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Hi everybody. I am a comparative anatomist,
大家好,我是一位比較解剖學家
and a comparative anatomist is someone who studies
而比較解剖學家的工作
the structure of the body of lots of different animals.
就是研究各種不同動物的身體結構
And my favorite animals are whales,
我最喜歡的動物是鯨魚
and I like to study whales because they are so interesting.
我也喜歡研究鯨魚,因為牠們真的很有趣
They've adapted to a unique environment
鯨魚已經適應獨特的環境
of living in the water.
可以生活在水中
And what I'm going to tell you about is
而接下來我要分享的是
how whales make sounds by
鯨魚如何發出聲音
basically farting with their face.
基本上用牠們的臉部來排氣!
Now, you know that they do this farting thing
現在你已經知道牠們利用噴氣孔排氣
with their blowhole; they blow out air like that,
牠們就像那樣噴出空氣
but they also use air in lots of other ways.
但牠們也運用空氣做其他的事
They use it for sound production,
牠們利用它製造聲音
which is what I'm going to focus on,
這也是我接下來的重點
but I also study other things they do with air,
但我也研究鯨魚其他運用空氣的例子
like how they keep it out of their blood streams
像牠們如何防止空氣進入血流中
so that they don't get bubbles,
才不會產生氣泡
which is what happens to human scuba divers
這常發生在進行水肺潛水的人身上
when they dive and they get decompression sickness.
當他們潛水時出現減壓症狀
But what I'd like to do is start with the story
但現在我要回到正題
of how these animals make these farting noises,
開始說明鯨魚是如何發出排氣的聲音
and that story begins with understanding
首先我們要知道
how hard it is to look at whales
觀察鯨魚是一件多麼困難的事
because they live underwater and they're really big,
因為牠們生活在水中,體型又非常巨大
so they're hard animals to study.
所以研究鯨魚非常困難
And just in this picture, you see that animal in the middle?
就像這張照片,你看到中間那隻鯨魚了嗎?
That's a baby whale and it's already the size of a bus.
那是一隻鯨魚寶寶,牠已經和巴士一樣大了
When you look at whales, you have to start
當你觀察鯨魚時
with the top of their head, because their nose
你必須從牠們的頭頂開始
is on the top of their head.
因為牠們的鼻子就在頭頂上
It's kind of like a built-in snorkel.
就像是內建的呼吸管
And they breathe through that because they're mammals
鯨魚透過鼻子呼吸因為牠們是哺乳類
and mammals breathe air.
而哺乳類呼吸空氣
And their nose can actually be opened and closed,
事實上鯨魚的鼻子可以開合
kind of as if you were to pinch it like this,
有點像我們這樣掐住鼻子
so you can see, it's open in the bottom frame there
你可以從最下方照片看到鼻子是開的
where the red arrows are.
在紅色箭頭的位置
But not all whales have two nostrils.
但不是所有的鯨魚都有兩個鼻孔
Whales includes the groups of dolphins and porpoises,
鯨目包括海豚科和鼠海豚科
and the dolphins and porpoises, the small whales,
海豚和鼠海豚這些小型鯨魚
have only one nostril on the top of their head,
頭頂上都只有一個鼻孔
and they open and close that nostril
牠們打開或閉合鼻孔
by taking what is essentially an upper lip, like this,
靠拉提實質上是上唇的部位,像這樣
and turning it back over their nose, like this.
再折回去蓋住鼻子,像這樣
That's how they open and close their nose.
這就是牠們開合鼻子的方法
So when they make sounds,
所以當牠們發出聲音時
what they're basically doing is a raspberry,
牠們基本上是在做噗噗的動作
like [mouth noises], which is kind of like a fart, right?
就像這樣-噗噗,有點像是放屁對吧?
Or up in New York we call it a Bronx cheer.
或是在紐約我們稱為噓聲
And the way they do that is by taking
牠們發出聲音的方法
that big fatty structure of a big fat lip,
是提高那個肥厚嘴唇的構造
which is, as you can see here in this picture,
就像你們在這張照片看到的
which is a cut through the middle of a dolphins head,
一道劃過海豚頭部中間的切口
that big fat lip is that big yellow portion there,
肥厚嘴唇就是那裡一大塊黃色的部分
and they roll it back and forth over the top of their nose
海豚在牠們的鼻子上來回翻動它
so that they vibrate it,
震動它
kind of like when you let the air out of a balloon
有點像你釋放氣球內的空氣
and it makes that weird vibration sound.
