VOA科学技术2024--Cuban Biologists Solve Mysteries of Bird Migration

Cuban Biologists Solve Mysteries of Bird Migration¹

　　Researchers from Cuba are working with a Canadian partner to learn more about migratory² birds that travel between North America and Cuba each year.

　　Daniela Ventura is a bird biologist at the University of Havana in Cuba. On a recent day, she caught a catbird with a net in the capital city's botanical gardens. The small, gray animal is one of the species³ of migratory birds that fly from the United States and Canada to Cuba each winter.

　　Ventura calls out observations to her students, who take notes nearby. She describes the species, its weight and its estimated body fat.

　　The information provides new data for a joint⁴ project between Canada and Cuba. Ventura and the other project researchers hope to learn more about how and where the birds spend their winters in Cuba.

　　"We know a lot about their ecology in the breeding zone (in North America) but very little about what happens in their wintering zone," Ventura said.

　　Part of the problem is politics, said Lourdes Mugica. She is an expert on birds and helped organize the research.

　　A long-lasting U.S. embargo⁵ has made cooperation between the United States and Cuba difficult. That includes scientific research.

　　Migratory birds, of course, are indifferent to the restrictions⁶.

　　"Birds don't understand embargoes⁷ or geographic⁸ borders, they don't need a visa to enter our country," Mugica said. "I hope there comes a time when relations are normal and that we can have joint projects between (the U.S. and Cuba.)"

　　Mugica says the project – with partnership⁹ from Environment and Climate Change Canada – suggests what is possible. Martin Acosta, another leading bird expert in Cuba, agrees.

　　The Canadian and Cuban partners put up a radio telemetry antenna¹⁰ in Cuba. The antenna operates as part of an international research network called MOTUS. It is the first time Cuba has been included in the MOTUS network.

　　The antenna can follow birds that have been radio-tagged in other parts of North America. It recently found in Cuba a small Swainson's thrush. The bird was first tagged in Canada's British Columbia – 5,000 kilometers away from the Caribbean nation.

　　"We never thought we'd reach the level of sophistication we now enjoy," said Acosta.

　　"Sophistication" means highly developed and complex.

　　Both Mugica and Acosta remember the hard days during their careers in science. Mugica said she lost over 30 kilograms doing research many years ago, at a time when food in Cuba was hard to find.

　　It is still hard to carry out their research some days, they say. Their 20-year-old truck needed a push start on a recent morning, for example.

　　But the teams celebrate small victories.

　　The catbird that Ventura recently captured had been given an identifying leg band back in November at the same place, data showed. The bird had gained body fat in the three months since, ahead of its migration north across the Gulf¹¹ of Mexico.

　　Ventura said, "To think these little birds, which weigh less than 10 grams, cross the sea and come back and survive is spectacular¹²."

　　Words in This Story

　　migrate¹³ – v. to move from one area to another at different times of the year

　　species – n. a group of animals or plants that are similar and can produce young animals or plants

　　ecology – n. a science that deals with the relationships between groups of living things and their environments

　　zone – n. an area that is different from other areas in a particular way

　　embargo – n. a government order that limits trade in some way

　　geography – n. an area of study that deals with the location of countries, cities, rivers, mountains, or lakes

　　antenna – n. a device (such as a wire or a metal rod) for sending or receiving radio or television signals

　　radio-tag – v. to attach a radio transmitter to (an animal)

　　spectacular – adj. causing wonder and admiration: very impressive

1 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

2 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

3 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

4 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

5 embargo   

n.禁运（令）；vt.对...实行禁运，禁止（通商）

参考例句：

• This country put an oil embargo on an enemy country.该国对敌国实行石油禁运。
• During the war,they laid an embargo on commerce with enemy countries.在战争期间，他们禁止与敌国通商。

6 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

7 embargoes   

贸易禁运令，禁运( embargo的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Britain, France and the United States refused to lift their embargoes. 英、法和美国都拒绝取消禁运。
• Its public position is that it abides by all UN arms embargoes. 其公开立场是，他们遵守所有联合国的武器禁运命令。

8 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

9 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

10 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

11 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

12 spectacular   

adj.引人注目的，出色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• This is a spectacular film.这是一部场面壮观的电影。
• This is the most spectacular financial crash of the decade.这是10年里最引人注目的金融破产事件。

13 migrate   

vi.（候鸟等）迁徙，移居（国外），迁移

参考例句：

• Many birds migrate south for the winter.冬天时，许多鸟类迁徙南方。
• The rich people often migrate in winter to Florida.有钱的人常在冬季搬迁到佛罗里达州去。