演讲题目：Are there any places on Earth with no bugs?

演讲简介：

昆虫是世界上数量最多、种类最多的动物。即使在地球上一些最极端的环境中你最意想不到的地方，它们也在那里。从滚烫的火山、炎热的沙漠到寒冷的冰川，昆虫都生活在边缘。那么，他们是如何做到的呢？本文阐释了生活在地球上一些最恶劣的生态系统中的昆虫令人难以置信的生存技能。



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A scalding volcano, parched desert, and frigid glacier— all pretty intense, And also all places where certain insects live.

灼热的火山、焦干的沙漠和寒冷的冰川 —— 这些都挺极端，但也是昆虫会生活的地方。

So, how do they do it?

那么，它们是怎么做到的？

Our first stop is one of the hottest places on Earth: the Sahara Desert.

我们的第一站是地球上最热的地方之一：撒哈拉沙漠。

Lots of animals here are only active at night— but not all.

这里许多动物只在夜间活动 —— 但不是所有。

Sahara silver ant workers brave the desert's blazing sun and scorching sands with unusually long legs that elevate their bodies above the hot ground and allow them to reach superlative speeds.

撒哈拉银工蚁们勇敢面对沙漠的烈日和炎热的土地，它们格外长的双腿将身体举离炎热的地面，也带来很快的速度。

They can sprint a meter per second, each of their feet striking the sand for as little as seven milliseconds at once,

它们每秒可以冲刺一米，每只脚同时冲击沙滩仅七毫秒，

making them the fastest ants on record.

这使它们成为有记录以来速度最快的蚂蚁。

But the reason for their silver sheen is also key to keeping cool: the ants are covered in densely packed hair.

但是，它们呈现银色光泽的原因也是保持凉爽的关键：蚂蚁长满了密集的绒毛。

Instead of having a heat-trapping effect, the hair's triangular structure reflects sunlight and dissipates heat.

绒毛的三角形结构并不具有捕热效果，而是反射阳光并散热。

Researchers observed that it helps reflect 10 times more incoming light and keeps the ants around 10 degrees cooler than if they were hairless.

研究人员观察到，与无毛相比这有助于反射10倍的入射光线，并使蚂蚁的温度保持在10度左右。

Meanwhile, this longhorn beetle also sports triangular hairs that give it a metallic shimmer and cool it down— helpful since it resides near active Thai and Indonesian volcanoes,

同时，这种长角甲虫还具有三角形的毛发，使它反光并有冷却的作用，这很有用，因为它生活在活跃的泰国和印度尼西亚火山附近，

where ground temperatures can reach 70 °C.

那里的地面温度可以达到70°C。

Many insects thrive in balmy biomes, but cold temperatures, like those looming over this ice-laden landscape, are a major constraint on insect life.

许多昆虫在温暖的生物群落中茁壮成长，但是寒冷的气候，例如在冰雪极地的那样，是限制昆虫生命的主要因素。

And yet, certain insects actually depend on these cool climates year-round.

但是，某些昆虫实际上全年都依赖这些凉爽的气候。

One small group, sometimes called ice crawlers, lives in high-elevation caves and at the edges of glaciers.

有人称之为爬冰者的一个种群，生活在高海拔的洞穴中和冰川边缘。

They've evolved to thrive in a narrow zone of cool temperatures.

它们已经进化为在狭窄的低温区域中茁壮成长。

Scientists think one way they manage this is their increased capacity to produce a type of sugar that helps stabilize their cell membranes, proteins, and DNA.

科学家们认为，他们解决这个问题的一种方法是他们身体提高一种糖的生产率，这种糖有助于稳定细胞膜、蛋白质和DNA。

But they've lost the ability to deal with temperature extremes.

但是他们已经失去了应对温度变化的能力。

For instance, just the heat of your hand could kill them given enough time.

例如，只要足够长时间，只要你的手的热度就能杀死他们。

Now, for a more savory flavor of survival skills, we have the alkali fly.

现在，更神奇的一类生存者，让碱苍蝇出场。

They live around and in California's Mono Lake, which is more than twice as salty as the ocean.

它们生活在加利福尼亚的莫诺湖周围和附近，该湖的咸度是海洋的两倍多。

As aquatic larvae, they depend on specialized kidney-like organs to excrete excess salt.

作为水生幼虫，它们依靠专门的肾脏样器官来排出多余的盐。

And as adults, they must continue to venture underwater regularly to eat and lay eggs.

作为成熟个体，他们必须定期在水下冒险进食和产卵。

However, at their size, overcoming the water's surface tension and staying submerged is a challenge.

但是，就其体型而言，克服水的表面张力并保持水下状态是一项挑战。

They manage to exert forces up to 18 times their weight to break the surface tension then use their claws to counteract their buoyancy in the salty water and stay put down below.

他们设法施加高达其重量18倍的力量来打破表面张力，然后用爪子抵消它们在咸水中的浮力，并保持在水下。

Because their bodies are covered in more hair and hydrophobic wax than other flies,

由于它们的身体比其他苍蝇覆盖的毛发和疏水蜡更多，

they're surrounded by an air bubble that keeps them dry and provides them with up to 15 minutes of oxygen.

因此它们被气泡包围，气泡可以保持干燥，并为它们提供长达15分钟的氧气。

When they release their hold, they pop right back up to the surface, perfectly dry.

当它们松开锁定状态时，它们会立即弹回表面，完全干燥。

However, only one insect group is known to actually withstand the ocean's depths: these are parasitic lice,

不过，只有一种昆虫能够真正存活于海洋深处：它们是寄生虱子，

and they live on deep-sea-diving pinnipeds, like seals and walruses.

它们生活在深海潜水的鳍足类动物上，例如海豹和海象身上。

Their plunges can take the lice thousands of meters underwater for extended periods.

它们的下潜可以将虱子长时间带到水下数千米。

Most insects use holes on the sides of their abdomens, called spiracles, to take in oxygen.

大多数昆虫利用腹部两侧的洞（称为气孔）来吸收氧气。

Interestingly, these lice are equipped with microscopic structures that allow them to shut their spiracles entirely.

有趣的是，这些虱子的微观结构可以完全闭上气孔。

Scientists think this may help them keep air inside or prevent water from entering,

科学家们认为，这可能有助于他们将空气保持在里面或防止水进入，

allowing them to survive long periods submerged in high-pressure conditions.

从而使他们能够在高压条件下长时间存活。

Some lice may also attain oxygen by living on seals whose fur traps air close to their bodies.

有些虱子还可能通过生活在海豹身上获得氧气，海豹的毛皮会将空气捕获到靠近身体的地方。

Meanwhile, lice on marine mammals with less hair seem to have more scale-like structures on their abdomens,

同时，毛发较少的海洋哺乳动物身上的虱子腹部似乎有更多的鳞片状结构，

which might help them trap a little layer of air all for themselves.

这可能有助于它们自己捕获一层空气。

Insects are the world's most numerous and diverse animals.

昆虫是世界上数量最多，和种类繁多的动物。

Even in some of the places you might least expect them, there they are, equipped with extreme survival skills, living life on the edge.

即使在一些你最不可能想到的地方，它们存在着，带着顶级生存技能，生活在边界上。

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