生命之色（2021）

and they can exploit it in many ways.
它们可以通过多种方法来利用这些光线
One creature that does so
就有这样一种生物
lives on these vast mudflats in Northern Australia.
生活在澳大利亚北部的广阔泥滩上
These eyes, on stalks,belong to a male fiddler crab.
雄性招潮蟹的眼柄上长着这样的眼睛
And they can see in a way that we cannot.
它们能看到人类看不到的东西
As the tide goes out,
退潮时
the crabs emerge from their burrows.
招潮蟹从洞穴中爬了出来
His giant claw is too large to be used in feeding.
这只大螯 大到无法用来捕食
Instead, he uses it to attract the attention of females
取而代之的是它用力地挥舞这只大螯
by waving it with vigour.
来吸引雌蟹的注意力
The crabs can see objects that are close to them reasonably well…
招潮蟹可以非常清楚地看清靠近它们的物体
but their long-distance eyesight is not so good.
但是它的远视能力则没有那么好
Polarised light can help solve the problem.
偏振光可以帮忙解决这个问题
Viewed with a new specialist camera,
通过新的专业相机进行观察
the mudflats,which reflect polarised light,
反射偏振光的泥滩
are bright…
很明亮…
while the unpolarised crabs appear darker against their background.
而这些没有偏振的招潮蟹则会被所处背景衬得越发昏暗
This striking contrast also makes the large claw more obvious.
这种强烈的对比会显得大螯更加明显
The big claw is also used by the male to defend his burrow.
雄蟹还会使用大螯来保护洞穴
Not everyone heeds the warning.
看来并非所有人都注意到了这个警告
Battle over.
战斗结束
But there are more dangerous enemies to face.
还有更危险的敌人要面对
Aerial predators.
空中捕食者
The quicker they can spot them the better.
它们越早发现 就越有利
And, once again,polarised light helps them to do so.
而且，偏振光再一次帮到了它们
With the coast clear,
海岸不再有危险
a male reemerges from his burrow.
一只雄蟹从洞穴中走了出来
At last, a female.
终于 出现了一只雌蟹
With the tide on the turn,
由于潮汐变化
he must work fast to win her over.
它必须尽快赢得雌蟹的芳心
And close up,
靠近的时候
his colours come into play.
它的颜色开始显现
The brightness of his blue back could be the deciding factor.
蓝色背部的亮光是决定性因素
She may not look willing,
雌蟹看起来并不太情愿
but the pushing and shoving are all part of the mating ritual.
但是推搡也属于交♥配♥过程的一部分
One last shove
最后一推
and she's in.
雌蟹答应了
Just in time.
时间刚刚好
On land, colour is used in a multitude of different ways.
陆地上的颜色多种多样
The same is true in the sea,
在海洋中也是如此
but there,colour works in a very different way.
只是海洋对颜色的运用方式十分不同
This is Australia's Great Barrier Reef,
这里是澳大利亚的大堡礁
and its shallow waters are full of vividxa0colour.
它的浅水区中有各种各样的色彩
The inhabitants of the reef exploit it to the full
珊瑚礁上的居民将颜色运用得淋漓尽致
with unparalleled and dazzling effect.
其效果无与伦比 眼花缭乱
The orange-red stripes of the harlequin tuskfish
横带猪齿鱼的橘红色条纹
make it very conspicuous.
非常醒目
But as light filters down through the water,
但是随着光线在水中不断过滤
more and more of its wavelengths are absorbed,
光线波长逐渐被吸收
and red is the first to disappear.
红色会首先消失
So as the harlequin swims downwards,
当横带猪齿鱼向下游的时候
his brilliantly coloured red body looks duller and duller.
颜色鲜艳的红色鱼身看起来越来越阴暗
Different colours are absorbed at different rates in the sea,
不同的色彩在海水中会通过不同的比率被吸收
but some can still be seen at greater depths.
有些颜色即使在更深的地方也依然能看见
Yellow and blue travel farthest,
黄色和蓝色能达到最远的地方
so it's these that many fish down here use to signal their identity.
因此这里的很多鱼类会用这些颜色来表明身份
Most fish near the surface have good colour vision,
大部分靠近水面的鱼类都拥有出色的色觉
but some of the smaller species can also see ultraviolet colours.
但是有些较小的鱼类还能看见紫外线光
To us, these yellow damselfish all look very similar.
在我们看来这些黄色雀鲷看起来非常相似
But using our ultraviolet camera,
但是使用紫外线相机
we can see that many fish have different patterns
我们会发现 很多鱼身上有不同图案
that are normally invisible to our eyes.
在通常情况下我们的眼睛看不见这些图案
And suddenly,
突然之间
it becomes clear that these two individuals
我们能够清楚看到 原来这两条鱼
are, in fact, different species.
属于不同种类
This lemon damselfish has distinctive spotsxa0on its gill covers.
