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动物世界中那些不同物种间的亲密合作(上)

来源:可可英语 编辑:max   可可英语APP下载 |  可可官方微信:ikekenet

Interactions between two species can take many forms. Predators hunt prey, humans tame animals, groups compete for territory, and so on. Most meetings between different species of animals could arguably be described as antagonistic or aloof. But positive, mutually beneficial interactions occur as well. Some of these collaborations can be incredible and unexpected.

不同物种间的互动多种多样:弱肉强食、人类驯养、种群领土纷争等等。大部分不同动物之间的关系可以形容为对抗或毫无交集。但是乐观来看,互惠互利的合作也是存在的,而且,这些“合作伙伴们”可能会让你大跌眼镜。

10.Ravens Guide Wolves To Prey

10.乌鸦引导狼捕猎

乌鸦引导狼捕猎

In the past, gray wolves were considered too dangerous to tolerate and were nearly annihilated in North America by the 1970s. Populations have been recovering since then. Their reintroduction to Yellowstone National Park has had a beneficial and stabilizing effect on the local ecosystem, particularly where scavengers during the winter months are concerned.

过去,人们总是认为狼是凶狠十足的动物,甚至在20世纪70年代的北美被大规模捕杀以致几近灭绝。然而,狼的数量也是从那时开始增加的——狼被重新引进到了黄石公园。狼的引进促进了当地的生态平衡与稳定,为环境带来了积极的影响,尤其被食腐动物所欢迎。
Even without wolves, many herbivores still die of starvation toward the end of winter. While this provides an initial feast for scavenging animals, much of the meat ultimately goes to waste as only so much can be consumed before it's all too decomposed. With wolves added back in, herbivore death is more spaced out while still providing ready meals for scavengers since, unlike other animals such as bears, wolves tend to move away from their kill after they've eaten their fill.Ravens have learned to maximize the benefits of wolf leftovers. During winter, they'll land and croak near prey in order to get wolves' attention, guiding them to their next meal. Of course, this places the raven in a prime position to feast on the leftovers. Perhaps as a result, wolves have also been noted to be surprisingly tolerant of ravens feeding close to them.
就算没有狼,很多食草动物也会在冬季饥饿而死。这也为食腐动物带来了一桌盛宴。如果这些食草动物的尸体没有被及时吃掉,就只能白白分解掉。随着狼的逐渐回归,食草动物的死亡时间间隔更长。但是,狼不同于熊,狼在饱餐之后便扬长而去,所以这给食腐动物提供了唾手可得的美餐。乌鸦为了能在狼离开后的第一时间吃到食物,在冬天的时候经常停留在猎物旁边呱呱大叫以吸引狼的注意力,并且引导它们去捕食。当然了,聪明的乌鸦也可以在狼走后第一个享受美食。也许狼能忍受乌鸦在离它那么近的距离里进食也会很使人震惊吧。

9.Carrion Beetles And Their Mite Minions

9.食腐甲虫和它们的小跟班

食腐甲虫和它们的小跟班

In nature, an animal carcass is a gift that rarely goes unused. American carrion beetles, as the name suggests, live a lifestyle that revolves around dead animals. Their body shapes are even optimized for crawling under, or possibly inside, corpses. The smell of a newly deceased and decomposing animal will soon bring the beetles—sometimes bearing a load of mites on their backs.

在自然界里,动物的尸体是天赐的美食,因此很少被浪费。美国食腐甲虫——“虫如其名”,它们整日穿梭于动物的死尸之中。它们的身体已经进化成了能够自由攀爬、进出动物尸体的形态。一具新鲜的动物尸体总能迅速引来大量的小家伙们。
The beetles lay their eggs in the rotting meat, which will serve as nourishment for their larvae. They are hardly the only species to use a carcass in such a manner, so inevitably these larvae will face other insects' larvae as competition. Unlike other species, such as various flies, the carrion beetle only lays its eggs in dead animals as their larvae must eat meat to survive. The adults eat the rival species' larvae but, given the abundance of competitive species, they can't destroy all of their progeny's rivals. This is where the carrion beetles' passengers come in. Upon arrival at a fresh corpse, the mites disembark and swarm the body, eating any larvae or eggs that do not come from carrion beetles and greatly reducing the competition. The carrion beetles will then carry the mites to the next body they find. It's possible that the mites also clean bacteria from the beetles themselves while being given the free ride.
食腐甲虫们在腐肉之中繁衍后代,这也为刚出生的小甲虫提供了必须的营养。然而,食腐甲虫们并不是唯一以此方式繁衍生息的昆虫,因此,小甲虫也会面临着与其他幼虫的生死拼搏。食腐甲虫不像蝴蝶,食腐甲虫的幼虫需要食肉为生,食腐甲虫也就只选择在动物的死尸上产卵。而那些成年食腐甲虫则选择以“对手”的幼虫为食。即便如此,因为各个种群的数量巨大,它们无法完全被“敌人”摧毁掉。随食腐甲虫而来的还有一群“小客人”,它们借助食腐甲虫抵达了新鲜的动物尸体,这些寄生虫“下车”后做做热身运动就开始摩拳擦掌准备享受美餐。食腐甲虫也非常乐意这么做,因为这些寄生虫吃掉的都是其他昆虫的幼虫和卵,以此也减少了食腐甲虫幼虫的生存压力。在寄生虫们饱餐一顿后,食腐甲虫便再次带着它的小客人们开始了下一次“旅程”。当然了,在享受免费顺风车的途中,这些寄生虫也会帮食腐甲虫清理掉身上的细菌。

