南太平洋（2009）

舷外浮木式独木舟最终诞生了
and the long-distance outrigger canoe was finally born.
拉匹达人首次航海到未知世界 肯定会有人牺牲
The Lapita's first voyages into the unknown must have appeared suicidal.
虽然有许多人丧身大海 有些拉匹达人还是到达了新岛
Although many were lost at sea, some Lapita DID reach new islands,
感谢他们特别的航海技能
thanks to their extraordinary navigation skills.
这个男人通过读取海浪及其隆起的形状
This man can interpret the direction of land
就能说出陆地的方向
by reading wave and swell patterns.
就像他的祖先 他的脑子里带着各季节
Like his ancestors, he carries in his head a complex wind map
详细又复杂的风图宛如一只罗盘
detailing the various seasonal winds that serve as a compass.
在晚上 他能靠星星给船导航
And at night, he can navigate by the stars.
就凭这种小船 拉匹达人到达新几内亚
In craft like these, the Lapita reached the islands of Tonga,
以东2000哩 南太平洋中心的汤加群岛
2,000 miles east of New Guinea, in the heart of the South Pacific.
再远的东面 要是岛屿稀疏且更偏远的话
Further east, the odds of a castaway making land drop steeply
漂流者登陆的可能性陡降
as the islands become fewer and even more isolated.
动物漂流者远未到达东太平洋的法属
Almost all animal castaways died of exposure, hunger or thirst
玻利尼西亚之前就会死于暴晒饥饿和口渴
long before reaching French Polynesia in the eastern Pacific.
到达这里的陆地当然是特别的幸运
Reaching land here was a matter of extraordinary luck.
不像斐济 在法属玻利尼西亚没有蝙蝠
Unlike Fiji, there are no bats in French Polynesia,
没有蛙类 只有少数的蜥蜴
no frogs and only a handful of lizards.
最成功的旅行家是长途飞行员
The most successful travellers were the long-haul fliers...
乌燕鸥
sooty terns.
难以置信 它们能呆在空中4年而不着陆
Incredibly, they can stay in the air for four years without landing...
但为了繁育 它们必须回到遥远岛屿上的筑巢点
..but to breed, they must return to nesting sites on remote islands.
一旦这样做了 它们就会传入新生命
And when they do, they introduce new life.
粘性或带倒钩的种子缠在它们的羽毛上 免费搭乘穿越太平洋
Sticky or barbed seeds fasten on to their feathers and hitch rides across oceans.
有些岛屿有75%的植物由鸟类带来的
On some islands, 75% of plants arrived with the birds.
HIGH-PITCHED CRIES
种子甚至通过有些鸟的胃带来
Seeds are even carried in the stomachs of some birds.
能得到免费搭乘的还不单单是种子
As if getting a lift wasn't enough for these seeds,
海鸟也能提供些别的东西
seabirds also provide them with something else.
这些鸟带回岛的海鲜能变成养分
The seafood these birds bring back to the islands
充足的鸟粪-植物的肥料
is turned into nutrient-rich guano - plant fertiliser.
这足以将贫瘠的珊瑚环岛变成 富饶的丛林
There's enough to transform barren coral atolls into fertile groves.
有一种植物漂流者在寻找 新陆地时无需帮助
There is one plant castaway that needs no help in finding new land...
这种植物或许比其它植物更能改变
a plant that has probably done more
岛屿生物的前途
to change the fortunes of island life than any other,
任何时候都是最伟大的长途旅行家
and one of the greatest long-distance travellers of all time.
卑微的椰果
The humble coconut.
种子是一个坚实的求生舱
Its seed is a compact survival capsule.
有浮力且装满了胚牙的食物
Buoyant and filled with food for germination,
它能在海里生存二个月以上
it can survive for up to two months at sea...
长到足够从一个偏远岛屿 漂到下一个岛屿
...long enough to float from one remote island to the next.
