纪录片《我们的地球》 第168期 多样浅海(02)（在线收听）

These shallows around the equator are excellent nurseries.

赤道附近的浅海是个非常理想的托儿所。

They're warm, calm, and contain very few predators.

温暖，平静，很少有掠食者。

The playful calf is now drinking five hundred liters of milk a day, but his mother must starve.

顽皮的小座头鲸每天要喝500公升奶，但是它的妈妈却饿的要死。

There is nothing for her to eat here.

在这里母鲸没有东西可以吃。

Like many tropical shallow seas, these crystal clear waters are virtually lifeless.

和多数热带浅海域一样，这片明净的水域实际上没有什么生机。

They receive year round sunlight, but they lack the nutrients essential for the growth of plankton.

虽然充满阳光，但是这里主要缺少浮游生物生长所需的养分。

The mother will be trapped here for the next five months

母座头鲸接下来要困在这里大约5个月，

until her calf is strong enough to make the journey to the feeding grounds, near the poles.

等到小鲸足够强壮了，才开始到极地进食点的旅行。

Coral reefs are oases in a watery desert.

珊瑚礁是荒凉海洋中的绿洲。

Most tropical shallows are barren,

多数热带浅海比较荒凉，

but these coral havens contain one quarter of all the marine life on our planet.

不过珊瑚礁汇聚着地球上四分之一的海洋生物。