ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Asha de Vos - Protector of whales
Dedicated to increasing awareness about Northern Indian Ocean blue whales, Asha de Vos is also committed to inspiring the next generation of marine biologists.

Why you should listen
Asha de Vos is a marine biologist and TED Fellow who specializes in researching and working with marine mammals. She has degrees from the Universities of St. Andrews and Oxford, and her PhD from the University of Western Australia. She oversees the Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project, the first long-term study on blue whales within the northern Indian Ocean.

A Duke University Global Fellow in Marine Conservation, de Vos previously worked at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature while she has also consulted with the National Aquatic Research Agency. She was a panelist at the Rio+20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.
More profile about the speaker
Asha de Vos | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2014

Asha de Vos: Why you should care about whale poo

阿莎·德沃斯: 為什麼鯨魚糞便值得關注

Filmed:
1,426,028 views

海洋生物學家阿莎·德沃斯認為,鯨魚有一項重要而令人驚奇的任務。牠們是生態系統的工程師,保障海洋的健康和穩定,而牠們完成該職責的方式之一卻是——排泄糞便。阿莎·德沃斯是一名 TED Fellow,請聽她講述鯨魚這一被低估的,卻能幫助保持海洋,乃至我們地球穩定和健康的行為。
- Protector of whales
Dedicated to increasing awareness about Northern Indian Ocean blue whales, Asha de Vos is also committed to inspiring the next generation of marine biologists. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
In the 1600s, there were so many許多
right whales鯨魚 in Cape Cod鱈魚 Bay
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17世紀,在美國東海岸的科德角灣
生活著大量的露脊鯨。
00:16
off the east coast of the U.S.
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00:18
that apparently顯然地 you could
walk步行 across橫過 their backs
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牠们數量之多,以至於你幾乎都能踩著鯨魚背
從海灣的一端走向另一端。
00:22
from one end結束 of the bay to the other.
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如今,牠們只剩數百隻,瀕臨滅絕。
00:25
Today今天, they number in the hundreds數以百計,
and they're endangered瀕危.
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00:28
Like them, many許多 species種類 of whales鯨魚
saw their numbers數字 drastically大幅 reduced減少
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同露脊鯨一樣,
許多其他種類的鯨魚數量也急劇下降,
00:33
by 200 years年份 of whaling捕鯨,
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正是由於這兩百年來的捕鯨活動。
00:36
where they were hunted獵殺 and killed殺害
for their whale meat, oil and whale bone.
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這期間鯨魚被獵殺,被獵取鯨魚肉、
鯨魚油,和鯨魚骨。
00:43
We only have whales鯨魚 in our waters水域 today今天
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今天我們的海域中之所以還有鯨魚,
00:45
because of the Save保存 the Whales鯨魚
movement運動 of the '70s.
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是因為70年代的「拯救鯨魚」運動。
00:49
It was instrumental儀器的 in stopping停止
commercial廣告 whaling捕鯨,
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該運動有效阻止了商業捕鯨,
00:52
and was built內置 on the idea理念 that
if we couldn't不能 save保存 whales鯨魚,
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其基本理念是:
如果我們連鯨魚都拯救不了,
00:56
what could we save保存?
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我們還能拯救什么?
00:58
It was ultimately最終 a test測試
of our political政治 ability能力
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這實質上考驗了我們的政治能力,
01:01
to halt environmental環境的 destruction毀壞.
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阻止環境破壞的政治能力。
01:04
So in the early '80s, there was
a ban禁止 on commercial廣告 whaling捕鯨
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這項運動的一個成果就是
1980年代初
01:08
that came來了 into force
as a result結果 of this campaign運動.
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商業捕鯨禁令的頒布。
01:11
Whales鯨魚 in our waters水域 are still
low in numbers數字, however然而,
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不過,我們的海域中鯨魚數量仍舊稀少,
01:14
because they do face面對 a range範圍
of other human-induced人類活動引起的 threats威脅.
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因為鯨魚還面臨一系列
其他的人類造成的威脅。
01:19
Unfortunately不幸, many許多 people still think
that whale conservationists保守主義者 like myself
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很不幸,很多人仍覺得
我這樣的鯨魚保護人士
01:27
do what we do only because these creatures生物
are charismatic魅力 and beautiful美麗.
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是出於欣賞鯨魚的魅力
和美麗而保護鯨魚。
這種思維其實會起反作用,
01:33
This is actually其實 a disservice幫倒忙,
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01:36
because whales鯨魚 are ecosystem生態系統 engineers工程師.
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因為鯨魚是生態系統的工程師。
