經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)人精讀?The Economist [41]

選自December 232017 Science and Technology?科技版塊

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我是Eva??

一個(gè)認(rèn)真學(xué)英語(yǔ)的美少女??

Evolutionary biology[進(jìn)化的生物]?

Hard to swallow[難以吞咽]?

#Eva??說#

在自然界，明亮鮮艷的顏色是有毒的警告。但是，最近一個(gè)實(shí)驗(yàn)證明了，不是所有的有色信號(hào)都是有毒的警告，雖然這一想法早在150年前就被人曾提出，但至今才得以驗(yàn)證。實(shí)驗(yàn)對(duì)象是象鼻蟲，實(shí)驗(yàn)結(jié)果顯示，這些顏色艷麗的象鼻蟲并不是有毒的警告，而是它們堅(jiān)硬外殼的警告。它們堅(jiān)硬的外殼使捕食者難以將它們下咽。同時(shí)，研究人員還發(fā)現(xiàn)了，幼年象鼻蟲，雖然還沒有長(zhǎng)出堅(jiān)硬的外殼，但是它們會(huì)模仿成年象鼻蟲的顏色，發(fā)出自己也有堅(jiān)硬外殼的假信號(hào)。

#以上，個(gè)人總結(jié)和理解，歡迎批評(píng)指正，歡迎留言討論#

#有輸出才有進(jìn)步#

Not all?warning colouration signals toxicity[不是所有有色信號(hào)都是有毒的警告]?

Bright colours in the natural world are often a warning[在自然界明亮的顏色通常都是一個(gè)警告].?In the case of?tiger snakes, blue-ringed octopuses, arrow-poison frogs, hornets and many other species, the warning is that the animal?carries toxins?that will sicken or kill[像虎蛇，藍(lán)環(huán)章魚，箭毒蛙，大黃蜂和許多其他物種，它們的警告是這些有毒的動(dòng)物將會(huì)生病或者死掉]. Thus it was that Alfred Russel Wallace, co-inventor of the theory of natural selection and an?avid[熱衷的]insect?collector,?proposed?that the beautifully colouredPachyrhynchus[鞘翅目]?weevils[象鼻蟲]?of?eastern?Asia and Australia were dangerous[因此，ARW，自然選擇理論的共同提出者，也是一個(gè)狂熱的昆蟲收集者，提出東亞和澳大利亞色彩斑瀾的鞘翅目象鼻蟲是危險(xiǎn)的].

Yet, after spending hours trying to pin the weevils onto wooden boards in his collection and eventually having to use a?drill[鉆孔機(jī)]?for the?chore[家庭雜物], he suggested that the threat the beetles were warning of with their colours was?not?poison,?but?the presence of body armour[鎧甲]that would be impossible for predators to chew[但是，在他花了好長(zhǎng)時(shí)間試圖將象鼻蟲釘在他的收集木板上，最終不得不使用做雜物使用的鉆孔機(jī)之后，他認(rèn)為這些甲殼蟲顏色所警告的威脅不是有毒，而是，它們身體的鎧甲是讓捕食者無(wú)法嚼碎的]. Now, 150 years after Wallace proposed this idea, Chung-Ping Lin and Lu-Yi Wang of the NationalTaiwan Normal University, in Taipei, have tested it[現(xiàn)在，在W提出這個(gè)想法的150年后，來自臺(tái)北國(guó)立臺(tái)灣師范大學(xué)Lin和Wang，測(cè)試了這個(gè)想法]. They show, in?a paper in theJournal of Experimental Biology, that Wallace was right[他們?cè)趯?shí)驗(yàn)生物學(xué)期刊中發(fā)表的論文顯示，W是正確].?

Dr Lin knew of Wallace’sidea and was?surprised, when he?conducted?a literature review,?to discover that?it had never been testedformally[當(dāng)Dr Lin做文獻(xiàn)綜述是，了解到了W的想法，并且意外的發(fā)現(xiàn)這個(gè)想法一直沒有被正式檢驗(yàn)]. He and Ms Wangtherefore collected from the wild sixPachyrhynchus?weevils and 78 specimens of an?insectivorous[食蟲的]?lizard called Swinhoe’s?japalure[因此，他和Wang收集了6只野生P屬象鼻蟲和78只叫做Sj的食蟲蜥蜴樣本]. They then?ran?an experiment[之后他們便做了一次實(shí)驗(yàn)]. They used the weevils to found a breeding colony[他們利用這些象鼻蟲找到了一個(gè)培育基地]. The lizards came from a place?uninhabited[無(wú)人居住的]?byPachyrhynchus?weevils,?so that the reptiles could have?had no prior experience of?such beetles[這些蜥蜴是來自沒有P屬象鼻蟲的地方，因此這種爬行動(dòng)物對(duì)這種甲殼蟲沒有以前的經(jīng)驗(yàn)].?

