冰川融化，两种昆虫被列入濒危物种名单

The continued existence of two species of insects is in doubt because climate change is melting away the glaciers and year-round snowfields they depend on, US wildlife officials said Wednesday.

美国野生动物保护官员于本周三称，两种昆虫能否继续生存尚存疑问，因为气候变化正在融化它们赖以生存的冰川和终年积雪。

The western glacier stonefly and the meltwater lednian stonefly found in the northern Rocky Mountains will be protected as threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. US Fish and Wildlife Service officials said.

在洛矶山脉北部发现的西部冰川石蝇，和融水莱德南冰川石蝇将受到联邦濒危物种法案的保护。美国鱼类和野生动物管理局官员表示。

“We recognize the fact that this species is not doing well,” agency spokeswoman Jennifer Koches said. “The primary threat to the habitat to both species are climate-change induced.”

“我们意识到这个物种的情况并不好，”该机构发言人珍妮弗·科切斯说。“对这两个物种栖息地的主要威胁是由气候变化引起的。”

The stoneflies’ peril underscores the threat climate change poses to mountaintops worldwide that are “biodiversity hotspots” — home to a rich variety of plants, animals and insects that scientists are still learning about, said Clint Muhlfeld, a research aquatic ecologist for the US Geological Survey.

美国地质调查局水生生态学家克林特·穆尔菲尔德说，石蝇的危险凸显了气候变化对全球“生物多样性热点地区”的山顶造成的威胁。“生物多样性热点地区”是各种植物、动物和昆虫的家园，科学家们仍在研究这些植物、动物和昆虫。

Muhlfeld, who is based in Montana’s Glacier National Park, led the scientific research that backed the fish and wildlife service’s decision.

住在蒙大拿冰川国家公园的米尔菲尔德领导了支持鱼类和野生动物管理局决定的科学研究。

“It’s not just about those two species,” he said. “They represent an entire ecosystem we know little about.”

“不仅仅是这两个物种，”他说。“它们代表了我们知之甚少的整个生态系统。”

The stoneflies live in high-elevation, cold-water streams fed by glaciers and perennial snowfields in and around Glacier National Park in Montana and Native American tribal lands in western Montana. More recently, western glacier stoneflies were found in streams in Wyoming’s Grand Teton National Park and the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness in Montana and Wyoming.

这些石蝇生活在高海拔的冷水溪流中，它们的食物来自蒙大拿冰川国家公园及其周围的冰川和常年雪原，以及蒙大拿西部的印第安部落土地。最近，在怀俄明州的大提顿国家公园和蒙大拿州和怀俄明州的absaraka - beartooth荒野的溪流中发现了西部冰川石蝇。

They are mostly found in steep, remote areas that are hard to reach and away from backcountry trails.

它们大多生长在陡峭、偏远、交通不便的地区，远离偏僻的小路。

Melting glaciers, higher water temperatures and changes in the volume of snowmelt and runoff are harming the habitat they need to survive, federal wildlife officials said. Most glaciers and snowfields in the species’ main location, Glacier National Park, are predicted to disappear by 2030.

联邦野生动物官员说，冰川融化、水温升高以及融雪量和径流的变化正在损害它们赖以生存的栖息地。该物种的主要栖息地——冰川国家公园的大部分冰川和雪原预计将在2030年消失。

The new threatened species classification, which takes effect 30 days from Wednesday, will make federal funding available for conservation efforts meant to aid the insects’ recovery and restore their habitat.

新的濒危物种分类将从周三起30天内生效，联邦政府将为保护濒危物种提供资金，帮助它们恢复和恢复栖息地。

Researchers have said it’s uncertain what measures could be taken to preserve the insects, which are mostly found in national parks that already have strong regulations in place to protect wildlife.

研究人员表示，目前还不确定应该采取什么措施来保护这些昆虫，它们大多生活在国家公园里，而国家公园里已经有了保护野生动物的严格规定。