Farm Run-Off Linked To Barrier Reef Damage

Inspired by the population studies that found a link between smoking and lung cancer, reef scientists have compiled what could be the most compelling evidence yet that farming is harming the Great Barrier Reef.

There has been a vitriolic debate about whether Queensland’s farms are damaging the reef. Conservationists argue that the increased run-off of agricultural sediments, nutrients and chemicals has reduced coral cover and biodiversity in recent years. On the other hand, farmers claim that shoddy science is being used to sway public opinion and bulldoze them into adopting uneconomic practices. Scientists fall into both of these camps.

Whether the trouble is a direct link is very hard to prove. The water quality naturally fluctuates, and there are threats to the reef’s health from global warming, cyclones and occasional plagues of crown-of-thorns starfish. The historic record of what the reef should look like is sparse. And to run controlled experiments on the reef would be too risky.

But now Katharina Fabricius and Glenn Delth of the Australian Institute of Marine Science in Townsville, Queensland, have tried to inject some objectivity into the debate by applying an epidemiological technique first used to link smoking to lung cancer in the 1960’s.
 
They have compared the health of the reef at several locations close to agricultural areas with that at several others around 400 kilometres away. The results suggest a causal link between agricultural pollution, low coral biodiversity and poor recolonisation of the reef.

Category:       Environment
Source:          Adapted from: New Scientist, June 7, 2003
Words:          250

农业废物与大堡礁受破坏有关

由于受到那些发现了吸烟与肺癌有联系的人口研究的启发，礁岩科学家们收集了可能是迄今最令人信服的证据，证明农业生产正在破坏大堡礁。

在有关昆士兰州许多农场是否在破坏大堡礁这个问题上，一直存在着激烈的争论。环保人士认为，不断增多的农业沉渣、养料和化学物质等农业废弃物已使珊瑚表层的覆盖物和珊瑚的生物多样性在最近几年不断减少。另一方面，农民则声称，伪科学正在被人用来动摇舆论并胁迫他们采用代价高昂的做法。科学家们也分成两派，各自支持这两个阵营的观点。

 要证明这种情况是不是一个直接因素是很难的。水质不稳定是很自然的，而且，全球气候变暖、龙卷风以及长棘海星偶尔带来的灾难也造成对大堡礁自然生态的威胁。有关大堡礁面貌的历史记载现存很少，而且对它进行受控实验也有太大的风险。

 但是，来自昆士兰州汤斯维尔市(Townsville) 澳大利亚海洋科学学院（the Australian Institute of Marine Science）的凯瑟琳娜.费布里希斯（Katharina Fabricius）和格伦.多尔斯（Glenn Delth）目前通过应用一项在20世纪60年代首次被用来证明吸烟与肺癌有联系的流行病学技术，试图给这场争论增添一些客观性。

他们分别在靠近农业区的几个地方和大约４００公里之外的其它几个地方对大堡礁的自然生态进行对比。结果表明，农业污染、珊瑚生物多样性低、以及大堡礁重新移生能力差这三者之间存在着因果关系。

 治疗詹森的医生们也感觉好极了。ST1571是一种攻击白血病细胞而不伤害健康细胞的“智能炸弹”型药物。去年，研究人员们宣布服用ST1571的所有31名患者的白血球计数都恢复到正常后，这一药物第一次上了新闻头条。