VOA慢速英语20220809

Florida’s sea turtle population is changing because of hot weather.

由于天气炎热，佛罗里达州的海龟数量正在发生变化。

Recent heat waves in the southern state have made the sand on the beaches so hot that almost of all the sea turtles born there are female.

这个南部州最近的热浪使海滩上的沙子变得非常热，以至于几乎所有在那里出生的海龟都是雌性的。

When a mother sea turtle digs a nest for her eggs on the beach, the temperature of the sand decides the sex, or gender, of the baby sea turtles, called hatchlings.

当海龟妈妈在海滩上为她的蛋挖巢时，沙子的温度决定了小海龟（即新孵化出的小海龟）的性别。

Bette Zirkelbach is the manager of the Turtle Hospital in the town of Marathon in the Florida Keys, an archipelago off the southern coast of the state.

贝蒂·齐克尔巴赫是佛罗里达群岛马拉松镇海龟医院的经理，佛罗里达群岛位于该州南部海岸。

Zirkelbach said that the past four summers have been the hottest on record in Florida, leading to more female sea turtles.

齐克尔巴赫说，过去的四个夏天是佛罗里达州有记录以来最热的四个夏天，这导致雌性海龟的数量增多。

"Scientists that are studying sea turtle hatchlings and eggs have found no boy sea turtles, so only female sea turtles for the past four years."

“正在研究新孵化出的小海龟和海龟蛋的科学家没有发现雄性海龟，所以在过去的四年里只有雌性海龟。”

She said that an Australian study showed a similar effect in which “99 percent of the new sea turtle babies are female,” Zirkelbach said.

齐克尔巴赫说，澳大利亚的一项研究显示了类似的效果，“99%的新出生的海龟宝宝是雌性的。”

NOAA is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. government weather agency.

美国国家海洋和大气管理局是美国政府气象机构。

NOAA’s National Ocean Service website says the sex of sea turtles is not determined at the time of fertilization, but by the temperature of developing eggs.

美国国家海洋和大气管理局的国家海洋服务网站表示，海龟的性别不是在受精时决定的，而是由蛋发育时的温度决定的。

So, if the sand is very hot and the eggs are above 31 degrees Celsius, the hatchlings will be female.

因此，如果沙子很热，蛋的温度超过31摄氏度，新孵化出的小海龟将是雌性的。

If the temperature is below 27.7 degrees Celsius, then the turtle babies will be male.

如果温度低于27.7摄氏度，那么海龟宝宝将是雄性的。

Melissa Rosales Rodriguez is a sea turtle keeper at the turtle hospital at the Miami Zoo.

梅丽莎·罗萨莱斯·罗德里格斯是迈阿密动物园海龟医院的一名海龟饲养员。

She said, “Over the years, you're going to see a sharp decline in their population because we just don't have the genetic diversity. We don't have the male-to-female ratio needed in order to be able to have successful breeding sessions.”

她说：“多年来，你会看到它们的数量急剧减少，因为我们没有基因多样性。我们没有成功繁殖所需的雄性与雌性比例。

Both turtle hospitals have also been fighting turtle tumors.

这两家海龟医院也一直在与海龟肿瘤作斗争。

The tumors are called fibropapillomatosis, or FP.

这种肿瘤被称为海龟纤维性乳突瘤症。

Among turtles, the tumors are contagious.

这种肿瘤在海龟中是会传染的。

They can be deadly for the animals if they are not treated.

如果不治疗，它们对海龟来说可能是致命的。

Zirkelbach would like to save every turtle she can by opening up more turtle hospitals, especially since the future of the population is at risk from climate change and disease.

齐克尔巴赫希望通过开设更多的海龟医院来拯救她能拯救的每一只海龟，尤其是在海龟种群未来面临气候变化和疾病威胁的情况下。

"The Turtle Hospital was the first. But, sadly and fortunately, there's a need all throughout Florida," she said.

她说：“海龟医院是第一家。但不幸而又幸运的是，整个佛罗里达州都需要”。

I’m Faith Pirlo.

费斯·皮尔洛为您播报。