◎羅彥傑

Coral-eating starfish have infested several coastal areas in the Philippines, threatening to devastate entire sections of reefs in weeks, a conservation group warned.

會吃珊瑚的海星在菲律賓若干沿岸地區大批出沒，可能在數週內毀壞整個礁區，一個保育團體警告說。

The World Wide Fund for Nature reported outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish in at least seven coastal areas. One starfish can consume six square meters of healthy coral reef in a year.

「世界自然基金會」指出，棘冠海星在至少7處沿岸地區突然大增。一隻海星一年能吃掉6平方公尺的健康珊瑚礁。

Outbreaks of the starfish are detected every summer—March-May—when local ocean temperatures and nutrient levels increase, giving rise to algal blooms.

每年夏天—3到5月—當地的海洋溫度與營養含量增加，導致海藻茂盛生長時，都會偵測到海星驟增。

’’Normally, reefs should be left alone to deal with unusual occurrences such as this,’’ WWF said in a statement. ’’However, the situation facing Philippine reefs is far from normal.’’ It said major predators that should, under normal conditions, keep crown-of-thorns starfish in check are steadily declining due to illegal collection for food and the aquarium trade.

「通常，應放手讓珊瑚礁自己去應付諸如這類不尋常的狀況，」WWF在聲明中說。「不過，菲律賓珊瑚礁面臨的情況實在太不尋常。」該組織說，在正常情況下應該抑制棘冠海星的主要掠食者，正因為遭非法捕食與水族館業者的採集而不斷減少。

《新聞辭典》

infest：動詞，指（害蟲、盜賊）大批出沒、侵擾。例句：The waterway is infested with pirates.（這條航道有大批海盜出沒。）

give rise to：片語，促成、導致。例句：It would give rise to a great deal of conflict.（這將引起頻繁的衝突。）

keep ∼ in check ：片語，抑制。例句：She should keep her jealousy in check.（她應抑制自己的嫉妒心。）