英語(yǔ)聽(tīng)力文摘466 誰(shuí)在啃我的葉子！

作為一株小小的或是大大的植物(矛盾嗎?),被生長(zhǎng)在厚厚的泥土之下的根所束縛著,只能眼睜睜地看著蟲(chóng)子、鳥(niǎo)兒啃食自己的葉子,啄食自己的果實(shí)?植物也有保護(hù)自己的方法哦,一起來(lái)看看吧

Plants Arming Themselves

Yaël: Don, imagine this scenario. You’re a plant, and a butterfly lays its eggs on you. What do you do?

Don: What can I do Yaël, I'm a plant. I have roots, I think I'm stuck.

Y: Actually, Don, it turns out that you can do plenty.

D: Even with caterpillars gnawing on my leaves?

Y: Especially them, you see plants aren’t as static as you think they are. In fact, some plants are so tuned into their predators that they know exactly what kind of insect is munching on their leaves.

D: Like whether it's a caterpillar or a beetle? Amazing!

Y: And this means that individual plants can also adjust their physiology in response to their current conditions. So they may release substances that are toxic to the particular insect, adjust the ways they look and smell, and even adjust their growth patterns.

D: Really?

Y: And this can work both for and against the other species, depending on whether the plant needs its help. For example, plants being attacked by an insect might release scents that attract the predators of that insect. And don’t think the insects don’t adjust in return. For example, they may adjust the balance of enzymes in their stomach in order to better digest the plant.

D: So it’s like the plants and the insects are engaged in some elaborate arms race.

植物的自我武裝

Yaël: Don，試想一下這樣的情景：你是一株植物，一只蝴蝶在你的葉子上產(chǎn)下了很多的卵，作為植物的你會(huì)做什么呢?

Don: 你說(shuō)我能做什么呢，我是株植物，我是有根的，被死死固定在泥土里。

Y: 事實(shí)上，你可以做很多事情。

D: 即使毛毛蟲(chóng)在啃我的葉子?

Y: 特別是這種情況，你要知道植物并非你所想的那樣一直靜止不動(dòng)。事實(shí)上，許多植物對(duì)其天敵相當(dāng)敏感，所以能很清楚地辨識(shí)出是什么昆蟲(chóng)在啃食自己的葉子。

D: 能辨識(shí)出是毛毛蟲(chóng)還是甲蟲(chóng)?太神奇啦!

Y: 這意味著單株植物能根據(jù)眼前的情況調(diào)整自身的生理學(xué)特征——釋放對(duì)特定昆蟲(chóng)有毒的物質(zhì)、改變自身的形態(tài)、散發(fā)不同的氣味、甚至于改變自身的生長(zhǎng)模式。

D: 真的嗎?

Y: 這樣的改變對(duì)其他的物種有好處也有壞處，這取決于該植物是否能獲得益處。比如說(shuō)，某種植物被昆蟲(chóng)攻擊時(shí)可能會(huì)釋放出能引來(lái)該種昆蟲(chóng)天敵的氣味。但是，不要認(rèn)為昆蟲(chóng)都是“傻子”，它們也會(huì)進(jìn)行相應(yīng)的調(diào)整。例如，昆蟲(chóng)會(huì)改變胃液中消化酶的平衡以此更好地消化植物。

D: 那這樣說(shuō)來(lái)，豈不是說(shuō)植物與昆蟲(chóng)都“醉心于”一場(chǎng)“精銳武器”大賽!