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同类相食有助于毛毛虫对抗传染病
添加时间:2017-12-13 17:07:20 浏览次数: 作者:未知
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  • Ben Van Allen collects caterpillars1. While doing postdoctoral research at Louisiana State University, Van Allen saw that some of the caterpillars were having others for lunch.

    本·范·阿伦喜欢收集毛毛虫。在路易斯安那州立大学做博士后研究时,范·阿伦看到一些毛毛虫会把同类当午餐吃掉。

    Rather than cry over his losses, Van Allen took advantage of the cannibalism2 for his research.

    他并没有因毛虫的减少而伤心,而是利用这种同类相食的现象来进行科学研究。

    "Generally speaking, it's nutritious3 to eat the same species, because they have all the nutrients4 that are already inside you, so it's an easy-to-process meal."

    “一般来说,吃同类是很有营养的,因为它们含有你体内的所有营养元素,因而可以说它们是利于消化吸收的食物。”

    "It also reduces the amount of competition you are going to experience – it's just one fewer individual trying to eat the same food you are, in the same area. And it's usually easy to find members of the same species too, since they live in the same place you do."

    “这种行为也会为你减少竞争对手--毕竟吃掉一个同类就意味着少了一个在同一地区和你争抢同一种食物的对手。而且由于大家都生活在同一个地方,所以通常也很容易看到同类。”

    Van Allen and colleagues collected the caterpillars to study disease transmission in lepidoptera -- moths5 and butterflies.

    范·阿伦和他的同事们收集了这种毛毛虫,来研究鳞翅类物种(蛾类和蝴蝶)的疾病传播。

    After observing the cannibalism they wondered if their subjects' appetite for each other might be dangerous for the individual -- if it ate an infected cousin -- but benefit the group -- by removing the infected individual from the population.

    在对这种会同类相食的物种进行了观察之后,他们对这种嗜食同类的喜好是否会对个体有危害感到很好奇--假设一个个体吃掉了一个患有传染病的同类,但这对种群来说则是有益的--因为它将传染者从群体中消灭了。

    "Our main point is that, while that is an individually risky6 thing for a cannibal, as populations are more cannibalistic, they actually prevent diseases from getting into the population in the first place."

    “我们的主要观点是,尽管这对个体来说是件冒险的事,但由于这类生物更加倾向于同类相食,这实际上从一开始就预防了传染病进入该种群。”

    Van Allen's study is in the journal American Naturalist7.

    范·阿伦的这项研究发表在了《美国自然主义者》杂志上。

     11级    英文科普 


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    1 caterpillars [kætə'pɪləz] 7673bc2d84c4c7cba4a0eaec866310f4   第10级
    n.毛虫( caterpillar的名词复数 );履带
    参考例句:
    • Caterpillars eat the young leaves of this plant. 毛毛虫吃这种植物的嫩叶。
    • Caterpillars change into butterflies or moths. 毛虫能变成蝴蝶或蛾子。 来自辞典例句
    2 cannibalism ['kænɪbəlɪzəm] ZTGye   第11级
    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杀。
    • They were forced to practise cannibalism in order to survive. 他们被迫人吃人以求活下去。
    3 nutritious [njuˈtrɪʃəs] xHzxO   第8级
    adj.有营养的,营养价值高的
    参考例句:
    • Fresh vegetables are very nutritious. 新鲜蔬菜富于营养。
    • Hummingbirds have discovered that nectar and pollen are very nutritious. 蜂鸟发现花蜜和花粉是很有营养的。
    4 nutrients ['nju:trɪənts] 6a1e1ed248a3ac49744c39cc962fb607   第8级
    n.(食品或化学品)营养物,营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )
    参考例句:
    • a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
    • Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》
    5 moths [mɔθs] de674306a310c87ab410232ea1555cbb   第8级
    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》
    6 risky [ˈrɪski] IXVxe   第8级
    adj.有风险的,冒险的
    参考例句:
    • It may be risky but we will chance it anyhow. 这可能有危险,但我们无论如何要冒一冒险。
    • He is well aware how risky this investment is. 他心里对这项投资的风险十分清楚。
    7 naturalist [ˈnætʃrəlɪst] QFKxZ   第9级
    n.博物学家(尤指直接观察动植物者)
    参考例句:
    • He was a printer by trade and naturalist by avocation. 他从事印刷业,同时是个博物学爱好者。
    • The naturalist told us many stories about birds. 博物学家给我们讲述了许多有关鸟儿的故事。

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