Rachel Sussman: The world's oldest living things

翻译人员: Fan Zhang 校对人员: Zhu Jie

This strange-looking plant is called the Llareta.

这种长得很奇怪的植物叫做紧密小鹰芹。

What looks like moss covering rocks

看起来像石头上长满了苔藓

is actually a shrub

但其实是一种灌木

comprised of thousands of branches,

由成千上万条枝干组成，

each containing clusters of tiny green leaves at the end

每条枝端都有一簇小绿叶

and so densely packed together

它们紧密地长在一起

that you could actually stand on top of it.

你甚至可以站在整株植物上面

This individual lives in the Atacama Desert in Chile,

这种植物生活在智利的阿卡塔玛沙漠，

and it happens to be 3,000 years old.

已有三千年的历史了。

It also happens to be a relative of parsley.

它是欧芹的近亲。

For the past five years, I've been researching,

在过去这五年里，我一直做这方面的研究，

working with biologists

同生物学家一起

and traveling all over the world

周游世界

to find continuously living organisms

寻找至今仍生存的古老生物

that are 2,000 years old and older.

它们至少有两千年历史或者更加久远。

The project is part art and part science.

这个项目有一部分是艺术一部分是科学。

There's an environmental component.

也有一定的环境因素在里面。

And I'm also trying to create a means

而且我还试图寻找一种方式

in which to step outside our quotidian experience of time

站在我们司空见惯的时间观之外

and to start to consider a deeper timescale.

开始考虑一个更深一层的时间跨度。

I selected 2,000 years as my minimum age

我选择2000年为最低年限

because I wanted to start at what we consider to be year zero

因为我想从我们所认为的零年开始

and work backward from there.

然后从那时开始逆时间研究。

What you're looking at now is a tree called Jomon Sugi,

你们现在看见的这棵树叫做绳纹杉，

living on the remote island of Yakushima.

生活在日本偏僻的矢久岛

The tree was in part a catalyst for the project.

这棵树是我开始做这个项目的催化剂

I'd been traveling in Japan

那时我在日本旅行

without an agenda other than to photograph,

除了拍些照片没有别的事情做

and then I heard about this tree

当我听说了这棵树

that is 2,180 years old

有2180年的历史了

and knew that I had to go visit it.

我知道我必须去看看

It wasn't until later, when I was actually back home in New York

之后不久，我回到纽约的家里

that I got the idea for the project.

我想到了做这个项目的主意。

So it was the slow churn, if you will.

所以这个过程慢慢形成的

I think it was my longstanding desire

我想这一直都是我的愿望

to bring together my interest

把我的兴趣都综合到一起

in art, science and philosophy

艺术方面的，科学方面的，哲学方面的

that allowed me to be ready

这使得我做好了准备

when the proverbial light bulb went on.

当灵感来到时抓住了机会。

So I started researching, and to my surprise,

所以我开始做些背景研究，令我诧异的是

this project had never been done before

从未有人做过这个事情

in the arts or the sciences.

无论是艺术界还是科学界。

And -- perhaps naively --

而且，当然可能很天真，

I was surprised to find that there isn't even an area in the sciences

我惊奇地发现在科学研究中竟然没有这样一个分支领域

that deals with this idea

研究有关

of global species longevity.

全球物种寿命的课题

So what you're looking at here

你们现在看到的是

is the rhizocarpon geographicum, or map lichen,

是地图地衣

and this is around 3,000 years old

它已经有三千来岁了

and lives in Greenland,

生活在格陵兰岛

which is a long way to go for some lichens.

我真是为了这些地衣跑很远的路去了趟格陵兰岛

Visiting Greenland was more like

探访格陵兰岛就像

traveling back in time

进行时光倒流的旅行

than just traveling very far north.

而不仅仅是在极北处旅行。

It was very primal and more remote

那里非常原始也更为偏僻一些

than anything I'd ever experienced before.

远远超出我以前所经历的。

And this is heightened by a couple of particular experiences.

一些特别的经历也为此行增光不少

One was when I had been dropped off by boat

一次我乘船前往

on a remote fjord,

一个偏僻的峡谷

only to find that the archeologists I was supposed to meet

发现本应该在那里见面的几个考古学家

were nowhere to be found.

根本不在那里

And it's not like you could send them a text or shoot them an e-mail,

而我又不能给他们发短信或者发邮件

so I was literally left to my own devices.

所以我真的只能靠我带的那些装备了。

But luckily, it worked out obviously,

但幸运的是，很显然，最后我成功了。

but it was a humbling experience

但那是一次惨痛的经历

to feel so disconnected.

