For many animals, the sea is now a scary place. Overfishing and pollution are killing many sea animals. But the number of cephalopods (头足类动物)—sea animals that include octopus and squid (鱿鱼)—has been growing for the past 60 years, reported Time for Kids.
Zoe Doubleday is a scientist at the University of Adelaid e in Australia. She did a study of cephalopods. She said cephalopods’ special abilities made it possible for their numbers to grow.
These animals can change their color and body shape. They are fast-growing and live for only one or two years. “This allows them to get used to changing environments more quickly than other sea animals,” Doubleday told Time for Kids.
What’s more, rising sea temperatures might make animals age faster, she said. They might be growing faster and giving birth to more babies. Cephalopods live in all of the world’s seas. People can find them both in cold and hot places. Because they can easily get used to their environment, the animals get the name: “weeds (野草) of the sea”.
Will octopuses and squid take over the world one day? According to Doubleday, that won’t really happen. The growth of cephalopods could slow down if the animals run out of food and start eating each other. Overfishing could also affect their numbers.
For now, the cephalopod growth is good news for them and some other sea animals. “The growing number of cephalopods could be good for sea animals and birds that eat cephalopods,” Doubleday said.
【小题1】Why do people call cephalopods “weeds of the sea”?| A．Because they are green most of the time. | B．Because they need to eat lots of weeds. |
| C．Because they are bad to other sea animals. | D．Because they fit into the new environment well. |
| A．They might not grow fast in number forever. |
| B．Their number is going down because of pollution. |
| C．They can grow very big and eat other sea animals. |
| D．They live one or two years longer than other sea animals. |
| A．Many fishers will catch cephalopods mainly. |
| B．Cephalopods will die out in the near future. |
| C．Cephalopods can help some birds and sea animals live. |
| D．The growth of cephalopods pollutes the sea environment. |
