ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kristen Marhaver - Coral reef biologist
TED Senior Fellow Kristen Marhaver is a marine biologist studying the ecology, behavior and reproduction of reef corals.

Why you should listen

Dr. Kristen Marhaver's work combines classic scientific methods with new technologies to help threatened coral species survive their early life stages. She was the first person to rear juveniles of the endangered Caribbean Pillar Coral. Now she's now developing bacterial tools to improve coral survival at all life stages.

Marhaver's research has been covered by NPR, BBC, The Atlantic and Popular Science, among hundreds of outlets. She's earned five fellowships and grants from the US National Science Foundation and multiple awards for science communication. Marhaver is a TED Senior Fellow, a WINGS Fellow, and a World Economic Forum Young Scientist.

Outside the lab, Marhaver advocates for stronger ocean conservation and smarter science communication. Her talks and articles have been featured by Google, Wired UK, Mission Blue and by ocean and scuba festivals around the world.

A scuba diver from the age of 15, Marhaver is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology and the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her lab is based at the CARMABI Research Station on the island of Curaçao.

More profile about the speaker
Kristen Marhaver | Speaker | TED.com
TED2017

Kristen Marhaver: Why I still have hope for coral reefs

克莉絲汀.瑪哈爾: 為什麼我對珊瑚礁還懷抱希望

Filmed:
1,348,832 views

太平洋珊瑚礁死亡的速度飛快,尤其是上升水溫引起的白化現象所造成。TED 研究會員克莉絲汀.瑪哈爾說,現在採取行動還不算遲。她指出在加勒比海,那裡的珊瑚礁只要有時間、穩定的溫度和保護,就能展現從創傷中復原的能力。瑪哈爾提醒我們,為什麼要繼續保護現在僅存的珍貴珊瑚。她說:「珊瑚一直都打長期戰,我們也是。」
- Coral reef biologist
TED Senior Fellow Kristen Marhaver is a marine biologist studying the ecology, behavior and reproduction of reef corals. Full bio

