Glow-in-the-dark sharks and other stunning sea creatures | David Gruber

翻译人员: Jingyao Xue 校对人员: Gabriella Hu

I'm a marine biologist and an explorer-photographer

我是海洋生物学家及探险摄影师，

with National Geographic,

为《国家地理》杂志工作，

but I want to share a secret.

我想和你们分享一个秘密。

This image is totally incorrect,

这幅图像完全不正确的，

totally incorrect.

完全是错的。

I see a couple of people crying in the back

我看到后面有几个朋友掩脸，

that I've blown their idea of mermaids.

我打破他们对美人鱼的想象。

All right, the mermaid is indeed real,

确实，美人鱼是存在的，

but anyone who's gone on a dive

但是，任何潜水的人都知道

will know that the ocean looks more like this.

海洋看起来更像这个样子。

It's because the ocean is this massive filter,

这是因为海洋是 一个庞大的过滤器，

and as soon as you start going underwater,

并且，一旦你开始在水下面，

you're going to lose your colors,

你会失去辨别颜色的能力，

and it's going to get dark and blue very quickly.

一切很快会变成黑色和蓝色。

But we're humans -- we're terrestrial mammals.

但我们是人类 --- 陆生哺乳动物。

And we've got trichromatic vision,

我们是具有三色视觉，

so we see in red, green and blue,

所以，我们能看到 红，绿和蓝色，

and we're just complete color addicts.

我们完全对颜色着迷。

We love eye-popping color,

我们喜爱令人瞠目的色彩，

and we try to bring this eye-popping color

并且，我们尝试把 这些瞠目的色彩

underwater with us.

带到水下面，和我们一起。

So there's been a long and sordid history of bringing color underwater,

我们有一个漫长和懊丧的， 人为把色彩带到水下的历史，

and it starts 88 years ago with Bill Longley and Charles Martin,

这开始在88年前， Bill Longley和Charles Martin，

who were trying to take the first underwater color photograph.

他们尝试拍摄第一张 水下彩色照片，

And they're in there with old-school scuba suits,

那时，他们穿着老式 潜水服，带着水肺，

where you're pumping air down to them,

水面上的人要输送空气给他们。

and they've got a pontoon of high-explosive magnesium powder,

他们还带了一个 易爆的镁粉浮筒，

and the poor people at the surface are not sure

水上面的人并不知道，

when they're going to pull the string when they've got their frame in focus,

他们什么时候找到对焦 的目标，就开始拉动细绳，

and -- boom! -- a pound of high explosives would go off

然后，轰！一声巨响 ---- 一磅的镁粉爆炸了。

so they could put a little bit of light underwater

这样，他们就可以 把一点光带到水下面,

and get an image like this beautiful hogfish.

并且拍到一张美丽的 猪头鱼图像。

I mean, it's a gorgeous image, but this is not real.

这是一张非常漂亮的图像， 但这不是真实的。

They're creating an artificial environment

他们创造了人工环境去拍摄它，

so we can satisfy our own addiction to color.

这样，可以满足了 我们对颜色的嗜好。

And looking at it the other way, what we've been finding

看看其他水下拍摄的方法， 我们一直在寻找的是

is that instead of bringing color underwater with us,

不带人工色彩的方法，

that we've been looking at the blue ocean,

我们一直在观擦蓝色的海洋，

and it's a crucible of blue,

对海洋生物而言， 是一种蓝色的考验，

and these animals living there for millions of years

海洋动物在那里 生活了数百万年，

have been evolving all sorts of ways to take in that blue light

一直以各种方式进化， 同化海洋的蓝光，

and give off other colors.

并发出其他的颜色。

And here's just a little sample of what this secret world looks like.

这只是一个小样本， 看水下神秘世界的模样。

It's like an underwater light show.

这像一个水下灯光秀。

(Music)

（音乐）

Again, what we're seeing here is blue light hitting this image.

