科学家在墨西哥湾发现了巨大的珊瑚礁走廊

科学家在墨西哥湾发现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.

科学家们发现了五个令人惊叹的新珊瑚礁，它们形成了墨西哥湾长达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.

来自韦拉克鲁斯大学和墨西哥国家理工学院的一组科学家，本月早些时候公布了新发现的珊瑚礁——科拉松、潘泰佩克南、皮尔德拉斯·阿尔塔斯、洛斯·加洛斯和卡玛罗纳拉。

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.

据Earther报道，韦拉克鲁斯大学的研究人员Leonardo Ortiz Lozano和他的同事们一起发现了这一现象。像大多数珊瑚礁区域一样，这条走廊为大量物种提供了栖息地，并为极其多样化的生态系统提供了燃料。

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.

尽管目前这条走廊没有受到保护，但发现这条走廊的科学家们，希望在它受到石油和天然气工业的威胁之前改变这一状况。

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.

研究人员说，捕鱼业和径流沉积对珊瑚礁构成了威胁。虽然他们想为珊瑚礁建立新的生态保护，但他们也不想破坏渔民的主要收入来源。

“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，这些地方是数百名渔民获得营养和工作的地方，”奥尔蒂斯告诉媒体，“保护这些遗址很重要，但维持捕鱼业是必要的。”

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

“我们希望珊瑚走廊得到官方认可，以保护它不受化石燃料工业的影响，”奥尔蒂斯表示。

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

除了人类的污染，气候变化也会对珊瑚礁产生负面影响。

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

科学家们正在研究如何加强生物多样性的珊瑚礁，使其在更温暖的未来茁壮成长。

“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.

普利茅斯大学(University of Plymouth)客座研究员卡罗琳·帕尔默(Caroline Palmer)在一份新闻稿中表示:“目前，人们对通过基因工程创造更具耐受性的珊瑚，以及通过瞄准更具复原能力的珊瑚，来恢复珊瑚礁非常感兴趣。”帕尔默与这些新发现的珊瑚礁没有关系。

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

“我完全支持这些方法，但我相信，了解推动珊瑚健康成长的因素将是成功的关键。”