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When Stewart Fraser spotted the translucent creature floating in the Pacific 40 miles off the North Island's Karikari Peninsula, he wasn't sure he even wanted it on his boat, he told the UK's Mail Online. |
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在太平洋上距離北島的卡利卡利半島四十英里處,史都華.弗雷瑟看到那個半透明的生物漂浮在海中,當時他實在不太確定自己想要把牠抓上船,他向英國的《每日郵報網站》表示。 |
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"I was of two minds whether to haul it in, but curiosity got the better of me and I decided to take a closer look," he told the Mail. |
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"It was quite something, and I'd never seen anything like it before." |
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「我對於該不該把牠撈起來猶豫不決,但最後好奇心戰勝了,我決定仔細看看,」他對《每日郵報網站》說:「牠實在長得很特別,我從來沒看過這種東西。」 |
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Dennis Gordon, a scientist with New Zealand's NIWA water and atmospheric research agency, told the New Zealand Herald the see-through creature is a salp, and it's really not that rare. |
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Salps are found around the world, often in big numbers, scientists say. |
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While Fraser pulled up a lone salp, scientists say they have often been found in chains more than 30 feet long. |
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Salps reproduce so rapidly that they can double their population in a day. |
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紐西蘭國立水與大氣研究所的科學家丹尼斯.戈登向《紐西蘭先鋒報》表示,那個透明生物是海樽,而且其實不是那麼罕見。海樽在世界各地都有,通常大量聚集,科學家指出。弗雷瑟撈到的是單獨一隻海樽,科學家表示這種生物經常被發現連結成串長達三十英尺。海樽繁殖的速度非常快,一天就可以增加一倍的數量。 |
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They are really hard to spot, which protects the salp from other creatures that would like to make a meal of them, Paul Cox, director of conservation and communication at the National Marine Aquarium, told the Mail. |
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海樽很不容易被發現,這點能保護牠們免受其他生物的威脅,例如把牠們吃下肚,國家海洋水族館保育暨傳播部門主任保羅.考克斯向《每日郵報網站》表示。 |
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"In common with other defenseless animals that occupy open water -- jellies and hydroids for example -- the translucence presumably provides some protection from predation. |
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Being see-through is a pretty good camouflage in water," Cox said. |
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「如同居住在開放水域中其他缺乏防衛能力的動物——例如水母與水螅——這種半透明性想必能夠保護牠們避免掠食者的侵襲。在水裡,透明是一種很好的偽裝,」考克斯說。 |
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Gordon told the Herald that when they can be caught, salps are a good food source for some fish, seals and turtles. |
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They are more nutritious than jellyfish, he said. |
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He also said the salps, which feed by taking in water through internal filters, are important predators themselves, but not one that any human needs to be afraid of. |
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戈登向《紐西蘭先鋒報》表示,如果捕捉得到,海樽對於某些魚類、海豹與海龜而言是很好的食物來源。牠們比水母更有營養,他說。他也指出,海樽透過內部過濾系統過濾水來攝食,本身也是一種重要的掠食者,但倒不是人類需要害怕的對象。 |