幼鳥甚至在孵化前就會互相交流

幼鳥甚至在孵化前就會互相交流

A bird's nest is a hub of communication. There are the squeaks and chirps of hatchlings clamoring for food. And mom telling them to hush when a predator rears its head.

鳥巢是溝通的樞紐。有吱吱叫和唧唧叫的幼雛吵著要食物。媽媽告訴他們當(dāng)捕食者抬起頭來的時候要安靜。

But now scientists say that level of communication begins long before the babies even hatch.

但現(xiàn)在科學(xué)家們說，這種交流水平早在嬰兒出生前就開始了。

These eggs may know more about the world outside than they're letting on. (Photo: Kichigin/Shutterstock)

A study published this week in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution finds bird embryos chat with each other — using vibrations — while still inside the egg.

本周發(fā)表在《自然生態(tài)與進(jìn)化》雜志上的一項研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，鳥類胚胎在卵內(nèi)通過振動彼此交流。

And, as a result, they know when it's safe to hatch or if they should bide their time in the comfort and relative safety of their shells.

因此，它們知道什么時候孵化是安全的，或者它們是否應(yīng)該在舒適和相對安全的殼中等待時間。

To test that theory, a team of biologists from Spain's University of Vigo looked to birds that hatch in a particularly precarious setting: Sálvora Island, off the country's Galician coast. A popular mating spot for yellow-legged gulls, the island is also home to a population of minks with a taste for baby birds.

為了驗證這一理論，來自西班牙維戈大學(xué)的一組生物學(xué)家觀察了在一個特別危險的環(huán)境中孵化的鳥類:薩爾瓦多島，離該國的加利西亞海岸不遠(yuǎn)。該島是黃腿海鷗的交配勝地，也是一群喜歡吃小鳥的水貂的家園。

As such, knowing when to break out of one's shell is a matter of life and death.

因此，知道什么時候該破殼而出是一件生死攸關(guān)的事。

For their experiment, researchers carefully gathered sea bird eggs and organized them into test groups under incubators. One group was regularly subjected to recordings of adult predator alarm calls — essentially a parent's warning that danger was near.

在他們的實驗中，研究人員仔細(xì)收集了海鳥的蛋，并將它們組織成孵卵器下的測試組。其中一組定期接受成年食肉動物的報警電話錄音——基本上是父母發(fā)出的危險即將來臨的警告。

Meanwhile, another batch of eggs remained in a soundproof box oblivious to simulated threats.

與此同時，另一批蛋留在一個隔音的盒子里，對模擬的威脅渾然不覺。

When all the eggs were returned to the same incubator and placed in physical contact with each other, scientists made a stunning observation: the eggs that had been exposed to warning calls vibrated more than those that had been undisturbed.

當(dāng)所有的蛋都被放回同一個培養(yǎng)箱，并彼此進(jìn)行身體接觸時，科學(xué)家們進(jìn)行了一個驚人的觀察:那些受到警告呼叫的蛋比那些沒有受到干擾的蛋振動得更厲害。

"We were very surprised," lead author Jose Noguera, of the Animal Ecology Group at the University of Vigo, told The Guardian. "We were aware that bird embryos were able to produce egg vibrations, [but they vibrated] even more than we expected."

“我們非常驚訝，”維戈大學(xué)動物生態(tài)小組的首席作者Jose Noguera告訴《衛(wèi)報》。“我們知道鳥類胚胎能夠產(chǎn)生卵子振動，(但它們的振動)比我們預(yù)期的還要大。”

Those tremors were caused by embryos wriggling nervously in their shells. And, like a Morse-code transmission from behind those thin calcium walls, it found keen ears among the rest of the eggs.

這些震動是由胚胎在蛋殼里緊張地蠕動引起的。而且，就像從那些薄薄的鈣壁后面?zhèn)鱽淼哪獱査姑艽a一樣，它在其余的蛋中發(fā)現(xiàn)了敏銳的耳朵。

When mom warns of danger, even embryos take note. (Photo: StockPhotoAstur/Shutterstock)

In fact, when the eggs finally hatched, the chicks clearly showed they had already received a kind of heads-up about their environment — even the ones that had only been exposed to the vibrations of their alarmed peers.

事實上，當(dāng)這些蛋最終孵出時，雛鳥們清楚地表明，它們已經(jīng)對周圍的環(huán)境有了一定的了解——即使是那些只暴露在驚慌同伴振動下的環(huán)境。

The newborns, according to the study, emerged in a state of caution: Compared to a control group, they took longer to shed their shells, remained much quieter.

根據(jù)這項研究，這些新生兒出現(xiàn)時處于一種謹(jǐn)慎的狀態(tài):與對照組相比，它們蛻殼的時間更長，更安靜。

They also revealed physical signs of pre-induced anxiety, including higher levels of stress hormones and fewer copies of mitochondrial DNA per cell.

他們還發(fā)現(xiàn)了預(yù)先誘發(fā)焦慮的生理跡象，包括應(yīng)激激素水平升高和每個細(xì)胞線粒體DNA拷貝數(shù)減少。

The embryonic information highway had equipped all the hatchlings for the uncertain environment they were entering.

剛剛萌芽的信息高速公路使所有的幼雛都適應(yīng)了不確定的環(huán)境。

"Our results clearly show that bird embryos exchange valuable information, probably regarding risk of predation, with their siblings," researchers noted in the paper.

研究人員在論文中指出:“我們的研究結(jié)果清楚地表明，鳥類胚胎與它們的兄弟姐妹交換了有價值的信息，可能是關(guān)于捕食風(fēng)險的。”