PBS高端访谈:科学家通过海豚墓地了解搁浅海豚的生活

Judy Woodruff: We close with a different look at ocean life, how a group of citizen scientists use a dolphin graveyard¹ to uncover how the majestic² mammals live. The NewsHour's Teresa Carey traveled to North Carolina to bring us tonight's edition of a NewsHour shares.

Teresa Carey: Keith Rittmaster, curator at the North Carolina Maritime³ Museum, leads 14 volunteers into the woods to a place he calls the dolphin graveyard. They plan to dig up the remains⁴ of a bottlenose dolphin named Moe. Rittmaster discovered Moe three decades ago during a photographic survey of dolphins in the wild. He takes photos of their dorsal⁵ fins⁶. Each notch⁷, scar, and blemish⁸ is a unique fingerprint⁹ that allows scientists to identify individual animals. Rittmaster has tracked dozens of dolphins this way. He spent years following Moe across his 100-mile habitat from Nags¹⁰ Head to Cape¹¹ Lookout¹². Keith Rittmaster: This catalogue contains one photo from every day that we have documented Moe, from 1992, and ending before he died on February 27, 2016.

Teresa Carey: The North Carolina Marine¹³ Mammal Stranding¹⁴ Network's Vicki Thayer was among the first on the scene the day Moe passed away.

Vicki Thayer: So we arrived and examined the animal for a necropsy.

Teresa Carey: This necropsy, an animal autopsy¹⁵, gives insight into how Moe died.

Vicki Thayer: Moe had been entangled¹⁶ in some kind of fishing monofilament line, and so that was the likely cause of death.

Teresa Carey: Over 300,000 whales and dolphins die globally from entanglements¹⁷ each year, like this dolphin Rittmaster found in 2011.

Keith Rittmaster: It wasn't until we prepared the skull¹⁸ that we could tell that the bone actually had grown around that fishing line that was killing¹⁹ it.

Teresa Carey: Rittmaster's collection is one of the most thorough in the state. He has whale teeth, an ear bone from a baby dolphin, and even ribs²⁰ from a humpback whale. But his prized artifacts are reconstructed skeletons, many of which are one of a kind. Thayer gathers autopsy information on each beached animal, then helps Rittmaster bury them in his dolphin cemetery²¹. Once two years pass, he assembles a crew of volunteers to exhume²² the skeleton. Exhuming²³ Moe presents a rare opportunity for understanding the animal's entire life and death. Scientists can use the teeth to determine age and the bones to understand some diseases.

K.C. Bierlich: For older animals, you can see that the bones are fused together more, and so that kind of tells you a lot about the animal, what stage of life it was when it passed away.

Teresa Carey: It takes four hours to exhume, catalogue, and clean Moe's entire skeleton.

Vicki Thayer: My hope is that what we're learning today can build and help animals in the future.

Teresa Carey: Even though it's a graveyard, there is an overall feeling of optimism.

Vicki Thayer: If it weren't for stranded²⁴ animals, we wouldn't know very much about them at all.

Teresa Carey: Moe's completed skeleton will take two years to assemble. It'll be on display at the North Carolina aquarium²⁵ Jennette's Pier²⁶ in Nags Head in 2019. For the PBS NewsHour, I'm Teresa Carey in Beaufort, North Carolina.

朱迪·伍德瑞夫：我们对海洋生活的看法各不相同，平民科学家结组探访海豚墓地，为您揭示这一伟大哺乳动物的生活秘密。特丽莎·凯瑞前往北卡罗莱纳州，为您报道。

特丽莎·凯瑞：北卡罗莱纳海事博物馆馆长基思·瑞迪马斯特，带领14名志愿者前往一片树林，那是一个他称作“海豚墓地”的地方。他们计划在那里对宽吻海豚莫伊的遗体进行挖掘。三十年前，瑞迪马斯特在一次野生海豚摄影勘察中发现了莫伊。他拍摄了那些海豚的背鳍照片。每一个划痕、伤疤和小瑕疵都是独特的印记，这些印记可以让科学家们认出它们谁是谁。瑞迪马斯特用这种方式对几十头海豚进行了追踪。他花了几年时间追踪莫伊，从它100英里外的栖息地纳格斯黑德直到瞭望角。

