铲除
eradicated by park rangers
由于山羊会造成破坏
because of the damage they caused.
象龟的情况正在好转
Things are looking up for the tortoise.
沿着古老的足迹前行
But as they travel their ancient trails,
把所吃食物的种子储存起来
they deposit the seeds of the food they eat...
在新的变革中发挥自己的作用
...playing their part in new change.
今天 这里一半以上的植物
Today, more than half the plants here
和山羊一样都是外来的
are as foreign as the goats.
这可能是缓慢而稳定的象龟得到了回报
It may be that slow and steady is paying off for the tortoise.
加拉帕戈斯群岛是精细的进化实验室
But the Galapagos is a finely tuned laboratory of evolution.
在这场食欲的竞赛中没有人
No-one knows who the future winners and losers will be
知道谁是未来的赢家和输家
in this race of appetites.
这不仅是在太平洋奇异的角落
But it's not just in exotic corners of the Pacific
食欲对生活有如此大的影响
where appetite has such an impact on life.
更熟悉的海岸隐藏着
More familiar shores conceal
同样丰富复杂的世界
equally rich and complex worlds.
大苏尔 加利福尼亚州
加利福尼亚海岸
The California coast.
在海浪下面是大♥片♥的海藻森林
Beneath the waves, forests of giant kelp.
这些巨大的叶子从海底上升五十米
These great fronds rise 50 metres from the ocean floor
以获得阳光
and reach for the light...
水下栖息地不间断地从加利福尼亚
...an underwater habitat that stretches almost uninterrupted
一直延伸到阿♥拉♥斯加的顶端
from California to the tip of Alaska.
海藻生命力很强 一天就能生长六十厘米
Kelp is so vigorous, it can grow 60cm in one day.
像珊瑚礁一样 为无数物种提供了庇护
Like coral reefs, it offers shelter for countless species.
这是太平洋上最多样化的生态系统
This is one of the most diverse ecosystems in the Pacific.
有一种生物 海藻也是食物
For one creature, seaweed is also food.
红海胆
The red urchin.
看起来像海底豪猪
It looks like an undersea porcupine.
比名字含义更加可怕的是
And it's more formidable than its name implies...
长着八厘米长的防御刺
...bristling with defensive spines almost 8cm long,
从坚硬的外壳中冒出来
sprouting from a hard shell.
目的是用来击退攻击者
They're designed to break off in their attackers.
海胆可以长得更多
The urchin can always grow more.
有超过一千只全地形管足
They have more than 1,000 all-terrain feet...
末端有吸盘
...with suckers on the ends.
所以可以去任何地方
So they can pretty much go anywhere.
虽然没有眼睛 实际可以看到
Though they lack eyes, they can actually see
通过脚上的感光细胞
through light-sensitive cells on their feet,
利用嗅觉来寻找食物
but they follow their noses to feed.
海胆将自己依附
They attach themselves to the base
在海藻锚定的海床上
that anchors kelp to the seabed.
为了抵御猛烈的风暴
Built to withstand violent storms,
这些吸附物坚固且纤维状
these holdfasts are strong and fibrous.
有些海胆的牙齿可以咬穿石头
But some urchins' teeth can cut through stone.
短短几个月 海藻森林就变成了荒漠
In just a few months, a forest is reduced to a desert.
海藻森林并非无力抵抗
But the kelp forest isn't defenceless.
有森林卫士
It has a guardian.
海獭
The sea otter.
也许是海洋中最可爱的动物
It may be the cutest creature in the ocean,
也有贪婪的胃口
but it has a voracious appetite...
喜食海胆
...Tor urchins.
海獭在这个生态系统中角色非常重要
The otter plays such a vital role in this ecosystem,
是大太平洋的基石物种
it's a keystone species of the big Pacific.
人类差点灭绝了海獭
And to think we nearly lost them.
一个多世纪前 海獭因皮毛
More than a century ago, sea otters were hunted
被猎杀到灭绝的边缘
to the brink of extinction for their pelts.
在1911年受到保护时 仅存两千只
Barely 2,000 remained when they were protected in 1911.
随着海獭的消失 海胆大量繁殖
As otters vanished, urchins multiplied,
自然的平衡被疯狂地打乱了
and nature's balance was thrown wildly out of whack.
扁平的尾巴和有蹼的脚可以毫不费力地
Its flattened tail and webbed feet propel it effortlessly
下潜到
to the bottom...
九十米以下
...up to 90 metres down.
海胆多刺的防御能力
The spiny defences of the sea urchin
根本比不上海獭的爪子
are no match for the otter's claws.
用独特的凿形牙齿
They crunch through the hard shell
咬穿海胆坚硬的外壳
with uniquely chiselled teeth.
海胆非常的胃口使其如此致命
But it's their appetite that makes them so lethal.
一只海獭一天可以吃掉一千六百只海胆
One ofter can devour 1,600 urchins in a single day,
大约是其体重的三分之一
about one-third its own body weight.
在海獭繁盛的地方 海藻森林也是如此
And where otters thrive, SO do the great forests of kelp.
海藻又起到另一个至关重要的作用
The kelp in turn do another vital job.
每年 太平洋的海藻森林
Every year, the Pacific's kelp forests
从大气中吸收四千万吨♥二氧化碳
absorb 40 million tons of carbon from the atmosphere.
在大太平洋 每个胃口的关键是平衡
In the big Pacific, the key to every appetite is balance.