海獺吃海膽,海膽吃海帶,那白頭鷹吃什麼呢?

大家好，我是你們的蟲兒。

今天是我們一起學習的第18天了，要堅持奧！

今天是第四集的第3次10min學習，話不多說，讓我們愉快的開始吧！

首先，我們一起來回顧上一篇的生詞內容：

relentless 殘酷的，無情的

nook 角落，藏匿處

crannied 縫隙的

agile 敏捷的，機敏的

respite 緩解

Fur seals thrive and even have time to ride the waves. Spring off the coast of California and front of gloden kelp floating on the surface hint at the riches hidden beneath. A magnificent submarine forest. These stands of giant kelp are a important to the oceans as trees are to the land.

毛皮海獅甚至有時間隨波逐流。加州海岸外的春天，浮在水面上金色帶的葉子暗示下方隱藏著的財富：一座壯觀的水下森林。這些直立的海帶對海洋的重要性猶如樹木之於陸地。

Like the rainforest, the dense canopy provides food and shelter for an abundant community. In the cool, rich seas, giant kelp can grow 50 meters high. Air-filled floats lift the fronds towards the sunlit surface.

像雨林一樣，海帶茂密的樹冠為豐富的社區提供食物和住所。在涼爽富足的海洋中，巨型海帶能長到50米。充滿空氣的浮萍可以將葉子託到陽光照耀的水面。

Nestling in this canopy, a sea otter. His thick fur keeps him warm in the chilly water. Blowing air into it gives him extra insulation. Sea otters have the densest fur of any animal and such a luxuriant requires a great  deal of attention. They need to eat a lot to keep warm and consume up to a quarter of their body weight every day.

在此築巢的是一隻海獺。它厚厚的皮毛能在寒冷的水裡讓它身體保溫，把空氣吹進皮毛之後能起到更好的保溫效果。海獺擁有動物中最濃密的皮毛，而這奢華的外套需要精心照顧。它們必須吃很多東西來保持體溫，每天要消耗體重四分之一的食物。

Sea urchins are a favorite food. This is a one. And two. And then the otter is out of breath and must return to the surface. An urchin looks like a rather prickly meal, but if you can break the shell, there`s a feast inside. Sea otters are crucial to the health of the kelp forest because they keep down the number of sea urchins.

海膽是其最喜歡的食物，找到兩個海膽後海獺就要回到海面換氣，一隻海膽看起來滿身都是刺。但如果打開外殼裡面就很美味的。海獺控制了海膽的數量，這對於海帶森林的健康至關重要。

They urchins graze on kelp, munching through their tough stems. Left unchecked, they spread across the seafloor like a plague. Fortunately, the otters have a helper in the flight against these spiny grazers. Sheephead wrasse. They have powerful teeth and can make short work of the smaller purple urchins.

海膽會以海帶為食，咀嚼海帶堅硬的莖。如果不被控制海膽將會像瘟疫一樣蔓延到整個海底。好在海獺有幫手能搞定這些帶刺的傢伙：羊頭瀨魚。這種魚的牙齒很鋒利可以迅速吞食掉小的紫色海膽。

The larger black urchins are more of a challenge, especially for smaller wrasse. Only the very largest sheephead can tackle them. But it still has to get past those long spines. The urchin has to be flipped over to expose its vulnerable underside. Not eassy when you have no hands. Success at last. And everybody benefits.

大的黑海膽更具挑戰性，特別是小的瀨魚。只有很大隻的羊頭瀨魚才能對付它們，但必須解決那些長刺。瀨魚必須將海膽翻轉露出其脆弱的底層，這對沒有手的它們並非易事。最後終於成功了，大家都有肉吃。

These fish and otters, living within marine protected areas, keep the kelp grazers under control. But just outside these sanctuaries, the urchins graze unchecked. and fell the kelp foreset. All those that depend on the kelp have disappeared.

這些魚類和海獺生活在海洋保護區裡控制住以海帶為食的生物的數量。但保護區外未受控制的海膽毀了海帶森林，以海帶為生的生物們都消失了。

In California, kelp forests grow abundantly in protected areas where the whole marine community can live without pressure from people. Here, at least, sea otters can chill out Californian style.

在加州，保護區裡的海帶森林免受人類幹擾而大量繁殖。至少在這裡海獺能夠享受到加州節奏。

Three thousands kilometers further north, in Alaska, spring arrives much later in the year. After a cold, hard winter, the first rays of the sun trigger a great annual event. Immense shoals of herring rise up from the depths and move into shallower waters. They`re gathering to bread.

北面3000公裡遠的阿拉斯加，今年的春天遲到了很多。寒冬之後，第一道陽光啟動了年度盛事。大量的鯡魚從深海處升起向淺海處移動。它們聚集在一起準備繁殖。

But predators are waiting for them. Steller`s sea lions. So intent on their mission, the herring make easy prey. Sea lions drive the fish to the surface, within range of aerial hunters. Bald eagles, normally solitary birds, have assembled in numbers for the feast.

但獵食者——北海獅們在守候鯡魚們的到來。海獅們目的明確，鯡魚是很好搞定的獵物。海獅將魚群趕到海面，進入空中狩獵者的範圍。通常單獨行動的白頭鷹為這場盛宴集聚於此。 

寫在最後，給我的寶貝讀者們：

叮~~

跟著我的小腳步，揚帆起航！