0514snakeshavefriends.docx

1、0514snakeshavefriendsThe eastern garter snake,Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis,is native to eastern North America.东部束带蛇，束带蛇，原产于北美东部。PHOTOGRAPH BY MICHELLE GILDERS, ALAMY摄影: MICHELLE GILDERS，ALAMYSnakes have friends too蛇也有朋友The study is the latest in a growing body of evidence that animals form tight bon

2、dssuggesting that theyre more like us than we thought.越来越多的证据表明，动物之间形成了紧密的联系，这项研究是其中最新的一项，表明动物比我们想象的更像人类4MINUTE READ分钟阅读BY作者VIRGINIA MORELL弗吉尼亚 莫雷尔PUBLISHEDMAY 13, 20202020年5月13日Most of us likely considerto be cold, solitary beings, as indifferent to others of their kind as they are to us.我们中的大多数人可能

3、认为蛇是冷酷、独居的生物，对其他同类漠不关心，就像它们对我们一样。But those notions are wrongespecially when it comes to garter snakes, a new study says.但是，一项新的研究表明，这些观念是错误的，尤其是对于束带蛇来说。These nonvenomous creatures, which range from the chilly plains of Canada to the forests of Costa Rica, have definitive preferences about which snak

4、es they hang out within other words, they have “friends.”从加拿大寒冷的平原到哥斯达黎加的森林，这些无毒的生物对于和哪种蛇出去玩有着明确的偏好换句话说，它们有“朋友”“All animalseven snakesneed to interact with others,” says study leader, a doctoral candidate in behavioral ecology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. To investigate this theory, Skin

5、ner devised a novel experiment to assess the personalities and sociability of eastern garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis sirtalis).“所有的动物，甚至包括蛇，都需要与其他动物互动，”研究负责人 Morgan Skinner 说，他是加拿大行为生态学威尔弗里德劳雷尔大学的博士研究生。 为了研究这一理论，Skinner 设计了一个新颖的实验来评估东方束带蛇的个性和社交能力。The results showed that “like us, they seek out s

6、ocial contacts, and theyre choosy about whom they socialize with,” says Skinner, whose study appeared recently in.研究结果表明，“像我们一样，他们寻求社会接触，他们对与谁交往很挑剔，” Skinner 说，他的研究最近发表在行为生态学和社会生物学上。The idea that snakes have close friends may be surprising, but such relationships are increasingly being found through

7、out the animal kingdom, from to bats to . showed, for example, that bats and humans both have conditional friendships.蛇有亲密朋友的想法可能令人惊讶，但是这种关系在动物王国中越来越多地被发现，从火烈鸟到蝙蝠再到大象。 例如，最近对吸血蝙蝠的分析表明，蝙蝠和人类都有条件友谊。Scientists are likely better at discovering friendships among animals now than, say, 30 years ago, partl

8、y because many societies are more accepting of such a concept, and because researchers have far better tools for gathering and analyzing the data.科学家现在可能比30年前更善于发现动物之间的友谊，部分原因是因为许多社会更能接受这样的概念，还因为研究人员有更好的工具来收集和分析数据。Analyzing social networks in wildlife, such as snakes, “has made huge leaps in the las

9、t few decades,” says study co-author, a comparative psychologist and Skinners advisor.比较心理学家、斯金纳的顾问诺姆 米勒(Noam Miller)是该研究的合著者，他说，分析野生动物的社会网络，比如蛇，“在过去的几十年里取得了巨大的进步。”。WATCH A VIDEO OF THE SNAKE EXPERIMENT观看蛇实验的视频Indeed, as this field of study deepens, its now common to use the word “friend” when discu

10、ssing such relationships in nonhuman animals.事实上，随着这一研究领域的深入，在讨论非人类动物之间的这种关系时，现在通常使用“朋友”这个词。That wasnt the case even as recently as 2012, says Melissa Amarello, a herpetologist and director of, who was advised against using the word in her thesis on closely bonded black rattlesnakes in Arizona.即使是在2

11、012年，情况也并非如此，爬虫学家、蛇类保护倡导者组织主任梅丽莎 阿马雷洛(Melissa Amarello)说。她在论文中被建议不要使用这个词，因为她的论文是关于亚利桑那州紧密结合的黑色响尾蛇的。“Its really cool to see this study,” she says.“看到这项研究真的很酷，”她说。Snakes in a shelter收容所里的蛇For the research study, Miller and Skinner observed 40 juvenile eastern garter snakes30 from wild-caught mothers a

12、nd 10 from a single litter purchased from a breeder.在这项研究中，米勒和斯金纳观察了40条东部束带幼蛇，其中30条来自野外捕获的母蛇，10条来自从饲养员那里购买的一窝幼蛇。To keep track of the, Skinner marked each with a pattern of nontoxic colored dots on its head. In his lab, he placed a batch of 10 snakesa mix of males and femalesinside a walled, tabletop

13、 enclosure that included four plastic shelters with small entrances. Because there were only four shelters, the 10 snakes had to form groups.为了跟踪这些爬行动物，斯金纳在它们的头上用无毒的彩色点做了标记。 在他的实验室里，他把一批10条蛇(雌性和雄性混合在一起)放在一个有围墙的桌面围墙内，围墙内有四个带小入口的塑料避难所。 因为只有四个庇护所，这10条蛇必须成群结队。For eight days, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., a cam

