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The dwindling march of the penguins is signaling that the world’s oceans are in trouble, scientists now say. Penguins may be the tuxedo-clad version of a canary in the coal mine, with generally ailing populations from a combination of global warming, ocean oil pollution, depleted fisheries, and tourism and development, according to a new scientific review paper.
企鵝族群數量持續減少正對全球海洋陷入麻煩發出警告，科學家現在表示。根據一份新的調查報告，企鵝有可能是穿著燕尾服版的礦坑金絲雀，全球暖化、海洋原油污染、過度捕魚、觀光和開發等綜合因素讓族群數量普遍減少中。
A University of Washington biologist detailed specific problems around the world with remote penguin populations, linking their decline to the overall health of southern oceans.
華盛頓大學生物學家詳細描述出棲息在偏遠地區的全球企鵝族群面臨的問題，指牠們數量減少與南大洋海域整體品質有關。
"Now we’re seeing effects （of human caused warming and pollution） in the most faraway places in the world," said conservation biologist P. Dee Boersma, author of the paper published in the July edition of the journal Bioscience. "Many penguins we thought would be safe because they are not that close to people. And that’s not true."
「現在我們正見到（人類造成的暖化和污染）在全球最偏遠地區發生的效應。」保育生物學家波斯馬在這份於7月號「生物科學」期刊發表的報告中說。「許多企鵝我們以為會安全，因為牠們與人類並不那麼接近。結果並非事實。」
Scientists figure there are between 16 to 19 species of penguins. About a dozen are in some form of trouble, Boersma wrote. A few, such as the king penguin found in islands north of Antarctica, are improving in numbers, she said.
科學家估算，現存企鵝有16到19種，約12種陷入危機，波斯馬寫道。她說，其中有一些種類，如南極北端島嶼發現的國王企鵝，數量正在改善中。
新聞辭典
canary in the coal mine：片語，字面譯「礦坑裡的金絲雀」，有警訊、指標之意，例如：The rapidly melting of ice in the Arctic is the canary in the global warming coal mine. （北極的冰迅速融化是全球暖化的警訊。）
deplete：動詞，使枯竭、使耗竭。例句︰The world oil reserve is gradually depleted.（全球原油蘊藏正逐漸枯竭中。）
figure（out）：動詞，計算，算出，理解。例句：He can’t figure out this math question.（他算不出那題數學。）
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