在广袤的太平洋上 有一个特殊的地方 In the vastness of the Pacific, there's a place unlike any other
迷人的火山群岛聚集着 Enchanted volcanic islands that are home to a remarkable
各种各样的动植物 collection of animals and plants.
在这里，进化 Here, evolution is proceeding
正以惊人的速度进行着 with spectacular speed.
在海中游泳的黑蜥蜴 Black Lizards that swim in the ocean
把盐从鼻子里吐了出来 and spit salt from their noses.
离南极数千英里的企鹅 Penguins thousand of miles from Antarctica
大量的稀有植物 And an abundance of unique plants
一些动物是很微小的 Some Animals are tiny
一些最近才发现的 And some have only just been discovered.
这真的是一个神奇的地方 This is a place of wonders
加拉帕戈斯群岛 Galapagos
浴火重生的岛屿 Islands born of fire
这的原居民们已经改变了我们 With inhabitants that have transformed
对整个地球上生物的 our understanding of the whole of life
理解 on earth.
在我拍摄自然历史影片的一生中 In a lifetime spent making natural history films,
我已经去过许多奇妙的地方 I've been to many wonderful places
但没有地方比这更特别了 But none more extraordinary than here.
加拉帕戈斯群岛 The Galapagos Islands
这些被称作是“大自然最伟大的实验” These have been called natures greatest experiment
在这里 生物的进化史孤立的 For here, life has evolved in isolation
产生了许多特殊的结果 and produced some extraordinary results
【起源】
加拉帕戈斯群岛的特殊生物使得查尔斯·达尔文 The extraordinary creatures of Galapagos astounded Charles Darwin
两百年前第一次来到这里时很惊愕 When he first came here 200 years ago
它们使他明确的表达出了 They led him to formulate his revelatory theory
自然选择的进化论 of evolution by natural selection.
两百年后的今天 And now 200 years later
仍有许多未解之谜 There are still mysteries to be solved
和新的发现有待解决 And new discoveries to be made.
科学家们正在调查 Teams of scientists are investigating unexplored
位于遥远岛屿的未开发地区 regions of the remoter islands
寻找迄今未为人知的动物 And discovering hither to unknown animals.
在火山的顶部 On the peaks of its volcanoes
内部巨大的通道网络内 Inside networks of immense tunnels
有着熔岩流 within the lava flows.
和水晶般清澈的海水 And in it's crystal clear waters.
在大量的庞然大物中 Among a population of giants
在被显微镜揭示出来的神奇世界里 and in the magical world that is revealed by the microscope
新技术使得科学家们 New technologies are enabling scientists
能用新手段来调查这里的进化方式 to investigate the workings of evolution in new ways
明白了许多曾经让达尔文震惊的东西 And producing insights that would have astonished Darwin himself
如今我们对这些岛屿了解的更多了 Today we know a lot more about these islands
发现新的物种 the discovery of new species,
长达几十年的研究 long term studies extending over decades
已经给了我们不仅仅是局限于这里的启发 have given us new perspectives not just on this place
也有对世界范围内进化过程的启发 But on the process of evolution worldwide.
该群岛离南美海岸六百英里 The islands lie 600 miles from the coast of South America
横跨赤道 and straddle the equator
有16个岛屿 there are 16 of them
还有众多的小岛屿 and a multitude of small islands
都被巨大的海洋 All separated from the rest of the world
跟这个世界隔离着 by the huge expanse of ocean
伊莎贝拉是最大的岛屿 The biggest island is Isabella
它位于群岛的中心 Lying in the centre of the group
它有一个奇怪的海马形状 it has a strange seahorse like shape
这是因为它是 That is because it originated
由六个分开的火山 as 6 separate volcanoes
最后合成一个大岛的 which eventually fused into one great island.
它们中最遥远的是阿尔斯多火山 The most remote of them is Alcedo
它的火山口直径有四英里 its vast crater is 4 miles across
巨大的陡峭山壁 The huge steep-sided walls,
仍然喷发着的火山蒸汽 still smoking with jets of volcanic gas and steam,
构成了加拉帕戈斯群岛中这个最孤立的岛屿之一 make this one of the most isolated places in the Galapagos.
这已经成了一种岛上 And it has become a sanctuary for one of the islands'
最雄伟的居民的圣地 most spectacular inhabitants.
(GRUNTING)
巨龟 Giant tortoises.
(GRUNTING)
有数以千计的陆龟 There are thousands of them.
它们都是特别的动物 These are the extraordinary creatures that gave their name
这些岛屿就是以它们的名字命名的 to the islands.
