Fantastic.

在座有誰覺得海中的生命很迷人？

Now, what did we just do?

好極了。

Let's dissect this for a second.

我們剛剛做了什麼？

The simple action of an individual raising a hand

咱們先來分析一下這件事。

led many others to do the same.

一個人舉起手的這種簡單動作，

Now, it's true that when individuals in a social network

讓許多其他人都跟著做。

have common priorities,

的確，若在社交網路中的個人

it's often beneficial to copy one another.

有共同的優先順序，

Think back to grade school and dressing like the cool kids made you "cool."

仿效彼此通常是有益處的。

But copying behavior is also common in wild animals.

回想小學時代，跟那些酷孩子 穿得很像就能讓你「很酷」。

For example, some birds copy the alarm calls of other birds

但，仿效行為在野生動物中 也是很常見的。

to spread information about approaching predators.

比如，有些鳥會仿效 其他鳥的警告叫聲，

But could copying behavior in wild animals

來散播關於食肉動物靠近的警訊。

affect entire ecosystems that we humans depend on?

但，野生動物的仿效行為有沒有可能

I was led to this question while studying coral reefs,

影響我們人類仰賴的整個生態系統？

which support millions of people through fisheries and tourism

當我在研究珊瑚礁時， 這個問題浮現出來，

here in Africa and around the world.

數百萬人賴以為生的珊瑚礁， 從漁業到旅遊業，

But coral reefs depend on fish

在非洲這裡以及全世界都是如此。

that perform a critical job by eating algae.

但，珊瑚礁要仰賴魚類

Because if left unchecked,

執行極重要的工作：吃掉水藻。

these algae can kill coral and take over entire coral reefs,

因為若不受約束，

a costly change that is difficult or impossible to reverse.

這些水藻會害死珊瑚， 且佔據整個珊瑚礁，

So to understand how fish may prevent this,

造成很難改變 或無法逆轉的高昂代價。

I spy on them

所以，為了了解 魚類如何預防這現象，

while they're eating algae,

我監視牠們，

which can be difficult for them to do

觀察牠們吃水藻，

in open parts of the reef exposed to predators,

這對牠們來說可能蠻困難的，

some of which, on rare occasion,

因為當牠們在珊瑚礁的開放區域時， 會暴露在食肉動物的危機下，

appear to realize I'm watching them.

極罕見地，有些食肉動物

(Laughter)

顯然知道我在看牠們。

So clearly, clearly, for reef fish,

（笑聲）

dining out can be scary.

所以，很顯然，對珊瑚礁魚類而言，

But I wanted to understand how these fish do their job

外出用餐是挺可怕的。

in risky situations.

但我想要了解這些魚類如何在危險的

So my colleagues and I put massive video camera stands

情境中進行這項工作。

in a coral reef

所以我和同事架設了 巨大的攝影機腳架，

to remotely monitor entire feeding grounds

架在一個珊瑚礁上，

that produce a lot of algae

讓我們從遠端監視整片就食地，

but are exposed to predators.

這裡有許多水藻，

And this perspective from above

但也暴露在食肉動物的危險中。

shows us the feeding behavior and precise movements

從上面看的這個視角，

of many different fish,

能呈現出多種不同魚類的就食行為

shown here with colored dots.

及精確的移動路線，

And by analyzing thousands of fish movements

這些有顏色的點表示魚類。

to and from feeding grounds,

藉由分析數千筆魚類移動的資料，

we discovered a pattern.

包括前往就食地以及在該處的移動，

These fish, despite being from different species

我們發現了一個模式。

and not swimming in schools,

這些魚類，儘管是不同種，

were copying one another,

且沒有成群移動，

such that one fish entering these dangerous feeding grounds

牠們仍然會仿效彼此，

could lead many others to do the same.

當一條魚進入了危險的就食地時，

And fish stayed for longer and ate more algae

可能會造成其他魚類跟進。

when they were surrounded by more feeding fish.

且當被更多來就食的魚類圍繞時，

Now, this could be happening

牠們就會待得更久、吃得更多。

because even simple movements by individual fish

會發生這種現象，

can inadvertently communicate vital information.

可能是因為單一條魚的簡單動作

For example, if even one fish sees a predator and flees,

會不經意地傳遞出重要資訊。

this can alert many others to danger.

比如，即使是一條魚 看見食肉動物並逃跑，

And a fish safely entering feeding grounds can show others that the coast is clear.

這動作就會警告其他魚有危險出現。

So it turns out that even when these fish are different species,

而一條魚安全地進入就食地， 就能讓其他魚知道這裡沒有危險。

they are connected within social networks

所以，結果發現， 即使這些魚類屬於不同種，

which can provide information on when it's safe to eat.

牠們仍然在社交網路中連結在一起，

And our analyses indicate that fish simply copying other fish in their social network

這個網路能提供何時 可以安心去就食的資訊。

could account for over 60 percent of the algae eaten by the fish community,

我們的分析指出，被魚群吃掉的 水藻中，超過六成都是被

and thus could be critical to the flow of energy and resources

在魚類的社交網路中單純仿效 其他魚的那些魚給吃掉的，

through coral reef ecosystems.

因此，對於珊瑚礁生態系統中的 能量與資源的流動，

But these findings also suggest that overfishing,

這些魚是很重要的。

a common problem in coral reefs,

但這些發現也顯示出，過度捕撈是

not only removes fish,

珊瑚礁的常見問題，

but it could break up the social network of remaining fish,

不僅會造成魚類消失，

which may hide more and eat less algae

也會破壞剩下魚類的社交網路，

because they're missing critical information.

導致牠們更常隱藏起來， 吃的水藻更少，

And this would make coral reefs more vulnerable than we currently predict.

因為牠們得不到重要的資訊。

So remarkably, fish social networks

這會讓珊瑚礁比我們 目前所預測的更脆弱。

allow the actions of one to spread to many

所以，顯然魚類社交網路

and could affect entire coral reefs,

能將一條魚的行為散播給許多條魚，

which feed millions of us

且可能影響到整個珊瑚礁，

and support the global economy

這個餵養數百萬人、

for all of us.

全球經濟都賴以為生的珊瑚礁。

Now, our discovery points us towards better ways

我們的發現，為我們 指出了更好的方式，

to sustainably manage coral reefs,

來永續地管理珊瑚礁，

but it also shows us,

但也讓我們知道，

we humans are not just affected by the actions of other humans,

我們人類並不只受到 其他人的行為所影響，

but we could be affected by the actions of individual fish

連遠方珊瑚礁上的一條魚所做的

on a distant coral reef

簡單仿效行為，也可能影響我們。

through their simple copying behavior.

謝謝。

Thank you.

（掌聲）

(Applause)