Zoologists routinely track animals, from albatross to zebra, using global positioning system(GPS) tags which then return their data via satellite.
动物学家通常使用全球定位系统（GPS）标记跟踪动物，从信天翁到斑马，这些标记随后会通过卫星返回数据。
Marine biologists have a harder time of it, though, because seawater is infuriatingly opaque to radio signals. This makes it impossible either to receive GPS signals or to transmit any data collected back to base.
然而，海洋生物学家跟踪动物更加困难，因为无线电信号难以穿过极其不透明的海水。这使得科学家无法接收GPS信号，也无法将收集的数据发回基地。
That does not stop people tagging sea creatures. Data collected and stored in a tag can either be sent to a satellite in bursts if the species in question is one that comes to the surface from time to time, or the tag can be dispatched on a one-way trip to the surface after a set period. A tag may also be recovered if the animal carrying it is caught by a fishing boat.
这并不能阻止人们给海洋生物做标记。如果被标记的生物时不时来到海水表面，那么收集和储存在标记中的数据可以在这些时段集中发送到卫星。或者，标记也可以在一段规定的时间内单向发送到陆地。如果携带标记的动物被渔船捕获，也可以回收标记。
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Simon Thorrold, an ocean ecologist at Woods Hole, plans to attach the tags to tuna and swordfish later this year. Both species are commercially important, and their behaviour is not properly understood.
伍兹霍尔海洋生态学家西蒙·索罗德（Simon Thorrold）计划在今年晚些时候给金枪鱼和剑鱼做标记。这两种生物都具有很高的商业价值，但人们尚未充分了解其行为。
Swordfish follow a daily pattern, diving at dawn and spending the day at depths of up to 800 metres before rising near the surface again at night. But nobody knows what drives them to do this.
剑鱼有日常活动规律，它黎明时下潜，白天在海水800米深处，在夜间再次上浮至水面附近。然而，没人知道这种行为背后的原因。
Sword Fish
Dr Thorrold suspects it may be related to the way the fish interact with so-called mesoscale features. These are gyres tens of kilometres across which last for a month or so. In particular, a type of feature called a warm-core eddy may be crucial for populations of prey species.
索罗德博士怀疑这可能与鱼类与所谓的“中尺度特征”相互作用的方式有关。“中尺度特征”指持续约一个月左右、宽约数十公里的涡旋，其中，一种叫“暖涡”的特征可能对剑鱼的猎物种群至关重要。
Plotting the way swordfish move in relation to eddies could reveal much about the workings of the marine ecosystem. Dr Thorrold says the findings could help both fisherfolk and the environment, by helping ensure that only fish of the desired type are caught, therefore minimising so-called by-catch of forbidden or noncommercial species.
绘制剑鱼在涡旋影响下移动的路径，可以大大揭示海洋生态系统的运作方式。索罗德博士说，这些发现对渔民和环境都有好处，能保证渔船只捕获所需要的鱼类，尽量减少被禁止捕捞或非商业用途的“副渔获”。
图文来源 | The Economist
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