加拉帕戈斯在西班牙语的意思是“龟” Galapagos in Spanish means tortoise and here,
在这的阿尔斯多火山坑里 in the pit of the volcano Alcedo, they've assembled in quite
在温暖的火山泥浆中打滚 some numbers to wallow in the warm volcanic mud.
一只大龟重达二百五十公斤 A big one can weigh as much as a quarter of a ton.
它们能够活100年甚至更多 They live for up to 100 years or more, which makes them
这使得它们成为脊椎动物中最长寿的动物,作为爬行动物 amongst the most long-lived of all vertebrates. And being reptiles,
它们能通过晒太阳获得能量 they get their energy by basking in the sun.
它们的身体如此巨大以至于一旦它们充满了能量 But their bodies are so big that once they are warmed up,
就能坚持很长一段时间 they can carry on browsing for quite a long time.
这些生物的存在 The existence of creatures like these,
离着最近的大陆还如此之远 这造成了许多困惑 so far from the nearest continent, poses many questions.
例如 How, for example,
这些巨大的龟们起初是如何到达这些岛屿的 did these enormous beasts get to the islands in the first place?
但可能关于加拉帕戈斯陆龟最奇特的事情 But perhaps the most extraordinary thing about the Galapagos
是它们并不是完全一样的 tortoises is that they're not all the same.
不同的岛屿有许多不同类型的海龟 Different islands have different kinds.
在鼎盛时期有15种 In their heyday there were 15 species.
在这个小岛屿群中 They seem to have appeared in an evolutionary blink of the eye
它们似乎一眨眼就出现了 in this tiny cluster of islands.
他们并不孤单 And the tortoises are not alone in this.
几乎这些岛屿上的每一种动物和植物都有类似的故事 Almost every animal and plant in the islands has a similar story.
这些动物移民们从它们一到这 The animal colonists began to change from the moment they arrived,
就在严酷的火山环境的驱使下开始改变 driven to do so by the harsh volcanic landscape around them.
有证据表明这些岛屿周围 There is evidence all around these islands of their direct
跟地壳深层的熔炉是直接连在一块的 connection with the furnaces deep in the Earth's crust.
但直到最近 But it wasn't until recently that we
我们才意识到这里的这些联系是何等紧密的 realised just how close those connections are, here.
在加拉帕戈斯群岛这的地壳的下面 Underneath the section of the Earth's crust
有些特殊的东西 on which Galapagos sits, there is something extraordinary.
一排正在上升的巨大熔岩 A gigantic column of super-heated molten rock rising upwards.
这个热点是巨大的 This hot spot is immense.
至少有60英里宽 At least 60 miles across.
它向下延伸了1800英里 It extends downwards for 1800 miles
把这些岛屿和地球中心联系在了一起 and connects the islands to the very centre of the Earth.
基于最新地震学资料的这幅图片 This image, based on the very latest seismological data,
展示了地壳下的热点 shows the hot spot from underneath the crust.
这是这些岛屿上的火山活动的源头 This is the source of the islands' volcanic activity.
四百万年前它就开始建立加拉帕戈斯群岛了 It began to build the Galapagos four million years ago.
一系列的岛屿，从海上升起 A series of islands emerged from the sea.
至目前为止，有16个岛屿，所有这些都是火山岛 Today, there are 16 of them, all of which are volcanoes.
现在大部分都消失了，最古老的已经坍塌进海里去了 Most are now extinct and the oldest are crumbling into the sea.
但是较新的岛屿仍然在活跃的喷发着 But the newer islands are still active and spitting fire.
费尔南迪纳是最年轻的岛屿 The youngest is Fernandina
五十万年前它从海里升了上来 It rose from the sea just 500,000 years ago.
因为它仍然是活火山 And because it's still active,
覆盖的熔岩仍然是未风化的 the lava fields that cover it are still unweathered.
在这里这片荒凉贫瘠的地方，我们能看到 And here, in this desolate, barren place, we can see how the
一个伟大的自然实验的要素是如何组合到一起的 ingredients of a great natural experiment came together.
命运把这些岛屿放在了这个星球上的一个特殊的点上 Fate placed these islands in a unique spot on this planet.
它们坐落在赤道上,一年四季有持久的温暖 They lie plumb on the equator, with its year-long warmth
和充足的阳光. 但也许更重要的是 and sunshine. But perhaps, more importantly,
它们也处在两股相互竞争的季风之间的中心点上 they also lie at the crossroads between two competing winds.
东南信风来自南美 The southeast trade winds blow up from South America
东北西风 and the northeast trades come down
来自加勒比海和中美洲 from the Caribbean and Central America.