Each lizard was?kept without?food in a plastic cage for three days[每一只蜥蜴都被放在一個(gè)塑料籠子里禁食三天]. It was then presented with a weevil[之后，將象鼻蟲放在它們面前]. The lizard had three minutes to attempt to eat the beetle before it was taken away again[這些蜥蜴在這些象鼻蟲被拿走之前，有三分鐘的時(shí)間嘗試吃掉它們]. In some?cases?the weevils were two months old, an age at which their armoured exoskeleton is fully developed and hardened[其中有一些象鼻蟲2個(gè)月大，它們的外殼的外骨骼已經(jīng)完全發(fā)育并變得堅(jiān)硬]. In others, they were newly?hatched[孵出，出殼]?from theirpupae[蛹]?and their exoskeletons were still soft[另一些象鼻蟲，是剛剛破蛹而出，他們的外骨骼仍舊是軟的]. A?spectroscopic[分光鏡的]?analysis showed, however, that all were precisely the same?hue[色彩][然而，分光鏡分析顯示，他們?nèi)坑兄耆粯拥纳蔧.?

Half of the lizards attacked the weevil soon after it was introduced into the?arena[競(jìng)技場(chǎng)，舞臺(tái)][有一半的蜥蜴在象鼻蟲被放進(jìn)去不久就襲擊的它們].Those that attacked a two-month-old?took?only?one bite?before spitting?the insect?out[那些襲擊了2個(gè)月大象鼻蟲的蜥蜴在只咬了一口以后就將它們吐了出來]. All weevils so rejected survived the?encounter and?went on to live out the remaining two months of their lives in the?comfort of?Dr Lin’s laboratory[那些被冷落而存活下來象鼻蟲（指被蜥蜴吐出）繼續(xù)在Dr Lin舒適的實(shí)驗(yàn)室中度過了剩余的兩個(gè)月的生命]. In contrast, all of the newly hatched beetles that?were attacked?were crushed by the lizards’ jaws and eaten[相比之下，所有那些被襲擊的剛剛孵出的甲殼蟲，被蜥蜴咬碎并吃掉了]. That showed the?weevils did?not taste noxious[這說明這些象鼻蟲是沒有毒的]. Nor did any of the beetle-consuming lizards show?any subsequent?signs of having beenpoisoned[那些吃了象鼻蟲的蜥蜴也沒有表現(xiàn)出任何中毒后的癥狀].

These findings suggested that the?tough[堅(jiān)硬的] carapace[甲殼]?was the defensive mechanism that the weevils were warning of with their colours[這些結(jié)果說明，堅(jiān)硬的甲殼是象鼻蟲用它們的顏色警告的防御武器]. However, the researchers theorised that the claws the insects have?at the ends of?their legs, which?sharpenas their?body armour hardens, might also force lizards to spit them out[然而，研究人員提出了這樣的理論，這些昆蟲腿末端的爪子，隨著它們身體甲殼的變硬也變得鋒利，也可能使蜥蜴將它們吐出]. To check, they offered lizards weevils that had had their claws removed[為檢測(cè)這一理論，它們給蜥蜴提供了去掉了爪子的象鼻蟲].?It made nodifference[結(jié)果沒有不同]. If the weevil was a two-month-old, it got spat out[如果象鼻蟲兩個(gè)月大，它就被吐出來]. If it was a juvenile, it was devoured[吞食][如果是剛孵化出的象鼻蟲，就被吞食].?

Dr Lin and Ms Wang did also consider the possibility that mature weevils, unlike newly hatched ones, might contain or be coated by a toxic or noxious compound[Lin和Wang也同樣考慮這樣的可能性，成年的象鼻蟲，不像那些剛孵化出來的，可能含有或是在外殼中含有有毒或有害成分]. To find out, they?ground[grind過去式，磨碎]?some up and analysed the compounds there in using?mass spectrometry[質(zhì)譜法]?and?gas chromatography[氣相色譜法][為了一探究竟，它們磨碎了一些象鼻蟲，并用質(zhì)譜法和氣相色譜法分析成分]. This revealed nothing known to be poisonous or?irritating[刺激性的][結(jié)果顯示沒有一種是有毒或刺激的成分].?

Theupsum[小編沒有查到這個(gè)單詞的意思，猜測(cè)為“綜上”實(shí)驗(yàn)結(jié)果], then, is that Wallace seems to have beencorrect[綜上實(shí)驗(yàn)結(jié)果顯示，W的想法是正確的]. But the story does not end there[但是，這并不是故事的結(jié)束]. Since both?edible[可以吃的]?and inediblePachyrhynchus?sport the same warning patterns, the newly hatched, soft-bodied beetles are actually sailing under false colours[既然可食用和不可食用的鞘翅目被發(fā)現(xiàn)了相同的警告模式，那么新孵化出的和軟殼的甲殼蟲事實(shí)上在用錯(cuò)誤顏色]. They are, in essence, mimicking their elders[事實(shí)上，它們?cè)谀７履切┏赡昙讱はx]. Mimicry of a dangerous animal by a harmless one is a well-knownphenomenon[無(wú)害的動(dòng)物模仿那些危險(xiǎn)的動(dòng)物是一種廣為人知的現(xiàn)象]. But this is the first known case in natural history where a harmless animal?benefits from?mimicking its future self[但是，這是自然歷史中，第一個(gè)被發(fā)現(xiàn)的，無(wú)害的動(dòng)物受益于模仿未來的自己].?

20171230 ? ?689 words

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我是Eva??

一個(gè)認(rèn)真學(xué)英語(yǔ)的美少女??