less than one per cent is land. |
陆地面积不足百分之一 |
Best known are the Hawaiian islands. |
最著名的是夏威夷群岛 |
They sit 1,500 miles north of the equator, |
它们坐落在赤道以北两千四百公里 |
but their story was shaped by the south. |
但它们的故事要从南方讲起 |
The South Pacific is made up of thousands of islands |
南太平洋由数千座岛屿组成 |
united by cultures and bound together by ocean currents. |
它们靠文化和洋流联系在一起 |
Most of the land sits in warm waters, |
大多数岛屿分布在暖水区 |
but travel south and the character of the islands change. |
但越向南岛屿的特点也随之改变 |
New Zealand is not tropical but temperate. |
新西兰并非热带气候而是温带气候 |
The ocean currents which cool New Zealand's waters |
冷却新西兰海水的洋流 |
occasionally bring icebergs. |
偶尔会带来冰山 |
Starting in the Antarctic, |
冰山从南极洲出发 |
they've drifted for nearly eight months... |
漂流近八个月 |
...on the way, passing the most southerly outpost in the South Pacific. |
途径南太平洋的最南端的岛屿 |
Where New Zealand's temperate seas merge |
新西兰温暖的海水 |
with the icy waters of the Southern ocean, |
与南冰洋的冰冷海水交汇处 |
lies a solitary piece of land... |
有一块孤零零的陆地 |
|
麦夸里 |
|
岛 |
85 miles of wave-lashed coastline. |
海水拍打着136公里的海岸线 |
It looks desolate, but it's not deserted. |
这里看似荒凉但并非毫无生气 |
At certain times of year, there's more life here |
一年中的某段时期这里的生命 |
than on any other island in the Pacific. |
比太平洋的其他岛屿都要多 |
In August, after months at sea, elephant seals arrive. |
八月在海里漂流数月的海象来了 |
They depend on this island for breeding. |
它们要在这座岛上繁育后代 |
Macquarie will soon be heaving with 60,000 elephant seals, |
麦夸里岛很快将迎来六万只海象 |
but they won't have the beaches to themselves. |
但它们不会独占海滩 |
One month later, another wave of migrants appear in the surf. |
一个月后另一波移民潮到来了 |
These are royal penguins, |
这是白颊黄眉企鹅 |
and they're about to have their first sighting of land in seven months. |
这是它们七个月来第一次看见陆地 |
They've spent that time hunting for |
这七个月它们一直在 |
fish and shrimp in the open ocean. |
浩瀚的海洋中捕猎鱼虾 |
One last hurdle |
再克服最后一个障碍 |
and they're back on terra firma. |
它们就能回到陆地 |
This island is actually the only solid ground |
这座岛实际上是 |
these penguins will ever set foot on. |
企鹅们唯一踏足的陆地 |
Macquarie's nearest neighbour is more than 400 miles away, |
离麦夸里岛最近的岛屿距此六百多公里 |
and in the opposite direction from their favourite feeding grounds. |
且与它们最爱的觅食地方向相反 |
Within days of the first arrivals, |
第一群企鹅到达几天后 |
it's standing room only. |
海滩上就只剩立足之地了 |
Nobody knows exactly how |
没人知道这些企鹅 |
these penguins navigate back to Macquarie, |
是如何找到回来的方向 |
but with this many adults returning every year to breed, |
但每年都有如此众多的成年企鹅回来繁衍后代 |
it clearly works. |
它们显然自有一套办法 |
Out in the open ocean, |
在浩瀚的海洋中 |
完整版请点击 |
|
royal penguins lead solitary lives, |
白颊黄眉企鹅过着独居生活 |
so these cramped conditions take a bit of getting used to. |
眼下这种拥挤的状况需要一点时间来适应 |
Disputes settled, it's time to renew old acquaintances. |
争端解决是时候再会旧相识了 |
The elephant seals have also settled down... |
海象也找到了另一半 |
even if some still play hard to get. |
尽管有些仍表现得欲迎还拒 |
Though it's not easy turning down the advances |
但拒绝一个体型比你大六倍的求婚者 |
of a suitor six times your size. |
可不是件容易事 |
A gentle nuzzle, and she appears won over. |
在鼻尖轻柔的爱抚下它的芳心被俘获了 |
And it's not just love that's in the air. |
空气中弥漫的不仅是爱意 |
At these southerly latitudes, |
在这种南半球高纬度地区 |
ocean winds bring rain six-and-a-half days out of seven. |
海风带来的雨水一周会下六天半 |
And when it doesn't rain... |
而不下雨的时候 |
it snows. |
会下雪 |
It couldn't be more different |
这里的景象 |
from the cliched image of a South Pacific island. |
与一般的南太平洋岛屿大相径庭 |
But surprisingly, |
但令人惊讶的是 |
what makes Macquarie so rich in wildlife |
使麦夸里岛变得如此生机勃勃的功臣 |
also benefits other islands in the tropical South Pacific, |
也使几千公里外南太平洋热带地区的 |
thousands of miles away. |
其他岛屿受益良多 |
Macquarie's penguins and seals depend on |
麦夸里岛的企鹅和海象依靠 |
a cold, nutrient-rich current... |
寒冷而营养丰富的洋流迁徙 |
and that doesn't stop here. |
洋流并不在此停留 |
Powered by the strongest winds in the world, |
在世界上最强劲的风的推动下 |
the current continues east |
洋流继续向东 |
until it hits the tip of South America, |
抵达南美洲的尖端 |
where it's driven northwards. |
并在那里改道向北 |
Over 8,000 miles later, |
又行进一万三千公里 |
the cold current reaches the equator |
冷洋流抵达赤道 |
and a remote archipelago... |
来到一片偏远的群岛 |
|
加拉帕戈斯 |
|
群岛 |
The water has warmed up on the journey north, |
海水在北上途中逐渐变暖 |
but it's still cold and nutrient-rich. |
但依旧很凉且营养丰富 |
This has allowed some animals |
这使得一些 |
to live here which you wouldn't normally find |
赤道附近不常见的动物 |
this close to the equator. |
得以在此生存 |
Sea lions. |
海狮 |
Isolated on the Galapagos, they've been here so long |
隔绝于加拉帕戈斯群岛多年 |
they've become a separate species. |
已进化成新的物种 |
When the surf's up, |
每当浪潮涌动 |
the sea lions spend hours just messing around in the waves. |
海狮们就会奔波逐浪数小时 |
Surfing burns a lot of energy, |
冲浪是极其耗能的 |
and they can only do it |
它们之所以如此 |
because these cold seas support vast numbers of fish. |
是因为冷海水中有大量的鱼 |
The sea lions share these nutrient-rich waters |
这片营养丰富的海域并非海狮专享 |
with another equatorial misfit. |
还有一种本不属于赤道的物种 |
Penguins, |
企鹅 |
the only penguins found in the tropics. |
唯一定居热带的企鹅 |
Like the sea lions, |
与海狮一样 |
Galapagos penguins can survive here |
加拉帕戈斯企鹅得以生存于此 |
because the water keeps them cool and well fed. |
得益于冰冷的海水保持体温提供美食 |
But these conditions are not constant. |
但情况并非一成不变 |
In El Nino years, |
在出现厄尔尼诺现象的年份 |
when currents reverse, |
洋流逆转 |
warm waters replace cold, |
暖流替代冷流 |
fish populations crash |
鱼群大量死亡 |