全球變暖致馴鹿變瘦12% 拉不動圣誕老人了
Reindeer becoming smaller due to global warming, research finds
Dragging a sleigh laden with enough presents for the world's children - not to mention a famously portly white-bearded gentleman - can be no easy feat.
滿載著全世界兒童的禮物的雪橇拖起來可不輕松,更別提上面還載著一位大名鼎鼎的白胡子胖先生.
But, since time immemorial, this crucial Christmas Eve duty has been performed with distinction by a team of beloved reindeer.
但是,自古以來,一群可愛的馴鹿都能出色完成這個圣誕夜的重任.
Soon, however, Santa Claus may have to start looking around for a stronger type of animal, as new research reveals the species is becoming increasingly puny.
不過,圣誕老人可能很快就得開始尋找更加強壯的動物了.因為新的研究顯示,馴鹿正變得越來越瘦小.
A 16-year survey on the arctic Norwegian island of Svalbard found the reindeer there have declined in weight by an alarming 12 percent.
一項對挪威北極區域斯瓦爾巴特群島長達16年的調查發現,這里的馴鹿體重下降了12%,這一數字讓人震驚.
The reduction in average body-mass is being blamed on global warming.
全球變暖是馴鹿平均體重減輕的罪魁禍首.
In research presented lately at a meeting of the British Ecological Society in Liverpool, scientists will explain how rising temperatures are depriving female reindeer of nutrients during important phases of gestation.
日前,科學家們在利物浦英國生態學會的會議上展示了這項研究成果,他們將解釋在雌性馴鹿懷孕的關鍵階段,氣溫升高是如何令其失去營養的.
Snow in Svalbard typically covers the ground for eight months of the year, which, combined with low temperatures, limits grass growth to June and July.
通常,斯瓦爾巴德島一年中有八個月都被白雪覆蓋,而且氣溫極低,小草的生長期僅限于六月和七月.
But as summer temperatures have increased by around 1.5℃, pastures have become more productive, allowing female reindeer to gain more weight by the autumn and therefore to conceive more calves.
