蓝色星球（2001）

Here on the coast of Vancouver lsland in Canada the sun bakes the exposed rock
在加拿大温哥华岛的海岸 太阳烘烤着暴露在外的岩石
lt's virtually impossible to dig underground when the sea retreats,
退潮时重新躲回地底 是绝不可能的事
so these mussels and barnacles are fully exposed to the heat of the sun
于是这些贻贝及藤壶 完全地暴露在烈日下
literally cooking in their own shells
真的是在自己的壳里被烹煮
And the seaweed simply dry to a crisp
而海草则被晒至又干又脆
lt can be a wait of many hours before the water returns
海水再回来 也许要几小时的等待
Throughout each month the size and strength of the tide changes
每个月潮汐的大小 及强度不断改变
The biggest tides of all happen
最强的潮汐
when the gravities of the sun and moon pull in unison
发生在太阳和月亮 的地吸引力一起作用时
That happens immediately after the new moon...
这发生在新月之后
...and again after the full moon
并再次在满月之后出现
These are called the spring tides
它们称做朔望潮
They reveal vast tracts of sea bed that would normally be covered
会使许多原本 被覆盖的海床露出
For these racoons it's a chance to look for a seafood feast
这是浣熊寻找 海鲜大餐的好时机
A mother ventures forth with her kits
一个母亲带着幼熊去探险
With the spring tide, they've come further down the beach
朔望潮时它们可以来到岸边
than smaller tides would normally allow
这是小潮期时无法做到的
Searching with their extraordinarily sensitive paws
靠着它们格外灵敏的爪子
they look for suitable prey
它们找寻适合的食物
With the extreme low tide they could find something special
及低的潮水让它们 能找到特别的东西
And what could be better than a red rock crab
还有什么能好过一只红岩蟹
That is, if it weren't for the risk of a painful pinch
这是如果可以不被夹痛的话
With large crabs there's no substitute for experience
要抓到一只大螃蟹 还是要靠经验
the mother makes an expert's catch
这个母亲专业地出击
But the kits learn fast!
但小浣熊也学的很快
And for those that don't - begging is always worth a try!
而学不快的就只好试着乞讨
All too soon the returning tide will cover the racoon's table
很快的浪潮会淹没 浣熊们的餐桌
For all the invertebrates it is a welcome relief,
对无脊椎动物来说这是种解脱
but in rough weather they are exposed to the worst of the waves
但在不好的天气里 它们会面对最糟的海浪
Even when there are no waves - the incoming tide
即使没有海浪 前进的潮水
can create considerable forces underwater
仍会在水下 形成相当大的力量
The gaps between these small islands on
温哥华东岸
the East coast of Vancouver lsland channel the tidal flow
这些小岛间的间距 形成潮流的航道
As the tide keeps rising, gradually the water flows
当潮水持续上升 水流逐渐加快
faster and soon these giant thirty metre
而这些30公尺长的巨藻
long bull kelp plants bend to the current
就会顺势弯曲
They are sufficiently flexible to cope without too much damage,
它们的柔软度足够 能不受损害地适应环境
but there are some spots where the currents are especially powerful
但有些地区的水流特别强烈
This is the Nakwakto Rapids
这里是那克瓦多湍流
At the turn of the tide, water from almost seven hundred miles
当潮水转向时 从近700里外峡湾而来的水
of coastal fjords will have to empty through a gap
将必须经过一条
of less than half a mile wide
窄过半里的缺口
Within a few minutes the current is already picking up speed,
几分钟内水流已开始加速
until water roars by at over seventeen miles per hour
直到水以 每小时17里的速度前进
Tidal currents are not always a damaging force
潮流的力量并不只会带来破坏
here in the Poor Knight lslands of New Zealand,
例如在纽西兰的普尔奈群岛
weak tides run through rock arches,
微弱的潮流流过海石拱
making an ideal resting place for stingrays
成了魟鱼最佳的栖息地
These rays congregate here in huge numbers every March
每年三月这些魟鱼大量聚集
they've come to breed
它们是来交♥配♥的
The arches funnel the current, which the rays can ride
这些海石拱将潮流汇集 让这些魟鱼
with a minimum of effort, so saving energy
可以轻易乘海流而行 保存一些体力
Nearby, out in open water, a school of two spotted desmoiselle fish
在附近的开阔水域 一群散点光鳃雀鲷
are feeding on plankton and the current
正在吃浮游生物 潮流流向
is perfect for sweeping their food past them
正好将食物扫向它们
Once the current starts to weaken,
当潮流转弱时
there is insufficient food to warrant the risks of swimming
食物就会减少 也不值得冒险到
about out here in the open
开阔水域觅食
So the desmoiselles head off to find shelter en-masse
所以全体雀鲷掉头另觅住所
Safety is in numbers
安全还是最重要的
More and more desmoiselles pour towards the cave entrances
越来越多的雀鲷 朝普尔奈群岛上
that riddle the Poor Knight's islands
蜿蜒的洞穴的入口处游来
Safe at last - inside the cave
在这里较不会暴露在
they are far less exposed to attack from predators
掠食者的攻击之下 它们终于安全了
Thousands of desmoiselles and blue mao mao wait for the return of the current,
数千只雀鲷及蓝帽 在此等待潮流再度到来
when once again they will head out into the open to feed
它们才能游到开阔水域觅食
The moon's gravitational pull is weaker nearer to the earth's equator,
月球引力在地球赤道附近较弱
so the more equatorial the location, the smaller the tides
所以越接近赤道的地方 潮流也就越弱
And out here in the Caribbean Sea the tidal movements are slight
在加勒比海域 潮汐只有些微的涨退
Even so, they are sufficient to push free swimming plankton in their path
即使如此潮流的力量还是足以将 会活动的浮游生物推向它们的旅程
These are thimble jellyfish
这些是顶针水母
They swim towards the sunlight and invisible boundaries
它们朝阳光游去 而潮汐活动所形成的隐形边界
formed by the tidal motion help to herd them together,
则有助于它们的聚集 直到它们汇整而成巨大的一群
until they gather in immense swarms
它们很会利用热带的阳光
They put the tropical sunshine to good use
身上的棕色来自
their brown colour comes from algae that
居住在体内的藻类
live inside the jellyfish's bodies and photosynthesise energy from the sun
藻类会利用日光行光合作用 以制♥造♥能源
ln open water they are fairly safe,
在宽阔的远洋中 它们算是安全的
but the tide is sweeping the whole swarm gently towards the Bahamas,
但是潮流正将这一群水母 慢慢带往巴哈马水域
where hungry mouths are waiting
在那里有许多张嘴 垂涎着它们
Although the sea level does not change much
虽然海平面高度改变不大
the tides are still pushing an enormous volume of water
潮流还是将容积庞大的海水
from the ocean through the small gaps between the island cays
从汪♥洋♥中 推进岛上礁岩的细缝间
Underwater the tidal currents race past soft corals
在海面下 这些潮流奔流过软珊瑚
And on over the sandy banks themselves...
