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科学美国人60秒 SSS 虎蛾是逃离还是面对蝙蝠要取决于其毒性

时间:2020-11-10 01:53:14

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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秒科学系列,我是苏珊娜·巴德。

About 12,000 species of tiger moth2 exist on Earth. Some of them swoop3 and dive out of harm's way when a hungry bat tries to make them a meal. But other tiger moth species are more blasé—they just don't bother to flee from the hungry bats.

地球上大约有12000种虎蛾。当饥饿的蝙蝠试图捕食虎蛾时,其中一些虎蛾会突然俯冲到安全地方。但其它种类的虎蛾却无动于衷——它们只是懒得逃避饥饿的蝙蝠。

"And I really just wanted to know why. Why the difference? What factors might be influencing whether a species is more or less likely to perform these evasive maneuvers4?"

“我真的想知道原因。为什么会有这种差异?哪些因素可能会影响虎蛾更愿意或更不愿意实施逃避行为?”

Wake Forest University behavioral ecologist Nick Dowdy5. He says it's a matter of taste—some of the moths6 are delicious, but others are toxic7 and taste terrible. When the airborne predators8 catch these unappetizing moths, they'll spit them out, giving the insects a new lease on life.

维克森林大学的行为生态学家尼克·道迪说到。他说这与口味有关,有些蛾子的味道很美味,但其它则有毒,而且味道很糟糕。飞行中的捕食者捉到这些倒胃口的蛾子时,会把它们吐出来,让蛾子重获新生。

In a field experiment, Dowdy and his colleague William Conner filmed how five different species of tiger moths responded to bat attacks.

在现场实验中,道迪及同事威廉·康纳拍摄了五种不同种类的虎蛾面对蝙蝠攻击时的反应。

"And what we found was that those species which were really toxic—so when the bats captured them, they almost never ate them—those species were much more likely to be what we call nonchalant, species that do not perform evasive maneuvers very often. On the other hand, species that were really palatable9 were much more likely to perform those evasive maneuvers, almost, in a sense, sort of h?edging their bets. Because if they don't make that escape, if they are captured by a bat, those species are more likely to be eaten."

“我们发现,真正有毒的那些虎蛾,蝙蝠捉到它们时几乎从不吃掉它们,这些虎蛾更有可能是我们所说的漠不关心的物种,它们不常实施逃避行为。另一方面,真正美味可口的虎蛾更可能实施逃避行为,在某种意义上,这可以算是两面下注。因为如果它们逃走,如果被蝙蝠抓住,它们就更有可能被吃掉。”

Another factor is that evasive maneuvers have their own set of risks, which may be why unpalatable moths tend to avoid them. For example, diving away from bats burns fuel, gives the insects less time to seek out mates and could expose them to other perils10, such as getting stuck in water.

另一个因素是,逃跑策略本身也存在一系列风险,这可能就是为什么难吃的虎蛾选择逃避的原因。例如,潜入水中逃离蝙蝠会消耗能量,减少其寻找配偶的时间,并可能使它们面临其他危险,比如被困在水中。

"Or there could be predators on the ground like mice and other mammals."

“或者地面上可能有老鼠和其它哺乳动物等捕食者。”

The study is in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution.

这项研究发表在《生态学与进化前沿》期刊上。

Dowdy is now trying to identify the chemical compounds responsible for making some tiger moths taste bad. Once those findings are in, chemical analysis of museum specimens11 could help reveal how rare, endangered or even extinct insects have behaved around predators.

道迪现在正试图找出导致某些虎蛾变得难吃的化合物。一旦相关发现出炉,对博物馆标本进行化学分析将有助于揭示稀有、濒危甚至灭绝昆虫在捕食者周围的行为方式。

"We can still study animal behavior even without a living organism. That's, I think, pretty amazing."

“即使没有活体有机物,我们仍可以研究动物的行为。我觉得这真是太棒了。”

Other animals with conspicuous12 warning signals, such as garishly13 colored poison dart14 frogs and foul-smelling skunks15 are also known to be slow movers. Perhaps if you're deadly, toxic or just plain stink16, it can pay to be lazy.

