VOA标准英语2014--Sea Turtles' ‘Lost Years’ Mystery Unfolds 揭秘海龟“遗失岁月”的秘密

 

Sea Turtles' ‘Lost Years’ Mystery Unfolds 揭秘海龟“遗失岁月”的秘密

Satellite tracking devices attached to young sea turtles have provided new information on the so-called ‘lost years’ of this endangered species. As soon as the hatchlings emerge from their sandy nest, they scurry¹ down the beach to the ocean and disappear into the deep for many years before returning to the beach to mate. VOA’s Rosanne Skirble has more.

 

卫星追踪设备对于海龟进行了追踪，这可以对这种频危物种的所谓“遗失的岁月”提供新的信息。海龟们在它们的沙巢下蛋后就会立马离开沙滩，游向深海，直到下一次交配季节的到来，他们才会回到这里。本台记者罗赞·斯科波为我们带来更多报道。

Satellite technology catches up

The young turtles are tiny and always on the move, making them almost impossible to track.  A new study, published in the journal Proceedings² of the Royal Society B, is the first to report their early behavior and movement.

Lead author Kate Mansfield, a marine³ biologist at the University of Central Florida, credits small remote sensing devices.

“Because they were solar powered, they did not require huge batteries in order to communicate with overhead satellites,” she explained. “So we were able to use much smaller tags that had become available [to put] on smaller turtles.” 

Mansfield and her colleagues glued tags onto 17 baby loggerheads and released them on Florida’s Atlantic coast. The team tracked the turtles through the open ocean for up to 220 days. They expected that the turtles would remain at the sea surface, and, based on information from the satellite tags, they were able to validate⁴ that belief. 

Sargasso Sea habitat 

Other satellite data, Mansfield says, provided unexpected information about the movement of the turtles in the large circular current of the North Atlantic.  About half of the group moved out of the current into the Sargasso Sea at its center.

“That was pretty exciting, and it shows that the turtles have a little bit more variability in their movement patterns than this original idea of this large circular migration⁵, one-way unidirectional migration around the Atlantic,” says Mansfield.

The Sargasso Sea turns out to be a popular refuge with a floating seaweed buffet⁶ where the young loggerheads can forage⁷ and find shelter.  The turtles tap the thermal⁸ benefit of the warmer surface water and eat the crustaceans⁹ and other small marine organisms that live on the mats of algae¹⁰.  Mansfield says identifying critical habitats, like the Sargasso Sea, is an important step for wildlife protection.

 

Kate Mansfield is working on expanding her research beyond loggerheads in the Atlantic to monitor the behavior of young turtles in other ocean basins. Sea turtles are endangered or threatened in every ocean system in the world.

1 scurry   

vi.急匆匆地走；使急赶；催促；n.快步急跑，疾走；仓皇奔跑声；骤雨，骤雪；短距离赛马

参考例句：

• I jumped on the sofa after I saw a mouse scurry by.看到一只老鼠匆匆路过,我从沙发上跳了起来。
• There was a great scurry for bargains.大家急忙着去抢购特价品。

2 proceedings   

n.进程，过程，议程；诉讼(程序)；公报

参考例句：

• He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
• to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼

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 validate   

vt.（法律）使有效，使生效

参考例句：

• You need an official signature to validate the order.你要有正式的签字，这张汇票才能生效。
• In order to validate the agreement,both parties sign it.为使协议有效，双方在上面签了字。

5 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

6 buffet   

n.自助餐；饮食柜台；餐台

参考例句：

• Are you having a sit-down meal or a buffet at the wedding?你想在婚礼中摆桌宴还是搞自助餐？
• Could you tell me what specialties you have for the buffet?你能告诉我你们的自助餐有什么特色菜吗？

7 forage   

n.(牛马的)饲料，粮草；v.搜寻，翻寻

参考例句：

• They were forced to forage for clothing and fuel.他们不得不去寻找衣服和燃料。
• Now the nutritive value of the forage is reduced.此时牧草的营养价值也下降了。

8 thermal   

adj.热的，由热造成的；保暖的

参考例句：

• They will build another thermal power station.他们要另外建一座热能发电站。
• Volcanic activity has created thermal springs and boiling mud pools.火山活动产生了温泉和沸腾的泥浆池。

9 crustaceans   

n.甲壳纲动物（如蟹、龙虾）( crustacean的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时，它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句

10 algae   

n.水藻，海藻

参考例句：

• Most algae live in water.多数藻类生长在水中。
• Algae grow and spread quickly in the lake.湖中水藻滋蔓。