基思·瑞迪马斯特：从1992年到莫伊2016年2月27日去世，我们每天给它拍一张照片，记录下来，这是目录清单。

特丽莎·凯瑞： 北卡罗莱纳海洋哺乳动物搁浅系统的维姬·塞耶是最先发现莫伊去世的人之一。

维姬·塞耶：我们赶到那，对莫伊进行了尸体剖检。

特丽莎·凯瑞：这次剖检是一次动物剖检，从中我们可以知道莫伊的死因。

维姬·塞耶：莫伊是被某种钓鱼线缠住了，这很可能就是死亡原因。

特丽莎·凯瑞：和瑞迪马斯特2011年发现的这只海豚一样，每年有超过300,000只鲸鱼和海豚死于各种“缠绕”。

基思·瑞迪马斯特：直到我们解刨开它的颅骨，才看出，头骨四周有很多鱼线，也正是这些鱼线要了它的命。

特丽莎·凯瑞：全国来讲，瑞迪马斯特的收藏非常丰富。他藏有鲸鱼的牙齿，海豚宝宝耳骨，甚至还有座头鲸的肋骨。但他这些珍贵的文物都是重组的骨骼，很多都是一样一种。塞耶收集每个搁浅动物的解剖信息，然后帮瑞迪马斯特将它们埋到海豚墓地。每两年，他都会召集志愿者一起去挖掘海豚骸骨。莫伊骸骨的挖掘为我们提供了一个难得的机会，让我们了解海豚的整个生命过程以及它们的死亡。科学家可以利用动物牙齿，来确定它们的年龄和利用骨骼，了解一些动物疾病。

K.C. 比尔丽驰：对于年龄较大的动物，你可以看出，它们的骨头更多地融合在了一起。所以这样我们就了解了，某只动物死时处在什么生命阶段了。

特丽莎·凯瑞：莫伊骨架的发掘，录入和整理过程需要持续四个小时。

维姬·塞耶：我希望我们今天了解到的东西，可以在将来帮到这些动物。

特丽莎·凯瑞：虽然这里是个墓地，但给人的整体感觉仍然是积极向上的。

维姬·塞耶：要不是这些被困的动物，我们根本不会对它们有深入了解。

特丽莎·凯瑞：莫伊完整骨架的组装将需要两年的时间，将于2019年，在纳格斯黑德北卡罗莱纳水族馆詹尼特码头进行陈列。PBS NewsHour，我是特丽莎·凯瑞，从北卡罗莱纳博福特发回报道。

1 graveyard   

n.坟场

参考例句：

• All the town was drifting toward the graveyard.全镇的人都象流水似地向那坟场涌过去。
• Living next to a graveyard would give me the creeps.居住在墓地旁边会使我毛骨悚然。

2 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

3 maritime   

adj.海的，海事的，航海的，近海的，沿海的

参考例句：

• Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
• The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 dorsal   

adj.背部的，背脊的

参考例句：

• His dorsal fin was down and his huge pectorals were spread wide.它的脊鳍朝下耷拉着，巨大的胸鳍大张着。
• The shark's dorsal fin was cut off by the fisherman.鲨鱼的背鳍被渔夫割了下来。

6 fins   

[医]散热片；鱼鳍；飞边；鸭掌

参考例句：

• The level of TNF-α positively correlated with BMI,FPG,HbA1C,TG,FINS and IRI,but not with SBP and DBP. TNF-α水平与BMI、FPG、HbA1C、TG、FINS和IRI呈显著正相关，与SBP、DBP无相关。 来自互联网
• Fins are a feature specific to fish. 鱼鳍是鱼类特有的特征。 来自辞典例句

7 notch   

n.(V字形)槽口，缺口，等级

参考例句：

• The peanuts they grow are top-notch.他们种的花生是拔尖的。
• He cut a notch in the stick with a sharp knife.他用利刃在棒上刻了一个凹痕。

