This is where I grew up.

這是我長大的地方。

A small village near the city of Rotterdam

鹿特丹市附近的一個小村莊。

in the Netherlands.

在荷蘭。

In the 1970s and 1980s, when I was a teenager,

在上世紀七八十年代，我還是個少年的時候。

this area was still a quiet place.

這一帶還是一個安靜的地方。

It was full of farms and fields and swampland,

那裡到處是農場、田野和沼澤地。

and I spent my free time there, enjoying myself,

我在那裡度過了我的空閒時間，樂此不疲。

painting oil paintings like this one,

像這樣畫油畫。

collecting wildflowers, bird-watching

採花、觀鳥

and also collecting insects.

並同時收集昆蟲。

And this was one of my prized finds.

這是我的珍貴發現之一。

This is a very special beetle,

這是一隻很特別的甲蟲。

an amazing beetle called an ant beetle.

一種叫做螞蟻甲蟲的神奇甲蟲。

And this is a kind of beetle that lives its entire life

這是一種一生都在生活的甲蟲。

inside an ant's nest.

在螞蟻的巢穴內。

It has evolved to speak ant.

它已經進化到會說螞蟻語。

It's using the same chemical signals,

它使用的是同樣的化學信號。

the same smells as the ants do, for communicating,

和螞蟻一樣的氣味，用於交流。

and right now, this beetle is telling this worker ant,

而現在，這隻甲蟲正在告訴這隻工蟻。

"Hey, I'm also a worker ant,

"嘿，我也是一隻工蟻。

I'm hungry, please feed me."

我餓了，請你餵我。"

And the ant complies,

而螞蟻也遵從了。

because the beetle is using the same chemicals.

因為甲蟲使用的是同樣的化學品。

Over these millions of years,

在這幾百萬年裡。

this beetle has evolved a way to live inside an ant society.

這種甲蟲已經進化出了一種在螞蟻社會中生活的方式。

Over the years,

多年來，。

when I was living in that village,

當我住在那個村子裡的時候。

I collected 20,000 different beetles,

我收集了兩萬只不同的甲蟲。

and I built a collection of pinned beetles.

和我建立了一個釘子甲蟲的集合。

And this got me interested, at a very early age, in evolution.

這讓我很早就對進化論產生了興趣。

How do all those different forms, how does all this diversity come about?

這些不同的形式，這些多樣性是如何產生的？

So I became an evolutionary biologist,

所以我成了一個進化生物學家。

like Charles Darwin.

像查爾斯-達爾文一樣。

And like Charles Darwin, I also soon became frustrated

就像查爾斯-達爾文一樣，我也很快變得沮喪起來

by the fact that evolution is something that happened mostly in the past.

由進化論是主要發生在過去的事情。

We study the patterns that we see today,

我們研究我們今天看到的模式。

trying to understand the evolution that took place in the past,

試圖瞭解過去發生的進化。

but we can never actually see it taking place in real time.

但我們永遠無法真正看到它的實時發生。

We cannot observe it.

我們無法觀察它。

As Darwin himself already said,

正如達爾文自己已經說過的。

"We see nothing of these slow changes in progress,

"我們看不到這些緩慢的進展變化。

until the hand of time has marked the lapse of ages."

直到時間之手標明瞭歲月的流逝。"

Or do we?

還是我們？

Over the past few decades,

在過去的幾十年裡，。

evolutionary biologists have come to realize that sometimes,

進化生物學家已經意識到，有時。

evolution proceeds much faster and it can actually be observed,

進化的速度要快得多，而且實際上可以觀察到。

especially when the environment changes drastically

尤其是當環境發生巨大變化時

and the need to adapt is great.

而需要調整的地方很大。

And of course, these days,

當然，這幾天。

great environmental changes are usually caused by us.

巨大的環境變化通常是由我們造成的。

We mow, we irrigate, we plow, we build,

我們除草，我們灌溉，我們耕種，我們建造。

we pump greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

我們將溫室氣體注入大氣中

that change the climate.

改變氣候的。

We release exotic plants and animals

我們放生外來的動植物

in places where they didn't live before,

在他們以前沒有生活過的地方。

and we harvest fish and trees and game for our food and other needs.

我們收穫魚、樹木和野味來滿足我們的食物和其他需求。

And all these environmental changes reach their epicenter in cities.

而所有這些環境變化的中心都在城市。

Cities form a completely new habitat that we have created.

