Sheila Patek: Measuring the fastest animal on earth

翻译人员: xu hao 校对人员: Simon Yan

If you'd like to learn how to play the lobster, we have some here.

如果你希望学些如何用龙虾奏乐，我们会给你一些指导。

And that's not a joke, we really do.

这不是开玩笑，事实上我们就是这样做的。

So come up afterwards and I'll show you how to play a lobster.

好的，接下来，我将为大家展示如何用龙虾奏乐。

So, actually, I started working on what's called the mantis shrimp

实际上，我所研究的对象叫做螳螂虾(俗称：皮皮虾)

a few years ago because they make sound.

这是在数年前，因为他们可以发声。

This is a recording I made of a mantis shrimp

这是我记录的一段螳螂虾的录音。

that's found off the coast of California.

它录制于加利福尼亚的海面上。

And while that's an absolutely fascinating sound,

这是一段绝对迷人的乐曲。

it actually turns out to be a very difficult project.

录制它的过程确实非常艰辛。

And while I was struggling to figure out how and why mantis shrimp,

我曾非常努力的想知道螳螂虾是如何发音和怎样发音的。

or stomatopods, make sound, I started to think about their appendages.

或者说我想知道口足类动物是如何发声的，我首先考虑到的是它们身体中存在的一些附肢。

And mantis shrimp are called "mantis shrimp" after the praying mantises,

要知道是螳螂出现后螳螂虾才被叫做这个名字的。

which also have a fast feeding appendage. And I started to think,

与螳螂一样它也有一个快速猎食的附肢。然后我开始考虑，

well, maybe it will be interesting, while listening to their sounds,

或许这会非常有趣，当听到它们发声时，

to figure out how these animals generate very fast feeding strikes.

找出这些动物快速猎食时产生响声的原因。

And so today I'll talk about the extreme stomatopod strike,

今天我将讲述这种口足类动物发出的异常声音。

work that I've done in collaboration with Wyatt Korff and Roy Caldwell.

这项工作是由我和Wyatt Korff、 Roy Caldwell合作完成的。

So, mantis shrimp come in two varieties:

那么，我们研究的螳螂虾有两个品种。

there are spearers and smashers.

有“长矛型”附肢的，还有“球棍型”附肢的。

And this is a spearing mantis shrimp, or stomatopod.

这个就是“长矛型”螳螂虾，或称为口足类。

And he lives in the sand, and he catches things that go by overhead.

它生活在沙子里，它夹取东西时高过头顶。

So, a quick strike like that. And if we slow it down a bit,

看，一次快速的攻击，就是那样。让我们把它放慢一点儿看。

this is the mantis shrimp -- the same species --

这个也是一个螳螂虾，同一品种。

recorded at 1,000 frames a second,

拍摄速度是1000帧每秒。

played back at 15 frames per second.

现在正以15帧每秒的速度回放。

And you can see it's just a really spectacular extension of the limbs,

你能够看到刚才它四肢伸展的动作是多么壮观。

exploding upward to actually just catch

一次爆破式的抓取。

a dead piece of shrimp that I had offered it.

我那时刚把一片虾肉递给它。

Now, the other type of mantis shrimp is the smasher stomatopod,

现在，来看看另一种“球棍型”螳螂虾是什么样的。

and these guys open up snails for a living.

这些家伙以吃敲开蜗牛壳吃蜗牛为生

And so this guy gets the snail all set up and gives it a good whack.

看，这家伙抓住了这支蜗牛，并且给它来了次漂亮的重击。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So, I'll play it one more time.

好的，我将再次播放它。

He wiggles it in place, tugs it with his nose, and smash.

他扭动这只蜗牛，用他的鼻子拉扯它，再重击它。

And a few smashes later, the snail is broken open, and he's got a good dinner.

数次重击后这只蜗牛壳破了，现在他可以美餐一顿了。

So, the smasher raptorial appendage can stab with a point at the end,

看，这个庞大的捕食附肢能够利用末部的尖端进行穿刺。

or it can smash with the heel.

或者用这个后跟进行重击。

And today I'll talk about the smashing type of strike.