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

00:12
The first time I cried哭了 underwater水下
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我第一次在水底哭
00:15
was in 2008,
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是 2008 年的時候,
00:16
the island of Cura庫拉çaoAO,
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我在古拉索島,
00:18
way down in the southern南部的 Caribbean加勒比.
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在遙遠的加勒比海南端。
00:20
It's beautiful美麗 there.
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那邊很美。
00:22
I was studying研究 these corals珊瑚蟲 for my PhD博士,
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當時我在攻讀博士研究珊瑚,
00:25
and after days and days
of diving潛水 on the same相同 reef,
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日復一日潛水到同一塊礁上,
00:27
I had gotten得到 to know them as individuals個人.
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讓我對它們都瞭若指掌。
00:29
I had made製作 friends朋友 with coral珊瑚 colonies群落 --
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我和珊瑚群交朋友──
00:32
totally完全 a normal正常 thing to do.
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這可一點也不奇怪。
00:35
Then, Hurricane颶風 Omar奧馬爾 smashed被砸 them apart距離
and ripped撕開 off their skin皮膚,
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後來奧馬爾颶風讓牠們
四分五裂、體無完膚,
00:39
leaving離開 little bits of wounded負傷 tissue組織
that would have a hard time healing復原,
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留下一丁點受了傷的組織,
得花時間辛苦療養,
00:44
and big patches補丁 of dead skeleton骨架
that would get overgrown發育過度的 by algae藻類.
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大片死亡的骨架上會長滿水藻。
00:48
When I saw this damage損傷 for the first time,
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第一次看到災情
00:50
stretching拉伸 all the way down the reef,
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遍及珊瑚礁深處的時候,
00:52
I sunk沉沒 onto the sand in my scuba水肺 gear齒輪
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穿著潛水肺裝站在沙上的我
00:54
and I cried哭了.
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哭了。
00:55
If a coral珊瑚 could die that fast快速,
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如果珊瑚死的速度這麼快,
00:57
how could a reef ever survive生存?
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礁怎麼能撐得過來?
01:00
And why was I making製造 it my job工作
to try to fight鬥爭 for them?
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而我又為什麼要試圖為它們奮戰?
01:03
I never heard聽說 another另一個 scientist科學家
tell that kind of story故事
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直到去年我才聽到其他科學家說
01:06
until直到 last year.
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這類的故事。
01:08
A scientist科學家 in Guam關島 wrote,
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一位在關島的科學家寫信給我:
01:10
"I cried哭了 right into my mask面具,"
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「我在面罩裡哭了,」
01:12
seeing眼看 the damage損傷 on the reefs珊瑚礁.
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因為我看到了那些珊瑚礁的傷痕。
01:15
Then a scientist科學家 in Australia澳大利亞 wrote,
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另一位澳洲科學家寫:
01:17
"I showed顯示 my students學生們
the results結果 of our coral珊瑚 surveys調查,
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「我讓學生看我們研究珊瑚的結果,
01:20
and we wept哭泣."
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大家都落淚了。」
01:22
Crying哭泣 about corals珊瑚蟲
is having a moment時刻, guys.
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各位,為珊瑚哭泣現在正是時候。
01:25
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
01:26
And that's because reefs珊瑚礁 in the Pacific和平的
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那是因為太平洋的礁
01:28
are losing失去 corals珊瑚蟲 faster更快
than we've我們已經 ever seen看到 before.
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以前所未有的速度流失珊瑚。
01:31
Because of climate氣候 change更改,
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因為氣候變遷,
01:33
the water is so hot for so long
in the summers夏天,
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海水在夏天太熱太久,
01:35
that these animals動物
can't function功能 normally一般.
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以致於這些動物無法正常運作。
01:38
They're spitting隨地吐痰 out the colored有色 algae藻類
that lives生活 in their skin皮膚,
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牠們吐出住在牠們身上的有色海藻,
01:41
and the clear明確 bleached漂白 tissue組織
that's left usually平時 starves忍飢挨餓的 to death死亡
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而留下的白化組織通常會餓死,
01:46
and then rots腐爛 away.
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然後腐爛。
01:49
Then the skeletons骷髏 are overgrown發育過度的 by algae藻類.
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接著骨架上就會長滿海藻。
01:51
This is happening事件
over an unbelievable難以置信的 scale規模.
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這種情況以不可思議的程度
一直在發生。
01:54
The Northern北方 Great Barrier屏障 Reef
lost丟失 two-thirds三分之二 of its corals珊瑚蟲 last year
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北大堡礁去年失去三分之二的珊瑚,
01:58
over a distance距離 of hundreds數以百計 of miles英里,
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總長好幾百哩,
