2022年经济学人 动物们如何进行伪装?(2)

Joao Vitor de Alcantara Viana and colleagues from the State University of Campinas, in Brazil, compiled results from 84 studies on camouflage¹.

巴西坎皮纳斯州立大学的若昂·维托尔·德·阿尔坎塔拉·维亚纳和他的同事汇总了84项关于猎物伪装的研究结果。

They found that camouflage increased the amount of time a predator² spent searching by over 60%, and it decreased the number of prey³ that were detected and attacked by around 25%.

他们发现，猎物的伪装导致捕食者寻找食物的时间增加了超过60%，被发现并受到攻击的猎物数量减少了约25%。

Masquerade (the dead leaf butterfly, for example) was the most effective technique, nearly quadrupling the time predators⁴ spent searching.

假扮(例如枯叶蛱蝶)是最有效的战术，能够让捕食者寻找猎物时间变为原来的四倍。

Eyespots on butterfly wings seemingly provided no benefits in terms of hiding time from predators, but Mr. Alcantara noted⁵ that this was not surprising since that tactic⁶ is not meant to interfere⁷ with detection, but rather to reduce the lethality⁸ of an attack.

蝴蝶翅膀上的眼点在躲避捕食者方面似乎没有任何作用，但阿尔坎塔拉先生指出，这是很正常的，因为眼点并不是为了干扰捕食者探测，而是为了降低其攻击的杀伤力。

Camouflage need not be visual.

伪装不一定是视觉上的伪装。

Bats, for example, perceive the world through sound.

例如，蝙蝠通过声音感知世界。

Some of the moths⁹ they predate have therefore evolved a "stealth coat" - made of tiny hairs and a layer of scales - that reduces their detectability through echolocation.

因此，它们捕食的一些蛾子进化出了一种“隐形皮毛”——由微小的毛发和一层鳞片组成——降低了它们在蝙蝠的回声定位中被探测到的可能性。

Marc Holderied, a biologist at the University of Bristol, wanted to know how good the moths were at hiding from bats so he shaved off their hairs and then sent sound waves towards them, mimicking¹⁰ how bats might echolocate to find their prey.

布里斯托尔大学的生物学家马克·霍尔德里德想知道飞蛾躲避蝙蝠的能力有多强，所以他剃掉了飞蛾的毛，然后向它们发送声波，模仿蝙蝠寻找猎物时的回声定位。

The moths' one-and-a-half-millimetre layer of fur, it turned out, reduced their detectability by just over 40%.

事实证明，有一层半毫米毛皮的飞蛾被探测的可能性降低了超过40%。

In addition to the fur, moths also have a thin layer of scales, tens to hundreds of thousands of them, on each wing.

除了毛皮，飞蛾的每只翅膀上都有一层薄薄的鳞片，数量从数万到数十万片不等。

The scales each respond to specific frequencies of sound waves and when a bat's echolocation signals hits the moth's wings, the scales start to vibrate.

每片鳞片都会对特定频率的声波做出反应，当蝙蝠的回声定位信号击中飞蛾的翅膀时，鳞片开始振动。

The acoustic¹¹ energy from the echolocation is thus absorbed.

这样，回声定位产生的声能就会被吸收。

Dr. Holderied and his colleagues tested how well the scales worked and found that they were just as good at absorbing sound as the fur - they absorbed as much as 87% of the incoming sound energy, but at only one tenth of the fur's thickness.

霍尔德里德博士和他的同事们测试了鳞片的工作情况，发现它们在吸收声波方面效果与毛皮一样好——它们能够吸收高达87%的传入声能，但其厚度只有毛皮的十分之一。

In terms of their ability to absorb sounds, Dr. Holderied says the moth's scales outperform (and are much thinner than) any human-designed soundproofing used in homes and offices.

霍尔德雷德博士表示，就吸收声波的能力而言，飞蛾的鳞片比任何家庭和办公室使用的人类设计的隔音材料都要好得多(也要薄得多)。

Camouflage not only provides a backdoor into glimpsing the magnificently diverse sensory¹² worlds of animals, it has also inspired intriguing¹³ applications for people.