好的，我将向大家介绍这种相当精彩的攻击方式。

And so the first question that came to mind was,

需要思考的第一个问题就是：

well, how fast does this limb move?

这个肢体移动的有多快。

Because it's moving pretty darn fast on that video.

从这个视频你可以看到这家伙移动得真够快的了

And I immediately came upon a problem.

这就立刻产生了一个问题

Every single high-speed video system in the biology department

对于伯克利生物部的任意一台高速摄影系统来说，

at Berkeley wasn't fast enough to catch this movement.

都无法捕捉到这一精妙的瞬间。

We simply couldn't capture it on video.

我们无法简单的用视频来拍下它。

And so this had me stymied for quite a long period of time.

这困扰了我很长时间。

And then a BBC crew came cruising through the biology department,

后来一队BBC的记者来到生物部参观

looking for a story to do about new technologies in biology.

他们想找一些关于生物领域新技术的素材。

And so we struck up a deal.

我们做了场交易。

I said, "Well, if you guys rent the high-speed video system

我对他们说“好吧，如果你们可以把高速摄影系统借给我们

that could capture these movements,

来拍摄虾的这些动作。

you guys can film us collecting the data."

你们就可以拍摄我们收集数据的过程”。

And believe it or not, they went for it. (Laughter)

无论你是否相信，他们真的同意了

So we got this incredible video system. It's very new technology --

因此，我们获得了这套不可思议的视频系统，它真是一项新技术！

it just came out about a year ago --

它在一年以前才刚刚诞生。

that allows you to film at extremely high speeds in low light.

它可以使你在暗光下以极高的速度进行拍摄。

And low light is a critical issue with filming animals,

要知道能在暗光下拍摄动物是多么重要。

because if it's too high, you fry them. (Laughter)

因为，如果光太强，你就等于把它们油炸了。

So this is a mantis shrimp. There are the eyes up here,

看这是一个螳螂虾，他们的眼睛在上面。

and there's that raptorial appendage, and there's the heel.

这是它用来捕食的附肢，这就是那个后跟。

And that thing's going to swing around and smash the snail.

看，这家伙将要转过来并准备给这只蜗牛来个重击。

And the snail's wired to a stick,

看，这个蜗牛被引到了这个棍状物上。

so he's a little bit easier to set up the shot. And -- yeah.

他把活儿都做到这份上了，再来个绝杀就太容易了。

(Laughter)

（狂笑）

I hope there aren't any snail rights activists around here.

我希望今天在座的没有蜗牛权利保护界的积极分子。

(Laughter)

（又是狂笑）

So this was filmed at 5,000 frames per second,

这是以每秒5000帧拍摄的。

and I'm playing it back at 15. And so this is slowed down 333 times.

我正以每秒15帧的速度来回放它。这要比它实际的动作慢了333倍。

And as you'll notice, it's still pretty gosh darn fast

你要注意到，它仍旧是相当快的。

slowed down 333 times. It's an incredibly powerful movement.

减慢了333倍，仍旧是一个难以置信的能量活动。

The whole limb extends out. The body flexes backwards --

整个肢部伸展，身体后曲。

just a spectacular movement.

真是一个壮观的动作。

And so what we did is, we took a look at these videos,

而我们所要做的，就是仔细研究这些录像

and we measured how fast the limb was moving

并测量肢部的移动有多快。

to get back to that original question.

再次返回那个原始的问题。

And we were in for our first surprise.

我们来看我们获得的第一个惊喜。

So what we calculated was that the limbs were moving

我们所计算的是这个肢部的移动。

at the peak speed ranging from 10 meters per second

移动过程的峰值速度从10m每秒

all the way up to 23 meters per second.

一越到23m每秒。

And for those of you who prefer miles per hour,

如果把它折合成每小时多少英里，可能大家的感触会更强烈。

that's over 45 miles per hour in water. And this is really darn fast.

那是在水中以超过45英里的速度移动。这真的惊人得快

In fact, it's so fast we were able to add a new point

实际上，它是如此之快，这是一个新的纪录

on the extreme animal movement spectrum.

在极限动物运动领域的新纪录。

And mantis shrimp are officially the fastest measured feeding strike

螳螂虾是经证实的，所有已测动物中

of any animal system. So our first surprise.

