科学美国人60秒 猫鼬正在患上气候病(2)

And according to the model, it can do so in two ways.

根据该模型，气候变化可以通过两种方式做到这一点。

First, extremely hot years increase physiological¹ stress on meerkats because meerkats need to hide from the extreme heat.

首先，极热年份会增加猫鼬的生理压力，因为猫鼬需要躲避极热天气。

They do not have enough time to search for food and extreme heat may also be associated with very low rainfall, and therefore drought, so little food availability.

他们没有足够的时间寻找食物，极端高温也可能与降雨量非常少有关，因此出现干旱天气，可获得的食物很少。

That stress increases the probability that an endemic disease will turn into an outbreak that can completely wipe out meerkat populations….

这种压力增加了一种地方性疾病大爆发的可能性，而这种疾病大爆发会完全消灭猫鼬种群....

with the extinction² risk for local groups predicted to double over the next dozen years.

据预测，在接下来的十几年里，当地物种灭绝的风险将翻一番。

And the other way is that climate change also sort of destabilizes local groups and makes male meerkats much more mobile.

另一种方式是，气候变化也在某种程度上破坏了当地种群的稳定，并使雄性猫鼬流动性更大。

Meerkats live in social groups from which males normally disperse³ to find mates.

猫鼬生活在社会群体中，雄性猫鼬通常会离开这些群体寻找配偶。

And when it’s warmer, males are much more likely to hit the road.

当天气变暖时，雄性猫鼬更有可能上路。

And with that they carry disease, they carry tuberculosis⁴ with them, and by moving around too much they spread disease between meerkat groups which again increases the chances or the risks of severe outbreaks.

雄性猫鼬在移动中携带了疾病，携带了结核病，通过移动次数增加，它们会在猫鼬群体之间传播疾病，而这再次增加了严重疾病爆发的机会或风险。

And Paniw says it’s not merely meerkats that should be concerned about the climate.

帕尼乌表示，应该关注气候的不仅仅是猫鼬。

This finding is particularly interesting and important because tuberculosis is a very widespread disease which affects many species including livestock⁵ that is quite important for humans.

这一发现特别有趣和重要，因为结核病是一种传播非常广泛的疾病，会影响许多物种，包括对人类非常重要的牲畜。

Yet another way that climate change could land us all in hot water.

气候变化的另一种方式可能会让我们所有人陷入困境。

For Scientific American’s 60-Second Science, I’m Karen Hopkin.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是凯伦·霍普金。

1 physiological   

adj.生理学的，生理学上的

参考例句：

• He bought a physiological book.他买了一本生理学方面的书。
• Every individual has a physiological requirement for each nutrient.每个人对每种营养成分都有一种生理上的需要。

2 extinction   

n.熄灭，消亡，消灭，灭绝，绝种

参考例句：

• The plant is now in danger of extinction.这种植物现在有绝种的危险。
• The island's way of life is doomed to extinction.这个岛上的生活方式注定要消失。

3 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。

4 tuberculosis   

n.结核病，肺结核

参考例句：

• People used to go to special health spring to recover from tuberculosis.人们常去温泉疗养胜地治疗肺结核。
• Tuberculosis is a curable disease.肺结核是一种可治愈的病。

5 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。