南极洲帽带企鹅数量下降超过75%

南极洲帽带企鹅数量下降超过75%

The number of chinstrap penguins in some colonies in Western Antarctica has fallen by as much as 77% since they were last surveyed in the 1970s, say scientists studying the impact of climate change on the remote region.

研究气候变化对偏远地区影响的科学家说，自上世纪70年代进行最后一次调查以来，南极洲西部一些殖民地的帽带企鹅数量下降了77%。

The chinstrap penguin, named after the narrow black band under its head, inhabits the islands and shores of the Southern Pacific and Antarctic Oceans and feeds on krill.

帽带企鹅，以其头部下方狭窄的黑色带命名，栖息在南太平洋和南极海洋的岛屿和海岸，以磷虾为食。

“The declines that we’ve seen are definitely dramatic,” said Steve Forrest, a conservation biologist who joined a team of scientists from the two U.S. universities of Stony Brook and Northeastern on an Antarctic expedition that has just ended.

“我们看到的下降绝对是惊人的，”史蒂夫·福雷斯特(Steve Forrest)说。他是一名保护生物学家，与来自美国石溪分校(Stony Brook)和东北大学(Northeastern university)两所大学的科学家组成的团队一起参加了刚刚结束的南极考察。

“Something is happening to the fundamental building blocks of the food chain here. We’ve got less food abundance that’s driving these populations down lower and lower over time and the question is, is that going to continue?”

“这里的食物链的基本构件正在发生变化。随着时间的推移，我们的食物越来越少，导致这些种群数量越来越少，问题是，这种情况会持续下去吗?”

The scientists, traveling on two Greenpeace ships, the Esperanza and the Arctic Sunrise, conducted their expedition to Western Antarctica from Jan. 5 to Feb. 8, and used manual and drone surveying techniques to assess the scale of the damage.

这些科学家乘坐“世界语”号和“北极日出”号这两艘绿色和平组织的船只，于1月5日至2月8日对南极洲西部进行了考察，并使用人工和无人机测量技术评估了损失的规模。

The number of chinstraps at one important habitat in the region, Elephant Island, has plummeted by around 60% since the last survey in 1971, to fewer than 53,000 breeding pairs today, the expedition found.

探险队发现，自1971年最后一次调查以来，该地区一个重要栖息地象岛(Elephant Island)的颏带数量锐减了约60%，目前不到53,000对。

“While several factors may have a role to play, all the evidence we have points to climate change as being responsible for the changes we are seeing,” said Heather Lynch, associate professor of ecology and evolution at Stony Brook University.

石溪大学(Stony Brook University)生态学和进化学副教授希瑟•林奇(Heather Lynch)表示:“虽然可能有几个因素在起作用，但我们掌握的所有证据都表明，气候变化是我们所看到的变化的原因。”

The World Meteorological Organization said last week that a research base in Antarctica had recorded the hottest temperature ever for the continent – 64.94 degrees Fahrenheit – as global warming causes an increase in melting of the ice sheets around the south pole.

世界气象组织上周表示，由于全球变暖导致南极冰盖融化加剧，南极的一个研究基地已经记录到南极大陆有史以来最高的温度——64.94华氏度。