进食攻击最快的。这就是我们的第一个惊讶之处。

(Applause)

（拍巴掌）

So that was really cool and very unexpected.

这真是非常酷并且及其难以置信。

So, you might be wondering, well, how do they do it?

你可能会想问，他们是怎么做到的。

And actually, this work was done in the 1960s

实际上，早在二十世纪六十年代，这项工作就有人在做了。

by a famous biologist named Malcolm Burrows.

一个著名的生物学家，叫做Malcolm Burrows。

And what he showed in mantis shrimp is that they use

对于他所研究的螳螂虾，

what's called a "catch mechanism," or "click mechanism."

他们使用了一种叫做抓取机制，或称为敲击机制来解释。

And what this basically consists of is a large muscle

这一机制的基本组成是一大块肌肉。

that takes a good long time to contract,

这块肌肉会花很长时间进行收缩。

and a latch that prevents anything from moving.

并且一个闩状装置将阻值其他任何移动。

So the muscle contracts, and nothing happens.

这使得肌肉可以继续紧缩，并且不发生其他任何改变。

And once the muscle's contracted completely, everything's stored up --

一旦肌肉完成收缩，所有被储存的能量

the latch flies upward, and you've got the movement.

被闩状装置释放，你可以想象到这个爆发。

And that's basically what's called a "power amplification system."

这就是基本原理，这被叫做能量放大系统。

It takes a long time for the muscle to contract,

它要花很长时间来完成肌肉紧缩。

and a very short time for the limb to fly out.

并在一瞬间迸发。

And so I thought that this was sort of the end of the story.

我曾认为这便是本故事的结尾了。

This was how mantis shrimps make these very fast strikes.

这以很好的解释了螳螂虾是如何快速进行敲击的。

But then I took a trip to the National Museum of Natural History.

但后来，当我有一次来到国家自然历史博物参观，

And if any of you ever have a chance,

如果你也有这样的一个机会

backstage of the National Museum of Natural History

到国家自然历史博物馆的后台，

is one of the world's best collections of preserved mantis shrimp. And what --

那地方里收集的螳螂虾是世界上最多的

(Laughter)

（有人在笑了）

this is serious business for me.

这对我来说是非常严肃的工作。

(Laughter)

（还在笑）

So, this -- what I saw, on every single mantis shrimp limb,

因此，这个，我所关注的，是每只螳螂虾的前肢部分。

whether it's a spearer or a smasher,

不管它是“长矛型”还是“球棍型”

is a beautiful saddle-shaped structure

都有一个非常漂亮的鞍状结构。

right on the top surface of the limb. And you can see it right here.

在这个前肢顶部面的右边。你恰巧能在这里看到它。

It just looks like a saddle you'd put on a horse.

它真像一个马鞍，你放在马背上的那种。

It's a very beautiful structure.

这一结构太漂亮了。

And it's surrounded by membranous areas. And those membranous areas

它被膜状区域覆盖着。并且这些膜状区域

suggested to me that maybe this is some kind of dynamically flexible structure.

提示我，这可能是一些动力学上的柔性结构。

And this really sort of had me scratching my head for a while.

这一刻我头脑中似乎真的灵光一现。

And then we did a series of calculations, and what we were able to show

然后我们做了一系列的计算，我们所得到的结论是：

is that these mantis shrimp have to have a spring.

螳螂虾体内一定存在一根弹簧。

There needs to be some kind of spring-loaded mechanism

它一定需要一些弹簧支撑装置。

in order to generate the amount of force that we observe,

以便产生我们所看到的力、

and the speed that we observe, and the output of the system.

速度和能量的输出。

So we thought, OK, this must be a spring --

因此我们想到，是的，这一定是一个弹簧

the saddle could very well be a spring.

这个鞍状物可以做为一个非常好的弹簧装置。

And we went back to those high-speed videos again,

我们再次回到这些高速摄影的视频上，

and we could actually visualize the saddle compressing and extending.

我们能够实实在在的看到这一鞍状物的收缩和扩张。

And I'll just do that one more time.

