帝王蝶数量接近30年来最低点
📖 逐句对照翻译
An American nonprofit group says the number of monarch butterflies spending the winter in the western United States has dropped to its second-lowest mark in nearly 30 years.
一个美国非营利组织表示，在美国西部越冬的黑脉金斑蝶数量已降至近30年来的第二低点。
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, based in Oregon, said the causes for this include the use of chemicals to kill insects, known as pesticides.
总部位于俄勒冈州的泽西斯无脊椎动物保护协会表示，造成这一现象的原因包括使用化学物质杀虫，即杀虫剂。
The group also blames reductions in habitat and climate change.
该组织还归咎于栖息地减少和气候变化。
The survey began in 1997
这项调查始于1997年。
Monarch butterflies are known for their clear orange-and-black markings.
帝王蝶以其鲜明的橙黑相间斑纹而闻名。
They live across North America.
它们生活在北美洲各地。
Monarchs in the eastern United States spend the winter in Mexico.
美国东部的黑脉金斑蝶在墨西哥过冬。
The World Wildlife Fund, a non-profit based in Switzerland, counts them there but has not yet released data for this year.
世界野生动物基金会，一个总部位于瑞士的非营利组织，在那里进行了统计，但尚未发布今年的数据。
Monarchs west of the Rocky Mountains usually spend the winter along the California coast.
落基山脉以西的帝王蝶通常在加利福尼亚海岸过冬。
The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation has been counting western overwinter populations in California and Arizona for the last 28 years.
在过去的28年里，泽西斯无脊椎动物保护协会一直在统计加利福尼亚和亚利桑那州的西部越冬种群数量。
The highest number recorded was 1.2 million in 1997.
记录的最高数字是1997年的120万。
The organization announced Friday that it counted just 9,119 monarchs in 2024, a decrease of 96 percent from 233,394 in 2023.
该组织周五宣布，2024年仅统计到9119只帝王蝶，相比2023年的233394只减少了96%。
The total was the second lowest since the survey began in 1997.
这是自1997年开始调查以来的第二低总数。
The record-low count was 1,901 monarchs in 2020.
2020年，帝王蝶数量降至历史最低点，仅有1901只。
The survey noted that a place in Santa Barbara that saw 33,200 monarchs last winter had only 198 butterflies this year.
调查指出，圣巴巴拉的一个地方去年冬天有33200只帝王蝶，而今年仅有198只蝴蝶。
Heat might have hurt western monarchs
高温可能伤害了西部帝王蝶
Monarchs across North America face increasing threats.
北美的帝王蝶正面临日益增多的威胁。
One is the supply of a plant, milkweed, which they feed on as caterpillars.
一是植物马利筋的供应，它们在幼虫阶段以此为食。
Monarch Joint Venture is a nonprofit group based in Minnesota that aims to protect monarchs.
Monarch Joint Venture是一家总部位于明尼苏达州的非营利组织，旨在保护黑脉金斑蝶。
The group said milkweed has been disappearing because of dry weather, wildfires, agriculture and urban development.
该组织表示，由于干旱天气、野火、农业活动和城市发展，乳草一直在消失。
The Xerces Society said pesticides might be on the remaining plants.
泽西斯协会表示，残留的植物上可能还有杀虫剂。
Emma Pelton is a biologist with the Xerces Society.
艾玛·佩尔顿是泽西斯协会的一名生物学家。
She said it is unclear what caused such a sharp decrease in the western population in just one year.
她说，目前还不清楚是什么原因导致西部人口在短短一年内急剧下降。
The monarch population is already small, she said, and heat above 37.7 degrees Celsius in the western states last year might have slowed breeding.
她说，帝王蝶的数量已经很少了，而去年西部各州超过37.7摄氏度的高温可能减缓了它们的繁殖速度。
Monarchs suffer when the temperature gets up to 37.7 degrees Celsius and any temperatures above 42.2 degrees Celsius will kill the insects, Pelton said.
佩尔顿表示，当温度达到37.7摄氏度时，帝王蝶就会受到影响，而任何高于42.2摄氏度的温度都会导致这些昆虫死亡。
The western states saw a heat wave in July with temperatures in some areas well past 37.7 degrees.
西部各州在7月遭遇了一股热浪，部分地区气温远超37.7摄氏度。
Palm Springs, for example, reportedly reached a record 51.1 degrees Celsius on July 5.
例如，棕榈泉据报在7月5日达到了创纪录的51.1摄氏度。
Another heat wave hit northern California in early October, with several cities breaking heat records.
十月初，另一波热浪袭击了北加州，数个城市打破了高温纪录。
Western monarchs' future unclear
西方君主的未来不明朗
Pelton said that it is too early to tell what long-term effect the sharp drop might have on the overall western monarch population.
佩尔顿表示，现在判断这一急剧下降可能对西部帝王蝶总体数量产生的长期影响还为时过早。
Insects can reproduce very quickly, Pelton said.
佩尔顿说，昆虫繁殖速度非常快。
After a low point of 1,901 butterflies in 2020, the population recovered to 247,246 insects the following year, an increase of nearly 13,000 percent.
在2020年降至1901只蝴蝶的低点后，次年种群数量恢复至247246只，增长了近13000%。
The year after that the survey recorded 335,479 monarchs.
再接下来的一年，调查记录到了335,479只帝王蝶。
"This is bad news," Pelton said of the 2024 population drop.
佩尔顿在谈及2024年人口下降时说：“这是个坏消息。”
"But we have seen incredible recovery.
但我们看到了令人难以置信的复苏。
This doesn't mean we're not going to have western monarchs.
这并不意味着我们将不会再有西方君主。
”
“
Federal officials working on protections
联邦官员正在制定保护措施
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced in December 2024 that it wanted to list monarchs as threatened.
美国鱼类和野生动物管理局于2024年12月宣布，希望将黑脉金斑蝶列为受威胁物种。
Such a move would ban people from killing or transporting them.
这样的举措将禁止人们杀害或运输它们。
The proposed change would also ban property owners from making changes to their property that would make it unusable to the butterflies.
拟议的变更还将禁止业主对其房产进行改动，以免使蝴蝶无法在其上生存。
For example, removing all milkweed from a property would by banned by law.
例如，法律将禁止从一处房产中清除所有乳草。
Earthjustice is an environmental nonprofit legal group based in San Francisco.
地球正义是一家位于旧金山的环境非营利法律组织。
It asked the Environmental Protection Agency in December 2024 to require testing of pesticides’ effects on insects such as bees, moths and butterflies.
2024年12月，该组织要求环境保护署对农药给蜜蜂、飞蛾和蝴蝶等昆虫带来的影响进行测试。
I’m Jill Robbins.
我是吉尔·罗宾斯。
Todd Richmond reported this story for the Associated Press.
托德·里士满为美联社报道了这一故事。
Jill Robbins adapted it for Learning English.
吉尔·罗宾斯为《学习英语》改编了它。
