How leopard seals lunch

　　海豹如何享用它的午餐

　　Suck, swish, gulp

　　吸，吮，咽

　　Eating big and little

　　大小通吃

　　JUST about every place on the planet has a predator at the top of the food web.

　　地球上每個地方都有一個處于食物網頂端的捕食者。

　　The African savannahs have the lion, the jungles of Asia the tiger and the arctic tundra thepolar bear.

　　比如非洲大草原上的獅子，亞洲叢林里的老虎以及北極凍原上的北極熊。

　　In the Antarctic it is the leopard seals who dominate as voracious hunters of penguins andother seal species.

　　而南極的霸主則是那些貪婪地捕食著企鵝和其他海豹種群的豹海豹。

　　But a new study examining their feeding habits led byDavid Hocking of Monash University in Australia, has revealed something unusual:

　　但是一個驗證豹海豹進食習慣的新研究顯示了一些不尋常的東西：

　　how leopard seals use an efficient filter-feeding system to eat near the bottom of the foodchain too.

　　那就是豹海豹如何利用一個高效的食物過濾系統同時享用靠近食物鏈底端的生物。來自澳大利亞蒙納什大學的大衛霍金是此項研究的負責人。

　　Researchers have long known that a sizeable portion of the seals diet is made up of krill.

　　研究者們很早就知道在豹海豹的食譜中一大部分是由磷蝦組成。

　　But exactly how they consume these tiny crustaceans has been a mystery as the sealsmouths have large sharp teeth that seemed utterly inappropriate for capturing them.

　　但是由于豹海豹嘴里的尖牙似乎完全不適合捕捉這些磷蝦，從而它們是如何享用這些微小的甲殼類生物便成了一個迷。

　　Some researchers have theorised that the seals might suck water into their mouths and swishit past their closed teeth to capture krill.

　　一些研究者們從理論角度分析豹海豹也許可以通過先入吸海水再閉緊牙齒將海水吐出的篩選法捕捉磷蝦。

　　But such behaviour depends upon leopard seals being able to suck up food from water, aspecialised feeding behaviour that is rarely seen in top predators.

　　但是完成這些動作需要豹海豹具備從海水中吸吮食物的能力，而這種特定的進食行為在位于食物鏈頂端的捕食者身上并不常見。

　　Keen to explore this, Mr Hocking turned his attention towards Casey and Sabine, two leopardseals at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

　　熱衷于探索這一問題的霍金先生將注意力轉向了凱西和薩賓這兩只悉尼塔龍加動物園的豹海豹身上。

　　He and his colleagues designed a clear plastic box with thin tubes in which fish could beplaced.

　　他和同事們設計了一種透明的塑料盒子，里面安裝了可以盛放魚的淺的管道。

　　The seals could not get at them with their teeth, and instead sucked the fish right out of thetubes.

　　豹海豹無法用它的牙齒來取食這些魚，而是從管道中把它們吸出來。

　　Moments later, the team saw clouds of murky water and bubbles being expelled from thesides of the seals mouths.

　　過了一會，研究小組發現一團一團的渾濁的水體和泡沫從豹海豹的嘴里噴出。

　　This, they realised, was a filter-feeding system in action.

　　研究者們意識到，這表示一套進食過濾系統正在工作。

　　In examining the wear on the teeth of skulls from wild leopard seals, Mr Hocking was able towork out which teeth the seals were using to filter out tiny prey.

　　在檢查野生豹海豹顱骨上牙齒的磨損度時，霍金先生弄明白了豹海豹是用哪些牙齒來過濾出微小獵物的。

　　He found extensive abrasions on canines and incisors, the sharp teeth at the front of theirmouths.

　　他發現位于口腔前端的那些鋒利的犬齒和門齒上存在大面積磨損的情況。

　　This, Mr Hocking points out in Polar Biology, indicates that these teeth are used to chomppenguins and other seals.

　　霍金先生在《極地生物》雜志上指出，這表明豹海豹利用這些牙齒來撕咬企鵝和其他海豹。

　　But since there is no such wear on the sharp and delicate postcanines, he believes thatalthough these triangular rear teeth look fierce, when closed they form a sieve that is theperfect size for filtering.

　　但是，由于在鋒利而精致的犬齒后齒上并沒有發現磨損的情況，他認為盡管這些三角形的后槽牙看上去非常兇狠，但是當咬合時，它們可以充當一個對于過濾事物來說其尺寸可謂完美的篩子。

　　Ideal dentistry, if you like, for a mixed diet.

　　如果你樂意，這是一套進行混合膳食的理想的牙科學。

　　詞語解釋

　　1.food chain 食物鏈

　　Officials also say it never entered the human foodchain.

　　官員稱它從未進入人類的食物鏈當中。

　　Mercury accumulates as it works its way up thefood chain.

　　汞會隨著食物鏈上的食物傳遞而積聚。

　　2.made up of 由組成，由構成

　　The fill made up of basket loads of different colored clay.

　　填充物由一籃一籃不同色的粘土形成。

　　The brain is made up of cells in a certain arrangement.

　　人腦是由細胞按一定的排列方式組成的。

　　3.suck up 吸收

　　Another way would be growing algae in the ocean to suck up carbon dioxide.

　　另外一種辦法是可以通過在海洋里種植藻類來吸收二氧化碳。

　　The nutrients feed algal blooms, which suck up the oxygen in the water.

　　這些營養養育了大量藻類，這些藻類吸收水中的氧氣。

　　4.work out 解決;作出;鍛煉

　　Negotiators are due to meet later today to work out a compromise.

　　談判人員定于今天晚些時候進行會談，商定一個折中方案。

　　It took me some time to work out what was causing this.