我将再放一次。

And then if you take a look at the video --

你们仔细看这个视频。

it's a little bit hard to see -- it's outlined in yellow.

这个有点儿不好看到——它用黄色标出了。

The saddle is outlined in yellow. You can actually see it

看这个用黄色标出的鞍状物，你能够清楚的看到了。

extending over the course of the strike, and actually hyperextending.

在击打过程后仍在持续，确实开始了进一步的舒张。

So, we've had very solid evidence showing

我们所展示的证据已非常充分了。

that that saddle-shaped structure actually compresses and extends,

这一鞍形结构确实是收缩和舒张的

and does, in fact, function as a spring.

确实，它实现了一个弹簧的功能。

The saddle-shaped structure is also known as a "hyperbolic paraboloid surface,"

这一鞍形结构也是做为一种双曲抛物面而被很多人熟知的。

or an "anticlastic surface."

或叫做互反曲面。

And this is very well known to engineers and architects,

对于工程师和建筑师来说，这是相当了解的。

because it's a very strong surface in compression.

因为这一表面的耐压力是非常强的。

It has curves in two directions,

它在两个方向上都有弧线。

one curve upward and opposite transverse curve down the other,

一条曲线向上，并且相反的横向曲线向下。

so any kind of perturbation spreads the forces

因此可经受任意一种变化

over the surface of this type of shape.

越过这种形状的表面

So it's very well known to engineers, not as well known to biologists.

这一点对于工程师是非常了解的，但是生物学家并不熟悉。

It's also known to quite a few people who make jewelry,

而对于制作珠宝的人，这一点也是非常了解的。

because it requires very little material

因为它需要非常少的材料。

to build this type of surface, and it's very strong.

来获得这种表面，并且它非常结实。

So if you're going to build a thin gold structure,

如果你想构建一个薄的金结构，

it's very nice to have it in a shape that's strong.

利用这种表面是非常结实的。

Now, it's also known to architects. One of the most famous architects

对于建筑学家来说这也是熟知的。曾经一个非常著名的建筑学家

is Eduardo Catalano, who popularized this structure.

Eduardo Catalano，就致力于推广这一结构。

And what's shown here is a saddle-shaped roof that he built

这里的鞍形穹顶就是他建的。

that's 87 and a half feet spanwise.

其叶展距离是87.5英尺

It's two and a half inches thick, and supported at two points.

有2.5英寸后，并由两个点支撑。

And one of the reasons why he designed roofs this way is because it's --

他以这种方式设计屋顶的原因就是：

he found it fascinating that you could build such a strong structure

他发现其魅力就在于你可以获得如此坚固的结构。

that's made of so few materials and can be supported by so few points.

它需要的材料是如此之少，并且仅需要数个支撑点。

And all of these are the same principles that apply

所有这些都有相同的原理

to the saddle-shaped spring in stomatopods.

口足类动物把它应用在了鞍形弹簧装置上。

In biological systems it's important not to have a whole lot

在生物系统中，重要的是：

of extra material requirements for building it.

完成一个整体构建用最少的材料。

So, very interesting parallels between the biological

看，非常有趣的联系在生物学

and the engineering worlds. And interestingly, this turns out --

和工程学之间。吸引人的在于，这个结果——

the stomatopod saddle turns out to be the first

口足类动物的鞍形结构是首个

described biological hyperbolic paraboloid spring.

被描述的生物学上的双曲抛物面弹簧装置。

That's a bit long, but it is sort of interesting.

这个描述有点儿长，但它还是很有趣的。

So the next and final question was, well, how much force

好的，这下一个，也是最后一个问题是，它又多大的力

does a mantis shrimp produce if they're able to break open snails?

一个螳螂虾所产生的，使它们能够破坏蜗牛？

And so I wired up what's called a load cell.

因此，我安装了一个测压元件。

A load cell measures forces, and this is actually

一个用来测量力大小的器件，它实际上

a piezoelectronic load cell that has a little crystal in it.

是一个压电电子元件，其内部有一个小晶体。

And when this crystal is squeezed, the electrical properties change

当这个晶体被挤压，其电特性将改变。

and it -- which -- in proportion to the forces that go in.