这两股风是加拉帕戈斯群岛的命脉 These two winds are the lifeblood of the Galapagos.
它们把早期的定居者们带到了新兴的火山岛上 They carried the earliest settlers to the emerging volcanic islands.
种子从树上飘落在美国的中部和南部 Seeds falling from trees in south and central America
在吹过数百英里海洋后 Where blown across hundreds of miles of ocean
大多数在海上迷失了方向 Most were lost at sea
那些少数到达岛屿的 Of those few that reached the islands
大部分落在贫瘠灼热的石头上 Many fell on sterile baking hot rocks
but just a few were luckier
This extraordinary species is related to dandelions
And its found a way to grow where there is neither soil nor rain
a wind blown seed arrives and drops in a crevice in the lava
moisture collects and causes it to germinate
with its tiny leaves it manages to collect more moisture
and the infinite testable quantities of nutrients
that moisture from the skies might contain
some of these leaves may look dead
and indeed they are, the plant is deliberately shedding them
Its ensuring that nothing it produces is wasted
its creating its own soil
And eventually, after 80 to 100 years
it produced this
Scalacia, which seems to grow straight out of naked rock
After such tiny beginnings
This extraordinary plant
has gone from strength to strength
Today whole forest of giant dandelions
blanket the highest slopes of the islands
But some plants use a more direct mode of transport
than a mere gust of wind
the bird
The albatross is king of long distance flight
it spends most of its life on the wind
But each year it lands somewhere
to breed and raise a chick
The appearance of a new island in the middle of the ocean
provided albatross's with a new nesting site
And often these huge birds brought hitchhikers
seeds stuck to their feet and feathers
They may even have given their hitchhikers a head start
with a nice packet of fertilizer.
So gradually small patches of vegetation began to appear
on the newly emerged islands
the seeds of most trees are too big
to be carried far by birds, or the wind
but those that habitually grow along the coast
can use a different form of transport
This is the seed of a mangrove
and when it falls it drops into the sea
and floats
this part of it is green
so it can make food like a leaf can
and the seed can remain at sea alive
for a very long time
but eventually it may float into an estuary
and there the water is brackish an less buoyant
so they heavy end of the seed falls
and it hangs through the water like this
and its tip it may be at low tide
trails into the mud and sticks
and the mangrove has planted itself
these trees are very effective colonists of a newly formed islands
the young seedlings quickly establish themselves
their tangles arching roots form a grid
which slows down the tidal water surging through them
causing it drop it sediment as mud
At low tide all kinds of creatures come out
to scavenge among the roots
and when the tide is high other creatures swim in
to find shelter
the waters around the tangled roots serve as nuserys
for many species of fish
so plants created habitats
where animals could survive both in water and out of it
最先来这的一些动物是蜘蛛 Some of the very first animals here were spiders.
今天在加拉帕戈斯群岛大约有 There are some 150 different known species of them
150种不同的已知种类的蜘蛛 in the Galapagos today,
它们旅行的方式是靠它们自己 and they travel in a way that is all their own -
它们的气球 they balloon.
许多物种孵化的时候使用经过特殊改造的丝 The hatch-lings of many species use specially adapted silk.
一只幼蛛爬到叶尖或者树枝上 A spider-ling climbs to the tip of a leaf or a twig.
在那它从肚子尾部的吐丝器 There, it produces a thread of silk from the spinnerets
生出了一条丝线 at the end of its abdomen.
这个3D电子显微镜展示了这条丝 This 3D electron micrograph shows that this thread is actually
实际上是由两股粘在一起 two filaments that are stuck together.
它像刀片一样平 It's flattened like a blade.
最轻的风也会吹动它 The slightest wind will catch it.
一旦有了足够强大的风 Once a gust is strong enough,
蜘蛛会松脚被带上去 the spider-ling lets go with its feet and is carried up
离开这里 and away.
一些蜘蛛能漂浮到几千米的高空 Some can float up to an altitude of several thousand metres.
And up there in the trade winds millions of years ago,
and doubtless many times since,
它们中有些就经过600英里的旅程来到了加拉帕戈斯群岛 some of them made the 600 mile journey to the Galapagos.
漂浮在空中的蜘蛛并不孤单 And spiders were not alone, floating through the skies.
许多物种都是通过来自南美大陆的风 Many different forms of life were brought
被带到这里的 here by the wind from the South American continent -
种子，花粉 seeds, pollen,
病毒，细菌 viruses, bacteria,
藻类和昆虫 algae and insects.
昆虫在大多数的生态系统中当然是相当重要的 Insects, of course, are extremely important in most ecosystems.
它们为植物授粉 They pollinate plants
它们是许多动物的食物 and they're food for many other kinds of animals.