有深深的隔离感

And then a few days later,

几天后

we had the opportunity to go fishing in a glacial stream

我们有个机会去条冰川形成的河里钓鱼

near our campsite,

就在我们营地旁边

where the fish were so abundant

河里有好多鱼

that you could literally reach into the stream

你把手伸进水里

and grab out a foot-long trout with your bare hands.

就能徒手抓到条一英尺长的鳟鱼。

It was like visiting

那次经历就像是探访

a more innocent time on the planet.

地球上一个很原始的时期。

And then, of course, there's the lichens.

下面我们来说说这种地衣。

These lichens grow only one centimeter

它每长一厘米

every hundred years.

需要一百年时间。

I think that really puts human lifespans

我认为这使得人类的生命周期

into a different perspective.

以一种不同的角度展示在我们面前。

And what you're looking at here

大家现在看见的图片

is an aerial photo take over eastern Oregon.

是航拍的东俄勒冈州的一幅照片。

And if the title "Searching for Armillaria Death Rings,"

如果说“寻找重蜜环菌死亡圈”这样一个题目

sounds ominous, it is.

听起来很不祥的话，事实的确如此。

The Armillaria is actually a predatory fungus,

重蜜环菌实际上是一种捕食性真菌，

killing certain species of trees in the forest.

在森林中捕杀特定种类的树木。

It's also more benignly known

人们也亲切地称之为

as the honey mushroom or the "humongous fungus"

蜜菇，或者“巨型菌”

because it happens to be

因为它也是

one of the world's largest organisms as well.

世界上最大的生物之一。

So with the help of some biologists studying the fungus,

在几位研究这种真菌的生物学家的帮助下，

I got some maps and some GPS coordinates

我装上几张地图，几个GPS

and chartered a plane

包了架小飞机

and started looking for the death rings,

开始寻找死亡圈，

the circular patterns

寻找一种圆圈

in which the fungus kills the trees.

它能杀死圈在其中的树木。

So I'm not sure if there are any in this photo,

虽然我不确定这张照片里面是否拍到了蜜环菌，

but I do know the fungus is down there.

但是我确定它就在树下面。

And then this back down on the ground

以及这后面的地表，

and you can see that the fungus is actually invading this tree.

大家可以看见真菌其实正在侵蚀这棵树。

So that white material that you see

大家看见的这些白色的东西

in between the bark and the wood

在树擦破的皮与木头之间的部位

is the mycelial felt of the fungus,

就是这种菌的菌丝体，

and what it's doing -- it's actually

它怎样侵蚀树木呢……它实际上

slowly strangling the tree to death

会使树木枯竭而死

by preventing the flow of water and nutrients.

截止树木中水和养分的传输。

So this strategy has served it pretty well --

而这一方式却使蜜环菌自身受益颇多。

it's 2,400 years old.

它已有2400年的历史了。

And then from underground to underwater.

接下来我们从地下转入水中来看看。

This is a Brain Coral living in Tobago

这是生活在多巴哥海岸的脑珊瑚

that's around 2,000 years old.

大约2000多岁。

And I had to overcome my fear of deep water to find this one.

我不得不克服深水恐惧症去寻找它。

This is at about 60 feet

大概有60英尺深，

or 18 meters, depth.

大概18米吧。

And you'll see, there's some damage to the surface of the coral.

大家可以看见脑珊瑚表面有些破损。

That was actually caused by a school of parrot fish

这是由于一群小吻鹦嘴鱼

that had started eating it,

吃了它一段时间。

though luckily, they lost interest before killing it.

然而幸好，它们在彻底杀死这个脑珊瑚前失去了兴趣

Luckily still, it seems to be out of harm's way

更为幸运的是，它好像没有受到

of the recent oil spill.

这次原油泄漏的伤害。

But that being said, we just as easily could have lost

虽说如此，我们每时每刻都有可能失去

one of the oldest living things on the planet,

地球上任何古老的生物，

and the full impact of that disaster

而这一灾难对我们的影响

is still yet to be seen.

仍未被我们察觉。

Now this is something that I think

现在给大家看下我认为

is one of the most quietly resilient things on the planet.

是世界上适应能力最强的生物之一。

This is clonal colony

它属于无性繁殖的菌落

of Quaking Aspen trees, living in Utah,

寄生于生长在美国犹他州的一种杨树上，

that is literally 80,000 years old.

毫不夸张地说它已经有八万岁了。

What looks like a forest

看上去像是一片森林

is actually only one tree.

而事实上只是一棵树。

Imagine that it's one giant root system

可以把它想象成一个庞大的根系

and each tree is a stem

每棵树都只是一个茎

coming up from that system.