我们这里所看到的是，蓝色 光照在珊瑚虫的图像 。

These animals are absorbing the blue light

这些动物正吸收着蓝光

and immediately transforming this light.

并立刻转变这种蓝光。

So if you think about it, the ocean is 71 percent of the planet,

所以，如果你想想， 海洋占地球面积的71%，

and blue light can extend down to almost a 1,000 meters.

海洋的蓝光可以向下 延伸几乎1000米。

As we go down underwater,

当我们往下潜水时，

after about 10 meters, all the red is gone.

大约潜10米后， 所有红色都消失。

So if you see anything under 10 meters that's red,

如果你看到水下10米 有红色的东西，

it's an animal transforming and creating its own red.

这是一个进化的，让 自己变为红色的动物。

This is the largest single monochromatic blue environment on our planet.

海洋是我们的星球上最大， 单一的蓝色环境。

And my gateway into this world of biofluorescence begins with corals.

我走进这个荧光世界， 就从研究珊瑚开始，

And I want to give a full TED Talk on corals

我想给TED作一次 关于珊瑚的演讲，

and just how cool these things are.

并让大家知道这些 海洋生物是多么棒。

One of the things that they do, one of their miraculous feats,

它们做的其中一件事情， 一件它们不可思议的功绩，

is they produce lots of these fluorescent proteins,

是它们能生产大量的荧光蛋白，

fluorescent molecules.

和荧光分子。

And in this coral, it could be making up to 14 percent of its body mass --

这种珊瑚能够生产一种物质， 达到其体重14% ---

could be this fluorescent protein.

这种物质是荧光蛋白 。

So you wouldn't be making, like, 14 percent muscle and not using it,

而人类是不会做这种事，例如， 我就就不会创造14%的肌肉但不使用它。

so it's likely doing something that has a functional role.

所以说，珊瑚所做的 事情具有功能性作用。

And for the last 10, 15 years, this was so special to me,

在过去10-15年间， 对我来说很特别，

because this molecule has turned out to be one of the most revolutionary tools

因为这种荧光分子变成在生物医学中

in biomedical science,

最具影响力的工具之一。

and it's allowing us to better see inside ourselves.

并且，它能使我们更看清内部结构。

So, how do I study this?

我是如何研究这些呢？

In order to study biofluorescence, we swim at night.

为了研究海洋生物荧光， 我们在夜间潜水。

And when I started out,

当我开始时，

I was just using these blue duct-tape filters over my strobe,

我使用这些蓝色管道过滤器， 在我前面作为频闪灯光，

so I could make sure I'm actually seeing the light

所以，我可以确保看到光，

that's being transformed by the animals.

而这种光是由动物转化的。

We're making an exhibit for the Museum of Natural History,

我们正在为自然历史博物馆做一个展出，

and we're trying to show off how great the fluorescent corals are on the reef,

我们尝试去炫耀，荧光的 珊瑚在礁石上是多么漂亮。

and something happened that just blew me away:

然后有一件事发生了，把我吓呆了：

this.

这个

In the middle of our corals,

在珊瑚中间，

is this green fluorescent fish.

是这条绿色的荧光鱼。

It's the first time we've ever seen a green fluorescent fish

这是我们第一次看到一条绿色荧光鱼，

or any vertebrate for that matter.

或任何像那样的脊椎动物。

And we're rubbing our eyes, checking the filters,

我揉搓眼睛还检查过滤器， 看是否这是真的，

thinking that somebody's maybe playing a joke on us with the camera,

想着可能有人用相机跟我们开玩笑，

but the eel was real.

但这条鳗鱼是真的。

It was the first green fluorescent eel that we found,

这是我们发现的第一条绿荧光鳗鱼，

and this just changed my trajectory completely.

这一发现完全改变了我的工作方向。

So I had to put down my corals and team up

我不得不发下我研究的珊瑚，

with a fish scientist, John Sparks,

并和鱼类专家John Sparks合作，

and begin a search around the world

我们开始在世界各地搜寻，

to see how prevalent this phenomenon is.

