科學(xué)60秒:處處聞啼鳥(niǎo),只為睡眠少
來(lái)源:滬江聽(tīng)寫酷
2011-05-21 00:07
文章較難,大家聽(tīng)寫填空即可~
Songbirds sing to entice mates, and the timing of those songs is often regulated by sunlight. But that timing is getting ____1____—by streetlamps. That’s according to research published in the journal Current Biology.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany studied five common forest-breeding songbirds. Males in four species started singing significantly earlier in the morning if they lived near streetlights than did their deep forest-dwelling kin. And for one species studied, males were more successful at attracting ____2____. Those are females other than the male’s primary nest-mate with whom they ____3____ offspring.
Sounds great, right? Well, the researchers say, not so fast. They note that the males may be weaker, because they get less sleep due to the lights. And so females who used to take early singing as a sign of ____4____ may be attracted to weaker males who simply can’t sleep because the lights are on. The early singing may also put the males at greater risk of ____5____.
The researchers say we don’t understand the long-term effects. But they add a hopeful note—companies are developing new streetlamps with reduced light pollution, which could also help songbirds get their z’s.
Songbirds sing to entice mates, and the timing of those songs is often regulated by sunlight. But that timing is getting ____1____—by streetlamps. That’s according to research published in the journal Current Biology.
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Germany studied five common forest-breeding songbirds. Males in four species started singing significantly earlier in the morning if they lived near streetlights than did their deep forest-dwelling kin. And for one species studied, males were more successful at attracting ____2____. Those are females other than the male’s primary nest-mate with whom they ____3____ offspring.
Sounds great, right? Well, the researchers say, not so fast. They note that the males may be weaker, because they get less sleep due to the lights. And so females who used to take early singing as a sign of ____4____ may be attracted to weaker males who simply can’t sleep because the lights are on. The early singing may also put the males at greater risk of ____5____.
The researchers say we don’t understand the long-term effects. But they add a hopeful note—companies are developing new streetlamps with reduced light pollution, which could also help songbirds get their z’s.
thrown off
extra-pair mates
sire
virility
predation
鳴鳥(niǎo)會(huì)通過(guò)唱歌吸引伴侶,而唱歌的時(shí)間是隨著陽(yáng)光調(diào)整的。但是《當(dāng)代生物學(xué)》雜志的研究表明,這種時(shí)間調(diào)配規(guī)律已經(jīng)被打破了——罪魁禍?zhǔn)拙褪锹窡簟?德國(guó)馬普鳥(niǎo)類學(xué)院的科學(xué)家研究了五種常見(jiàn)的林鳥(niǎo)。當(dāng)它們“活在燈下”,而非像其他親戚一樣“深居林中”時(shí),有四種雄鳥(niǎo)清晨唱歌的時(shí)間顯著提前了。所研究的鳥(niǎo)類中,有一種雄鳥(niǎo)更易成功吸引偶外伴侶。和雄鳥(niǎo)繁殖后代的不是原配偶,而是這些偶外伴侶。
這聽(tīng)起來(lái)很棒,對(duì)吧?然而,研究人員認(rèn)為不能那么快下定論。他們提道,由于燈光讓雄鳥(niǎo)睡眠少了,所以它們身體更加虛弱。認(rèn)為提早唱歌代表強(qiáng)壯有力的雌鳥(niǎo)會(huì)誤被虛弱的雄鳥(niǎo)吸引——實(shí)際上這些雄鳥(niǎo)只是由于燈光失眠罷了。提早唱歌這種行為也增加了雄鳥(niǎo)被捕食的可能。
研究人員表示尚不明確這種現(xiàn)象的長(zhǎng)遠(yuǎn)影響。但他們又說(shuō)了一個(gè)振奮人心的消息:同伴們正在研發(fā)一種新型路燈,這種路燈不僅能減少光污染,還能幫助這些鳥(niǎo)兒們睡個(gè)安穩(wěn)覺(jué)。