这与力的改变成线性关系。

So these animals are wonderfully aggressive,

这些动物是极其好斗的，

and are really hungry all the time. And so all I had to do

它们确实总是处于饥饿状态。因此，我不得不做的是

was actually put a little shrimp paste on the front of the load cell,

确实需要放点儿虾酱在这个测压元件的前面，

and they'd smash away at it.

他们会把它捣烂。

And so this is just a regular video of the animal

看，这刚好是这动物的一个视频

just smashing the heck out of this load cell.

刚捣碎了这个测压元件外面的一堆。

And we were able to get some force measurements out.

我们可以获得一些力的度量。

And again, we were in for a surprise.

再一次，我们震惊了。

I purchased a 100-pound load cell, thinking,

我购买了一个量程达100磅的测压元件，想想吧。

no animal could produce more than 100 pounds at this size of an animal.

对于这一尺寸的动物还没有能产生超过100磅力的。

And what do you know? They immediately overloaded the load cell.

你所看到的是，他们立即使这个测压元件过载了。

So these are actually some old data

看来，这些确实是过时的数据了。

where I had to find the smallest animals in the lab,

在此，我不得不找到实验室里最小的动物，

and we were able to measure forces of well over 100 pounds

我们能够测量溢出100磅的力

generated by an animal about this big.

由一个动物产生像这个这么大。

And actually, just last week I got a 300-pound load cell

事实上，刚刚在上周，我得到了一个量程是300磅的测压元件。

up and running, and I've clocked these animals generating

立刻行动，我已经计算了这些动物产生的力，

well over 200 pounds of force.

它超过了200磅。

And again, I think this will be a world record.

再一次，我认为这将是一项新的世界纪录。

I have to do a little bit more background reading,

我还不得不多读一些这方面的背景知识，

but I think this will be the largest amount of force produced

但是，我认为这将会是所产生的最大的力。

by an animal of a given -- per body mass. So, really incredible forces.

一个动物所能达到的——由一团躯体所实现的。这，确实是难以置信的力。

And again, that brings us back to the importance of that spring

再一次，将我们带回了关于弹簧的重要性。

in storing up and releasing so much energy in this system.

在一个系统中，储存和释放了如此大的力量。

But that was not the end of the story.

但这还不是故事的结尾。

Now, things -- I'm making this sound very easy, this is actually a lot of work.

现在，对于一些东西——我将非常容易的制作这个声音，这确实是要做一大堆的工作。

And I got all these force measurements,

我已获得了所有这些力的测量。

and then I went and looked at the force output of the system.

然后我开始着手与对系统输出力的研究。

And this is just very simple -- time is on the X-axis

这个非常简单，以时间为X轴。

and the force is on the Y-axis. And you can see two peaks.

力的大小为Y轴。你可以看到两个峰。

And that was what really got me puzzled.

这是令我困惑的地方。

The first peak, obviously, is the limb hitting the load cell.

第一个峰，很明显，是肢体碰击测压元件的。

But there's a really large second peak half a millisecond later,

但确实存在一个更大的峰，在半毫秒后出现。

and I didn't know what that was.

我不知道那是什么。

So now, you'd expect a second peak for other reasons,

因此，现在，你可以猜测一下第二个峰的出现是不是有其他原因。

but not half a millisecond later.

但不是半毫秒后让你说出答案。

Again, going back to those high-speed videos,

再一次，回到那些高速摄影录像上，

there's a pretty good hint of what might be going on.

这里存在一个精妙的暗示，将要出现。

Here's that same orientation that we saw earlier.

这是我们较早前看到的同一方向上的情况。

There's that raptorial appendage -- there's the heel,

有那个捕食的附肢——那个后跟，

and it's going to swing around and hit the load cell.

它将转过去，并敲击测压元件。

And what I'd like you to do in this shot is keep your eye on this,

我希望你要做的是，关注于这里。

on the surface of the load cell, as the limb comes flying through.

在测压元件表面，这个肢体开始飞出。

And I hope what you are able to see is actually a flash of light.

我希望你确实看到了一处闪光。

Audience: Wow.

听众：哇!

