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Hello and welcome to 6 Minute
English from BBC Learning English.
I'm Beth.
And I'm Neil.
You can find a transcript
and worksheet for this podcast
on our website
bbclearningenglish.com.
So Neil, today we're talking
about animal migration.
That's the movement of animals
from one place to another,
usually because of the weather
or temperature.
Yes. For example, wildebeest are
famous for their migration.
They travel around the Serengeti in
Tanzania and the Maasai Mara in Kenya
every year, depending on the rain.
It's often called
The Great Migration.
Yes, and I have a question for you
about this, Neil.
How many animals are thought to take
part in The Great Migration every year?
Is it a) one million, b) 1.5 million,
or c) 2.5 million?
Well, I don't know...
but I'm going to guess 2.5 million.
OK. I'll reveal the answer
at the end of the programme.
Now, wildebeest are not the only
animals who travel large distances.
That's right.
Many sharks also migrate:
they move to a different place
because of the weather or temperature.
Trisha Atwood researches sharks
and their migration for Utah
State University and explained more
to BBC World Service programme,
The Climate Question.
Animals migrate
for all types of reasons.
So, some of them migrate for
food resources,
things like mating
or for giving birth.
So, animals can migrate for food,
mating and giving birth.
Host of the BBC World Service's
The Climate Question,
Sophie Eastaugh, wanted to know more.
And what kind of distances
are we talking with these migrations?
Are they covering
huge swathes of ocean?
Some of these shark species
can travel massive distances.
We've seen great white sharks
that have travelled from the coast
off of Perth, Australia,
all the way to South Africa.
Sophie asks, "What kinds of distances
are we talking with these migrations?"
This is an informal way to ask,
"How far are the migrations?"
We can rephrase lots of questions
in this way.
For example, you could ask,
"What kind of price are we talking?"
to ask how much something costs.
Sophie goes on to ask whether sharks
travel across huge swathes of ocean.
Swathes of ocean
means large areas of ocean.
Yes, and in fact sharks do travel
across large areas.
For example, great white sharks can
travel from Australia to South Africa.
That is a long way to swim!
But, as climate change causes changes
to the temperature of the ocean,
it's changing the way
that sharks migrate.
This is a problem; sharks scare away
other creatures, such as sea turtles,
and these creatures eat seagrass,
which absorbs a lot of carbon
from the atmosphere.
So, basically,
when the sharks are around,
there's more seagrass on the ocean
floor and so more carbon is absorbed.
So, sharks can actually help fight
climate change.
Yes. In fact, lots of species
that migrate are really important
for fighting climate change.
Let's hear more from BBC World
Service Programme, The Climate Question.
Sharks aren't the only migratory
animal that acts as a secret weapon
against climate change.
Research that we worked on shows that
by just managing about 10 groups
of animals, we could be taking out
or sequestering more CO2
from the atmosphere by about
six gigatonnes of carbon per year.
So, for perspective, some experts say
that we need to suck 10 gigatonnes
of CO2 a year out of the atmosphere
to meet our climate goals.
Sophie says
that many animals that migrate,
like sharks, are a secret weapon
against climate change.
A secret weapon is something
nobody knows about that will give you
an advantage over a problem or enemy.
By protecting sharks
and other animals that migrate,
Trisha's research shows that we
could be sequestering six gigatonnes
of carbon dioxide, or CO2,
a year from the atmosphere.
Sequester means remove
and store the carbon,
for example, in plants like seagrass.
Six gigatonnes is a lot of carbon!
Sophie says that, for perspective,
it's about 60%
of the amount of carbon dioxide
that some scientists believe we need
to remove from the atmosphere each year.
We can use the phrase
'for perspective' to explain
the size or importance of something,
particularly when it's difficult
to imagine that thing.
Alongside sharks, another species
that Trisha believes is important to
helping remove carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere is the wildebeest.
Yes, and that reminds me
of your question, Beth.
You asked me how many animals
take part in the Great Migration,
and I think I went for
option c) 2.5 million. Was I right?
You weren't, I'm afraid.
The answer was b) 1.5 million,
so still a lot of animals.
OK. Let's recap the vocabulary
we've learned, starting with migrate:
move to a different place.
For animals, this is usually because
of the weather or temperature.
We can use the structure 'what
kind of (something) are we talking?'
to rephrase a question
more informally,
particularly one about distance,
cost or numbers.
For example, 'what kind
of distance are we talking?'
Swathes means large areas
of something.
A secret weapon is something
nobody knows about that
gives you an advantage
over a problem or enemy.
If you sequester something,
such as carbon dioxide,
you remove it and store it.
And we can use the phrase
'for perspective' to explain the size
or importance of something,
particularly if
that thing is difficult to imagine.
Once again, our six minutes are up.
Why not test what you've learned using
the interactive quiz on our website?
Bye for now!
Goodbye.
Vocabulary
Word 1 of 14migration
word
0:20
"the movement of animals from one place to another, usually with the seasons."
More Listening Practice
About this lesson
Explore how rising temperatures and changing seasons are disrupting the migration patterns of animals around the world in this 6 Minute English episode.