这条柠檬雀鲷的鳃盖上长着明显的斑点
And this, an Ambon damsel,
而这只安邦雀鯛
has bright reflecting ultraviolet patches all across the body.
全身都反射着明亮的紫外线斑块
It's a code invisible to us
我们看不见这些密♥码♥
that allows these fish to recognise each other…
但鱼类却能认出彼此
without attracting the attention of large predators,
还不会引起大型捕食者的注意力
which can't see in the ultraviolet range.
它们无法看到紫外线的范围
And it's on the seabed
在海床上
that you can find one of the most colourful sea creatures of all.
你还能看到最鲜艳的海洋生物之一
The peacock mantis shrimp.
雀尾螳螂虾
This strange-looking creature's ancestry
这个看起来很奇怪的生物的祖先
can be traced back 400 million years,
可以追溯到四亿年前
and it has one of the most versatile kinds of eyes
而且在整个动物王国里
in the whole of the animal kingdom.
它的眼睛都是数一数二的全能
It can rotate its two huge eyes independently of each other
它可以分别转动两只巨大的眼睛
and in almost any direction.
几乎覆盖所有的方向
We have three kinds of colour receptors,
人类有三种色彩受体
but the mantis shrimp has 12,
但螳螂虾有12种
each with a direct link to the brain,
每一个都与大脑直接连接
so it can perceive colour faster than any other animal.
所以 它能比其他动物都更快地察觉到颜色
And it can also detect the difference between polarised and unpolarised light.
此外 它还能检测到偏振光和非偏振光的区别
But unlike fiddler crabs,
但是 与招潮蟹不同
part of its body,like these paddle-shaped scales,
它的部分器官 比如这些桨状的鳞片
reflect polarised light
可以反射偏振光
and may be used to signal to potential mates.
还能用来吸引潜在的配偶
The tail is also highly polarised and used to plug its burrow
其尾部也是高偏振光被用来卡在洞穴♥口♥
and send a message to warn off potential rivals.
向潜在的对手发出警告信♥号♥♥
And by combining all its visual abilities,
拥有各种视觉能力的螳螂虾
the mantis shrimp has becomeone of the most skilful of all predators.
是所有捕食者中技能最为出色的生物之一
It also packs a powerful punch
它还能从棍棒一样的口中发出有力一击
which it uses with great accuracy.
准确度极高
These clubs deliver the fastest punch in the animal kingdom,
这些捕肢的出拳速度是动物王国中的最快一击
and it's guided by its extraordinary vision.
非凡的视力帮它锁定了目标
Whether underwater or on land,
不管是在水中 还是在陆地上
colour can be extremely useful.
颜色都非常有用
And the colours an animal develops
有时候 动物的颜色
can sometimes be influenced by where it lives and what it eats.
会受到居住环境和食物影响而发生变化
The Atacama Desert in South America.
这是南美洲的阿塔卡马沙漠
There are six different species of flamingos in the world,
世界上一共有六种不同的火烈鸟
and they all prefer to breed in those most hostile of environments,
它们都喜欢在最恶劣的环境中繁殖
salt flats and soda lakes.
比如盐沼和盐碱湖
We think of flamingos as being characteristically pink,
说到火烈鸟 就会想到典型的粉红色
but their feathers,when they first appear,
但它们的羽毛刚出现的时候
are, in fact, white.
其实是白色的
Their colour comes from their food.
它们的颜色来自于食物
The salty waters in which they feed are rich in algae and shrimps,
它们饮用的盐水中含有丰富的藻类和虾类
both of which contain red pigments called carotenoids.
两种生物都含有叫做类胡萝卜素的红色♥色♥素
These, over time,
随着时间流逝
accumulate in their feathers and give them their brightxa0colour.
这些色素沉积在它们的羽毛中形成了明亮的颜色
These youngsters were born last year.
这群幼鸟出生于去年
They still have their first greyish-white plumage.
仍然还保留着最初的灰白色羽毛
It takes time before the pigments become visible.
还需一些时日它们的色彩才能显现出来
Five years will pass
五年之后
before they become as pink as their parents.
它们会和父母们一样变成粉色
But it's not only the juveniles which are white.
但是 白色不仅限于幼鸟
This adult female raised a chick last year,
这只成年雌鸟去年生过一只小鸟
and the effort of doing so has drained her of colour.
耗尽了它的颜色
She put all her surplus food and energy
它把多余的食物和精力
into producing an egg and then feeding her chick.
都用在产蛋和喂养幼鸟上
So she will need time to build up the body reserves needed
所以 它还需要时间来休养身体
to regrow pink feathers and breed.
重新长出粉红色的羽毛 再进行繁殖
For those that are old enough and physically fit,
对那些足龄和身体健康的火烈鸟来说
it's time to find a mate.
是时候去寻找配偶了
Only the pink birds take part in these courtship dances.
只有粉红色的火烈鸟才能去跳这种求偶舞蹈
Their colour is an indication that they're fit and strong.
它们的颜色象征着健康和强壮