自然的运作（2012）

驼鹿这样每次一点点地吃 会抑制植被的生长
Their nibbling keeps the vegetation short.
而海狸对白杨木的钟爱 也有助于空地的扩大
And the beaver's taste for poplar helps to keep the clearing open.
所以蚜虫为森林打开了天窗
So the budworm opens the canopy
而海狸和驼鹿协助修剪了树冠
and the beaver and moose help to garden it.
这一切对一种动物尤其有利
All this benefits one animal in particular.
这些新生命为白靴兔提供了 掩护和食物
This new growth is cover and food for the snowshoe hare,
反过来 更利于猞猁
which in turn is good news for the lynx.
这种惊人联♥系♥的好处 被野生动物学家珍瓦逊发现了
The success of this incredible connection is being uncovered by wildlife biologist Jen Vashon.
森林的这一块树冠 荫蔽下的空地
In this part of the forest there are clearings in the canopy,
很可能是被饥饿的毛虫开垦的
probably created by hungry caterpillars.
这个讯息有利于猞猁
The signs are good for lynx.
这是一只珍在冬季 一直寻找的母猞猁
It's the female she was looking for in the winter.
我酦现了洞穴 你准备好拷贝座标了吗？
I found the den, are you ready to copy the coordinates?
但是也许还有别的东西在这里
But there might be something else here.
一只猞猁宝宝 安然无恙地窝在洞穴里
Safe inside the den a lynx kitten.
它只有几周大 眼睛还睁不开
He's just a few weeks old, his eyes aren't open yet.
也许它是 Ll-ll号♥公猞猁的孩子
Perhaps this one was even fathered by L1-11.
我看得到你 你却看不到我
I can see you, you just can't see me.
它的眼睛还睁不开呢
His eyes aren't even open.
这是我们第一次处理小猞猁
First time we've been, you know done this small.
珍必须赶在猞猁妈妈回来之前 完成工作
Jen must work fast before mum returns.
在它成长并学会 在森林中捕食的过程中
The spruce budworm is one of the reasons
云杉蚜虫是这只小猞猁 获得充足食物的原因之一
this lynx kitten will have plenty to eat when he grows up and starts hunting in the forest.
在北美洲的另一边 还存在着更为惊人的联♥系♥
On the other side of North America there's an even more surprising connection.
这里正值春季 海岸雨林正恢复生机
It's spring and the rain coast forest is coming back to life.
沉睡了一整个冬天的熊 正慢慢从冬眠中苏醒过来
Having slept through the entire winter bears are emerging from hibernation.
经过五个月的沉睡 它们满脑子只有一个念头
After 5 months they have only one thing on their minds,
觅食
food.
熊在寻找食物的时候 这些科学家们却在寻找熊
While the bears search for a meal, these scientists search for bears.
他们希望找到一只熊 身上的一根毛发
They're hoping that a single hair from a bear
这将揭示鲑鱼 对这片森林的重要性
will reveal just how crucial the salmon is for the forest.
科学家克里斯达利蒙特 用的 这些仪器很原始
The equipment being used by scientist Chris Darimont is decidedly low tech.
一个装满鲑鱼内脏的容器
A container full of salmon guts.
这是很好的东西
This is wonderful stuff.
风会将其独特的气味 吹到森林深处
The wind carries this distinctive perfume deep into the forest.
现在诱饵已经设置好了 克里斯 将这片区域用带刺的铁丝围起来
Now the bait is set, Chris lines the area with barbed wire.
远程摄影机也已经打开
And switches on some remote cameras.
是时候火速撤退了
Time to make a hasty retreat.
灰熊恰好喜欢发臭的鱼
Grizzly bears just love smelly fish.
但是克里斯并不打算补获它
But it's not the bear Chris is trying to trap,
他只需要它身上的一根毛发
all he needs is a single hair.
棘铁丝围成了一个陷阱 但丝毫没有妨碍到这只熊
Barbed wire does the trick and doesn't seem to bother the bear at all.
而且很显然 这只熊看起来 很迷恋鲑鱼的气味
And this bear certainly seems to love the scent of salmon.
一个十足的捣蛋鬼闯进来尝鲜 使得计划时间延长
It doesn't take long before a whole mob moves in for a taste.
现在 熊离开了 克里斯收集到了毛发
Now that the coast is clear Chris collects the hair.
小小的一根毛发 记录了一只熊以什么为食
This single hair contains a record of what the bear has been eating.
经由分♥析♥ 克里斯发现
By analysing it Chris discovers that 80 percent of the nitrogen in the bear's hair
熊的毛发中80％的氮 大多存在于海洋中
is a form that's mostly found in the ocean.
