我们的生物世界（2024）

你就无法存活
you won't survive.
这只脚步轻快的彩虹飞蜥…
This light-footed agama lizard
体格够小 所以寻找庇护处并不难
is small enough to find shelter.
而他的鳞状皮肤能锁住宝贵的水分
And his scaly skin keeps much-needed moisture locked in.
但他有时也需要喝水
But even he needs to drink sometimes.
对他来说庆幸的是 甚至在这种贫瘠的荒地上
Fortunately for him, even in this barren wilderness,
也是有水的
there is water.
神奇的绿洲让疲惫的沙漠游客解渴
A miraculous oasis for weary desert travelers.
但它可能不像表面上看起来那么友好
But it might not be as welcoming as it seems.
这个水池里全都是鳄鱼 真是不可思议…
Incredibly, this pool is full of crocodiles...
沙漠中♥央♥居然有鳄鱼水池
in the middle of the desert.
附近最近的流动水域在160公里之外
A hundred miles from the nearest flowing water.
他们的远亲游过郁郁葱葱的沼泽
While their far-flung relatives swim through lush swamps,
但这些鳄鱼却困在这里
these crocodiles are trapped here.
对他们来说 这不是一个绿洲
For them, it's not an oasis,
而是一座监狱
it's a prison...
在此 每一个囚犯都必须为自己奋战
...where every inmate must fight for themselves.
任何会动的东西都会发起激烈的竞争
There's fierce competition for anything that moves.
一只正在迁徙的蜂鹰停下来喝水…
A migrating honey buzzard stops to drink...
而且还闯入水中乘凉
...and wades in to cool off.
这一只无法喂饱所有人
It won't feed everyone.
他们如果留在这里
If they stay here,
可能就会饿死
they could starve.
但要是为了自♥由♥而逃离此处…
But if they make a break for freedom...
这是他们在绝望之下 所面临的进退两难的选择
It's a desperate dilemma as their world shrinks around them.
不过此处有他们的存在这一事实 象征着一种以千年为单位的节奏
But the fact they're here at all is a sign of a rhythm measured in millennia.
因为此处并非一向如此
Because it wasn't always like this.
就在几千年前
Just a few thousand years ago,
这片沙漠还是又绿又肥的
this desert was green and fertile.
鳄鱼在流动的河流中游动
Crocodiles swam in flowing rivers.
因为我们旋转着的星球在缓慢地摇动
Because our spinning planet has a long-term wobble
隔千年重复一次
that repeats over millennia,
这使地球的各个半球 进一步靠近太阳 然后再远离太阳
moving its hemispheres closer to and then further from the sun,
导致我们的气候随之变换
and altering our climate as it goes.
根据地球目前的路径 西非的季风有所减弱
On its current path, the West African monsoon weakened,
导致撒哈拉沙漠上停止降雨
and rain stopped falling in the Sahara.
短短几百年里 鳄鱼的葱郁沼泽
Within just a few hundred years, the crocodiles' lush swamps
变成了我们星球上最大的沙漠之一
became one of the planet's largest deserts.
但即使在如今酷热的气候中
But even in today's searing climate...
仍存在着久远的回声
there is still an echo of the long-lost past.
每年只有几个宝贵的降雨天
Just a few precious days of rainfall each year.
这一极为短暂的雨季 能把我们带到过去
This briefest of wet seasons lets us travel back in time...
为我们展示一万年前此处的生存环境
to glimpse what life was like here 10,000 years ago...
一片绿悠悠的撒哈拉
in a green Sahara.
如果这些囚犯能再坚持一万年左右
If the inmates can cling on, in another 10,000 years or so,
我们的星球 会完成一个完整的摇动周期
the planetary wobble will run full circle.
水体会再次流动起来
Water will flow again,
让其隔许久时光的后裔 获得自♥由♥ 找回失去已久的江河
freeing their distant descendants to reclaim long-lost rivers.
我们星球上最为迟缓的各种节奏
The creeping pace of our planet's slowest rhythms
速度慢得我们几乎无法察觉得到
makes them almost impossible to see.
但如果这些节奏被打断 哪怕是一点点
But if these rhythms are interrupted even by the smallest increment,
我们就会开始察觉到眼前的变化
we can start to see things change before our eyes.
俄勒冈州喀斯喀特山脉的秋天
Autumn in Oregon's Cascade Mountains.
这只野兔尽量不想惹麻烦
This hare is trying to stay out of trouble.
这是有合理原因的
With good reason.
野兔很少会因衰老而死
Hares rarely die of old age.
正猎食的苍鹰 会注意到任何移♥动♥的东西
A hunting goshawk will spot anything that moves.
所以胆小的野兔站着一动不动
So the skittish hare freezes.
都不怎么呼吸
Barely even breathing.
在毫无遮盖的地方躲着
Hidden in plain sight.
苍鹰走了
The hawk moves on,
这会儿野兔可以松一口气了
and the hare can breathe a sigh of relief.
但她的家即将面目全非
But her home is about to transform beyond recognition.
如果你最靠谱的存活方式是伪装
If your best bet for staying alive is camouflage,
那当你的世界突然变色时 你要怎么去应对
how do you cope when your world suddenly changes color?
你也可以变色
You change too.
随着冬季的日长缩短 她的毛色从棕色变成白色
As the winter days shorten, she molts from brown to white.
这身衣服换得太妙了
An incredible costume change.
这次也是 她只需要保持一动不动即可
Once again, all she has to do is freeze.
然后就像魔法一样
And like magic,
她消失了
she vanishes.
但现在 有了新的威胁
But now, a new threat.
人为造成的气候变化 意味着冬季的有些天
Man-made climate change means that some winter days
暖得不像冬天 积雪可以一夜间消失
are unseasonably warm, and snow cover can disappear overnight.
她身体变色 不是由气温而是由日长所引起的
Her color change is triggered not by temperature, but by day length.
温暖的冬天 日长照样短
And these warmer days are still short.
所以她现在 与周围的环境完全失去同步
So now, she's desperately out of sync with her surroundings
很容易被注意到
and an easy target.
该用备选方案了
Time for plan B.
速度
Speed.
她甩掉他了
She's lost him.
但如果你这么显眼 躲着不是个办法
But when you're this conspicuous, staying hidden isn't an option.
下一次 她可能就不会这么幸运了
Next time, she may not be so lucky.
颜色突出的野兔会更容易被抓到
Mismatched hares are more likely to be picked off.
现在这种现象出现得更加频繁
And now they're out of step more often.
在这个不断变化的世界里 她的同类还是可以有未来的
Her kind could still have a future in this changing world.
这只白靴兔已经适应了 他全年都保持棕色
This snowshoe hare has adapted to stay brown all year round.
所以当地面上的雪较薄时 他的生活就会更轻松
So his life is easier when snow is thin on the ground.
他们物种的未来 可能取决于更多像他这样的野兔
The future of their species may depend on more guys like him.
当生命跟上地球的多种节奏时 大自然才能发挥出最大的力量
Nature works best when life keeps step with the planet's many rhythms.
那么当人类活动扰乱了这种节奏时 会发生什么情况
So what happens when human activity disrupts the tempo?
当世界的各个地方都骤然出现变化时
As the world changes suddenly all around us...
大自然是否能顺利度过…
can nature survive...
即将来临的风暴
...the coming storm?