伪装不仅提供了一扇窗，让人们得以一窥动物多姿多彩的感官世界，还启发人们进行有趣的创作。

Artists and anti-technology activists¹⁴ have invented make-up techniques, for example, known as "computer vision dazzle" that take their cues from natural camouflage and work by drawing high-contrast contours and colourful shapes on human faces so that they can evade¹⁵ detection by computer facial recognition.

例如，艺术家和反科技活动人士发明了被称为“计算机视觉眩晕”的化妆技术，从自然界的伪装中获取灵感，在人脸上绘制高对比度的轮廓和五颜六色的花纹来逃避计算机的面部识别。

And Dr. Holderied's team has been taking inspiration from the miraculously¹⁶ sound-absorbing properties of moths to design wallpaper that can reduce the noise of road traffic for the occupants of a building.

霍尔德雷德博士的团队一直在从飞蛾神奇的吸音特性中获取灵感，设计能够为居民降低道路交通噪音的墙纸。

Though evolved in nature, camouflage can be useful in modern city life, too.

虽然伪装是自然界进化的产物，但也能用于现代城市生活。

1 camouflage   

n./v.掩饰，伪装

参考例句：

• The white fur of the polar bear is a natural camouflage.北极熊身上的白色的浓密软毛是一种天然的伪装。
• The animal's markings provide effective camouflage.这种动物身上的斑纹是很有效的伪装。

2 predator   

n.捕食其它动物的动物；捕食者

参考例句：

• The final part of this chapter was devoted to a brief summary of predator species.本章最后部分简要总结了食肉动物。
• Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard and a fearsome predator.科摩多龙是目前存在的最大蜥蜴，它是一种令人恐惧的捕食性动物。

3 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

4 predators   

n.食肉动物( predator的名词复数 )；奴役他人者（尤指在财务或性关系方面）

参考例句：

• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 tactic   

n.战略，策略；adj.战术的，有策略的

参考例句：

• Reducing prices is a common sales tactic.降价是常用的销售策略。
• She had often used the tactic of threatening to resign.她惯用以辞职相威胁的手法。

7 interfere   

v.(in)干涉，干预；(with)妨碍，打扰

参考例句：

• If we interfere, it may do more harm than good.如果我们干预的话，可能弊多利少。
• When others interfere in the affair,it always makes troubles. 别人一卷入这一事件，棘手的事情就来了。

8 lethality   

n.致命性，毁坏性

参考例句：

• Modern weapons have greater range, accuracy, speed, and lethality than anything ever dreamed of before. 现代的武器比从前所梦想的任何武器射得更远，射得更准，速度更快，而且更具有杀伤力。 来自辞典例句
• The Mk 46 provides long-range lethality while engaging small, high-speed, surface targets. 该系统在舰船遭遇小型高速水面目标时将提供远距离的致命杀伤力。 来自互联网

9 moths   

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》

10 mimicking   

v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似

参考例句：

• She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。
• The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句

11 acoustic   

adj.听觉的，声音的；(乐器)原声的

参考例句：

• The hall has a fine acoustic.这个大厅的传音效果很好。
• Animals use a whole rang of acoustic, visual,and chemical signals in their systems of communication.动物利用各种各样的听觉、视觉和化学信号来进行交流。

12 sensory   

adj.知觉的，感觉的，知觉器官的

参考例句：

• Human powers of sensory discrimination are limited.人类感官分辨能力有限。
• The sensory system may undergo long-term adaptation in alien environments.感觉系统对陌生的环境可能经过长时期才能适应。

13 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

16 miraculously   

ad.奇迹般地

参考例句：

• He had been miraculously saved from almost certain death. 他奇迹般地从死亡线上获救。
• A schoolboy miraculously survived a 25 000-volt electric shock. 一名男学生在遭受2.5 万伏的电击后奇迹般地活了下来。