《经济学人》双语：猪如何拯救马达加斯加的猴面包树？
原文标题：
Long-standing mystery
How bush pigs saved Madagascar’s baobabs
Non-native species are not always harmful
长期未解之谜
丛林猪如何拯救马达加斯加的猴面包树
非本土物种并不总是有害的
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THE MALAGASY baobab tree, whose thick trunks and tiny branches dot Madagascar’s landscape, should not, by rights, have survived to the present day.
马达加斯加的猴面包树树干粗壮，树枝细小，它们点缀着马达加斯加的风景，按理说，猴面包树应该活不到今天。
Scientists believe that its large seeds were once dispersed by the giant tortoises and gorilla-size giant lemurs that roamed the island.
科学家认为，这些大树的种子是由岛上曾经漫游的巨型海龟和体型庞大的巨型狐猴传播的。
When these species went extinct over one thousand years ago owing to human activity, the baobab tree should have vanished too.
然而，由于人类的活动，这些物种在1000多年前就灭绝了，猴面包树也应该随之消失了。
It did not. Seheno Andriantsaralaza at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar and Onja Razafindratsima at the University of California, Berkeley, now think they may know the reason why.
但事实并非如此。马达加斯加塔那那利佛大学的塞赫诺·安德里安察拉拉扎和加州大学伯克利分校的翁贾·拉扎芬德拉齐马认为，他们可能已经找到了其中的原因。
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Together with their colleagues, the scientists monitored 15 tree canopies in a western region of Madagascar, to identify any animals that might have claimed the mantle of baobab-seed disperser.
科学家们与他们的同事一起，在马达加斯加西部地区对15个树冠层进行了监测，目的是找出那些可能负责传播猴面包树种子的动物。
The researchers also set up camera traps around seed-containing fruits lying on the ground, and searched any faeces that they encountered along the way for the presence of seeds.
研究人员还在地面上含有种子的果实周围设置了相机陷阱，同时沿途搜寻粪便，以寻找种子的踪迹。
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They report in the journal Biotropica that a native rodent known as the western tuft-tailed rat was caught on camera handling whole fruits on four occasions.
他们在《生物热带》杂志上报告了一项重要发现：他们通过摄像头捕捉到了当地一种名为西部簇尾鼠的啮齿动物4次啃咬完整果实的画面。
Although there was no footage of the rat breaking the fruits open, the team did stumble upon 13 fruits that had been chewed into and had their seeds removed.
虽然没有拍到老鼠咬开果实的镜头，但研究团队确实发现了13颗被咬过并且种子被取出的果实。
Though the bite marks were not clear enough to identify a culprit, this was clear evidence that a seed-distributing animal was out there.
尽管咬痕不够清晰，无法直接辨认出“元凶”，但这足以证明存在一种能够传播种子的动物。
They then found the ecological equivalent of a smoking gun: baobab seeds in seven different piles of bush-pig dung.
随后，他们发现了生态学中的“铁证”：7堆不同丛林猪粪便中都有猴面包树的种子。
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The discovery is not without irony. Scientists believe bush pigs were brought to Madagascar by humans sometime between 1,000 and 5,000 years ago, just as the giant lemurs and tortoises were going extinct.
这一发现不无讽刺意味。科学家们认为，大约在1000-5000年前，人类将丛林猪带到了马达加斯加，而当时正是巨型狐猴和巨型海龟濒临灭绝之际。
Their arrival was a lucky break for the baobabs—especially as scientists have determined that a seed’s journey through the porcine digestive system does not hamper its ability to germinate.
丛林猪的到来对猴面包树来说无疑是个好消息——特别是当科学家们已经证实，种子经过猪的消化系统后，发芽能力并不会受损。
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While the finding is important in its own right, it also provides valuable evidence that introduced species may not be entirely harmful.
这一发现不仅本身意义重大，而且它还揭示了一个重要的事实：外来物种或许并非全然有害。
Madagascar’s pigs, for example, though not native, have made themselves essential to the survival of truly native species.
例如，马达加斯加的猪虽然不是本土物种，但它们对真正本土物种的生存至关重要。
Similar relationships are suspected to hold in South America between rabbits native to Europe and plants with no seed distributors.
人们还怀疑，在南美洲，欧洲本土的兔子与没有种子传播者的植物之间也存在着类似的关系。
For Dr Andriantsaralaza, that suggests the full ecological role of introduced species should be considered before talk of extermination begins.
安德里安察拉拉扎博士认为，这表明在考虑消灭外来物种之前，必须全面评估它们在生态系统中的整体作用。
（恭喜读完，本篇英语词汇391左右）
原文出自：2024年9月21日《TE》Science & technology版块
精读笔记来源于：自由英语之路
本文翻译整理: Irene
本文编辑校对: Irene
仅供个人英语学习交流使用。
【重点句子】（3个）
Together with their colleagues, the scientists monitored 15 tree canopies in a western region of Madagascar, to identify any animals that might have claimed the mantle of baobab-seed disperser.
科学家们与他们的同事一起，在马达加斯加西部地区对15个树冠层进行了监测，目的是找出那些可能负责传播猴面包树种子的动物。
They then found the ecological equivalent of a smoking gun: baobab seeds in seven different piles of bush-pig dung.
随后，他们发现了生态学中的“铁证”：7堆不同丛林猪粪便中都有猴面包树的种子。
While the finding is important in its own right, it also provides valuable evidence that introduced species may not be entirely harmful.
这一发现不仅本身意义重大，而且它还揭示了一个重要的事实：外来物种或许并非全然有害。