而这种海洋氮的最大运输者 只有可能是鲑鱼
The biggest transporter of this oceanic nitrogen could only be the salmon.
从熊的毛发的检测结果表明 熊几乎不吃别的东西
The results from the bear's hair suggest that the bears eat almost nothing else.
然而它们一年中只有短短几周 吃得到鲑鱼
Yet they only eat the salmon for a few weeks a year.
这确实奇怪
This is odd.
正值春天 它们只能吃浆果和草 这里看不到半只鲑鱼
Now it's spring they're only eating berries and grass, there isn't a salmon in sight.
它们其余的海洋氮来源于植物
They're getting the rest of their oceanic nitrogen from plants.
而植物里的海洋氮
The source of the plants oceanic nitrogen
来源于那些秋天 丢弃在地上的鲑鱼残骸
is those salmon carcasses that were dumped during the autumn.
随着鲑鱼被真菌分解 它体内的氮进入森林体系之中
As the salmon decomposes, its nitrogen enters the wood-wide-web.
当阳光到达森林的空地上
And as light reaches forest clearings,
这些鲑鱼的氮 滋养一系列的植物
this salmon nitrogen fuels a burst of plant life.
这里草木茂盛
Here the grass is rich,
为熊类带来一场美味的 春季沙拉大餐
and makes for a tasty spring salad for the bears to feast on.
正当它们享用的时候 海洋氮便进入它们的体内
As they do this the oceanic nitrogen passes into their bodies,
甚至进入它们的每一根毛发
and eventually into each of their hairs.
这片海洋里的氮 不只对熊和草影响很大
This ocean born nitrogen affects far more species than just the bears and the grass.
科学家汤姆莱莫什正在收集 海岸雨林中成千上万的树核
Scientist Tom Reimchen is collecting thousands of tree cores from the rain coast forest.
正如熊的毛发 树核褐示了 这棵树靠什么赖以生存
Like the bear hair, this core reveals the history of what this tree has been feeding on.
每一环单独树轮记录每一年生长 有些树轮比其他的要厚
Each year of growth is recorded as an individual ring and some are thicker than others.
它看起来生长于20世纪初
It looks like in the early 1900s,
这裸树生长得很好 一年又一年
the growth of this tree was, was very good and year after year after year
直到20世纪 20、30以及40年代
and as we move towards 1920, 30, 40,
其生长逐渐变缓
the growth gradually gets less and less.
经由观察 这些树轮里面的海洋氮的含量
By looking at the quantity of oceanic nitrogen in these rings
他发现了一个引人注目的事实
he is discovering a remarkable fact.
鲑鱼产量越大
In years when the salmon runs were much bigger,
树生长越快 并产生了更厚的树轮
the tree grew faster and produced thicker rings.
惊人的是一棵树中高达85％的氮 曾存在于海里游弋的鲑鱼体内
Incredibly, up to 85 percent of the nitrogen in a tree was once part of a salmon swimming in the ocean.
鲑鱼体内的氮几乎能在春季 所有的植物和动物体内发现
Salmon nitrogen can be found in almost all of the plants and animals that appear in the spring.
当动物和植物被食用 氮被一层一层传递下去
As animals and plants are eaten nitrogen is passed on, and on.
棕煌蜂鸟这一类的候鸟 来到这里繁衍后代
Migratory birds like the rufous hummingbird have arrived to breed.
它们吮吸着 被鲑鱼滋养的植物的花蜜
They drink nectar from plants that have been fuelled by this salmon fertiliser.
而一些为植物授粉的昆虫 也被腐烂的鲑鱼所滋养
And some of the insects pollinating the plants were incubated in the rotting salmon.
当这些昆虫被吞下肚 氮会传播得吏远
As the insects are eaten the nitrogen spreads even further.
所有动物都协助含氮营养物运送 它们将氮带到森林深处
All these animals help to carry the nitrogen fertiliser deeper and deeper into the forest.
这些营养物 带动整个森林体系的运作
And these nutrients power the wood-wide-web.
有助于树木生长
Helping the trees to grow.
当秋天再次来临
As autumn returns,
鲑鱼开始了它们的回溯之旅
salmon start their journey back up stream.
蚜虫们寻找睡觉的地方
Budworms find a place to sleep.
整个森林系统将它的美丽壮观 呈现在我们面前
The wood-wide-web reveals its spectacular display.
而这个循环将会继续下去 以维持这季节性森林生物的生存
And the cycle continues ensuring the success of all life in the Seasonal Forests.