8.Daniel Greene And His Seizure Snake

8.丹尼尔·格林和他的痉挛蛇

丹尼尔·格林和他的痉挛蛇

You may have heard of seizure dogs that can detect oncoming seizures in their owners and warn them accordingly, but what about a seizure snake? Daniel Greene of Shelton, Washington certainly has. He employs Bedrock, his 1.5-meter (5 ft) boa constrictor as just such a service animal. Greene, who suffers from grand mal seizures, often carries Bedrock draped around his neck. He noticed that when a seizure was coming on, Bedrock would stiffen and squeeze his neck slightly.Since then, Bedrock has been instrumental in giving him enough warning to de-stress, take medicine, or do whatever else must be done to either prevent the seizure or endure it as safely as possible. The difference is hard to miss; when Bedrock is asleep at night, Greene's seizures occur unchecked.

你也许听说过可以及时发现主人痉挛症状并及时提醒主人的狗狗,那么你知道也有这么一种蛇吗? 华盛顿大学的丹尼尔教授就有那么一条蛇,名字叫Bedrock。那是一条长1.5米的蟒蛇,丹尼尔常用它来为自己服务。患有严重痉挛的的丹尼尔常常把Bedrock缠在脖子上带在身边。因为丹尼尔发现每当痉挛快犯病的时候,Bedrock都会变得僵硬而轻轻地勒一下他的脖子。自此之后,Bedrock起到提醒丹尼尔做舒压、吃药等一切防止痉挛或帮助丹尼尔安全度过痉挛的事情,成为了他身边非常重要的一部分。但有一点令人遗憾的是,晚上Bedrock熟睡的时候,丹尼尔的病情也许会不受控制。
Greene's method of seizure prevention has caused him difficulty, unfortunately. Some store managers balk at having a customer with a snake draped around his neck. Being a service animal, Bedrock is legally allowed by the Americans with Disabilities Act to accompany Greene in public. Sometimes, he's still asked to leave, however. Greene says he doesn't mind leaving a store if asked politely, but he takes offense when managers try to assert that Bedrock isn't a real service animal.
不幸的是,丹尼尔的做法也给他带来了一些困扰。一些商店管理人员看到脖子缠着蛇的人常会非常害怕。在美国,作为一种服务性的动物,Bedrock陪伴主人上街是为法律所许可的,残疾人法案也可以作为依据。但是有些时候丹尼尔教授还是会被要求离开商店。他说他并不介意店员礼貌的要求自己离开商店,但是每当商店管理者试图说Bedrock算不上真正的服务性动物时,他会感到非常生气。

7.Badgers And Coyotes Team Up

7.合作的獾和土狼

合作的獾和土狼

Badgers and coyotes share a common predilection toward taking various burrowing rodents as prey, though they catch them in very different ways. Rodents such as squirrels and prairie dogs have no chance of outrunning a coyote, but they can always escape into their burrows. A badger, on the other hand, can dig into the ground and tear a rodent from its burrow provided the rodent doesn't simply run out of another exit and leave the badger with no hope of catching it. A badger-coyote team could certainly tip the odds against their common prey if two competing predators could manage to work together. As it turns out, they do. Native Americans have spoken of these collaborations for years, and more recently scientists have documented it as well. When badgers and coyotes work together to catch prey, they complement each others' respective strengths. The badger digs prey out from the ground, and the coyote runs it down. These cooperative efforts are most likely to occur between a badger and one lone coyote, as opposed to groups of coyotes.

