科学家发现了10种新的鸟类

所属教程:英语漫读

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2020年01月15日

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Scientists discover 10 new birds

科学家发现了10种新的鸟类

A group of scientists set out on a six-week expedition near Sulawesi, Indonesia, in hopes of learning more about the region's bird population. What they discovered was far more exciting — undiscovered bird species.

一组科学家在印度尼西亚的苏拉威西岛附近进行了为期六周的考察，希望更多地了解该地区的鸟类数量。他们发现的更令人兴奋的是未被发现的鸟类。

The Togian jungle flycatcher is one of the new subspecies discovered during the island trek. (Photo: James Eaton/Birdtour Asia)

Frank E. Rheindt, a professor from the University of Singapore, led the team through three small islands. They trekked through miles of forest, identifying dozens of birds along the way.

新加坡大学教授弗兰克·e·莱茵特带领团队穿过了三个小岛。他们跋涉了数英里的森林，一路上辨认出几十只鸟。

Shortly into the trip, the group began to encounter birds they had never seen before. Over the six weeks, the scientists discovered five new songbird species and five new subspecies.

旅行刚开始不久，这群人就遇到了他们以前从未见过的鸟。在六周的时间里，科学家们发现了五种新的鸣鸟种类和五种新的亚种。

Rheindt and others published their findings in the journal Science to share the discoveries.

莱茵特和其他人在《科学》杂志上发表了他们的发现，以分享这些发现。

Hilly and forested Peleng is one of the three islands in Indonesia where the research team focused their efforts. (Photo: Philippe Verbelen)

To put the news into perspective, only five or six new bird species have been discovered each year since 1999. Within a few weeks during their November 2013 expedition, the scientists in Indonesia filled that avian quota.

从长远来看，自1999年以来，每年只发现五六种新的鸟类。在2013年11月的探险中，印尼的科学家们在几周内就完成了鸟类配额。

They visited three islands during their trip; Taliabu, Peleng and Batudaka. Among the avian species discovered were leaf-warblers, grasshopper-warblers, myzomela, fantail and jungle flycatchers.

他们在旅途中参观了三个岛屿;塔利亚布、佩棱和巴图达卡。在发现的鸟类中，有叶莺、蚱蜢莺、真菌、扇尾莺和丛林捕蝇鸟。

This is the Taliabu grasshopper-warbler and it's one of the five new species discovered. (Photo: James Eaton/Birdtour Asia)

The team chose the three islands specifically after researching bathymetry, the science of sea level depth. They determined the sea level depth around the islands was enough that species living on them would have remained isolated during an ice age or other global climate events.

研究小组在研究了水深测量法(一种研究海平面深度的科学)后，特别选择了这三个岛屿。他们认为，这些岛屿周围的海平面深度足以让生活在岛上的物种在冰河时代或其他全球气候事件期间保持孤立。

The area's isolation, along with neglect from previous explorers, led Rheindt and his group to explore the islands, based on the higher probability they might harbor undiscovered species.

该地区的与世隔绝，加上之前探险者的忽视，使得莱茵特和他的团队开始探索这些岛屿，他们认为这些岛屿上很可能有未被发现的物种。

The researchers explained in their findings that using similar methods to single out other unseen regions around the world could lead to the discovery of even more unknown species.

研究人员在他们的发现中解释说，使用类似的方法来挑出世界上其他看不见的区域，可能会发现更多的未知物种。

This is the Taliabu leaf-warbler. (Photo: James Eaton/Birdtour Asia)

As they scoured the jungle, the scientists used a tried-and-true method to track the birds. They listened for their songs and followed close by until they were able to find them.

当他们在丛林中搜寻时，科学家们使用了一种可靠的方法来追踪这些鸟。他们听着自己的歌，跟着他们直到找到为止。

Once located, they collected specimens of the birds and recorded their songs. They used the DNA samples and songs to determine whether they were new species or subspecies.

一旦确定了位置，他们就收集鸟类标本并记录它们的叫声。他们用DNA样本和歌曲来确定它们是新物种还是亚种。

Findings like this prove that some of the world's biodiversity is still hidden away.

这样的发现证明了世界上的一些生物多样性仍然被隐藏着。

A Taliabu grasshopper-warbler hides in the underbrush. (Photo: Robert Hutchinson/Birdtour Asia)

"Some of the 10 newly described species and subspecies of bird are already seriously endangered," Rheindt told MNN. "Both islands suffer from extreme levels of forest loss: on Peleng mostly through burgeoning village communities with an ever-growing demand for timber and land, and on Taliabu mostly through commercial logging operations that have logged most areas multiple times over."

Rheindt告诉MNN:“新发现的10种鸟类和亚种中的一些已经严重濒危。”“这两个岛屿都遭受着极端程度的森林损失:在佩隆岛，森林砍伐主要是通过迅速发展的村庄社区，对木材和土地的需求不断增长;在塔里亚布岛，森林砍伐主要是通过商业采伐，大部分地区的森林被砍伐了好几次。”

Rheindt and the group of researchers behind this study hope that discoveries aside, their findings can bolster the argument for conservation efforts.

莱茵特和这项研究背后的研究小组希望，撇开这些发现不谈，他们的发现可以支持保护努力的论点。

"I definitely believe that the world needs a renewed impetus in biodiversity discovery," Rheindt told MNN. "In the year 2019, a worldwide environmental crisis, driven by habitat loss and climate change, entered its main stage, resulting in abrupt spikes in biodiversity extinction at a speed that is unprecedented for this planet. We can only protect what we know, and our efforts to safeguard the world’s remaining organismic diversity will strongly depend on our knowledge of this biodiversity."

莱茵特对MNN表示:“我坚信，世界在生物多样性的发现上需要新的动力。”“在2019年，一场由栖息地丧失和气候变化引发的全球环境危机进入了主要阶段，导致生物多样性的急剧灭绝，其速度之快在地球上前所未有。我们只能保护我们所知道的，而我们保护世界上现存的生物多样性的努力将很大程度上取决于我们对这种生物多样性的了解。”