Scientists Learn about Sea Star Die-off
2023-02-24
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1A sea creature known as the sunflower sea star was once plentiful in the Pacific Ocean along the coast of North America.
2They used to be found in the waters along the coast of Mexico's Baja peninsula all the way to Alaska.
3But in the last 10 years, about 90 percent of them have died.
4Scientists at the University of Washington are trying to understand why the sea stars died.
5To do so, they are growing them in a lab.
6The sickness that killed them is known as sea star wasting syndrome.
7Jason Hodin is the top researcher at the Friday Harbor Marine Lab.
8He said the sickness might have happened because of warmer water caused by climate change.
9The lab is on San Juan Island, northwest of Seattle.
10They have nearly 150 sea stars between the ages of one and three.
11They also have around 5,000 sea stars that are at the larvae stage.
12They also have 16 adult sea stars transferred from ocean waters.
13Hodin called his lab the world's only "captive breeding program for the world's only endangered sea star."
14Endangered means at risk of dying out.
15The university's neuroscience department is also working on the study.
16They are trying to find out if warmer water changes the way the stars move.
17The group is using special cameras to see how the stars move and to create 3-dimensional pictures that can show differences.
18The pictures would show differences even with small changes to their environments - such as a small water temperature change.
19So far, researchers think the sea stars are able to survive in warmer water.
20That, Hodin said, is a good thing.
21"If sunflower stars are going to recover in the wild with or without human assistance," Hodin said, "they're going to be doing so in a change in climate."
22I'm Dan Friedell.
1A sea creature known as the sunflower sea star was once plentiful in the Pacific Ocean along the coast of North America. They used to be found in the waters along the coast of Mexico's Baja peninsula all the way to Alaska. 2But in the last 10 years, about 90 percent of them have died. 3Scientists at the University of Washington are trying to understand why the sea stars died. To do so, they are growing them in a lab. 4The sickness that killed them is known as sea star wasting syndrome. 5Jason Hodin is the top researcher at the Friday Harbor Marine Lab. He said the sickness might have happened because of warmer water caused by climate change. 6The lab is on San Juan Island, northwest of Seattle. They have nearly 150 sea stars between the ages of one and three. They also have around 5,000 sea stars that are at the larvae stage. They also have 16 adult sea stars transferred from ocean waters. 7Hodin called his lab the world's only "captive breeding program for the world's only endangered sea star." Endangered means at risk of dying out. 8The university's neuroscience department is also working on the study. They are trying to find out if warmer water changes the way the stars move. 9The group is using special cameras to see how the stars move and to create 3-dimensional pictures that can show differences. The pictures would show differences even with small changes to their environments - such as a small water temperature change. 10So far, researchers think the sea stars are able to survive in warmer water. That, Hodin said, is a good thing. 11"If sunflower stars are going to recover in the wild with or without human assistance," Hodin said, "they're going to be doing so in a change in climate." 12I'm Dan Friedell. 13Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on a report by Reuters. 14_______________________________________________________________________ 15Words in This Story 16plentiful -adj. very many, a lot 17peninsula -n. a piece of land surrounded by water on three sides 18wasting -adj. to live badly or be unable to grow 19syndrome -n. a disease or disorder 20larvae -n. eggs of a type of animal 21captive -adj. under the control of someone or something else 22breed -v. to match one animal with another in hopes of creating babies 23_____________________________________________________________________ 24We want to hear from you. Do you think the researchers can save the sea stars? 25We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.