中英文章10 一位孤独的研究人员如何在厄瓜多尔的行军中面对数百万行军蚂蚁
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/eciton-army-ants-ecuador
How a lone Researcher Faced Down Millions of Army Ants on the Marc in Ecuador
一位孤独的研究人员如何在厄瓜多尔的行军中面对数百万行军蚂蚁
one afternoon, I was sitting on the veranda at the small research station in the reserve. I was alone, because my botanical colleagues were busy with their work in the forest. I was sorting and preparing my collection:dried crickets,the fruits of two weeks' work in the cloud forest. Then I heard a swell of rustling and murmuring, and knew immediately what was moving wtoward me.
一天下午，我坐在保护区小科考站的阳台上。我是一个人，因为我的植物学同事正忙于他们在森林的工作。我正在整理和准备我的收藏品：干蟋蟀，这是在云雾林中工作两周的成果。然后我听到一阵阵沙沙声和低语声，我马上就知道是什么向我走来了。
The spectacular behavior of army ants means they have been very well researched . A large number of scientific publications cover biology, and especiall their ecological significance for other life-forms in tropical rainforests. The role they play in the interactions of the forest is truly astounding . Les't stick with the military analogy . Every human army used to be accompanied by a huge number of civilians that traded with the soldiers. Craftspeople, bakers, and butchers all offered goods and services . There were thieves, scribes,battleground artists, translators, and much more. It's very similar with army ants advancing on their prey. They are escorted by an entourage of lift-forms looking to profit from the ants.
行军蚁惊人的行为意味着它们已经得到了很好的研究。大量科学出版物涵盖了它们的生物学，尤其是它们对热带雨林中其他生命形式的生态意义。他们在森林互动中所扮演的角色着实令人震惊。让我们继续用军事类比。每一支人类军队过去都伴随着大量与士兵进行交易的平民。工匠、面包师和屠夫都提供商品和服务。有盗贼、抄写员、战场艺术家、翻译等等。这与行军蚁在猎物上前进非常相似。他们由一群希望从蚂蚁身上获利的生命形式护送。
For over 50 years, American biologists Carl and Marian Rettenmeyer researched army ants and the creatures that followed them as they marched. The scientists sent their own army of undergraduate and postgraduate students to South America over the years. With every expedition, their list of animal species with a direct relationship to army ants grew. Up until his death in 2009, Carl Rettenmerter colleced more and more astonishing information about the ants he studied - after which his wife, Marian , completed his life's work. The couple counted a total of 557 animal species whose fate depended to a greater of lesser extent on Rciton burchellii.
50 多年来，美国生物学家 Carl 和 Marian Rettenmeyer 一直在研究行军蚁和跟随它们行进的生物。多年来，科学家们派出了自己的本科生和研究生大军前往南美洲。随着每次探险，他们与行军蚁有直接关系的动物物种名单都在增加。直到 2009 年去世，Carl Rettenmeyer 收集了越来越多关于他研究的蚂蚁的惊人信息——之后他的妻子 Marian 完成了他一生的工作。这对夫妇统计了总共 557 种动物，它们的命运或多或少地取决于 Eciton burchellii。
over 200 species of birds were observed around army ant swarms in Central and South America, picking off the insects scared up by the six-legged warriors. Carl Rettenmeyer suspected that 29 of these species are regular followers of the army ants, making them true companion species to Eciton. These birds depend completely on the ants doing the laborious work of driving the insects they eat out of their hiding places. Many of these prey species hide in the leaf litter on the forest floor and come out only at night - unless the ants flush them out. Flocks of birds eat their fill as the ant army advances, taking some of the ants'victims for themselves. Behavioral scientists call the ant bird's strategy kleptoparasitism- freeloading through theft.
在中美洲和南美洲的行军蚁群周围观察到 200 多种鸟类，它们正在捕食被六足战士吓跑的昆虫。 Carl Rettenmeyer 怀疑这些物种中有 29 种是行军蚁的固定追随者，使它们成为 Eciton 的真正伴侣物种。这些鸟类完全依靠蚂蚁来完成将它们吃掉的昆虫从它们的藏身处驱赶出来的艰苦工作。这些猎物中有许多隐藏在森林地面上的落叶堆中，只在晚上出来——除非蚂蚁把它们赶出去。随着蚂蚁大军的前进，成群的鸟儿吃饱了，把一些蚂蚁的受害者据为己有。行为科学家将蚁鸟的策略称为盗窃寄生——通过盗窃来占便宜。
Army ants are not only accompaied by ant birds. A multitude of butterflies flutter around the ants' feathered followers. The ant birds' drippings are a nutritious, and therefore much sought-after,resource for the butterflies.
行军蚂蚁不仅与蚁鸟相伴。大量的蝴蝶在蚂蚁长着羽毛的追随者周围飞舞。蚂蚁鸟的粪便是一种营养丰富的资源，因此非常受蝴蝶欢迎。
