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科学美国人60秒 SSS 寄居蟹会为了保护房产而增大私处

时间:2019-12-10 07:17:14

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(单词翻译)

 

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science。 I'm Karen Hopkin.

"So, I never really thought I'd study penis size, but I sorta s?t???umbled on this topic." Mark Laidre, a biologist at Dartmouth College. Laidre travels to Costa Rica to study hermit1 crabs3, a species called Coenobita compressus. These land crabs do some interior remodeling of their adopted shells: they extensively hollow them out, removing struts4 called spiral columella, to give themselves some extra elbow room. The renovation5 renders the shells more precious to their owners—and to other covetous6 crustaceans7 as well.

"These more valuable shells, though, are also more easily stolen, since without the spiral columella inside the shell to grip onto, individuals are pretty liable to have their property snatched from them. Particularly when they are engaged in other activities, like copulation, which requires coming partway out of the shell."

Despite his work in the field, it wasn't until Laidre was wandering through a museum that he noticed something about his favorite crabs.

"The really striking thing was that Coenobita compressus, the one whose social behavior I'd been studying for so many years, had an unusually large penis. In fact, bigger than any of the other species."

The observation gave him an idea, which he dubbed8 the "private parts for private property" hypothesis.

"In essence, the hypothesis posits9 that enlarged private parts can be an adaptation, extending a male's sexual reach and thus enabling both him and his partner to remain safely tucked away inside their shells while they copulate, thereby10 protecting the private property of their shells from being stolen during sex."

Darwin proposed a similar idea to explain why barnacles, which are stuck in one place, are so amply endowed.

To test his "private parts for private property" hypothesis, Laidre sized up more than 300 male museum specimens11, including hermit crabs that live on land and at sea. And he found that crabs that carried custom coverings had the most impressive carnal equipment. At the same time, species that got their shells off-the-shelf had bigger gear than did crabs that walked around with no shell at all. His results are revealed in the Royal Society journal Open Science.

"It's intriguing12 to think that this hypothesis might have greater generality beyond hermit crabs."

But like a hermit crab2 encountering a humdrum13 shell, Laidre says he's gonna leave that one alone.

"For me, I'm much more curious about how forms of animal architecture and remodeling in the environment impact social behavior."

Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.


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1 hermit g58y3     
n.隐士,修道者;隐居
参考例句:
  • He became a hermit after he was dismissed from office.他被解职后成了隐士。
  • Chinese ancient landscape poetry was in natural connections with hermit culture.中国古代山水诗与隐士文化有着天然联系。
2 crab xoozE     
n.螃蟹,偏航,脾气乖戾的人,酸苹果;vi.捕蟹,偏航,发牢骚;vt.使偏航,发脾气
参考例句:
  • I can't remember when I last had crab.我不记得上次吃蟹是什么时候了。
  • The skin on my face felt as hard as a crab's back.我脸上的皮仿佛僵硬了,就象螃蟹的壳似的。
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 struts 540eee6c95a0ea77a4cb260db42998e7     
(框架的)支杆( strut的名词复数 ); 支柱; 趾高气扬的步态; (尤指跳舞或表演时)卖弄
参考例句:
  • The struts are firmly braced. 那些支柱上得很牢靠。
  • The Struts + EJB framework is described in part four. 三、介绍Struts+EJB框架的技术组成:Struts框架和EJB组件技术。
5 renovation xVAxF     
n.革新,整修
参考例句:
  • The cinema will reopen next week after the renovation.电影院修缮后,将于下星期开业。
  • The building has undergone major renovation.这座大楼已进行大整修。
6 covetous Ropz0     
adj.贪婪的,贪心的
参考例句:
  • She is envious of Jane's good looks and covetous of her car.她既忌妒简的美貌又垂涎她的汽车。
  • He raised his head,with a look of unrestrained greed in his covetous eyes.他抬起头来,贪婪的眼光露出馋涎欲滴的神情。
7 crustaceans 37ad1a9eb8e9867969edd084ce8032d5     
n.甲壳纲动物(如蟹、龙虾)( crustacean的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • These crustaceans provide a valuable food source for some fish. 这些甲壳纲动物是某些鱼类重要的食物来源。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • When the tide ebbs it's a rock pool inhabited by crustaceans. 退潮时,它便成为甲壳动物居住的岩石区潮水潭。 来自辞典例句
8 dubbed dubbed     
v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 );把…称为;配音;复制
参考例句:
  • Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
  • Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的? 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 posits 8950efc94f9b4ac24ee8a6f147f5c198     
v.假定,设想,假设( posit的第三人称单数 )
参考例句:
  • If a book is hard going, it ought to be good. If it posits a complex moral situation, it ought to be even better. 如果一本书很难读,那么它应该是一本好书;如果它提出了一个复杂的道德状况,那么它就更应该是本好书了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Ray posits that this miracle is an object lesson for the disciples. 雷把这个奇事当作教训信徒们的事件。 来自互联网
10 thereby Sokwv     
adv.因此,从而
参考例句:
  • I have never been to that city,,ereby I don't know much about it.我从未去过那座城市,因此对它不怎么熟悉。
  • He became a British citizen,thereby gaining the right to vote.他成了英国公民,因而得到了投票权。
11 specimens 91fc365099a256001af897127174fcce     
n.样品( specimen的名词复数 );范例;(化验的)抽样;某种类型的人
参考例句:
  • Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
  • The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 intriguing vqyzM1     
adj.有趣的;迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词);激起…的好奇心
参考例句:
  • These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
  • It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
13 humdrum ic4xU     
adj.单调的,乏味的
参考例句:
  • Their lives consist of the humdrum activities of everyday existence.他们的生活由日常生存的平凡活动所构成。
  • The accountant said it was the most humdrum day that she had ever passed.会计师说这是她所度过的最无聊的一天。

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