A trove of snapshots from a 1960s diving expedition reveals stunning glimpses of Jamaica's vibrant ecosystems of the past.
一批来自20世纪60年代潜水考察的快照，令人惊叹地展现了牙买加昔日充满生机的生态系统。
This is transforming our vision of what coral reefs can be.
这正在改变我们对珊瑚礁可能呈现何种面貌的认识。
In 1966, marine scientist Eileen Graham dived into the waters along the northern coast of Jamaica to study the lush, vibrant coral reefs.
1966年，海洋科学家艾琳·格雷厄姆潜入牙买加北部海岸沿线水域，研究那里茂盛而生机勃勃的珊瑚礁。
Over the course of two years and long before digital cameras, she gathered a collection of over 1,000 images from Discovery Bay, Runaway Bay and Rio Bueno that capture reefs dense with coral, bright with sea fans and sponges, and alive with shoals of snappers and grouper fish.
在两年时间里，远在数码相机出现之前，她在迪斯卡弗里湾、拉纳韦湾和里奥布埃诺收集了1000多张照片，记录下珊瑚密布、海扇和海绵色彩鲜艳，以及笛鲷和石斑鱼成群游弋的珊瑚礁。
Today, that archive of stunning photos has taken on a new significance, scientists say: after decades of declining Jamaican coral reefs, it is reminding the world what a healthy habitat looks like.
科学家们说，如今，这批令人惊叹的照片档案有了新的意义：在牙买加珊瑚礁经历数十年衰退之后，它正提醒世界，一个健康的栖息地应是什么样子。
Graham's images, once a snapshot of an underwater world bursting with life, have become evidence of change and loss.
格雷厄姆的照片曾是一个生机盎然的水下世界的瞬间记录，如今已成为变化与失落的证据。
But the photos can also help us know what to aim for, when trying to protect and restore the reefs.
但这些照片也能帮助我们在试图保护和修复珊瑚礁时，明白应该以什么为目标。
"There's a huge diversity of coral in Eileen's photos.
“艾琳的照片中有极其丰富的珊瑚多样性。
You really see how lush these ecosystems were back then.
你真的能看到，当时这些生态系统是多么繁茂。
It really feels like the rainforest of the sea," says Jelani Williams, a Jamaican marine scientist at the University of Southern California.
它真的像是海洋中的热带雨林，”南加州大学的牙买加海洋科学家杰拉尼·威廉姆斯说。
Once considered one of the most biodiverse regions in Jamaica, the island's reefs have suffered a series of disasters.
牙买加岛的珊瑚礁曾被认为是该国生物多样性最丰富的地区之一，如今却遭受了一连串灾难。
They were devastated by Hurricane Allen in 1980, and also battered by invasive species, pollution, tourism and warmer waters due to climate change.
它们在1980年遭艾伦飓风重创，也受到入侵物种、污染、旅游业以及气候变化导致海水升温的冲击。
Ever more powerful storms continue to wreak havoc on corals.
越来越强大的风暴继续对珊瑚造成严重破坏。
And there has been a decline in mangrove forests in the Caribbean, which protect and nurture reefs.
加勒比地区的红树林也在减少，而红树林能够保护并滋养珊瑚礁。
Through old photos like Graham's, "we can learn what a thriving reef looked like before it began to be destroyed," William says.
威廉姆斯说，通过格雷厄姆这样的老照片，“我们可以了解一个繁盛的珊瑚礁在开始被破坏之前是什么样子。”
In 2019, Ken Johnson, a principal researcher at the Natural History Museum in London, came across Graham's photos, which were donated by scientists from the Discovery Bay Marine Lab in Jamaica.
2019年，伦敦自然历史博物馆首席研究员肯·约翰逊偶然发现了格雷厄姆的照片，这些照片由牙买加迪斯卡弗里湾海洋实验室的科学家捐赠。
Johnson was astounded by their beauty, but noticed how drastically the marine life had changed, even since his own diving days in the Caribbean back in the 1980s.
约翰逊被这些照片的美震撼，同时也注意到，即便是与他本人20世纪80年代在加勒比潜水时相比，海洋生物也已经发生了剧烈变化。
"The sea floor at Discovery Bay used to be covered in live corals at around 80-90%.
“过去迪斯卡弗里湾的海床约有80%到90%覆盖着活珊瑚。
Nowadays the coral cover is much lower at around 10-20%," he says.
如今珊瑚覆盖率低得多，大约只有10%到20%，”他说。
To show the noticeable decline and support conservation efforts, Johnson began amassing a trove of photos from other diving scientists in other locations who took pictures in the pre-digital age.
