How octopuses battle each other | DIY Neuroscience, a TED series

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Joanna Pietrulewicz

翻译人员: Jiasi Hao 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

Greg Gage: The octopus is a rather strange-looking animal

格雷格 · 盖奇（Greg Gage）： 章鱼不只是一个长相奇怪的动物，

that exhibits amazingly complex behaviors.

它们还有着令人惊诧的复杂行为。

They have the most impressive nervous system in the entire invertebrate world.

在整个无脊椎动物世界中，

它们有着最为引人注目的神经系统。

They have about a half a billion neurons

它们全身上下分布着

that are distributed throughout their body,

多达大约五亿的神经元，

such that two-thirds of the neurons are actually in its legs.

而且，其中三分之二的神经元 分布在它们的触角上。

Now mix this in with camouflaging cells, jet propulsion and a razor-sharp beak,

把这一特性再与它们的伪装细胞、

喷射推进的游动方式 和剃刀般锋利的吻，

章鱼就有了成为 强大捕食者的一切必备武器。

and you have all the makings of a formidable predator.

And then throw in the fact that the octopus is a solitary creature,

外加章鱼是一个独居生物的事实，

and suddenly, we have ourselves a real cephalopod fight.

突然，我们就有了 一场货真价实的头足类动物之战。

【DIY 神经科学】

(Bell)

[DIY Neuroscience]

We know that almost all animals fight -- for food, for territory, for mates.

我们知道几乎所有动物都会争斗—— 为了食物、领地，或配偶。

The octopus is no different, and knowing their fighting behavior

章鱼也一样， 了解它们的争斗行为

could help us better understand these fascinating creatures

能帮助我们更好地了解 这些极具吸引力的生物

以及它们是如何相互交流的。

and how they interact.

My friend Ilya has been observing the classic fighting behavior

我的朋友伊利亚一直 在观察加州双斑蛸章鱼的

between California two-spot octopuses.

典型争斗行为。

伊利亚·楚古诺夫 (Ilya Chugunov)： 大多数人认为这是 “octopi”，

Ilya Chugunov: Most people think that it's "octopi,"

but that's actually incorrect.

但实际上这是错误的。

如果你想用正宗希腊语 来形容章鱼，

The correct plurals are either "octopuses" or "octopodes"

正确的复数形式应是 “octopuses” 或 “octopodes”。

if you want to be very Greek about it.

GG：所以你是怎么做你的实验的？

GG: So how do you do your experiment?

IC：首先，我要设置好这个小盒子，

IC: First, I like to set up the chamber just so it's ready,

我拿来一罐水， 不停摇晃使空气充分进入。

so I get a jug of water, I aerate it by shaking the jug.

It seems that if the water is well-aerated, they're a lot more active.

似乎这水已经充满气体了， 它们变得更加活跃了。

This gives the octopuses some room to breathe.

这给章鱼们更多空间来呼吸。

I get the first octopus --

让我取出第一只章鱼——

Here, buddy. Here, pal.

嘿，伙伴，这里，朋友。

Put it in, set up my GoPro,

把它放进去，装好我的 GoPro 摄影机，

put the second octopus in, cover it up and leave it alone.

把第二只章鱼放进去， 盖上盖子，把它们放在那里。

(Bell ringing)

规则 1 ：总有一个挑衅者。

Rule 1: There's always an aggressor.

There's always one octopus on defense, one on offense.

总有一只章鱼在防御， 一只在进攻。

Usually the one that's taking up more space, that's more boastful,

通常体积更大的

章鱼会更自负，

definitely the aggressor, most likely the winner of the fight.

绝对会是挑衅者， 很可能是争斗的赢家。

败者就相对明显。

The loser's pretty obvious.

They get pushed around, they curl up, hide in a corner.

它们被推来推去， 它们蜷缩起来，躲在角落。

A lot of the time, when there's initial contact,

很多时候， 在它们初次接触彼此的时候，

if one of them is too much on the defensive side,

如果其中一只章鱼太过具有防御性，

另外一只章鱼就会戳它、试探它， 抓住它的触角并看着它：

the second one will sort of poke at it, grab at its tentacle and see,

"Hey, do you want to fight me, do you want to turn around?

“嘿，你想和我打架吗？ 你想转过身吗？

Do you want to start a wrestling match?"

你想开始一场摔跤比赛吗？”

So it'll just poke and run away. Come back, poke and run away.

所以它就只会试探，跑开， 再回来，试探，再跑开。

(Bell ringing)

规则 2 ：避免眼神交流。

Rule 2: Avoid eye contact.

When the octopuses come towards each other to begin the fight,

当章鱼们靠近，准备开始争斗，

they don't actually face each other.

它们一般不会面对彼此。

They approach sideways.

它们是侧身靠近对方的。

The defensive octopus tries to face away from the attacker

防御性的章鱼会尝试看向别处， 避免和进攻者的眼神交流，

until it's the critical moment it knows there's no way to avoid a fight.

直到关键时刻—— 它们知道一场争斗无法避免。

GG: Really, the one who's waiting to the last moment

GG：真的吗？会等到最后一刻的

竟是防御性章鱼。

is the defensive octopus.

(Bell ringing)

规则 3 ：发出颜色闪烁信号。

Rule 3: Flash your colors.

The aggressor in a fight will quickly and sharply flash bright black on his arms

进攻者即将要挑起一场争斗时，

它的触手会快速且急剧地闪烁黑色。

when he's about to initiate a fight.

(Bell ringing)

GG: Ooh, and already --

GG：喔哦！已经——

IC：我们现在能看见它的争斗行为了。

IC: We're seeing some action.

Looks like they've spotted each other.

看来它俩已经注意对方很久了。

GG: Right. So now he's going to come -- He's approaching, but not directly at him.

GG：没错。它现在要…… 它在靠近，但没有直接靠近它。

IC: Yeah, they're like almost completely antiparallel.

IC：没错，它们基本上 是在反向平行移动。

GG: And then right there --

GG：之后就在那里……

IC: Yeah. They contact, and then their arms clash together.

IC：对。它们接触了， 它们的触手在相互抵触彼此。

(String music)

GG：所以我们已经进行了 了解章鱼争斗的第一步。

GG: So we've taken the first steps in understanding fighting in the octopus.

And you might be asking yourself: Why does this even matter?

你可能在自问： 这到底有何要紧？

这些基于好奇的研究问题 通常可以给我们带来

Well, these types of curiosity-based research questions can often lead

to some unexpected insights and discoveries.

一些令人出乎意料的观点和发现。

We've learned a lot about ourselves from studying marine animals.

我们通过研究海洋生物， 也更多地了解了自己。

Squid have taught us about how our neurons communicate,

乌贼让我们知道 我们自己的神经元是如何沟通的，

and the horseshoe crab has taught us about how our eyes work.

马蹄蟹告诉我们 我们的眼睛是如何工作的。

So it's not too far of a stretch to say that some of these behaviors

所以，要是说我们从 加州双斑蛸身上观察到的行为

that we're seeing in the California two-spot octopus are similar to ours.

和我们自己的行为类似 也丝毫不过分。