製造的那種奇怪振動聲
So this is what it sounds like when they make their noise:
當海豚發出聲音時聽起來像這樣:
[dolphin noise]
(海豚聲)
You hear that? It's going to do it again
有聽到嗎?當牠面向攝影機時 會再發出一次那個聲音
when he faces the camera.
(海豚聲)
[dolphin noise]
聽起來像牠在水中放屁
Sounds like its farting underwater.
事實上那海豚做的是回聲定位
What that dolphin is actually doing though
就是發出一連串的脈動
is echolocation, which is making these series of pulses,
而牠運用它就像蝙蝠利用聲納一樣
and it uses it like a bat uses sonar.
好吧,蝙蝠使用雷達,但在水下時它叫聲納
Well a bat uses radar, but when it's underwater
而這海豚正運用聲納來體會它聲音中的世界
it's sonar, so this animal is using sonar
要試著去了解這是如何運作的
to see its world in sound.
你必須去觀察它
Trying to understand how this works,
就像在看音響系統中的擴音喇叭一樣
you have to look at it as if you were looking
海豚基本上就像「高音喇叭」
at the amplifier speakers of a sound system.
聲音來自那來回移動的小鼻子
The small toothed whales are basically the "tweeters,"
並從牠們的前額發出去
and the sound is coming from that little
但如果你觀察大型鯨魚
nose that's moving back and forth
牠們有點像「重低音喇叭」
and coming out of their forehead.
擴音系統中的大型揚聲器
But when you look at the big whales,
牠們的聲音是從喉嚨發出來的
they're kind of link the "woofer,"
所以如果你試著發出像鯨魚一樣的聲音
the big speakers that you have in an amplifier system.
你現在就發出聲音:
And what's happening is their sound's coming out of the throat.
「啊」
So if you tried to make sound like a whale,
好,現在把你的手放在喉嚨上
you just make a sound right now,
在喉結上,你感覺到那裡的震動嗎?
like go "ah."
對你來說那是浪費力氣
Okay, now put your hand on your throat,
因為那不是你與他人溝通的方式
on your Adam's apple, you feel that vibration right there?
你是用嘴巴發出聲音的
That is lost energy for you
但如果你在水下張開嘴巴
because that's not how you're communicating to everybody.
沒有人能聽見你的聲音
You're doing it out of the mouth.
你必須能用這股能量並透過水放大它
But if you open your mouth underwater,
那就是鯨魚做的
no one is going to hear you.
而當你聽見牠們的聲音
You have to be able to take this energy and amplify it through the water,
(鯨魚聲)
and that's what whales do.
聽見了嗎?有點像你將空氣從氣球中擠出
And when you hear their sound,
所發出的嘎吱聲
[whale sounds]
但牠們也有這樣的聲音:
Hear that? It's kind of like when you squeak the air out of a balloon.
(鯨魚聲)
So they get a lot of squeaky noises,
聽起來像在放屁對嗎?
but they also have this sound:
就像在牠的喉嚨裡 有一個巨大能發出聲音的軟墊
[whale noises]
但你如何知道那是鯨魚發出來的?
It sounds like it's farting, doesn't it?
我們研究那些因為擱淺送來我們這的鯨魚
It's like it's got this giant whoopie cushion in its throat.
那些死在海灘上的鯨魚
So, how do you know that's what a whale's doing?
那些小型鯨豚,像海豚和鼠海豚比較簡單
Well, we study whales that come to us from strandings.
我們可以帶牠們回實驗室
These are animals that die on the beach.
但大型鯨魚,我們必須將實驗室移去牠們那裡
Now the small whales, like dolphins and porpoises are easy,
看起來像這樣
we can take them back to the lab.
我是中間那個戴紅帽的人
But the big whales, we've got to bring the lab to the whale.
我不是一個很高的人
And this is what that would look like.
所以你可以看到比起我,鯨魚是多麼巨大
So I'm the one in the middle with the red hat.
這鯨魚長65英呎,而我的解剖刀
I'm not a very tall person,
就是旁邊這個小工具
so you can see how big this whale is compared to me.
它基本上看起來像一根曲棍球棒
The whale is 65 feet long, and my scalpel
在末端有一個刀片
is this little tool on the side here.
解剖鯨魚是一個非常艱鉅的過程
It basically looks like a hockey stick
你就去做吧
with a blade on the end of it.
它有點像個巨大的血腥建築工地
And doing a dissection of a whale is a very difficult process.
你正戴著安全帽
You literally have to get into your work.
