自然的运作（2012）

地球上有一千万个物种
1O million species live on Planet Earth.
但是没有哪个物种 可以单独存活下来
But none can survive on its own.
一切生命都有赖于 与其他物种的联♥系♥
All life depends on connections.
上千万的植物与动物间总是 隐藏着意想不到的联♥系♥
Often hidden and unexpected relationships between millions of plants and animals.
它们形成伟大的生命巨轮
They form great communities of life.
这一次让我们来探索
This time,
为什么这只老虎 要靠螃蟹才能活命
why this tiger needs a crab to survive.
为什么这只巨獭 需要蜗牛的帮助
Why this giant otter needs a snail.
还有 为什么这条鲨鱼需要海绵
And why this shark needs a sponge.
正是这些关系为生命倾注力量
Connections like these power life in our Watervvorlds.
（大自然法则）
##HOW NATURE WORKS
（水世界）
这里是地球上最变幻莫测 力量最强大的地方之一
One of the most volatile and powerful environments on the planet.
地球上所有生命赖以生存的养分 就是从这些湍急的水流开始
Vital ingredients for all life on earth begin in these raging torrents.
湍急的水流从岩石 土壤中急速流过
Millions of gallons of water relentlessly carve through rock and soil
从不停息 并且带走了珍贵的"货物"
grinding away, picking up a precious cargo.
那就是沉积物
Sediment
和氧气
and oxygen.
这些都是有益的养分
Together, these are potent ingredients.
在如此湍急的水流中只有极少的 生物可以适应并生存下来
In these fast flowing waters just a few specially adapted creatures can survive.
但是当水流缓慢下来 那些"货物"就会创造奇迹
But when the raging torrent slows down this cargo fuels a transformation.
除了南美洲 世界上其他的地方 都不会发生如此戏剧性的变化
Nowhere shows this more dramatically than here in South America.
从巴西高原流下来的水 涌进低洼的加利福尼亚
Water from the Brazilian plateau floods into a vast lowland bowl the size of California.
那里从只有一个碗那么大 进而形成了地球上最大的沼泽地
To create the greatest wetland on Earth,
潘塔纳尔
the Pantanal.
这里是 美洲最大猫科动物的栖息地
This is home to the largest cat in the Americas,
美洲豹
the Pantanal Jaguar.
它们体重超过160公斤 是男性平均体重的两倍
Weighing in at over 160kgs twice as heavy as an average man.
这些大猫赫赫有名 难以捉摸 但这里有很多
These famously elusive cats are so numerous here
所以来自四面八方的游客 都来这里一睹雄姿
that people travel from around the world just to see them.
但是这片沼泽地中还有很多 其他种类的肉食动物
But other predators also thrive in this wetland.
世界上最大的蛇 绿水蟒
The biggest snake in the world, the green anaconda.
它可以长达9米
It can grow up to 9 metres long.
而凯门鳄则埋伏在 每一个角落里
And around every corner lurks a caiman.
这里有1000万只凯门鳄
10 million caimans.
是全世界鳄鱼密度最高的地方 简直就是随处可见
The largest concentration of crocodilians anywhere on earth.
这些致命的肉食动物都以世界上 最大的啮齿目动物为生
And all these deadly predators hunt the largest rodent in the world,
那就是水豚
the Capybara.
它们比豚鼠重100倍
One hundred times heavier than a guinea pig,
水豚是潘塔纳尔 主要的草食性动物
the Capybara is the dominant plant eater in the Pantanal.
它们群居生活
They gather in huge numbers.
这里所有生物的体积都特别大
Everything here is big.
是大块头的地槃
This is the land of the giants.
在这群大块头中 有一种动物最厉害
For all this life, one creature rules supreme,
它们是河流中的捕食高手
the apex predator of the river,
巨型水獭
the giant otter.
它们长达2米 可将一个人置于死地
Up to 2 metres long and capable of killing a man,
巨型水獭是潘塔纳尔 最致命的肉食动物之一
the giant otter is one of the deadliest predators of the Pantanal.
