科學(xué)家在墨西哥灣發(fā)現(xiàn)了巨大的珊瑚礁走廊

科學(xué)家在墨西哥灣發(fā)現(xiàn)了巨大的珊瑚礁走廊

Scientists have found five stunning new coral reefs that form a vast, 310-mile corridor in the Gulf of Mexico.

科學(xué)家們發(fā)現(xiàn)了五個(gè)令人驚嘆的新珊瑚礁，它們形成了墨西哥灣長達(dá)310英里的巨大走廊。

A team of scientists from the University of Veracruz and Mexico’s National Institute of Technology announced their findings about the reefs — Corazones, Pantepec South, Piedras Altas, Los Gallos and Camaronera — earlier this month.

來自韋拉克魯斯大學(xué)和墨西哥國家理工學(xué)院的一組科學(xué)家，本月早些時(shí)候公布了新發(fā)現(xiàn)的珊瑚礁——科拉松、潘泰佩克南、皮爾德拉斯·阿爾塔斯、洛斯·加洛斯和卡瑪羅納拉。

Leonardo Ortiz Lozano, a researcher with University of Veracruz, made the discovery alongside his colleagues, Earther reported. Like most such coral reef regions, the corridor provides a habitat for a large number of species and fuels an extremely biodiverse ecosystem.

據(jù)Earther報(bào)道，韋拉克魯斯大學(xué)的研究人員Leonardo Ortiz Lozano和他的同事們一起發(fā)現(xiàn)了這一現(xiàn)象。像大多數(shù)珊瑚礁區(qū)域一樣，這條走廊為大量物種提供了棲息地，并為極其多樣化的生態(tài)系統(tǒng)提供了燃料。

Although it is currently unprotected, the scientists who discovered the corridor want to change that before it becomes threatened by the oil and gas industry.

盡管目前這條走廊沒有受到保護(hù)，但發(fā)現(xiàn)這條走廊的科學(xué)家們，希望在它受到石油和天然氣工業(yè)的威脅之前改變這一狀況。

Enlarge ImageThe fishing industry and sedimentation from runoff pose a threat to the reefs, the researchers say. Though they want to build in new ecological protections for the reefs, they don’t want to destroy fishermen’s primary source of income.

研究人員說，捕魚業(yè)和徑流沉積對珊瑚礁構(gòu)成了威脅。雖然他們想為珊瑚礁建立新的生態(tài)保護(hù)，但他們也不想破壞漁民的主要收入來源。

“What’s most important is that these sites are where hundreds of fishermen receive their nourishment and work,” Ortiz told Earther. “It’s important to protect these sites, but it’s necessary to maintain the fishing industry.”

“最重要的是，這些地方是數(shù)百名漁民獲得營養(yǎng)和工作的地方，”奧爾蒂斯告訴媒體，“保護(hù)這些遺址很重要，但維持捕魚業(yè)是必要的。”

“We want the coral corridor to be officially recognized to protect it from the fossil fuel industry,” Ortiz told Earther.

“我們希望珊瑚走廊得到官方認(rèn)可，以保護(hù)它不受化石燃料工業(yè)的影響，”奧爾蒂斯表示。

In addition to pollution from humans, climate change can also negatively impact coral reefs.

除了人類的污染，氣候變化也會對珊瑚礁產(chǎn)生負(fù)面影響。

Scientists are studying the ways in which biodiverse reefs can be strengthened to thrive in a warmer future.

科學(xué)家們正在研究如何加強(qiáng)生物多樣性的珊瑚礁，使其在更溫暖的未來茁壯成長。

“There is currently a lot of interest in creating more tolerant corals through genetic engineering and of restoring reefs by targeting more resilient corals,” Caroline Palmer, visiting research fellow at the University of Plymouth who was not affiliated with these newly discovered reefs, said in a press release.

普利茅斯大學(xué)(University of Plymouth)客座研究員卡羅琳·帕爾默(Caroline Palmer)在一份新聞稿中表示:“目前，人們對通過基因工程創(chuàng)造更具耐受性的珊瑚，以及通過瞄準(zhǔn)更具復(fù)原能力的珊瑚，來恢復(fù)珊瑚礁非常感興趣。”帕爾默與這些新發(fā)現(xiàn)的珊瑚礁沒有關(guān)系。

“I fully support these approaches, but believe understanding what drives coral health will be key to their success.”

“我完全支持這些方法，但我相信，了解推動(dòng)珊瑚健康成長的因素將是成功的關(guān)鍵。”