Octopuses have generally been viewed as solitary creatures--and their color-changing abilities primarily as a means to hide from hungry predators. But, after binge watching more than 52 hours of octopus TV,researchers reporting in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on January 28 have found that octopuses actually do have a social life. And it's not without drama. "We found that octopuses are using body patterns and postures to signal to each other during disputes," says David Scheel of Alaska PacificUniversity. "The postures and patterns can be quite flashy, such asstanding very tall, raising the body mantle high above the eyes, and turningvery dark."
The octopuses in question belonged to a species known as Octopus tetricus living in the shallows of Jervis Bay, Australia. Scheel and his colleagues were tipped off that something interesting might be going on in that bay by a diver whoalerted an online community of people interested in cephalopods that he'd seen something interesting. The researchers followed up from there, ultimately witnessing 186 octopus interactions and more than 500 actions. In all that video, the octopuses spent more than 7 hours interacting.
Scheel along with colleagues at the University of Sydney noticed some intriguing patterns: when an octopus with a dark body color approached another dark octopus, the interaction was more likely to escalate to grappling. When a dark octopus approached a paler one, the pastier octopus more often retreated. When the opposite happened and a light octopus approached a darker one, the latter more often stood its ground.
"Dark color appears to be associated with aggression, while paler colors accompany retreat," Scheel says.
1 octopus
n.章鱼
参考例句:
• He experienced nausea after eatingoctopus.吃了章鱼后他感到恶心。
• One octopus has eight tentacles.一条章鱼有八根触角。
2 octopuses
章鱼( octopus的名词复数 )
参考例句:
• Snails and octopuses are molluscs. 蜗牛和章鱼是软体动物。
• Limpets, snails and octopuses aremollusks. 帽贝、蜗牛和章鱼都是软体动物。
3 solitary
adj.孤独的,独立的,荒凉的;n.隐士
参考例句:
• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll inthe country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour onthe fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际,显得十分壮美。
4 predators
n.食肉动物(predator的名词复数 );奴役他人者(尤指在财务或性关系方面)
参考例句:
• birds and their earthbound predators 鸟和地面上捕食它们的动物
• The eyes of predators are highlysensitive to the slightest movement. 捕食性动物的眼睛能感觉到最细小的动静。 来自《简明英汉词典》
5 postures
姿势( posture的名词复数 ); 看法; 态度; 立场
参考例句:
• Modern consciousness has this great needto explode its own postures. 现代意识很有这种摧毁本身姿态的需要。
• They instinctively gathered themselvesinto more tidy postures. 她们本能地恢复了端庄的姿态。
6 standing
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
• After the earthquake only a few houseswere left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any changein the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
7 mantle
n.斗篷,覆罩之物,罩子;v.罩住,覆盖,脸红
参考例句:
• The earth had donned her mantle ofbrightest green.大地披上了苍翠欲滴的绿色斗篷。
• The mountain was covered with a mantle ofsnow.山上覆盖着一层雪。
8intriguing
adj.有趣的;迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词);激起…的好奇心
参考例句:
• These discoveries raise intriguingquestions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》
9 escalate
v.(使)逐步增长(或发展),(使)逐步升级
参考例句:
• It would tempt Israel's neighbors toescalate their demands.它将诱使以色列的邻国不断把他们的要求升级。
• Defeat could cause one side or other toescalate the conflict.失败可能会导致其中一方将冲突升级。
10 aggression
n.进攻,侵略,侵犯,侵害
参考例句:
• So long as we are firmly united, we needfear no aggression.只要我们紧密地团结,就不必惧怕外来侵略。
• Her view is that aggression is part ofhuman nature.她认为攻击性是人类本性的一部份。
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