Inside the ant colony - Deborah M. Gordon

蚂蚁群落内部 - 黛柏拉 M. 戈登 （Deborah M. Gordon）

翻译人员: Tina Deng 校对人员: zicheng zhou

Think about all the things that need to happen

思考下要使一个人类定居点繁荣

for a human settlement to thrive:

需要发生的所有事：

obtaining food,

获得食物，

building shelter,

建造居所，

raising children and more.

生儿育女，等等。

There needs to be a way to divide resources,

这需要有一个方法来分配资源，

organize major efforts

组织主要力量

and distribute labor efficiently.

以及高效地分配劳动力

Now imagine having to do this without any sort of planning

现在想像下在无任何计划

or higher level communication.

或更高层次交流的情况下来做这件事。

Welcome to the ant colony.

欢迎来到蚂蚁群落。

Ants have some of the most complex social organization

在动物王国中，

蚂蚁有着某种最为复杂的社会组织，

in the animal kingdom,

living in structured colonies

（它们）住在有结构的群落中，

containing different types of members

包含不同类型的成员

who perform specific roles.

这些成员有明确角色。

But although this may sound similar to some human societies,

尽管这听上去和某种人类社会很相似，

this organization doesn't arise from any higher level decisions,

然而这个组织并非由任何更高层次的决定而产生，

but is part of a biologically programmed cycle.

而是生物程序循环的一部分。

In many species,

在许多（蚂蚁）亚种中，

all the winged males and winged virgin queens

来自种群中所有附近的群落的

from all the nearby colonies in the population

有翅雄蜂和有翅未交配蜂皇

each leave from their different nests

分别离开它们不同的巢穴

and meet at a central place to mate,

在一个中间地聚集交配

using pheromones to guide each other to a breeding ground.

利用外激素引导对方到繁殖地。

After mating, the males die off,

交配后，雄蜂死去，

while females try to establish a new colony.

而雌蜂则尝试建立一个新的群落。

The few that are successful settle down in a suitable spot,

少数能在一个合适的地点成功定居（的雌蜂），

lose their wings,

失去翅膀，

and begin laying eggs,

并开始产卵，

selectively fertilizing some using stored sperm they've saved up from mating.

有选择的使一些在交配中保留并储藏的精子受精

Fertilized eggs grow into female workers

受精的卵子长成雌性工蜂

who care for the queen and her eggs.

负责照顾蜂皇和她的卵。

They will then defend the colony

然后它们负责保卫群落

and forage for food,

以及储存食物，

while unfertilized eggs grow into males

而未受精的卵长成雄蜂

whose only job is to wait until they are ready to leave the nest

它们唯一的工作是等待直至他们准备好离开蜂巢

and reproduce, beginning the cycle again.

以及繁殖，重新开始这一循环。

So how do worker ants decide what to do and when?

那么工蜂怎么决定该做什么及何时做这些事呢？

Well, they don't really.

嗯，他们其实并不决定。

Although they have no methods of intentional communication,

尽管他们没有内部交流的方法，

individual ants do interact with one another

个体蚂蚁确实通过接触、声音和化学信号

through touch, sound and chemical signals.

与其他蚂蚁互动。

These stimuli accomplish many things

这些刺激伴随着许多事：

from serving as an alarm to other ants if one is killed,

从警告其他蚂蚁另一只蚂蚁被杀，

to signaling when a queen is nearing the end of her reproductive life.

到当蜂皇已临近生育期末时发出信号。

But one of the most impressive collective capabilities of an ant colony

但蚂蚁群落最令人印象深刻的收集能力之一

is to thoroughly and efficiently explore large areas

是无任何先决计划下

without any predetermined plan.

彻底而有效地勘查大块区域。

Most species of ants have little or no sense of sight

多数蚂蚁亚种仅有有限视觉或没有视觉

and can only smell things in their vicinity.

而且只能闻到他们附近的东西。

Combined with their lack of high level coordination,

加上他们缺乏高层面的协调，

this would seem to make them terrible explorers,

这使他们貌似糟糕的勘探者，

but there is an amazingly simple way

但有一个令人惊叹的简单方法

that ants maximize their searching efficiency;

使蚂蚁能最大化他们的搜索效率；

by changing their movement patterns

（这就是）以个体互动为依据

based on individual interactions.

改变他们的移动模式。

When two ants meet,

当两只蚂蚁相遇，

they sense each other by touching antennae.

他们通过碰触触角来感知对方。

If there are many ants in a small area this will happen more often

如果在小块区域内有许多蚂蚁，这将发生的更为频繁

causing them to respond by moving

导致他们通过更迂回和随机的移动路径来响应（彼此）

in more convoluted, random paths in order to search more thoroughly.

来使搜索更彻底。

But in a larger area, with less ants, where such meetings happen less often,

但在大块区域中仅有少量蚂蚁，

这样的碰面则发生的不那么频繁

they can walk in straight lines to cover more ground.

它们能够走直线来覆盖更多地面。

While exploring their environment in this way,

当用这种方式勘察他们环境时，

an ant may come across any number of things,

一只蚂蚁会遇到各式各样的事，

from threats or enemies, to alternate nesting sites.

从威胁或敌人，到可选的巢穴点。

And some species have another capability known as recruitment.

一些亚种有另外一个能力，称为招募。

When one of these ants happens to find food,

当这些蚂蚁中的一只碰巧找到食物时，

it will return with it, marking its path with a chemical scent.

它会带回食物，用一种化学气味来标记路径，

Other ants will then follow this pheromone trail,

然后其他蚂蚁会跟随这一外激素（标记的）路径，

renewing it each time they manage to find food and return.

并在他们每次能找到食物并返回时更新这一路径。

Once the food in that spot is depleted,

一旦地点中的食物耗尽，

the ants stop marking their return.

这些蚂蚁便停止标记他们的回程。

The scent dissipates and ants are no longer attracted to that path.

气味散发，蚂蚁们便不会再被吸引到这条路径上。

These seemingly crude methods of search and retrieval

事实上，这种看似原始的搜索和回收方法

are, in fact, so useful that they are applied in computer models

应用于计算机模型上非常有用，

to obtain optimal solutions from decentralized elements,

(例如)从分散元素中获得最优解决方法，

working randomly and exchanging simple information.

随机工作和交换简单信息。

This has many theoretical and practical applications,

这在理论上和实际上有很多应用，

from solving the famous traveling salesman problem,

从解决著名的销售人员差旅问题，

to scheduling computing tasks and optimizing Internet searches,

到计算机任务进度安排和最优化网络搜索，

to enabling groups of robots to search a minefield

以及使多组机器人能够勘察矿区

or a burning building collectively, without any central control.

或在无任何中央控制下，整体焚烧某一建筑。

But you can observe these fascinatingly simple, yet effective, processes directly

但你可以直接通过一些简单实验来

观察这些令人陶醉的简单而有效的过程，

through some simple experiments,

by allowing ants to enter empty spaces of various sizes

通过让蚂蚁进入不同大小的空旷区域

and paying attention to their behavior.

并注意他们的行为。

Ants may not be able to vote, hold meetings or even make any plans,

蚂蚁可能不会选举，开会甚至列计划，

but we humans may still be able to learn something

但如此简单的生物

from the way that such simple creatures

却能用这些复杂方式高效实现功能，

are able to function so effectively in such complex ways.

我们人类仍能从这一方法中学到东西。