你对海洋的世界了解多少?

Joe Pawlik:  It's pretty surprising in this day and age we know so little about such big things under the sea. You would think we would know everything we need to know about this planet.

乔·鲍里克：在当今这个时代我们竟对深海处的这种大型生物了解的如此至少，这真让人吃惊。你也许认为我们已经熟知地球万物。

You are listening to a marine biologist Joe Pawlik at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. He studies giant barrel sponges growing on coral reefs in the Caribbean.  Pawlik refers to these sponges as the 'redwoods of the deep' because they resemble trees in their enormous size.

您正听到的是威明顿市北卡罗来纳大学海洋生物学家乔·鲍里克的声音。他主要研究生长于加勒比海珊瑚礁上的圆桶海绵。鲍里克将其比作“海底红杉”，因为他们的尺寸和树一样大。

Joe Pawlik:  They do remind you somewhat of trees. They're massive.  You can fit a diver inside the cavity that's in the center of particularly large individuals.

乔·鲍里克：他们体型很大，会让你想到大树。这种特大个体的中央型腔内可容纳一名潜水员。

Pawlik said that – since the year 2000 – the giant barrel sponge population off the Florida coast has grown by more than 40%.

鲍里克说，在2000年来，福罗里达州沿海圆桶海绵的数量增长了40%多。

Joe Pawlik:  As the coral populations decline, sponges obviously have less competition.  Potentially the sponge cover could be greater because the coral cover is being reduced by other things.

乔·鲍里克：随着珊瑚数量的下降，海绵的竞争压力减小。珊瑚覆面积因其他因素影响仍在缩小，海绵面积则很可能会进一步扩大。

And as the sponge population grows, he said corals are declining. Pawlik said that increasing CO2 in Earth's atmosphere acidifies and warms ocean waters, which will impact marine life.

海绵在剧增，珊瑚仍在递减。鲍克里说地球大气CO2浓度增加，使海水酸化，水温升高，将影响海洋生物。

Joe Pawlik:  When people talk about needing to go to space because we already know what's going on on this planet, that's not necessarily true. We have a lot to learn and, particularly, a lot to learn in the ocean's depths.

乔·鲍里克：人们说我们对地球已经了如指掌，应该去探索外太空。然而这未必属实，我们要学的还有很多，尤其是对海底的探知。