看看这种现象有多么普遍。

And fish are much more interesting than corals,

而且鱼比珊瑚更有趣，

because they have really advanced vision,

因为它们有非常好的视觉，

and some of the fish even have, the way that I was photographing it,

有的鱼甚至展现了在我拍摄它的方式时，

they have lenses in their eyes that would magnify the fluorescence.

它们眼睛里有晶状体，会放大荧光的效果

So I wanted to seek this out further.

所以我想进一步寻找这样的荧光鱼。

So we designed a new set of gear

我们设计了一套新用具，

and we're scouring the reefs around the world,

并且在世界各地搜寻礁石，

looking for fluorescent life.

寻找发荧光的生命。

And it's a bit like "E.T. phone home."

这有点像“E.T. （外星人）打电话回家。”

We're out there swimming with this blue light,

在水下，我们带着蓝色光潜水，

and we're looking for a response,

要寻找海洋动物对这种蓝光的反应，

for animals to be absorbing the light and transferring this back to us.

海洋动物会吸收， 并转化这种蓝光反馈给我们。

And eventually, we found our photobombing Kaupichphys eel.

最终我们意外拍摄了 Kaupichphys -- 鳗鱼。

It's a really shy, reclusive eel that we know almost nothing about.

它非常害羞，我们对这种 隐居鳗鱼几乎一无所知。

They're only about the size of my finger,

它们大约只有我手指的大小，

and they spend about 99.9 percent of their time hidden under a rock.

而且，99.9%的时间 它们隐藏在岩石下。

But these eels do come out to mate under full-moon nights,

但是这些鳗鱼在圆月之夜会出来交配，

and that full-moon night translates underwater to blue.

在满月的夜晚，水下遍布蓝色。

Perhaps they're using this as a way to see each other,

也许它们用这种方式看清对方，

quickly find each other, mate,

彼此很快找到交配对象。

go back into their hole for the next long stint of time.

然后它们返回洞穴， 为下次长时间的约定而等待。

But then we started to find other fluorescent marine life,

后来，我们又开始找到 其他荧光的海洋生物，

like this green fluorescent bream,

像这条绿荧光鳊鱼，

with its, like, racing stripes along its head and its nape,

沿着它的头和脖颈， 看起来像赛车的条纹，

and it's almost camouflaged and fluorescing at the same intensity

并且，它几乎能伪装自己， 发出的荧光的强度

as the fluorescent coral there.

和那里的荧光珊瑚一样。

After this fish,

在找到这些鱼后，

we were introduced to this red fluorescent scorpionfish

我们又找到这种红荧光蝎子鱼，

cloaked and hidden on this rock.

这种鱼被遮掩并隐藏在岩石上。

The only time we've ever seen this, it's either on red fluorescent algae

能见到这种鱼，不是在红荧光藻里，

or red fluorescent coral.

就是在红荧光珊瑚里。

Later, we found this stealthy green fluorescent lizardfish.

后来，我们发现了一种 隐身的绿荧光蜥蜴鱼。

These lizardfish come in many varieties,

这些蜥蜴鱼有许多品种，

and they look almost exactly alike under white light.

在白光下它们看起来 几乎一模一样。

But if you look at them under fluorescent light,

但如果你在荧光灯下看它们，

you see lots of patterns,

你能看到许多图样，

you can really see the differences among them.

你能真正看到它们之间的区别。

And in total -- we just reported this last year --

总共统计下来，我们只是去年 才报道这些信息 ---

we found over 200 species of biofluorescent fish.

我们发现了超过200种的荧光鱼。

One of my inspirations is French artist and biologist Jean Painlevé.

启发我灵感之一的人，是法国 艺术家和生物学家Jean Painleve。

He really captures this entrepreneuring, creative spirit in biology.

