As seabird biologist Bonnie Slaton slides off a small boat and walks through waist-high water, the brown pelicans spread their wings overhead until she reaches Raccoon Island.
The narrow island is a small piece of land separating the American state of Louisiana from the Gulf of Mexico.
這個狹窄的島嶼是將美國路易斯安那州和墨西哥灣隔開的一小塊土地。
During seabird breeding season, the place is full of noise and motion — one of the few remaining places of safety for the pelicans.
在海鳥的繁殖季節(jié)，這個地方充滿了噪音和運動——對于鵜鶘來說，這里是僅存的為幾個安全的地方之一。
Twelve years ago, there were 15 low-lying islands with breeding areas for Louisiana's state bird.
12年前，有15個低洼島嶼是路易斯安那州鳥類的繁殖區(qū)。
But today, only about six islands in southeastern Louisiana have brown pelican nests — the rest have disappeared underwater.
但如今，路易斯安那州東南部只有大約6個島嶼有褐鵜鶘的巢穴——其余的都消失在水下了。
Slaton and others set up automatic cameras to observe pelican nests on the island.
斯萊頓和其他人安裝了自動攝像機來觀察島上的鵜鶘巢穴。
The cameras show that in recent years the main threat against pelicans is flooding — which can wash away entire nests, as happened in April 2021.
攝像機顯示，近年來，鵜鶘面臨的主要威脅是洪水——洪水可以沖走整個巢穴，就像2021年4月發(fā)生的那樣。
Louisiana's salt water marshes, or wetlands, are also disappearing faster than anywhere else in the country.
路易斯安那州的咸水沼澤（即濕地）消失的速度也比美國其他任何地方都快。
Scientists estimate Louisiana loses around 90 meters of wetlands every 60 to 90 minutes.
科學(xué)家估計，路易斯安那州每60到90分鐘就會失去大約90米的濕地。
Slaton is a researcher at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
斯萊頓是路易斯安那大學(xué)拉菲特分校的一名研究員。
She said, "Louisiana is rapidly losing land," partly because it is sinking but also because sea levels are rising.
她說，“路易斯安那州正在迅速失去土地，”部分原因是它在下沉，但也是因為海平面在上升。
The disappearing islands are the location of a conservation success story.
正在消失的島嶼是一個保護(hù)成功故事的地點。
For many years, scientists have worked to bring the pelicans back from totally dying off.
多年來，科學(xué)家一直在努力使鵜鶘免于滅絕。
Mike Carloss is a state wildlife biologist in Louisiana.
邁克·卡洛斯是路易斯安那州的一名野生生物學(xué)家。
He said he never saw brown pelicans as a child in the 1960s.
他說，他在20世紀(jì)60年代（即他小時候）從未見過褐鵜鶘。
Like bald eagles, their populations had been killed by widespread DDT pesticide use.
與禿鷹一樣，它們的種群也因滴滴涕殺蟲劑的廣泛使用而死亡。
It thinned eggshells and prevented pelicans from hatching.
它使蛋殼變薄，阻止鵜鶘孵化。
The beloved birds were completely gone from Louisiana, only images on the state flag.
這些受人喜愛的鳥完全離開了路易斯安那州，只剩下國旗上的圖像。
But a long-running effort to save them led to the birds' return.
但拯救它們的長期努力導(dǎo)致了這些鳥的回歸。
After DDT was banned in the U.S. in 1972, biologists brought young pelicans from nearby Florida to repopulate empty islands across the Gulf of Mexico.
1972年，滴滴涕在美國被禁止后，生物學(xué)家從附近的佛羅里達(dá)州帶來了年幼的鵜鶘，讓它們在墨西哥灣的空島上重新定居。
More than 1,200 were released in southeastern Louisiana over 13 years.
13年來，超過1200只鵜鶘在路易斯安那州東南部被釋放。
One location was Raccoon Island, where Carloss, then an assistant at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, helped feed the young pelicans on one island.
其中一個地點是浣熊島，時任路易斯安那州野生動物和漁業(yè)部助理的卡洛斯在一個島嶼上幫助喂養(yǎng)小鵜鶘。
"Somebody had to hand-feed them," he said.
他說：“必須有人用手喂它們”。
As a state wildlife biologist, Carloss later oversaw restoration projects on the island.
作為一名州立野生生物學(xué)家，卡洛斯后來監(jiān)督了該島的修復(fù)項目。
But now he fears that if islands keep disappearing, "we would be back to the days of the sixties, and not because of poisoning."
但現(xiàn)在他擔(dān)心，如果島嶼繼續(xù)消失，“我們將回到60年代，而不是因為中毒?！?/span>
Erosion is a natural process leading to the rise and fall of barrier islands like Raccoon Island.
侵蝕是一個自然過程，其導(dǎo)致了諸如浣熊島這樣的屏障島的興衰。
Over the course of thousands of years, layers of soil washed down the Mississippi River to build up the islands.
在數(shù)千年的時間里，一層層的土壤順著密西西比河流下來，形成了這些島嶼。
But it no longer comes down because people have built walls to control the flow of the Mississippi River.
但它不再流下來了，因為人們修建了控制密西西比河水流的墻。
Today, stone barriers are used to protect Raccoon Island from the currents of water.
如今，石頭屏障被用來保護(hù)浣熊島免受水流的侵襲。
And government agencies work to protect other barrier islands.
政府機構(gòu)也在努力保護(hù)其他屏障島。
The money comes from payments after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
這筆資金來自2010年深水地平線漏油事件后的賠償款。
But it will not last forever — and many sinking islands are not rebuilt at all.
但它不會永遠(yuǎn)持續(xù)下去——許多正在下沉的島嶼根本沒有被重建。
The brown pelicans can live more than 20 years.
褐鵜鶘可以活20多年。
So, the effect of disappearing breeding areas will take time to become clear.
因此，繁殖區(qū)消失的影響需要時間才能變得清晰。
But the future for pelicans is uncertain in the barrier islands.
但鵜鶘在屏障島的未來是不確定的。
I'm Jill Robbins.
吉爾·羅賓斯為您播報。
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