What the biggest brain on Earth can do - David Gruber and Shane Gero

翻译人员: nancy 郭 校对人员: Hui Bin Go

In the mid-1800s,

在1800年代中期，

soon after American whaling ships began operating in the North Pacific,

也就是美国捕鲸船队开始 在北太平洋航行不久之后，

an interesting trend emerged.

出现了一个有趣的现象。

Whalers saw a 58% drop in their successful strikes within just a few years.

捕鲸者发现在短短几年内，捕鲸成功率 下降58%。

Sperm whales in the region had suddenly become much harder to kill.

该地区的抹香鲸 突然变得很难捕捉。

Generally, when predators like orcas are nearby,

通常，当捕食者比如虎鲸，在附近时，

sperm whales protect their most vulnerable

抹香鲸通过 在水面形成防御圈

by forming defensive circles at the surface.

来保护它们最脆弱的群体。

But this behavior made them susceptible to whaling ships.

而这种行为使他们更容易 受到捕鲸船队的捕捉。

It seems that sperm whales in the North Pacific

这么看来，北太平洋的

were somehow able to quickly adapt to this reality.

抹香鲸能够以某种方式迅速 适应这实况。

Groups that likely hadn’t yet experienced human attacks

那些没有受过人类攻击的鱼群

began escaping whaling boats on fast currents

开始迅速逃离捕鲸船

instead of forming defensive circles.

而不是形成防御圈。

And, based on what we’re starting to understand about sperm whales,

并且，根据我们最近对于抹香鲸的了解

it seems possible they were actually broadcasting survival strategies

看起来，他们正在互相散布

to one another.

生存策略。

Indeed, unbeknownst to whalers,

然而，捕鲸者并不知道

spermaceti, the material they killed for,

他们所捕猎的鲸蜡

is an essential part of the sperm whale’s sophisticated communication

是抹香鲸在复杂交流和回声定位中

and echolocation system.

不可缺少的部分。

This waxy substance fills a cavity in the sperm whale’s head.

这种蜡状物质填充在鲸鱼头上的 凹坑里。

And their head is mostly comprised of an expanded nose

而它们的头部主要是由一个 较大的鼻子组成的，

that serves as a highly calibrated sonar system.

这个鼻子是一个高度校准的声纳系统。

Sperm whales generate some of the loudest biological noises on record,

抹香鲸发出的声音，是记录以来， 生物声响中最大之一。

communicate copiously using an array of complex vocalization styles,

他们大量使用不同的复杂回声定位，

and have the largest brains on Earth.

并且拥有地球上最大的大脑。

They spend most of their time searching the ocean's depths for prey.

他们大部分时间都在海洋深 处搜寻猎物。

They can stay submerged for over an hour, and dive deeper than 1,200 meters,

它们可以在水下停留一个多小时， 潜水深度超过 1,200米，

far beyond sunlight’s reach, where they’re guided by sound.

在没有阳光覆盖的范围， 他们通过用声音导航。

The loudest noise recorded underwater is around 270 decibels.

水下记录的最大噪音约 为270分贝。

Sperm whale-generated sounds can reach 230.

抹香鲸产生的声音可以达到 230。

And they frequently fix their high-intensity echolocation clicks

他们经常 改变对鱿鱼的

on squid.

高密度回声定位的咔嗒声。

Some of the air they inhale through their blowhole is routed into their lungs,

他们通过气孔吸入的部分空气进入肺部，

while the rest enters a complex, sound-producing system.

而其余的则进入复杂的声音产生系统。

There, air is funneled through lip-like appendages at the front of their heads.

在那里，空气流经他们头部前部的嘴唇状 附属物。

This generates a sound that travels backwards through their spermaceti organ,

这会产生一种声音，该声音会返回到

bounces off an air sac, then traverses another waxy organ,

他们的鲸蜡，然后再从气囊反弹到 另一个蜡质器官，

which amplifies and directs the sound.

