地球脉动（2006）

不过海底也和其他地方一样, 既然有吃素的,肯定有吃肉的
but, in the deep sea, as everywhere else if there are grazers, there are hunters.
一只安康鱼 肉眼几乎不能辨别躺在那里的它和沙子
A monkfish, almost indistinguishable from the sand on which it lies.
既然有引诱猎物过来的诱饵 何必浪费能量到处追赶猎物呢
Why waste energy chasing around, if you can attract prey towards you with a lure?
这个可能有点大
Maybe that one was a bit big.
安康鱼可以等好几天
The monkfish can wait, for days if necessary,
直到合适的猎物出现
until the right sized meal turns up.
食腐类动物则需要到处寻找食物
Scavengers on the other hand, have to move around to find their food.
蟹类可以从水里嗅到从上面落下的尸体的极细微的气味 并以此追踪到食物
Crabs can detect the faintest of tastes in the water and that helps them locate the latest body to drift down from above.
鳗鱼已经在这里进食
Eels are already feeding on the corpse.
等脚类动物,比如1/3米长的巨海虱
Isopods, like giant marine woodlice a third of a meter long
也在撕食腐烂的肉
are ripping into the rotting flesh.
在接下来的几个小时里, 这些食腐动物会尽情分享这份大餐
Over the next few hours there'll be frenzied competition between scavengers of all kinds to grab a share.
有时候,也有想不到的大好事
Just occasionally, there is a gigantic bonanza.
一头抹香鲸的尸体
The remains of a sperm whale.
约5个月前死亡
It died five months or so ago.
除了粘在骨头上的鲸脂外已经没什么东西了
There's little left but fatty blubber clinging to it's bones.
鲸鱼肉滋养了方圆几里的生物
It's flesh has nourished life for miles around
但现在盛宴快结束了
but now the feast is almost over.
宽达1米的蜘蛛蟹仍然在采集这最后的残羹剩饭
Spider crabs, a meter across, still pick at the last putrid remains.
再过几个星期,除了骨头外什么都不会留下
A few weeks more, and nothing will be left, but bare bones.
蜘蛛蟹必须尽快吃完.直到下一个畜体落下之前
The crabs will have to fast, until the next carcass drifts down.
不过不是所有的食物来自阳光普照的海面上
But not all food comes from the sunlit world above.
大西洋被一条无边的火山山脉劈成两半, 绕地球绵延45000英里
The floor of the Atlantic Ocean is split in two by an immense volcanic mountain chain that winds unbroken for forty five thousand miles around the globe.
在这里 海底裂缝中含有大量溶解矿物质的滚烫海水
In places, it's riven by great fissures, from which superheated water loaded with dissolved minerals
喷进冰冷的深海里
blasts into the icy depths.
硫化物冷却所形成的浓烟有3层楼那么高
Clouds of sulfides solidify into towering chimneys, as tall as a three story house.
400度的高温 剧毒的化学物质足可以杀死绝大多数生物
At four hundred degrees this scalding cocktail of chemicals would be lethally toxic to most forms of life
但是令人震惊的是 一种特别的细菌在这里繁荣昌盛
but astoundingly, a particular kind of bacteria thrives here
大量的虾又以细菌为食
and feeding on the bacteria, vast numbers of shrimps.
即使在没有太阳的能量驱动, 也会诞生丰富的共生动物群
So, beyond the farthest reach of the Sun's power a rich independent community exists,
并直接吸收从地心喷出的能量
that draws all it's energy directly from the Earth's molten core.
在地球的另一端,西太平洋和日本的交界处
On the other side of the planet, in the western Pacific bordering Japan
龙火山带
the dragon chimneys,
另一些在黑暗的海底喷发的火山口
another series of hot vents, erupting in the darkness.
这里更多的不同的细菌因为相同的原因而繁荣着
Here, more, but different bacteria thrive in a similar way.
在这里也有很多甲壳类动物 不过和大西洋的海底火山迥然不同
And here, too, more crustaceans, but quite different species from those around the hot vents in the Atlantic.
这些螯龙虾(属蟹类)
These are squat lobsters,
覆盖着有毛的甲壳, 互相争抢最佳位置来摄取喷出的炙热海水中的细菌
clad in furry armor jostling with one another beside the jets of superheated water for the best places, from which to graze on bacteria.
这种和大西洋相似的现象,相当于一个个绿洲
These vents, too, like those in the Atlantic are isolated oases
分布广泛,又各自独♥立♥
so widely separated, that each community is unique.
