The fascinating secret lives of giant clams | Mei Lin Neo

翻译人员: Chen Zou 校对人员: Kai Lu

Back home, my friends call me nicknames,

在我的家乡，朋友们叫我的绰号

such as "The Giant Clam Girl,"

比如 “ 巨蚌女孩”

"Clam Queen,"

“ 巨蚌皇后”

or, "The Mother of Clams."

或者，“ 巨蚌之母”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This is because every time I see them,

这是因为每次 当我和他们在一起的时候

I talk nonstop about giant clams all day,

我总是整天 喋喋不休地谈论巨蚌

every day.

每一天

Giant clams are these massive and colorful shelled marine animals,

巨蚌是这些巨大的 色彩斑斓的有壳海洋生物

the largest of its kind.

最大的那种

Just look at this shell.

看看这个贝壳

The biggest recorded individual was four-and-a-half-feet long

有记载的最大的巨蚌个体 有4英尺半那么长

and weighed about 550 pounds.

重量大概550磅

That is almost as heavy as three baby elephants.

那基本上相当于3个婴儿大象那么重

South Pacific legends once described giant clams as man-eaters

南太平洋传说曾经将巨蚌 描述成食人动物

that would lie in wait on the seabed to trap unsuspecting divers.

这些食人动物会潜伏于海床 从而捕捉毫无戒心的潜水者

A story goes that a diver had lost his legs

一个故事广为流传 一名潜水者失去了双腿

while trying to retrieve a pearl from a giant clam.

当他尝试着将一个珍珠 从一个巨蚌里取出的时候

I thought, "Really?"

我想，“真的吗？”

So out of curiosity,

于是出于好奇

I did an experiment using myself as bait.

我用自己做诱饵 做了一个实验

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I carefully placed my hand into the clam's mouth and waited.

我小心地将我的手放在 巨蚌的嘴里然后等待着

Hmm ...

嗯...

I still have my hand.

我的手还在

It seems that these gentle giants would rather retreat

这些温和的巨蚌 似乎更倾向于撤退

and protect their fleshy bodies

从而保护它们的肉体

than feed on me.

而不是将我作为食料

So much for those killer clam myths!

食人巨蚌真是太过神话了！

Unfortunately, the reality is,

不幸的是，现实中

we are the giant clams' biggest threat.

我们是巨蚌最大的威胁

Considered a delicacy throughout the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans,

想象一下跨越 西太平洋和印度洋的美食

giant clams have been traditionally fished as seafood.

巨蚌一直以来都是 被作为海鲜来捕捉的

Fishermen are particularly interested in their adductor muscles,

捕鱼人尤其对它们的 内收肌很感兴趣

which are organs that hold the two shells together like a hinge.

内收肌是将它们的两个贝壳 绑在一起的器官，就好像一个铰链

Just for their muscles,

仅仅是它们的肌肉

giant clams were almost hunted to extinction

巨蚌几乎因为捕捉而灭绝

between the 1960s and 1980s.

在二十世纪60到80年代之间

Clamshells are also popular in the ornamental trade

蚌的壳 在装饰品贸易市场也很流行

as jewelry and for display.

作为首饰以及展品

In the South China Sea,

在中国南海

fishermen went out of their way to collect fossilized clamshells

捕鱼人出去收集 变成化石的蚌贝壳

by digging through large areas of coral reefs.

他们深入挖掘 巨大的珊瑚礁区域

These were later carved and sold as so-called "ivory handicrafts" in China.

然后将它们雕刻再售卖到 中国所谓的象牙手工品市场

Giant clams, dead or alive, are not safe from us.

巨蚌，不论是死是活 都逃不出我们的手掌

It's a "clamity!"

这是一个“蚌灾难！”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

With the spotlight on more charismatic marine animals

随着对那些更吸引人的 海洋生物的关注

such as the whales and coral reefs,

比如鲸鱼和珊瑚礁

it is easy to forget that other marine life needs our help, too.

人们很容易忘记其它 海洋生物也需要帮助

My fascination with giant clams got me started on conservation research

我对巨蚌的着迷 让我开始研究如何保护它们

to fill in the knowledge gaps on their ecology and behavior.

以此来填补它们的 生态学和行为学之间的空白

One of the discoveries that we made was that giant clams could walk

其中的一个发现是 这些巨蚌可以行走

across the seafloor.

横穿于海底

Yes, you heard me right:

是的，你们没听错

they can walk.

它们可以行走！

To find out,

为了这个发现

we placed numerous baby clams on a grid.

我们将很多婴儿蚌放在一个网格上

Now watch what happens over 24 hours.

来看看24小时内发生了什么

We think that walking is important for getting away from predators

我们认为行走 对于逃离捕猎者的追捕

and finding mates for breeding.

以及寻找繁衍下一代的伴侣 都是很重要的

While it can hard to imagine any movement in these enormous animals,

尽管很难想象 这些巨大的生物可以移动

giant clams up to 400 pounds can still walk,

重达400磅的巨蚌 仍然是可以行走的

they just move slower.

它们仅仅是移动得慢一些罢了

During my PhD, I discovered more secrets about the giant clams.

在我读博士的时候 我发现了更多关于巨蚌的秘密

But there was something missing in my work.

但我的研究里也缺失了一些东西

I found myself asking,

我开始思考

"Why should people care about conserving giant clams?" --

“人们为什么应该去关注保护巨蚌？“

other than myself, of course.

除我之外，当然

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It turns out that giant clams have a giant impact on coral reefs.

结果我发现这些巨蚌对 海洋珊瑚礁有着巨大的影响

These multitasking clams are reef builders,

这些巨蚌同时做着很多工作 它们是珊瑚礁建造者

food factories,

食品工厂

shelters for shrimps and crabs

虾和蟹的临时保护所

and water filters,

以及水过滤器

all rolled into one.

集于一身

In a nutshell,

简而言之

giant clams play a major contributing role

巨蚌起到了主要作用

as residents of their own reef home,

作为它们所在珊瑚礁的居民

and just having them around keeps the reef healthy.

巨蚌的存在 使珊瑚礁健康生长

And because they can live up to 100 years old,

因为它们可以活长达100年

giant clams make vital indicators of coral reef health.

巨蚌是珊瑚礁 健康状况的重要信号

So when giant clams start to disappear from coral reefs,

当巨蚌开始从珊瑚礁 消失的时候

their absence can serve as an alarm bell

它们的缺失 可以被看作一个警铃

for scientists to start paying attention,

从而引起科学家们的关注

similar to the canary in a coal mine.

就像在煤矿里的金丝雀

But giant clams are endangered.

但是巨蚌濒临灭绝

The largest clam in the world is facing the threat of extinction,

世上最大的蚌 正在面临灭绝的威胁

with more than 50 percent of the wild population severely depleted.

野生数量下降 超过百分之五十

And the ecological benefits of having giant clams on coral reefs

由于巨蚌在珊瑚礁的存在 而带来的生态利益

are likely to continue only if populations are healthy,

只有在巨蚌数量健康的情况下 才能得以延续

making their conservation paramount.

这使得对巨蚌的保护显得至关重要

So I stand here today to give a voice to the giant clams,

所以今天我站在这里 为巨蚌发声

because I care a whole lot for these amazing animals,

因为我很关心这些神奇的生物

and they deserve to be cared for.

并且它们值得被关注

It is time for the giant clams to step out of their shells,

是时候让那些巨蚌从 它们的贝壳里钻出来

and show the world that they, too, can be the heroes of the oceans.

向全世界展示 它们也可以成为海洋英雄

Thank you very much.

非常感谢

(Applause)

（掌声）