VOA标准英语2010年-Scientists Measure Fish Populations Be

Scientists race against time to train people to de-oil birds

Nathan King | Dauphin Island, Alabama 19 May 2010

As oil from that major spill in the Gulf¹ of Mexico reaches land, scientists are in a race against time.

Just off the Alabama coast, on Dauphin Island, researchers are hurrying to take fishing population samples, train people to help de-oil birds and ask hard questions about the containment² operation and its effect on the environment.

Scientist are studying fish populations before the oil spill reaches Dauphin Island so they can later determine how the oil spill affects fish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico.

Race against time

Young scientists are frantically³ collecting fish as the oil continues to spread.

They want to get a handle on the size of the fish populations before the damage is done so they can work out later just how the oil spill affects fish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico.

The samples are packed in ice and shipped off to Dauphin Island Sea Lab - a major research facility for marine⁴ animals birds and plants.

 "People have been scrambling⁵ to go out and gather data now, even if it is not on our regular sampling schedule to make sure we have pre-condition information that is really fresh and new and current and that and that we can do the best we can to sort of work as a group and a community to share that information," says Ruth Carmichael, a marine scientist who studies manatees⁶ at Sea Lab.

Dauphin Island is home to just over a 1,000 people, but it has more than 350 species of birds. Many of them, like the stately heron, feed on fish and other aquatic⁷ life.

Birds at risk

"Just imagine when those birds there are feeding they are diving into the water and so they are going to encounter oil," says John Dindo, Sea Lab's bird expert.

Dindo is preparing for the worst. He says all these birds rely on the sea for their food.

"That is an Osprey, that's a fish hawk⁸. That's a diving bird, dives on fish," he says. "You watch. He'll come up out of water and he will turn into the wind and shake to shed the water."

The oil will make shedding that water very difficult and even a de-oiling effort on this island will have many casualties.

"Even the process of de-oiling birds has a high mortality rate because you are not only going to take off the oil that they encountered in the water but you are taking out their natural oils, and then temperature regulation becomes a very big factor," says Dindo. "So even after you are trying your best to save them, you still have mortality."

Even if the spill doesn't reach land, it affects the ecosystem⁹ out in the Gulf. Many larger animals in the water rely on subaquatic vegetation for food. Any measure of the impact will depend on how quickly the flow of oil can be stemmed.
 

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

3 frantically   

ad.发狂地, 发疯地

参考例句：

• He dashed frantically across the road. 他疯狂地跑过马路。
• She bid frantically for the old chair. 她发狂地喊出高价要买那把古老的椅子。

4 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。

5 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 manatees   

n.海牛（水生哺乳动物，体宽扁，尾圆，有鳃状肢）( manatee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The manatees tamed quickly. 海牛很快地被驯服。 来自互联网
• Gentle and slow moving, manatees are said to be the mythical mermaids of sailors' imaginations. 海牛游动温和而缓慢，被认为是海员遐想中富有神秘色彩的美人鱼。 来自互联网

7 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。

8 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

9 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。