到了这的物种几乎都是较小的 The species that reached here are nearly all the smaller
南美物种 South American species.
块头大的因为太重而不能进行这趟飞行之旅 The bigger ones were too heavy to make the journey.
但是一种相当大的昆虫做到了 But one quite large insect did so.
它的到来开启了加拉帕戈斯群岛 And its arrival started a new phase in the colonisation
动物殖民化的新纪元 of the Galapagos.
动物殖民化的新纪元 It was a beetle.
甲壳虫是自然界中最伟大的回收者 Beetles are nature's great recyclers.
它们咀嚼有机物帮助制造土壤 They chew up organic matter and that helps to create soil.
甲壳虫有着相当大的体型 也有一双大翅膀 Beetles have sizable bodies but also large wings.
这使得它成为能借助信风通道 That made it possible for one species to make
到达加拉帕戈斯群岛的一种动物 a wind-assisted passage to the Galapagos.
在这里，甲虫开始改变 Once here, these beetles began to change.
后代们的翅膀更小 Later generations had smaller wings.
事实上 一些加拉帕戈斯群岛的甲壳虫甚至完全没有翅膀了 In fact, some Galapagos beetles lost their wings altogether.
那些有着更小翅膀的甲壳虫更可能静止的停留在原地 Those individuals with smaller wings were much more likely to stay put.
这是因为把甲壳虫带到这里的大翅膀 That is because the big wings that brought the beetles here can
一样能把它们带走 equally well carry them off again.
被用这种随意的方式一起带到这的昆虫和动物 Insects and plants that were brought together in this very
现在开始建立新的关系 arbitrary way now began to establish new relationships.
但这有着一种特别的深远影响 But one, in particular, had a very far-reaching effect.
有时，令人惊讶的是 Sometimes, surprisingly perhaps,
飞行的昆虫到达加拉帕戈斯群岛不是通过空中 而是海洋 flying insects arrived in the Galapagos not by air, but by sea.
在这块木头里 Inside this piece of wood,
有一窝小木蜂,它们的祖先 there is a nest of a little carpenter bee, whose ancestors
肯定也是用这种方式到达这里的 must certainly have arrived here in that way.
这种不起眼的生物对于大多数新长出来的植物 This unimpressive little creature was to be of great help to
有着很大的好处 many of the newly-established plants.
它以它们的花蜜为食并且为它们传粉 It fed on their nectar and pollinated them.
木蜂仍然是岛屿上主要的传粉者 Carpenter bees are still the main pollinators on the islands.
植物也做出了相应的适应 And the plants have adapted accordingly.
几乎加拉帕戈斯群岛上所有的 Nearly all the flowers on the Galapagos
不是白色 are now either white
就是黄色 or yellow.
这是木蜂喜欢的颜色 Those are the colours preferred by the carpenter bees,
所以没有别的颜色了 so there's no point in being anything else.
陆地的动物蓬勃的生长着 So, land plants flourished.
在海洋里,还有另外一个因素，帮助移民们 In the sea, there was another factor that helped the colonists.
奇怪的是它不是来自最近的南美大陆 Amazingly, it came not from the nearest land, South America
而是来自8000英里外 but from 8,000 miles away,
横跨太平洋的另一个方向 西方 across the Pacific in the other direction, to the West.
来自新几内亚的热带雨林 From the tropical rainforests of New Guinea.
雨水冲刷了森林土壤的营养物质 Rain washes nutrients from the forest soil,
排入河的下流 down streams into rivers
最终流入海洋 and finally, into the ocean.
在那里，他们被洋流卷走 And there, swept up by the currents,
横跨太平洋被带到了加拉帕戈斯群岛 they're carried across the Pacific to the Galapagos.
它们并不是在海表面被带过来的 They travel not near the surface
而是被深处的一股冷水流带来的 but in the depths, by a cold water current.
这些是在岛屿这集中的三分之一 It's one of three that converge on the islands.
另外一个洋流来自巴拿马盆地 Another comes from the Panama Basin,
还有一股起源于秘鲁附近 and yet another originates near Peru.
营养物的汇集对于岛上的生物 This convergence of currents has had a remarkable
有着显著的影响 impact on life in the islands.
由斯图尔特·班克斯领导的海洋生物学家们 Scientists led by Marine biologist Stuart Banks
正在寻找为什么加拉帕戈斯群岛有着如此丰富的野生动植物资源 are today investigating their effect.