山泉水携带来的"货物" 是它们赖以生存的养分
This land of the giants exists, thanks to the cargo that mountain streams carry.
氧气与沉积物 再加以氮和磷
Oxygen and sediment packed with nitrogen and phosphorous.
当它们到达潘塔纳尔时 水流减缓 最终"卸下"这些珍贵"货物"
When it reaches the Pantanal, the water slows down and finally releases this valuable cargo.
沉积物逐年地堆积起来
Gradually, this sediment has built up year on year,
经过上千万年才形成了 这片巨大的、肥沃的天堂
over millions of years, to create this vast, fertile, paradise.
但是河水只能带来养分
But the river only brings the ingredients.
潘塔纳尔的生物繁衍 还特别依赖一种动物
For life to flourish the Pantanal depends on the contribution of one animal in particular.
但这种动物并不是 这群大块头中的一种
But it's not one of the big giants.
要想知道它是谁 就得往水底探索
To find it, we have to look beneath the surface.
福寿螺
The apple snail.
逃出了肉食动物的视线范围 它们在河床上找到安全的居住地
Out of the sight of predators he finds safety on the riverbed.
和鱼一样 它用腮呼吸水中溶解的氧气
Like a fish he has a gill that can breathe dissolved oxygen in the water.
而且它还在这里找到了 很多食物
And here he finds plenty of food.
它的牙齿可以咬破腐肉 和坚硬的植物
His teeth saw through rotting flesh and tough plants,
而且它的内脏可以消化纤维
and his gut can break down cellulose,
消化植物坚硬的部分 其他动物都办不到
the tough parts of plants indigestible to other animals.
吃了那么多 它也得释放一下
After so much eating he relieves himself.
现在就是见证奇迹的时候了
This is when the magic happens.
它把所有的废物 都转化成了氮和磷
He has recycled all that dead matter back into nitrogen and phosphorous.
这可是所有植物 茁壮成长的肥料
Pure fertiliser that all the plants here need in order to grow fast and big.
而王莲是这里最大的植物
And no plant here is as big as the giant water lily.
它有多达40片叶子 宽达3米
It has up to 40 leaves which can grow up to 3 metres wide.
每一朵花如同一块 巨大的太阳能电池板
Each one acts as a giant solar panel.
它们从阳光中获得能量 进行光合作用为植物提供养分
They gather energy from the sun to power photosynthesis in order for the plant to grow.
这里的莲花不仅大 而且还会"自燃"
The giant water lily not only grows big but it has energy to burn.
它会在晚上开花 然后做出奇特的行为
At night it opens its flowers and does something extraordinary.
根据热感照相机显示 它自我升温 如同一个熔炉
As the thermal camera reveals this flower heats itself like a furnace.
经由消耗糖分使自身的温度 高于周遭环境 升高了10度
Burning sugar raises its temperature 10 degrees higher than its surroundings.
并且经由热度 在夜晚散发气味
Using this heat it's radiating its scent in the night air.
以此来吸引圣甲虫
And attracting Scarab beetles.
它们升高自身的温度 并消耗糖分
Inside they warm up and feed on the sugars.
而甲虫则为它们授粉 帮助它们繁衍后代
In return these beetles pollinate the flower and help it to reproduce.
潘塔纳尔的植物所以能茁壮成长 全靠福寿螺不断地清扫废物
The rich bounty of plants in the Pantanal all benefit from the snails constant feeding and recycling.
但这得付出代价
But the snail's banquet comes with a price.
8月份是每年的干旱时节
It's August, and the annual drought
沼泽变成了一个巨大的草原 只留下几个小池塘
transforms the wetland into a vast grassy plain dotted with small muddy pools.
这些福寿螺被暴露在阳光下 等着成为别人的盘中飧
The snails are left high and dry, exposed and tasty.
它们让数以万计的肉食动物 维持生计 特别是凯门鳄
They make a meal for millions of predators, especially caimans.
福寿螺壳上的钙 可以帮助凯门鳄加厚皮肤
The calcium in the snails shell helps the caimans to thicken their skins.
