第2916期: Leatherback turtle populations have declined sharply

Researchers with NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, catch a leatherback sea turtle off the coast of California.

美国国家海洋和大气管理局(NOAA)的研究人员在加利福尼亚海岸捕获了一只棱皮龟。

The tens of millions of years old species is in serious decline, says ecologist Scott Benson.

生态学家斯科特·本森说，这个已存在数千万年的物种正在急剧减少。

Estimates are that the population now is about 1400 adult females remaining.

据估计，目前成年雌性个体仅剩下约1400只。

That's down from literally tens of thousands several decades, a few decades ago.

这与几十年前动辄数以万计的数量相比已经减少了。

Benson co-authored a new study that says the foraging area used by the leatherback sea turtle saw a population drop of about 80 percent in the past 30 years.

本森参与合著的一项新研究指出，过去30年间，棱皮龟觅食区域内的种群数量下降了约80%。

He says this is amazing given the species adaptability. The leatherback turtle is an ancient mariner.

他说，考虑到该物种的适应能力，这十分令人惊讶。棱皮龟是古老的航海者。

They've been around for almost as long as 80 million years in their present form, date back to the time of the dinosaurs.

它们以现在的形态存在了近8000万年，其历史可以追溯到恐龙时代。

It's not a poorly adapted species. They've been through all kinds of things, meteor strikes, climate changes, you name it.

它们并非适应能力差的物种，经历过陨石撞击、气候变化等各种磨难。

He says the smaller numbers make the species more vulnerable to outside factors, like international fishing and egg harvesting.

他表示数量减少使该物种更容易受到国际捕捞和采集龟蛋等外部因素的影响。

Benson's team puts transmitters on turtles so their fishing fleets can avoid them.

本森的团队给海龟装上发射器，这样他们的渔船就能避开这些海龟。

He says his team is doing what it can to boost the rapidly dwindling numbers.

他说他的团队正在尽其所能来使迅速减少的数量回弹。

We're down to the remnants right now so any little thing now could potentially disrupt it. So we have just very little time to turn around.

剩下的数量不多了，所以现在任何小事都有可能破坏局面。我们能够扭转局面的时间不多了。

All seven species of the leatherback are in trouble, but the new study focuses on the western pacific variety,

所有七种棱皮龟都面临困境，但这项新研究主要关注西太平洋种群，

which migrates more than 11,000 kilometers from Indonesia and the Solomon Islands to the US west coast to feast on jellyfish.

它们会从印度尼西亚和所罗门群岛迁徙超过1.1万公里，前往美国西海岸享用水母。

NOAA recently released a new action plan calling for greater international cooperation.

NOAA最近发布了一项新的行动计划，呼吁加强国际合作。