14、era recorded an image of the testing arena every five seconds, tracking the snakes movements. Twice a day, Skinner also photographed the snakes and their groupings. He then removed the serpents, cleaned the enclosure to eliminate any odors, and put the snakes backbut in different places. (See.)连续8天，

15、从早上7点到晚上7点，摄像机每隔5秒就会记录下测试场地的图像，跟踪蛇的活动。 斯金纳每天两次拍摄这些蛇和它们的族群。 然后，他移除了蛇，清理了围栏以消除任何气味，然后把蛇放回去但是放在不同的地方。 (参见国家地理杂志拍摄的令人惊叹的蛇类图片)Eastern garter snakes join up together, a strategy for keeping warm and defending against predators.东部束带蛇结合在一起，这是一种保暖和防御掠食者的策略。PHOTOGRAPH BY TOM GANTERT摄影: TOM GANTERTThe snakes,

16、though, had other ideas. They didnt stay where Skinner placed them, but returned to their original groups of three to eight individuals inside the small shelters. Whats more, they sought out specific snakes that theyd hung out with before.然而，这些蛇却有着不同的想法。 他们没有呆在斯金纳安置他们的地方，而是回到他们原来的三到八个人的小窝里。 更重要的是，他们

17、找到了以前和他们一起玩过的特定的蛇。“They have sophisticated social cognition,” adds Miller. “They can tell others apart.”“他们拥有复杂的社会认知，” Miller 补充道，“他们能够分辨出其他人。”Intrepid reptiles无畏的爬行动物The scientists also tested the snakes personalitiesnamely, whether they were “shy” or “bold,” the two main traits evaluated in wildli

18、fe. To see if an individual garter snake was bold, they put it in a shelter alone.科学家们还测试了这些蛇的性格也就是说，它们是“害羞”还是“大胆” ，这两个主要特征在野生动物中得到了评估。 为了观察一条吊袜带蛇是否胆大，他们把它单独放在一个避难所里。Shy individuals tended to stay put, and rarely ventured into the larger enclosure. Bolder snakes behaved like explorers, often immedia

19、tely leaving the shelter to slither about their new habitat. (.)害羞的个体倾向于呆在原地，很少冒险进入更大的圈子。 胆大的蛇表现得像探险家，经常立刻离开庇护所，在新的栖息地里滑行。 (这就是蛇滑行的秘密。)Current Time当前时间0:19/Duration持续时间3:45Loaded上膛了: 0%0%Progress进步: 0%0%IF YOURE SCARED OF SNAKES, DONT WATCH THIS如果你害怕蛇，不要看这个Every year, thousands of red-sided garter s

20、nakes come together to mate at the Narcisse Snake Dens in Manitoba, Canada. The phenomenon may be the largest known gathering of snakes anywhere in the world.每年，成千上万的红边束带蛇聚集在马尼托巴的纳西斯蛇洞交配。 这可能是世界上已知的最大的蛇类聚集现象。However, once they were in groups, such personality differences vanished, and the snakes gen

21、erally followed the herdperhaps a strategy to keep safe in the wild.然而，一旦它们成群结队，这种性格差异就消失了，而且这些蛇通常跟随着兽群也许这是一种在野外保持安全的策略。Of course, the experiment is limited in that it was done in captivity. “Animals behave differently in captivity, so Im left wondering how this translates to natural conditions,” no

22、tes Amarello.当然，这项实验是有限的，因为它是在人工饲养条件下完成的。 “动物在圈养时表现不同，所以我不知道这如何转化为自然条件，”阿马雷洛说。Because wild garter snakes form aggregations similar to those they created in the lab, however, Miller and Skinner suspect such relationships occur in natureand are common in many reptilian species. (.)然而，由于野生吊袜带蛇形成的聚集体与它们

23、在实验室中创造的类似，米勒和斯金纳怀疑这种关系发生在自然界中，并且在许多爬行动物物种中很常见。 (请看两栖动物和爬行动物的美丽照片。)Cryptic loners? Think again.神秘的孤独者? 再想想吧Though animal buddies are making the news these days, Miller cautions that animal friendship “may have nothing to do with the reasons humans have friends.”虽然动物伙伴最近成了新闻，但米勒警告说，动物之间的友谊“可能与人类拥有朋友的

24、原因无关”Indeed, the scientists have no idea whats motivating friendships in garter snakes, though they do know its not related to reproduction or mating: The study snakes did not prefer the opposite sex as friends.事实上，科学家们并不知道是什么激发了束带蛇之间的友谊，尽管他们知道这与繁殖或交配无关: 研究中的蛇并不喜欢异性成为朋友。But such partnerships must be

25、 offering some benefitotherwise the animals would not waste the energy forming such bonds. For instance, snake friends usually curl up together, which helps them retain heat and defend against predators.但是，这种伙伴关系一定会带来一些好处否则动物们就不会浪费形成这种结合的能量。 例如，蛇朋友通常会蜷缩在一起，这有助于它们保持体温和抵御捕食者。Whatever the reason, says,

26、 an evolutionary biologist at the University of Tennessee, the study “should help convince people that snakes arent all cryptic loners, but have more social intelligence and a larger social repertoire than most of us realize.”不管是什么原因，田纳西大学的进化生物学家 Gordon Burghardt 说，这项研究“应该有助于说服人们，蛇并不都是神秘的独行者，而是比我们大多数人意识到的有更多的社会智力和更广泛的社会技能。