　　我花了一些時間才弄清此事的起因。

　　How leopard seals lunch

　　海豹如何享用它的午餐

　　Suck, swish, gulp

　　吸，吮，咽

　　Eating big and little

　　大小通吃

　　JUST about every place on the planet has a predator at the top of the food web.

　　地球上每個地方都有一個處于食物網頂端的捕食者。

　　The African savannahs have the lion, the jungles of Asia the tiger and the arctic tundra thepolar bear.

　　比如非洲大草原上的獅子，亞洲叢林里的老虎以及北極凍原上的北極熊。

　　In the Antarctic it is the leopard seals who dominate as voracious hunters of penguins andother seal species.

　　而南極的霸主則是那些貪婪地捕食著企鵝和其他海豹種群的豹海豹。

　　But a new study examining their feeding habits led byDavid Hocking of Monash University in Australia, has revealed something unusual:

　　但是一個驗證豹海豹進食習慣的新研究顯示了一些不尋常的東西：

　　how leopard seals use an efficient filter-feeding system to eat near the bottom of the foodchain too.

　　那就是豹海豹如何利用一個高效的食物過濾系統同時享用靠近食物鏈底端的生物。來自澳大利亞蒙納什大學的大衛霍金是此項研究的負責人。

　　Researchers have long known that a sizeable portion of the seals diet is made up of krill.

　　研究者們很早就知道在豹海豹的食譜中一大部分是由磷蝦組成。

　　But exactly how they consume these tiny crustaceans has been a mystery as the sealsmouths have large sharp teeth that seemed utterly inappropriate for capturing them.

　　但是由于豹海豹嘴里的尖牙似乎完全不適合捕捉這些磷蝦，從而它們是如何享用這些微小的甲殼類生物便成了一個迷。

　　Some researchers have theorised that the seals might suck water into their mouths and swishit past their closed teeth to capture krill.

　　一些研究者們從理論角度分析豹海豹也許可以通過先入吸海水再閉緊牙齒將海水吐出的篩選法捕捉磷蝦。

　　But such behaviour depends upon leopard seals being able to suck up food from water, aspecialised feeding behaviour that is rarely seen in top predators.

　　但是完成這些動作需要豹海豹具備從海水中吸吮食物的能力，而這種特定的進食行為在位于食物鏈頂端的捕食者身上并不常見。

　　Keen to explore this, Mr Hocking turned his attention towards Casey and Sabine, two leopardseals at the Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

　　熱衷于探索這一問題的霍金先生將注意力轉向了凱西和薩賓這兩只悉尼塔龍加動物園的豹海豹身上。

　　He and his colleagues designed a clear plastic box with thin tubes in which fish could beplaced.

　　他和同事們設計了一種透明的塑料盒子，里面安裝了可以盛放魚的淺的管道。

　　The seals could not get at them with their teeth, and instead sucked the fish right out of thetubes.

　　豹海豹無法用它的牙齒來取食這些魚，而是從管道中把它們吸出來。

　　Moments later, the team saw clouds of murky water and bubbles being expelled from thesides of the seals mouths.

　　過了一會，研究小組發現一團一團的渾濁的水體和泡沫從豹海豹的嘴里噴出。

　　This, they realised, was a filter-feeding system in action.

　　研究者們意識到，這表示一套進食過濾系統正在工作。

　　In examining the wear on the teeth of skulls from wild leopard seals, Mr Hocking was able towork out which teeth the seals were using to filter out tiny prey.

　　在檢查野生豹海豹顱骨上牙齒的磨損度時，霍金先生弄明白了豹海豹是用哪些牙齒來過濾出微小獵物的。

　　He found extensive abrasions on canines and incisors, the sharp teeth at the front of theirmouths.

　　他發現位于口腔前端的那些鋒利的犬齒和門齒上存在大面積磨損的情況。

　　This, Mr Hocking points out in Polar Biology, indicates that these teeth are used to chomppenguins and other seals.

　　霍金先生在《極地生物》雜志上指出，這表明豹海豹利用這些牙齒來撕咬企鵝和其他海豹。

　　But since there is no such wear on the sharp and delicate postcanines, he believes thatalthough these triangular rear teeth look fierce, when closed they form a sieve that is theperfect size for filtering.

　　但是，由于在鋒利而精致的犬齒后齒上并沒有發現磨損的情況，他認為盡管這些三角形的后槽牙看上去非常兇狠，但是當咬合時，它們可以充當一個對于過濾事物來說其尺寸可謂完美的篩子。

　　Ideal dentistry, if you like, for a mixed diet.

　　如果你樂意，這是一套進行混合膳食的理想的牙科學。

　　詞語解釋

　　1.food chain 食物鏈

　　Officials also say it never entered the human foodchain.

　　官員稱它從未進入人類的食物鏈當中。

　　Mercury accumulates as it works its way up thefood chain.

　　汞會隨著食物鏈上的食物傳遞而積聚。

　　2.made up of 由組成，由構成

　　The fill made up of basket loads of different colored clay.

　　填充物由一籃一籃不同色的粘土形成。

　　The brain is made up of cells in a certain arrangement.

　　人腦是由細胞按一定的排列方式組成的。

　　3.suck up 吸收

　　Another way would be growing algae in the ocean to suck up carbon dioxide.

　　另外一種辦法是可以通過在海洋里種植藻類來吸收二氧化碳。

　　The nutrients feed algal blooms, which suck up the oxygen in the water.

　　這些營養養育了大量藻類，這些藻類吸收水中的氧氣。

　　4.work out 解決;作出;鍛煉

　　Negotiators are due to meet later today to work out a compromise.

　　談判人員定于今天晚些時候進行會談，商定一個折中方案。

　　It took me some time to work out what was causing this.

　　我花了一些時間才弄清此事的起因。