为了展示这种明显衰退并支持保护工作，约翰逊开始收集其他地点、其他潜水科学家在前数码时代拍摄的大量照片。
These old photos may help modern generations avoid what's known as the "shifting baseline" syndrome, according to Johnson: as a habitat becomes depleted, we may shift our idea of what this habitat is supposed to look like, and then no longer even realise what has been lost.
约翰逊认为，这些老照片或许能帮助现代人避免所谓的“基线漂移”综合征：当一个栖息地逐渐枯竭时，我们可能会改变自己对这个栖息地本该是什么样子的认知，甚至不再意识到已经失去了什么。
Once we see the devastated habitat as a new normal, we may then feel less urgency to try and restore it.
一旦我们把遭到破坏的栖息地视为新的常态，便可能不再那么迫切地想要修复它。
Photos like Graham's can however fight that normalisation, Johnson says, by showing us the actual "baseline": the original, lush state of the habitat.
不过约翰逊说，像格雷厄姆这样的照片可以通过向我们展示真正的“基线”来对抗这种常态化：也就是栖息地原本繁茂的状态。
For example, Graham's 1960s images show an abundance of branching and wide-plate coral covering most of the sea floor, as well as shoals of snappers, groupers and parrotfish weaving through the reef.
例如，格雷厄姆20世纪60年代的照片显示，大量枝状珊瑚和宽板状珊瑚覆盖了大部分海床，成群的笛鲷、石斑鱼和鹦嘴鱼穿梭于珊瑚礁之间。
This abundance is no longer visible today.
如今已看不到这样的丰盛景象。
The impact of the declining reefs can be seen on land, too.
珊瑚礁衰退的影响在陆地上也能看到。
"When you ' re on vacation and enjoying the gorgeous white sands that Jamaica is known for – many are not aware that our white sand comes from coral reefs from many decades ago," says Camilo Trench, a marine biologist at the University of the West Indies in Jamaica.
“当你在度假，享受牙买加闻名于世的美丽白沙时，许多人并不知道，我们的白沙来自几十年前的珊瑚礁，”牙买加西印度大学海洋生物学家卡米洛·特伦奇说。
Research suggests that this white sand is under threat and the decline of the reefs contributes to beach erosion in the Caribbean, while healthy reefs can protect beaches.
研究表明，这些白沙正受到威胁，珊瑚礁的衰退加剧了加勒比地区的海滩侵蚀，而健康的珊瑚礁则能保护海滩。
The range of threats to the reefs is complex and interlinked, and includes a sea-urchin die-off in the 1980s.
珊瑚礁面临的威胁复杂且相互关联，其中包括20世纪80年代的一次海胆大规模死亡事件。
D iadema antillarum, a black, long-spined sea urchin, protects the coral reefs by grazing on and thereby controlling the growth of algae.
Diadema antillarum是一种黑色长刺海胆，它通过啃食藻类并控制其生长来保护珊瑚礁。
In 1983, an unknown pathogen, possibly introduced by ballast water from ships, caused a mass sea-urchin die-off, and a decline in the reefs.
1983年，一种未知病原体可能随船舶压舱水传入，导致海胆大规模死亡，并引发珊瑚礁衰退。
That threat remains: in 2022, there was another sea urchin die-off.
这种威胁依然存在：2022年又发生了一次海胆死亡事件。
Due to rising mass tourism on the island, fish such as snappers and groupers that also graze on algae are being caught in larger quantities as food for tourists, studies suggest.
研究表明，由于岛上大众旅游业不断兴起，笛鲷和石斑鱼等同样会啃食藻类的鱼类被大量捕捞，作为游客的食物。
The algae then overgrow and compete with the corals for space and sunlight, ultimately smothering them.
随后藻类过度生长，与珊瑚争夺空间和阳光，最终将其窒息。
Last year, another disaster struck: Hurricane Melissa, a Category 5 hurricane, brought catastrophic damage to Jamaica with intense flooding and widespread devastation to people's homes.
去年，另一场灾难袭来：5级飓风梅丽莎给牙买加带来灾难性破坏，造成严重洪灾，并大范围摧毁人们的家园。
185-mph (295km/h) winds engulfed the shores of North and Western Jamaica, tearing roofs off homes and shattering fruit trees.
时速185英里（295公里）的狂风席卷牙买加北部和西部海岸，掀翻房屋屋顶，折断果树。
It was the most powerful storm ever to hit the island.
这是有史以来袭击该岛的最强风暴。
Hurricanes have been found to contribute to the decline in coral reefs in the Caribbean as they churn up the sea and break off the corals.
研究发现，飓风会搅动海水并折断珊瑚，从而加剧加勒比地区珊瑚礁的衰退。
"I had no idea what a Category 5 hurricane looked like or what kind of devastation it would have.
