蓝色星球（2001）

ln all the seas of the world the warm waters of the tropics contain the richest
世上所有的海洋中，热带地区的 温暖海水拥有最丰富
and the most colourful communities
也最多采多姿的社群
Coral reefs
珊瑚礁
They may seem like underwater paradise,
它们看来像是海底的天堂
but they are perpetual battle grounds... for space
但其实是长♥期♥的战场 为空间而战
Even the corals have to fight for it
即使是珊瑚都必须加入战争
ln this crowded, frenetic community every individual has to find its own place,
在这拥挤狂乱的聚落中，每个生物 都必须找到自己的空间
its own way of surviving
自己的生存之道
But none of these creatures would be here if it were not for the coral
但若没有珊瑚 其他生物就无法生存
A coral larva drifts in the open sea floating in a soup of young reef animals
珊瑚幼虫漂流在 有年轻礁石动物的海水中
lf just one of these coral larvae settles in a suitable spot
若其中之一找到合适的地点 并存活了下来
and survives a new reef will be founded
新的珊瑚礁就会形成
ln just a few days the larva changes form and becomes a polyp,
几天内幼虫就转变型态 成为与海葵相似的珊瑚虫
similar to a sea anemone
相同的复♥制♥品萌生
ldentical copies bud off and gradually a colony develops
渐渐地就形成了一个聚落
Each polyp surrounds itself with a hard skeleton
每一只珊瑚虫 以坚硬的骨骼环绕自己
and from this solid base begins to grow
然后由这稳固的基础开始生长
lt increases in length by an impressive fifteen centimetres a year
每年以惊人的15公分速度成长
This branching coral is only two years old - a mature reef can be thousands
这个发纒的珊瑚只有两岁 一个成熟的珊瑚礁可达数千岁
Corals provide the foundations on which the entire reef community relies
珊瑚提供了 整个礁脉聚落依赖的基础
Some organisms, like the Christmas Tree Worms actually live within the coral
有些生物如圣诞树虫 实际上就住在珊瑚里
Others climb out, away from the reef, to filter their food from the water
有些则回从礁石中爬出 到水中过滤它们的食物
As the community grows intimate relationships are formed
聚落成长造成亲密的互惠关系
and different creatures become increasingly dependent on one another
各种生物逐渐彼此依赖
Even animals that spend much of their time
即使经常悠游于海水中的动物
travelling in the open ocean return to the reef for a clean
也会回到礁石完成清洁的动作
Corals reefs can be home to astounding numbers of fish
珊瑚礁是数以万计鱼类的家
Here swim the smallest and the largest fish in the sea
这里有着海中最大和最小的鱼
Whale sharks are only visitors
鲸鲨只是这儿的访客
When currents bring nutrient-rich water up from the deep, they come here to feed
当水流带来深海的滋养物时 它们会到此觅食
All these animals are here because of the coral
所有在此的动物 都是为珊瑚而来
This extraordinary complex maze is built layer upon layer
这个格外复杂的迷宫
by millions and millions of individual animals - polyps
是由成千上万的珊瑚虫 一层一层地堆积而成
Each polyp's flesh is supported by a limestone skeleton
每个珊瑚虫的肉身 是靠石灰岩骨骼支撑
Below the gut...
