气候变暖导致白毛动物数量下降

White-furred animals are in danger of dying out because climate change is causing a fall in snow cover, leaving them exposed and vulnerable, a new study suggests.

一项新研究指出,白毛动物正面临灭绝的危险,因为气候变化导致冰雪覆盖范围减少,从而让白毛动物难以藏身、易受攻击。

Scientists in Poland have been following the worrying case of the white-coated weasel, which sheds its tawny1 covering in the winter for a milky2 coat allowing it to blend effortlessly into its icy environment.

But researchers have discovered that between 1997 and 2007 the number of days with permanent snow cover in Białowieża Forest, Poland, halved3, from 80 to 40.

It means that the little creatures are being caught out in a completely unsuitable environment, where they are easy prey4 for predators5 like foxes and crows.

The team at the Polish Academy of Sciences found that on days when there was little winter snow cover, the number of white-coated weasels they managed to capture fell to as low as 20 percent of the total, suggesting the rest had been killed.

Previously6 they would have been dominant7, because their coats would have given them a survival advantage.

The problem is likely to affect other white-furred mammals and birds living in areas vulnerable to climate change such as the Arctic fox as the snow cover increasingly gives way to a landscape of greens and browns.

英语网址大全

1 tawny
adj.茶色的,黄褐色的;n.黄褐色
参考例句:
Her black hair springs in fine strands across her tawny,ruddy cheek.她的一头乌发分披在健康红润的脸颊旁。
None of them noticed a large,tawny owl flutter past the window.他们谁也没注意到一只大的、褐色的猫头鹰飞过了窗户。
2 milky
adj.牛奶的,多奶的;乳白色的
参考例句:
Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。
3 halved
v.把…分成两半( halve的过去式和过去分词 );把…减半;对分;平摊
参考例句:
The shares have halved in value . 股价已经跌了一半。
Overall operating profits halved to $24 million. 总的营业利润减少了一半,降至2,400 万元。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 prey
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
5 predators
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 );奴役他人者(尤指在财务或性关系方面)
参考例句:
birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 previously
adv.以前,先前(地)
参考例句:
The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿,解释原先发生了什么。
7 dominant
adj.支配的,统治的;占优势的;显性的;n.主因,要素,主要的人(或物);显性基因
参考例句:
The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

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该日志由 1zanxin 于2018年05月31日发表在 杂谈 分类下,
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