加拿大發現神秘生物，類似中國「太歲」
本期張老師通過下面的文章，介紹了加拿大發現的類似腦子的生物與中國「太歲」的不同，什麼是「苔蘚蟲」，以及全球變暖帶來的挑戰。歡迎大家收聽。
原作者： Sarah Gibbens 中文翻譯、點評：張國慶 博士 (中科大教授)朗讀：美國J. D. Vaughn老師策劃：李進 、韓娟
加拿大瀉湖發現類似腦子的神秘生物，類似中國的"太歲"
Mysterious, Brain-Like Blob Found in Lagoon
科學家們懷疑變暖的氣候是否會導致奇怪無脊椎動物的蔓延
Scientists are unsure if warming temperatures are causing the bizarre invertebrates to spread.
凝膠狀的粘液樣生物在河流和湖泊中潛伏——它被稱為外肛動物或者苔蘚蟲。最近，在卑詩省溫哥華的斯坦利公園（Stanley Park）一個這樣的動物被發現，而且當低水位使他們更加明顯時。
A gelatinous, mucus-like creature lurks in rivers and lakes—and it s called a bryozoan. Recently, they were spotted—for the first known time—in Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, when low water levels made them more visible.
來自斯坦利公園生態學會的Celina Starnes最近檢查了該地區「Lost Lagoon（逝去的泄湖）」中的標本，該公園南部是一小片水域。在溫哥華快遞公司製作的視頻中，Starnes展示了從水中抽出時這個棕綠色質感的奇怪生物。
Celina Starnes from the Stanley Park Ecology Society recently examined the specimen found in the area s "Lost Lagoon," a small body of water in the southern part of the park. In video created by the Vancouver Courier, Starnes shows the brownish green mass jiggling as it s pulled from the water.
Starnes在與《國家地理》打電話時解釋說，「這些生物具有凝膠狀，質量穩定，幾乎像Jell-o（一種果凍布丁的品牌）」，她說。
In a phone call with National Geographic, Starnes explains that the creatures have a gelatinous, firm quality, "almost like Jell-o," she said.
這樣的苔蘚蟲體實際上是數百個群落一起生活的生物。其中的個體（被稱為「個蟲」）只有幾分之一毫米。動物體是雌雄同體的，但是可以無性繁殖，這是因為如果個體從群落脫落，可以開始萌芽生殖。
Bryozoan clumps like these are actually hundreds of creatures living together in a colony. A single organism, known as a zooid, is only a fraction of a millimeter. Zooids are hermaphroditic but spread thanks to statoblasts, a clump of cells found on the organism that can reproduce asexually if broken off from the colony.
化石記錄可以追溯到4.7億年前的古代海洋苔蘚植物。在斯坦利公園（Stanley Park）發現的物種通常被稱為「壯麗」的苔蘚蟲（Pectinatella magnifica），然而以前只知道它們存在於密西西比河以東的地區。
Fossil records date ancient marine bryozoans as far back as 470 million years. The species found in Stanley Park is commonly called a "magnificent" bryozoan, Pectinatella magnifica, and was previously only known to exist in areas east of the Mississippi River.
它們從何而來？
WHERE DID THEY COME FROM?
這種生物是否是入侵物種一直是科學家之間的辯論主題。美國魚類與野生動物管理局2012年的一份報告認為，氣候變化可能會幫助該生物傳播。報告指出，個蟲只能在高於大約60華氏度（約16攝氏度）的水域生存，溫暖的氣候使苔蘚蟲向北擴散。
Whether or not the creatures are an invasive species has been a subject of debate among scientists. A 2012 report from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service theorized that climate change could be helping the creatures spread. Zooids can only survive in waters warmer than roughly 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and the report states that warming temperatures allow bryozoans to spread north.
在營養豐富的水域中，這種塊狀生物過濾捕食藻類，它們數量的增加可能會破壞淡水生態系統的生態平衡。他們也曾經被發現堵塞下水管道。
The lumps filter feed on algae in nutrient-rich waters and an increase in their numbers could upset the ecological balance of a freshwater ecosystem. They ve also been found to clog pipes.
然而，這可能是因為苔蘚蟲被簡單地忽視了。這些生物很難找到，他們的泥土般的顏色幫助它們在陰暗的水域偽裝。斯塔恩斯說，它們有時被誤認為是了一批蠑螈蛋或岩石。
It s possible, however, that bryozoans have simply gone unnoticed. The creatures are difficult to find, and their muddy color helps them camouflage in murky waters. Starnes says they re sometimes confused with a batch ofsalamander eggs or rocks.
「我們懷疑它們不是首次在這裡出現，」她說。
"We doubt this is the first time they ve been here," she said.
Ian Walker是不英屬倫比亞大學的生物學教授，他曾研究過苔蘚蟲。他認為沒有足夠的研究來確定物種是否向北移動。
Ian Walker is a biology professor at the University of British Columbia who has studied bryozoans. He thinks there isn t enough research to conclusively state whether or not the species has moved north.
「這可能是過去輕易忽視的事情，」他指出，在Okanagan谷的溫哥華以西已經發現了苔蘚蟲。 沃克說：「我認為我們已經接近它們在北邊的極限，然而氣候變暖可能會讓它們遷移到更北的地方。我也只能猜測他們是如何傳播的。」
"It s something that could have been easily overlooked in the past," he said. He noted that bryozoans have been found just west of Vancouver in the Okanagan Valley. "I think we re near the northern limit of them. With warming climate, they might migrate somewhere farther north," said Walker. "I can only really speculate how they might have spread."
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