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Harp seals from Canada are showing up in the US waters in greater numbers and farther south than usual, and biologists want to k

admin2014-09-30  26
问题     Harp seals from Canada are showing up in the US waters in greater numbers and farther south than usual, and biologists want to know why.
    "Small numbers of juvenile harp seals are typically found each winter stranded along the coast of the northeastern USA. But this year, well over 100 adult harp seals—not juveniles—have been spotted," said Mendy Garron, regional marine mammal stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA)in Gloucester. The sightings are reported by 14 seal stranding and rehabilitation(康复)organizations in New England and the Middle Atlantic states. "In some areas they’re reporting three times the normal number of sightings," Garron said. "This year, we’ve had four sightings of adult harp seals in North Carolina, which we’ve never had before. We typically don’t see them that far south."
    Seals are common in waters off the northeastern New England states, where the most abundant type is the harbor seal, with a population estimated at about 100 000, the last time they were surveyed a decade ago. Gray seals are the second most common seal. But those numbers are piddling(微不足道的)compared to the number of harp seals found in the northwest Atlantic. Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans says 9 million of them can be found off Canada and Greenland.
    A decade ago, harp seal sightings off Maine were rare, said Lynda Doughty, marine mammal stranding coordinator for the state Department of Marine Resources. The numbers have picked up the past few years, and this year there have been 40 documented sightings—more than double the number spotted last year. The harp seals are typically spotted on nearshore ledges and in coves and harbors, but they have also turned up in parking lots and backyards—and one was found on an oceanside golf course in Scarborough. The seals spend most of their time on ice—they are one of several varieties of so-called ice seals—and have made their way onto land across the snow and ice along Maine’s shores.
    For now, there is no clear explanation for why more seals are showing up in the US waters, said Gordon Waring, who heads the seal program at NOAA’s fisheries science center in Woods Hole. They could be making their way south because of climatic conditions or perhaps in search of food, Waring said. "These animals are known to wander a lot," Waring said. "Whether they’re following food down or whatever, we don’t really have a good understanding of it. "
    Garron said she and the seal organizations will look at environmental trends, such as water temperatures, to see if it’s influencing the harp seal range. Regardless of the reason, biologists are taking notice, Doughty said. "We’re all kind of raising our eyes," she said.
Last year harp seals______in Maine.
选项 A、increased at a more rapid rate than this year
B、appeared less than 20 times
C、were rarer than a decade ago
D、were usually found on golf courses
答案B
解析 细节辨认题。由定位句可知，这个数量在过去几年一直上升，到今年为止已有40余次记载，比去年看到的两倍还多。由此判断，在去年发现了不到20次，故答案为B)。定位句中说这个数量过去几年一直上升，但并没提到去年有更快的增长，故排除A)“比今年增加的速度更快”；由第四段前两句可知，竖琴海豹十年前很少见，但在过去几年数量一直上升，故C)“比十年前更少见”错误；由第四段第三句可知，竖琴海豹常见于近岸岩架及海湾和海港处，但也曾有一只出现在高尔夫球场，由此推断竖琴海豹在高尔夫球场上出现是比较少见的，故排除D)“经常出现在高尔夫球场上”。
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