8 blemish   

v.损害；玷污；瑕疵，缺点

参考例句：

• The slightest blemish can reduce market value.只要有一点最小的损害都会降低市场价值。
• He wasn't about to blemish that pristine record.他本不想去玷污那清白的过去。

9 fingerprint   

n.指纹；vt.取...的指纹

参考例句：

• The fingerprint expert was asked to testify at the trial.指纹专家应邀出庭作证。
• The court heard evidence from a fingerprint expert.法院听取了指纹专家的证词。

10 nags   

n.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的名词复数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责v.不断地挑剔或批评（某人）( nag的第三人称单数 )；不断地烦扰或伤害（某人）；无休止地抱怨；不断指责

参考例句：

• The trouble nags at her. 那件麻烦事使她苦恼不已。 来自辞典例句
• She nags at her husBand aBout their lack of money. 她抱怨丈夫没钱。 来自互联网

11 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

12 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

13 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

14 stranding   

n.（船只）搁浅v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The airport had to be closed, stranding tourists. 机场被迫关闭，造成游客滞留。 来自辞典例句
• The stream of history had changed course away from him, stranding him in failure. 历史潮流已经改变方向，与他背道而驰，使他陷于失败之中。 来自辞典例句

15 autopsy   

n.尸体解剖；尸检

参考例句：

• They're carrying out an autopsy on the victim.他们正在给受害者验尸。
• A hemorrhagic gut was the predominant lesion at autopsy.尸检的主要发现是肠出血。

16 entangled   

adj.卷入的；陷入的；被缠住的；缠在一起的v.使某人（某物/自己）缠绕，纠缠于（某物中），使某人（自己）陷入（困难或复杂的环境中）( entangle的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The bird had become entangled in the wire netting. 那只小鸟被铁丝网缠住了。
• Some military observers fear the US could get entangled in another war. 一些军事观察家担心美国会卷入另一场战争。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 entanglements   

n.瓜葛( entanglement的名词复数 )；牵连；纠缠；缠住

参考例句：

• Mr. White threaded his way through the legal entanglements. 怀特先生成功地解决了这些法律纠纷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• At dawn we broke through the barbed wire entanglements under the city wall. 拂晓我们突破了城墙的铁丝网。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

19 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

20 ribs   

n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹

参考例句：

• He suffered cracked ribs and bruising. 他断了肋骨还有挫伤。
• Make a small incision below the ribs. 在肋骨下方切开一个小口。

21 cemetery   

n.坟墓，墓地，坟场

参考例句：

• He was buried in the cemetery.他被葬在公墓。
• His remains were interred in the cemetery.他的遗体葬在墓地。

22 exhume   

v.掘出，挖掘

参考例句：

• His remains have been exhumed from a cemetery in Queens,New York City.他的遗体被从纽约市皇后区的墓地里挖了出来。
• When the police exhume the corpse,they discover trace of poison in it.警方掘出尸体，发现有中毒的痕迹。

23 exhuming   

v.挖出，发掘出( exhume的现在分词 )

参考例句：

24 stranded   

a.搁浅的，进退两难的

参考例句：

• He was stranded in a strange city without money. 他流落在一个陌生的城市里， 身无分文，一筹莫展。
• I was stranded in the strange town without money or friends. 我困在那陌生的城市，既没有钱，又没有朋友。

25 aquarium   

n.水族馆，养鱼池，玻璃缸

参考例句：

• The first time I saw seals was in an aquarium.我第一次看见海豹是在水族馆里。
• I'm going to the aquarium with my parents this Sunday.这个星期天，我要和父母一起到水族馆去。

26 pier   

n.码头；桥墩，桥柱；[建]窗间壁，支柱

参考例句：

• The pier of the bridge has been so badly damaged that experts worry it is unable to bear weight.这座桥的桥桩破损厉害，专家担心它已不能负重。
• The ship was making towards the pier.船正驶向码头。