“我之前完全不知道5级飓风是什么样子，也不知道它会造成怎样的毁灭。
Jamaicans are still recovering from the effects of Hurricane Melissa, including the emotional trauma," says Williams.
牙买加人仍在从梅丽莎飓风的影响中恢复，包括情感创伤，”威廉姆斯说。
The full impact of the disaster on the island's people, and its ecosystems, may only become clear with time.
这场灾难对岛上居民及其生态系统造成的全部影响，或许只有随着时间推移才会显现。
Trench is on a mission to protect Jamaica's reefs through initiatives such as the Jamaica Mangroves Plus Project, which aims to preserve and restore mangrove habitats across the island.
特伦奇正致力于通过牙买加红树林Plus项目等举措保护牙买加的珊瑚礁，该项目旨在保护和恢复全岛的红树林栖息地。
Many of the marine species that can be seen in Graham's photos would have spent their early life stages in mangrove nurseries, which play a crucial role in supporting healthy reefs.
格雷厄姆照片中可见的许多海洋物种，其生命早期阶段都会在红树林育幼场度过，而红树林在支撑健康珊瑚礁方面发挥着关键作用。
Mangroves are also important carbon sinks, storing more carbon per hectare than forests on land.
红树林也是重要的碳汇，每公顷储存的碳比陆地森林更多。
"Mangroves give me the most hope.
“红树林最让我看到希望。
They are tough and climate resilient," says Trench.
它们很顽强，也能适应气候变化，”特伦奇说。
Williams suggests that protecting Jamaica's reefs also means understanding and preserving the microbes that help keep corals healthy.
威廉姆斯认为，保护牙买加的珊瑚礁也意味着要了解并保护那些有助于维持珊瑚健康的微生物。
He warns that climate breakdown has created a "new normal" across Jamaica and the Caribbean, saying real resilience will require more holistic and innovative approaches than those used in the past.
他警告说，气候崩溃已在牙买加和加勒比地区形成一种“新常态”，并表示真正的韧性需要比过去所采用的方法更全面、更具创新性。
"You can't really have conservation efforts without understanding what the baseline microbial communities are, and also trying to preserve those things," says Williams.
威廉姆斯说：“如果不了解基线微生物群落是什么，也不努力保护这些东西，就不可能真正开展保护工作。”
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Trench and Williams both argue that protecting Jamaica's reefs will require stronger government action, from tougher environmental laws to rethinking shipping routes, hotel development and research funding.
特伦奇和威廉姆斯都认为，保护牙买加的珊瑚礁需要政府采取更有力的行动，从制定更严格的环境法律，到重新思考航运路线、酒店开发和研究经费。
Without more drastic intervention, Trench warns that rising heat and pollution will drive further species loss, though he says a climate‑resilient future is still hopeful.
特伦奇警告说，如果没有更大力度的干预，不断上升的热量和污染将导致更多物种消失，不过他表示，一个具备气候韧性的未来仍然有希望。
"It's not impossible for Jamaica to make a turnaround to build climate resilience.
“牙买加要实现转变、建设气候韧性，并非不可能。
It's just going to take some very hard decisions," he says.
只是这将需要做出一些非常艰难的决定，”他说。
Looking back at Graham's images from the 1960s offers a rare glimpse into a different Jamaica, one rich with marine habitat complexity and beautiful reefs, before threats from climate crisis to overtourism.
回望格雷厄姆20世纪60年代拍摄的影像，能让人难得地一窥另一个牙买加：在那里，海洋栖息地结构复杂、珊瑚礁美丽，而那是在气候危机和过度旅游等威胁出现之前。
Scientists are predicting that 80%-90% of the world's coral reef will die off by 2050, making archives such as Graham's, which reveal lost ecosystems, more important than ever, says Johnson.
约翰逊说，科学家预测，到2050年，全球80%至90%的珊瑚礁将会死亡，这使得像格雷厄姆这样揭示已消失生态系统的档案比以往任何时候都更加重要。
But he stresses that "we can't only keep referring to changes that happened 50 years ago".
但他强调，“我们不能只是一再提及50年前发生的变化”。
"We need to respond to ongoing ecological changes.
“我们需要应对正在发生的生态变化。
Some coral reefs are responding differently to climate change and perhaps some are more resilient," he says.
一些珊瑚礁对气候变化的反应不同，也许有些更具韧性，”他说。
"What we're now seeing today in Jamaica and the Caribbean is not normal," he adds.
“我们如今在牙买加和加勒比地区看到的情况并不正常，”他补充说。
"More collections like Eileen's need to be documented and curated before they're all lost."
“像艾琳这样的更多收藏需要在全部失去之前得到记录和整理。”
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