01:40
They help maintain保持 the stability穩定性
and health健康 of the oceans海洋,
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牠們幫助維護海洋的穩定和健康,
01:44
and even provide提供 services服務
to human人的 society社會.
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甚至還能為人類社會做貢獻。
01:49
So let's talk about why
saving保存 whales鯨魚 is critical危急
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讓我們來談談為什麼拯救鯨魚
對保證海洋的自我調節很重要。
01:53
to the resiliency彈性 of the oceans海洋.
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歸根結底是兩個主要的東西:
01:56
It boils down to two main主要 things:
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02:01
whale poop船尾 and rotting腐爛 carcasses屍體.
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鯨魚糞便和腐爛遺骸。
02:04
As whales鯨魚 dive潛水 to the depths深處 to feed飼料
and come up to the surface表面 to breathe呼吸,
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當鯨魚潛入深海捕食
然後浮上海面呼吸時,
02:10
they actually其實 release發布 these
enormous巨大 fecal糞便 plumes羽毛.
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牠們排放出巨量的排泄流。
02:13
This whale pump, as it's called,
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這種所謂的鯨魚泵
02:15
actually其實 brings帶來 essential必要 limiting限制
nutrients營養成分 from the depths深處
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能將深海中的稀缺關鍵養分
02:18
to the surface表面 waters水域 where they
stimulate刺激 the growth發展 of phytoplankton浮游植物,
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帶到水表,促進浮游生物的生長,
02:22
which哪一個 forms形式 the base基礎
of all marine海洋 food餐飲 chains.
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而浮游生物是一切海洋食物鏈的基礎。
02:26
So really, having more whales鯨魚
in the oceans海洋 poopingpooping
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所以,讓更多的鯨魚在海洋中排泄
02:29
is really beneficial有利
to the entire整個 ecosystem生態系統.
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會對整個生態系統都有好處。
02:33
Whales鯨魚 are also known已知 to undertake承擔 some
of the longest最長 migrations遷移 of all mammals哺乳動物.
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鯨魚還是遷徙距離最遠的哺乳動物之一。
02:38
Gray灰色 whales鯨魚 off America美國
migrate遷移 16,000 kilometers公里
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灰鯨每年遷徙1萬6千公里
02:44
between之間 productive生產的 feeding饋送 areas and less
productive生產的 calving產犢, or birthing分娩, areas
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來回在營養豐富的捕食水域和
營養欠缺的繁殖水域之間。
02:50
and back every一切 year.
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02:53
As they do so, they transport運輸 fertilizer肥料
in the form形成 of their feces
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在此過程中,牠們的糞便作為肥料
02:58
from places地方 that have it
to places地方 that need it.
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被從養分富饒的地方
運送到養分稀缺的地方。
03:02
So clearly明確地, whales鯨魚 are really
important重要 in nutrient養分 cycling循環,
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很顯然,鯨魚在海洋的
營養循環中起重要作用,
03:06
both horizontally水平 and vertically垂直,
through通過 the oceans海洋.
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無論是縱向還是橫向的營養循環。
03:09
But what's really cool is that they're
also really important重要 after they're dead.
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但非常有意思的是,
牠們死後也起重要作用。
03:16
Whale carcasses屍體 are some of
the largest最大 form形成 of detritus碎屑
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鯨魚遺骸是海平面下最大的腐質之一,
03:20
to fall秋季 from the ocean's海洋 surface表面,
and they're called whale fall秋季.
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它們被稱作鯨魚下沉物。
03:25
As these carcasses屍體 sink水槽,
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當遺骸下沉時,
03:27
they provide提供 a feast盛宴
to some 400-odd-奇 species種類,
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它們給400個物種提供了盛宴,
03:30
including包含 the eel-shaped鰻魚形, slime-producing煤泥生產
hagfish盲鰻.
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其中包括鰻魚狀的、產生粘液的盲鰻。
03:35
So over the 200 years年份 of whaling捕鯨,
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所以,超過200年的捕鯨,
03:37
when we were busy killing謀殺 and removing去除
these carcasses屍體 from the oceans海洋,
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我們在匆忙殺戮,
從海洋中移除這些遺骸的同時,
03:41
we likely容易 altered改變 the rate and geographic地理
distribution分配 of these whale falls下降
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我們也很可能改變了這些鯨魚下沉物的
產生率和地理分布,
03:47
that would descend降落 into deep oceans海洋,
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03:49
and as a result結果, probably大概 led
to a number of extinctions滅絕
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而這很可能導致了一些
03:53
of species種類 that were most specialized專門
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專門食用和依靠
這種遺骸生存的生物的滅絕。
03:55
