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科学美国人60秒 SSS 生态学家利用生物声学进行监听

时间:2019-12-10 07:07:33

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(单词翻译)

 

This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

Satellite imagery, like Google Earth, makes it easy for ecologists halfway1 around the world to check up on tropical forests — see illegal roads and logging, stuff like that. But the info is limited.

"Satellite data often tells you what happens after it's happened." Rhett Butler, the founder2 of Mongabay. com, that's an environmental science news website. In a perspective piece in the journal Science, he and his colleagues write that sound recordings3 could supplement satellite data, as another conservation tool.

"You can actually set up alerts. So you can hear things like chainsaws or gunshots in real time. So you can get out ahead of potential deforestation before it occurs."

Small audio recorders, some of which are solar-powered and hooked to cellphone grids4 for data upload, also give ecologists the ability to eavesdrop5 on a jungle's biodiversity over time: "If you're in a primary forest, you'll tend to see all the frequencies of the soundscape occupied by different species. (intact forest clip up and under) These are insects, birds, calling mammals, frogs, things like that."

As a comparison, here's a forest plot after selective logging — meaning some trees were cut, others left standing6. "As you move into a more disturbed ecosystem7, you'd start to see more gaps across the frequencies of that soundscape." Certain insects dominate. And the diversity of calls declines as disturbance8 increases.

And while the human ear is perceptive9, algorithms are a much more powerful tool to comb through thousands of hours of data, to get a richer picture of changing tropical biodiversity. "And so that's where you get scalability, if you can create signatures for certain species or animal groups and then run an algorithm that matches those patterns against all the sound data."

Nowadays, many industries — like cattle farming, palm oil, soybean and paper production — are committing to zero deforestation goals, which can be hard to measure. But by coupling satellite data and camera traps with audio recordings, ecologists can keep their eyes — and ears — on what's going on in the jungle.

Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 halfway Xrvzdq     
adj.中途的,不彻底的,部分的;adv.半路地,在中途,在半途
参考例句:
  • We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路,天就黑了。
  • In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上,最忌讳的是有始无终。
2 Founder wigxF     
n.创始者,缔造者
参考例句:
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
  • According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说,罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。
3 recordings 22f9946cd05973582e73e4e3c0239bb7     
n.记录( recording的名词复数 );录音;录像;唱片
参考例句:
  • a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
  • old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐
4 grids 3ee63c2476f49cd6c03c72e14687b4f7     
n.格子( grid的名词复数 );地图上的坐标方格;(输电线路、天然气管道等的)系统网络;(汽车比赛)赛车起跑线
参考例句:
  • Typical framed structures are beams, grids, plane and space frames or trusses. 典型构架结构为梁、格栅、平面的和空间的框架或桁架。 来自辞典例句
  • The machines deliver trimmed grids for use or stock. 这种机器铸出修整过的板栅,以供使用或储存。 来自辞典例句
5 eavesdrop lrPxS     
v.偷听,倾听
参考例句:
  • He ensconced himself in the closet in order to eavesdrop.他藏在壁橱里,以便偷听。
  • It is not polite to eavesdrop on the conversation of other people.偷听他人说话是很不礼貌的。
6 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
7 ecosystem Wq4xz     
n.生态系统
参考例句:
  • This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
  • We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
8 disturbance BsNxk     
n.动乱,骚动;打扰,干扰;(身心)失调
参考例句:
  • He is suffering an emotional disturbance.他的情绪受到了困扰。
  • You can work in here without any disturbance.在这儿你可不受任何干扰地工作。
9 perceptive muuyq     
adj.知觉的,有洞察力的,感知的
参考例句:
  • This is a very perceptive assessment of the situation.这是一个对该情况的极富洞察力的评价。
  • He is very perceptive and nothing can be hidden from him.他耳聪目明,什么事都很难瞒住他。

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