Australia is home to about one in 12 of the world’s species of animals, birds, plants and insects – between 600,000 and 700,000 species. More than 80% of Australian plants and mammals and just under 50% of our birds are found nowhere else.
澳洲是世界上，大約12分之一，動物、鳥類、植物及昆蟲物種(60萬至70萬種)的棲息地。多於80%的澳洲植物與哺乳動物，及略低於50%的鳥類，在其他地方找不到。
But habitat destruction, climate change, and invasive species are wreaking havoc on Earth’s rich biodiversity, and Australia is no exception.
不過，棲息地遭破壞、氣候變遷及入侵的物種，正在對地球豐富的生物多樣性造成嚴重破壞，澳洲也不例外。
In 2023, the federal government added another 144 plants, animals and ecological communities to the threatened species list – including iconic species such as the pink cockatoo, spiny crayfish and earless dragons.
於2023年，澳洲聯邦政府將另外144種植物、動物及生態群落，添加到遭威脅物種名單中，其中包括粉紅鳳頭鸚鵡、多刺小龍蝦及無耳龍(澳洲特有的地面棲息龍蜥蜴，其特徵是沒有外耳結構)等，標誌性物種。
More and more species stand on the edge of oblivion. That’s just the ones we know enough about to list formally as threatened. Many more are in trouble, especially in the oceans. Change is the new constant.
越來越多的物種處於被遺忘的邊緣。這只是我們頗為知曉，即將正式列為遭威脅的物種。有更多處於困境中，特別是海洋中的物種。改變是新的常態。
As the world heats up and ecosystems warp, new combinations of species can emerge without an evolutionary connection, creating novel communities.
隨著世界暖化及生態體系變反常，在沒有演化連結的情況下，會出現新的物種組合，而產生出新的群落。
It is still possible to stop species from dying out. But it will take an unprecedented effort.
阻止物種滅絕仍然是可能的。不過，這將需要前所未有的努力。
圖1. 脆弱的南方鈴蛙(Litoria raniformis，亦稱為咆哮的草)。
The vulnerable southern bell (growling grass) frog (Litoria raniformis).
The modern extinction crisis is quite recent. Between 1970 and 2018, wildlife populations around the world fell by almost 70%.
現代的滅絕危機是頗為最近的。在1970年至2018年間，世界各地野生動物種群量，下降達近乎70%。
But the collapse of these populations isn’t equal – Latin America and the Caribbean have lost around 94% of the individuals in wild populations. Africa has lost 65%, Asia-Pacific about 45%, while North America and Europe have lost 45% and Central Asia 33%.
不過，此些種群並非等量量消失。拉丁美洲及加勒比海地區已經喪失，野生動物種群量中，大約94%的個體。非洲已經喪失65%，亞太地區大約45%，而北美與歐洲已經喪失45%及中亞33%。
In the 250 years since Europeans arrived, at least 100 unique Australian species have gone extinct. That’s about 6% to 10% of all recorded extinctions worldwide since the year 1500. If we look at mammals alone, we have the worst track record of any country.
打從歐洲人到來之後的250年間，至少100種澳洲特有的物種已經滅絕。那大約是1500年來，全球有記錄之滅絕事件的6%到10%。倘若我們僅檢視哺乳動物，我們具有的記錄是所有國家中最糟糕的。
Extinction doesn’t happen overnight. An abundant species might be exposed to a new predator such as feral cats. Its population could fall to the point where it is listed as threatened, meaning it has a high chance of becoming extinct in the near future.
滅絕並非一夜間發生。豐富的物種可能遭到，諸如野貓等新的掠食者。種群量會下降到被列為遭威脅的程度，意味著其具有高度可能性，於不久的將來，發生滅絕。
圖2. 這是於澳洲，將一個物種列為遭威脅所需要的。
This is what it takes to list a species as threatened in Australia.
If the species can’t adapt and if we do nothing, the species can become critically endangered and decline to a few hundred individuals. If pressure continues, it can go extinct in the wild. And if zoos can’t establish breeding populations or we simply don’t know about it, the entire species can wink out of existence.
倘若此些物種無法適應，而我們又無所作為。此些物種會變得極度瀕危，而減少到數百個體。倘若壓力持續，則會於野外滅絕。同時，倘若動物園無法建立繁殖的種群，或者我們根本不知道這一點，那麼整個物種會眨眼間，不存在。
圖3. 從2000年至2023年，遭威脅物種列入清單的年表。頂部面板：按四類列出的物種原始數量：EX = 野外滅絕； CR = 極度瀕危； EN = 瀕危； VU = 脆弱。底部面板：以比例表示的列表年表。
Timeline of threatened species listings from 2000 to 2023. Top panel: raw number of species listed in four categories: EX = Extinct in the Wild; CR = Critically Endangered; EN = Endangered; VU = Vulnerable. Bottom panel: timeline of listings expressed as proportions.
Australia’s threatened species list is useful, because it helps us prioritise which species to help. But it does not show the true number of species in danger. There are well known gaps, such as many invertebrates that have gone extinct unnoticed because of their secretive nature and small size.
澳洲遭威脅的物種名單是有用的，因為它有助於我們，將哪些物種列於優先進行協助。不過，它並未顯示，處於瀕危之物種的真實數量。有一些眾所周知的差距，諸如很多已經滅絕的無脊椎動物，由於其生性詭秘及體型小，未被注意到。
The list likely misses other lesser-known or hard to research groups such as microorganisms, hard to find marine species, snakes and lizards, and rare plants.