内脏以下
...is the place where most of the growth occurs
才是真正会成长部位
Here, the living tissue deposits an intricate lattice of limestone
活的组织在此放置了 一个复杂的石灰石结构
Beneath that, the limestone skeleton is bare,
其下被活珊瑚组织掏空的
having been vacated by the living coral tissues
石灰石骨骼裸♥露♥在外
This is the hard structure that forms the foundation of the reef
这是组成礁石底部的坚硬结构
and a single reef can extend for many miles
一个礁石可延展数里
Coral reefs are only found in the clear, warm shallow waters of the tropics
珊瑚礁只能在热带 干净温暖的浅滩处发现
Sunlight is vital to them, even though they are animals,
即使它们是动物 阳光对于它们仍极为重要
because inside their flesh live millions of tiny single-celled algae - plants
因为它们的肉身中 住着数百万的单细胞藻类植物
And all plants need sunlight to photosynthesise sugars
而所有植物须 靠阳光进行光合作用
Ninety eight per cent of the food that corals consume is produced by the algae
珊瑚所需的食物中 98%是由海藻制♥造♥的
Without them the reef would not exist
没有它们礁岩就无法存在
Like any other plant, algae need just the right amount of light,
像其他植物一样 海藻需要适量的阳光
not too much, not too little
不能太多也不能太少
The corals regulate that with pigments that we can only see
珊瑚以颜色来控制光线
when they are illuminated by ultraviolet light
它们身上有着紫外线 才显示得出的色素
Most corals for protection spend the day withdrawn into their stony fortresses
多数珊瑚白天会躲在 它们的岩石堡垒中受保护
But even then they are not safe from the jaws of these butterfly fish
但如此它们也免不了 被这些蝴蝶鱼攻击的危险
At night the corals take in water, expand their tentacles and emerge to feed
珊瑚会在夜晚进入海水中 伸展触须同时觅食
They collect plankton
它们采集浮游生物
Each tentacle has batteries of stinging cells, which fire on contact
每一个触手都有刺♥激♥性的细胞 会在接触时出击
Once the prey is caught, it's passed down to the polyp's mouth
猎物到手后 会被放入珊瑚虫的嘴里
lt's at night, when the polyps are extended,
夜晚当珊瑚虫伸展时
that they add to the limestone foundations beneath them
它们会增大其下的石灰岩组织
lnevitably, the corals begin to overgrow each other and that means trouble
珊瑚无可避免的成长超过彼此的范围 这代表了争斗
When neighbours get too close, they detect one another's presence chemically
当邻居变得太靠近 它们靠化学反应来侦测彼此
The aggressor on the right prepares for battle
右边的侵略者准备迎战
The polyps extrude their guts and simply digest their rivals alive
珊瑚虫吐出内脏 直接消化它们的对手
A no man's land, a band of white skeleton is
一个无人地带 这排白石灰岩
the only evidence of the night's border dispute
是夜间 争斗地盘的唯一证据
Some corals are targeted by yet more deadly predators
有些珊瑚被更致命的掠食者 当成目标
Predators that can crawl in search of their victims
可以爬行找寻猎物的掠食者
Crown of thorns starfish, poisonous, invincible eating machines
棘冠海星 具毒性的无敌掠食机器
They also extrude their gut and digest coral wholesale
它们也会吐出内脏 将珊瑚整个消化
But some corals have help
但有些珊瑚会得到奥ue10a
Small crabs living within their branches resist
住在分纒中的小螃蟹
these onslaughts and defend their home
抗拒这些突击 保卫它们的家园
From beneath they launch an attack on the vulnerable underside of the starfish
它们从海星脆弱的底部 发动攻击
Even the crown of thorns will retreat from such a determined attack
即使棘冠也需从 如此坚定的攻击中退
and this coral is left unharmed
而珊瑚则毫发无伤
Humphead parrotfish - nearly a metre and a half in length
长达1.5公尺的巨头鹦鹉鱼
Their jaws are so powerful they can bite through rock
它们强而有力的嘴能咬破石头
When they descend to feed the reef itself is under threat
它们下沉觅食时 就连礁岩也受到威胁
They are indiscriminate feeders, taking both rock and coral
它们无所不吃，为了摄食海藻
alike in their quest for algae
他们也能因此吃下岩石及珊瑚
These fish play a large part in the erosion of the reef