在太平洋的其他地方
Cross to the other side of the Pacific,
加拉帕戈斯群岛附近的海底, 还有另一个海底裂缝在喷射炙热海水
to the deep near the Galapagos Islands and there are yet other fissures venting superheated water.
距海面一英里半,一个叫北九地区的地方
One and a half miles down, at a site known as Nine North
高耸的火山烟囱滋养着引人入胜的巨大管栖蠕虫
towering chimneys support a spectacular display of giant tubeworms.
这些火山口带来的丰富的能源 甚至可以让这些蠕虫长到3米长
These vents give off so much energy that some of the worms reach three meters in length.
这是已知长的最快的海洋无脊椎动物
They're the fastest growing marine invertebrates known.
据统计,超过50种生活在这里的生物被发现
All told, over fifty different species have so far been found living here.
这些熙熙攘攘的生物群落
The inhabitants of these bustling communities
生长速度虽然很快,不过存在的时间也可能很短
may grow at speed but their existence can also be short,
因为火山口的喷发是不确定的
for the vents do not erupt indefinitely.
说不定突然间它们就会消失
Suddenly, unpredictably, they may become inactive.
9个月后,北九地区
Nine months have passed at Nine North.
火山口丰富的生物群现在 只剩下了寒冷贫瘠荒凉的遗址
What were only recently chimneys teeming with life have turned into cold, sterile mineral monuments.
地壳喷出的能量漩涡转移到了别处
Some eddy, deep in the Earth's crust diverted the volcanic energy elsewhere
整个微观世界也黯然失色
and, an entire microworld was extinguished.
在有的地方,火山喷发后会形成巨大的水下山
In places, volcanoes have erupted to build great submarine mountains.
据估计海底共有30000座火山
There are thought to be around thirty thousand such volcanoes
如果从海床开始算 甚至有一些比珠穆朗玛峰还要高
some, measured from the sea floor, are taller than Everest.
火山开凿出来的绝壁 一直延伸到山顶
Sheer cliffs soaring to drowned volcanic peaks.
带着海底养分的强大的洋流与海底山相接 便顺山而上
Powerful currents sweep up the mountains' flanks transporting nutrients from deep water towards the summits.
坚硬的岩石 给这些绚丽的共生种群提供了很好的停靠地点
The hard rock provides excellent anchorage for communities of great variety and stunning color.
几米长的软珊瑚
Soft corals, several meters across
收集流过它们身边的海雪
collect the marine snow as it drifts past.
海鞭在海流中伸出手来
Whip corals stretch out into the current.
大海绵从冰冷的海水中汲取营养
Giant sponges filter nourishment from the cold water.
一个丰富的物种群落在这里昌盛
A richly varied community flourishes here
得益于洋流持续不断地携带养分从这里流过
sustained by the nutrients and detritus in the icy currents that flow around the peak.
这些生物在这座死火山的的繁荣地点, 离阳光照射到的地方还有1英里呢
Yet it is all blossoming on an extinct volcano, a mile below the reach of the Sun.
鹦鹉螺
A nautilus.
白天它躲在400米深的海底
It spends it's days hiding four hundred meters down
到了晚上,它就游上来 到珊瑚礁附近寻找食物
But as night falls, it ascends up to the reefs, to look for food.
它那优美的外壳由充满空气的小室组成
It's graceful shell contains gas filled floatation chambers,
使它可以控制深度
that control it's depth.
它的动力来自虹吸管喷射的水流
It's powered by a jet of water, squirting from a siphon
由于它是倒着游 所以它自己也很难看清楚自己要去哪里
but it travels shell first, so it can't see exactly where it's going.
它是已经进化到已经没有壳的章鱼和乌贼的近亲
It's nearest living relatives are squid and octopus which, over evolutionary time, have both lost their shells
章鱼也已经成为了猎食鹦鹉螺的主要天敌
and the octopus has become one of the nautilus' major predators.
章鱼,伪装的大♥师♥
It's a master of disguise.
鹦鹉螺必须远离它们
The nautilus keeps well clear of them.
它的小触手有非常灵敏的化学感觉器, 可以探测到敌人和猎物的踪迹
It's small tentacles carry highly developed chemical sensors which can detect traces of both predators and prey.
鹦鹉螺利用喷水器挖沙子
It uses it's water jet to dig in the sand.
因为它游泳耗费的能量极少, 所以只需每个月吃1顿饭
Because it devotes so little energy to swimming, it only needs a meal once a month.
得到什么东西了
Got something.
如愿以偿. 黎明快到了所以它必须回到深海里去
And just as well. Dawn is approaching and it has to puff it's way back, to deeper waters.
