新奇事件簿 考拉抱樹來降暑

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Scientists have unlocked one of the secrets as to how koalas stay cool and avoid dehydration in the intense heat of Australian summers. They hug trees. For decades people thought the cuddly marsupials clung to trees simply because they were tired and wanted somewhere to nap. Researchers from Melbourne University have now cast new light on the tree-hugging habits of the koala. Lead researcher Natalie Briscoe said there is a five-degree difference in temperature between a tree trunk and the air. Koalas utilize the cooler surface by spreading themselves out on large branches or by hugging the trunk. Ms Briscoe said: "Access to these trees can save about half the water a koala would need to keep cool on a hot day."

科學(xué)家們已經(jīng)解開了考拉在澳大利亞炎熱的夏季保持涼爽且不脫水的奧秘。就是考拉通過抱樹來防暑。幾十年來，人們認(rèn)為可愛的袋鼠類動物抱在樹上，僅僅是因?yàn)樗麄兝哿?想要找個地方小憩一下。墨爾本大學(xué)的研究人員已經(jīng)對考拉抱樹的習(xí)慣做出了新的解釋。首席研究員娜塔莉·布里斯科說，樹干和空氣之間有5度溫差?？祭ㄟ^將自己的整個身體舒展在涼爽的大樹枝表面，或者抱住樹干來解暑。布里斯科女士說，通過抱樹，在酷熱天氣，考拉可以節(jié)省保持自身涼爽所需水分的一半。

Briscoe studied the behaviour of 37 koalas on an island off the Melbourne coast. She is part of a team trying to identify how koalas might survive higher temperatures brought by global warming. Her observations and conclusions regarding the cooling effects of the trees came as a surprise to her. She noted that the koalas sat upright in cooler weather, hugged branches when it became warmer, and then wrapped themselves around the tree trunk when it got hot. The animals even moved to different trees that had cooler trunks. She said the trees are probably cooler because of the water they suck up from the ground. The koala's cooling technique could be one way for humans to survive increasingly hot summers.

布里斯科研究了遠(yuǎn)離墨爾本海岸的一個小島上37只考拉的習(xí)性。她的團(tuán)隊(duì)試圖確定考拉如何在全球變暖導(dǎo)致的高溫環(huán)境中生存，她是這個團(tuán)隊(duì)的一員。對樹木降溫效果的觀察和結(jié)論,讓她感到很吃驚。她注意到，當(dāng)天氣涼爽，考拉會直立而坐；當(dāng)天氣變熱一些，考拉會抱住樹枝； 當(dāng)天氣炎熱，考拉就會將自己裹在樹干上。考拉甚至?xí)苿拥侥切碛懈鼪鏊瑯涓傻牟煌瑯淠旧厦?。她說，樹木溫度低，可能是因?yàn)闃淠緩牡叵录橙×怂璧乃??？祭馐罘椒梢杂脕韼椭祟惗冗^酷暑。