Sheila Patek: And so if we just take that one frame, what you can actually see there

Sheila Patek:如果我们仅提取那一帧，你能够看到什么。

at the end of that yellow arrow is a vapor bubble.

黄箭头所指的末端是一个蒸汽泡。

And what that is, is cavitation.

那个就是，气穴。

And cavitation is an extremely potent fluid dynamic phenomenon

形成气穴是一种威力极大的流体动力学现象

which occurs when you have areas of water

那个所引发的，当你在水环境中

moving at extremely different speeds.

以及其不同的速度移动。

And when this happens, it can cause areas of very low pressure,

当这种现象发生，它可以造成区域内的低气压。

which results in the water literally vaporizing.

在水中的结果就是气化。

And when that vapor bubble collapses, it emits sound, light and heat,

当这个蒸汽泡破裂，它发出声、光和热。

and it's a very destructive process.

这是非常强的破坏过程。

And so here it is in the stomatopod. And again, this is a situation

这发生在在口足类动物中。再次要说的是，这种情况

where engineers are very familiar with this phenomenon,

对于工程师而言是非常熟悉的现象。

because it destroys boat propellers.

因为它可以破坏船的螺旋辊

People have been struggling for years to try and design

人们已花了很多年的时间在不懈的尝试和设计

a very fast rotating boat propeller that doesn't cavitate

一种非常快速的旋转螺旋辊，那种没有空化

and literally wear away the metal and put holes in it,

并且不会磨损和对金属桨穿洞

just like these pictures show.

就像这些图片所展示的。

So this is a potent force in fluid systems, and just to sort of take it one step further,

在流体系统中这是非常大的一种力，或许我们有点儿扯远了。

I'm going to show you the mantis shrimp approaching the snail.

我将为大家展示螳螂虾靠近蜗牛的过程

This is taken at 20,000 frames per second, and I have to give

这是以20000帧每秒的速度拍摄的，在此，

full credit to the BBC cameraman, Tim Green, for setting this shot up,

我要向BBC的摄相师Tim Green致谢，为这些精彩的镜头，

because I could never have done this in a million years --

因为我可能再花一百万年也拍不出来。

one of the benefits of working with professional cameramen.

与专业摄像师一起工作的诸多好处之一就在于此。

You can see it coming in, and an incredible flash of light,

你可以看到它产生，伴随一道不可思议的闪光，

and all this cavitation spreading over the surface of the snail.

气穴的传播越过了蜗牛的表面。

So really, just an amazing image,

确实，这是一个令人惊异的影像。

slowed down extremely, to extremely slow speeds.

非常慢的下降，非常低的速度。

And again, we can see it in slightly different form there,

并且再一次，我们能看到它有了轻微的改变形式。

with the bubble forming and collapsing between those two surfaces.

在两个表面之间存在着气泡的形成和破裂。

In fact, you might have even seen some cavitation going up the edge of the limb.

实际上，你或许已经看到一些气穴已达到了肢体的边缘。

So to solve this quandary of the two force peaks:

好的，让我来解决存在两个力峰的困惑。

what I think was going on is: that first impact is actually

我那时要考虑的，是第一个影响是确实存在的。

the limb hitting the load cell, and the second impact is actually

当肢体撞击测压元件 ，这第二个影响是确定的

the collapse of the cavitation bubble.

即气旋泡的破裂。

And these animals may very well be making use of

这些动物或许非常善于利用这一形式

not only the force and the energy stored with that specialized spring,

不仅是力并且这能量是由特殊的弹簧储存的，

but the extremes of the fluid dynamics. And they might actually be

但是以流体动力学的极限形式。它们或许确实

making use of fluid dynamics as a second force for breaking the snail.

利用流体动力学原理实现的第二次发力，来破坏蜗牛。

So, really fascinating double whammy, so to speak, from these animals.

看，这可谓是一个确实迷人的二连击，来自于这群动物。

So, one question I often get after this talk --

在这次讲演后我常提到的一个问题

so I figured I'd answer it now -- is, well, what happens to the animal?

我想是揭开谜底的时候了，好吧，到底发生了什么？

Because obviously, if it's breaking snails,

很明显，如果它要干掉蜗牛

the poor limb must be disintegrating. And indeed it does.

