科技动态:通过卫星来救援海豚

Scientists say they are in a race against time. The endangered Franciscana Dolphin population off the Argentine coast is shrinking. The dolphins are dying in fishing nets and scientists are trying to reverse that trend.

科学家称他们在与物竞天择做斗争。在阿根廷海域，濒临灭绝的Franciscana海豚数量正在逐年递减。Franciscana海豚多死于人类捕捞，而科学家们正在努力扭转这一现象。

Twenty second. Twenty second.

20秒。坚持20秒。

We basically want to have this done by yesterday. That's a basic need. We know we need to get this done immediately.

我们想昨天基本完成的。这是最基本的。我们知道我们必须马上行动。

Doctor Martin Mandez is one of the team leaders. He and his colleagues are combining three lines of research. They are catching¹ the dolphins and implanting devices for satellite tracking. They are testing environmental conditions such as the food supply and water temperature to better understand why the dolphins choose to live there. And back in New York, Mandez is studying the dolphins on a molecular² level by sequencing their DNA³ to better classify family groups.

Martin Mandez博士是团队领导人之一。他和他的同事正沿着3条线路研究海豚。他们抓住海豚，并将卫星追踪器放置海豚身上以考察海洋环境，例如食物供给，水温，来更好地研究为什么海豚栖息在这片水域。回到纽约，Mandez则根据海豚的DNA排序展开研究，以更好地按谱系给海豚分类。

We think that we basically completed a very important piece of research. We combined each of their new data, environmental data for addressing population structure. That's out already… we're ready to actually incorporate that into a management fund to … for us in Argentina, with Argentina.

我们认为我们刚刚完成了对于研究来说极其重要的一步。我们结合海豚的数据，环境数据推测出海豚数量和家族结构。这还没有完成……在阿根廷，我们有和阿根廷人合作的管理基金。

The team hopes the combined data will paint a very clear picture of the rare dolphin's habitat, allowing scientists like Pablo Bordino to make informed recommendations for their protection. Bordino says the research is born some surprising discoveries.

研究小组希望这些信息能够提供海豚们的生活习惯，科学家Pablo Bordino提出了保护海豚的建议。Bordino表示这项研究将会有惊人的发现。

We are finding that these animals are very, are residents, you know, these animals are, they don't like to move a lot so that results support the genetic⁴ results too. So I think that is amazing, because nobody knew that before. You know, it was a surprise for us too.

我们发现，这些动物非常特别，它们喜欢稳定。这些生物不喜欢迁徙，因此这项研究支持了海豚习性的研究。我认为这真的很神奇，因为之前没有人发现这点。你知道，这对我们来说也是个新发现。

And that could be important, according to Mandez, gill net fishing in certain areas has the potential to wipe out entire families of Franciscana Dolphins.

根据Mandez的观点，这项发现可能很重要，因为定点的撒网捕鱼有可能彻底毁灭一个Franciscana海豚家族。

Basically the end-goal is to, be able to preserve such kind of dolphins, as a viable⁵ species. This means having viable populations to distribute in space. So we basically doing everything we can, combining all the evidence we can, different tools, and different lines of research to provide the best understanding we can to then put together a sense of conservation plan. So we are basically at this point we trust throwing science at its best to address this issue.

基本上，这项研究的最终目标是保护海豚，让海豚作为一个物种在地球上繁衍生息。这就意味着更多的人要投入进这项伟大的事业。因此，我们努力做着我们能做到的一切，包括收集信息，运用不同的工具，按不同线路研究以更好地了解海豚，最终整合出一个保护海豚的计划。

Mandez says in recent years, local fishing and the government in Argentina had been helpful to their mission. Ultimately though, he believes the fate of the Franciscana dolphin may come down to science.

Mandez表示近些年，地方捕鱼业和阿根廷政府对保护海豚做出了很多贡献。但是最终，他认为Franciscana海豚最终的命运可能会依赖科学手段。

Ben Gruber, Reuters.

Ben Gruber，路透社消息。

shrink

vt. 使缩小，使收缩

He can not shrink back from danger.

他不会从危险中退缩出来。

conservation

n. 保存，保持，保护

Physicists⁶ believe in the validity of conservation laws.

物理学家们对于各种守恒定律的有效性一直是坚信不疑的。

词形变换：conserve⁷ v. 保留 conservative adj. 保守的

1 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

2 molecular   

adj.分子的；克分子的

参考例句：

• The research will provide direct insight into molecular mechanisms.这项研究将使人能够直接地了解分子的机理。
• For the pressure to become zero, molecular bombardment must cease.当压强趋近于零时，分子的碰撞就停止了。

3 DNA   

(缩)deoxyribonucleic acid 脱氧核糖核酸

参考例句：

• DNA is stored in the nucleus of a cell.脱氧核糖核酸储存于细胞的细胞核里。
• Gene mutations are alterations in the DNA code.基因突变是指DNA密码的改变。

4 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

5 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

6 physicists   

物理学家( physicist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• For many particle physicists, however, it was a year of frustration. 对于许多粒子物理学家来说，这是受挫折的一年。 来自英汉非文学 - 科技
• Physicists seek rules or patterns to provide a framework. 物理学家寻求用法则或图式来构成一个框架。

7 conserve   

vt.保存，保护，节约，节省，守恒，不灭

参考例句：

• He writes on both sides of the sheet to conserve paper.他在纸张的两面都写字以节省用纸。
• Conserve your energy,you'll need it!保存你的精力，你会用得着的！