当环境变了--动物还会像原来那样感知世界吗?(中)
日期:2022-08-12 11:30

(单词翻译:单击)

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The basic process seems straightforward, but its details are extraordinary.

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这一基本的过程似乎很简单,但其细节却非同寻常jm3x%eb3suP,Vmc

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High-pitched sounds quickly lose energy in air, so bats must scream to make calls that are strong enough to return audible echoes.

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高音调声音在空气中会很快失去能量,所以蝙蝠必须尖叫才能发出足够强的叫声,以传回可听到的回声t7Ul*O.^xy1A5T-o=

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To avoid deafening themselves, bats contract the muscles in their ears in time with their calls, desensitizing their hearing with every shout and restoring it in time for the echo.

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为了避免耳聋,蝙蝠会在发出叫声时及时收缩耳朵肌肉,每当发出声音时就减弱听觉,接收回声时就恢复听觉W~a*@DhyC+UPL5VmqJ]p

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Each echo provides a snapshot in time, so bats must update their calls quickly to track fast-moving insects; fortunately, their vocal muscles are the fastest known muscles in any mammal, releasing up to 200 pulses a second.

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每次回声都提供了一个及时的快照,所以蝙蝠必须快速更新它们的叫声来跟踪快速移动的昆虫; 幸运的是,蝙蝠的声带肌肉是已知哺乳动物中变化速度最快的肌肉,每秒可以释放200次脉冲oYvZ#5T9.Q%Z!R

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A bat’s nervous system is so sensitive that it can detect differences in echo delay of just one- or two-millionths of a second, which translates to a physical distance of less than a millimeter.

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蝙蝠的神经系统非常灵敏,它可以探测到只有百万分之一秒或百万分之二秒的回声延迟差异,换算成物理距离不到一毫米l);X#SsuX5R4NIt,

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A bat thus gauges the distance to an insect with far more precision than humans can.

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因此,蝙蝠对昆虫距离的测量比人类精确得多9tN_xn1x+%dVCW|sUUc

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Echolocation’s main weakness is its short range: Some bats can detect small moths from about six to nine yards away.

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回声定位的主要弱点是距离较短:一些蝙蝠可以探测到大约6到9码外的小飞蛾4G78eaVXEUKM4

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But they can do so in darkness so total that vision simply doesn’t work.

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但蝙蝠在黑暗中也能这样做,以至于视觉根本不起作用FBBF)vq47#Z

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Even in pitch-blackness, bats can skirt around branches and pluck minuscule insects from the sky.

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即使在漆黑的环境中,蝙蝠也能绕过树枝,从空中捕捉微小的昆虫bAYn#!%[),

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Of course, bats are not the only animals that hunt nocturnally.

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当然,蝙蝠并不是唯一一种夜间捕食的动物KWFkm9oAN~

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In the Tetons, as I watch Barber tagging bats, mosquitoes bite me through my shirt, attracted by the smell of the carbon dioxide on my breath.

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在提顿山脉,当我看着巴伯给蝙蝠带追踪器时,蚊子被我呼出的二氧化碳气味吸引,隔着我的衬衣咬了我9PmzStiywt)aRS_BI!A

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While I itch, an owl flies overhead, tracking its prey using a radar dish of stiff facial feathers that funnel sound toward its ears.

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当我发痒的时候,一只猫头鹰从我头顶飞过,用一种雷达天线般的硬挺面部羽毛来追踪猎物,而面部羽毛可以把声音汇集到它的耳朵里rc6Mzd[[~Q!)m5o=

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These creatures have all evolved senses that allow them to thrive in the dark.

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这些生物都进化出了能在黑暗中发挥很好作用的感官Gu%[j=H_*.BOA2

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But the dark is disappearing.

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但黑暗正在消失N7I3jz_17U[sYfocVS;M

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Barber is one of a growing number of sensory biologists who fear that humans are polluting the world with too much light, to the detriment of other species.

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越来越多的感官生物学家担心人类使用太多的光污染世界,从而损害其他物种,巴伯就是这些科学家中的一员_a%Z0muKnrdt)gNp0Ov

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Even here, in the middle of a national park, light from human technology intrudes upon the darkness.

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即使在这里,在国家公园的中央,人类科技的光线也侵入了黑暗EYIT3VvVS;NK8xqhUV

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It spews forth from the headlights of passing vehicles, from the fluorescent bulbs of the visitor center, and from the lampposts encircling the parked cars.

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从过往车辆的车灯、游客中心的日光灯到围绕停放汽车的灯柱都发射着光线;3=r_b-hkIN54rMXun

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“The parking lot is lit up like a Walmart because no one thought about the implications for wildlife,” Barber says.

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巴伯说:“这个停车场像沃尔玛一样亮着灯,因为没有人考虑过这对野生动物的影响6|7TGe7*v~I。”

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Many flying insects are fatally attracted to streetlights, mistaking them for celestial lights and hovering below them until they succumb to exhaustion.

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许多飞虫被路灯深深吸引,误以为是天上的光,在路灯下盘旋,直到精疲力竭死去YK06Dk.UFIo

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Some bats exploit their confusion, feasting on the disoriented swarms.

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一些蝙蝠混淆了猎物,以迷失方向的蜂群为食MQcp1Ay7wFZ+T&~6

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Other, slower-moving species, including the little brown bats that Barber tagged, stay clear of the light, perhaps because it makes them easier prey for owls.

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其他移动速度较慢的物种,包括巴伯放追踪器的棕色小蝙蝠,都远离光线,可能是因为这让它们更容易成为猫头鹰的猎物ojr)sxsMw49=sRI,

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Lights reshape animal communities, drawing some in and pushing others away, with consequences that are hard to predict.

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灯光重塑了动物群落,吸引了一些动物进来,又赶走了一些动物,其后果难以预测*.km6Q!^KARqGlPZME

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