02:01
then bleached漂白 again this year,
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今年又再度發生白化,
02:02
and the bleaching stretched拉伸 further進一步 south.
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而且蔓延到南部了。
02:06
Reefs珊瑚礁 in the Pacific和平的
are in a nosedive急轉直下 right now,
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太平洋珊瑚礁的情況一落千丈,
02:08
and no one knows知道
how bad it's going to get,
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沒人知道之後會多慘,
02:10
except ...
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除了……
02:12
over in the Caribbean加勒比 where I work,
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我工作的地方加勒比海,
02:14
we've我們已經 already已經 been through通過 the nosedive急轉直下.
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我們已經撐過谷底。
02:16
Reefs珊瑚礁 there have suffered遭遇
through通過 centuries百年 of intense激烈 human人的 abuse濫用.
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那裡的珊瑚礁百年來
飽受人類摧殘。
我們大概知道
故事會怎麼發展下去。
02:20
We kind of already已經 know
how the story故事 goes.
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02:23
And we might威力 be able能夠 to help predict預測
what happens發生 next下一個.
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我們也許可以協助預測
下一步會發生什麼事。
02:27
Let's consult請教 a graph圖形.
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我們來看個圖表。
02:32
Since以來 the invention發明 of scuba水肺,
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自從潛水肺發明之後,
02:34
scientists科學家們 have measured測量
the amount of coral珊瑚 on the seafloor海底,
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科學家測量海底珊瑚數量,
02:37
and how it's changed through通過 time.
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以及日後的變化。
02:39
And after centuries百年
of ratcheting棘輪效應 human人的 pressure壓力,
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經過幾個世紀
日益加遽的人類壓力,
02:41
Caribbean加勒比 reefs珊瑚礁 met會見 one of three fates命運.
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加勒比海珊瑚礁面臨了三種命運:
02:44
Some reefs珊瑚礁 lost丟失 their corals珊瑚蟲 very quickly很快.
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有些礁快速失去珊瑚;
02:49
Some reefs珊瑚礁 lost丟失 their corals珊瑚蟲 more slowly慢慢地,
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有些礁失去珊瑚的速度慢一點,
02:52
but kind of ended結束 up in the same相同 place地點.
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但結局差不多一樣。
02:55
OK, so far this is not going very well.
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到目前為止不太樂觀。
02:58
But some reefs珊瑚礁 in the Caribbean加勒比 --
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但有些加勒比海珊瑚礁──
03:00
the ones那些 best最好 protected保護
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被保護得最好的那一些,
03:02
and the ones那些 a little
further進一步 from humans人類 --
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還有離人類比較遠的那一些,
03:05
they managed管理 to hold保持 onto their corals珊瑚蟲.
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它們順利保住珊瑚。
03:09
Give us a challenge挑戰.
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這帶給了我們挑戰。
03:12
And, we almost幾乎 never saw a reef hit擊中 zero.
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而且我們幾乎沒見過
一塊珊瑚礁片甲不留。
03:16
The second第二 time I cried哭了 underwater水下
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第二次我在水底哭,
03:18
was on the north shore支撐 of Cura庫拉çaoAO, 2011.
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是 2011 年在古拉索島北岸。
03:22
It was the calmest最平靜 day of the year,
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那是一年之中最平靜的一天,
03:23
but it's always pretty漂亮
sketchy diving潛水 there.
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但在那邊潛水總是很危險。
03:26
My boyfriend男朋友 and I swam against反對 the waves波浪.
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我男友和我游向海浪。
03:28
I watched看著 my compass羅盤
so we could find our way back out,
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我確認指南針,
之後才能找得到回頭路,
03:31
and he watched看著 for sharks鯊魚,
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他在觀察看有沒有鯊魚,
03:32
and after 20 minutes分鐘 of swimming游泳的
that felt like an hour小時,
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游了二十分鐘之後,
感覺就像游了一小時,
03:35
we finally最後 dropped下降 down to the reef,
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我們終於落在珊瑚礁上,
03:37
and I was so shocked吃驚,
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我超驚訝,
03:39
and I was so happy快樂
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而且超開心,
03:40
that my eyes眼睛 filled填充 with tears眼淚.
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讓我熱淚盈眶。
03:43
There were corals珊瑚蟲 1,000 years年份 old
lined up one after another另一個.
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上千年的珊瑚在那裡
一個挨著一個。
03:49
They had survived倖存 the entire整個 history歷史
of European歐洲的 colonialism殖民主義 in the Caribbean加勒比,
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牠們從加勒比海
整個歐洲殖民主義的
歷史中倖存下來,
03:53
and for centuries百年 before that.
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而且在那之前也活了幾個世紀。
03:57
I never knew知道 what a coral珊瑚 could do