从某种意义来说，加拉帕戈斯群岛独特在于 Well, Galapagos is unique in the sense that it's
它是一个处于热带地区的系统 a system in the Tropics, it's lying right on the equator under
它恰好处在赤道上强烈的阳光下 the strong equatorial sun and these are usually systems
这些通常是被认为往往会产生沙漠 which are considered to be deserts for productivity.
但是加拉帕戈斯群岛是不同的 But Galapagos is different.
有一个河流的独特影响 最重要的是 There's a unique confluence of currents and most importantly,
一股被称为太平洋赤道潜流的海底暗流 a submarine undercurrent called the Cromwell current,
这些暗流把微量营养素带到这些阳光照射的 and these undercurrents are bringing micro-nutrients up into these
海域 sunlit waters.
太平洋上的加拉帕戈斯群岛 The Galapagos Islands in the open Pacific
位于这些暗流汇聚的必经之路上 lie in the path of these converging currents.
它们温度比较低 They deflect the cold,
充满营养素的暗流流上来跟温暖的海水混合 nutrient-laden waters upwards to mingle with the warm water above.
这种混合为大量的漂浮微生植物 This mixing creates ideal conditions for a vast
创造了理想的条件 community of floating microscopic plants.
浮游植物 Phytoplankton.
每个生物只有几微米大小 Each tiny organism is only a few microns across
肉眼看不到 and invisible to the naked eye.
但是这些一点一点的生物支持了整个加拉帕戈斯群岛的生态系统 Yet these specks of life underpin the whole Galapagos ecosystem.
这里的来自新几内亚的肥料 And here the fertilizer from New Guinea enables them
使它们无论在数量还是种类上都增长迅速 to hugely increase in both variety and number.
科学家们现在发现这些岛屿自己 Scientists have now discovered that the islands themselves provide
也为浮游植物提供了一些对其生长很重要的物质 the phytoplankton with something that is crucial for its growth.
一种对生长很重要的元素 A vital life-enhancing element -
铁 iron.
撞击到群岛西边的暗流 Now the undercurrent which hits the western side of the archipelago,
这有点像，想象一下一根软管靠在墙上 it's a bit like, imagining, pointing a hose against the side of a wall.
它分成了一股股分散到群岛周围 It forms filaments that physically spread around the archipelago
海面上的细流 and up into the surface.
我们可以认为是它对群岛火山平台的 And it's thought that it's the abrasion
磨损和过滤 and the leaching against the volcanic platform
把铁带到了海水的表面 of the islands which is bringing iron up into the surface waters.
因此，由于特殊情况 So, thanks to that unique situation,
往往使很多的浮游植物繁殖生长 you tend to get these huge phytoplankton blooms and this
数以百万级的微小生物体聚集到了一块 is literally millions of these tiny organisms coming together.
这幅基于卫星数据的特殊照片 This extraordinary image, based on satellite data,
表现出了浮游植物是如何茂盛的生长和随着季节收缩的 shows how blooms of phytoplankton grow and shrink over the seasons.
这些不计其数的微生植物支撑了 These astronomic numbers of microscopic plants support
另一个庞大的种群 another vast community.
微生动物 Microscopic animals -
或浮游动物 zoo-plankton.
在这里的波浪下 Here, under the waves,
有一个相当复杂和异常美丽的动物世界 there is a living world of extraordinary complexity and beauty.
所有这些微小的生物都是依靠 All these tiny creatures are dependent on the rich
茂盛的浮游植物生存的 blooms of the phytoplankton.
一些动物吃植物 Some graze on them.
另一些又以这些动物为食 Others graze on the grazers.
许多同样奇特的动物以这些丰富的海水为食 Many equally extraordinary creatures feed on the rich soup.
从这些小的甲壳类动物 From small crustaceans
小水母 and juvenile jellyfish,
到许多小鱼 to the young of many fish.
这些微小的动植物反过来 These tiny animals and plants, in turn, support shoals of larger
养活了成群结队的大鱼,种类和数量如此众多的鱼们 fish that swarm in such numbers and variety that they make
使得加拉帕戈斯群岛海域成为最多样化的海洋生态系统 the Galapagos waters among the most diverse of all marine ecosystems.
许多动物们直接以浮游生物为食 Many extraordinary creatures feed directly on the plankton itself.
例如这种较小的花园鳗鱼 Garden eels are quite small,
只有大约15厘米长 some 15cm or so long.
但一些较大的鱼也吃浮游生物 But much bigger fish also feed on the plankton.
它们反过来成了其它捕食者们的佳肴 They, in turn, are food for hunters.
在它们当中 加拉帕戈斯群岛鲨鱼 Among them, the Galapagos shark,
是虎鲨的一种旁支 a relative of the tiger shark.
