A coral reef love story | Ayana Elizabeth Johnson | TED

翻译人员: Meng Ren 校对人员: Lipeng Chen

I want to tell you a love story.

我想和你们分享一个爱情故事。

But it doesn't have a happy ending.

但这个爱情故事没有快乐的结局。

Once upon a time, I was a stubborn five-year-old

从前，我曾是一个倔强的 五岁小女孩，

who decided to become a marine biologist.

立志成为一名海洋生物学家。

Thirty-four years, 400 scuba dives and one PhD later,

34 年、400 次潜水、 和 1 个博士学位后，

I'm still completely enamored with the ocean.

我仍旧深深地着迷于 浩瀚的海洋。

I spent a decade working with fishing communities

我在加勒比海地区和当地的渔业

in the Caribbean,

共事了十年时间，

counting fish, interviewing fishermen,

我们计算鱼量、采访渔夫、

redesigning fishing gear and developing policy.

重新设计渔具、以及制定政策。

I've been helping to figure out what sustainable management can look like

我一直在帮助那些 在食品安全、就业、文化方面，

for places where food security, jobs and cultures

都仰赖于海洋的地区

all depend on the sea.

寻找可持续性的管理方式。

In the midst of all this, I fell in love.

在探索的过程中， 我爱上了

With a fish.

一种鱼。

There are over 500 fish species that live on Caribbean reefs,

加勒比海珊瑚礁群地区 栖息着 500 多种鱼类，

but the ones I just can't get out of my head

唯独一种让我 情有独钟，

are parrotfish.

那就是鹦嘴鱼。

Parrotfish live on coral reefs all over the world,

鹦嘴鱼分布于 世界各地的珊瑚礁群里，

there are 100 species,

共 100 种不同品类，

they can grow well over a meter long

能长到一米多长，

and weigh over 20 kilograms,

二十多公斤重，

but that's the boring stuff.

但，这些都不重要。

I want to tell you five incredible things about these fish.

我想和你们说说鹦嘴鱼拥有的 五个超凡绝伦、与众不同之处。

First, they have a mouth like a parrot's beak,

首先，它们有着鹦鹉喙一般的嘴巴，

which is strong enough to bite coral,

强劲的咬合力能嚼碎珊瑚，

although mostly they're after algae.

但以吃藻类为主。

They are the lawn mowers of the reef.

它们可谓是珊瑚礁里的割草机。

This is key, because many reefs are overgrown with algae

这就很妙了。因为地面上 的污水和肥料流入海中，

due to nutrient pollution from sewage and fertilizer

会导致水体的富营养化， 藻类的过量生长，

从而引起珊瑚礁的退化。

that runs off of land.

And there just aren't enough herbivores like parrotfish

像鹦嘴鱼这样能减少 藻类富集的食草动物

left out on the reefs

在珊瑚礁里

to mow it all down.

少之又少。

OK, second amazing thing.

妙处之二：

After all that eating, they poop fine white sand.

食物消化后， 它们会拉出白色细沙样的粪便。

A single parrotfish can produce over 380 kilograms

一只鹦嘴鱼每年 能产出超过 380 公斤的

of this pulverized coral each year.

这种细碎珊瑚粒。

Sometimes, when scuba diving,

有时，我会在潜水的中途，

I would look up from my clipboard

把目光从书写板上移开，

and just see contrails of parrotfish poop raining down.

看见一束束鹦嘴鱼粪便 如雨丝般落下。

So next time you're lounging on a tropical white-sand beach,

下次，当你享受热带雨林 洁白细腻的沙滩时，

maybe thank of parrotfish.

也许要感谢鹦嘴鱼。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Third, they have so much style.

第三点，它们变幻多端，风采各异。

Mottled and striped, teal, magenta,

斑点、条纹、青绿、桃红、

yellow, orange, polka-dotted,

明黄、橙红、波点……

parrotfish are a big part of what makes coral reefs so colorful.

鹦嘴鱼让珊瑚礁更加 美轮美奂、色彩纷呈。

Plus, in true diva style,

此外，作为百变天后，

they have multiple wardrobe changes throughout their life.

整个生命周期， 它们要换好几个行头。

A juvenile outfit,

从青涩纯真，

an intermediate getup,

到明艳风情，

and a terminal look.

再到成熟韵味。

Fourth, with this last wardrobe change comes a sex change from female to male,

第四点，伴随着最后一次变装， 鹦嘴鱼的性别也将由雌转雄，

termed sequential hermaphroditism.

专业术语为顺序性雌雄同体。

These large males then gather harems of females to spawn.

成熟雄鱼的身边聚集起 众多雌鱼，产下鱼卵。

Heterosexual monogamy is certainly not nature's status quo.

异性一夫一妻制 显然不是自然界的常态。

And parrotfish exemplify some of the beauty

而鹦嘴鱼为这种

多样化的繁殖策略代言。

of diverse reproductive strategies.

Fifth, and the most incredible,

第五点，也是最神奇的，

sometimes when parrotfish cozy up into a nook in the reef at night,

有时在夜里，鹦嘴鱼 围拢在礁石的一隅，

they secrete a mucus bubble from a gland in their head

它们的头部腺体 分泌出的粘液形成了一个气泡，

that envelops their entire body.

