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  • General

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  • 现代生物多样性

    Three unusual creatures: an echidna, a blue-footed booby, and a cuttlefish.
     

    Do you know life on Earth?
    ::你知道地球上的生命吗?

    It's likely that there are many places on Earth that you would not recognize as being on your home  planet . There are also many creatures that you would not realize that you share a planet with. That's because of the incredible diversity of  species . Wouldn't it be fun to see some of these unusual creatures?
    ::地球上有许多地方 你可能不会意识到自己在自己的星球上存在。 还有很多生物,你不会意识到自己与地球共享。 这是因为物种的多样性令人难以置信。 看到这些不寻常的生物会很有趣吗?

    Biological Diversity
    ::生物多样性生物多样性

    More than 1.3 million species of organisms have been cataloged. Many millions of species have not been discovered yet. Scientists estimate that there may be about 8.7 million species in all. Why does the planet have so much biological diversity? (Biological diversity is shortened to  biodiversity .) The tremendous variety of organisms is due to the tremendous numbers of  habitats  that they have evolved to fill.
    ::超过130万种生物已经编目,数以百万计的物种尚未被发现。科学家估计可能共有870万种。为什么地球有如此多的生物多样性?(生物多样性被缩短为生物多样性。 )生物种类繁多的原因是它们已经进化成大量栖息地以填满这些生物。

    Ways to Live in the Environment
    ::环境生活方式

    Each organism has the ability to survive in a specific environment. Dry  desert  environments are difficult to live in. Desert plants have special stems and leaves to  conserve   water  ( Figure   ). Animals have other ways to live in the desert. The Namib Desert receives only 1.5 inches of rainfall each  year . The Namib Desert beetle lives there. How do the beetles get enough water to survive? Early morning   deposits water droplets. The droplets collect on a beetle's wings and back ( Figure   ). The beetle tilts its rear end up. When the droplet is heavy enough, it slides forward. It lands in the beetle’s mouth. There are many other environments that need unique approaches for survival ( Figure    and  ).
    ::每个生物体都有能力在特定环境中生存。干燥的沙漠环境很难居住。沙漠植物有特殊的根茎和树叶来保护水(图 ) 。 动物有其他方法在沙漠中生活。 Namib 沙漠每年只得到1.5英寸的降雨量。 Namib 沙漠甲虫住在那里。 甲虫如何得到足够的水来生存? 清晨将水滴沉入水中。 滴子聚集在甲虫的翅膀和背部上(图 ) 。 甲虫会向后倾斜。 当粪便足够重时,它会滑向前。 它会降落在甲虫的嘴里。 还有其他许多环境需要独特的生存方法(图 和 ) 。

    A close-up view of green succulent plant leaves with a rough surface texture.
     
    Aloe vera plants like these ones have fat, waxy leaves that allow them to conserve water.
    A Namib Desert beetle walking on sandy terrain in a dry environment.
     
    The Namib Desert Beetle has bumps on its back for collecting water.
    A small, white creature near a tree in a grassy area.
     
    Stoats change color in the winter, from brown to white, so that they can hide in the snow.
    A black and white bird with a crest standing on green grass.
     
    Crowned cranes have plumage that helps them attract a mate.

    Getting Food and Being Food (Or Not)
    ::获取食物和食物(或不)

    Organisms must be able to get food and avoid being food. Hummingbirds have long, thin beaks that help them drink nectar from flowers. Some flowers are tubular. Different species of flowers have tubes of different lengths. Different species of hummingbirds have different lengths of beaks. A particular hummingbird species has evolved to feed from one or a few species of flowers.
    ::生物必须能够获得食物,避免成为食物。蜂鸟有长而薄的嘴,有助于他们从花中饮用花蜜。有些花是管状的。不同的花种有不同长度的管状。不同的蜂鸟种类有不同长度的嘴状。一种特定的蜂鸟种类已经从一种或几种花种中演变而成。

    The battle between needing food and being food plays out in the drama between lions and zebras. When a herd of zebras senses a lion, the animals run away. The zebras’ dark stripes confuse the lions. It becomes hard for them to  focus  on just one zebra. The zebras may get away. But lions are swift and agile. A lion may be able to get a zebra, maybe one that's old or sick.
    ::需要食物和成为食物之间的战斗在狮子和斑马之间的戏剧中发生了。当一群斑马感觉到狮子时,动物们就逃跑了。斑马的黑暗条纹混淆了狮子们。他们很难只关注一只斑马。斑马可能逃脱。但狮子是迅速而灵活的。狮子也许能够获得一只斑马,也许是老的或生病的斑马。

    Summary
    ::摘要

    • There are 1.3 million known species, but many more have not been discovered.
      ::已知物种有130万种,但还有许多尚未发现。
    • The enormous number of species is due to the tremendous variety of environments in which they can live.
      ::物种数量之多是由于它们能够生活的环境种类繁多。
    • Organisms have features that help them to find food or avoid being eaten.
      ::生物具有有助于它们寻找食物或避免被吃掉的特征。

    Review
     ::回顾

    1. Study the organisms in the photos above. For the aloe vera plant and the beetles, list the features that each has for successful living.
      ::研究上述照片中的有机体。对于 aloe vera 植物和甲虫,请列出每种植物为成功生存而具有的特征。
    1. Study the organisms in the photos above. For the stoats and the crowned crane, list the features that each has for successful living.
      ::研究上面照片中的有机体。对于和加冕起重机来说,请列出每种动物成功生存的特征。
    1. How does being well suited for a particular environment lead to biodiversity?
      ::适合特定环境如何导致生物多样性?

    Explore More
    ::探索更多

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

     

     

    1. What is biodiversity?
      ::什么是生物多样性?
    1. How did so much biodiversity come about?
      ::生物多样性是如何产生的?
    1. How does biodiversity help people?
      ::生物多样性如何帮助人民?
    1. Why is biodiversity important to the ecosystem?
      ::为什么生物多样性对生态系统很重要?
    1. How do humans negatively impact biodiversity?
      ::人类如何对生物多样性产生不利影响?
    1. What are some ways humans can protect biodiversity?
      ::人类保护生物多样性的方法是什么?