城市形成了我們創造的全新的棲息地。

And we clothe it in brick and concrete and glass and steel,

我們用磚頭、水泥、玻璃和鋼鐵為它披上衣服。

which are impervious surfaces

屬於不透水錶面

that plants can only root in with the greatest difficulty.

植物只能在最困難的情況下紮根。

Also in cities, we find the greatest concentrations

同樣是在城市，我們發現最集中的是

of chemical pollution,

化學汙染。

of artificial light and noise.

人為的光和噪音。

And we find wild mixtures of plants and animals

我們發現植物和動物的野生混合物

from all over the world that live in the city,

來自世界各地，生活在這個城市的。

because they have escaped from the gardening

因為他們已經從園藝中逃出

and aquarium and pet trade.

以及水族和寵物貿易。

And what does a species do

而一個物種是做什麼的

when it lives in a completely changed environment?

當它生活在一個完全改變的環境中時？

Well, many, of course, go, sadly, extinct.

嗯，當然，很多人都去了，可惜，已經滅絕了。

But the ones that don't go extinct,

但那些沒有滅絕的。

they adapt in spectacular ways.

它們以驚人的方式適應。

Biologists these days are beginning to realize

現在的生物學家們開始意識到

that cities are today's pressure cookers of evolution.

認為城市是當今進化的快鍋，壓力鍋。

These are places where wild animals and plants

這些地方是野生動物和植物

are evolving under our eyes very rapidly

在我們眼皮底下迅速發展

to suit these new, urban conditions.

以適應這些新的城市條件。

Exactly like the ant beetle did millions of years ago,

就像數百萬年前的螞蟻甲蟲一樣。

when it moved inside an ant colony.

當它在蟻群裡面移動時。

We now find animals and plants that have moved inside the human colony

我們現在發現的動物和植物，已經在人類的聚居地內移動了

and are adapting to our cities.

並正在適應我們的城市。

And in doing so,

而在這樣做的時候。

we're also beginning to realize

我們也開始意識到

that evolution can actually proceed very fast.

進化實際上可以進行得非常快。

It does not always take the long lapse of ages;

它不一定要經過漫長的歲月。

it can happen under our very eyes.

它可以在我們的眼皮底下發生。

This, for example, is the white-footed mouse.

比如說，這就是白腳鼠。

This is a native mammal from the area around New York,

這是一種來自紐約周邊地區的在地哺乳動物。

and more than 400 years ago, before the city was built,

而在400多年前，在建城之前。

this mouse lived everywhere.

這隻老鼠無處不在。

But these days, they are stuck in little islands of green,

但如今，他們卻停留在小小的綠島上。

the city's parks, surrounded by a sea of tarmac and traffic.

城市的公園，周圍都是柏油路和車流的海洋。

A bit like a modern-day version of Darwin's finches on the Galapagos.

有點像現代版的達爾文在加拉帕戈斯的雀鳥。

And like Darwin's finches,

而像達爾文的雀。

the mice in each separate park have started evolving,

每個單獨公園裡的老鼠都開始進化了。

have started to become different from each other.

已經開始變得彼此不同。

And this is my colleague, Jason Munshi-South,

這是我的同事，Jason Munshi -South。

from Fordham University,

從福特漢姆大學。

who is studying this process.

誰在研究這個過程。

He is studying the DNA of the white-footed mice

他正在研究白腳鼠的DNA。

in New York City's parks,

在紐約市的公園裡。

and trying to understand how they are beginning to evolve

並試圖瞭解它們是如何開始演變的。

in that archipelago of islands.

在該群島中。

And he's using a kind of DNA fingerprinting, and he says,

他使用的是一種DNA指紋，他說。

"If somebody gives me a mouse,

"如果有人給我一隻老鼠。

doesn't tell me where it's from,

不告訴我它來自哪裡。

just by looking at its DNA,

只要看它的DNA就知道了。

I can tell exactly from which park it comes."

我可以準確地知道它來自哪個公園。"

That's how different they have become.

這就是他們的不同之處。

And Jason has also discovered that those changes,

而傑森也發現，這些變化。

these evolutionary changes,

這些進化變化。

are not random, they mean something.

不是隨機的，而是有意義的。

For example, in Central Park,

例如，在中央公園。

we find that the mice have evolved genes

我們發現，小鼠已經進化出了基因。

that allow them to deal with very fatty food.

使他們能夠處理非常油膩的食物。

Human food.