层叠翻过沙岸
lt is an immense area of coral sand that is only just submerged at high tide
这是一大♥片♥的珊瑚沙滩 只有在涨潮时会被淹没
This incoming tide is bringing in a fresh supply of oceanic plankton
这波迎面而来的浪潮 将会带来新的浮游生物
and razorfish gather at the best spots to catch the pick of the microscopic feast
而蔷薇虹彩鲷也聚在 捕食微生物大餐的最佳位置
Although there is plenty here for these small fish to eat,
虽然食物足够这些小鱼饱餐
gathering in one place makes it easy for their predators to find them
但是群聚在此却也让 天敌更容易找上它们
A nurse shark is little threat
猫鲨算不上什么威胁
But this sound heralds a quite different danger
但是这个声音 传来的警讯可就不同了
A bottlenose dolphin
是一只瓶鼻海豚
lt's using its sonar to locate razor fish beneath the sand
他正利用声纳系统 找出沙里的蔷薇虹彩鲷
Once it finds a suitable target it simply digs out its prey
找到合适的目标后 就挖出它的猎物
The buried fish have no defence against this attack
埋在沙中的鱼毫无招架之力
They will simply have to wait and hope they aren't found out
只能等待 并希望自己不要被找到
This dolphin appears to have a razor fish craving - well, she is pregnant
这只海豚好像有了虹彩鲷瘾 那是因为她怀孕了
Success, at last
最后终于成功了
The incoming tide sweeps on towards America,
这波逼近中的浪扫向美国
flooding across vast flat plains of seagrass
淹过这片广大的水草
They are so shallow that, at low tide,
这里的水极浅 所以在退潮时
all large fish are forced to retreat into deep water channels
大型鱼都被迫要避到深水道中
Like these nurse sharks... and these stingrays
就像这只猫鲨还有魟鱼
Both predators hunt crustaceans on the seagrass beds,
两只肉食鱼类 都会猎食浅滩上的甲壳类
but until the flooding tide brings enough water for them to swim in,
在水位涨到足以 让它们前来觅食前
they will have to wait
它们也只能等待
So for now this tulip snail it appears safe
所以这只郁金香螺 可以趁此时安全地
to patrol the shallows in search of a meal
在浅水中来回寻找食物
But is it?
但它确实是安全无虞的吗？
This l s a rather bigger kind of snail
这是一只体型较大的海螺
At five kilogrammes in weight, the giant horse conch
一只重达五公斤的旋螺
has little to fear from any shark... and it has a taste for tulip snail
根本不怕用任何鲨鱼 而且它嗜食郁金香螺
Sensing the approaching danger - the snail flees
察觉到危险的逼近 海螺逃了
But in a world of snail paces - the conch is something of a Ferrari
但是以海螺世界的速度来说 旋螺像是一台法拉利
lt calls for desperate measures
需要使出非常手段了
Exhausted by the effort of its last ditch attempt,
被自己最后一次的遁逃 弄得疲累不堪的郁金香螺
the tulip snail is slowly gunned down
眼看就要被猎走了
The tide still has to rise for another hour before the big predators can feed
大型的猎食者要等潮水 再涨一个小时才能出动
But out on the flats the scent of dying snail wafts away on the tide
但是在浅滩上垂死海螺的味道四溢 也是这些寄居蟹偏爱的味道
lt's a scent that these hermit crabs are particularly partial to
对这些螃蟹来说 找到足够的保护可以躲过
lt's vital that the crabs have the best possible protection
一旁等待的鲨鱼及魟的利齿
from the heavy teeth of the waiting sharks and rays
是非常重要的大事
For that they need the shell with a perfect fit
所以它们需要一个 大小完全合适的壳
Today there is new real estate on offer
今天有新居待价而沽
and competition in this housing market is fierce
而房♥屋市场的竞争也剧烈异常
The action becomes even more desperate
当被吃掉的海螺的壳 就要被弃置时
when the shell of the devoured snail is ready for release
它们的动作变得更拼命
This crab simply can't wait any longer
这只寄生蟹不能再等了
But it's a decidedly risky acquisition
但是它所冒的险也是奇大