纪录片《南太平洋》 第42期 四海为家（10）

The sharks may snatch a few adults,

鲨鱼只会捕获少量成年石斑鱼

but millions upon millions of fertilised grouper eggs are picked up by the current.

而上亿的受精卵会被洋流带走

Out in the open ocean, they hatch into larvae¹ and become part of the vast plankton² soup.

鱼卵在开阔海域孵化成幼体成为大量浮游生物的一部分

And it's not just fish that depend on the whim³ of the open ocean to disperse⁴ their larvae.

不止鱼类依赖海洋来播撒鱼卵

Land crabs⁵ and other crustaceans⁶ do too.

陆蟹和其它甲壳纲动物也是如此

But there's a deadline.

然而这是有期限的

They each have a set number of days to reach new islands.

它们必须在一定时间内到达新岛

Astonishingly, these larvae are able to home in on the smells and sounds of distant reefs.

令人惊讶的是，这些幼虫能够凭嗅觉和远处暗礁的响声安全到家

Out of the millions of larvae that set off,

数百万幼虫漂洋过海

only a small fraction will succeed in colonising new islands.

其中只有极少的部分能成功开拓新的岛屿

Curiously⁷, some freshwater fish also spawn⁸ at sea

奇怪的是，有些淡水鱼也在海中产卵

and use the sea to help their larvae colonise rivers.

利用海洋帮助鱼卵到达新的河流。

1 larvae   

n.幼虫

参考例句：

• Larvae are parasitic on sheep.幼虫寄生在绵羊的身上。
• The larvae prey upon small aphids.这种幼虫以小蚜虫为食。

2 plankton   

n.浮游生物

参考例句：

• Plankton is at the bottom of the marine food chain.浮游生物处于海洋食物链的最底层。
• The plankton in the sea feeds many kinds of animals. 海的浮游生物成为很多种动物的食物。

3 whim   

n.一时的兴致，突然的念头；奇想，幻想

参考例句：

• I bought the encyclopedia on a whim.我凭一时的兴致买了这本百科全书。
• He had a sudden whim to go sailing today.今天他突然想要去航海。

4 disperse   

vi.使分散；使消失；vt.分散；驱散

参考例句：

• The cattle were swinging their tails to disperse the flies.那些牛甩动着尾巴驱赶苍蝇。
• The children disperse for the holidays.孩子们放假了。

5 crabs   

n.蟹( crab的名词复数 )；阴虱寄生病；蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

7 curiously   

adv.有求知欲地；好问地；奇特地

参考例句：

• He looked curiously at the people.他好奇地看着那些人。
• He took long stealthy strides. His hands were curiously cold.他迈着悄没声息的大步。他的双手出奇地冷。

8 spawn   

n.卵，产物，后代，结果；vt.产卵，种菌丝于，产生，造成；vi.产卵，大量生产

参考例句：

• The fish were madly pushing their way upstream to spawn.鱼群为产卵而疯狂地向上游挤进。
• These fish will lay spawn in about one month from now.这些鱼大约一个月内会产卵。