Australia usually hosts the world's biggest cuttlefish mating event - not this year
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Every winter, a sliver of the South Australian coast hosts the world's largest mating event for giant cuttlefish.
每年冬天，南澳大利亚海岸的一小片地区都会举办世界上最大的巨型乌贼交配活动。
Some years, hundreds of thousands of the unique marine species endemic to Australia gather along the Cuttlefish Coast for the annual mating season, bringing their colourful, shape-shifting figures to the shallow waters and attracting thousands of keen divers.
有时候，数十万种澳大利亚特有的独特海洋物种聚集在墨鱼海岸度过一年一度的交配季节，将它们色彩缤纷、变形的形象带到浅水区，吸引了成千上万的热衷潜水者。
But this year, the turnout was the lowest on record, sparking concerns of a "catastrophic decline" of the species.
但今年的投票率是有记录以来最低的，引发了对该物种“灾难性衰退”的担忧。
Official figures released this month estimate just 1,811 cuttlefish turned up to mate this year, down from 63,000 last year - a 97% drop.
本月发布的官方数据估计，今年只有 1,811 只乌贼进行交配，比去年的 63,000 只减少了 97%。
The state government says a toxic algal bloom that has ravaged the state's coastline for more than 18 months may be to blame for the sharp decline.
州政府表示，有毒藻华已经肆虐该州海岸线18个多月，可能是造成数量急剧下降的原因。
The low figures have also prompted calls for the species to be listed as endangered.
较低的数字也促使人们呼吁将该物种列为濒危物种。
Adult cuttlefish typically die after breeding so each mating season is crucial for the species' future, but in recent months, just 440 eggs have been counted, instead of the millions that are usually laid.
成年墨鱼通常在繁殖后死亡，因此每个交配季节对于该物种的未来至关重要，但最近几个月，仅统计了 440 枚卵，而不是通常产下的数百万枚。
Manny Katz, 28, was one of four divers who spent hours along the coast last month to observe the annual breeding event, having been tasked by South Australia's Department of Environment and Water (DEW).
28 岁的曼尼·卡茨 (Manny Katz) 是上个月受南澳大利亚环境与水务部 (DEW) 委托，在海岸花费数小时观察一年一度的繁殖活动的四名潜水员之一。
"Because there have been so few cuttlefish, DEW thought it would be worth going out and trying to do an assessment of how many eggs there currently are around the coastline to understand what the population is going to be next year."
“由于墨鱼数量太少，DEW 认为值得出去尝试评估目前海岸线周围有多少墨鱼卵，以了解明年的墨鱼数量。”
Over two days in July, his team did eight one-hour dives, exploring the undersides of rocky reefs to count the eggs.
七月的两天里，他的团队进行了八次一小时的潜水，探索岩礁的底部来数卵。
"Along the eight kilometres (five miles) of coastline, there would normally be millions of eggs," he said, as each female can lay dozens of egg and tens of thousands usually turn up to breed.
“沿着八公里（五英里）的海岸线，通常会有数百万个卵，”他说，因为每个雌性可以产下数十个卵，并且通常有数以万计的卵来繁殖。
"[We] pretty much looked under every single rock that we could have and we only found about 440 eggs."
“[我们]几乎检查了我们能找到的每一块岩石，只发现了大约 440 个鸡蛋。”
Every winter, divers usually flock to the Cuttlefish Coast to witness the mating season Crucially, adult cuttlefish only live about 12 to 18 months, Katz said, "so the success of one breeding season is going to determine the population next year".
每年冬天，潜水者通常都会涌向墨鱼海岸见证交配季节 卡茨说，最重要的是，成年乌贼的寿命约为 12 至 18 个月，“因此一个繁殖季节的成功将决定明年的种群数量”。
"Under our current circumstances, with there being so few eggs along the coastline, we don't know if the population is ever going to be able to recover."
“在我们目前的情况下，由于海岸线上的鸡蛋很少，我们不知道种群数量是否能够恢复。”
While it's too early to tell what this means for the species' future, Katz said: "we will know that answer probably in the next year or two, whether or not this year has been a catastrophic decline."
虽然现在判断这对该物种的未来意味着什么还为时过早，但卡茨说：“我们可能会在未来一两年内知道答案，无论今年是否出现了灾难性的下降。”
His team also tracked adult cuttlefish numbers during the dive survey, and said the dozen or so they saw - when there should have been tens of thousands - appeared to be behaving differently.
他的团队还在潜水调查期间追踪了成年乌贼的数量，并表示他们看到的十几只乌贼——原本应该有数万只——似乎表现不同。
"This year, they were all really skittish... hiding under rocks.
“今年，他们都非常胆怯……躲在岩石下。
Because there's so few cuttlefish hanging out at the moment, they don't have strength in numbers." Katz said he wasn't shocked by the low numbers this winter given the devastating impact of the toxic algal bloom in South Australia since it was first detected in March last year.