when it was given特定 a chance機會 to thrive興旺.
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我從來不知道珊瑚有機會
成長茁壯時,牠能做什麼。
04:02
The truth真相 is that even
as we lose失去 so many許多 corals珊瑚蟲,
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事實是即使我們失去這麼多珊瑚,
04:06
even as we go through通過
this massive大規模的 coral珊瑚 die-off模具關閉,
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即使我們經歷了大量珊瑚相繼死去,
04:09
some reefs珊瑚礁 will survive生存.
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有些珊瑚還是會活下來。
04:11
Some will be ragged破爛 on the edge邊緣,
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有些邊緣會不平整,
04:13
some will be beautiful美麗.
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有些會很美。
04:16
And by protecting保護 shorelines海岸線
and giving us food餐飲 to eat
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珊瑚透過保護海岸線、
供給我們食物
04:18
and supporting支持 tourism旅遊,
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和協助觀光業,
04:20
they will still be worth價值
billions數十億 and billions數十億 of dollars美元 a year.
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未來每年都還是會
提供千百億的價值。
04:24
The best最好 time to protect保護 a reef
was 50 years年份 ago,
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保護珊瑚礁最好的時機點
是在五十年前,
04:26
but the second-best次好的 time is right now.
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第二次則是現在。
04:31
Even as we go through通過 bleaching events事件,
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即使我們經歷的白化事件
越來越頻繁也出現在更多地方,
04:33
more frequent頻繁 and in more places地方,
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04:35
some corals珊瑚蟲 will be able能夠 to recover恢復.
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有些珊瑚還是能復原。
04:38
We had a bleaching event事件
in 2010 in the Caribbean加勒比
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加勒比海在 2010 年
發生過白化事件,
04:41
that took off big patches補丁 of skin皮膚
on boulder漂礫 corals珊瑚蟲 like these.
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造成巨礫珊瑚的表層
像這樣大面積剝落。
04:46
This coral珊瑚 lost丟失 half of its skin皮膚.
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這個珊瑚的表面掉了一半。
04:48
But if you look at the side
of this coral珊瑚 a few少數 years年份 later後來,
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但幾年後,如果你看牠的側邊,
04:53
this coral珊瑚 is actually其實 healthy健康 again.
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牠又變健康了。
04:55
It's doing what a healthy健康 coral珊瑚 does.
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牠會跟健康珊瑚做一樣的事。
04:57
It's making製造 copies副本 of its polyps息肉,
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牠會複製珊瑚蟲、
05:00
it's fighting戰鬥 back the algae藻類
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擊退海藻、
05:01
and it's reclaiming回收 its territory領土.
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收復牠的領土。
05:04
If a few少數 polyps息肉 survive生存,
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如果有些珊瑚蟲活下來,
05:05
a coral珊瑚 can regrow重新長出;
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珊瑚可以重生;
05:06
it just needs需求 time and protection保護
and a reasonable合理 temperature溫度.
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牠要的只是時間、
保護和合理的溫度。
05:11
Some corals珊瑚蟲 can regrow重新長出 in 10 years年份 --
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有些珊瑚可以在十年內復活,
05:13
others其他 take a lot longer.
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有些要很久。
05:14
But the more stresses應力
we take off them locally本地 --
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只要我們在當地減輕牠們越多壓力,
05:17
things like overfishing過度捕撈,
sewage污水 pollution污染, fertilizer肥料 pollution污染,
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像是過度捕撈、
污水污染、肥料污染、
05:21
dredging清淤, coastal沿海 construction施工 --
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拖撈網、海岸工程等,
05:24
the better they can hang on
as we stabilize穩定 the climate氣候,
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牠們就能在我們穩定氣候時撐下來,
05:27
and the faster更快 they can regrow重新長出.
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也就能更快重生。
05:29
And as we go through通過 the long,
tough強硬 and necessary必要 process處理
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我們在採取漫長、艱辛和必要的程序
05:33
of stabilizing穩定 the climate氣候
of planet行星 Earth地球,
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來穩定地球氣候的同時,
05:36
some new corals珊瑚蟲 will still be born天生.
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部分新珊瑚還會繼續誕生。
05:39
This is what I study研究 in my research研究.
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這是我的研究。
05:41
We try to understand理解
how corals珊瑚蟲 make babies嬰兒,
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我們試著了解珊瑚怎麼生小孩,
05:44
and how those babies嬰兒
find their way to the reef,
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還有這些小孩怎麼找到珊瑚礁,
05:46
and we invent發明 new methods方法
to help them survive生存
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我們發明了一種方法,
協助牠們在生命
早期脆弱的階段中存活下來。
05:49
those early, fragile脆弱 life stages階段.
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05:52
One of my favorite喜愛