如今聚集在这的路氏双髻鲨的数量 And scalloped hammerhead sharks, which today congregate
是世界上其他任何地方都无可比拟的 here in numbers that are unequaled anywhere else in the world.
大量的雌性鲨鱼 Huge schools of females are often surrounded by an outer
常常被外圈巡逻的雄性鲨鱼包围着 ring of patrolling males.
没人能确定这时会发生什么 No one is quite sure what's happening at these times.
可能是它们的求偶行为 It's probably part of their mating behaviour.
这的许多海岸物种都是这些岛屿独有的 Many coastal species are unique to these islands.
这是红唇蝙蝠鱼 This is the red-lipped bat-fish.
它较低的鳍已经进化了 Its lower fins have been modified to enable it to
使它能潜行海底 prowl across the seafloor.
the galapagos sea robin can also walk
and flashes its light petrol fins to frighten away predators
管口鱼这样一个细长的身体 the trumpet fish has such an elongated body
这是很难看到的，所以它能够潜行到猎物 that is hard to see, so its able to sneak up to its prey
这里也有庞然大物 And there are giants here too.
这是翻车鲀，也就是翻车鱼 This is the Mola Mola, the sunfish.
体型很大 It's huge,
有3米长 嗜在它的侧面 three metres across and addicted to lying on its side at the surface.
它能吃大量的水母 It eats vast quantities of jellyfish.
在这片海域中不仅仅有鱼，也有哺乳动物 And there are not only fish swimming in these waters, there are mammals.
海狮,他们的祖先最早来自加州海岸 Sea lions, whose ancestors originally came from the coasts of California.
加拉帕戈斯浮游生物非常丰富 The Galapagos plankton is so abundant,
它吸引了一些最大的海洋哺乳动物 it attracts some of the biggest of all ocean mammals -
座头鲸 humpback whales.
和它们体型相媲美的所有鱼中最大的 And rivaling them in size, the biggest of all fish,
鲸鲨可达20吨 the 20-ton whale shark.
世界上几乎没有别的地方的海洋能在物种的纯粹性和海洋生物的丰富性 Few parts of the world's oceans can equal these Galapagos
方面达到跟加拉帕戈斯群岛海域一样的水平 waters for sheer variety and abundance of marine life.
这种丰富 And this richness in turn has attracted a great
也吸引了大量的海鸟 variety of sea birds.
许多都是长度奔袭来的 Many are long-distance travelers.
这些岛屿已经成为方圆数百英里海域最合适鸟类们 The islands have become the best place in hundreds of square
休息和繁育的地方 miles of open ocean for many birds to rest and to breed.
鹈鹕的活动范围横跨整个太平洋 The Nazca Boobies range across the whole of the Pacific
但这种信天翁（摆手信天翁） 只生活在这里 but this waved albatross lives nowhere else but here.
雄性军舰鸟在他的颈部下面有着一片猩红色皮肤 The male frigate bird has a pouch of scarlet skin hanging from his neck.
在繁殖季节 During the breeding season,
他把这充气膨胀起来来吸引伴侣或者驱赶竞争者 he inflates it to attract a mate or see off a rival.
还有另一种鲣鸟 There's also another kind of Booby -
蓝脚鲣鸟 the blue-footed.
他那鲜艳的蓝脚是他求偶展示中的关键因素 His spectacular feet are the key elements in his courtship
这个时候他会尝试说服对方 display in which he tries to persuade his mate
他是周围脚最蓝的那只 that his really are the bluest feet around.
鲣鸟是优秀的捕鱼手 Boobies are superb fishermen.
一旦它们发现了鱼群,它们会飞到25米高 Once they spot a shoal, they fly out to a height of 25 metres
然后以60英里或者更快的时速冲入水中 and then they dive into the water at speeds of 60 miles per hour or more.
高速撞击水面的力量足以杀死许多鸟 Hitting the water with such force could kill many birds
但鲣鸟的头部有着特殊的能起缓冲作用的气囊 but boobies have special air sacs in their heads that cushion the impact.
鸬鹚（鱼鹰）是沿海鸟类而不是跨海旅行者 Cormorants are coastal birds rather than ocean travelers
所以他们完全是由于偶然因素才到了加拉帕戈斯群岛的 so they can only have arrived in the Galapagos by accident, having
可能是被风暴刮来的 probably been swept out to sea by a gale.
但是它们很久以前就来到这里 But they arrived a very long time ago
并生存了下来 and they stayed.
跟世界其他地方的鸬鹚一样 Like cormorants worldwide,
加拉帕戈斯群岛鸬鹚也是游泳好手 the Galapagos species is a superb swimmer.
