首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Life has never been easy for just-hatched Magellanic penguins, but climate change is making it worse, according to a decades-lon
Life has never been easy for just-hatched Magellanic penguins, but climate change is making it worse, according to a decades-lon
admin
2017-04-29
37
问题
Life has never been easy for just-hatched Magellanic penguins, but climate change is making it worse, according to a decades-long study of the largest breeding colony of the birds. The chicks are already vulnerable to predation and starvation. Now, the study at Punta Tombo, Argentina, found that intense storms and warmer temperatures are increasingly taking a toll.
Climate scientists say more extreme weather, including wetter storms and more prolonged periods of heat and cold, is one impact of a climate that is changing because of emissions of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. While monitoring the penguin colony, Dr. Boersma, a University of Washington scientist, and her colleagues also documented regional temperature changes and increases in the number of days with heavy rains. The study is one of the first to show a direct impact of climate change on seabirds. Most studies have looked at how warming temperatures affect animals indirectly, by altering predation patterns or food supplies. William J. Sydeman, senior scientist at the Farallon Institute in California, who was not involved in the research, said the study linked changes in climate, which occur on a scale of decades, to the daily scale of life in the colony.
The colony at Punta Tombo, in a temperate and relatively dry region about midway along Argentina’s coast, is home to about 200 000 breeding pairs of the penguins, which are about 15 inches tall. Dr. Boersma has been working there since 1982, with long-term support from the Wildlife Conservation Society. For this study, the researchers compiled data on nearly 3 500 chicks that they meticulously tracked by checking nests once or twice a day throughout the six-month breeding season, which starts in September. Typically, nearly two-thirds of hatchlings at the colony do not survive to leave the nest. In most years, the researchers found, starvation and predation—by other seabirds and small animals—caused the majority of the deaths. But they found that heavy storms killed birds in 13 of the 28 years of the study. In two years, storms were responsible for most of the deaths. Extreme heat killed more hatchlings as well, although the effect was less pronounced. Like other young birds, penguin hatchlings can die from hypothermia(体温过低)if their down gets wet. The birds are most vulnerable from about a week after hatching—before that they are largely protected by a parent—to about six weeks, when they develop waterproof plumage(全身羽毛). Since 1987, the number of breeding pairs in the colony has declined 24 percent, Dr. Boersma said. It is difficult to calculate how much of that decline can be attributed to storms and rain, she said. Dr. Boersma said the increasing frequency of heavy storms was most likely directly affecting other seabird species that were breeding in the region.
According to Dr. Boersma’s study,______.
选项
A、most chicks died before leaving the nest
B、the climate of the colony is getting better for chicks
C、the storm is the most dangerous enemy for chicks
D、it’s difficult to link extreme heat to the death of chicks
答案
A
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/v3U7777K
0
大学英语六级
相关试题推荐
A、FuturegrowthofcollegestudentsinAmericaislikelytobequicker.B、Therearelessthan2,000universitiesorcollegesin
A、Becausesheisontheexecutivestaff.B、Becausesheisfamiliarwiththecompany.C、Becauseshehasknowledgeofmanagement.
TheInternetandInternetuserscanbetargetsforhackers.Hackersarepeoplewhousetheircomputerstogain【B1】______access
TheAmericantraditionalpatternofclassroomexperienceatthecollegelevelbringstheprofessorandagroupof20-30students
Themostcontroversialtopicsin【B1】______sportsmaybedruguse,butinyouthsports,notwowordsaremoreinflammatory(煽动性的)
小微企业(smallandmicro-sizedfirm)是小型企业、微型企业、家庭作坊式企业(familyartisanalenterprise)和个体户的统称。目前中国小微企业规模有近5000万家,在国民经济中的支撑作用越来越大。小微企业是提供
围棋(Go)是一种策略性棋盘(board)游戏,起源于古代中国,是世界上最古老的棋盘游戏之一。尽管其规则相对简单,但却富于策略与变化,因此,它是一项既朴素又复杂的游戏。围棋有助于训练思维,培养人的分析问题和解决问题的能力,是一项具有挑战性的、有益的智力活动
随着计划生育政策(thefamilyplanningpolicy)的推行和家庭观念的改变,中国传统的家庭规模和结构发生了明显变化。一是独生子女家庭增多,家庭平均人口逐渐下降。二是家庭结构呈现出小型化(miniaturization)趋势,传统的大家庭
中国目前仍面临着人口多、资源少的严峻现实。鉴于中国目前的资源储备(resourcereserve),很多人认为我们仍要继续实行计划生育政策(theone-childpolicy),但在这一问题上,也有人持有不同的观点。很多人认为诸如劳动力短缺,人口老
EdgarPoe,anAmericanwriter,wasbornin1809.Hisparentswereactors.Edgarwasababywhenhisfatherleftthefamily.Hew
随机试题
下列哪个组织享有行政主体资格?
法律规则的特征有哪些?()
朱某自诉陈某犯诽谤罪,法院审理后,陈某反诉朱某侮辱罪。法院审查认为,符合反诉条件,合并审理此案,判处陈某有期徒刑一年,判处朱某有期徒刑一年。两人不服,均以对对方量刑过轻、己方量刑过重为由提出上诉。关于二审法院的判决,下列哪些选项是正确的?(2010年卷二7
目视助航灯光系统工程质量情况实测检查内容包括()。
【背景资料】某机电安装公司承担北方某城市三台蒸发量25t/h,蒸发压力为2.5MPa的散装工业锅炉的安装工程。开工前,项目经理部未办理任何手续即根据施工组织设计进行了全面的质量策划,并指令专业工程师编制质量控制程序。在施工过程中发现某焊工的合格证
根据个人所得税法律制度的规定,下列应按“个体工商户的生产、经营所得”项目缴纳个人所得税的有()。
下列作品与作者相对应的是()。
请谈一谈你对科学发展观的理解和认识。
一位科学家发明了一项新产品,他利用手上的一些储蓄,又贷了一些款,自己开办了一家企业。半年后,企业效益下滑,于是他高薪聘请了一名总经理,自己任董事长兼搞开发,终于使企业迅速崛起为一家大型公司。由此可见( )。
假定在图片框控件Picturel中装入了一个图形,为了在程序运行时清除该图形,则应使用下列哪种方法()。
最新回复
(
0
)