coral珊瑚 babies嬰兒 of all time
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我一直以來最愛的珊瑚寶寶
05:55
showed顯示 up right after Hurricane颶風 Omar奧馬爾.
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在奧馬爾颶風來襲後出現。
05:57
It's the same相同 species種類
I was studying研究 before the storm風暴,
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那和我在風暴前研究的是同一種,
05:59
but you almost幾乎 never see
babies嬰兒 of this species種類 --
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但一般幾乎看不到這一種的寶寶,
06:02
it's really rare罕見.
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因為牠們真的非常稀有。
06:03
This is actually其實 an endangered瀕危 species種類.
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牠們真的是瀕危物種。
06:06
In this photo照片, this little baby寶寶 coral珊瑚,
this little circle of polyps息肉,
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在這張照片裡,這個小珊瑚寶寶,
這一小團珊瑚蟲,
06:09
is a few少數 years年份 old.
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有幾歲大。
06:11
Like its cousins表兄弟 that bleach漂白,
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牠們像白化的表親一樣
06:13
it's fighting戰鬥 back the algae藻類.
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擊退海藻。
06:15
And like its cousins表兄弟 on the north shore支撐,
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像牠們的在北岸的表親,
06:17
it's aiming瞄準 to live生活 for 1,000 years年份.
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打算要活一千年。
06:21
What's happening事件 in the world世界
and in the ocean海洋
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世界上和海裡發生的事,
06:24
has changed our time horizon地平線.
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會改變我們時程。
06:26
We can be incredibly令人難以置信 pessimistic悲觀
on the short term術語,
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短期內我們可能會非常悲觀,
06:29
and mourn what we lost丟失
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哀悼我們失去的
06:31
and what we really took for granted理所當然.
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和我們過去視為理所當然的一切。
06:34
But we can still be optimistic樂觀
on the long term術語,
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但長期來看我們還是能保持樂觀,
06:36
and we can still be ambitious有雄心
about what we fight鬥爭 for
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我們還是可以對我們要爭取的,
06:39
and what we expect期望 from our governments政府,
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以及對政府和地球的期望
06:42
from our planet行星.
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懷有雄心壯志。
06:44
Corals珊瑚蟲 have been living活的 on planet行星 Earth地球
for hundreds數以百計 of millions百萬 of years年份.
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珊瑚已經在地球上生存數十億年。
06:48
They survived倖存 the extinction滅絕
of the dinosaurs恐龍.
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牠們在恐龍絕跡的時候活了下來。
06:50
They're badasses尋釁鬧事.
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牠們是壞蛋。
06:52
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
06:53
An individual個人 coral珊瑚 can go through通過
tremendous巨大 trauma外傷 and fully充分 recover恢復
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一個珊瑚能在經歷
重大創傷後完全復原,
06:58
if it's given特定 a chance機會
and it's given特定 protection保護.
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只要牠有機會並且得到保護。
07:02
Corals珊瑚蟲 have always
been playing播放 the long game遊戲,
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珊瑚一直都打長久戰,
07:05
and now so are we.
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現在我們也是。
07:07
Thanks謝謝 very much.
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非常感謝。
07:08
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Marssi Draw
Reviewed by Regina Chu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kristen Marhaver - Coral reef biologist
TED Senior Fellow Kristen Marhaver is a marine biologist studying the ecology, behavior and reproduction of reef corals.

Why you should listen

Dr. Kristen Marhaver's work combines classic scientific methods with new technologies to help threatened coral species survive their early life stages. She was the first person to rear juveniles of the endangered Caribbean Pillar Coral. Now she's now developing bacterial tools to improve coral survival at all life stages.

Marhaver's research has been covered by NPR, BBC, The Atlantic and Popular Science, among hundreds of outlets. She's earned five fellowships and grants from the US National Science Foundation and multiple awards for science communication. Marhaver is a TED Senior Fellow, a WINGS Fellow, and a World Economic Forum Young Scientist.

Outside the lab, Marhaver advocates for stronger ocean conservation and smarter science communication. Her talks and articles have been featured by Google, Wired UK, Mission Blue and by ocean and scuba festivals around the world.

A scuba diver from the age of 15, Marhaver is a graduate of Georgia Institute of Technology and the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her lab is based at the CARMABI Research Station on the island of Curaçao.

More profile about the speaker
Kristen Marhaver | Speaker | TED.com