从根系上长出来。

So what you have is one giant,

所以大家看到的就是一个巨大的，

interconnected,

互相连接的，

genetically identical individual

有着统一基因的个体植株

that's been living for 80,000 years.

而它已经存活了八万年了。

It also happens to be male

而且这是棵雄性植株，

and, in theory immortal.

理论上说是不育的。

(Laughter)

（笑）

This is a clonal tree as well.

现在这棵也是无性繁殖树种。

This is the spruce Gran Picea,

它叫格兰云杉

which at 9,550 years

9550年前，

is a mere babe in the woods.

它只是树林中的一株幼苗。

The location of this tree

这棵树的实际位置

is actually kept secret for its own protection.

是出于自我保护被隐藏起来了。

I spoke to the biologist who discovered this tree,

我咨询过发现这棵树的生物学家，

and he told me that that spindly growth you see there in the center

他告诉我，我们看到位于中间部分细长的植株

is most likely a product of climate change.

很有可能是气候变化的产物。

As it's gotten warmer on the top of the mountain,

随着山顶气温的升高，

the vegetation zone is actually changing.

植被带也相应变化。

So we don't even necessarily have to have

所以我们并不是非要

direct contact with these organisms

与这些植物直接接触

to have a very real impact on them.

就能对它们产生切实的影响。

This is the Fortingall Yew --

现在这个是紫杉。

no, I'm just kidding --

我只是开玩笑。

this is the Fortingall Yew.

这个才是紫杉。

(Laughter)

（笑）

But I put that slide in there

我把这张幻灯片放在这里

because I'm often asked if there are any animals in the project.

是因为经常有人问在我的这个项目中有没有动物。

And aside from coral,

除珊瑚以外，

the answer is no.

没有其他任何动物。

Does anybody know how old the oldest tortoise is --

在座有人知道年龄最大的龟几岁了么？

any guesses?

有人想猜猜么？

(Audience: 300.)

（听众：300岁。）

Rachel Sussman: 300? No, 175

雷切尔素斯曼：300岁么？其实是，175岁。

is the oldest living tortoise,

这是年纪最大的龟了，

so nowhere near 2,000.

而且远远不足2000岁。

And then, you might have heard

还有，大家可能听说过

of this giant clam that was discovered

一只巨大的蛤蜊

off the coast of northern Iceland

发现于冰岛北部的海边

that reached 405 years old.

已经有405岁了。

However, it died in the lab

但是，它在实验室里死掉了

as they were determining its age.

正是在我们鉴定它年龄的时候。

The most interesting discovery of late, I think

我觉得近来最有趣的发现

is the so-called immortal jellyfish,

就是所谓的永生水母，

which has actually been observed in the lab

在实验室中观察到

to be able to be able to revert back to the polyp state

它能够回复到水螅虫状态

after reaching full maturity.

在此之前历经了整个生命周期。

So that being said,

正因如此，

it's highly unlikely that any jellyfish would survive that long in the wild.

不太可能有哪种水母可以在自然环境下生存那么久。

And back to the yew here.

我们再回到紫杉这里。

So as you can see, it's in a churchyard;

大家能看到，她生长在一个教堂的院子里。

it's in Scotland. It's behind a protective wall.

是在苏格兰。在一堵保护墙后面。

And there are actually a number or ancient yews

还有些古杉树

in churchyards around the U.K.,

生长在英国一些教堂的院子里。

but if you do the math, you'll remember

但只要你算算，就会发现

it's actually the yew trees that were there first, then the churches.

事实上是紫杉先生长在那些地方，然后人们才在附近盖了教堂。

And now down to another part of the world.

现在我们来看看另一个世界。

I had the opportunity to travel around the Limpopo Province in South Africa

我有幸有机会去了南非的林波波省

with an expert in Baobab trees.

同行的是位猴面包树的专家。

And we saw a number of them,

我们看到了很多猴面包树，

and this is most likely the oldest.

这是其中最古老的了。

It's around 2,000,

大概2000岁。

and it's called the Sagole Baobab.

名叫萨格尔猴面包树。

And you know, I think of all of these organisms

而且我认为所有这些生物

as palimpsests.

都是生命史的缩写。

They contain thousands of years

他们有千万年的历史

of their own histories within themselves,

就藏在它们体内，

and they also contain records of natural and human events.

同时，他们也记录着自然和人类的历史。

And the Baobabs in particular

猴面包树

are a great example of this.

就是一个很好的例子。

You can see that this one

大家可以看见这棵树

has names carved into its trunk,

的树干上刻有名字，

but it also records some natural events.

