【BBC南太平洋】漂流者 22

英语自学网

Hint:
        French Polynesia
        Fiji
        sooty terns
        guano
        23s、1:01处有破折号 -
Almost all animal castaways would have died of exposure, hunger or thirst long before reaching French Polynesia in the eastern Pacific. Reaching land here was a matter of extraordinary luck.  Unlike Fiji, there are no bats in French Polynesia, no frogs and only a handful of lizards. The most successful travellers were the long-haul fliers - sooty terns. Incredibly, they can stay in the air for four years without landing. But to breed, they must return to nesting sites on remote islands. And when they do, they introduce new life. Sticky or barbed seeds fasten on to their feathers and hitch rides across oceans. On some islands, 75% of plants arrived with the birds. Seeds are even carried in the stomachs of some birds. As if getting a lift wasn't enough for these seeds, seabirds also provide them with something else. The seafood these birds bring back to the islands is turned into nutrient-rich guano - plant fertiliser. And there's enough of it to transform barren coral atolls into fertile groves.几乎所有的动物漂流者在远未到达东太平洋的法属玻利尼西亚之前就会死于暴晒、饥饿或口渴。能在这里登陆需要莫大的运气。不像斐济，法属玻利尼西亚没有蝙蝠和蛙类，蜥蜴也很少。最成功的旅行者当属长途飞鸟乌燕鸥。难以置信，它们能呆在空中4年不用着陆。但为了繁育，它们必须回到遥远岛屿上的筑巢点。一旦它们这样做了，它们就会带去新的生命。粘性或带倒钩的种子缠在它们的羽毛上搭着顺风车穿越太平洋。有些岛屿上75%的植物都是由鸟类带去的。还有些种子甚至是存在于鸟类的胃中被带去的。对于这些种子来说，似乎搭顺风车还不够，海鸟还带回了其它东西。这些鸟带回岛的海鲜变成了养分充足的鸟粪——植物的肥料。而且其分量足够足以将贫瘠的珊瑚环岛变成富饶的丛林。