包裹住整个鱼身。

This masks their scent from predators

这样，捕食者们就闻不到 它们的气味，

and protects them from parasites,

还能隔绝寄生虫，

so they can sleep soundly.

它们就在泡泡里睡大觉。

I mean, how cool is this?

也太酷了吧！

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So this is a confession of my love for parrotfish

这就是我对鹦嘴鱼 爱的表白，

in all their flamboyant,

为这条纷华靡丽、

algae-eating, sand-pooping, sex-changing glory.

酷爱藻类、 能拉出 白沙粪便的变性鱼。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But with this love comes heartache.

然而，爱之深，伤之切。

Now that groupers and snappers are woefully overfished,

随着石斑鱼和红鱼 被过度捕捞而数量骤减，

fishermen are targeting parrotfish.

渔夫们把目光转向了鹦嘴鱼。

Spearfishing took out the large species,

以往常见的品种被人们 用鱼枪射杀，濒临灭绝，

midnight blue and rainbow parrotfish are now exceedingly rare,

紫鹦嘴鱼和虹彩鹦嘴鱼 几乎已经消失了踪迹，

and nets and traps are scooping up the smaller species.

渔夫们的网叉正扫荡着 更稀有的品种。

As both a marine biologist and a single person,

作为一名单身的海洋生物学家，

I can tell you,

我可以很负责任地告诉大家，

there aren't that many fish in the sea.

海里的鱼真的没那么多。 （英语俚语反用：并非天涯各处有芳草）

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And then, there's my love for their home,

接下来我要说说 鹦嘴鱼赖以生存的家园，

the coral reef,

珊瑚礁。

which was once as vibrant as Caribbean cultures,

曾几何时，它们就如 加勒比海域的文化般生机蓬勃，

as colorful as the architecture,

如建筑般缤纷，

and as bustling as carnival.

如嘉年华般热闹。

Because of climate change,

然而由于气候变化、

on top of overfishing and pollution,

过度捕捞、环境污染 诸多问题的侵扰，

coral reefs may be gone within 30 years.

珊瑚礁可能会在 未来 30 年内彻底消失。

An entire ecosystem erased.

整个生态系统将毁于一旦。

This is devastating,

这种打击是毁灭性的，

because hundreds of millions of people around the world

因为全世界数以亿计的人口

depend on reefs for their nutrition and income.

靠珊瑚礁填饱肚子和谋生。

Let that sink in.

大家认真想想。

A little bit of good news

好消息是，

is that places like Belize, Barbuda and Bonaire are protecting these VIPs --

在伯利兹、巴布达、博内亚等地区， 人们已经采取了积极行动，

Very Important Parrotfish.

保护这至关重要的鹦嘴鱼。

Also, more and more places are establishing protected areas

同时，越来越多的地方 正在建立保护区，

that protect the entire ecosystem.

保护整个生态系统。

These are critical efforts, but it's not enough.

这些努力意义非凡， 但还不够。

As I stand here today,

就拿现在来说吧，

only 2.2 percent of the ocean is protected.

全球受保护的海洋面积仅占 2.2%，

Meanwhile, 90 percent of the large fish,

与此同时，加勒比珊瑚礁群区域的

and 80 percent of the coral on Caribbean reefs,

90% 的大鱼和 80% 的珊瑚

is already gone.

已经消失了。

We're in the midst of the sixth mass extinction.

我们正处在第六次生物大灭绝。

And we, humans, are causing it.

而我们人类， 就是始作俑者，

We also have the solutions.

我们也不是没有办法。

Reverse climate change and overfishing,

对抗气候变化， 禁止过度捕捞，

protect half the ocean

保护海洋生态，

and stop pollution running from land.

禁止地面污染流入海洋。

But these are massive undertakings

但这些长期而深远的行动

requiring systemic changes,

亟需系统性的改革，

and we're really taking our sweet time getting around to it.

而我们竟然还在 慢腾腾地浪费时间。

Each of us can contribute, though.

在座的每一个人， 都可以有所贡献——

With our votes, our voices, our food choices,

通过投票、呼吁、食物选择、

our skills and our dollars.

专业技能和捐款。

We must overhaul both corporate practices

我们必须改革公司规范

and government policies.

和官方政策。

We must transform culture.

我们必须转变文化。

Building community around solutions

建立以解决问题为核心的组织

is the most important thing.

是最重要的一环。

I am never going to give up

我永远不会放弃

working to protect and restore this magnificent planet.

保护并重建我们美丽的地球。

Every bit of habitat we preserve,

我们所保护的每一寸土地，

every tenth of a degree of warming we prevent,

所防止的每 0.1 度气温的上升，

really does matter.

都是努力的意义。

Thankfully, I'm not motivated by hope,

我庆幸，支撑着我的 不是毁灭后希望的微光，

but rather a desire to be useful.

而是阻止毁灭发生的信念。

Because I don't know how to give an honest talk

因为我真的不知道，

该如何诚实地对你们讲述

about my beloved parrotfish and coral reefs

关于鹦嘴鱼和珊瑚礁的快乐结局。

that has a happy ending.

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）