万物简史 第402期:浩瀚的海洋(21)

 It is now thought that the larvae¹ of certain organisms may drift through the water until, 现在认为，某些生物的幼体可能在水里漂动，

by some unknown chemical means, they detect that they have arrived at a food opportunity and fall onto it. 最后由于未知的化学原因，它们发现来了进食的机会，于是就扑了上去。

So why, if the seas are so vast, do we so easily overtax them? 那么，既然海洋那么浩瀚，我们怎么就如此容易地弄得它负担过重了呢？

Well, to begin with, the world's seas are not uniformly bounteous². 首先，世界上的海洋并不都是很丰盈的。

Altogether less than a tenth of the ocean is considered naturally productive. 总共只有不足十分之一的海洋被认为天生很富饶。

Most aquatic³ species like to be in shallow waters where there is warmth and light and an abundance of organic matter to prime the food chain. 大多敖数的水生动物喜欢待在浅水里，那里有热量，有光线，还有丰富的有机物质来抚育食物链。

Coral reefs, for instance, constitute well under 1 percent of the ocean's space but are home to about 25 percent of its fish. 比如，珊湖礁占了远不足海洋空间的1%，但那里是大约25%海洋鱼类的家园。

Elsewhere, the oceans aren't nearly so rich. Take Australia. 在别处，海洋根本没有那么富庶。以澳大利亚为例。

With over 20,000 miles of coastline and almost nine million square miles of territorial⁴ waters, 这个国家拥有36735公里长的海岸线和2300万平方公里以上的领海，

it has more sea lapping its shores than any other country, yet, as Tim Flannery notes, it doesn't even make it into the top fifty among fishing nations. 有着比任何别的国家更多的拍击海岸的海浪，然而，正如提姆·弗兰纳星指出的，它在捕鱼国家中还排不到前50位。

Indeed, Australia is a large net importer of seafood⁵. 实际上，澳大利亚是个海鲜的净进口国。

This is because much of Australia's waters are, like much of Australia itself, essentially⁶ desert. 这是因为澳大利亚的很大一部分水域，就像澳大利亚本身的很大部分一样，都是荒漠。

(A notable exception is the Great Barrier Reef off Queensland, which is sumptuously⁷ fecund⁸.) （一个令人注目的例外是昆士兰近诲的大堡礁，那可是个极其富饶的地方。）

Because the soil is poor, it produces little in the way of nutrient-rich runoff. 由于土壤贫癖，它的径流里实际上不含任何营养。

Even where life thrives, it is often extremely sensitive to disturbance⁹. 即使是生命很丰富的海域,也往往对于扰极其敏感。

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 bounteous   

adj.丰富的

参考例句：

• Because of the spring rains,the farmers had a bounteous crop.因为下了春雨，农夫获得了丰收。
• He has a bounteous imagination.他有丰富的想象力。

3 aquatic   

adj.水生的，水栖的

参考例句：

• Aquatic sports include swimming and rowing.水上运动包括游泳和划船。
• We visited an aquatic city in Italy.我们在意大利访问过一个水上城市。

4 territorial   

adj.领土的，领地的

参考例句：

• The country is fighting to preserve its territorial integrity.该国在为保持领土的完整而进行斗争。
• They were not allowed to fish in our territorial waters.不允许他们在我国领海捕鱼。

5 seafood   

n.海产食品，海味，海鲜

参考例句：

• There's an excellent seafood restaurant near here.离这儿不远有家非常不错的海鲜馆。
• Shrimps are a popular type of seafood.小虾是比较普遍的一种海味。

6 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

7 sumptuously   

奢侈地，豪华地

参考例句：

• The hall was sumptuously decorated. 大厅装饰得富丽堂皇。
• This government building is sumptuously appointed. 这座政府办公大楼布置得极为豪华。

8 fecund   

adj.多产的，丰饶的，肥沃的

参考例句：

• The pampas are still among the most fecund lands in the world.南美大草原仍然是世界上最肥沃的土地之一。
• They have a fecund soil.他们有肥沃的土地。

9 disturbance   

n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调

参考例句：

• He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
• You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。