成为盘中飧已经够惨的了
Being on the menu is bad enough,
但是为了继续它们重大的使命
but to continue their vital role of recycling,
幸存下来的福寿螺必须面临 一个更大的挑战
the surviving snails have to overcome a much bigger challenge.
这可是潘塔纳尔生态系统 得以维持的关键
One which puts the whole ecosystem of the Pantanal on a knife edge.
充沛的雨水再次降临到 南美的高原上
Heavy rains return to the highlands of South America.
河水决堤 洪水再次涌进整个草原
The swollen rivers burst their banks and once again flood across the grassy plains.
但此时 就是这个生态系统 最脆弱的时候
Surprisingly, this is the most dangerous time for the ecosystem.
草原上数万吨♥的草开始腐斓
Millions of tons of swamped grass begin to rot,
所以很快就耗尽了生命中 最重要的养分
rapidly using up the most important ingredient for life,
氧气
oxygen.
潘塔纳尔似乎快要窒息了
The Pantanal is suffocating.
这时就需要福寿螺消灭腐烂的草 释放氮
It needs the snail to recycle the dead grass and unlock the nutrients.
但没有氧气 福寿螺也不能工作下去
But without oxygen, the snail can't survive to do its job.
幸亏它有秘密武器
Thankfully, the snail has a secret weapon.
福寿螺拥有 可伸缩的调整型独特武器
Uniquely, apple snails possess a specially adapted, telescopic appendage.
这个武器可以伸长至8厘米
Which can extend to eight centimetres.
这就是它的通气管
A snorkel!
它从表面吸取氧气 通向特别的肺部
He's pumping air from the surface, straight to a special lung.
现在它就有足够的氧气 来完成工作
Now he has enough oxygen to return to what he does best,
回收利用腐烂的动植物
recycling dead matter.
虽然我们看不见 不管有无氧气 也不管巨大的沼泽地如何待它
Out of sight, oxygen or no oxygen the constant feeding of millions of apple snails
数以万计的福寿螺不断地工作
keeps the Pantanal alive and rich with nutrients,
才使潘塔纳尔有足够的氮供应 孕育更多的生命
no matter what the vast wetland throws at it.
嫩绿的水生植物枝繁叶茂 向水中释放氧气
Young aquatic plants flourish pumping oxygen back into the water.
数以万计的鱼儿开始产卵
Millions of fish arrive to spawn.
也就有了足够的食物 来满足水中的大王
Enough food to satisfy the king of the river.
巨型水濑
The giant otter.
这样不断的尖叫声
These constantly screeching calls
唤醒了以这条河流为生的动物 以及河中的鱼儿
warn all other animals that they own the river and all the fish in it.
所有的进攻都是为了满足欲望
Any rival is met with aggression.
这个家族占据了 15公里长的河流
This family is patrolling a 15 kilometre stretch of the river.
没有动物可以威胁到它们 包括凯门鳄
Nothing frightens them, not even a caiman.
这些大型水濑 合作捕捉大型的猎物
These giant otters hunt large prey co-operatively.
甚至连凯门鳄也成了 它们的盘中飧
And even caiman is on the menu.
但它们最爱吃的还是鱼
But to an otter nothing tastes better than fish.
它们的胃口就像个无底洞
Their appetites are insatiable.
一只水濑一天需要进食10倍于 自身体重的食物
Each otter needs to eat a tenth of its bodyweight, every day.
幸运的是 潘塔纳尔可以满足它们
Luckily in the Pantanal, there's plenty for everyone,
这得多亏福寿螺的辛勤劳动
thanks to a snail that keeps on eating and recycling
不管这个变幻莫测的沼泽 是如何待它们的
no matter what this vast every-changing wetland throws at it.
无论是佛罗里达 还是英国的沼泽地
All over the planet, from the Florida Everglades to the Fens of Britain,
或者是尼罗河
to the Nile,
生活在淡水里的福寿螺 和其他沼泽地生物
freshwater snails and other wetland creatures sustain watery ecosystems.
都是地球维持水生态系统的法宝 沼泽地对于地球而言作用巨大