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  • 鸟类的重要性

    A hummingbird hovering near a yellow flower, illustrating its role in pollination.


    Can you think of ways are important ?
    ::你能想到方法很重要吗?

    Birds are important members of many .  They play a vital role in controlling pests, acting as pollinators , and maintaining island ecology .  In addition, birds are important to humans in many ways, such as serving as a source of food and providing fertilizer in agricultural settings.  
    ::鸟类是许多鸟类的重要成员。 鸟类在控制害虫、作为授粉者以及维护岛屿生态方面发挥着至关重要的作用。 此外,鸟类在许多方面对人类也很重要,比如作为食物来源和在农业环境中提供化肥。

    Birds and the Ecosystem
    ::鸟类和生态系统

    Birds are obviously important members of many ecosystems. They are integral parts of and food webs . In a woodland ecosystem for example, some birds get their food mainly from plants. Others chiefly eat small , such as or earthworms . Birds and bird eggs , in turn, serve as food for such animals as foxes, raccoons, and snakes. The feeding relationships among all the animals in an ecosystem help prevent any one from becoming too numerous. Birds play a vital role in keeping this balance of nature. In addition to being important parts of food webs, birds play other roles within ecosystems.
    ::鸟类显然是许多生态系统的重要成员,它们是食物网的组成部分和食物网。例如,在林地生态系统中,一些鸟类主要从植物中获取食物,另一些则主要吃小的,例如蚯蚓。鸟类和鸟蛋反过来又作为狐狸、浣熊和蛇等动物的食物。生态系统中所有动物之间的喂养关系有助于防止任何动物成为过多的动物。鸟类在保持这种自然平衡方面发挥着至关重要的作用。鸟类除了是食物网的重要部分外,还在生态系统中扮演其他角色。

    1. Birds eat insects. They are a natural way to control pests in gardens, on farms, and other places. A group of birds gliding through the air can easily eat hundreds of insects each day. Insect eating birds include warblers, bluebirds and woodpeckers.
      ::鸟类食用昆虫,它们是在花园、农场和其他地方控制害虫的自然方法。 一群在空中滑翔的鸟类每天很容易食用成百上千的昆虫。 食用鸟类的昆虫包括、青鸟和木鸟。
    2. Nectar-feeding birds are important pollinators , meaning they move the pollen from flower to flower to help fertilize the sex and create new plants. Hummingbirds, sunbirds, and the honey-eaters are common pollinators.
      ::食蜜鸟类是重要的授粉者,这意味着它们把花粉从花朵移到花朵上,以帮助施肥和创造新的植物。 蜂鸟、太阳鸟和食蜂鸟是常见的授粉者。
    3. Many fruit-eating birds help disperse seeds . After eating fruit , they carry the seeds in their intestines and deposit them in new places. Fruit-eating birds include mockingbirds, orioles, finches and robins.
      ::许多吃水果的鸟类帮助散播种子,在吃水果后,它们把种子放在肠子里,放入新的地方。吃水果的鸟类包括嘲鸟、猎户、小鹰和蜜蜂。
    4. Birds are often important to island ecology. In New Zealand, the kereru and kokako are important browsers, or animals that eat or nibble on leaves, tender young shoots , or other vegetation ( Figure ). Seabirds add nutrients to soil and to with their production of guano , their dung.
      ::鸟类往往对岛屿生态很重要。 在新西兰,凯雷鲁和孔卡科是重要的浏览器,或者吃叶子或咬叶子的动物、幼苗或其他植物(图 ) 。 海鸟增加了土壤的养分,也增加了瓜诺(guano)和粪便的产量。
    The kereru and kokako, important browser bird species in New Zealand's ecosystem.
    The kereru (left) and the kokako (right) are important browser species in New Zealand

     

    Birds and  Humans
    ::鸟类与人类

    You are probably familiar with birds as food. People have always hunted birds for food. People eventually discovered that certain wild fowl (ducks, chickens, turkeys) could be tamed. This discovery led to the of poultry, which is domesticated fowl that farmers raise for meat and eggs. Chickens are probably the oldest kinds of poultry. Chickens were domesticated in Asia at least 3,000 years ago. Since then, farmers have developed other poultry, including ducks, geese, guineafowl, pheasants, and turkeys. Around the world, people consume all these birds, and even more exotic birds, like ostriches. Today, chickens rank as the most widely raised poultry by far. Farmers throughout the world produce hundreds of millions of chickens annually for meat and eggs. Ducks and turkeys rank second and third in production worldwide. Ducks are raised for both meat and eggs. Turkeys are raised mainly for meat.
    ::你可能很熟悉鸟类作为食物。 人们总是捕猎鸟类作为食物。 人们最终发现某些野生禽类(鸭、鸡、火鸡)可以被驯服。 这一发现导致了家禽的饲养,家禽是农民为肉和鸡蛋而饲养的家禽。 鸡可能是最古老的家禽。 鸡至少3000年前在亚洲被驯化。 从那时起,农民发展了其他家禽,包括鸭子、鹅、小鸡、野鸡和火鸡。 在世界各地,人们消费所有这些鸟,甚至更多的外来鸟类,如类。 今天,鸡类排在远处养养养的家禽中最为广泛。 全世界的农民每年生产数以亿计的鸡作为肉和鸡蛋; 鸭子和火鸡在全世界的产量中排在第二位和第三位。 鸭子是为肉和鸡蛋饲养的。 土耳其主要养肉类。

    Can you think of other ways that birds are important?
    ::你能想到其他方法 鸟是重要的吗?

