Newsy Science2015.5.25---变色龙帮助拯救马达加斯加的热带雨林

Newsy Science2015.5.25---变色龙帮助拯救马达加斯加的热带雨林
發佈日期：2015年5月25日
Scientists say one species of chameleon is actually 11 species, and that finding could help save part of the world's most diverse rainforest.
Transcript:
This little guy is a panther chameleon, native to the island of Madagascar. (Video via YouTube / Vadim Ledyaev)
Since they were first classified in the 19th century, science has grouped all panther chameleons into one species until now. (Video via Nature)
The chameleon's coloration was known to vary widely according to where on the island it was found, but new DNA testing suggests the different colorations actually represent different species — 11 of them, to be precise. (Video via BBC)
But the researchers' discovery goes beyond clarifying the chameleon's taxonomy: It's about preserving Madagascar's rainforests. (Video via American Museum of Natural History)
Madagascar has one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, with a wide range of animals that can only be found there, most famously the lemurs. (Video via IMAX / "Island of Lemurs: Madagascar")
If the chameleons really are 11 different species, they characterize this diversity, because each is found only in certain parts of the Malagasy rainforest. (Video via Conservation International)
That rainforest faces the threat of deforestation, and while it's hard to measure, some estimates say as much as half of the island's forests have been felled since the 1950s, resulting in the extinction of nearly 10 percent of the island's species. (Video via Manchester Museum)
But that deforestation doesn't exist in a vacuum; it's driven by Madagascar's overwhelming poverty, with about 70 percent of the country's 22 million people living in poverty as of 2010. (Video via CCTV)
Some 80 percent of the country's population lives on subsistence farming, and that often means slash-and-burn agriculture, which can be devastating to the rainforest. (Video via Emory University)
So, in the face of that, what can a chameleon do? Well, chameleons are what the scientific community calls "charismatic."
While not everyone would agree they're cute — even though they clearly are — they do stick with you, and as such could help raise awareness of their rainforest's precarious position. (Video via Florence Ivy / CC BY ND 2.0)
科学家说，变色龙品种之一居然是11种，并发现可能有助于拯救世界上最多样化的热带雨林的一部分。
成绩单：
这小家伙是一只黑豹变色龙，原产于马达加斯加岛。 （通过YouTube /瓦迪姆Ledyaev视频）
由于他们在19世纪首先被分类，科学已经分组的所有黑豹变色龙成一个物种，直至现在。 （通过自然视频）
变色龙的颜色是众所周知的有很大的不同，根据到岛上发现的，但新的DNA检测表明，不同的着色实际上代表不同的物种 - 其中11，要精确。 （BBC通过视频）
但研究人员的发现超越澄清变色龙的分类法：这是关于保护马达加斯加的热带雨林。 （通过美国自然史博物馆视频）
马达加斯加是世界上生物多样性最丰富的生态系统之一，具有广泛的动物只能被找到，其中最有名的狐猴。 （通过IMAX /视频“狐猴岛：马达加斯加”）
如果变色龙真的是11个不同的物种，它们表征这种多样性，因为每个被发现，只有在马达加斯加雨林的某些部分。 （通过保护国际视频）
这热带雨林砍伐面临的威胁，同时也很难衡量，有些估计说，多达一半岛上的森林已经从20世纪50年代砍伐，导致近10％的岛屿物种的灭绝。 （经由曼彻斯特博物馆视频）
但是，毁林不存在于真空之中;它是由马达加斯加的压倒性贫困驱动，与全国22亿人（借助闭路电视视频）生活在贫困中，作为2010年的约70％
大约80％的国家的人口生活在自给农业，这往往意味着刀耕火种的农业，这可能是毁灭性的热带雨林。 （通过埃默里大学视频）
因此，在面部，有什么可以变色龙呢？好了，变色龙有什么科学界所称的“魅力”。
虽然不是每个人都同意，他们是可爱的 - 即使他们清楚地是 - 他们坚持你，因为这样可以帮助提高他们的热带雨林的位置岌岌可危意识。 （通过佛罗伦萨常春藤/ CC视频由ND 2.0）