人類的食物；

Twenty-five million people visit Central Park each year.

每年有2500萬人參觀中央公園。

It's the most heavily visited park in North America.

它是北美遊客最多的公園。

And those people leave behind snack food

還有那些人留下的零食

and peanuts and junk food,

和花生和垃圾食品。

and the mice have started feeding on that,

而老鼠已經開始餵食的。

and it's a completely different diet than what they're used to,

這是一個完全不同的飲食 比他們習慣。

and over the years,

而這些年來，。

they have evolved to suit this very fatty, very human diet.

它們的進化是為了適應這種非常油膩、非常人類的飲食。

And this is another city slicker animal.

而這又是一個城市滑稽動物。

This is the European garden snail.

這就是歐洲花園蝸牛。

A very common snail,

一種很常見的蝸牛。

it comes in all kinds of color variations,

它有各種顏色的變化。

ranging from pale yellow to dark brown.

從淡黃色到深褐色不等。

And those colors are completely determined

而這些顏色是完全決定的

by the snail's DNA.

由蝸牛的DNA。

And those colors also determine the heat management of the snail

而這些顏色也決定了蝸牛的熱量管理問題

that lives inside that shell.

住在那個殼裡的人。

For example, a snail that sits in the sunlight,

比如說，坐在陽光下的蝸牛。

in the bright sun,

在明媚的陽光下。

if it has a pale yellow shell,

如果它的外殼是淡黃色的。

it doesn't heat up as much as a snail that sits inside a dark brown shell.

它不會像蝸牛那樣熱得發燙，因為它坐在一個深褐色的殼裡。

Just like when you're sitting in a white car, you stay cooler

就像你坐在白色的汽車裡，你會保持涼爽一樣

than when you're sitting inside a black car.

比當你坐在一輛黑色的車裡面。

Now there is a phenomenon called the urban heat islands,

現在有一種現象叫城市熱島。

which means that in the center of a big city,

這意味著，在大城市的中心。

the temperature can be several degrees higher

溫度可高達幾度

than outside of the big city.

比大城市外。

That has to do with the fact

這與以下事實有關

that you have these concentrations of millions of people,

你有這些集中的數百萬人。

and all their activities and their machineries,

以及它們的所有活動和機器，

they generate heat.

它們會產生熱量。

Also, the wind is blocked by the tall buildings,

另外，風也被高樓擋住了。

and all the steel and brick and concrete absorb the solar heat

而所有的鋼筋、磚頭和混凝土都會吸收太陽的熱量

and they radiate it out at night.

並在夜間將其輻射出去。

So you get this bubble of hot air in the center of a big city,

所以在大城市的中心，你會得到這個熱空氣的泡泡。

and my students and I figured that maybe those garden snails,

我和我的學生們想，也許那些花園蝸牛。

with their variable shells,

與它們的可變外殼。

are adapting to the urban heat islands.

正在適應城市熱島。

Maybe in the center of a city,

也許在城市的中心。

we find that the shell color is evolving

我們發現，外殼的顏色是不斷變化的

in a direction to reduce overheating of the snails.

的方向，以減少蝸牛的過熱。

And to study this, we started a citizen-science project.

而為了研究這個問題，我們啟動了一個公民科學項目。

We built a free smartphone app,

我們建立了一個免費的智能手機應用程序。

which allowed people all over the Netherlands

這讓荷蘭各地的人們

to take pictures of snails in their garden, in their street,

在他們的花園裡，在他們的街道上拍攝蝸牛的照片。

also in the countryside,

也在農村。

and upload them to a citizen science web platform.

並將其上傳至公民科學網絡平臺。

And over a year, we got 10,000 pictures

一年多來，我們得到了一萬張照片。

of snails that had been photographed in the Netherlands,

的蝸牛，曾在荷蘭拍攝到。

and when we started analyzing the results,

而當我們開始分析結果的時候。

we found that indeed, our suspicions were confirmed.

我們發現，的確，我們的懷疑得到了證實。

In the center of the urban heat islands,

在城市熱島的中心。

we find that the snails have evolved more yellow, more lighter-colored shells.

我們發現，蝸牛已經進化出更多的黃色，更多的淺色外殼。

Now the city snail and the Manhattan mouse

現在城市蝸牛和曼哈頓老鼠

are just two examples of a growing list of animals and plants

只是越來越多的動物和植物中的兩個例子。

that have evolved to suit this new habitat,

為了適應這種新的生境而進化的。

this city habitat that we have created.