30英里外的海上, 大量的鱿鱼游到海面上
Thirty miles away, shoals of squid are jetting upwards towards the surface.
晚上,鱿鱼寻找浮游生物和小鱼
By night, they seek small fish among the plankton,
不过它们必须谨慎
but they're cautious.
太平洋花斑原海豚
Pacific spotted dolphin.
它们靠声纳导航
They're guided by their sonar.
海豚经常团队合作
The dolphin, as so often, are working as a team,
协同攻击,来迷惑敌人
synchronizing their attacks to confuse their prey.
黎明来临, 鱿鱼,鱼和浮游生物再次下沉隐没在黑暗中
As dawn approaches, squid and fish and plankton retreat downwards, to shelter in the darkness.
有一些成为孤岛的火山高耸在海床上达9000米 几乎快要到达海面了
Some of these isolated volcanoes rise as much as nine thousand meters from the sea floor, reaching close to the surface.
这里的日照非常充足
Around these peaks invigorated by daily sunshine
海洋中的生物在这里大量繁荣
marine life flourishes in spectacular abundance.
鱼类在这里大量汇聚的原因是 火山迫使洋流把海底的养分送上水面
Fish crowd here, because the volcano forces nutrients to the surface
使得浮游生物十分旺盛
encouraging the plankton to bloom.
海洋流浪者翻车鱼来到海边让珊瑚鱼给它打扫卫生
An oceanic wanderer, a mola mola stops by to be cleaned by reef fish, at the sea mount edge.
蝴蝶鱼排成一队忙着吃翻车鱼身上的线体寄生虫
Butterfly-fish pluck string-like parasites from it's flanks.
翻车鱼以超过1000米深的深海水母为生, 那里的水温比这里低20度,
The huge fish lives on jellyfish over a thousand meters down where the water is twenty degrees colder
翻车鱼可以在下次深海攻击前上来暖和一下
so, a brushup near the surface, allows it to warm up before making more deep water forays.
这个火山已经处于海面之上
The summit of this volcanic mountain rises above the surface of the sea.
阿森松岛
It's Ascension Island
距最近的大♥陆♥800英里
eight hundred miles from any other land,
长途旅行者们生死攸关的避难所
a welcome vital haven for long distance travelers.
军舰鸟可以在海上持续待几个月
Frigatebirds spend months continuously airborne at sea
不过到了筑巢的时候 它就从海洋各处飞回到阿森松岛
but at nesting time, they come to Ascension from all over the ocean.
一个充满了火山灰和火山岩的不毛之地
The island's barren slopes of volcanic ash and lava
却提供了一个筑巢的好地方
might seem to offer perfectly good sites for a nest
不过军舰鸟要挑选偏僻的地点
but the frigates choose an even more isolated site
水手长鸟岛 阿森松岛旁边的一个偏僻小岛
Boatswain Bird Island, a lonely pillar, just of Ascension's coast.
阿森松军舰鸟是世界上最轻的海鸟之一 翼展特别长
Frigates are the world's lightest bird, relative to their wingspan
它们只需要很小的付出就能在海上飞行好几个星期
and they can soar for weeks on end with minimal effort.
相对于地上拥挤的巢穴, 在天上飞就悠然自得多了
They seem much more at home in the skies, than in a crowded colony on land
不过筑巢是必须的
but nest, they must.
它们从大西洋各处飞来,全部聚居在这个岛上
They come from all over the Atlantic to this, their only colony.
这里还有憨鲣鸟
There are boobys here, too.
为了生儿育女 全世界的海鸟们才来找这种偏僻的小岛
To raise their young, seabirds worldwide seek such remote islands.
水里游的也来这个阿森松岛繁殖
Swimmers also come to Ascension to breed.
一只雌性绿海龟正在靠近岸边
A female green turtle approaches the coast.
它已经有两个月没有吃东西了
She's not eaten once, in two months.
因为她从1000英里外的进食地赶来
She may have traveled one thousand miles from her feeding grounds
她的最伟大的旅行
the greatest journey of her kind.
还有其他的绿海龟
Many others are here, too,
正在有沙质海床上休憩, 等待黑夜的降临
resting on the sandy sea floor awaiting the darkness of night,
这样可以较安全爬上沙滩
when it'll be safer to visit the beaches.
几周前下的蛋,在这个季节伊始
Eggs that were laid a few weeks ago, at the start of the season
开始孵化了
are beginning to hatch.
多数的蛋是在夜间孵化
Most hatchings happen at night.
现在是白天,小海龟们很容易受到攻击
Now, in the light of day, the young are extremely vulnerable.