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After three hours underwater with no sign of imminent coral spawning, Tim and I decide to call it a night. We're tired.
我和蒂姆在水下待了三个小时，没看到珊瑚产卵的迹象，我们决定今晚到此为止，太累了。
Well, that was a long night...but no spawning tonight, so we'll try again tomorrow.
这是一个漫长的夜晚......但是今晚没有珊瑚产卵，我们明天再试一次。
The next day I spend a little time touring around the island to see the sights.
第二天，我找了点时间环岛观光了一下。
First, a stop at lake Gotomeer to see the flamingos for which Bonaire is famous. Their pink color comes from the shrimp they eat.
我先在戈托梅尔湖停下来看看博内尔著名的火烈鸟，它们的粉色体色源于它们吃的小虾。
Next, I swing down to the incredible Cargill Salt Works to see the huge piles of salt created by drying out seawater in vast shallow pools.
接下来，我来到极大的嘉吉盐厂，看看巨大的盐堆，这些盐堆是在巨大的浅水池中蒸干海水产生的。
And of course to downtown Kralandijk for a few gifts at a colorful gift shop!
当然，还要去克拉兰迪克市中心一家有趣的礼品店买几件礼物！
But then it's time to head back to the dive shop to prepare for the night dives.
现在该回潜水店准备夜潜了。
Tim and I examine the predicted coral spawning times published by the Bonaire National Park.
我和蒂姆查看了一下博内尔国家公园公布的珊瑚预计产卵时间。
Okay, tonight on the 29th, it is predicted to be the peak spawn, okay, so you'll notice we have almost all of the species.
今晚是29号，据估计今天是产卵高峰期，你看几乎所有种类的珊瑚今天都产卵。
If we can't nail it tonight we'll never nail it.
一切就看今晚的了。
No, tomorrow night the star corals and the brain corals should still be spawning. In fact tomorrow night is the peak for the brain corals.
没事，明晚星珊瑚和脑珊瑚应该还会产卵。明天晚上才是脑珊瑚的产卵高峰期。
After dark, I suit up again for another long night.
天黑后，我又换上潜水衣为漫长的夜潜做准备。
Well, tonight's supposed to be the peak spawn. I'm hoping for a great show! Let's check it out!
今晚应该是产卵高峰期，期待精彩的演出！我们去看看吧！
As I swim out to the reef, I'm joined by a school of gigantic tarpon.
我游向珊瑚礁时，遇到了一群大海鲢。
These big silvery fish are as long as a bicycle, and have learned to use divers' lights to find smaller fish to eat. They follow Tim and I around all night.
这些银色的大鱼和自行车一样长，它们已经学会利用潜水员打出的灯光寻找小鱼吃。它们整晚都跟着我和蒂姆。
On any other night I would film these magnificent fish for the entire dive, but tonight I have work to do. This is my fourth night observing the coral and my last chance to capture the coral spawn.
如果换做其他天，我会在潜水的整个过程中拍摄这些瑰丽的鱼，但今晚还有正经事要做。今天是观察珊瑚的第四晚了，也是我最后一次拍摄珊瑚产卵的机会。
I examine a coral head and I can see swollen polyps filled with big blobs that look like eggs. They are actually called gamete bundles. I get ready with my camera and wait. The big moment is definitely coming soon!
我检查了一个珊瑚头，能看到肿胀的息肉里面充满了鸡蛋大小的圆球，它们实际上称为配子束。我准备好摄像机，等待着。重要的时刻很快就要到来了！
There! The colony has released its bundles! Since most corals are hermaphroditic, the bundles contain both eggs and sperm. They float up into the water and separate.
快看！珊瑚群开始释放配子束了！由于大多数珊瑚都是雌雄同体，所以配子束中既有卵子也有精子。它们漂浮在水中，然后分开。
This allows eggs and sperm from different coral colonies to mix together and cross-fertilize in the water column.
这使得来自不同珊瑚群的卵子和精子在水中混合并交叉受精。
They all release at the same time in order to overwhelm predators that come in to feed on this nutritious food source.
珊瑚会同时产卵，就算有捕食者把其中一些当作营养丰富的食物吃掉，也会有更多卵幸存下来。
Soon the water is filled with coral spawn! Not all corals are hermaphroditic though.
很快水里就充满了珊瑚卵！但并非所有的珊瑚都是雌雄同体。
Some are gonochoric, meaning that they have separate male and female colonies.
有些是雌雄异体的，这意味着它们有独立的雄性和雌性群。
The male colonies are easy to spot. When they release their sperm, it looks like they are smoldering.
能够很容易分辨出雄性群，它们释放精子时，看起来像在冒烟。
I train my camera on a big colony of Greater Star Coral and wait. In spite of my camera's lights, it spawns, releasing clouds of sperm into the water.
我把摄像机对准一个大星珊瑚礁群，等待着。尽管摄像机的灯光正对着它，它还是产卵了，把大量精子释放到海水中。
While I'm waiting for this coral to spawn, a Tarpon passes by, checking out what I'm up to.
我在等着这个珊瑚产卵时，一只大海鲢游过来，看看我在做什么。
Once all of these eggs are fertilized, they will drift in the current for a while and eventually settle down.
所有卵都受精后，它们会在水流中漂浮一段时间后落定。
If they are not eaten, and if they don't settle into water that is too deep, or land on sand where they can't anchor themselves, they might land on a nice hard surface and take hold.
如果它们没有被捕食者吃掉，没有沉入太深的水里，或者没有落在不能固定自己的沙子上的话，它们会落到一个坚硬的表面上牢牢固定住。
A new coral colony will start growing.
一个新的珊瑚群将开始生长。
After several hours observing the coral spawning, it's time to head to shore with our mission accomplished!
我们在观察珊瑚产卵数小时后，该上岸了，大功告成！
What an amazing spectacle! Millions and millions of coral polyps all releasing their eggs at the same time synchronized to the phase of the moon.
场面真是太壮观啦！数以百万计的珊瑚虫同时产卵，时间与月相同步。
Just an astonishing thing to see and it just goes to show you, patience pays off because our perseverance over several nights finally resulted in nature giving us an incredible show!
真是惊心动魄，这证明耐心总会有回报的，我们几个晚上的坚持，大自然最终给我们上演了一场不可思议的大秀！
As I exit the water and head for a hot shower, I am thrilled to have witnessed one of nature's secret spectacles. It was worth all those long nights of diving. But now, I'm ready for bed!
我上岸去冲热水澡时，感到异常兴奋，因为我刚刚见证了大自然的神秘奇观。那些漫长的潜水之夜都是值得的，不过现在我准备上床好好睡一觉了！
