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科学美国人60秒 SSS This Caterpillar Whistles While It Irks

时间:2017-08-21 08:21:29

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(单词翻译)

This Caterpillar1 Whistles While It Irks

毛虫会吹口哨?还是一种恐吓战术?

Songbirds produce a rich repertoire2 of sounds: songs, of course, but also chatter3 calls, flight calls and alarm calls: like this high-pitched warning from a black-capped chickadee: < seet call >. But chickadees aren't the only ones endowed with chirping4 abilities. Turns out a certain type of caterpillar can, too. < caterpillar whistle > Once again, the bird, then the caterpillar. <seet call, caterpillar whistle > Sounds pretty darn similar.

鸣禽能发出各种丰富的声音:包括歌唱,交流鸣叫、飞行鸣叫和警报呼叫。比如黑顶山雀发出的高音警告。但山雀并非唯一拥有鸣叫功能的动物。事实证明,某种类型的毛虫也拥有这种能力。再听一次,先是鸟鸣,然后是毛虫发出的声音。(两种声音)听起来非常像。

\"Yeah it's pretty crazy." Jessica Lindsay is a biologist at the University of Washington. She says this species, the North American walnut5 sphinx caterpillar, makes the sound using tiny pairs of breathing holes, called spiracles. "They compress themselves lengthwise like an accordion6 and so that compression pushes air out of the spiracles, making whistling sounds."

“是的,这很疯狂。”杰西卡·琳赛是华盛顿大学的一名生物学家。她说,北美胡桃木毛虫这一物种,通过被称为“气门”的微小的呼吸孔发出此种声音。“他们像手风琴一样把自己压缩得很长,这种压缩会把空气从气门里吹出来,发出吹口哨的声音。”

A cool coincidence, for sure. But here's where it gets interesting. Lindsay then played the caterpillar whistle through a speaker near a bird feeder. And the birds—of many different species—dove for cover. "Sometimes we'd see nuthatches flicking7 their wings, which is a big sign of distress8 for them. Sometimes it would take a really long time to return to feeding, which is a big indicator9 that they were taking that whistling noise pretty seriously."

当然,这只是一个很酷的巧合。但有一个很有趣的现象。琳赛在一个喂鸟器近用一个扬声器播放了毛虫的口哨声。这时,黑顶山雀以及其他许多不同种类的鸟都纷纷去寻找掩护。“有时我们会看到五子雀拍打着它们的翅膀——这对它们来说表示巨大不幸的信号。有时鸟儿们需要很长时间才能恢复进食——这在很大程度上表明它们把毛虫的口哨声当真了。”

And whereas the birds were unperturbed by the song of a house finch—a control sound—they responded to the caterpillar whistles with almost the same urgency as when they heard that real alarm call <seet call> from a chickadee. Suggesting the caterpillars10… are onto something. "They're basically using bird speak to say that there's a dangerous predator11 in the area and that the birds better get into cover."

然而,鸟儿们却没有受到家朱雀歌声的干扰——一种控制声音。它们听到毛虫发出的哨声做出的紧急反应,与它们听到黑顶山雀发出的真正的警报呼叫时反应几乎相同。这就说明毛虫……在表达一些信息。“基本上,它们就是在用鸟类的语言说,这里有一个危险的捕食者,鸟儿们最好赶紧找掩护。”

Lindsay presented the results at the International Symposium12 on Acoustic13 Communication by Animals in Omaha.

琳赛在奥马哈举行的国际动物声学传播研讨会上展示了这一结果。

Previous work suggests the caterpillars whistle when pecked at by birds. And they sometimes squeal14, too: <caterpillar squeal> Suggesting they may have more than one scare tactic15, to worm their way out of trouble.

之前的研究表明,毛虫在被鸟儿啄食时就会发出口哨声。它们有时也会尖叫。这表明它们可能会用不止一种恐吓战术来摆脱麻烦。


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1 caterpillar ir5zf     
n.毛虫,蝴蝶的幼虫
参考例句:
  • A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
  • A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。
2 repertoire 2BCze     
n.(准备好演出的)节目,保留剧目;(计算机的)指令表,指令系统, <美>(某个人的)全部技能;清单,指令表
参考例句:
  • There is an extensive repertoire of music written for the flute.有很多供长笛演奏的曲目。
  • He has added considerably to his piano repertoire.他的钢琴演奏曲目大大增加了。
3 chatter BUfyN     
vi./n.喋喋不休;短促尖叫;(牙齿)打战
参考例句:
  • Her continuous chatter vexes me.她的喋喋不休使我烦透了。
  • I've had enough of their continual chatter.我已厌烦了他们喋喋不休的闲谈。
4 chirping 9ea89833a9fe2c98371e55f169aa3044     
鸟叫,虫鸣( chirp的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The birds,chirping relentlessly,woke us up at daybreak. 破晓时鸟儿不断吱吱地叫,把我们吵醒了。
  • The birds are chirping merrily. 鸟儿在欢快地鸣叫着。
5 walnut wpTyQ     
n.胡桃,胡桃木,胡桃色,茶色
参考例句:
  • Walnut is a local specialty here.核桃是此地的土特产。
  • The stool comes in several sizes in walnut or mahogany.凳子有几种尺寸,材质分胡桃木和红木两种。
6 accordion rf1y7     
n.手风琴;adj.可折叠的
参考例句:
  • The accordion music in the film isn't very beautiful.这部影片中的手风琴音乐不是很好。
  • The accordion music reminds me of my boyhood.这手风琴的乐声让我回忆起了我的少年时代。
7 flicking 856751237583a36a24c558b09c2a932a     
(尤指用手指或手快速地)轻击( flick的现在分词 ); (用…)轻挥; (快速地)按开关; 向…笑了一下(或瞥了一眼等)
参考例句:
  • He helped her up before flicking the reins. 他帮她上马,之后挥动了缰绳。
  • There's something flicking around my toes. 有什么东西老在叮我的脚指头。
8 distress 3llzX     
n.苦恼,痛苦,不舒适;不幸;vt.使悲痛
参考例句:
  • Nothing could alleviate his distress.什么都不能减轻他的痛苦。
  • Please don't distress yourself.请你不要忧愁了。
9 indicator i8NxM     
n.指标;指示物,指示者;指示器
参考例句:
  • Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
  • His left-hand indicator is flashing.他左手边的转向灯正在闪亮。
10 caterpillars 7673bc2d84c4c7cba4a0eaec866310f4     
n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 );履带
参考例句:
  • Caterpillars eat the young leaves of this plant. 毛毛虫吃这种植物的嫩叶。
  • Caterpillars change into butterflies or moths. 毛虫能变成蝴蝶或蛾子。 来自辞典例句
11 predator 11vza     
n.捕食其它动物的动物;捕食者
参考例句:
  • The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
  • Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴,它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。
12 symposium 8r6wZ     
n.讨论会,专题报告会;专题论文集
参考例句:
  • What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会?
  • The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。
13 acoustic KJ7y8     
adj.听觉的,声音的;(乐器)原声的
参考例句:
  • The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
  • Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。
14 squeal 3Foyg     
v.发出长而尖的声音;n.长而尖的声音
参考例句:
  • The children gave a squeal of fright.孩子们发出惊吓的尖叫声。
  • There was a squeal of brakes as the car suddenly stopped.小汽车突然停下来时,车闸发出尖叫声。
15 tactic Yqowc     
n.战略,策略;adj.战术的,有策略的
参考例句:
  • Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
  • She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

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