VOA慢速英语--研究称一种新型海藻在太半洋杀死珊瑚

Study: New Kind of Seaweed Is Killing¹ Coral in the Pacific Ocean

Scientists say a recently discovered kind of seaweed plant is killing large numbers of very small but important ocean animals called corals.

A new study from the University of Hawaii says the deadly seaweed is spreading quickly in the Pacific Ocean around the Northeastern Hawaiian islands. The area is one of the most protected environments on earth.

Corals live closely together forming large, hard, ocean structures called reefs. The researchers say the seaweed grows over the reefs, blocking the coral from the sunlight and food it needs to survive.

"This is a highly destructive seaweed," said scientist and seaweed expert Heather Spalding, who helped write the study. She said it could overgrow entire reefs.

In 2016, the United States government researchers were studying the Pearl and Hermes Atoll when they found small amounts of a seaweed they had never seen before. Last summer, they returned to the area and discovered the plant seemed to be everywhere. Spalding said in some places she examined, the seaweed covered "everything, as far as the eye could see," in thicknesses of up to 20 centimeters.

"Everything underneath² of it was dead," she said.

The area was almost empty of fish and other sea life that usually populate the area.

Scientists say the seaweed probably covers an even larger area than they were able to document in the study.

Pearl and Hermes Atoll is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, about 3,200 kilometers from Asia and North America. It is part of the 1.6 million-square-kilometer U.S. Papahanaumokuakea Marine³ National Monument.

The scientists said that some of the seaweed extended across areas the size of several soccer fields. They also said it threatens the atoll, and could endanger the entire Hawaiian archipelago if it spreads.

"We have not, until now, seen a nuisance species that's come in and made such...changes over a short period of time to the reefs," said the University of Hawaii's Alison Sherwood, who led the study.

The scientists carried out genetic⁴ studies that showed the seaweed was a new species. They named it Chondria tumulosa.

The new seaweed might have been carried into the area by a boat, although all boats must be cleaned and inspected in order to enter. The scientists say the species also might have been in the area for a long time, but in small amounts. Sometimes, environmental changes can cause an explosion in growth, they explained.

The study was published in the journal PLOS ONE.

I'm Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

atoll - n. a ring-shaped reef, island, or chain of islands formed of coral.

archipelago - n. a group of islands

nuisance - n. something that is annoying or destructive

species - n. a group of living organisms consisting of similar individuals capable of exchanging genes⁵ or interbreeding.

1 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。

2 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

3 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。

4 genetic   

adj.遗传的，遗传学的

参考例句：

• It's very difficult to treat genetic diseases.遗传性疾病治疗起来很困难。
• Each daughter cell can receive a full complement of the genetic information.每个子细胞可以收到遗传信息的一个完全补偿物。

5 genes   

n.基因( gene的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• You have good genes from your parents, so you should live a long time. 你从父母那儿获得优良的基因，所以能够活得很长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Differences will help to reveal the functions of the genes. 它们间的差异将会帮助我们揭开基因多种功能。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 生物技术的世纪