這份名單可能遺漏了，其他較鮮為人知或難以研究的群體。譬如，微生物、難以找到的海洋物種、蛇及蜥蜴及稀有植物。
Neither does the list take into account species that depend on each other, such as wasps relying on one species to parasitise and pollinators specialising on a few types of flowers. Yet these complex interactions are essential to healthy functioning of ecosystems.
該名單也未考慮相互依賴的物種，諸如依賴一種物種來寄生的黃蜂，及針對幾種花卉特化的傳粉媒介。不過，此些複雜的相互作用，對於生態體系的健康運作，是不可或缺的。
To list a species as threatened takes work. By the time we have catalogued all species on Earth – estimated to take 100–200 years at current discovery rates – experts estimate most species will have already gone extinct.
為了將一個物種列為遭威脅，需要付出努力。到我們已經編目地球上所有物種的時候(以目前的發現速度，估計需要100至200年)，專家們估計大多數物種將已滅絕。
For decades, conservationists have used species recovery programs to try and bring threatened species back from the brink. You need a combination of approaches – there’s no point breeding thousands of endangered woylies if their habitat has been replaced with farmland or plantation.
幾十年來，自然資源保護主義者們，一直利用物種恢復計劃，來嘗試將遭威脅的物種，使其從瀕臨滅絕邊緣復原。這需結合多種方法，倘若它們的棲息地，已經被以農地或種植園所取代，那麼飼養數千隻瀕臨滅絕的沃伊利(woylie，一種小型、極度瀕危的哺乳動物，原產於澳洲的森林和灌木叢)則毫無意義。
One measure with good results is to use policy measures to cut forest loss and other habitat destruction. Lost habitat is the main reason more than 85% of our threatened species are on the list in the first place. Invasive species and diseases can worsen damage from habitat loss – or act alone.
一項具有良好效果的措施是，利用諸多政策措施，來減少森林的喪失及其他棲息地的破壞。棲息地喪失是咱們多於85%遭威脅物種，首先於此名單上的主要原因。入侵的物種及疾病會惡化，來自棲息地喪失的損害，或單獨起作用。
圖4. 限制及扭轉土地清除，是咱們能採取之減少物種滅絕風險的一件事。
Restricting and reversing land clearing is one thing we can do to reduce the risk of species going extinct.
Extinction is not inevitable. Between 2000 to 2022, we saw 29 species recover to the point they could be taken off the threatened list.
滅絕並非無可避免。於2000年至2022年間，我們發現29個物種恢復到，能從遭威脅名單中，被刪除的程度。
But the road to recovery is long, complicated, and far from assured for most of our worst-affected species.
不過，對咱們遭影響最嚴重的大多數物種而言，恢復之路是漫長、複雜且一點也不確定。
Each species has a climate it prefers and can survive in. But the magnitude of expected future climate change is likely to produce climates without precedent in many regions. We could see the creation of entirely new biological communities and environments, as has happened before.
每一物種有其較喜愛且能存活的氣候。不過，預期之未來氣候變遷的幅度，可能在許多地區產生前所未有的氣候。我們可能看到全新之生物群落及環境的產生，如同以前曾發生那樣。
The best-known novel communities emerged at high latitudes mostly between 17,000 and 12,000 years ago. Here, for instance, spruce and ash trees in North America grew side by side – even though they now live far apart – and pines were less common than today.
最著名的新群落全出現於，1萬7千至1萬2千年前的高緯度地區。譬如，現在於北美的雲杉及白蠟樹並排生長。即使它們目前生存相隔很遠，而松樹比當今較不常見。
Unfortunately, the emergence of novel communities often led to an increase in species extinctions.
不幸的是，新群落的出現往往導致增多的物種滅絕。
For instance, novel habitats in Melbourne’s suburbs have led to a surge in southern brown bandicoots, who find strips of native and introduced plants along roads, canals and railways to their liking.
不過，新型生態體系的出現並不意味著，所有物種會遭受損害。譬如，於墨爾本郊區的新棲息地，導致了南方棕袋狸數量激增。它們在道路、運河及鐵路沿線找到了，其喜歡之本土及引進植物的狹長地帶。
圖5. 南方棕袋狸(Isoodon obesulus)顯然是一種瀕臨滅絕的物種，實際上獲益於新的生態體系。
The southern brown bandicoot (Isoodon obesulus) appears to be an endangered species which actually benefits from novel ecosystems.
New ecosystems can sometimes harbour more species and actually be more resilient due to the variety of species traits, behaviours, and genetic diversity. But this is not guaranteed.
新的生態體系有時能為更多的物種提供棲息地，且由於物種特徵、行為及遺傳多樣性的多樣化，實際上是更有恢復力的。不過，這並不被保證。
Managing these new ecosystems will be challenging. We will have to come up with creative ways to handle these changes by adopting Indigenous practices or applying novel solutions such as genetic rescue, mass reforestation and assisted migration to reduce extinction rates.
管理此些新的生態體系會是具挑戰性的。我們將必須想出創意的方法，來應對此些改變，藉由採用本土做法，或應用諸如基因拯救、大規模再造林及輔助遷徙等新穎的解決方案，來降低滅絕率。
With unprecedented climates, novel ecosystems, invasive species, and disruptions to the food chain, we can expect more and more species to be added to the threatened list.
由於前所未有的氣候、新的生態體系、入侵的物種及對食物鏈的擾亂，我們能預期越來越多的物種，將被添加到遭威脅的名單中。
網址：https://theconversation.com/new-ecosystems-unprecedented-climates-more-australian-species-than-ever-are-struggling-to-survive-222375
翻譯：許東榮
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