What if all the coral reefs disappeared?

如果所有的珊瑚礁消失了的話會發(fā)生什么?

The beautiful turquoise waters of the Caribbean, the South Pacific and other oceans have become popular travel destinations for scuba divers and snorkelers partly because of the variety of fish drawn to the coral reefs in these areas.

擁有美麗的、藍綠色的海水的加勒比海、南太平洋和其它大洋已經成為了受潛水愛好者們的旅行目的地，因為那里有豐富多樣的魚類何美麗的珊瑚礁。

So what is coral? A living creature, coral can be hard or soft. The coral reefs that we see in the oceans are formed by colonies of little critters called coral polyps, distant relatives of sea anemones and jellyfish. Hard coral is made when coral polyps extract calcium from seawater and turn it into external limestone shelters. Other coral polyps convert the calcium into internal skeletons and create soft corals. And when many colonies of coral polyps get together and create a larger home, we call it a coral reef [source: Teach].

那么什么是珊瑚呢？作為一種活著的生物，珊瑚可以是硬的也可以是軟的。我們在大洋中看到的珊瑚礁是由很多小小的珊瑚蟲構成的，它們是?？退傅倪h親。硬珊瑚的形成是因為珊瑚蟲從海水中提取出了鈣，然后將其轉變成了自己外部的石灰石保護層。其它的珊瑚蟲將鈣轉變?yōu)榱俗约荷眢w內部的骨骼，孕育出了軟珊瑚。當許多這些珊瑚蟲的“居所”聚集到一起后，就形成了它們的更大的家，我們把這叫做珊瑚礁。

Not only do coral reefs draw snorkelers and divers, but they also support the highest marine biodiversity in the world. While they cover less than 1 percent — and falling — of the Earth's surface, coral reefs are vital to more than 500 million people who depend on them for food, jobs and recreation — with an estimated economic impact of $375 billion a year [source: IUCN Coral].

珊瑚礁不僅僅吸引著潛水愛好者們，而且對于維持世界海洋生物多樣性起著重要的作用。珊瑚礁的分布總面積不到地球表面面積的1%，但是它對于依賴它獲取食物、工作和進行休閑娛樂的5億多人來說是至關重要的。

This what-if question is not some farfetched scenario. The threats to coral and coral reefs — which include climate change, pollution, coastal development, fishing and the creation of jewelry and souvenirs — are very real. In fact, live, growing coral on Caribbean reefs has declined to just 8 percent of the reefs' composition, compared with more than 50 percent in the 1970s [source: IUCN Facts].

這個“如果怎么樣就會怎么樣呢”的問題不是一個遙不可及的問題。珊瑚和珊瑚礁所面臨的威脅包括了氣候變化、污染、海岸開發(fā)、漁業(yè)發(fā)展和珠寶、紀念品等的創(chuàng)造等等，這些威脅是真實存在的。事實上，加勒比海的珊瑚礁上的活著的、正在生長的珊瑚蟲面積已經銳減至珊瑚礁面積的8%，在20世紀70年代的時候，這一數字高達50%以上。

So what happens if the coral reefs vanish completely? Some experts predict hunger, poverty and political instability as the livelihoods of the peoples of entire countries disappear. Once the coral is dead, the reefs will also die and erode, destroying important marine life spawning and feeding grounds. Animals that rely on coral for protection and cover, such as grouper, snapper, oysters and clams, would also be negatively impacted. And because this marine life is a vital staple in many peoples' diets, the death of the coral reefs would exacerbate the problem of feeding these groups [source: Skoloff].

那么如果珊瑚礁完全消亡的話會發(fā)生什么事情呢？一些專家預測會發(fā)生饑餓、貧窮和政治不穩(wěn)定，所有國家的人的生計來源都會喪失殆盡。珊瑚一旦死去，珊瑚礁也會死亡和消失，繼而破壞掉海洋生物的產卵和覓食地。那些依賴珊瑚礁庇護的海洋生物，比如石斑魚、甲魚、牡蠣和蚌類等，都會受到消極的影響。海洋生物是許多人餐桌上的主要菜品，珊瑚礁的死亡對這些飲食愛好者而言是晴天霹靂。

The ocean fishing industry, which employs 38 million people worldwide, would collapse. Caribbean island nations that depend on tourism dollars would see those disappear. Finally, the health of people around the world, not just in coral reef areas, would suffer, since coral is used in many medicines [source: Skoloff].

海洋漁業(yè)給世界上的3800萬人創(chuàng)造了就業(yè)機會，而這個產業(yè)將會毀滅。加勒比海的依賴從旅游業(yè)賺取美鈔的島國將會失去經濟的主要來源。最終，全人類的健康會面臨威脅，不僅僅是對于那些生活在珊瑚礁地區(qū)的人來說，要知道，珊瑚在醫(yī)藥領域被廣為使用。

And these are just the results that scientists can predict with near certainty — though many point out they can't predict everything that might happen if the coral reefs disappear. The disruption to the food chain and biodiversity of the oceans could lead to additional problems that we can't begin to fathom.

這些只是科學家們比較拿的準的預測的結果，很多人指出這些科學家并不能準確地預測出在珊瑚礁消失后會發(fā)生的所有的事。海洋生態(tài)系統(tǒng)食物鏈的斷裂和生物多樣性的減少會導致我們無法理解的附加問題的產生。

There are actions we can take to help maintain coral reefs. Many offer other benefits to the environment, such as using alternative means of transportation like walking or biking, which decreases the use of pollutants like oil and gas; volunteering with beach and reef cleanup organizations; and reducing the use of pesticides and fertilizers that can end up in oceans [source: Bardroff]. So with a little awareness and a commitment to conscientious choices, you can help keep coral — and the biodiversity coral nurtures — around for the next generations to enjoy.

有一些舉措能夠有助于保護珊瑚礁。這當中有許多條能夠給環(huán)境保護帶來好處，比如在交通出行方面選擇步行和騎自行車、減少石油和汽油等污染物的使用，組織志愿者來清掃海灘和珊瑚礁，減少殺蟲劑和化肥的使用，因為這些物質最終會流向海洋。只要你有一點點意識、一點點出自于良心的責任感，你就能夠在保護珊瑚和靠珊瑚養(yǎng)育的生物的多樣性方面做出貢獻，這樣我們的下一代才能繼續(xù)看到美麗的珊瑚和美好的世界。