在生物学中，他真正表现 了开拓者创新的精神。

He would design his own gear, make his own cameras,

他设计自己的装备和相机，

and he was fascinated with the seahorse, Hippocampus erectus,

他特别对海马着迷，

and he filmed for the first time the seahorse giving birth.

他还第一次拍摄了海马生孩子，

So this is the male seahorse.

这就是雄性海马。

They were one of the first fish to start swimming upright

它们是第一种直立游泳的鱼，

with their brain above their head.

而且它们的大脑在头顶上。

The males give birth,

雄性海马能生育，

just phenomenal creatures.

这真是惊人的海洋动物。

So he stayed awake for days.

所以，他好几天一直没睡觉，

He even put this electrical visor on his head that would shock him,

他甚至把这个电动面罩带在头上去震他，

so he could capture this moment.

这样他才能捕捉到这 让人惊奇的一刻。

Now, I wish I could have shown Painlevé

现在，我希望能显示 一下Painleve的发现，

the moment where we found biofluorescent seahorses

我们找到荧光海马的那瞬间，

in the exact same species that he was studying.

实际上，这些海马与他正 研究的海马是同品种。

And here's our footage.

这是我们的镜头。

(Music)

（音乐）

They're the most cryptic fish.

它们是最神秘的鱼。

You could be swimming right on top of them and not see the seahorse.

你在它们的正上方游泳， 都有可能看不到它们。

They would blend right into the algae, which would also fluoresce red,

它们会立即混进 发红荧光的海藻里，

but they've got great vision,

但它们有非常好的视力，

and they go through this long mating ritual,

它们还要经历 漫长的交配程序，

and perhaps they're using it in that effect.

也许它们的荧光是发挥这个功能的。

But things got pretty edgy

但是，有些事情使人紧张，

when we found green fluorescence in the stingray,

我们发现绿荧光黄貂鱼，

because stingrays are in the Elasmobranch class,

黄貂鱼属软骨鱼类动物，

which includes ...

软骨鱼类动物包括

sharks.

鲨鱼。

So I'm, like, a coral biologist.

我是一个珊瑚生物学家。

Somebody's got to go down and check to see if the sharks are fluorescent.

有人必须潜水去看看 鲨鱼是否是荧光的。

And there I am.

这是我。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And I was like, "Maybe I should go back to corals."

我当时想，“也许我该 回去研究珊瑚。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It turns out that these sharks are not fluorescent.

结果发现，这些鲨鱼没有荧光。

And then we found it.

然后，我们找到了

In a deep, dark canyon off the coast of California,

在加利福利亚海岸一个 幽深黑暗的峡谷中，

we found the first biofluorescent swellshark,

我们找到第一条 荧光swellshark （膨胀鲨鱼），

right underneath all the surfers.

在所有冲浪者的下方，

Here it is.

这里是。

They're just about a meter long. It's called a swellshark.

它们只有一米左右长， 它们叫做膨胀鲨 。

And they call them a swellshark because if they're threatened,

它们也称自己膨胀鲨，因为 如果它们受到威胁时，

they can gulp down water and blow up like an inner tube,

它们可以吞咽水，并让身体 扩大像一个充气内胎，

about twice their size,

大约扩大它们身体的两倍，

and wedge themselves under a rock, so they don't get eaten by a predator.

并且把自己抵在岩石下， 这样，它们不会被捕食者吃掉。

And here is our first footage of these biofluorescent swellsharks.

这里，是我们对膨胀鲨鱼 拍摄的第一个镜头。

Just magnificent -- I mean, they're showing these distinct patterns,

它们显示这些不同的图案， 看上去非常华丽，

and there are areas that are fluorescent and areas that are not fluorescent,

有的是荧光区，有的不是，

but they've also got these twinkling spots on them

但它们身体上有闪烁的斑点，

that are much brighter than other parts of the shark.

看上去比其他地区 的鲨鱼要亮得多。

But this is all beautiful to see.

看这些漂亮的东西 真让人赏心悦目，

I was like, this is gorgeous.

我当时想，这真是非常 漂亮的海洋生物。

But what does it mean to the shark?