这个器官会提高声音响度并传到声音。

The click exits the sperm whale’s head a powerful, focused beam.

咔嗒声会从鲸鱼头上放射出来， 形成强而有力的音波震动。

It’s suspected that the returning vibrations

科学家猜测，回声震动可能

are received by the whale’s lower jaw and directed into the ears.

由鲸鱼的下颌传送到耳朵里。

Then, their brain’s expanded auditory processing region

然后，大脑中扩大的听觉系统

analyzes the quality of the echoes to map their surroundings in the darkness.

会分析回声的质量， 从而了解黑暗中物体的位置。

With this mechanism, sperm whales can locate squid 300 meters away.

借助这种机制，抹香鲸 可以找到在300米外的鱿鱼。

Scientists think squid don’t hear these high-frequency clicks—

科学家认为，乌贼听不到 这些高频的咔嗒声，

even as they turn into rapid buzzes and creaks as the whale closes in.

即使鲸鱼靠近时，咔哒声会变成高频嗡嗡声和 嘎吱声。

Sperm whales can eat more than a ton of squid every day.

抹香鲸每天可以吃掉超过一吨 的鱿鱼。

Their stomachs and feces are usually full of indigestible squid beaks,

它们的胃和粪便中通常 充满难以消化的鱿鱼嘴，

and their skin often scarred by squid tentacles.

它们的皮肤也经常被鱿鱼的触角 弄得满是疤痕。

When they're not hunting, however,

在抹香鲸不狩猎的时候，

sperm whales use an entirely different vocal repertoire.

它们会使用完全 不同的声音。

Mature males make clang noises,

成熟的雄性会发出叮当声，

which scientists suspect play a role in mating.

科学家猜测，这在交配 中起着作用。

And most other sperm whales live in social family groups.

大多数其他的抹香鲸生活 在社交性的家庭群体中。

Though their communication might get interrupted when predators are near

虽然当捕食者在附近或人类产生的噪音很大时，

or human-generated noises dominate,

它们的通信可能会中断。

they generally chatter at length at the water’s surface.

它们通常会在水面 上长时间地交流。

Sperm whales do this using patterned click sequences akin to Morse code,

抹香鲸使用类似于摩尔斯电码的，有规律咔嗒声 序列来做到这一点，

called codas,

这些序列被称为代码。

which are thought to function as social identity markers.

学者认为代码用于社交时 的身份认证。

Researchers have identified dozens of distinct types of codas,

根据咔嗒声次数的规律和节奏，

according to patterns in the numbers of clicks used and their rhythm and tempo.

科学家已经发现多种不同的代码形式。

Some codas are more ubiquitous,

有些代码相对普遍，

while others vary greatly according to family groups and individuals.

而另一些则因家庭和个人而有很大差异。

All families in a given region

同一区域的家庭群体

that consistently use some of the same characteristic coda patterns

持续使用一些具有相同特点的代码规律，

share a dialect and belong to the same vocal clan.

他们说同一方言，并属于 同一个声音家族。

Each sperm whale calf goes through a multi-year period of babbling,

每只抹香鲸在能熟练使用家族的代码方言前，

where they experiment with different sounds

都需要经过多年的胡言乱语，

before becoming fluent in their clan’s coda dialect.

在此期间，他们熟悉不同的声音。

How and what exactly sperm whales communicate to each other

目前尚不清楚抹香鲸的

is currently unknown,

交流的方法及交流内容，

but there are indications that the information can be sophisticated.

但有迹象表明，这些 信息可能很复杂。

Biologists, roboticists, linguists, cryptographers,

生物学家、机器人专家、语言学家、 密码学家

and artificial intelligence experts

和人工智能专家

are collaborating to monitor and analyze sperm whale vocalizations.

正在合作监测和分析抹香鲸的声音。

The aim is to finally decipher what they're saying.

最终目的是破译他们在 说什么。