这些鱼必须为礁岩的腐蚀 负极大责任
The rock and coral they swallow emerges later as a fine sand
它们吞下的岩石及珊瑚 最后变成一堆细沙
On a single reef they can produce tonnes of it every year
它们每年可从单一礁岩中 制♥造♥许多吨♥沙
This soft sand forms the tropical beaches that we find so alluring
这些细沙组成了 令人着迷的热带海滩
Over time the sand builds up to form an island,
时间一久这些沙组成一个小岛
which is then colonised by animals and plants
成为动植物的繁衍聚落
Trees take root... birds arrive
树木生根 鸟来作伴
The guano from thousands of terns which have chosen to nest here
成千选在这儿筑巢的燕鸥 所制♥造♥的粪便
enriches the sandy soil, which then can support more plants
肥沃了沙土 好让更多植物能在此生长
But these terns, like other seabirds, depend on the ocean for their food
但这些燕鸥像其他海鸟一样 靠海中的食物维生
Below water on the reef there is not only competition for living space,
水下的礁岩上 不只有生存空间的斗争
but a continual contest between predators and prey
还有持续的掠食者 与猎物之间的搏斗
lt's the arms race between them that over millions of years
它们之间的百万年来的角力
has produced today's extraordinary diversity of form
演化成今天 变化多端的各种形体
Jacks are one of the key predators on the reef
梭鱼是礁岩上的重要掠食者
Their weapon is speed
它们的武器是速度
They seek silversides and their defence is to congregate
它们寻找银鱼 防卫的方式是聚集
in confusing shoals of shimmering silver
闪着银光的困惑鱼群
The Jacks try to deal with that by herding the silversides onto the reef
这些梭鱼试着 将银鱼聚集到礁岩上
Here the Jacks have a better chance
在礁岩上，把鱼从鱼群中
of separating individual fish from the shoal
分开的机会较大
The Jacks can now catch the isolated individuals with lightning attacks
梭鱼现在可以闪电般 抓到被孤立的鱼
lt's far safer to be hidden on the reef itself,
隐藏在礁岩上是较安全的
within the tunnels of a sponge, for example
例如在海绵的穴道中
These tiny shrimp are no bigger than grains of rice
这些小虾还不及米粒大
These shrimps are unique
它们十分独特
lt's recently been discovered that
最近的ue370究发现
they have a highly sophisticated social system, similar to that of bees
它们有很成熟的社交组织 与蜜蜂的相近
All members of the colony are the offspring of one female
所有组织内的成员 皆是单一雌性的后代
She is the queen and the only one to produce eggs
她是唯一会产卵的女皇
As in a colony of bees,
就像蜜蜂族群一样
different individuals are specialised for particular tasks
每一成员都有专门负责的工作
Some are guards and are armed with particularly large and powerful claws
有些是警卫 配有特别大而有力的υ
They are on watch at all times, ready to tackle intruders
它们随时都在萞备 准备对付入侵者
A polychaete worm
一只多毛虫
For it a sponge is an excellent hunting ground
对它而言海绵 是绝佳的狩猎地点
ln such a maze of tunnels, attack can come at any time from any quarter
在迷宫似的隧♥道♥中 攻击可能来自四面八方
Once the guards are alerted the worm loses its advantage
一旦警卫有了警觉 虫就占了下风
Better to retreat intact, than risk serious injury
全身而退好过冒险受重伤
The sponge not only makes a safe home for the shrimps,
海绵不只是虾类安全的家
it also supplies them with food, so that they never need venture outside
它更提供了食物 所以它们从不需外出觅食
And establishment that provides for all their needs is clearly well worth defending
而提供它们所有需求的保证 显然值得善加守护
Just as shrimps guard their home, other animals defend their hunting grounds
虾类守护它们的家 其他动物防御它们的猎食区
Glassfish make tempting prey for the redmouth grouper
玻璃鱼是令红嘴脂鱼 垂涎的猎物
lts strategy is to swim slowly amongst them
它的战略是慢慢地 游进它们之中
until they no longer see it as a threat
直到它们不再将其视为威胁
There are other fish here, too
这里也有其他的鱼类
Lionfish are ambush predators,
狮鱼是伏击掠食者
taking their time and watching for the right moment
慢慢地等待正确的时机
But there isn't room here for two predators
但此处一山不容二虎