一旦到达 它生下根部扎进裸♥露♥的沙子里
On arrival, it lays down roots into bare sand
利用地下贮存的淡水
and taps into the reservoirs of underground freshwater.
南太平洋的大部分热带岛屿都没有椰树
Without coconuts, most of the tropical islands in the South Pacific
无论是动物还是人都不易留下定居
would have remained uninhabitable for both animals and people.
有一组群岛 因为太偏远了
There is one set of islands, however, that is so remote
以致椰果都无法抵达
that even the coconut couldn't reach it.
赤道以北 离北美最近的大♥陆♥块2500哩
North of the equator, 2,500 miles from the nearest landmass of North America,
座落着世上最偏远的群岛...夏威夷
lies the most isolated chain of islands in the world - Hawaii.
太平洋中最长的群岛
The longest archipelago in the Pacific,
夏威夷由100多个古老的火山岛屿组成
Hawaii consists of over 100 ancient volcanic islands,
连绵2000哩
stretching for 2,000 miles.
它太偏僻 3千万年来始终只有500多种动物
Yet it is so remote that less than 500 kinds of animal settled here
in 30 million years.
但它们使这里成为茂盛和富饶之地
But for those who did make it to this lush and fertile land,
人生最得意的时候
the world was their oyster.
这里椰子树被巨大的，高达7米多的桫椤树所替代
Here, coconut palms have been replaced by giant tree ferns
standing over seven metres tall.
从到达这里的13种蜘蛛起
From the 13 kinds of spider that made it here,
已演化超过100个新品种...像笑脸蜘蛛
over a 100 new species evolved - like the happy-face spider.
从只是一种果蝇逐渐变成1000种 其它的品种
From just one species of fruit fly came over 1,000 others.
而这里 毛虫也自然地变成了食肉动物
And here, caterpillars were free to become carnivores.
CATERPILLAR CRUNCHES
夏威夷有20种幸存的吸蜜鸟
Hawaii's 20 surviving species of honey creeper
也是从少数几种演化而来的
also evolved from just a few individuals.
相比海鸟 吸蜜鸟是劣等的飞行者
Compared to seabirds, honey creepers are poor fliers.
这些丛林鸟的祖先和夏威夷其它漂流者
So how did the ancestors of these forest birds
是如何到这里的?
And Hawaii's other castaways get here?
答案也许是风的吹动
The answer may be blowing in the wind.
即使微风也有着巨大的影响
Even the gentlest breeze can have a huge impact.
椤树摆动并释放出轻质的孢子
Tree ferns stir and release their lightweight spores.
热的上升气流能把孢子带到 3万英尺的射流中
Thermal updrafts can carry the spores 30,000 feet into the jet stream.
甚至有些动物也有意搭乘 这些高海拨气流
And there are even animals designed to ride these high-altitude air currents.
近乎无重量的幼蛛是驾驭气流的专家
Near-weightless spiderlings are expert ballooners,
用它们的蛛丝捕风
catching the wind with their gossamer threads.
像孢子也能免费搭乘射流
Like spores, they, too, can hitch a ride on the jet stream.
温度持续30摄氏度不到时
Enduring temperatures of minus 30 degrees centigrade,
一只蜘蛛在数天内就能穿越太平洋
a spider can cross the breadth of the Pacific in a matter of days.
更大一点的昆虫和动物需要比微风 大一点的风才能带它们走
Larger insects and animals need more than a breeze to carry them away.
广袤的暖水地带是产生暴风的完美环境
Vast tracts of warm water are a perfect environment for cyclones.
地球上超过一半的暴风...约一年30次
Over half the cyclones on the planet - around 30 a year...
是来自南太平洋
form in the Pacific Ocean.
THUNDER RUMBLES
受到热带太阳的升温
Heated by the warm tropical sun,
水蒸发形成巨大的雷暴雨
water evaporates and forms massive thunderstorms,
激起龙♥卷♥风♥
fuelling a whirling vortex...
