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科学美国人60秒 SSS 锤头鲨是水下割草机

时间:2019-09-29 07:26:40

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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。

Sharks aren't typically thought of as vegetarians1. Or even omnivores. But about 10 years ago, scientists documented a dainty relative of the hammerhead shark, known as a bonnethead shark, consuming copious2 amounts of sea grass.

通常,人们不会认为鲨鱼是素食动物。甚至也不会把它们看作杂食动物。但是大约10年前,科学家记录了双髻鲨(又称锤头鲨)的一种体型小巧的近亲吃掉大量海草的情况。

"A lot of people kind of just thought that oh the sharks were consuming it incidentally, while they're going after crabs3 and squid and other little invertebrates4 that live in the sea grass meadows." Samantha Leigh, a PhD candidate at the University of California, Irvine. "So everyone thought they were kind of just passing it through their system and not really getting anything from it."

“很多人只是认为,这些鲨鱼是在追逐生活在海草场中的螃蟹、乌贼和其它小型无脊椎动物时,偶然地吃了海草。”加州大学欧文分校的在读博士生萨曼莎·利说到。“因此,所有人都认为海草只是穿肠而过,鲨鱼不会从海草中获得任何能量。”

So Leigh and her colleagues hauled five of the small sharks back to a Florida lab, and put them on a three-week diet: 90 percent sea grass, 10 percent squid. And analyzed5 the digestibility of that diet. Turns out, the sharks actually put on pounds, and were able to digest the sea grass just as well as young green sea turtles do.

于是,利和同事将5只小鲨鱼拖到佛罗里达的实验室,让它们进行为期三周的特别饮食计划:90%的海草,10%的乌贼。之后分析鲨鱼的消化率。结果发现,鲨鱼的体重的确增加了,而且它们能像年轻海龟那样消化海草。

"Even though the bonnethead shark has what scientists would deem a carnivorous gut6, they are definitely acting7 like omnivores. So there's definitely something going on, on probably a microbial level, that's helping8 them break down this sea grass."

“尽管科学家认为锤头鲨拥有肉食性肠道,但是它们的行为确实像杂食动物。所以,一定有某些东西在发挥作用,可能是在微生物水平上,帮助鲨鱼分解这些海草。”

The full nutrition info is in the Proceedings9 of the Royal Society B.

完整的营养信息刊登在《英国皇家学会学报:B辑》上。

The study also gives coastal10 ecosystem11 managers something new to chew on: these sharks are like lawn mowers, trimming the sea grass, digesting it, and, yes, recycling it. "So they likely play more of a stabilizing12 role in food web dynamics13. They're not a top apex14 predator15. And they're also probably playing a large role in nutrient16 transport in those sea grass meadow ecosystems17 as well."

这项研究也为海洋生态管理者提供了一些值得深思的新想法:这些鲨鱼像割草机一样,修剪、消化,没错,还有循环利用海草。“所以,它们可能在食物网动态中发挥着更为稳定的作用。它们并不是顶端掠食者。但是在这些海草场生态系统的营养运输中,它们可能也发挥着重要作用。”

As for whether we might convince more sharks to have a side salad with dinner? "I don't know that we'll be able to do that anytime soon."

至于我们是否可以让更多的鲨鱼在用餐时加一份素沙拉?“我不知道我们能否尽快做到。”

Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 vegetarians 92ca2254bb61eaa208608083177e4ed9     
n.吃素的人( vegetarian的名词复数 );素食者;素食主义者;食草动物
参考例句:
  • Vegetarians are no longer dismissed as cranks. 素食者不再被视为有怪癖的人。
  • Vegetarians believe that eating meat is bad karma. 素食者认为吃肉食是造恶业。
2 copious koizs     
adj.丰富的,大量的
参考例句:
  • She supports her theory with copious evidences.她以大量的例证来充实自己的理论。
  • Every star is a copious source of neutrinos.每颗恒星都是丰富的中微子源。
3 crabs a26cc3db05581d7cfc36d59943c77523     
n.蟹( crab的名词复数 );阴虱寄生病;蟹肉v.捕蟹( crab的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • As we walked along the seashore we saw lots of tiny crabs. 我们在海岸上散步时看到很多小蟹。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The fish and crabs scavenge for decaying tissue. 鱼和蟹搜寻腐烂的组织为食。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 invertebrates 7e45dc289993d00de9b9f14a70e51319     
n.无脊椎动物( invertebrate的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • Insects and worms are all invertebrates. 昆虫和蠕虫都是无脊椎动物。 来自辞典例句
  • In the earthworm and many other invertebrates, these excretory structures are called nephridia. 在蚯蚓和许多其它无脊椎动物中,这些排泄结构称为肾管。 来自辞典例句
5 analyzed 483f1acae53789fbee273a644fdcda80     
v.分析( analyze的过去式和过去分词 );分解;解释;对…进行心理分析
参考例句:
  • The doctors analyzed the blood sample for anemia. 医生们分析了贫血的血样。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The young man did not analyze the process of his captivation and enrapturement, for love to him was a mystery and could not be analyzed. 这年轻人没有分析自己蛊惑著迷的过程,因为对他来说,爱是个不可分析的迷。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 gut MezzP     
n.[pl.]胆量;内脏;adj.本能的;vt.取出内脏
参考例句:
  • It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
  • My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。
7 acting czRzoc     
n.演戏,行为,假装;adj.代理的,临时的,演出用的
参考例句:
  • Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她,她只是假装的。
  • During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代,她的表演生涯黯然失色。
8 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
9 proceedings Wk2zvX     
n.进程,过程,议程;诉讼(程序);公报
参考例句:
  • He was released on bail pending committal proceedings. 他交保获释正在候审。
  • to initiate legal proceedings against sb 对某人提起诉讼
10 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。
11 ecosystem Wq4xz     
n.生态系统
参考例句:
  • This destroyed the ecosystem of the island.这样破坏了岛上的生态系统。
  • We all have an interest in maintaining the integrity of the ecosystem.维持生态系统的完整是我们共同的利益。
12 stabilizing 37789793f41246ac9b11622dadb461ab     
n.稳定化处理[退火]v.(使)稳定, (使)稳固( stabilize的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • The disulfide bridges might then be viewed primarily as stabilizing components. 二硫桥可以被看作是初级的稳定因素。 来自辞典例句
  • These stabilizing design changes are usually not desirable for steady-state operation. 这些增加稳定性的设计改变通常不太符合稳态工作的要求。 来自辞典例句
13 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。
14 apex mwrzX     
n.顶点,最高点
参考例句:
  • He reached the apex of power in the early 1930s.他在三十年代初达到了权力的顶峰。
  • His election to the presidency was the apex of his career.当选总统是他一生事业的顶峰。
15 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。
16 nutrient 3vpye     
adj.营养的,滋养的;n.营养物,营养品
参考例句:
  • Magnesium is the nutrient element in plant growth.镁是植物生长的营养要素。
  • The roots transmit moisture and nutrient to the trunk and branches.根将水分和养料输送到干和枝。
17 ecosystems 94cb0e40a815bea1157ac8aab9a5380d     
n.生态系统( ecosystem的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • There are highly sensitive and delicately balanced ecosystems in the forest. 森林里有高度敏感、灵敏平衡的各种生态系统。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Madagascar's ecosystems range from rainforest to semi-desert. 马达加斯加生态系统类型多样,从雨林到半荒漠等不一而足。 来自辞典例句

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