進行重型機械工作
It's kind of like a giant bloody construction zone.
在這情況下,順道提一下
You're wearing a hard hat,
那是一隻藍鯨的喉頭,僅僅喉頭的部位
you're working with heavy machinery.
我只有五呎高,所以你可以發現
In this case, by the way,
它像是12呎這麼長
that's just the voice box of a blue whale; just the voice box.
我們如何知道發生什麼事?
And I'm only five feet tall, so you can see,
我們觀察喉頭
it's already like twelve feet long there.
看看裡面
How do we know what's going on?
這是來自一隻鯨魚寶寶所以小多了
Well, we look at the voice box, or larynx,
你看到這小U形的東西
and we see inside.
我用藍色勾勒出來的位置
This is from a baby whale so it's much smaller.
那就是振動的部位
You see this little "u" shaped thing
有點像我們的聲帶
that I've outlined in blue;
而當我把手放在那裡面時
that's the part that's vibrating.
就是那藍色袖套的位置
That's kind of like our vocal folds.
你可以看到它下方有一個囊袋
And when I put my hand in there,
那就是發出聲音的軟墊
that's where that blue sleeve is,
就是氣泡或氣球
you can see there's a sack underneath it.
所以這些鯨魚做的是
That's the whoopie cushion.
你可以從這張照片看見
That's the air bubble or the balloon.
在喉嚨裡有一個大大的黑色氣球
So what these animals are doing,
在那裡消化道,藍色的部份
and you can see in this picture,
和呼吸道,淺藍色的部份,交會
there's this big black balloon in the throat,
所以你有了淺藍和深藍
where the digestive track, which is in blue,
而正中間的就是那黑色囊袋
meets the breathing track, which is in light blue,
鯨魚使用那囊袋來製造聲音
so you have light blue and dark blue,
牠們振動它並發出聲音
and right in the middle is that black sack.
海豚也有氣囊
These animals are using that sack to make these sounds.
遍及牠們整個頭部
And so they vibrate that and send it out.
有點像裝滿空氣的頭部
Small toothed whales also have air sacks,
牠們用這來盡可能捕捉空氣
and they're all over their heads,
以便在潛水時把空氣一起帶下去
so it's kind of like they're airheads.
因為潛水時,壓力增加
And they use this to capture as much air as they can,
導致可用的空氣量減少
to take it down with them when they're diving,
但更重要地,這囊袋使牠們能
because when you dive, pressures increase,
回收再利用牠們正在使用的空氣
and that decreases the volume of air you have available.
因為空氣是非常珍貴的物品
But more importantly, having that sack allows them to
你不會想再回到水面上
recycle the air that they're using
以獲取更多空氣
because air is a precious commodity.
所以當你在水中製造聲音時
You don't want to have to go back up to the surface
假設你是一條鯨魚
to get more air.
開始發出聲音
So when you make a sound underwater,
「啊」
if you're a whale,
但鯨魚是閉著嘴巴的,試著
let's here you start making a sound.
(閉著嘴巴發出聲音)
Go "ah."
你們全都發出哼聲對嗎?
But whales keep their mouths closed, so go
但鯨魚是蓋住鼻子的,試著
[mouth noises]
(捏住鼻子發聲)
You're all humming, right?
發生什麼事? 一旦你捏著鼻子就發不出聲音了
But whales keep their nose closed, so go
因為你對發聲系統施加壓力
[mouth noises]
所以,鯨魚靠著氣囊
What happened? You can't make the sound anymore
來避免對系統施加壓力
once you close your nose because you've pressurized the system.
意謂著空氣繼續流動
So whales by having air sacks
所以假如你在鼻子末端有一個袋子
keep themselves from pressurizing the system
你就能讓空氣繼續流動
which means the air continues to flow,
希望你們喜歡
and so if you had a bag on the end of your nose,
那就是比較解剖學家謀生的工具
you'd be able to make air continue to flow.
我們研究動物的結構
So I hope you've enjoyed that.
我們試著去模擬它
That's what a comparative anatomist does for their living.
再套用回去人類身上
We study the structure of these animals.
也許為保護裝置發明新技術
We try to mimic it.
也許為醫藥發明新療法
We apply it back to the human situation,
為人類疾病模擬這些不尋常的環境
maybe making new technologies for protective devices,
希望你們喜歡。謝謝。
or maybe even making new treatments for medicines
for peoples' diseases who mimic these weird environments.
So I hope you enjoyed that. Thank you.