但对鲨鱼来说， 这代表什么呢？

Can they see this?

它们能看到这些吗？

And we looked in the literature,

我们看文献中，

and nothing was known about this shark's vision.

并没有关于鲨鱼视觉的报道。

So I took this shark to eye specialist Ellis Loew at Cornell University,

所以，我把这条鲨鱼拿到康奈尔 大学的眼科专家Ellis Loew那里。

and we found out that this shark sees discretely and acutely

结果我们发现，这条鲨鱼 能敏锐地看东西，

in the blue-green interface,

在蓝绿色海水的接合处。

probably about 100 times better than we can see in the dark,

它的视觉比我们在黑暗中 看东西大约要好100倍，

but they only see blue-green.

但它只能看到蓝绿色。

So what it's doing is taking this blue world

它要做的事，就是融合 在蓝色世界里，

and it's absorbing the blue, creating green.

吸收蓝色，并创建绿色。

It's creating contrast that they can indeed see.

鲨鱼创造的颜色差异， 它们的确能看到。

So we have a model,

这样，我们有了一个实验模型，

showing that it creates an ability for them to see all these patterns.

显示鲨鱼创造了一种能力， 使它们看到所有这些图案。

And males and females also have, we're finding,

我们发现，男性和女性 都拥有这种的能力，

distinct patterns among them.

它们之间有不同的图案。

But our last find came really just a few miles from where we are now,

但是，我们最近发现的鲨鱼， 离我们现在所在地方只有几英里，

in the Solomon Islands.

在所罗门群岛。

Swimming at night, I encountered the first biofluorescent sea turtle.

还有，晚上游泳时我第一次 遇到一只荧光海龟。

So now it's going from fish and sharks into reptiles,

现在，我的话题从鱼和鲨 转到爬行动物了，

which, again, this is only one month old,

这只爬行动物只有一个月，

but it shows us that we know almost nothing

但我们对它真的一无所知，

about this hawksbill turtle's vision.

关于这只玳瑁海龟的视觉。

And it makes me think about how much more there is to learn.

这让我思考，有多少 东西是需要学习。

And here in the Solomon Islands,

这里，在所罗门群岛，

there's only a few thousand breeding females of this species left,

这个物种只有几千只 繁殖的雌性留下，

and this is one of the hotspots for them.

繁殖下一代是它们的热点之一。

So it shows us how much we need to really protect these animals

这表明，我们需要好好 保护这些动物，

while they're still here, and understand them.

当它们还生存，并了解它们。

In thinking about biofluorescence,

在思考关于荧光生物 的话题时，

I wanted to know, how deep does it go?

我想知道，这些生物 在海洋中到底有多深？

Does this go all the way to the bottom of the ocean?

是否这种荧光现象一直延伸， 到海洋底部呢？

So we started using submarines, and we equipped them

所以，我们开始使用 潜艇，并配有装备，

with special blue lights on the front here.

在潜艇前面，装备了特殊的蓝光。

And we dropped down,

我们利用潜艇往海洋深处前行，

and we noticed one important thing --

我们注意到一个重要的事情 ---

that as we get down to 1,000 meters,

当我们下降到1000米，

it drops off.

荧光现象逐渐减少。

There's no biofluorescent marine life down there, below 1,000 meters --

在1000米下面，没有 荧光的海洋生命 --

almost nothing, it's just darkness.

几乎什么都没有，只是黑暗。

So it's mainly a shallow phenomenon.

所以，荧光生物主要是 浅水域的现象。

And below 1,000 meters,

在1000米下面，

we encountered the bioluminescent zone,

我们碰到了荧光生物区，

where nine out of 10 animals are actually making their own lights

在那里，十分之九的动物 实际上有自己的光，

and flashing and blinking.

闪光，和闪烁着。

As I try to get deeper,

当我尝试往海洋更深处前行，

this is slapping on a one-person submarine suit --

我穿着全副武装的潜水服 --

some people call this my "Jacques Cousteau meets Woody Allen" moment.

