VOA标准英语2010年-Photographer Focuses Her Lens on Rare

 

A new book by photographer Amy Gulick highlights the interconnectedness of wildlife and people in the Tongass rainforest of Alaska

Véronique LaCapra | St. Louis 08 July 2010
 

Photo:  Amy Gulick/amygulick.com
Chum salmon¹ (onorhynchus keta) on a spawning² run in a Tongass stream

 

The Tongass rainforest in the far northwestern U.S. state of Alaska is one of the rarest ecosystems⁴ on earth. Salmon play a critical role for people and wildlife in this unusual coastal⁵ forest.

 

Photographer Amy Gulick says she always thought of rainforests as being in the tropics – places like Brazil and Indonesia. Then she found out about the Tongass.

"This is a very, very rare ecosystem³," says Gulick. "It's called a coastal temperate⁶ rainforest. This type of ecosystem has only ever existed on one thousandth of the earth's land surface. It takes just the right conditions for this type of ecosystem to form."

 

The Tongass includes the more than 5,000 islands of the Alexander Archipelago
The Tongass rainforest stretches in a narrow band along southeastern Alaska's Pacific Ocean coastline. Covering almost 68,000 square kilometers, the Tongass is by far the largest national forest in the United States.

Gulick spent months in the Tongass, photographing its wildlife and people for her new book, called Salmon in the Trees. More about that title later.

Wildlife thrives in the Tongass rainforest

The Tongass contains nearly a third of the world's remaining old growth coastal temperate rainforest. Other areas remain along the coasts of Chile and New Zealand, with smaller patches in Tasmania, Norway, and Japan.

 

A Black Bear snacks on salmon in a tree at Tongass National Forest in Alaska.
Like the rainforests of the tropics, Alaska's coastal rainforest teems⁷ with wildlife.

"Every species that has existed here since the time of European settlement in the 1700s is still here," Gulick says. "Nothing is missing. So animals like wolves, grizzly⁸ bears, bald eagles, millions of wild salmon, humpback whales, steller sea lions thrive here again as they have for, for thousands of years."

Included with Gulick's book is a CD of wildlife sounds produced by anthropologist⁹ and writer Richard Nelson.

Salmon support the forest ecosystem

The Tongass, says Gulick, is a giant mosaic¹⁰ of different landscapes. Only about 60 percent of the Tongass is actually forested. The rest is rock, ice, wetlands and water - more than 20,000 lakes and ponds, and 64,000 kilometers of streams. Much of the forest is spread out over 5,000 coastal islands.

"And because of all those islands, no point on land is far from the sea," Gulick explains. "So this is very much a place where the forest and the sea are interconnected. And again the salmon link the land to the sea."

Salmon play a central role in the Tongass ecosystem. Every year, adult salmon return from the Pacific Ocean to the freshwater streams where they were born, to lay their eggs, and die. The migrating fish fill the waterways of the forest.

 

Thousands of pairs of bald eagles nest in the Tongass

"There are times," says Gulick, "when I was standing¹¹ on salmon streams that you could literally¹² walk across the stream on the backs of these fish."

Such a high concentration of fish attracts over 50 species of birds and other animals, eager to take advantage of the feast.

"It's this glorious show. When the salmon enter the forest, the whole place comes alive. There are bears everywhere, eagles cawing, ravens¹³ are screeching¹⁴, and again it's just this vibrant¹⁵ show of life going on all around you, it's a very, it's a very exciting time."

Bears often carry their catch back among the trees to eat, leaving thousands of fish carcasses scattered¹⁶ throughout the forest. Over time, these remains¹⁷ decompose¹⁸, releasing nutrients¹⁹ into the soil where trees can take them up again.

Gulick says researchers have found evidence of salmon in the trees: "Scientists have actually been able to trace a particular form of marine²⁰ nitrogen in trees near salmon streams that they can link back to the fish."

Salmon are also critical to the 70,000 people who inhabit the Tongass: coastal waters support a thriving commercial fishery, and wildlife tourism is flourishing.

Protecting the trees to save the forest

But, Gulick notes, not all development has been friendly to the fish and the forest ecosystem that supports them. "Industrial-scale logging began pretty heavily in the 1940s and 50s, and continued pretty heavily for about 50 years."

Gulick says public outcry against the logging industry slowed the cutting of the centuries-old trees of the old growth forest. Environmental groups continue to lobby to preserve the most biologically productive areas of the Tongass.

"By protecting these key areas, the best salmon producing areas, the best places for bears, the best places for deer, best places for bald eagles, then that should preserve the ecological²¹ integrity of the whole area."

Amy Gulick visited and photographed some of those "best places" in the Tongass National Forest, while working on her recent book, Salmon in the Trees.

Meanwhile, in a move hailed by environmentalists, the U.S. Forest Service recently announced it was changing its policy in the Tongass, shifting logging operations away from old-growth forest to areas that have previously²² been harvested. The policy change should help ensure that Alaska's rare Tongass rainforest will be around for future generations of salmon, bears and people to enjoy
 

1 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

2 spawning   

产卵

参考例句：

• Encounter sites have a small chance of spawning a "Commander" NPC. 遭遇战地区有很小的几率遇到NPC指挥官。
• Instantly revives your Champion at your Spawning Pool, 9 minute cooldown. 立即在出生地复活你的英雄，冷却时间9分钟。

3 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。

4 ecosystems   

n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样，从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

5 coastal   

adj.海岸的，沿海的，沿岸的

参考例句：

• The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。

6 temperate   

adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的

参考例句：

• Asia extends across the frigid,temperate and tropical zones.亚洲地跨寒、温、热三带。
• Great Britain has a temperate climate.英国气候温和。

7 teems   

v.充满( teem的第三人称单数 )；到处都是；（指水、雨等）暴降；倾注

参考例句：

• The swamp teems with mosquitoes. 这片沼泽地蚊子多极了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• That book teems with blunders. 那本书错误不少。 来自辞典例句

8 grizzly   

adj.略为灰色的，呈灰色的；n.灰色大熊

参考例句：

• This grizzly liked people.这只灰熊却喜欢人。
• Grizzly bears are not generally social creatures.一般说来，灰熊不是社交型动物。

9 anthropologist   

n.人类学家，人类学者

参考例句：

• The lecturer is an anthropologist.这位讲师是人类学家。
• The anthropologist unearthed the skull of an ancient human at the site.人类学家在这个遗址挖掘出那块古人类的颅骨。

10 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

13 ravens   

n.低质煤；渡鸦( raven的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Wheresoever the carcase is,there will the ravens be gathered together. 哪里有死尸，哪里就有乌鸦麇集。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A couple of ravens croaked above our boat. 两只乌鸦在我们小船的上空嘎嘎叫着。 来自辞典例句

14 screeching   

v.发出尖叫声( screech的现在分词 )；发出粗而刺耳的声音；高叫

参考例句：

• Monkeys were screeching in the trees. 猴子在树上吱吱地叫着。
• the unedifying sight of the two party leaders screeching at each other 两党党魁狺狺对吠的讨厌情景

15 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

16 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

17 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

18 decompose   

vi.分解；vt.（使）腐败，（使）腐烂

参考例句：

• The eggs began to decompose after a day in the sun.鸡蛋在太阳下放了一天后开始变坏。
• Most animals decompose very quickly after death.大多数动物死后很快腐烂。

19 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 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。

21 ecological   

adj.生态的，生态学的

参考例句：

• The region has been declared an ecological disaster zone.这个地区已经宣布为生态灾难区。
• Each animal has its ecological niche.每种动物都有自己的生态位.

22 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。