2023年02月25日 VOA慢速英语：研究：座头鲸唱歌与孤独有关

A new study suggests the singing noises made by humpback whales might be a sign of loneliness.
一项新研究表明，座头鲸发出的歌声可能是孤独的标志。
 
Scientists who recorded humpback whale behavior in Australia discovered that fewer whales made the singing noises, also called wailing, as their population grew.
在澳大利亚记录座头鲸行为的科学家发现，随着种群数量的增加，发出歌声（也称为哀号）的鲸鱼越来越少。
 
"Humpback whale song is loud and travels far in the ocean," said marine biologist Rebecca Dunlop of the University of Queensland in Brisbane. She has long studied humpback whales and helped lead the new study. Her work has centered on humpbacks that reproduce near Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
布里斯班昆士兰大学的海洋生物学家 Rebecca Dunlop 说：“座头鲸的歌声响亮，在海洋中传播得很远。”她长期研究座头鲸，并帮助领导了这项新研究。她的工作主要集中在澳大利亚大堡礁附近繁殖的座头鲸身上。
 
Dunlop told The Associated Press she made an unexpected find as whale numbers sharply rose following the end of commercial whaling. "It was getting more difficult to actually find singers," she said.
邓洛普告诉美联社，随着商业捕鲸结束后鲸鱼数量急剧上升，她有了一个意想不到的发现。 “真正找到歌手变得越来越困难，”她说。
 
Dunlop added, "When there were fewer of them, there was a lot of singing – now that there are lots of them, no need to be singing so much."
邓洛普补充道，“当他们人数较少时，歌声很多——现在他们很多了，没必要唱那么多了。”
 
Scientists first began to hear and study the complex songs of the humpback whales in the 1970s. They used underwater microphones to do so. Only male whales sing. Scientists think the whales sing to seek mates or show power.
科学家们于 20 世纪 70 年代首次开始聆听和研究座头鲸复杂的歌曲。他们使用水下麦克风来这样做。只有雄鲸会唱歌。科学家认为鲸鱼唱歌是为了寻找配偶或展示力量。
 
Eastern Australia's humpback whales came close to disappearing in the 1960s, when their number dropped to around 200. But over time the population began to regrow, climbing to about 27,000 whales by 2015. That number is near estimated pre-whaling levels.
澳大利亚东部的座头鲸在 1960 年代几近消失，当时它们的数量下降到大约 200 头。但随着时间的推移，数量开始重新增长，到 2015 年攀升至约 27,000 头鲸鱼。这个数字接近估计的捕鲸前水平。
  
As the density of whales increased, their singing behaviors changed. While 2 in 10 males made wailing noises in 2004, 10 years later the number had dropped to 1 in 10, Dunlop said. The team's study appeared in a recent issue of Nature Communications Biology.
随着鲸鱼密度的增加，它们的歌唱行为发生了变化。邓洛普说，虽然 2004 年每 10 个男性中就有 2 个发出哀号声，但 10 年后这个数字下降到十分之一。该团队的研究发表在最近一期的Nature Communications Biology上。
 
Dunlop said she thinks singing played a big part in bringing in mates when populations were severely reduced. "It was hard just to find other whales in the area, because there weren't many," she added.
邓洛普说，她认为在人口严重减少的情况下，歌唱在引入配偶方面发挥了重要作用。 “很难在该地区找到其他鲸鱼，因为数量不多，”她补充道。
 
When humpbacks live in denser populations, males looking for mates also have to deal with competing whales. Dunlop explained the singing noises might bring in other possible mates.
当座头鲸生活在更密集的种群中时，寻找配偶的雄性座头鲸还必须应对相互竞争的鲸鱼。邓洛普解释说，歌声可能会带来其他可能的伴侣。
 
Boris Worm is an ocean biologist at Canada's Dalhousie University. He was not involved in the research. "As animal populations recover, they change their behavior – they have different constraints," Worm said.
Boris Worm 是加拿大达尔豪斯大学的海洋生物学家。他没有参与这项研究。 “随着动物种群的恢复，它们会改变行为——它们受到不同的限制，”Worm 说。
 
The research suggests the seas are still noisy with humpback whale sounds. Many humpbacks seek to bring in mates with a combination of singing and physical movements, the study notes.
研究表明，座头鲸的声音仍然很嘈杂。研究指出，许多座头鲸寻求通过结合唱歌和身体运动来交配。
 
The large increase in the humpback population during the study period provided valuable data about changes in the animals' behavior, said Simon Ingram. He studies humpback whales at the University of Plymouth in Britain.
Simon Ingram 说，研究期间座头鲸数量的大幅增加提供了有关动物行为变化的宝贵数据。他在英国普利茅斯大学研究座头鲸。
 
Ingram said humpback whales must have been singers long before whaling reduced their numbers. But the new study demonstrates how necessary their complex and beautiful songs were to their survival and recovery, he added.
英格拉姆说，座头鲸在捕鲸活动减少它们的数量之前很久就已经是歌手了。但他补充说，这项新研究证明了他们复杂而优美的歌曲对他们的生存和康复是多么必要。
 
"Clearly singing became incredibly valuable when their numbers were very low," Ingram said.
“很明显，当他们的人数非常少时，唱歌变得非常有价值，”英格拉姆说。