一些人说，这是我的“海洋探险家（Jacques Cousteau） 遇见喜剧家及导演（Woody Allen）”的时刻。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But as we explore down here,

但是，当我往下探查，

I was thinking about: How do we interact with life delicately?

我在想，我们是多么小心翼翼 和这些海洋生物沟通呢？

Because we're entering a new age of exploration,

因为我们正进入一个海洋探索新时代，

where we have to take great care,

我们必须非常谨慎，

and we have to set examples how we explore.

并且必须树立榜样， 如何去探索海洋。

So I've teamed up with roboticist Rob Wood at Harvard University,

我与哈佛大学的机器人 专家Rob Wood合作，

and we've been designing squishy underwater robot fingers,

我们已经正在设计湿软的 水下机器人手指，

so we can delicately interact with the marine life down there.

这样，我们可以在水下面 精密地和海洋生物沟通。

The idea is that most of our technologies to explore the deep ocean

人们的想法是用大量 技术去探索深海，

come from oil and gas and military,

为了探索石油，天然气和军事用途，

who, you know, they're not really caring to be gentle.

他们不是真正想保护海洋生物。

Some corals could be 1,000 years old.

一些珊瑚可能有1000年了。

You don't want to just go and crush them with a big claw.

我们肯定不想人们只是去破坏它们。

So my dream is something like this.

我的梦想是这样的。

At night, I'm in a submarine,

在晚上，我在潜艇里，

I have force-feedback gloves,

我有力反应的手套，

and I could delicately set up a lab in the front of my submarine,

我可以精密地在潜艇 前面建立一个实验室，

where the squishy robot fingers

湿软的机器人手指就在那

are delicately collecting and putting things in jars,

小心收集样品并放在罐子里，

and we can conduct our research.

这样我们就可以进行研究。

Back to the powerful applied applications.

回到强大的应用程序上。

Here, you're looking at a living brain

在这里，你看到一个活脑，

that's using the DNA of fluorescent marine creatures,

这活脑是使用荧光 海洋生物DNA，

this one from jellyfish and corals,

这一个来自水母和珊瑚，

to illuminate the living brain and see its connections.

DNA显示荧光生物的 大脑受到启发和连接。

It's funny that we're using RGB

我们使用RGB（红，绿和蓝色） 系统显示很有趣，

just to kind of satisfy our own human intuition,

只是为了满足人的直觉，

so we can see our brains better.

这样，我们可以看到 人类大脑更好。

And even more mind-blowing,

另外，给人印象极深刻的

is my close colleague Vincent Pieribone at Yale,

是我耶鲁的亲密同事 Vincent Pieribone，

who has actually designed and engineered a fluorescent protein

他实际上已经设计制造了 一种荧光蛋白，

that responds to voltage.

这种蛋白可以回应电压。

So he could see when a single neuron fires.

所以，他可以看到单个 神经元发出信号。

You're essentially looking at a portal into consciousness

你基本上现在看到，是神经元 发出信号进入意识的状态，

that was designed by marine creatures.

这是由海洋生物创造设计的。

So this brings me all back to perspective and relationship.

所以，这让我从新思考对 海洋生物的看法和关系。

From deep space,

从外空看，

our universe looks like a human brain cell,

我们的宇宙看上去像人脑细胞，

and then here we are in the deep ocean,

这里，我们是在大海深处，

and we're finding marine creatures and cells

我们正在找海洋生物和细胞，

that can illuminate the human mind.

这些东西能启发我们的大脑。

And it's my hope that with illuminated minds,

这是我的希望，有了 受启发的大脑，

we could ponder the overarching interconnectedness of all life,

我们可以仔细思考 所有生命的相互联系，

and fathom how much more lies in store

并且明白该有多少等待着我们去探索

if we keep our oceans healthy.

前提是：我们要保持海洋良好的状态。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（鼓掌）