最新研究指出，地球第六次物種大滅絕正在發(fā)生，而且正在加速推進(jìn)?？茖W(xué)家們擔(dān)心，物種減少會(huì)對(duì)地球生態(tài)系統(tǒng)產(chǎn)生巨大影響，對(duì)人類的生存構(gòu)成真正的威脅。

The sixth mass extinction is not a worry for the future. It's happening now, much faster than previously expected, and it's entirely our fault, according to a study published Monday.

第六次物種大滅絕并不是對(duì)未來的擔(dān)憂。根據(jù)本周一（6月1日）發(fā)表的一項(xiàng)研究，這一切正在發(fā)生，比之前預(yù)期的要快得多，而且完全是人類造成的。

Humans have already wiped out hundreds of species and pushed many more to the brink of extinction through wildlife trade, pollution, habitat loss and the use of toxic substances. But the findings published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) show that the rate at which species are dying out has accelerated in recent decades.

由于野生動(dòng)植物貿(mào)易、污染、棲息地喪失和有毒物質(zhì)的使用，人類已經(jīng)導(dǎo)致數(shù)以百計(jì)的物種消失，并將更多的物種推向滅絕的邊緣。發(fā)表在《美國國家科學(xué)院院刊》上的研究結(jié)果表明，近幾十年來，物種滅絕的速度已在加快。

Gerardo Ceballos González, a professor of ecology at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and one of the authors of the study, said approximately 173 species went extinct between 2001 and 2014.

墨西哥國立自治大學(xué)的生態(tài)學(xué)教授杰拉爾多·塞巴羅斯·岡薩雷斯是這項(xiàng)研究的作者之一。他說，在2001年至2014年間，大約有173個(gè)物種滅絕了。

"173 species is 25 times more extinct species than you would expect under the normal, background, extinction rate," he told CNN in an email. He and his team found that in the past 100 years, more than 400 vertebrate species went extinct. In the normal course of evolution, such extinctions would have taken up to 10,000 years, they said.

他在發(fā)送給美國有線電視新聞網(wǎng)的電郵中寫道：“這是正常物種滅絕速度下滅絕數(shù)量的25倍多?！彼退膱F(tuán)隊(duì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，在過去的100年里，超過400種脊椎動(dòng)物滅絕了。他們說，在正常的進(jìn)化過程中，這樣的滅絕可能需要長達(dá)1萬年的時(shí)間。

vertebrate [?v??t?br?t]：adj.脊椎動(dòng)物（有關(guān)）的；有脊椎的

Mass extinctions are just as severe as their name suggests. There have been five mass extinction events in the Earth's history, each wiping out between 70% and 95% of the species of plants, animals and microorganisms. The most recent, 66 million years ago, saw dinosaurs disappear.

物種大滅絕正如其名字所暗示的那樣嚴(yán)重。在地球歷史上發(fā)生過五次大滅絕事件，每一次都導(dǎo)致70%到95%的植物、動(dòng)物和微生物物種滅絕。最近的一次發(fā)生在6600萬年前，恐龍滅絕了。

The past events were caused by catastrophic alterations of the environment, including massive volcanic eruptions or collision with an asteroid. The sixth mass extinction -- the one happening now -- is different: Scientists say it's caused by humans.

過去的大滅絕事件是由環(huán)境的災(zāi)難性變化引起的，包括大規(guī)模的火山爆發(fā)或小行星撞擊地球。而如今正在發(fā)生的第六次物種大滅絕則不同：科學(xué)家表示，這次大滅絕是由人類引起的。

"It is entirely our fault," Ceballos González said.

“這完全是人類的錯(cuò)”，塞巴羅斯·岡薩雷斯說。

While life on Earth has bounced back after each of these events, it took millions of years to restore the number of species.

雖然地球上的生命在每一次大滅絕事件后都有所恢復(fù)，但物種數(shù)量的恢復(fù)卻要花費(fèi)數(shù)百萬年的時(shí)間。

"Even though only an estimated 2% of all of the species that ever lived are alive today, the absolute number of species is greater now than ever before," the scientists said. "It was into such a biologically diverse world that we humans evolved, and such a world that we are destroying."

科學(xué)家們說：“盡管在所有曾經(jīng)存在過的物種中，估計(jì)只有2%存活至今，但現(xiàn)在物種的絕對(duì)數(shù)量比以往任何時(shí)候都要多。我們?nèi)祟惥褪窃谶@樣一個(gè)生物多樣性的世界里進(jìn)化而來的，而我們正在摧毀這樣一個(gè)世界?！?/p>

Ceballos González and his colleagues said many of the species that are on the brink of extinction are concentrated in the same regions being decimated by human impacts.

塞巴羅斯·岡薩雷斯和他的同事說，許多瀕臨滅絕的物種都集中在被人類破壞的相同地區(qū)。

decimate [?des?me?t]：v.大量毀滅；大大削弱

When one species in the ecosystem disappears, it erodes the entire ecosystem and pushes other species toward annihilation. The researchers use amphibians as an example of this phenomena.

當(dāng)生態(tài)系統(tǒng)中的一個(gè)物種消失時(shí)，它會(huì)破壞整個(gè)生態(tài)系統(tǒng)，并將其他物種推向滅絕。研究人員以兩棲動(dòng)物為例來說明這一現(xiàn)象。

annihilation [??na???le??n]：n.毀滅；潰敗

Hundreds of species of frogs and toads are suffering population declines and extinctions because of the chytrid fungus disease, which is sometimes spread into new areas by humans. Climate change is likely making the issue worse.

由于壺菌病，數(shù)百種青蛙和蟾蜍的數(shù)量正在減少和滅絕。壺菌病有時(shí)會(huì)被人類傳播到新的地區(qū)。氣候變化可能會(huì)加劇這一影響。

This interdependency of different species is bad news for humans, too.

不同物種之間的相互依賴對(duì)人類來說也是個(gè)壞消息。

The researchers also said the current coronavirus crisis shows how the recklessness with which people treat the natural world can backfire badly. Many of the species that are endangered or at the brink of extinction are being decimated by wildlife trade.

研究人員還表示，目前的新冠病毒危機(jī)表明，人們對(duì)待自然界的魯莽可能會(huì)嚴(yán)重地傷害自身。許多瀕危物種正因野生動(dòng)植物貿(mào)易而大量死亡。

The researchers said this data highlights the urgency with which the world needs to act.

研究人員說，這一數(shù)據(jù)凸顯了世界采取行動(dòng)的緊迫性。

Later this year, the UN Convention on Biological Diversity is expected to set new global goals to combat the ongoing biodiversity crisis in the coming decades.

今年晚些時(shí)候，《聯(lián)合國生物多樣性公約》有望制定新的全球目標(biāo)，以在未來幾十年應(yīng)對(duì)正在發(fā)生的生物多樣性危機(jī)。

英文來源：CNN

翻譯&編輯：yaning