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科学美国人60秒 SSS 飓风如何影响蜘蛛的攻击性

时间:2020-06-23 01:52:24

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(单词翻译)

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Susanne Bard1.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学,我是苏珊娜·巴德。

Some scientists stick to the lab. But others brave venomous snakes and downed power lines. Take Jonathan Pruitt, an evolutionary2 biologist at McMaster University. During last year's hurricane season, he went to the U.S. Southeast to see how extreme weather affects—spiders.

一些科学家坚守在实验室。但也有些科学家勇敢面对毒蛇和倒下的电线。比如麦克马斯特大学的进化生物学家乔纳森·普鲁伊特。去年飓风季,他前往美国东南部地区研究极端天气对蜘蛛的影响。

"The goal of this experiment was basically to figure out how rare but extreme events might sculpt3 the traits of the animals that we see out there in the wild."

“这个实验的目标,基本上是弄清罕见但极端事件如何塑造我们在野外看到的动物的特征。”

The inherent difficulties in doing this kind of work has meant little research into how disasters can be a driving force behind natural selection.

从事这类工作存在内在困难,因此聚焦灾害如何成为自然选择背后的驱动力的研究很少。

"The only way that I was able to do this was via the assistance of locals who, immediately following these storms, all get into their trucks and drive around to survey the damage of their houses. But they also bring chain saws. And so they will be cutting their way through state roads. And I basically just draft right behind what could be a conga line of F150s with chain saws and use them to cut a path back to my study sites."

“我能做此事的唯一方法是通过当地人的帮助,他们在风暴过后立即坐上卡车,四处查看房屋受损情况。但他们也会带着电锯。他们将在州际公路上开辟道路。我基本上就是跟在F150汽车队伍的后面,用链锯切出回到研究地点的路。”

All that to survey the habits of tangle-web spiders, which live in colonies above bodies of water.

这一切都是为了调查球腹蛛的习性,这种蜘蛛生活在水体上方的群落中。

"And they cooperate into subduing4 prey5 together like a tiny, spidery pride of lions."

“它们合作制服猎物,就像微型狮群。”

The spiders come in two personality types: docile6 and aggressive. Aggressive colonies are prone7 to cannibalism8, fight among themselves and are quick to pounce9 on their prey. Pruitt found that when aggressive colonies survived a storm, they produced more baby spiders than did their less aggressive counterparts. But in hurricane-free areas, docile colonies had more babies.

这种蜘蛛有两种性格:温和的和好斗的。好斗的蜘蛛群容易自相残杀、内部争斗、迅速猛扑猎物。普鲁伊特发现,好斗的蜘蛛群在风暴中存活下来后,其产仔数量要多于不那么好斗的同类。但在没有遭遇飓风袭击的地区,温和蜘蛛群繁衍的后代数量更多。

"So whether or not it's good to be an aggressive society is contingent10 on whether or not you're going to have a tropical cyclone11 strike you or not that year."

“因此,成为好斗的蜘蛛群是否有益,要取决于那一年它们是否遭遇热带气旋袭击。”

Pruitt thinks the difference is due to hurricanes lowering the number of insect prey flying around. He says, of the aggressive spiders: "I think they are good at capitalizing on the limited number of time-sensitive foraging12 opportunities they have. So when a prey item hits their web, they run out fast, they grab it, it does not get away. And so, under those conditions, we think that's why it pays to be aggressive."

普鲁伊特认为,造成这种差异的原因是飓风减少了到处飞的昆虫猎物的数量。他表示,在好斗蜘蛛群中,“它们善于利用有限的时效性觅食机会。所以,当猎物撞到它们的网上时,它们会迅速跑过去,抓住猎物,让猎物无处可逃。在这些情况下,我们认为这是成为好斗蜘蛛群有益的原因。”

The research is in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution.

这项研究发表在《自然·生态学与进化》期刊上。

Pruitt says as hurricanes become more common, they could have an outsized impact on the spider's evolutionary trajectory13.

普鲁伊特表示,随着飓风越来越常见,其可能对蜘蛛的进化轨迹产生巨大影响。

"But the fact of the matter is we should not think that what we found in these spiders should be unique to them."

“但事实是,我们不应该认为我们在这些蜘蛛身上发现的东西是其所特有的。”

Indeed, climate change could have a stormy future in store for all kinds of animal species.

确实,气候变化可能会给所有动物种类带来暴风般的未来。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Susanne Bard.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是苏珊娜·巴德。


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 bard QPCyM     
n.吟游诗人
参考例句:
  • I'll use my bard song to help you concentrate!我会用我的吟游诗人歌曲帮你集中精神!
  • I find him,the wandering grey bard.我发现了正在徘徊的衰老游唱诗人。
2 evolutionary Ctqz7m     
adj.进化的;演化的,演变的;[生]进化论的
参考例句:
  • Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
  • These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。
3 sculpt TZux2     
n.雕刻,雕塑,雕刻品,雕塑品
参考例句:
  • When I sculpt,my style is expressionistic.我的雕刻风格是表现主义。
  • Then,sculpt the remaining fringe parting.然后雕刻剩余的边缘部分。
4 subduing be06c745969bb7007c5b30305d167a6d     
征服( subdue的现在分词 ); 克制; 制服; 色变暗
参考例句:
  • They are the probation subduing the heart to human joys. 它们不过是抑制情欲的一种考验。
  • Some believe that: is spiritual, mysterious and a very subduing colour. 有的认为:是精神,神秘色彩十分慑。
5 prey g1czH     
n.被掠食者,牺牲者,掠食;v.捕食,掠夺,折磨
参考例句:
  • Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
  • The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。
6 docile s8lyp     
adj.驯服的,易控制的,容易教的
参考例句:
  • Circus monkeys are trained to be very docile and obedient.马戏团的猴子训练得服服贴贴的。
  • He is a docile and well-behaved child.他是个温顺且彬彬有礼的孩子。
7 prone 50bzu     
adj.(to)易于…的,很可能…的;俯卧的
参考例句:
  • Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
  • He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。
8 cannibalism ZTGye     
n.同类相食;吃人肉
参考例句:
  • The war is just like the cannibalism of animals.战争就如同动物之间的互相残。
  • They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive.他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。
9 pounce 4uAyU     
n.猛扑;v.猛扑,突然袭击,欣然同意
参考例句:
  • Why do you pounce on every single thing I say?干吗我说的每句话你都要找麻烦?
  • We saw the tiger about to pounce on the goat.我们看见老虎要向那只山羊扑过去。
10 contingent Jajyi     
adj.视条件而定的;n.一组,代表团,分遣队
参考例句:
  • The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
  • Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。
11 cyclone cy3x7     
n.旋风,龙卷风
参考例句:
  • An exceptionally violent cyclone hit the town last night.昨晚异常猛烈的旋风吹袭了那个小镇。
  • The cyclone brought misery to thousands of people.旋风给成千上万的人带来苦难。
12 foraging 6101d89c0b474e01becb6651ecd4f87f     
v.搜寻(食物),尤指动物觅(食)( forage的现在分词 );(尤指用手)搜寻(东西)
参考例句:
  • They eke out a precarious existence foraging in rubbish dumps. 他们靠在垃圾场捡垃圾维持着朝不保夕的生活。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The campers went foraging for wood to make a fire. 露营者去搜寻柴木点火。 来自辞典例句
13 trajectory fJ1z1     
n.弹道,轨道
参考例句:
  • It is not difficult to sketch the subsequent trajectory.很容易描绘出它们最终的轨迹。
  • The path followed by a projectile is called its trajectory.抛物体所循的路径称为它的轨道。

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