我們創造的這個城市人居環境。

And in a book that I've written about this subject,

而在我寫的一本關於這個主題的書中。

the subject of urban evolution,

城市進化的主題。

I give many more examples.

我還舉了很多例子。

For example, weeds that have evolved seeds

例如，已經進化出種子的雜草

that are better at germinating on the pavement.

的，在人行道上更好地發芽。

Grasshoppers that have evolved a song

蚱蜢，已經進化出了一首歌。

that has a higher pitch when they live close to noisy traffic.

當他們生活在嘈雜的交通附近時，就會有更高的音調。

Mosquitoes that have evolved to feed on the blood of human commuters

進化為以人類上班族的血液為食的蚊子。

inside metro stations.

地鐵站內。

And even the common city pigeon

甚至連普通的城市鴿子

that has evolved ways to detox themselves

已經進化出排毒的方法

from heavy-metal pollution by putting it in their feathers.

通過在它們的羽毛中放入重金屬汙染，使其免受重金屬汙染。

Biologists like myself, all over the world,

像我這樣的生物學家，全世界都有。

are becoming interested in this fascinating process

越來越多的人對這一迷人的過程感興趣

of urban evolution.

的城市演變。

We are realizing that we're really at a unique event

我們意識到，我們真的是在一個獨特的事件。

in the history of life on earth.

在地球生命史上。

A completely new ecosystem

一個全新的生態系統

that is evolving and adapting to a habitat that we have created.

正在進化並適應我們創造的棲息地。

And not just academics --

不僅僅是學術界...

we're also beginning to enlist the millions of pairs of hands

我們也開始徵集千千萬萬雙手。

and ears and eyes that are present in the city.

和耳朵和眼睛，存在於城市中。

Citizen scientists, schoolchildren --

公民科學家，學童----

together with them,

與他們一起。

we are building a global observation network

我們正在建立一個全球觀察網絡

which allows us to watch this process of urban evolution taking place

這讓我們可以看到這個城市演變的過程。

in real time.

實時的。

And at the same time, this also makes it clear to people

同時，這也讓人們明白了

that evolution is not just some abstract thing

進化論不是抽象的東西

that you need to travel to the Galapagos to study,

你需要到加拉帕戈斯群島去學習。

or that you need to be a paleontologist to understand what it is.

或者說你需要成為一個古生物學家才能理解它是什麼。

It's a very ordinary biological process

這是一個很普通的生物過程

that's taking place all the time, everywhere.

時刻都在發生，無處不在。

In your backyard, in the street where you live,

在你的後院，在你居住的街道上。

right outside of this theater.

就在這個劇院的外面。

But there is, of course, a flip side to my enthusiasm.

但當然，我的熱情也有反面的一面。

When I go back to the village where I grew up,

當我回到我成長的村莊。

I no longer find those fields and swamps that I knew from my youth.

我已經找不到那些我年輕時就知道的田野和沼澤了。

The village has now been absorbed

現在該村已被吸收

by the growing conglomeration of Rotterdam,

由鹿特丹不斷髮展的集團。

and instead, I find shopping malls

而我卻發現商場

and I find suburbs and bus lanes.

而我發現郊區和公交專用道。

And many of the animals and plants that I was so accustomed to

而許多我習慣的動物和植物...

have disappeared, including perhaps that ant beetle.

已經消失了，也許包括那隻螞蟻甲蟲。

But I take comfort in the fact that the children growing up

但我感到欣慰的是，孩子們在成長過程中

in that village today

如今在該村

may no longer be experiencing that traditional nature

可能不再經歷傳統的自然

that I grew up with,

和我一起長大的。

but they're surrounded by a new type of nature,

但他們被一種新型的自然所包圍。

a new type of ecosystem,

一種新型的生態系統。

that, to them, might be just as exciting as the old type was to me.

對他們來說，可能就像以前的類型對我一樣刺激。

They are living in a new, modern-day Galapagos.

他們生活在一個新的、現代的加拉帕戈斯。

And by teaming up with citizen scientists

而通過與公民科學家合作

and with evolutionary biologists like myself,

並與我這樣的進化生物學家。

they might become the Darwins of the 21st century,

他們可能會成為21世紀的達爾文人。

studying urban evolution.

研究城市演變。

Thank you.

謝謝你了

(Applause)

(掌聲)