试管企鹅培育记
African penguins are among the smaller breeds, known for their irregular markings and loud voices.
非洲企鹅属于体型较小的种类，以其不规则的斑纹和响亮的声音著称。
The species is also in sharp decline, from a population of more than one million at the beginning of the 20th century to just 55,000 in 2010 - when they were declared endangered.
该物种的数量也在急剧下降，从20世纪初的100多万，到2010年被宣布为濒危物种时，仅为5.5万。
South African bioscientist Patrick Siyambulela Mafunda learned of the birds' plight while researching options for his PhD at the University of the Western Cape (UWC).
南非生物科学家帕特里克.希亚姆布雷拉.马方达在西开普大学(UWC)攻读博士学位时得知了这种鸟类的困境。
He discussed the major challenges of conservation with supervisors and arrived at a novel approach: In-vitro fertilization (IVF).
他与监管人员讨论了保护的主要挑战，并提出了一种新的方法:体外受精(IVF)。
"What pushed me was knowing this was the only African penguin species we have," says Mafunda. "Preserving a genetic pool could be vital."
“推动我的是，我知道这是我们仅有的非洲企鹅物种，”马方达说。“保存一个基因库可能会至关重要。”
There was another incentive.
另外还有一个动机。
While similar experiments had been conducted with other species, Mafunda knew of no other effort to artificially inseminate an African penguin. He could be the first.
虽然在其他物种身上也进行过类似的实验，但马方达不知道还有其他人工授精非洲企鹅的尝试。他可能是第一个。
The research proved labor-intensive and required the scientist and his collaborators to get their hands dirty.
这项研究是劳动密集型的，需要科学家和他的合作者们一起动手干脏活。
The first stage was to study the reproductive organs of dead birds to develop an understanding of their biological cycles.
第一个阶段是研究死去企鹅的生殖器官，以了解其生物周期。
Next came the more challenging assignment of extracting sperm from live penguins.
接下来是一项更具挑战性的任务——从活企鹅体内提取精子。
Mufunda had developed an abdominal massage technique for this purpose, to be conducted during breeding season when the penguins were at their most virile.
马方达为此开发了一种腹部按摩技术，这项技术将在企鹅繁殖期，也就是它们最强壮的时候进行。
This delicate task was to be performed by staff at Cape Town's Two Oceans Aquarium.
这项微妙的任务将由开普敦两大洋水族馆的工作人员来完成。
"The handlers work with the penguins every day, so the penguins react better to them," says Mafunda.
马方达说:“饲养员每天都和企鹅打交道，所以企鹅对它们的反应更好。”
"They are not known for being friendly."
“它们的脾气是出了名的不好。”
The process was complicated by the penguins' desires.
这一过程因企鹅的欲望而变得复杂。
If the birds had already found a partner to mate with, they would not play ball with human handlers.
如果这些鸟已经找到了配偶，它们就不会和人类饲养员合作。
But over several breeding seasons, Mafunda was able to collect sufficient sperm samples, which he rushed to the UWC labs for preservation and quality analysis.
但经过几个繁殖季节后，马冯达收集到了足够的精子样本，并迅速送往UWC实验室进行保存和质量分析。
He cross-checked the samples against blood and fecal tissue to build up a detailed picture of the birds' hormonal processes.
他将这些样本与血液和粪便组织进行交叉检查，以建立这些鸟类荷尔蒙过程的详细图像。
With an unprecedented collection of samples now at his disposal, Mafunda's next target goal is fertilization.
马方达现在有了前所未有的充足样本，他的下一个目标是受精。
"The next stage is to create a biobank for African penguin sperm that we know is good quality," says Mafunda.
马方达说:“下一步是为非洲企鹅的精子建立一个高质量的生物库。”
"That will allow us to perform the IVF and produce (fertilized) eggs."
“这将使我们能够进行试管受精和生产(受精卵)。”
There are two options from that point.
为了实现这一目标有两种选择。
The eggs could be incubated in lab ovens for 30-40 days until they hatch, or Mafunda could go the more ambitious route of implanting the egg into a living penguin and allow nature to do the rest.
这些企鹅蛋可以在实验室的烤箱里孵育30-40天，直到孵化出来，马方达也可以采取更大胆的方法，将企鹅蛋植入一只活企鹅体内，让大自然来完成剩下的工作。
At this point, he is more focused on the former option.
目前，他主要采用第二种方式。
The bioscientist is hoping for new partnerships with academic and conservation institutions to offer funding and support that will allow him to continue his research and deliver the proof of concept: the first lab-cultivated living African penguin.
这位生物科学家希望与学术和保护机构建立新的合作关系，提供资金和支持，使他能够继续他的研究，并提供概念证明:第一只实验室培育的非洲活企鹅。
If this can be secured, Mafunda is confident his work can play a part in helping to reverse the decline of the species.
如果这能得到保证，马方达有信心他的工作可以在帮助逆转物种的衰退中发挥作用。
"I believe this can be a solution," he says.
“我相信这是一个解决方案，”他说。
"There are many strategies required for conservation, we cannot rely on just one. This is one of the strategies I believe we must use."
“保护需要很多策略，我们不能只依靠一个。这是我认为我们必须使用的策略之一。”
问题：
文中提到非洲企鹅有哪些特点？
A.好脾气 B.声音小 C.不规则斑纹 D.数量越来越多
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