The Eastern Pacific（太平洋） Ocean is home to an incredible diversity（差异） of wildlife（野生动物）, unspoiled（ 未损坏的） nature and one of the richest marine（海的） ecosystems in the world. Many of these species have yet to be researched in depth（[海洋] 深度）. But for marine biologists（生物学家）, the priority（先） these days is conservation（保存）. If we don't protect all this diversity, what's in store for the future? We need to learn to protect it. The researchers are in a race against time.

  This has been nibbled（ 一点点地咬） by turtles and fish. The largest marine laboratory in the world, the Galapagos Islands. Scientists are early risers. It's five in the morning and I'm barely（几乎不） awake. But Diana Pasminio and her team are on a mission（使命） that's best carried out at dawn（黎明）. They're researching baby hammerhead（锤头 a锤头状的） sharks and rays（射线）.

  We have to leave this early because they only feed near the beach at this time of day. Once the sun comes out and the water gets warmer they retreat（撤退） to the depths（[海洋] 深度） and it's hard to find（找到） them. Diana was born in the Galapagos Islands. Studying its wildlife feels like a vocation（职业） to her. Although she didn't grow up thinking she'd one day study sharks. When I was a kid, my dad would take me out snorkeling where they were sharks.

  I was scared stiff（硬的）. They were so much bigger than me. I was afraid they were going to eat me. But over time, my fear turned into curiosity（好奇）. Why do we fear them? Why are their numbers declining（拒绝）?

  Are they just migrating（移动） or are they dying out? What's happening to them? Daybreak of San Cristobal Island. As they near the coastline（海岸线）, the marine（海的） biologists（生物学家） explain that they need to approach cautiously. We have to be careful because we're in motorboats. We don't want to frighten off any sea creatures（生物）, so they leave the bay（湾）.

  We only have one shot（发射）, so we have to get it right. Suddenly, I spot（认出） a baby shark. Carefully, the team casts（投） a net that spans（跨越） the bay（湾）, effectively closing it off. Look, there's one. There they are, shark pups and rays, now threatened（威胁） with extinction. We're ready.

  They're starting to collect them. Hammerhead sharks are often hunted for their fins or end up as bycatch. They're slowly being wiped（擦） out. It takes a long time for sharks to reach sexual maturity（成热） and then they usually have few babies. It's therefore vital（至关重要的） to protect juvenile（青少年的） sharks, so they can reproduce（复制）. Let me take a sample.

  Little research has been done on the reproduction（繁殖） patterns of local sharks and rays（射线）. Taking genetic（遗传的） samples is a first step. The sample looks tiny, but even such a tiny sample can give us lots of information. People tend to think there's all this research going on in the Galapagos and that we know everything there is to know. But when we're diving, we see so many extraordinary（非凡的） creatures（生物） that we still know little about. It's such an interesting field.

  It won't hurt you. The stinger（讽刺者） is at the tip of the tail. Besides（而且prep除…之外） nets, fishing and tourist boats pose（形成） a danger to marine（海的） life. Many sea creatures are killed by boat strikes（罢工） or are injured by propellers（推进者）. The researchers register（登记） and chip（ 削下） each creature（生物） they collect. We chip all the rays.

  This one doesn't have one. It should be there now. We chip them because over time their pattern and colour can change. We want to understand their behaviour and we can't tell if it's the same animal if it doesn't have a chip. Collecting the sample doesn't harm（损害） the ray（射线） and can help the researchers find（找到） out where they come from and where they migrate（移动） to. Information that can be used to establish（建立） new protection（保护） zones（地区） where their populations can thrive.

  I love being out here in a place like this and being able to study these wonderful creatures. They don't look real. But what I love most is that we can gain（获得） valuable information, that we can give the authorities specific recommendations that will really make（使） a difference. Today Manolo Yepes protects the sharks, but in the past he explains he hunted them for their fins, to supply the Asian market. Nobody is perfect, but we can change. Now I have a great appreciation（欣赏） for these creatures（生物）.

  A shark is worth so much more alive than dead. If it's dead, you sell its fins and that's that. If it's alive, it's an asset（资产） to the tourist industry, so you and your community can make a living. It's low tide（潮）, so Diana takes the opportunity to show me an important habitat（(动植物的)生活环境） for local wildlife（野生动物）. These dense（密集的） mangrove forests provide shade（荫）, shelter（隐蔽处）, nesting places and food for turtles, birds, fish, sharks and animals. Humans, however, need to tread（踏） carefully.

  There are three. The pattern of a turtle is as individual as a fingerprint. Mangrove forests in the Galapagos Islands are protected, but almost everywhere else in the world they're being destroyed, to make way for hotels, for example. Cutting down mangroves is a terrible crime. It destroys the plant species itself, of course, but also the entire（全部的） ecosystem that depends on these forests.