and dependent依賴的 on these carcasses屍體
for their survival生存.
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03:59
Whale carcasses屍體 are also known已知
to transport運輸 about 190,000 tons of carbon,
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鯨魚的遺骸也能運輸約19萬噸的碳,
04:07
which哪一個 is the equivalent當量 of that produced生成
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這相當於
04:10
by 80,000 cars汽車 per year
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8萬輛汽車
一年從大氣到海洋的碳排放。
04:13
from the atmosphere大氣層 to the deep oceans海洋,
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04:16
and the deep oceans海洋
are what we call "carbon sinks,"
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深海被我們稱為「碳池」,
04:19
because they trap陷阱 and hold保持
excess過量 carbon from the atmosphere大氣層,
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因為那裡能鎖住和存儲大氣中多餘的碳,
04:23
and therefore因此 help
to delay延遲 global全球 warming變暖.
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從而幫助減緩全球暖化。
04:27
Sometimes有時 these carcasses屍體
also wash up on beaches海灘
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有時這些遺骸還被沖刷上海岸,
04:31
and provide提供 a meal膳食 to a number
of predatory掠奪性 species種類 on land土地.
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為陸地上的一些捕獵生物提供食物。
04:36
The 200 years年份 of whaling捕鯨
was clearly明確地 detrimental有害
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這二百年的捕鯨行為破壞巨大,
04:40
and caused造成 a reduction減少
in the populations人群 of whales鯨魚
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它導致鯨魚數量減少了
04:43
between之間 60 to 90 percent百分.
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60%到90%。
04:46
Clearly明確地, the Save保存 the Whales鯨魚 movement運動
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拯救鯨魚行動
04:48
was instrumental儀器的 in preventing防止
commercial廣告 whaling捕鯨 from going on,
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在阻止商業捕鯨中確實起了關鍵作用,
04:52
but we need to revise修改 this.
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但我們還需要做一些改進。
04:55
We need to address地址 the more modern現代,
pressing緊迫 problems問題 that these whales鯨魚 face面對
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我們需要應對如今鯨魚所面臨的
05:00
in our waters水域 today今天.
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更當代,更緊迫的問題。
05:02
Amongst當中 other things, we need to stop them
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其中,我們要防止鯨魚
05:04
from getting得到 plowed down by container容器
ships船舶 when they're in their feeding饋送 areas,
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在餵養水域中被運輸船撞死,
05:09
and stop them from getting得到
entangled糾纏 in fishing釣魚 nets
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還要防止鯨魚在海洋上游蕩時
05:11
as they float浮動 around in the ocean海洋.
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被漁網纏住。
05:14
We also need to learn學習 to contextualize情境
our conservation保護 messages消息,
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我們還需學會將我們的動物保護資訊具體化,
05:18
so people really understand理解 the true真正
ecosystem生態系統 value of these creatures生物.
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以便人們能夠真正了解
這些生物的實際生態價值。
05:25
So, let's save保存 the whales鯨魚 again,
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讓我們再次拯救鯨魚,
05:30
but this time, let's not just
do it for their sake清酒.
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然而這次,我們這樣做不僅是為鯨魚,
05:34
Let's also do it for ours我們的.
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也是為我們自己!
05:36
Thank you.
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謝謝。
05:39
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Tuo Lin
Reviewed by Peipei Xiang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Asha de Vos - Protector of whales
Dedicated to increasing awareness about Northern Indian Ocean blue whales, Asha de Vos is also committed to inspiring the next generation of marine biologists.

Why you should listen
Asha de Vos is a marine biologist and TED Fellow who specializes in researching and working with marine mammals. She has degrees from the Universities of St. Andrews and Oxford, and her PhD from the University of Western Australia. She oversees the Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project, the first long-term study on blue whales within the northern Indian Ocean.

A Duke University Global Fellow in Marine Conservation, de Vos previously worked at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature while she has also consulted with the National Aquatic Research Agency. She was a panelist at the Rio+20 summit in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.
More profile about the speaker
Asha de Vos | Speaker | TED.com