有些能达到500哩宽
..in some cases up to 500 miles wide.
当龙♥卷♥风♥遇上岛屿时发泄了它们的狂怒
When they collide with islands, they unleash their fury.
风速超过每小时100哩 能拨起一座森林
Winds in excess of 100mph can uproot a forest.
大昆虫被吸到空中
Large insects can be sucked up into the sky...
有什么不可能是鸟 蝙蝠或是蜥蜴那?
..so why not birds, bats and lizards?
实际上 所有已知的动物都能
In fact, all these creatures are known to have been carried
被龙♥卷♥风♥带到数百哩外的大海
hundreds of miles out to sea by cyclones.
当风暴平息时 大部分葬身大海
When the storm subsides, most will meet a watery grave.
但非常非常幸运的几个 能安全地降落在地面
But a very, very lucky few will land on firm ground
从这些幸存者起 整座岛屿的朝代诞生了
and from these survivors, a whole island dynasty may be born.
尽管夏威夷岛是如何的偏远 如何的残酷
No matter how remote the Hawaiian islands are, or how hostile,
一种生物到来几乎就是全部了
there is one creature that has reached almost all of them.
LAVA HISSES
LAVA HISSES AND CRACKLES
鳞趾虎
The mourning gecko.
它是最后的漂流者
It is the ultimate castaway...
来自新几内亚的长途旅程的马拉松赢家
..the marathon winner on the long journey from New Guinea.
难以相信 雌性已经放弃了交♥配♥的需求
Incredibly, the female has done away with the need for a mate.
转而替代的 只是简单产下卵而无需受精
Instead, she simply produces eggs that need no fertilisation.
一个被冲上岛的雌性就可以开创整个群体
So one single female washed up on an island could start a whole population.
除了这特别的能力外
Along with this extraordinary ability,
这些厚皮耐盐的壁虎在长距离海上航道中
these thick-skinned and salt-resistant geckos
也能在漂浮筏上生存很久的
could also survive long sea passages on rafts,
即使受到龙♥卷♥风♥的打击
and even the force of cyclones.
然而这里有比壁虎故事更多的事
But there is more to the gecko's story than this.
2000多年前
Less than 2,000 years ago,
发生的一些事彻底改变了动植物的分布
something happened that was to revolutionise
发生的一些事彻底改变了动植物的分布
the spread of plants and animals.
拉匹达的后裔又驾驭他们的帆船
Taking to their sailing boats once more, descendants of the Lapita
再次离开中太平洋动身寻找新的岛屿
left the central Pacific and set off again in search of new lands...
进入真正的未知世界
..into the great unknown.
作为开拓者 他们带上了重新生活需要的一切
As pioneers, they took everything they would need to start their lives afresh.
家畜
Livestock.
用于耕种的植物
Plants for cultivation.
甚至还有椰子
Even the coconut.
当然也有一长串的偷渡者名单
But they would also have taken a long list of stowaways...
像鳞趾虎
..like the mourning gecko.
蜥蜴作为一名漂流者再也不必依靠
This lizard was just one castaway
体力和运气抵达新陆地
which no longer had to rely on its stamina and luck to reach new lands.
它现在可以坐享其成免费搭乘
It could now hitch a free ride.
在一系列史诗般的航行中拉匹达后裔
In a series of epic voyages, the descendants of the Lapita,
现在称作波利尼西亚人
the people we now call the Polynesians,
成功开拓了偏远的南太平洋角落
succeeded in colonising the far corners of the South Pacific...
从夏威夷到新几内亚 甚至到达了新几内亚以东
from Hawaii to New Zealand, even to Easter Island,
7000哩的复活节岛
nearly 7,000 miles east of New Guinea.
如今的动物漂流者以 前所未见的速度来到新岛
In doing so, animal castaways now reached new islands at a rate never seen before,
永远改变了南太平洋的大自然
changing the nature of the South Pacific for ever.
好多年来 所罗门群岛已经成为