地球步入第六次生態大滅絕 速度之快超出預期

The sixth mass extinction of life on Earth is unfolding More quickly than feared, scientists have warned.

科學家們日前警告稱，地球生物“第六次大滅絕”的速度比人們擔心的還要快。

More than 30% of animals with a backbone - fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals - are declining in both range and population, according to the first comprehensive analysis of these trends.

對動物滅絕趨勢的首項全面分析顯示，超過30%的脊椎動物（魚類、鳥類、兩棲動物、爬行動物和哺乳動物）的種類和數量都在減少。

Around a decade ago, experts feared that a new planetary wipeout of species was looming.

專家們在大約十年前就擔心新一輪全球性物種滅絕即將到來。

Today, most agree that it is underway, but the new study suggests that it is already ratcheting up a gear.

現在多數專家都一致認爲新一輪物種滅絕已經開始，但新研究表明，物種滅絕的速度已經加快。

The 177 mammal species that were monitored have lost at least a third of their original habitat between 1900 and 2015, researchers found. The loss of biodiversity has recently accelerated.

研究人員發現，在1900年至2015年間，他們所觀測的177種哺乳動物已經失去了至少1/3的原始棲息地。生物多樣性的減少最近加速了。

Several species of mammals that were relatively safe one or two decades ago are now endangered, including cheetahs, lions and giraffes, the study showed.

該研究顯示，包括獵豹、獅子和長頸鹿在內的數種哺乳動物在一二十年前還相對安全，而現在已經處於瀕危狀態。