(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Annie Sneed.
Populations of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians are declining around the world—even in protected areas, like U.S. national parks. Ecologists needed a simple method to track the animals' numbers. Now, researchers have found an effective way to keep tabs on amphibians—using that concert and party favorite: glow sticks. Green glow sticks, to be specific.
"What we do know is that their eyes are particularly sensitive to green light."
David Munoz, a PhD candidate in the ecology program at Penn State University.
To test the idea, Munoz and colleagues set up minnow traps with and without glow sticks at a dozen vernal pools in Centre County, Pennsylvania. The critters gather at the pools to breed.
For a month, they trapped and tracked numbers of the Jefferson salamander, the spotted salamander, the wood frog and the eastern red-spotted newt. "Right before we left for the day, around 4 P.M., we'd activate the glow stick and hang it on the little minnow trap, come back the next day to see what we got."
Traps with glow sticks were vastly more productive. "We were really surprised by how strong of an effect our glow sticks had on our captures. So, by just putting a glow stick in one of these minnow traps we increased the capture rates for our spotted salamanders and our Jefferson salamanders between on average two to four times." And for the eastern red-spotted newt, the glow stick traps lured six times as many.
"You know, these salamanders and these amphibians are going to these sites to breed. And so what are they looking for? They're looking for other individuals...and so what we think is that the glow stick is either making the movement of other salamanders more apparent, or it's potentially just a simple visual cue...their eyes are sensitive to this type of light, so they might be attracted to it."
Regardless of the reason, Munoz hopes his team's glowing discovery will benefit amphibians. "In order to help manage those species, and help bring them back, or reverse those declines, we need to understand what's causing those declines. And the way we do that is by monitoring populations."
Another nice thing about glow sticks: they're cheap. "It gives scientists a new tool, and essentially a better tool to help achieve that monitoring on a cost effective basis."
Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Annie Sneed.
参考译文
这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是安妮·斯尼德。
青蛙、蝾螈和其他两栖动物的数量在世界各地都在减少，甚至连美国国家公园等保护区都出现了数量减少的现象。生态学家需要一种简单方法来追踪动物的数量。现在，研究人员发现了监测两栖动物的有效方法，就是使用音乐会和派对最常见的东西：荧光棒。具体来说是绿色荧光棒。
“我们知道它们的眼睛对绿光特别敏感。”
宾夕法尼亚州立大学生态项目的博士学位预科生大卫·穆诺兹说到。
为了测试这个想法，穆诺兹和同事在宾夕法尼亚州申特县的12个春季池里设置了米诺鱼圈套，有些放了荧光棒，有些没有。这些小生物聚集在春季池里繁殖。
在一个月的时间里，他们捕捉了杰斐逊钝口螈、斑点钝口螈、林蛙和红斑东美螈并对它们的数量进行了追踪。“每天下午四点左右，在我们离开之前我们会激活荧光棒，把它挂在米诺鱼圈套上，第二天回来看看捕到了什么。”
挂有荧光棒的圈套效率极高。“荧光棒对捕鱼有如此强大的影响令我们非常惊讶。所以，只要把一根荧光棒放在其中一个小圈套中，我们捕获斑点钝口螈和杰斐逊钝口螈的概率平均能提高2到4倍。”。而这种荧光棒圈套引诱红斑东美螈的概率提高了6倍之多。
“这些蝾螈和两栖动物正在前往这些地方进行繁殖。那它们在寻找什么呢？它们正在寻找其他同类，所以我们认为荧光棒要么让其他蝾螈的运动更明显，要么可能只是一个简单的视觉提示，它们的眼睛对这种光很敏感，所以它们可能会被光吸引。”
不管原因如何，穆诺兹希望他的团队这一“发光的发现”能有益于两栖动物。“为了帮助管理这些物种，并帮助恢复这些物种的数量，或扭转这种下滑趋势，我们需要了解造成这些物种数量下降的原因。而我们采取的方法就是监测种群数量。”
荧光棒的另一个优势是便宜。“它为科学家提供了一个新的工具，而且从本质上来讲是一个更好的工具，帮助实现以成本效益为基础的监测。”
谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是安妮·斯尼德。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
重点讲解
重点讲解：
1. keep tabs on 密切注意，严密监视(某人的一举一动)；
例句：Corporate espionage may be illegal, but companies can still keep tabs on the competition.
商业间谍活动或许是违法的，但企业仍然可以想办法密切关注竞争情况。
2. be sensitive to 过敏的；易受影响的；敏感的；
例句：Some of us are sensitive to smells, others find colours easier to remember.
我们当中的一些人对气味很敏感，而其他一些人则更容易记住颜色。
3. regardless of 不顾；不管；不论；
例句：The job is open to all applicants regardless of age, race, or gender.
这份工作面向所有申请者，年龄、种族和性别不限。
4. bring back 恢复；
例句：The wood had been recently polished to bring back the shine.
木头最近经过抛光又恢复了光泽。