因为现在出没的墨鱼太少了，所以它们的数量并不多。” 卡茨表示，鉴于自去年三月首次发现有毒藻华以来南澳大利亚有毒藻华造成的毁灭性影响，他对今年冬天的低数量并不感到震惊。
The algal bloom - a rapid increase in the population of algae in water systems – is naturally occurring but is caused by ocean warming, marine heatwaves, and nutrient pollution - all exacerbated by climate change.
藻华——水系统中藻类数量的迅速增加——是自然发生的，但却是由海洋变暖、海洋热浪和营养物污染引起的——所有这些都因气候变化而加剧。
"Our marine habitats have been getting wiped out for the past year and a half now... this is an indicator that our marine ecosystems are in real big trouble - the canary in the coal mine, so to speak."
“在过去的一年半里，我们的海洋栖息地已经被消灭了……这表明我们的海洋生态系统确实遇到了大麻烦——可以说是煤矿里的金丝雀。”
Last year's cuttlefish mating season was not impacted as the effects of the algal bloom had not yet reached the Cuttlefish Coast, Katz said, but since late last year, small concentrations of the toxic algae have been detected in the area.
卡茨说，去年的墨鱼交配季节并未受到影响，因为藻华的影响尚未波及墨鱼海岸，但自去年年底以来，该地区已检测到少量有毒藻类。
This was particularly worrying as cuttlefish, along with other cephalopods like octopus and squid, are particularly vulnerable to the toxic algae.
这尤其令人担忧，因为乌贼以及章鱼和鱿鱼等其他头足类动物特别容易受到有毒藻类的侵害。
Fewer cuttlefish mating this year is likely to have an impact on next year's population Stefan Andrews, co-founder of the Great Southern Reef Foundation, is seeking to have the giant Australian cuttlefish listed as a threatened species given its "catastrophic decline" due to the algal bloom and the impact on the next generation.
今年墨鱼交配减少可能会对明年的数量产生影响 大南礁基金会联合创始人斯特凡·安德鲁斯（Stefan Andrews）正在寻求将澳大利亚巨型乌贼列为受威胁物种，因为藻类大量繁殖导致澳大利亚乌贼数量出现“灾难性下降”，并对下一代产生影响。
"The harmful algal blooma is a leading plausible explanation and appears likely to have contributed, but the vailable evidence does not yet allow us to say definitively that it caused the entire decline," he said.
他说：“有害的藻华是一个主要的合理解释，并且似乎可能有所贡献，但现有证据尚不能让我们明确地说它导致了整个衰退。”
He said with so few adults and so little breeding activity observed, the number of young entering the population is likely to be very low.
他说，由于成虫很少，观察到的繁殖活动也很少，进入种群的幼崽数量可能会非常低。
"That will make the next breeding season especially challenging."
“这将使下一个繁殖季节变得尤其具有挑战性。”
A spokesperson for South Australia's Department of Primary Industries and Regions said cuttlefish populations "naturally fluctuate" depending on environmental conditions.
南澳大利亚第一产业和地区部发言人表示，墨鱼数量会根据环境条件“自然波动”。
Previous surveys have reported record lows of 13,500 in 2013 to highs of 247,000 in 2020.
此前的调查显示，2013 年这一数字为 13,500 人，创历史新低，而 2020 年则为 247,000 人，创下历史新高。
"The cuttlefish population estimate rebounded to more than 100,000 just two years following the low numbers in 2013," the spokesperson said.
该发言人表示：“继 2013 年数量较低之后，仅两年，墨鱼数量估计就反弹至 10 万多只。”
"While it appears likely the algal bloom has impacted cuttlefish numbers, researchers are working to determine whether this contributed to the reduced population or was just one of the potential impacts."
“虽然藻类大量繁殖似乎影响了墨鱼的数量，但研究人员正在努力确定这是否导致了墨鱼数量的减少，或者只是潜在影响之一。”
Prof Mike Steer, executive director of the South Australian Research and Development Institute which helped carry out the underwater surveys, said the unprecedented low estimate this year was "disheartening".
帮助进行水下调查的南澳大利亚研究与发展研究所执行主任迈克·斯蒂尔教授表示，今年前所未有的低估计值“令人沮丧”。
But he remained hopeful as "we know from the past that this population has the capacity to recover when conditions are favourable".
但他仍然充满希望，因为“我们从过去知道，当条件有利时，这些人口有能力恢复”。
He said there were "positive signs" as adult cuttlefish were continuing to lay eggs and the population may recover "over coming years".
他说，有“积极迹象”，成年乌贼正在继续产卵，数量可能会在“未来几年”恢复。
Toxic algae kills more than 200 marine species in Australia
有毒藻类导致澳大利亚 200 多种海洋物种死亡
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