科学美国人60秒 SSS 拍打羽毛可能催化新物种

This is Scientific American's 60-second Science, I'm Christopher Intagliata.

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学系列，我是克里斯托弗·因塔格里塔。

Charles Darwin is most famous for his finches, from whose beaks¹ he gleaned² the idea that a single species might radiate into many.

查尔斯·达尔文最著名的是他的雀鸟，他从雀鸟喙中获得了一个想法，即一个物种可能辐射多个物种。

But he studied other attributes of birds, too—

但他也研究了鸟类的其他特性，

like the rhythmic³ sounds some species made during courtship by fluttering, shaking or rattling⁴ their feathers together.

比如某些物种会在求偶过程中通过让羽毛一起拍动、抖动或发出声响来产生有节奏的声音。

"Since Darwin, there's been this fact that birds produce sounds with wings and tails or flight feathers.

“自达尔文以来，鸟类通过翅膀、尾巴或飞羽发出声音这一事实就一直存在。

So there's species of manakins that do this sound; there's hummingbirds⁵ that do this sound."

侏儒鸟会这样发出声音；有些蜂鸟也会通过这种方式发出声音。”

Valentina Gómez-Bahamón is an evolutionary⁶ biologist and ornithologist⁷ at the Field Museum in Chicago.

芝加哥菲尔德博物馆的进化生物学家和鸟类学家瓦伦蒂娜·戈麦斯·巴汉姆说到。

She and her team have now observed that nonvocal-sound-production phenomenon in another type of bird: the fork-tailed flycatcher.

她和团队现已观察到另一种有非嗓音发声现象的鸟类：叉尾王霸鶲。

The researchers studied two groups of the birds in South America—

研究人员对南美洲的两组鸟进行了研究，

and recorded the birds making these fluttering sounds with their wings during morning courtship rituals...

并记录了这些鸟在早上求偶仪式中用翅膀发出的拍打声……

... and in combat between males.

……以及雄鸟打架时发出的声音。

One of the two flycatcher subspecies is migratory⁸. The other stays put.

两种王霸鶲亚种中，一种是迁徙性的。另一种则待在原地。

And by carefully measuring the birds' feathers, the research team found that the migratory birds had longer, thinner feathers—presumably for some aerodynamic advantage.

通过仔细测量鸟的羽毛，研究团队发现迁徙鸟的羽毛更长、更薄，这可能是由于某种空气动力学优势。

But that altered feather shape also meant the birds' fluttering produced a different frequency.

但羽毛形状的改变也意味着鸟儿拍打翅膀产生了不同的频率。

Compare the migratory birds' flutter...

将迁徙鸟的拍打

... to the stationary⁹ birds'.

……与静止鸟的拍打进行对比。

"So basically what we think is that because of loss of migration¹⁰,

“因此，基本上我们认为，由于缺少迁徙，

pressures for flight may influence the shape of the individual feathers to the point where the sound quality changes as well."

飞行压力可能会影响个别羽毛的形状，以至于音质也发生了变化。”

The details are in the journal Integrative & Comparative Biology.

研究详细内容发表在《综合与比较生物学》期刊上。

Gómez-Bahamón says they're still not certain what role the sounds play in day-to-day flycatcher life—if the birds do indeed even pay attention to them.

戈麦斯·巴汉姆表示，他们仍不确定这些声音在王霸鶲日常生活中扮演什么角色——如果它们真的注意到这些声音的话。

But she suspects the sounds may have some cultural importance to the birds.

但她怀疑这些声音可能对鸟类有一定的文化意义。

In which case, she says, the communication differences between the migratory and nonmigratory birds could further divide the two types of birds—

她表示，在这种情况下，迁徙和非迁徙鸟之间的交流差异可能进一步分化这两种鸟，

or in other words, give rise to the origin of species.

或者换句话说，引发物种起源。

Thanks for listening for Scientific American's 60-second Science. I'm Christopher Intagliata.

谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学。我是克里斯托弗·因塔利亚塔。

1 beaks   

n.鸟嘴( beak的名词复数 )；鹰钩嘴；尖鼻子；掌权者

参考例句：

• Baby cockatoos will have black eyes and soft, almost flexible beaks. 雏鸟凤头鹦鹉黑色的眼睛是柔和的，嘴几乎是灵活的。 来自互联网
• Squid beaks are often found in the stomachs of sperm whales. 经常能在抹香鲸的胃里发现鱿鱼的嘴。 来自互联网

2 gleaned   

v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗

参考例句：

• These figures have been gleaned from a number of studies. 这些数据是通过多次研究收集得来的。
• A valuable lesson may be gleaned from it by those who have eyes to see. 明眼人可从中记取宝贵的教训。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 rhythmic   

adj.有节奏的，有韵律的

参考例句：

• Her breathing became more rhythmic.她的呼吸变得更有规律了。
• Good breathing is slow,rhythmic and deep.健康的呼吸方式缓慢深沉而有节奏。

4 rattling   

adj. 格格作响的, 活泼的, 很好的 adv. 极其, 很, 非常 动词rattle的现在分词

参考例句：

• This book is a rattling good read. 这是一本非常好的读物。
• At that same instant,a deafening explosion set the windows rattling. 正在这时，一声震耳欲聋的爆炸突然袭来，把窗玻璃震得当当地响。

5 hummingbirds   

n.蜂鸟( hummingbird的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 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。
• Why do hummingbirds and gorillas both have backbones? 为什么蜂鸟和大猩猩都有脊骨？

6 evolutionary   

adj.进化的；演化的，演变的；[生]进化论的

参考例句：

• Life has its own evolutionary process.生命有其自身的进化过程。
• These are fascinating questions to be resolved by the evolutionary studies of plants.这些十分吸引人的问题将在研究植物进化过程中得以解决。

7 ornithologist   

n.鸟类学家

参考例句：

• That area is an ornithologist's paradise.那个地区是鸟类学家的天堂。
• Now I know how an ornithologist feels.现在我知道做为一个鸟类学家的感受了。

8 migratory   

n.候鸟，迁移

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• This does not negate the idea of migratory aptitude.这并没有否定迁移能力这一概念。

9 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

10 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。