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科学美国人60秒 SSS For River Otters, Social Life Is Shaped by the Latrine

时间:2017-03-06 05:17:04

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River otters2, like other social animals, have to carefully weigh the costs and benefits of hanging out in large groups. A big group makes it easier to catch fish, which seems like a good deal, but there's a downside to social life too. More otters means more chances for disease transmission, for example, or for aggressive conflict. So they balance these pressures by living in what researchers call a "fission-fusion3 society."

"There's this constant dynamic of splitting and joining into larger groups." 

University of Wyoming ecologist Adi Barocas. To understand the factors that drive these social dynamics4, Barocas's team, from the University of Wyoming and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game, has spent decades spying on the coastal5 river otters of Alaska near Prince William Sound. To do it, they use motion-activated camera traps as well as implanted radio trackers.

"The latrines, which are pretty much communal6 toilets that the river otters use, they seem to have an important function in the life of river otters."

That's right: river otter1 society is organized around the bathroom. It makes good sense. By investigating a latrine, an otter can sniff7 out just how many otters there are in the area, and who they might be.

The researchers found that the otters performed more signaling behaviors like sniffing8, body rubbing, or urinating, than social behaviors, like grooming9 or play, at what they called crossover latrines, which were located at the junctions10 of water bodies. 

Thanks to all that communicative signaling, these crossover latrines were also more likely to host fusion events, resulting in large aggregations11 of up to eighteen otters. In other words, the otters see latrines as a place to exchange information, a sort of central marketplace.

Because the location of crossover latrines was determined12 by the physical landscape, this suggests that the complexity13 of the physical environment plays an important role in determining their social behavior. 

Next, the researchers want to see just how and what the otters communicate at latrines. 

"We often see the river otters sniffing at the latrines and also defecating, and before defecating they do a little ritualized behavior that we termed 'the poop dance.'"

What scents14 are they trying to sniff out? Which olfactory15 compounds are at play? Can the otters control the scents they leave behind? Who's watching the poop dance?

And most importantly, why doesn't anybody ever remember to flush?

—Jason G. Goldman 

[Adi Barocas et al., Coastal latrine sites as social information hubs and drivers of river otter fission–fusion dynamics.]


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1 otter 7vgyH     
n.水獭
参考例句:
  • The economists say the competition otter to the brink of extinction.经济学家们说,竞争把海獭推到了灭绝的边缘。
  • She collared my black wool coat with otter pelts.她把我的黑呢上衣镶上了水獭领。
2 otters c7b1b011f1aba54879393a220705a840     
n.(水)獭( otter的名词复数 );獭皮
参考例句:
  • An attempt is being made to entice otters back to the river. 人们正试图把水獭引诱回河里去。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Otters are believed to have been on Earth for 90 million years. 水獭被认为存活在地球上已经9千多万年。 来自互联网
3 fusion HfDz5     
n.溶化;熔解;熔化状态,熔和;熔接
参考例句:
  • Brass is formed by the fusion of copper and zinc. 黄铜是通过铜和锌的熔合而成的。
  • This alloy is formed by the fusion of two types of metal.这种合金是用两种金属熔合而成的。
4 dynamics NuSzQq     
n.力学,动力学,动力,原动力;动态
参考例句:
  • In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利,你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
  • Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。
5 coastal WWiyh     
adj.海岸的,沿海的,沿岸的
参考例句:
  • The ocean waves are slowly eating away the coastal rocks.大海的波浪慢慢地侵蚀着岸边的岩石。
  • This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
6 communal VbcyU     
adj.公有的,公共的,公社的,公社制的
参考例句:
  • There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
  • The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。
7 sniff PF7zs     
vi.嗅…味道;抽鼻涕;对嗤之以鼻,蔑视
参考例句:
  • The police used dogs to sniff out the criminals in their hiding - place.警察使用警犬查出了罪犯的藏身地点。
  • When Munchie meets a dog on the beach, they sniff each other for a while.当麦奇在海滩上碰到另一条狗的时候,他们会彼此嗅一会儿。
8 sniffing 50b6416c50a7d3793e6172a8514a0576     
n.探查法v.以鼻吸气,嗅,闻( sniff的现在分词 );抽鼻子(尤指哭泣、患感冒等时出声地用鼻子吸气);抱怨,不以为然地说
参考例句:
  • We all had colds and couldn't stop sniffing and sneezing. 我们都感冒了,一个劲地抽鼻子,打喷嚏。
  • They all had colds and were sniffing and sneezing. 他们都伤风了,呼呼喘气而且打喷嚏。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
9 grooming grooming     
n. 修饰, 美容,(动物)梳理毛发
参考例句:
  • You should always pay attention to personal grooming. 你应随时注意个人仪容。
  • We watched two apes grooming each other. 我们看两只猩猩在互相理毛。
10 junctions 8d6818d120fa2726af259fc9dc6c7c61     
联结点( junction的名词复数 ); 会合点; (公路或铁路的)交叉路口; (电缆等的)主结点
参考例句:
  • Metals which were mutually soluble would tend to give strong junctions. 可互溶的金属趋向于产生牢固的结合点。
  • Some adhering junctions are present as narrow bands connecting two cells. 有些粘附连接以一窄带的形式连接两个细胞。
11 aggregations 4c4f91ef635e1dd162c5cdd100d293aa     
n.聚集( aggregation的名词复数 );集成;集结;聚集体
参考例句:
  • A pattern of overlapping aggregations is usually found. 通常可发现一种叠聚集现象。 来自辞典例句
  • The atoms of the different chemical elements are different aggregations of atoms of the same kind. 不同化学元素的原子是同类原子的不同聚合物。 来自辞典例句
12 determined duszmP     
adj.坚定的;有决心的
参考例句:
  • I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
  • He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。
13 complexity KO9z3     
n.复杂(性),复杂的事物
参考例句:
  • Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
  • The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。
14 scents 9d41e056b814c700bf06c9870b09a332     
n.香水( scent的名词复数 );气味;(动物的)臭迹;(尤指狗的)嗅觉
参考例句:
  • The air was fragrant with scents from the sea and the hills. 空气中荡漾着山和海的芬芳气息。
  • The winds came down with scents of the grass and wild flowers. 微风送来阵阵青草和野花的香气。 来自《简明英汉词典》
15 olfactory Z5EzW     
adj.嗅觉的
参考例句:
  • He is to develop a sensor to substitute for the olfactory abilities of dogs.克罗克将研制一种传感器用以代替狗的嗅觉功能。
  • Based on these findings, Keller suspects that each person has an olfactory blind spot.根据这些发现,凯勒推断,每个人都有一个嗅觉盲区。

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