Before science became professionalized in the 19th century, 【小题1】 naturalists were collecting information and helping us understand the natural world. A 2009 study found that nearly 50% of UK 【小题2】 feed wild birds. The National Trust has more than 5 million members, and 60,000 active volunteers helping to protect the countryside as well as historic 【小题3】. Now, with our environment arguably under greater threat than ever and species declining at a(n) 【小题4】 rate, volunteers are once again at the forefront of efforts to limit the damage.

Volunteers and enthusiasts can be powerful drivers for big changes. On the Isle of Man, more than 8,000 people (nearly 10% of the population) are involved in regular weekend beach cleans. At one recent event, 123 volunteers turned up and removed 183 bags of litter in just a couple of hours. Thanks to 【小题5】 such as this, the island shares Unesco biosphere reserve status with the Galápagos, Yellowstone in the US, Uluru in Australia, and hundreds of other sites.

Recreational divers are making a real difference underwater too. They monitor the spread of 【小题6】 species, and record how native species respond. Divers also 【小题7】 levels of marine litter and other human impacts. Volunteer divers have played an important role in collecting information about marine conservation zones. Volunteers have also made a vital contribution to the conservation of basking sharks. The work of a citizen science Basking Shark Project in the 1980s and 90s was 【小题8】 in getting these sharks on the protected species list in the UK, while satellite tagging 【小题9】 the first recorded transatlantic crossing by a basking shark.

Volunteers and enthusiasts can be powerful drivers for big changes. No one can know better, or care more about, our most special places than the people who live in them and give up their free time to look after them. As a group of divers and 【小题10】 residents who lived on the shores of the bay, they took their campaign on to national and international stages and continue to inspire people who might otherwise feel powerless when faced with threats to the places that matter to them.

A tiger at the Bronx Zoo in New York City has tested positive for the respiratory disease caused by the novel coronavirus, becoming the first known case of human-animal 【小题1】, the zoo's chief veterinarian said on Sunday.

Nadia, the 4-year-old Malayan tiger that tested positive, was 【小题2】 for the COVID-19 disease after 【小题3】 a dry cough along with three other tigers and three lions, the Wildlife Conservation Society, which manages the zoo, said in a statement.

All of the cats are expected to recover, it said. But officials believe this is a unique case because Nadia became sick after 【小题4】 to an asymptomatic zoo employee, Paul Calle, chief veterinarian at the Bronx Zoo, told Reuters.

Calle said they did not know which employee infected the tiger. "This is the first time that we have discovered that a person infects the animal and the animal gets sick," Calle said, adding that they planned to share the findings with other zoos and institutions. " I guess 【小题5】 we will all have a better understanding as a result.

While the other tigers and lions were also 【小题6】 symptoms, the zoo decided to test only Nadia because she was the sickest and   had started to lose her appetite already, and they did not want to 【小题7】 all the cats to anesthesia(麻醉), Calle said.

Nadia 【小题8】 X-rays, an ultrasound(超声波) and blood tests to try to figure out what was making her sick . They decided to test for COVID-19 【小题9】 the surge in cases in New York City, the epicenter of the outbreak in the United States.The first tiger at the zoo, which has been shut since mid-March, began showing 【小题10】 of illness on March 27, according to the US Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratories.

Deadly virus approaches tigers

India’s most important tiger conservation body is to investigate growing concern that Asia’s wild tigers are 【小题1】 to a deadly new disease.

The National Tiger Conservation Authority is to fun d a study of Canine Distemper Virus(CDV) in six of the most important areas for the species, which could confirm a problem that a few experts have 【小题2】for a number of years.

There have been 【小题3】of CDV in wild tigers in other areas. According to Dr Dale Miquelle of the Wildlife Conservation Society, quite a few tigers were either killed or seriously affected by a disease that was probably CDV in 2010. And the Sikhote-Alin Biosphere Reserve has also reported a(n) 【小题4】 decline in tiger numbers.

CDV may also exist in the tiger population in Sumatra, where animals have been reported to be behaving 【小题5】and losing their fear of humans.

Dr John Lewis of the British charity Wildlife Vets International is helping the Sumatran【小题6】to fight the risk by training local vets in what he calls “the world’s first tiger- disease monitoring program”.

Lewis also believes that the way CDV changes tigers’ behavior could be a factor where tiger- human 【小题7】are an issue. This could be true of the Sundarbans, a large area shared by India and Bangladesh where man-eating is spreading.

Perhaps we should not be surprised that tigers are 【小题8】with CDV. In 2004, it killed 1,000 lions in the Serengeti in Tanzania, and as wildlife reserves are【小题9】surrounded by people with dogs, the problem is only likely to get worse.

But as Miquelle told BBC Wildlife, “Very few people were aware of the potential threat, let alone looking for it, even if it is 【小题10】in the system. But at least now they are.”