科学美国人60秒 SSS 高海拔蜂鸟进化出体温技巧

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。

If a hummingbird¹ has ever visited your garden, you've no doubt seen it flit from flower to flower, hovering³ midair as it sips⁴ on nectar.

如果蜂鸟曾造访过你的花园，你肯定会看到它在花丛间飞来飞去，啜饮花蜜时在半空悬停。

That activity requires plenty of energy. So hummingbirds⁵ need a lot of nectar to feed their hungry metabolisms⁶.

这项活动需要大量能量。因此蜂鸟需要很多花蜜来满足饥饿的新陈代谢。

"In fact, some of them probably drink two or three times their body mass in nectar each day."

“事实上，有些蜂鸟可能每天喝两到三倍于自身体重的花蜜。”

Andrew McKechnie, an ornithologist⁷ at the University of Pretoria in South Africa.

南非比勒陀利亚大学的鸟类学家安德鲁·麦凯尼说到。

McKechnie and his colleagues have studied hummingbirds at extreme elevations⁸ in the Peruvian Andes.

麦凯尼和同事研究了秘鲁安第斯山脉极端海拔地区的蜂鸟。

To survive there, the tiny birds have developed a few tricks.

为了在那里生存，这些小鸟进化出了一些技巧。

For one, their blood cells are unusually efficient at transporting oxygen.

首先，它们的血细胞在运送氧气方面异常高效。

Also, it's more difficult to hover² in the high-altitude thin air. And so...

而且，在高海拔稀薄的空气中悬停更困难。因此……

"The hummingbirds at those high elevations are much more prone⁹ to perching while they feed.

“这些高海拔地区的蜂鸟在觅食时栖息的可能要高出很多。

So that does seem to be one way they try and reduce energy expenditure¹⁰."

这似乎是它们试图减少能源消耗的一种方式。”

Now McKechnie and his colleagues have found another energy-saving adaptation:

现在，麦凯尼和同事发现了另一种节能的适应表现：

the high-mountain hummingbirds can lower their body temperature by extreme amounts at night—going into a state called torpor¹¹.

高山蜂鸟可以在夜间将体温极大地降低，进入一种被称为“麻木”的状态。

"I mean, for all intents and appearances, they're essentially¹² dead. They're that unresponsive."

“从所有的意图和表象上看，它们基本上已经死了。它们就是这样毫无反应。”

The scientists caught six species of Andean hummingbirds and monitored their temperatures through the night and day.

科学家捕获了六种安第斯蜂鸟，并昼夜监测它们的温度。

And they found that all six species could enter some type of torpor—

他们发现这六种蜂鸟都会进入某种“麻木”状态——

they lower their body temperatures from about 100 degrees Fahrenheit¹³ by day to as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit at night.

它们会将体温从白天的约100华氏度降低到晚上的38华氏度。

And being "essentially dead" conserves¹⁴ energy.

而“本质上死亡”可以保存能量。

The details are in the journal Biology Letters.

研究详情刊登在《生物学快报》期刊上。

Although some of the birds' low body temperatures are on par¹⁵ with those of hibernating¹⁶ mammals,

虽然一些鸟的低体温与冬眠哺乳动物的相当，

it's important to note that this isn't full-fledged hibernation¹⁷—which is a longer-term response.

但重要的是要注意，这并不是完全冬眠——这是一种更长期的反应。

True hibernation has only ever been documented in one bird, so far at least: the common poorwill in the U.S. Southwest.

至少到目前为止，只有一种鸟类有过真正冬眠的记录：美国西南部的北美小夜鹰。

"One of my career goals is to find a second hibernating bird."

“我的职业目标之一是找到第二种冬眠鸟。”

And the Andes, he says, is going to be the first place he looks.

他表示，安第斯山脉将是他第一个去寻找的地方。

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 hummingbird   

n.蜂鸟

参考例句：

• The hummingbird perches on a twig of the hawthorn.小蜂鸟栖在山楂树枝上。
• The hummingbird is the only bird that can fly backward.蜂鸟是唯一能倒退向后飞的鸟。

2 hover   

vi.翱翔，盘旋；徘徊；彷徨，犹豫

参考例句：

• You don't hover round the table.你不要围着桌子走来走去。
• A plane is hover on our house.有一架飞机在我们的房子上盘旋。

3 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

4 sips   

n.小口喝，一小口的量( sip的名词复数 )v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• You must administer them slowly, allowing the child to swallow between sips. 你应慢慢给药，使小儿在吸吮之间有充分的时间吞咽。 来自辞典例句
• Emission standards applicable to preexisting stationary sources appear in state implementation plans (SIPs). 在《州实施计划》中出现了固定污染的排放标准。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

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 metabolisms   

n.新陈代谢( metabolism的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Garden snails are evolving slower metabolisms. 花园蜗牛新陈代谢进化缓慢。 来自互联网
• Elite swimmers tend to be born with certain advantages, such as superefficient metabolisms. 精华的游泳者趋于与某个优点出生，例如superefficient新陈代谢。 来自互联网

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 elevations   

（水平或数量）提高( elevation的名词复数 )； 高地； 海拔； 提升

参考例句：

• Weight of the crust changes as elevations are eroded and materials are deposited elsewhere. 当高地受到侵蚀，物质沉积到别的地方时，地壳的重量就改变。
• All deck elevations are on the top of structural beams. 所有甲板标高线均指结构梁顶线。

9 prone   

adj.(to)易于…的，很可能…的；俯卧的

参考例句：

• Some people are prone to jump to hasty conclusions.有些人往往作出轻率的结论。
• He is prone to lose his temper when people disagree with him.人家一不同意他的意见,他就发脾气。

10 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

11 torpor   

n.迟钝；麻木；（动物的）冬眠

参考例句：

• The sick person gradually falls into a torpor.病人逐渐变得迟钝。
• He fell into a deep torpor.他一下子进入了深度麻痹状态。

12 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

13 Fahrenheit   

n./adj.华氏温度；华氏温度计(的)

参考例句：

• He was asked for the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit.他被问到水的沸点是华氏多少度。
• The thermometer reads 80 degrees Fahrenheit.寒暑表指出华氏80度。

14 conserves   

n.（含有大块或整块水果的）果酱，蜜饯( conserve的名词复数 )v.保护，保藏，保存( conserve的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• To show that the equation conserves the total volume is not difficult. 要证明该方程保持了总体积不变这点是不困难的。 来自辞典例句
• The antimuon decay also conserves the total light and heavy lepton numbers. 在反μ子衰变中，总轻轻子数和总重轻子数也是守恒的。 来自辞典例句

15 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

16 hibernating   

（某些动物）冬眠，蛰伏( hibernate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The hibernating animals reduce movement to far below the ordinary level. 冬眠的动物把活动量大大减少到低于一般的水平。
• People find hibernating animals asleep. 人们发现冬眠动物处于休眠状态。

17 hibernation   

n.冬眠

参考例句：

• Bears wake up in the spring after a winter of hibernation.熊经过一个冬天的冬眠后在春季苏醒。
• The tortoise spends the winter months in hibernation.乌龟在冬眠中度过寒冬季节。