Oil pollution could damage the fragile ecology of the coral reefs.

石油污染可能破坏珊瑚礁脆弱的生态环境。

Oil spills are having a devastating effect on coral reefs in the ocean.

海上溢油对海洋里的珊瑚礁有着毁灭性影响。

This does much harm to the coral reefs.

这对珊瑚礁造成了很大的伤害。

Coral reefs around the world are in danger.

世界各地的珊瑚礁正处于危险之中。

Experts say that 80% of Thailand's coral reefs have been killed.

专家表示，泰国80%的珊瑚礁已经被杀死。

I hope the government can take steps to protect the coral reefs.

我希望政府能采取措施保护珊瑚礁。

All over the world, coral reefs are dying.

全世界的珊瑚礁都在消亡。

This of course has beneficial results for the nearby coral reefs.

这当然对附近的珊瑚礁有益。

Now, in small numbers, the starfish don't affect coral reefs dramatically.

现在，海星数量很少，对珊瑚礁的影响也不大。

Both of these grow in coastal waters, often in the vicinity of coral reefs.

这两种植物都生长在沿海水域，且通常生长在珊瑚礁附近。

The Cot starfish is found on coral reefs in the tropical Pacific Ocean and it eats coral.

刺冠海星生活在热带太平洋的珊瑚礁上，以珊瑚为食。

See, when coral reefs experience bleaching, it's rarely a case of the whole reef being affected.

你看，当珊瑚礁经历白化时，整个珊瑚礁群受到的影响是很小的。

Coral reefs are one of the most fragile, biologically complex, and diverse marine ecosystems on Earth.

珊瑚礁是地球上最脆弱、生态性最复杂、最多样化的海洋生态系统之一。

There's another technique that's been experimented with to try to help coral reefs recover from bleaching.

人们还尝试了另一种技术，试图帮助珊瑚礁从漂白状态中恢复。

We are seeing a decline in major ecosystems like kelp forests, sea life communities, coral reefs and so on.

我们正目睹像海藻丛林，海洋生物群落，珊瑚礁等主要生态系统的衰落。

These should be the area of concentration for researchers to locate and protect those regions as a way to sustain coral reefs.

这些区域是研究人员应该定位并保护的中心区域，这是维持珊瑚礁群的一种方法。

One consequence for coral reefs is that the symbiosis between the corals and algae that constitute a living reef is breaking down.

珊瑚礁面临的一个后果是，构成活珊瑚礁的珊瑚和藻类之间的共生关系正在瓦解。

Now let's focus on a specific example of a natural predator that can cause a lot of damage to coral reefs—the Crown of Thorns, or CoT starfish.

现在，让我们来看一个自然捕食者的具体例子，它会对珊瑚礁造成很大的伤害——那就是刺冠海星。

Since the disappearance of sea urchins from the waters up the coast of South Florida, many coral reefs there have been smothered by the uncontrolled growth of algae.

自从海胆从南佛罗里达海岸的海水中消失后，那里有许多珊瑚礁被不受控制生长的藻类所扼杀。

We've been talking about the decline of coral reefs in tropical areas all over the world—how natural and man-made stresses are causing them to degrade or in some cases, to die.

我们之前提到了世界各地热带地区中珊瑚礁的衰落，即自然和人为（造成的）压力是怎样造成珊瑚礁退化，或者甚至在某些情况下，造成它们死亡的。

"I would like to have seen more protection for coral reefs," says Terry Hughes, director of the Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University in Queensland.

“我希望珊瑚礁能得到更多保护。”昆士兰州詹姆斯·库克大学珊瑚礁卓越研究中心主任特里·休斯说。

So we have been fairly thorough in our discussion about coral reefs, which of course are prominent, oceanic features made of hard limestone skeletons produced by tiny coral animals.

我们对珊瑚礁的讨论已经相当深入了；显然，珊瑚礁具有显著的海洋特征，由小型珊瑚动物制造的石灰骨架构成。

We've gone over where coral reefs are usually formed—along the edges of shallow ocean banks in tropical or subtropical regions, and the fact that they are declining at an alarming rate.

我们已经对珊瑚礁通常是在哪里形成的问题进行了讨论，它们是在热带或亚热带地区沿着浅海海岸的边缘形成的，而它们的数量正在以惊人的速度减少。

The coral reefs are not exempt.

珊瑚礁也不能幸免。

Globally some 16% of coral reefs died in 1998.

全球大约有16%的珊瑚礁在1998年死亡。

Coral reefs also protect coastal areas from storms.

珊瑚礁还可以使沿海地区免遭暴风雨袭击。

Climate change worsens prospects for coral reefs' survival.

气候变化使珊瑚礁生存的前景变得更为暗淡。

The 1998 event caused 16% of the world's coral reefs to die.

1998年的这起事件造成世界上16%的珊瑚礁的死亡。

Coral reefs are part of the foundation of the ocean food chain.

珊瑚礁是海洋食物链基础的一部分。

Coral reefs already appear doomed and many shellfish could follow.

珊瑚礁早已显露出难逃一劫的状态，而许多贝类也会步其后尘。