也记载着一些自然事件。

So the Baobabs, as they get older,

所以当这种树逐渐成长并衰老时，

tend to get pulpy in their centers and hollow out.

树的中心部分也逐渐变得稀稠然后流出来。

And this can create

这就形成了

great natural shelters for animals,

动物们很好的栖身之所，

but they've also been appropriated

但是他们也被用在

for some rather dubious human uses,

一些不太体面的地方，

including a bar, a prison

比如在酒吧里，监狱里

and even a toilet inside of a tree.

甚至用作树中的厕所。

And this brings me to another favorite of mine --

现在我们来看看另一个我最喜欢的作品

I think, because it is just so unusual.

我认为是的，因为它太不同寻常了。

This plant is called the Welwitschia,

这种植物叫做千岁兰，

and it lives only in parts of coastal Namibia and Angola,

它只生活在纳米比亚和安哥拉的部分临海区域，

where it's uniquely adapted

在那里，它养成了独特的

to collect moisture from mist coming off the sea.

收集海上雾气中水分的机能。

And what's more, it's actually a tree.

还有，它其实是棵树。

It's a primitive conifer.

是一种原始的针叶树。

You'll notice that it's bearing cones down the center.

大家会注意到它位于中下部的球果。

And what looks like two big heaps of leaves,

而看起来像两大堆叶子的部分，

is actually two single leaves

实际上是两片叶子

that get shredded up

只是被切割成现在这样

by the harsh desert conditions over time.

是长时间严酷的沙漠环境造成的。

And it actually never sheds those leaves,

这些叶子从未脱落过，

so it also bears the distinction

所以千岁兰还有一个特质

of having the longest leaves

就是有着最长的叶子

in the plant kingdom.

也就是植物界最长的叶子。

I spoke to a biologist

我咨询过相关生物学家

at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden in Capetown

是在开普敦的克斯顿波士植物园

to ask him

问他

where he thought this remarkable plant came from,

他觉得这一神奇的植物是从何而来的，

and his thought was that

他认为

if you travel around Namibia,

如果周游纳米比亚，

you see that there are a number of petrified forests,

你会发现有一些化石化的丛林，

and the logs are all --

那些树木都是

the logs are all giant coniferous trees,

都是巨大的针叶树，

and yet there's no sign of where they might have come from.

但是却没有任何迹象表明它们是从哪来的。

So his thought was that

所以他认为

flooding in the north of Africa

非洲北部的洪水

actually brought those coniferous trees down

携带这些针叶树种南下

tens of thousands of years ago,

千万年前，

and what resulted was this remarkable adaptation

造成了现在这种神奇的物种群

to this unique desert environment.

适应这一独特的沙漠气候条件。

This is what I think is the most poetic of the oldest living things.

我认为这就是这些最古老的现存生物最具有诗意的部分。

This is something called an underground forest.

这是被称作地下森林的植物。

So, I spoke to a botanist at the Pretoria Botanical Garden,

我咨询过比勒陀利亚植物园的植物学家，

who explained that certain species of trees

他解释说一些特定种质的树木

have adapted to this region.

已经适应了这一地区的气候。

It's bushfelt region,

那一地区的低矮灌木区，

which is dry and prone to a lot of fires,

非常干燥而且容易受到火的侵袭，

as so what these trees have done

所以这些树木所采取的办法

is, if you can imagine that this is the crown of the tree,

就是，大家可以把这个想像成整个树冠，

and that this is ground level,

而且这也是地表，

imagine that the whole thing,

大家想像整棵树

that whole bulk of the tree,

树的整个枝干，

migrated underground,

都藏于地下，

and you just have those leaves peeping up above the surface.

而我们能看到的只是探出地面的树叶。

That way, when a fire roars through,

这样的话，当大火肆虐之时，

it's the equivalent of getting your eyebrows singed.

就相当于只是烧焦了你的睫毛。

The tree can easily recover.

树本身可以轻易的恢复。

These also tend to grow clonally,

这种树木也趋向于无性繁殖，

the oldest of which is 13,000 years old.

其中最古老的有一万三千岁了。

Back in the U.S., there's a couple plants of similar age.

回到美国，也有些同等年纪的植物。

This is the clonal Creosote bush,

这是无性繁殖的石灰酸灌木，

which is around 12,000 years old.

大概活了一万两千年了。

If you've been in the American West,

如果在美国西部，

you know the Creosote bush is pretty ubiquitous,

大家都知道石灰酸灌木比较常见，

but that being said, you see that this has

虽说如此，大家可以看到这个

this unique, circular form.

