Is this the most valuable thing in the ocean? - David Biello

翻译人员: Jinghan Zhang 校对人员: suya f.

In 1891, newspapers reported the story of James Bartley,

1891 年，报纸报道了 詹姆斯·巴特利的故事，

a whaler who was swallowed whole by his prey.

巴特利是一名捕鲸者， 却被他的猎物整个吞了下去。

Supposedly, Bartley spent as long as 36 hours in the belly of the beast

据说，巴特利被困在鲸鱼的肚子里 长达 36 个小时，

before his crew caught the whale and rescued their crewmate.

直到他的船员抓住了 鲸鱼才救出了他。

And this tale is far from unique.

而这并非凤毛麟角的奇闻。

Various novels, myths, and religious texts depict figures swallowed at sea—

很多小说、神话和宗教经文 都描绘过在海上被吞的形象，

with some even making a home for themselves

有的甚至在那些怪物 洞穴般的大嘴里

in the creatures’ cavernous mouths.

安了个家。

Unfortunately, if someone actually were swallowed by a whale,

不幸的是，如果有人真的被鲸鱼吞下，

they would likely be crushed.

他们很可能会被压碎。

But if they somehow survived,

但如果他们以某种方式幸存下来，

they might have a chance to escape during their captor’s bathroom break.

他们可能有机会在“绑架者” 上厕所休息时逃脱。

Whales frequently surface to take in air

鲸鱼经常浮出水面换气呼吸，

and let out massive plumes of waste.

并且排泄大量粪便。

And while swimming in this slurry might seem more disgusting

虽然在这种粪水里游泳 可能看起来

than living in these creatures,

比在这些生物体内生存还要恶心，

whale poop is much more desirable than it may seem.

但鲸鱼的粪便比看起来更有价值。

In fact, it may be one of the most important substances in the ocean—

实际上，它可能是海洋里 甚至是世界上

and the world.

最重要的物质之一。

To understand why,

究其原因，

we need to look at some of the ocean’s most ubiquitous organisms: phytoplankton.

我们需要研究一些海洋中 最普遍的生物：浮游植物。

These creatures survive off sunlight, carbon dioxide,

这些生物靠阳光、二氧化碳

and nutrients like phosphates, nitrogen, and iron.

以及磷酸盐、氮气和铁 等营养物质生存。

And since the ocean’s surface waters generally have an abundance

并且，由于海洋的表层海水通常富含

of these resources,

该类资源，

phytoplankton are everywhere.

浮游植物因此无处不在。

A single drop of seawater can contain thousands of these creatures

一滴海水可以容纳 成千上万种这样的生物，

and phytoplankton blooms are large enough to be seen from space.

浮游植物大量繁殖的规模大到 甚至可以从太空看见。

These phytoplankton then become food for countless microscopic grazers,

之后，这些浮游植物 会成为包括肱足类和磷虾

including copepods and krill,

在内众多微小食草生物的食物，

which in turn feed a huge swath of marine life.

它们反过来又 为大量海洋生物提供食物。

In this way, these surface-dwellers are the base of a food chain

通过这种方式，这些海洋 表层水域的“居民”便成为了

supporting countless marine life forms.

支撑各个海洋生物食物链的基础。

But when phytoplankton die, their bodies can sink far below the surface,

而当浮游植物死亡时，它们的残骸 会沉入海洋，远离表层海水，

taking with them the carbon and iron their living peers need to survive.

从而为其它活着的浮游植物 带去其生存所需的碳和铁。

And this is where whales come in.

这便来到了鲸鱼的舞台。

Hunting at these depths,

鲸鱼在这一深度捕食时，

whales consume huge amounts of these phytoplankton predators.

能吃掉大量 浮游植物捕食者。

For example, species like the blue whale

例如，像蓝鲸这样的物种

can consume up to 16 tons of krill every day,

每天可以吃掉 多达 16 吨的磷虾，

leading them to regularly surface and release a slick of feces red with iron.

使得它们定期浮出水面时， 会排泄出富含铁而显红色的粪便。

Through this cycle,

在这个循环中，

whales act as a living pump to bring iron from deeper waters back to the surface.

鲸鱼充当活泵，将铁 从更深的水域带回地表。

However, if we take whales out of the equation—

然而，如果我们像几个世纪 以来的商业捕鲸活动那样，

much as centuries of commercial whaling did—

肆意把鲸鱼排除在外，

this natural system starts to break down.

这一自然系统就会开始崩溃。

Over enough time,

在一定时间内，

this broken cycle could lead to surface waters completely devoid of life

这种中断的循环可能会导致 表层海水完全失去生命，

and similarly major problems for us land dwellers.

并且同样的严重问题 也会殃及我们陆地居民自身。

Phytoplankton’s massive photosynthetic blooms

浮游植物进行大规模 光合作用产生的氧气

produce as much as half of Earth’s oxygen.

多达地球氧气量的一半。

And in addition to taking in iron,

除了吸收铁外，

phytoplankton helps sequester huge amounts of carbon—

浮游植物还能帮助 封存大量的碳——

an element we need to extract from the air to address climate change.

也就是我们为应对气候变化 需要从空气中提取的元素。

According to one report, phytoplankton are estimated to capture four times

据报告估计， 浮游植物捕获的碳量

the amount of carbon contained in the plant life of the Amazon.

是亚马逊雨林植物 所吸收碳量的四倍。

From these calculations,

根据这些计算，

every 1% increase in phytoplankton population

浮游植物种群 每扩大 1％，

is the carbon capture equivalent of 2 billion fully grown trees

其碳捕获量相当于 20 亿棵 完全成熟的树木

springing into existence.

拔地而起所产生的效果。

While there’s still debate about exactly how much of this carbon

尽管关于这些碳中 究竟有多少能长期

stays in the ocean long term,

留在海洋仍存在争论，

researchers are working to increase phytoplankton populations

但研究人员仍在努力增加 浮游植物的种群

and bury as much carbon as possible.

并封存尽可能多的碳。

Some groups are doing this simply by sprinkling iron in the ocean.

为此，有些组织仅仅 向海里撒铁。

However, this approach is much less impactful

但这种方法的影响 远远小于

than supporting the ocean’s natural phytoplankton farmers.

为天然浮游植物养殖者提供支持。

Whale poop’s complex matrix of nutrients is the result of millennia of co-evolution

鲸鱼粪便的丰富营养素基质 是这些生物数千年来

among these creatures,

共同进化的结果，

making it vastly superior to cheap, man-made supplements.

其远远优于廉价的人造补品。

Right now, whale populations are still recovering from industrial whaling.

目前，鲸鱼种群仍在从工业 捕鲸造成的损害中慢慢恢复。

But if we can help these species rebound through whaling moratoriums,

但如果我们能 通过暂停捕鲸、

safer fishing and shipping practices, and cleaning up pollution,

采取更安全的捕鱼和航运方式 以及整治污染来帮助这些物种复苏，

it would do wonders for restoring this nutrient cycle.

这将对恢复这种营养循环产生奇效。

And even when these newly protected whales die natural deaths,

此外，即使受到新形势下 保护的鲸鱼自然死亡，

they'll still be fighting climate change.

它们仍能帮助抵御气候变化。

Not only can a whale’s body sequester up to 33 tons of carbon

鲸鱼的身体不仅可以在海底封存

at the bottom of the ocean,

多达 33 吨的碳，

but their remains can also become an entire ecosystem—

它们的遗骸还可以 变成一个完整的生态系统——

continuing to support life both above and below the surface.

继续为海洋表层水域 之上和之下的生命提供支持。