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双语新闻：古巴生物学家解开鸟类迁徙之谜

萌宠菠菠乐园
2025-02-10 07:06

Researchers from Cuba are working with a Canadian partner to learn more about migratory birds that travel between North America and Cuba each year.
来自古巴的研究人员正与加拿大的合作伙伴合作，更多地了解每年往返于北美和古巴之间的候鸟。

Daniela Ventura is a bird biologist at the University of Havana in Cuba. On a recent day, she caught a catbird with a net in the capital city's botanical gardens. The small, gray animal is one of the species of migratory birds that fly from the United States and Canada to Cuba each winter.
Daniela Ventura是古巴哈瓦那大学的鸟类生物学家。最近的一天，她在首都的植物园里用网捕到了一只猫鸟。这种灰色的小动物是每年冬天从美国和加拿大飞往古巴的候鸟之一。

Ventura calls out observations to her students, who take notes nearby. She describes the species, its weight and its estimated body fat.
文图拉把观察结果告诉她的学生，他们在旁边做笔记。她描述了它的种类、体重和估计的体脂。

The information provides new data for a joint project between Canada and Cuba. Ventura and the other project researchers hope to learn more about how and where the birds spend their winters in Cuba.
这些资料为加拿大和古巴之间的一个联合项目提供了新的数据。文图拉和其他项目研究人员希望更多地了解这些鸟在古巴如何以及在哪里过冬。

"We know a lot about their ecology in the breeding zone (in North America) but very little about what happens in their wintering zone," Ventura said.
文图拉说:“我们对它们在繁殖区(北美)的生态环境了解很多，但对它们在越冬区发生的事情知之甚少。”

Part of the problem is politics, said Lourdes Mugica. She is an expert on birds and helped organize the research.
卢尔德·穆吉卡说，部分问题在于政治。她是鸟类专家，并帮助组织了这项研究。

A long-lasting U.S. embargo has made cooperation between the United States and Cuba difficult. That includes scientific research.
美国长期的禁运使美国和古巴之间的合作变得困难。这包括科学研究。

Migratory birds, of course, are indifferent to the restrictions.
候鸟当然对这些限制无动于衷。

"Birds don't understand embargoes or geographic borders, they don't need a visa to enter our country," Mugica said. "I hope there comes a time when relations are normal and that we can have joint projects between (the U.S. and Cuba.)"
“鸟类不懂禁运或地理边界，它们不需要签证就能进入我们的国家，”穆吉卡说。“我希望有一天两国关系恢复正常，我们可以有(美国和古巴之间的)联合项目。”

Mugica says the project – with partnership from Environment and Climate Change Canada – suggests what is possible. Martin Acosta, another leading bird expert in Cuba, agrees.
穆吉卡说，这个与加拿大环境和气候变化合作的项目表明了什么是可能的。古巴另一位著名鸟类专家马丁·阿科斯塔对此表示赞同。

The Canadian and Cuban partners put up a radio telemetry antenna in Cuba. The antenna operates as part of an international research network called MOTUS. It is the first time Cuba has been included in the MOTUS network.
加拿大和古巴伙伴在古巴架设了一个无线电遥测天线。该天线是MOTUS国际研究网络的一部分。这是古巴首次被纳入MOTUS网络。

The antenna can follow birds that have been radio-tagged in other parts of North America. It recently found in Cuba a small Swainson's thrush. The bird was first tagged in Canada's British Columbia – 5,000 kilometers away from the Caribbean nation.
这种天线可以追踪在北美其他地区被贴上无线电标签的鸟类。它最近在古巴发现了一只小的斯温森画眉。这只鸟首次被贴上标签是在加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省，距离这个加勒比海国家5000公里。

"We never thought we'd reach the level of sophistication we now enjoy," said Acosta.
阿科斯塔说:“我们从未想过我们会达到我们现在所享受的复杂程度。”

"Sophistication" means highly developed and complex.
“复杂”意味着高度发达和复杂。

Both Mugica and Acosta remember the hard days during their careers in science. Mugica said she lost over 30 kilograms doing research many years ago, at a time when food in Cuba was hard to find.
穆吉卡和阿科斯塔都记得他们在科学事业中艰难的日子。穆吉卡说，她多年前做研究时瘦了30多公斤，当时古巴的食物很难找到。

It is still hard to carry out their research some days, they say. Their 20-year-old truck needed a push start on a recent morning, for example.
他们说，有些时候他们的研究仍然很难进行。例如，最近的一个早晨，他们那辆开了20年的卡车需要推动启动。

But the teams celebrate small victories.
但球队庆祝小胜利。

The catbird that Ventura recently captured had been given an identifying leg band back in November at the same place, data showed. The bird had gained body fat in the three months since, ahead of its migration north across the Gulf of Mexico.
数据显示，文图拉最近捕获的猫鸟在11月的同一地点被戴上了识别腿带。从那以后的三个月里，这只鸟的身体脂肪增加了，在它向北跨越墨西哥湾迁徙之前。

Ventura said, "To think these little birds, which weigh less than 10 grams, cross the sea and come back and survive is spectacular."
文图拉说:“想想看，这些体重不到10克的小鸟，穿越大海，回来并存活下来，真是太壮观了。”