它的双腿就像有力的桨 Its legs are powerful paddles.
体型是美丽的流线型 And the body itself is beautifully streamlined.
实际上鸬鹚是在水下飞的 In effect,the cormorant flies underwater
它肯定能捉到许多的鱼 and it's certainly able to out-manoeuvre many a fish.
加拉帕戈斯群岛海岸对于鸬鹚是一个很好的地方 The Galapagos coast is a great place for a cormorant.
有很多理想的筑巢地点 There are plenty of excellent nesting sites.
没有能威胁到处于这样一个脆弱环境中的 And there are no land predators that might threaten a bird
鸟类的陆地捕食者 sitting in such a vulnerable place.
它的祖先们刚到这里的时候 Its ancestors, when they first arrived, had wings
有着跟其他鸬鹚一样的翅膀 like any other cormorant.
但是由于不需要飞行 But with no need to fly,
它的翅膀一代代的变的越来越小 its wings over generations became smaller and smaller.
现在 仅仅是覆盖几根羽毛的短肢了 Now, they are mere stumps with a few tattered feathers.
现在它们想飞也飞不起来了 So now, the bird can't fly even if it wanted to.
由于它不会飞 And since it's flightless,
加拉帕戈斯鸬鹚现在比其他任何会飞的鸬鹚都要重 there is no disadvantage in growing bigger and the Galapagos
由于没有什么麻烦 cormorant is now heavier than any of its flying relatives.
海边也有许多鱼 With nothing to hassle it and plenty of fish in the sea alongside,
鸬鹚们现在能专心照顾它们的后代了 the cormorants can now concentrate on caring for their young.
实际上 甚至一些能在每季生三窝 And in fact, some manage to raise three broods each season.
在这还有另一种永久居民 But there is another permanent resident here whose history
它的历史可能更加辉煌 is even more remarkable.
它的祖先生活在5000英里外的南极 Its ancestors lived 5,000 miles away in the Antarctic.
这就是企鹅 That creature was a penguin.
企鹅是远洋游泳者 Penguins are ocean-going swimmers
但一千多年前一些企鹅 but a few thousand years ago some of them
被卷进洪保德海流带到了 got caught in the cold waters of the Humboldt current and were carried
北边的南美海岸然后到加拉帕戈斯 northwards up the coast of South America and out to the Galapagos.
它们几乎找不到 They could hardly have found anywhere more
比它们的故乡南极更困难的地方了 different from their polar home
所以它们开始改变 and in response, they changed.
南极附近的帝王企鹅 The emperor penguin that lives near the South Pole stands over
站起来有1米高 a meter high.
加拉帕戈斯企鹅 The Galapagos penguin
现在只有一半高 is now only half as tall.
它是整个企鹅家族中最小的 It's the smallest of the whole penguin family.
这在加拉帕戈斯群岛有很大的好处 And that helps a lot in the Galapagos.
小动物散热比大动物快的多 Small animals lose heat much faster than big ones.
企鹅们也学会了一些行为技巧 And the penguins have developed behavioral tricks as well.
赤脚容易晒伤 Bare feet are easily sun burnt
所以它们努力把脚盖住 so they do their best to keep them covered.
岛屿周围的海水有些是很冷的 And some parts of the sea around the islands are quite cool.
洪保德海流 从南极流过来并冲刷着 The Humboldt current, flowing up from the Antarctic and washing
群岛的西部,是非常寒冷的 around the western parts of the archipelago, is still quite chilly.
所以大多数的企鹅都呆在两个 So, most of the penguins stay in the channel between the two
最西边的岛屿之间的海峡 western-most islands.
当这里变得很热的时候,它们仍然能通过游泳来降温 And when things get really hot, they can still cool off with a swim.
它们能快速的发现微小的 They're quick to detect the slightest
温度变化,然后转移到有暗流能带来 variation in temperature and move around to find places where
满意的寒冷的地方 an eddy might have brought a pleasing chill.
企鹅的到来肯定是加拉帕戈斯群岛整个动物移民史上 The arrival of penguins must be the most unlikely
最不可能发生的事情 event in the whole story of the colonisation of the Galapagos.
但最重要的 But the most important
和最有影响力的动物还没出现 and influential animals had yet to appear.
不是鸟类 Not birds,
而是爬行动物 but reptiles.
数百万年前,在南美或中美洲的某个地方 Many million years ago, somewhere in South or Central America,
一种爬行动物 鬣蜥 a reptile, an iguana,
生活在一些大河边上 was grazing close to the banks of one of the great rivers.
可能它以浮游植物为食 Perhaps it was feeding on floating vegetation.