呈现出它自己独特的圆形。

And what's happening is it's expanding slowly outwards

事实情况是它缓慢地向外扩张生长

from that original shape.

始于最初的一个型态。

And it's one -- again, that interconnected root system,

而且还是一个，又是一个，互相联系的根系，

making it one genetically identical individual.

这就说明它是一个有着相同基因的个体。

It also has a friend nearby --

在它附近还有个朋友

well, I think they're friends.

我觉得他们是朋友。

This is the clonal Mojave yucca, it's about a mile away,

这是一株无性繁殖的莫哈韦丝兰，离开大概一英里远，

and it's a little bit older than 12,000 years.

它略大于一万两千岁。

And you see it has that similar circular form.

大家可以看见它也有着相似的圆圈形状。

And there's some younger clones

还有些年轻点的无性繁殖体

dotting the landscape behind it.

星星点点分布在后面.

And both of these, the yucca and the Creosote bush,

而它们两个，丝兰和石灰酸灌木，

live on Bureau of Land Management land,

都生活在国土管理局的土地上，

and that's very different from being protected in a national park.

这与生长在受保护的国家公园中有很大的不同。

In fact, this land is designated

事实上，这片土地是供

for recreational all-terrain vehicle use.

娱乐性的山地越野车使用的。

So, now I want to show what very well might be

现在我想展示给大家看很有可能是

the oldest living thing on the planet.

地球上最古老的现存生物。

This is Siberian Actinobacteria,

就是西伯利亚放线菌，

which is between 400,000

大约在40万岁

and 600,000 years old.

到60万岁之间。

This bacteria was discovered several years ago

这种细菌仅在几年前才被人发现

by a team of planetary biologists

是一组行星生物学家发现的

hoping to find clues to life on other planets

他们希望借此发现其他行星上生物的踪迹

by looking at one of the harshest conditions on ours.

研究了我们地球上最严酷的环境下的生物。

And what they found, by doing research into the permafrost,

他们针对永久冻土层进行了研究，发现了

was this bacteria.

这种细菌。

But what's unique about it is that

而它的特别之处就在于

it's doing DNA repair below freezing.

它在零度以下仍进行DNA修补。

And what that means is that it's not dormant --

这就意味着它并未休眠。

it's actually been living and growing

而是一直存活并生长着

for half a million years.

持续50万年。

It's also probably one the most vulnerable

它可能也是最脆弱的生物

of the oldest living things,

是所有这些最古老的存活生物中最脆弱的，

because if the permafrost melts,

因为如果永久冻土层融化，

it won't survive.

它将不能存活。

This is a map that I've put together of the oldest living things,

这是一张我把所有最古老的现存生物放到一起来看的地图，

so you can get a sense of where they are; you see they're all over the world.

这样大家就能看到它们的分布；可见是遍布世界各地。

The blue flags represent things that I've already photographed,

蓝色的旗子代表我已经拍了照片的生物，

and the reds are places that I'm still trying to get to.

红色旗代表我要去的地方。

You'll see also, there's a flag on Antarctica.

如大家所见，在南极洲也有面旗。

I'm trying to travel there

我正准备去那里

to find 5,000 year-old moss,

寻找五千年的苔藓，

which lives on the Antarctic Peninsula.

它生活在南极半岛上。

So, I probably have about two more years left

所以，我大概还剩下两年的时间

on this project --

留给这个项目

on this phase of the project,

或者说这个项目的这一阶段，

but after five years,

但是经历了五年时间，

I really feel like I know what's at the heart of this work.

我真的感到我理解了这项工作的核心。

The oldest living things in the world

世界上最古老的现存生物

are a record and celebration of our past,

是对我们过去的记录，是庆祝，

a call to action in the present

是对现在行动起来的号召

and a barometer of our future.

也是我们将来的晴雨表。

They've survived for millennia

它们存活了上千年

in desert, in the permafrost,

在沙漠中，永久冻土层中，

at the tops of mountains and at the bottom of the ocean.

在群山之巅或是汪洋之底。

They've withstood

它们战胜了

untold natural perils and human encroachments,

难言的自然灾害和人类的侵害，

but now some of them are in jeopardy,

但是现在它们中的一些处于危机之中，

and they can't just get up and get out of the way.

而它们不能简单地站起来，逃出去。

It's my hope that, by going to find these organisms,

我希望，通过去寻找这些生物，

that I can help draw attention

我可以吸引大家对他们的注意

to their remarkable resilience

关注它们非凡的适应能力

and help play a part in insuring

尽自己所能地确保

their continued longevity into the foreseeable future.

它们在我们可预见的将来继续长命百岁。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）