时差N小时:罕见的宝藏
大多数人寻找埋葬的宝藏多数是为了金银，古币或者稀有艺术品。
But scientists studying the extinct giant moa birdand its environment are looking for a different kindof artifact. Poop.
但是科学家研究灭绝的巨型摩亚恐鸟及其生存环境，是为了寻找一件特别的工艺品。粪便。
That's right. A treasure trove of information can befound in fossilized feces, commonly called coprolites. The Giant Moa of New Zealand is a greatspecies to study because they stood about nine feet high, weighed close to five-hundredpounds and some of their feces were over six inches in length.
对。在化石粪便(通常称之为粪化石)中能发现海量的信息。巨型摩亚恐鸟生长在新西兰，这类物种是极好的研究对象，因为它们高达9英寸，体重将近500镑，它们的粪便有时也能长达6英尺多。
Now, that's a big piece of treasure. There were once ten species of moa birds in New Zealand,but they were hunted to extinction when Polynesians moved to the island in the 1500s. Theywere flightless birds, similar to ostriches and emus. Scientists assumed they were herbivores,eating a diet of plants and seeds. But it wasn't until they began studying moa coprolites thatthey discovered what the birds actually ate and how they affected their environment.
如今，这种粪便是巨大的宝藏。在新西兰曾有十种摩亚恐鸟，但是在十六世纪波里尼西亚人入岛后就被捕食殆尽。它们类似于鸵鸟和鸸鹋，不会飞。科学家认为它们是食草动物，以植物和种子为食。但直到开始研究摩亚恐鸟的粪化石后，他们才发现这类鸟真正的食物是什么，以及它们如何影响身边的环境。
Scientists expected a bird as large as the moa would eat shrub and tree parts. Moa droppingstold a different story. Moas grazed mostly on tiny herbs no more than a foot high. Not only that,many of those herbs are rare or threatened today. Scientists think this is because while themoa ate the plants, it also swallowed seeds whole. Those seeds passed through the digestivetract and were scattered across the countryside to find new places to grow.
科学家们认为像摩亚恐鸟这种体积的鸟类应该会吃灌木丛和树叶。摩亚恐鸟粪便另有故事。摩亚恐鸟主要咀嚼细碎的不过一足高的草本植物。不仅如此，其中许多草本植物很稀有，甚至濒临灭绝。科学家们认为这是因为摩亚恐鸟在食用植物的时候，同时吞下所有的种子。这些种子排出消化道后播撒在乡村各地，然后在新的地方成长。
Moa poop has revealed important clues about the moa and its environment. Now, scientistshope to use what they've learned from the moa to make predictions about our own changingworld.
摩亚恐鸟粪便泄露了重要的关于摩亚恐鸟及其生存环境的线索，如今科学家们希望利用已知的情况来预测不断变化的人类世界。
