Can wildlife adapt to climate change

野生動物能適應(yīng)氣候變化嗎？

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Rising temperatures and seas,

massive droughts,

changing landscapes.

Successfully adapting to climate change is growing increasingly important.

For humans, this means using our technological advancement

to find solutions,

like smarter cities and better water management.

But for some plants and animals,

adapting to these global changes involves the most ancient solution of all:

evolution.

日漸升高的溫度和海平面

嚴重的干旱

變化的地形

這一切都讓使成功適應(yīng)氣候變化的能力變得更為重要

對于我們?nèi)祟悂碚f，是使用先進的科技，

去找尋解決的方案

例如更加智能的城市和更加完善的水資源管理

但是對于動物和植物來說

要想適應(yīng)這些變化，需要最為古老的方式

那就是，進化

Evolutionary adaptation usually occurs along time scales of thousands

to hundreds of thousands of years.

But in cases where species are under especially strong selective conditions,

like those caused ?by rapidly changing climates,

adaptive evolution ?can happen more quickly.

In recent decades,

we've seen many plants,

animals,

and insects relocating themselves

and undergoing changes to their body sizes,

and the dates they flower or breed.

進化通常需要幾億

甚至是幾十億年的時間

但是在例如急速的氣候變化之類的極其嚴苛的淘汰環(huán)境下

物種正在

進行著迅速的進化

在最近的幾十年里

我們見證了很多植物

動物

昆蟲的遷移

他們經(jīng)歷了體型大小的變化

以及開花、繁殖時間的變化

But many of these are plastic,

or nonheritable changes to an individual's physical traits.

And there are limits to how much an organism can change its own physiology

to meet environmental requirements.

That's why scientists are seeking examples of evolutionary changes

coded in species' DNA that are heritable,

long-lasting,

and may provide a key to their future.

但是對于個體的生理特征來說，許多變化都是可塑的

即不能夠遺傳的變化

而且一個生物體為了適應(yīng)環(huán)境要求

所能改變自己生理機能的能力是有限的

這就是為什么科學家們正在從物種的DNA中找尋進化的例子

這些進化出來的變化是可遺傳的

是持久的

并且對物種的未來意味著很多

Take the tawny owl.

If you were walking through a wintry forest in northern Europe 30?years ago,

chances are you'd have heard, rather than seen,

this elusive bird.

Against the snowy backdrop,

its plumage would have been near impossible to spot.

Today, the landscape is vastly different.

Since the 1980s,

climate change has led to significantly less snowfall,

but you'd still struggle ?to spot a tawny owl

because nowadays, they're brown.

以灰林鸮為例

如果30年前，你行走在北歐寒風刺骨的森林里

你可能看不到這種難覓蹤跡的鳥

而只可能聽到它們的聲音

在白雪的背景下

它們的羽毛難以被發(fā)現(xiàn)

今天，情況大為不同

自從上世紀80年代

氣候變化導致降雪量急劇減少

但你還是很難找到灰林鸮

因為現(xiàn)在它們變成棕色了

The brown color variant is the genetically dominant form of plumage in this species,

but historically,

the recessive pale gray variant triumphed

because of its selective advantage in helping these predators blend in.

However, less snow cover reduces opportunities for camouflage,

so lately, this gray color variant

has been losing ?the battle against natural selection.

The offspring of the brown color morphs, on the other hand,

have an advantage in exposed forests,

so brown tawny owls are flourishing today.

這種棕色變異是這種物種的顯性性狀

但歷史上

是淺灰色隱性性狀占了上風

因為這些有選擇性的特殊的優(yōu)勢，這些捕食者得以融入環(huán)境

但是，降雪量減少讓它們的偽裝效果下降

所以在最近的自然選擇里

灰色變異只占了下風

然而，那些有著棕色變異的后代

在暴露的森林里具有優(yōu)勢

棕色的灰林鸮越來越多

Several other species have undergone

similar climate-change-adaptive ?genetic changes in recent decades.

Pitcher plant mosquitoes ?have rapidly evolved

to take advantage ?of the warmer temperatures,

entering dormancy later ?and later in the year.

Two spot ladybug populations,

once comprised of equal numbers of melanic and non-melanic morphs,

have now shifted almost entirely to the non-melanic color combination.

Scientists think that keeps them from overheating.

其他的一些物種在最近幾十年也經(jīng)歷了類似的

適應(yīng)氣候變化的變異

豬籠草蚊快速地進化

它們越來越晚的進入冬眠

以利用更加溫暖的天氣

之前有同等數(shù)量

黑色和非黑色變異的二星瓢蟲

現(xiàn)在完全變成了非黑色

科學家認為這有利于使它們身體溫度不會過高

Meanwhile, pink salmon have adapted to warmer waters

by spawning earlier in the season to protect their sensitive eggs.

And wild thyme plants in Europe are producing more repellent oils

to protect themselves ?against the herbivores

that become more common when it's warm.

These plants and animals belong to a group of about 20?identified species

with evolutionary adaptations to rapid climate change,

including snapping turtles,

wood frogs,

knotweed,

and silver spotted skipper butterflies.

與此同時，那些通過更早產(chǎn)卵來保護脆弱的卵的細磷大馬哈魚

適應(yīng)了更加溫暖的水域

歐洲的野百里香分泌了更多的防護油

來保護自己免受因為溫暖天氣產(chǎn)生的

越來越多的食草動物的侵擾

這些物種屬于一個有20種明確物種的種群

這些物種有著包括蛇鱷龜在內(nèi)的

為了適應(yīng)氣候變化而產(chǎn)生進化的物種

如林蛙

紫菀科植物

以及銀斑弄蝶

However, scientists hope to discover more species evolving

in response to climate change out of 8.7?million species on the planet.

For most of our planet's astounding and precious biodiversity,

evolution won't be the answer.

Instead, many of those species will have to rely on us

to help them survive a changing world

or face extinction.

然而，科學家們希望在地球上的八千七百萬物種中

發(fā)現(xiàn)更多幫助適應(yīng)氣候變化的物種進化

因為對于我們星球珍貴驚人的生物多樣性來說

進化不是最終的答案

反之，很多物種需要依靠我們

去幫助它們在一個變化的世界生存下來

否則，它們將會滅亡

The good news is we already have the tools.

Across the planet, we're making on-the-ground decisions

that will help entire ecosystems adapt.

Critical climate refuges ?are being identified and set aside,

and projects are underway to help mobile species

move to more suitable climates.

Existing parks and protected areas are also doing climate change check-ups

to help their wildlife cope.

Fortunately, it's still within our power

to preserve much of ?the wondrous biodiversity of this planet,

which, after all, sustains us in so many ways.

好消息是我們已經(jīng)有了一些工具

全球范圍內(nèi)，我們已經(jīng)做出了一些實實在在的決定

那些決定將會幫助整個生態(tài)系統(tǒng)去適應(yīng)

那些受氣候變化影響極大的氣候“難民”正在被鑒定和保護

那些幫助遷徙物種的計劃正在進行

它們可以遷徙到更加合適的氣候環(huán)境中去

現(xiàn)有的公園和保護區(qū)正在開展氣候變化調(diào)查

來幫助野生動物適應(yīng)

幸運的是，這一切還在我們的控制之內(nèi)

我們還能夠保護這個星球上奇異的生物多樣性，

畢竟它們正在通過各種方式支持著我們?nèi)祟惖纳?/p>