也许从树上落到这样的筏上 Maybe it fell onto such a raft from a tree.
大片的浮游植物 Patches of floating vegetation are still swept
被洪水或者热带风暴冲刷到河口 out into the estuaries by flash floods or tropical storms.
许多都是很大的 Many are quite big,
足够支撑一只一米长的鬣蜥 and easily buoyant enough to support a meter-long iguana.
有时 它们一块漂浮到了大海上 And sometimes, they don't break up but float out to the open ocean.
没人知道到底有几千种不同种类的动物 Who knows how many thousands of animals of many kinds have been
由于饥饿和暴晒死在了像这样的筏上 lost at sea on rafts like these, dying from thirst and exposure.
然而，爬行动物，是很坚强的 But reptiles are very tough.
它们能不吃不喝几天 几周 甚至几个月 They can go without food or water for days, weeks, even months.
没有哺乳动物能够在这样的艰苦环境中生存下来 No mammal can survive such hardships as long as they can.
在加拉帕戈斯群岛历史上的某一时刻 And, at some point in the history of the Galapagos, the currents
一只鬣蜥漂过600海里被海流带到了岛上 carried an iguana across 600 miles of ocean to the islands.
毫无疑问，这已经发生了不止一次 No doubt it happened not once but several times.
鬣蜥在这定居并成倍增加 And here, the iguanas settled and multiplied.
如今在这有数以千计的鬣蜥 Today, there are thousands of them.
如此多 如此广泛的分布在整个岛上 So many, and so widely distributed throughout the islands,
它们现在是加拉帕戈斯群岛最有名的居民 that they are now one of the Galapagos' most famous inhabitants.
但这些才是最有名的动物 But these are the most celebrated of all.
它们的名字就是以岛名命名的 The ones that gave the islands their name -
加拉帕戈斯巨龟 giant tortoises.
乌龟们不能游泳 但它们能漂起来 Tortoises can't swim, but they can float.
大约三百万年前 And about three million years ago, one of them,
来自南美森林的一种乌龟中的一只 a large species from the South American forests,
可能是被洪水冲到了海上 was carried away perhaps by a flash flood and swept out to sea.
几周后 甚至是几个月 它们最终来到了一个岛上 After weeks, maybe even months, they eventually landed on an island
它们中的一只可能是怀孕的雌龟 生了龟蛋 and one of them, perhaps a gravid female, produced eggs.
随着时光的推移 它们传到了群岛的其它岛上 As time passed, they spread into other islands in the archipelago.
巨龟们已经到了 Giant tortoises had arrived
加拉帕戈斯群岛了 in the Galapagos.
随着动植物进化的发生 With this small selection of animals and plants in place,
大自然实验的步伐开始加快 nature's great experiment gathered pace.
浴火重生 Forged by fire,
被海刺激 fueled by the ocean,
被风煽动 fanned by the winds
数量很少但种类不同的物种在这扎根 and seeded by a very few and very different species.
一个新的种群在加拉帕戈斯形成 A new community was established here in the Galapagos,
它很小但是是不同生物的奇特组合 and one with a very small but very oddly assorted cast of characters.
没有两栖动物,由于其多孔的皮肤 There were no amphibians. Because of their porous skin,
使他们更容易在海水中中毒 they are poisoned by seawater.
除了一种小地鼠这没有其他的哺乳动物 There were no mammals except for a small short-tailed rat.
飞行的昆虫和植物的种子被风 Flying insects and seeds of plants had reached here,
带到了这里 brought by the wind.
但从根本上说 这已经是一块有鸟飞来飞去 But fundamentally, this was a land of birds which flew here
还有爬行动物的陆地了 and reptiles which floated here.
它们一起不得不在这个光秃秃的 And together, they had to make a living on this bare,
遍布岩石的岛屿上生活.这跟它们 rocky island that was so crucially different from the well-watered,
来自的水多森林茂盛的地方是有着很大的不同的 luxuriant forests from which they had come.
在下期节目中 我们会去发现这种 In the next programme, we will discover how this strange,
不同生物的奇特组合是如何 oddly assorted cast of characters learned to colonise even the
适应加拉帕戈斯群岛上最残酷的地方并跟别的物种生活在一块 most hostile parts of the Galapagos and to live with one another.
在这个过程中它们是如何变化的 And how they changed in the process.
我们会更深层的探索这个岛屿 And we venture even deeper into the islands,
去那些即使是今天 into places where even today,
也有可能发现新物种的地方 new species are being discovered.
`•.¸¸.•¤¦¤`••._.• ] ( Subs by Team Cliff ) [ `•.¸¸.•¤¦¤`••._.•`