    1. In , humans harvest bird droppings for use as fertilizer. These droppings have a high content of nitrogen, phosphate, and potassium, three nutrients essential for .
      ::这些粪便含有大量的氮、磷酸盐和钾,
    2. Chickens are also used as an early warning system of human diseases, such as West Nile . Mosquitoes carry the West Nile virus, bite young chickens and other birds, and infect them with the virus. When chickens or other birds become infected, humans may also become infected in the near future.
      ::鸡也被用作人类疾病的预警系统,如西尼罗河。 蚊子携带西尼罗河病毒,咬小鸡和其他鸟类,并感染病毒。 当鸡或其他鸟类感染时,人类也可能在不远的将来感染。
    3. Birds have important cultural relationships with humans. Birds are common pets in the Western world. Common bird pets include canaries, parrots , finches, and parakeets. Sometimes, people act cooperatively with birds. For example, the Borana people in Africa use birds to guide them to honey that they use in food.
      ::鸟类与人类有着重要的文化关系。 在西方世界,鸟类是常见的宠物。 普通鸟类宠物包括金丝雀、鹦鹉、鳍类和鹦鹉。 有时,人们与鸟类合作。 比如,非洲博拉纳人用鸟类引导他们获取他们在食物中使用的蜂蜜。
    4. Birds also play prominent and diverse roles in folklore, religion, and popular culture . They have been featured in art since prehistoric times, when they appeared in early cave paintings. Many young children know of Big Bird, a very large canary of Sesame Street fame.
      ::鸟类在民俗、宗教和大众文化中也扮演着重要和多样的角色。 自史前时代以来,鸟类就一直被艺术界占据重要地位,早期洞穴绘画中出现。 许多幼童都了解大鸟,这是芝麻街名声的大金丝雀。
    5. Feathers are also used all over the world to stuff pillows, mattresses, sleeping bags, coats, and quilting. Goose feathers are preferred because they are soft. Manufacturers often mix goose feathers with down feathers to provide extra softness.
      ::长羽毛也被世界各地用来填充枕头、床垫、睡袋、大衣和裁缝。 野鹅羽毛更受青睐,因为它们是柔软的。 制造商往往用羽毛和羽毛混合鹅毛和羽毛来提供额外的柔软。

    Summary
    ::摘要

    • Birds are important to the ecosystem in many ways; they pollinate flowers and disperse seeds.
      ::鸟类在许多方面对生态系统很重要;它们授粉花朵和撒撒种子。
    • Birds are important to humans in many ways; they are a source of food and fertilizer.
      ::鸟类在许多方面对人类很重要;鸟类是食物和肥料的来源。

    Explore More
    ::探索更多

    Use the resources below to answer the questions that follow.
    ::利用以下资源回答以下问题。

    Explore More I
    ::探索更多

    • Dispersal of Seeds by Animals at
      ::动物散布的种子
    1. Why are seeds enclosed in a tasty pulp?
      ::为什么种子被塞在美味的纸浆里?
    2. Give two examples of how animals disperse seeds.
      ::举两个例子说明动物如何散布种子。

    Explore More II
    ::探索更多情况二

    • One Century On, the Guano Boom is Back at  (2:10)

      ::一个世纪一日, 瓜诺隆隆重回( 2: 10) 。
    1. How many seabirds were there at the 19th-century peak of guano collection? How many are there now? What direction is the population going?
      ::在十九世纪的瓜诺采集高峰 有多少海鸟?现在有多少?
    2. How has the Peruvian government changed the way guano is collected?
      ::秘鲁政府如何改变瓜诺的收集方式?

    Explore More III
    ::探索更多三

    • Bird Poop and Its Surprising Uses at  (1:24)

      ::BirdPoop及其在(1:24)的惊人用途

     

    1. For what purposes are people using guano?
      ::人们为什么使用瓜诺?
    2. How does climate affect the quality of bird guano? Why is this quality important to the use of guano as fertilizer?
      ::气候如何影响禽类鳄鱼的质量? 为什么这种质量对使用鳄鱼作为肥料很重要?

    Review
    ::回顾

    1. What is poultry?
      ::什么是家禽?
    2. What are two ways birds are important to humans?
      ::鸟类对人类很重要的两种方式是什么?
    3. What are two ways birds are important to the ecosystem?
      ::鸟类对生态系统很重要的两种方式是什么?
    4. How to birds disperse seeds? Give two examples of fruit-eating birds.
      ::鸟怎么撒种子?举两个吃水果的鸟的例子。