其它有明显警告信号的动物,如七彩斑斓箭毒蛙和气味难闻的臭鼬,也被认为是行动迟缓的动物。也许,如果你具备致命能力,有毒或者仅仅是臭气熏天,那你可以选择懒惰。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 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 moth a10y1     
n.蛾,蛀虫
参考例句:
  • A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
  • The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。
3 swoop nHPzI     
n.俯冲,攫取;v.抓取,突然袭击
参考例句:
  • The plane made a swoop over the city.那架飞机突然向这座城市猛降下来。
  • We decided to swoop down upon the enemy there.我们决定突袭驻在那里的敌人。
4 maneuvers 4f463314799d35346cd7e8662b520abf     
n.策略,谋略,花招( maneuver的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • He suspected at once that she had been spying upon his maneuvers. 他立刻猜想到,她已经侦察到他的行动。 来自辞典例句
  • Maneuvers in Guizhou occupied the Reds for four months. 贵州境内的作战占了红军四个月的时间。 来自辞典例句
5 dowdy ZsdxQ     
adj.不整洁的;过旧的
参考例句:
  • She was in a dowdy blue frock.她穿了件不大洁净的蓝上衣。
  • She looked very plain and dowdy.她长得非常普通,衣也过时。
6 moths de674306a310c87ab410232ea1555cbb     
n.蛾( moth的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The moths have eaten holes in my wool coat. 蛀虫将我的羊毛衫蛀蚀了几个小洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The moths tapped and blurred at the window screen. 飞蛾在窗帘上跳来跳去,弄上了许多污点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
7 toxic inSwc     
adj.有毒的,因中毒引起的
参考例句:
  • The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
  • There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。
8 predators 48b965855934a5395e409c1112d94f63     
n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 );奴役他人者(尤指在财务或性关系方面)
参考例句:
  • birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
  • The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 palatable 7KNx1     
adj.可口的,美味的;惬意的
参考例句:
  • The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
  • This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错,价钱也不算贵。
10 perils 3c233786f6fe7aad593bf1198cc33cbe     
极大危险( peril的名词复数 ); 危险的事(或环境)
参考例句:
  • The commander bade his men be undaunted in the face of perils. 指挥员命令他的战士要临危不惧。
  • With how many more perils and disasters would he load himself? 他还要再冒多少风险和遭受多少灾难?
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 conspicuous spszE     
adj.明眼的,惹人注目的;炫耀的,摆阔气的
参考例句:
  • It is conspicuous that smoking is harmful to health.很明显,抽烟对健康有害。
  • Its colouring makes it highly conspicuous.它的色彩使它非常惹人注目。
13 garishly 029a6f4689fb0eb95dfb25a5eac1fa9f     
adv.鲜艳夺目地,俗不可耐地;华丽地
参考例句:
  • The temple was garishly decorated with bright plastic flowers. 鲜艳的塑料花把教堂装扮得很华丽。 来自互联网
14 dart oydxK     
v.猛冲,投掷;n.飞镖,猛冲
参考例句:
  • The child made a sudden dart across the road.那小孩突然冲过马路。
  • Markov died after being struck by a poison dart.马尔科夫身中毒镖而亡。
15 skunks 0828a7f0a6238cd46b9be5116e60b73e     
n.臭鼬( skunk的名词复数 );臭鼬毛皮;卑鄙的人;可恶的人
参考例句:
  • Slim swans and slender skunks swim in the slippery slime. 苗条的天鹅和纤细的臭鼬在滑滑的黏泥上游泳。 来自互联网
  • But not all baby skunks are so lucky. -We're coming down. 但不是所有的臭鼬宝宝都会如此幸运。-我们正在下来。 来自互联网
16 stink ZG5zA     
vi.发出恶臭;糟透,招人厌恶;n.恶臭
参考例句:
  • The stink of the rotten fish turned my stomach.腐烂的鱼臭味使我恶心。
  • The room has awful stink.那个房间散发着难闻的臭气。

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