虽然獾和土狼都喜欢以各种挖洞的啮齿动物为食,但他们的捕食方法却大不相同。比如像松鼠和土拔鼠这类啮齿动物,虽然它们跑不过土狼,但它们总能逃进它们挖的洞里。另外,只要猎物没有从这地洞逃到另一个地洞,獾就可以通过挖地洞并把猎物抓出来。如果这对竞争者能够合作起来,那么这样的一个獾-狼组合能够增加它们捕到猎物的机会。事实上,它们的确做到了。美洲原住民很久之前就开始谈论这个合作关系了,最近科学家也对此做了观察并记录下来。当獾和土狼合作捕捉猎物的时候,它们互相为彼此弥补短处。獾把猎物从洞里逼出来,然后土狼再把猎物扑倒。这种协作性合作最有可能发生在一只獾和一只单独的土狼之间,而不是一只獾和一群土狼之间。

6.Frogs Protect Spider Eggs For Shelter

6.青蛙为蜘蛛卵提供庇护

青蛙为蜘蛛卵提供庇护

The formidable Colombian lesserblack tarantula could easily eat an animal as small as the dotted humming frog, but it doesn't. It's arguable that the small frogs are unpalatable to the spiders, but there is more at work than mere taste. The spider and frog have been observed sharing burrows created by the spider. Some Colombian lesserblacks have even been observed cohabitating with more than one humming frog.

令人敬畏的哥伦比亚小黑背塔兰托毒蛛能够轻松的吃掉像斑点蛙般大小的动物,但是它从不这么干。这是不是因为小型蛙对于狼蛛来说并不美味我们并不确定,至少,味道不是唯一的因素。人们观察到蜘蛛和青蛙共享着由蜘蛛挖掘的地洞。很多人观察到,哥伦比亚小黑背塔兰托毒蛛常与与多只斑点蛙共同居住。
Often, these frogs have to crawl over or under the tarantula in order to enter or exit the tunnel, and they are still not attacked. The spiders will pick them up and examine them but will then release them. They are thought to recognize the frogs via chemical cues.The two species share a mutually beneficial arrangement. Many other predators that might otherwise dine on the dotted humming frog wouldn't dare enter the burrow of a large hunting spider to do so. The frogs can also feast on small invertebrates attracted to the remains of the spider's kills. Additionally, a spider burrow makes a great microhabitat for a frog. So, how do these amphibian roommates pay their rent? The humming frogs eat ants, including those that might otherwise eat the Colombian lesserblack's eggs.
这些斑点蛙经常在进出通道时爬到塔兰托毒蛛的身体上面或者下面,但从未被攻击过。毒蛛会把他们拾起来并检查一番,然后把他们放走。有人认为,毒蛛可以通过化学信号来辨别不同的斑点蛙。这两个物种互惠互利。许多其他觊觎斑点蛙的狩猎者也不敢进入有着正在狩猎的大型毒蛛的洞穴。与此同时,斑点蛙还可以饱餐一顿被毒蛛吃剩的无脊椎动物吸引来的无脊椎动物。此外,毒蛛的洞穴为青蛙提供了一个极好的小生境。那么,这种爬行动物室友怎么样支付他们的租金呢?答案是,斑点蛙吃掉那些以哥伦比亚狼蛛的卵为食的蚂蚁。

翻译:哈利8=7 来源:前十网

重点单词   查看全部解释    
badger ['bædʒə]

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n. 獾,獾皮(毛) Badger:獾州人(对威斯康星州

 
arrangement [ə'reindʒmənt]

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n. 安排,商议,整理,布置,商定,[音]改编,改编曲

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cooperative [kəu'ɔpərətiv]

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adj. 合作的,共同的
n. 合作社

 
incredible [in'kredəbl]

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adj. 难以置信的,惊人的

 
compete [kəm'pi:t]

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vi. 竞争,对抗,比赛

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accompany [ə'kʌmpəni]

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vt. 陪伴,伴随,给 ... 伴奏
vi.

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slightly ['slaitli]

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adv. 些微地,苗条地

 
inevitably [in'evitəbli]

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adv. 不可避免地

 
squeeze [skwi:z]

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v. 压榨,挤压,塞进
n. 压榨,勒索,榨取

 
competitive [kəm'petitiv]

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adj. 竞争的,比赛的

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