这一脆弱的肢体一定会肢解的。的确如此。

That's the smashing part of the heel on both these images,

在这些图片上，也确实可以看到跟部的破坏。

and it gets worn away. In fact, I've seen them wear away

确实，它开始剥离。事实上，我已经看到了他们的抛离。

their heel all the way to the flesh.

他们的跟部外壳脱离了肉体。

But one of the convenient things about being an arthropod

但是，所有合适的东西之一，对于一个节肢动物来说，

is that you have to molt. And every three months or so

你不得不退壳。大约每三个月

these animals molt, and they build a new limb and it's no problem.

这些动物退壳，并且它们获得了一个新的肢体，这不在是问题。

Very, very convenient solution to that particular problem.

非常，非常完美的解决了这一实际问题。

So, I'd like to end on sort of a wacky note.

好的，我终于把这段令人一头雾水的解释说完了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Maybe this is all wacky to folks like you, I don't know.

或许你们听的也一头雾水吧。我不知道。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So, the saddles -- that saddle-shaped spring --

鞍状物——鞍状结构的弹簧

has actually been well known to biologists for a long time,

在很久以前就被生物学家所熟知了。

not as a spring but as a visual signal.

没把它看作弹簧而被看作一种视觉信号。

And there's actually a spectacular colored dot

这里确实存在一个吸引人的彩色点。

in the center of the saddles of many species of stomatopods.

存在于许多口足类动物鞍状物的中心

And this is quite interesting, to find evolutionary origins

这个非常有趣，可寻根到进化的起源。

of visual signals on what's really, in all species, their spring.

对于所有的种类，都有一个视觉信号在他们的弹簧装置上。

And I think one explanation for this could be

我想一个可能的解释是

going back to the molting phenomenon.

这源于蜕皮现象。

So these animals go into a molting period where they're

这些动物进入它们的蜕皮期

unable to strike -- their bodies become very soft.

它们不能去攻击，此时它们的身体非常软。

And they're literally unable to strike or they will self-destruct.

它们显然是不能攻击的，那是找死。

This is for real. And what they do is, up until that time period

确实是这样。在蜕皮期之前它们是可以进行攻击的

when they can't strike, they become really obnoxious and awful,

当它们不能攻击时，它们变得厌恶而可怕。

and they strike everything in sight; it doesn't matter who or what.

它们开始攻击所见到的任何东西，也不去辨别是谁或是什么。

And the second they get into that time point when they can't strike any more,

当它们再也不能攻击时，这是第二次它们达到这个时间点，

they just signal. They wave their legs around.

他们刚好发出信号。它们挥舞着它们的那些爪子

And it's one of the classic examples in animal behavior of bluffing.

这在动物虚张声势的行为中，是一个经典的例子。

It's a well-established fact of these animals

这是动物的一种生存方式。

that they actually bluff. They can't actually strike, but they pretend to.

它们确实采取这种欺骗方式。它们不能攻击了，但它们假装自己还可以。

And so I'm very curious about whether those colored dots

因此，我非常好奇的是，是否这些彩色点

in the center of the saddles are conveying some kind of information

就是在鞍状物中心的那个，是在传达什么信息。

about their ability to strike, or their strike force,

与它们的攻击能力有关，或者说是攻击力。

and something about the time period in the molting cycle.

在蜕皮周期中有一些是关于时间期的。

So sort of an interesting strange fact to find a visual structure

存在一个些许有趣的奇怪事实来发现一个视觉结构。

right in the middle of their spring.

恰巧在它们弹簧结构的中心。

So to conclude, I mostly want to acknowledge my two collaborators,

好了，该到结束语了，我要向我的两位合作者致谢

Wyatt Korff and Roy Caldwell, who worked closely with me on this.

Wyatt Korff 和Roy Caldwell，他们与我在这一项目上紧密合作

And also the Miller Institute for Basic Research in Science,

也要感谢Miller学院对基础科学研究的支持，

which gave me three years of funding to just do science all the time,

使我能在三年里把所有时间都投入科研中，

and for that I'm very grateful. Thank you very much.

我非常感动，非常感谢你们。

(Applause)

（掌声）