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Endangered South African Penguins Driven Away by Shipping Noise

时间:2022-09-22 02:30:15

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(单词翻译)

Penguins2 in South Africa are being driven from their native environment because of noise from shipping3 activities.

The African penguin1 lives on St. Croix island off the east coast of South Africa. The animals are already endangered. But a new study has found that African penguins are leaving their natural environment to escape noisy ship refueling operations.

The island once held the world's largest reproducing colony of the animals. But the population has dropped sharply since South Africa started permitting ships in the area to refuel at sea six years ago, the study found.

Lorien Pichegru is acting4 director of the Coastal5 and Marine6 Research Institute at Nelson Mandela University, which led the study. She told Reuters news agency the organization had found that noise levels in the area had doubled since the refueling activities began.

Scientists say high noise levels affect the ability of ocean animals to find and catch other animals for food. Noise also makes it more difficult for the animals to communicate with each other and map travel paths.

"This year we are at 1,200 breeding pairs at St Croix from 8,500 pairs in 2016," Pichegru said. "I was counting the dead birds every month on the beach of the bay."

The study recently appeared in the publication Science of the Total Environment. The researchers said the study is the first to explore the effects of ocean traffic noise pollution on a seabird.

In 2016, South Africa's Maritime7 Safety Authority (SAMSA) awarded the country's first offshore8 refueling operator's license9 to Aegean Marine. Later, it gave two licenses10 to SA Marine Fuels and Heron Marine.

The companies operating the refueling activities did not return Reuters' request for comment.

An order to halt any new licenses has been in place since August 2019. It will only be lifted after an environmental study is completed by port officials. The study is expected next year.

Nelson Mandela University's study used data from ship identification tools to estimate underwater noise from passing ships.

Oil-covered penguins were found in 2019 in Algoa Bay after an oil spill from ship-to-ship refueling. Environmental groups have called for the activities to be banned in the bay.

Pichegru said penguins in the area were already struggling to reproduce because of a series of issues, including industrial fishing operations. She added that the refueling activities did not kill all the penguins. "It was just the thing that made the whole ecology tip over and then the penguins couldn't cope with that," she said.

Words in This Story

breed – v. to reproduce

license – n. an official document giving someone permission to do or have something

ecology – n. the relationship between living things and the environment

cope – v. to deal with something


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1 penguin W3jzf     
n.企鹅
参考例句:
  • The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
  • He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。
2 penguins fc5bf5a50fd6b440a35d113f324c5e75     
n.企鹅( penguin的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Why can penguins live in cold environment? 为什么企鹅能生活在寒冷的环境中? 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Whales, seals, penguins, and turtles have flippers. 鲸、海豹,企鹅和海龟均有鳍形肢。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
3 shipping WESyg     
n.船运(发货,运输,乘船)
参考例句:
  • We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
  • There's a shipping charge of £5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。
4 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
5 coastal WWiyh     
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 marine 77Izo     
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。
7 maritime 62yyA     
adj.海的,海事的,航海的,近海的,沿海的
参考例句:
  • Many maritime people are fishermen.许多居于海滨的人是渔夫。
  • The temperature change in winter is less in maritime areas.冬季沿海的温差较小。
8 offshore FIux8     
adj.海面的,吹向海面的;adv.向海面
参考例句:
  • A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
  • A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。
9 license B9TzU     
n.执照,许可证,特许;v.许可,特许
参考例句:
  • The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
  • The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。
10 licenses 9d2fccd1fa9364fe38442db17bb0cb15     
n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准,许可,颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
  • Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

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