时差N小时 过度捕鲸的危害超乎想象!(下)

You see, killer¹ whales, who live at the top of the ocean food chain, used to prey² on sperm³ and baleen⁴ whales.

虎鲸在海洋食物链占据最高层，它通常捕食抹香鲸和须鲸。

When these were no longer available, the killer whales were forced to fish farther down the food chain.

当不是不到这类猎物时，虎鲸被迫捕食位于下一层的食物链（的生物）。

First they fed on seals, which were the easiest to catch and the most nutritionally valuable.

它们最先捕食的是海豹，后者最容易捕捉且营养价值最高。

Then, when seals became rare, the killer whales turned to sea lions.

然后，当海豹逐渐稀少，虎鲸将猎杀的目标转向海狮。

When the sea lion population crashed, they started fishing sea otters⁵.

而当海狮濒危后，虎鲸又开始猎杀海獭。

The domino effect reaches even farther. Without sea otters keeping sea urchins⁶ in check, their population has exploded.

这一多米诺效应逐渐延伸。没了海獭约束海胆，海胆的数量迅速膨胀。

And they've destroyed the kelp forests, and with it, the kelp forest ecosystem⁷ in southwestern Alaska.

此外,它们还会破坏阿拉斯加西南部的海藻林生态系统。

What all these means is that animals switching food sources can have a very serious effect on the environment.

动物间交换食物来源会对环境造成严重的影响。

And that we humans, as the ultimate predators⁸, need to give a lot of thought to the way the choices we make can affect the food web in unintended ways.

而人类作为终极捕食者，需要慎重得考虑所做的决定。这些决定可能会以人们所不知道的方式来影响食物链。

1 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

2 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

3 sperm   

n.精子，精液

参考例句：

• Only one sperm fertilises an egg.只有一个精子使卵子受精。
• In human reproduction,one female egg is usually fertilized by one sperm.在人体生殖过程中，一个精子使一个卵子受精。

4 baleen   

n.鲸须

参考例句：

• Other baleen whales have splash guards too,but not like this.一些须鲸物种头顶也有护住喷水孔的构造，但并不长成这样。
• Baleen whales often appear in this region. Be careful!这一带经常有须鲸出没，要注意安全啊。

5 otters   

n.（水）獭( otter的名词复数 )；獭皮

参考例句：

• An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网

6 urchins   

n.顽童( urchin的名词复数 )；淘气鬼；猬；海胆

参考例句：

• Some dozen barefooted urchins ganged in from the riverside. 几十个赤足的顽童从河边成群结队而来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• People said that he had jaundice and urchins nicknamed him "Yellow Fellow." 别人说他是黄胆病，孩子们也就叫他“黄胖”了。 来自汉英文学 - 中国现代小说

7 ecosystem   

n.生态系统

参考例句：

• This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
• We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。

8 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》