In fact, each day, the animal kingdom produces roughly enough dung to match the volume of water pouring over the Victoria Falls.

事實上，動物世界每天生產的糞便量大概和維多利亞瀑布的水流量有得拼。

So why isn't the planet covered in the stuff?

所以為什麼地球表面沒有被糞便淹沒呢？

You can thank the humble dung beetle for eating up the excess.

那都要歸功於默默努力吃便便的糞金龜。

Capable of burying 250 times their body weight in a single night, these valiant insects make quick work of an endless stream of feces.

這些勇敢的小昆蟲能夠在一個晚上就埋掉自己身體 250 倍重量的東西，並快速地消耗如洪水般無止盡的糞便。

Over 7,000 known species of dung beetle run clean-up duty across six continents—everywhere except Antarctica.

已知有超過七千種品種的糞金龜，橫跨六大洲進行他們的清掃任務，但南極洲除外。

A dung beetle's first task is to locate dung.

糞金龜的第一項任務是要鎖定糞便的位置。

Some live on the anal regions of larger animals, ready to leap off when they defecate.

他們有些生活在大型動物的排洩器官上，隨時準備好動物一排便就縱身一躍。

Others sniff out feces that animals leave behind.

其他則是靠嗅覺得知動物遺留的糞便。

A pile of elephant dung can attract 4,000 beetles in 15 minutes.

在短短十五分鐘以內，一坨大象糞便就能引來四千隻甲蟲。

So once a beetle finds dung, it must work quickly to secure some of the bounty for itself.

所以一旦一隻甲蟲找到糞便，他一定要動作快才能分一杯羹。

Most dung beetle species fall into one of three main groups: rollers, tunnelers, and dwellers.

大多數品種的糞金龜能分成三類：滾動類、挖隧道類，和居留類型。

Dung rollers sculpt a ball of dung, and using their back legs, quickly roll it away from competitors.

滾動類糞金龜會製造出一顆便便圓球，然後用他們的後腳，快速地把它滾離開其他競爭者。

Potential partners jump on the ball, and once the ball-maker has selected their mate, the pair dig their dung ball into the soil.

潛在的伴侶會跳到球上，只要糞球製作者選定了他的伴侶，他們就會合力挖洞將糞球埋起來。

Once it's been buried, the female lays a single egg within the dung ball.

等糞球埋好了，雌性糞金龜就會在球裡面產下一顆卵。

Tunnelers have a different approach.

挖隧道類的則有不同的方式。

Digging underneath a pat, some drag dung down into the soil and pack it into clumps known as brood balls, dung balls, or dung“sausages,”depending on their shape and size.

藉著在底下挖土，糞金龜得以把糞便拖進土壤裡，然後把糞便做成塊狀，稱為團球、糞球、或是便便「香腸」，差別在它們的形狀和尺寸。

Male tunnelers sport a spectacular array of horns to fight each other for control of these tunnels, which they then defend until the females laid her egg.

挖隧道的雄性糞金龜有一對很驚人的角，在保衛自己的隧道時用來當打鬥的武器。他們會防守到伴侶在糞球裡產卵為止。

Some male tunnelers avoid the fray by masquerading as hornless females and sneaking into tunnels to mate while the guardians' heads are turned.

有些雄糞金龜會為了避開打鬥而偽裝成沒有角的雌性，然後趁著守衛不注意，偷偷摸摸進到隧道交配。

The third group of dung beetles: dwellers, take the most straightforward approach, laying their eggs directly into a dung pat.

第三類糞金龜是居留類型；他們的方法最直接，就是直接把卵產到糞便堆裡。

This makes their offspring more vulnerable to predation than those of the tunnelers and rollers.

但這也使得他們的後代相較於其他兩類更易於成為被捕食的對象。

As the larvae feed, they riddle the dung pat with tunnels, leaving remains that are quickly colonized by bacteria and fungi and weathered away.

當幼蟲進食時，他們會把隧道中都塞滿糞便，使得剩餘物很容易就被細菌和菌類佔據，最後消耗殆盡。

Inside a tunnel, ball, or pat, once the larvae hatch, they consume the dung before metamorphosing into a pupa and then an adult beetle.

在隧道、糞球或是糞堆中，一旦幼蟲孵化，他們在變態成為蛹前，都會吃糞便長大，最後成長為一隻成年甲蟲。

Besides clearing dung, the actions of these beetles have considerable ecological importance.

除了清理糞便，這些甲蟲的行為還對生態環境帶來相當可觀的重要性。

For one, they serve as secondary seed dispersers.

舉例來說，他們是二次的種子散播者。

Dung from monkeys, wild pigs, and other animals is riddled with seeds from the fruits they eat.

猴子、野豬以及其他動物的糞便中，都含有來自他們吃的水果的種子。

When beetles bury their dung balls, they inadvertently protect these seeds from predators and increase the likelihood they'll germinate.

當糞金龜將糞球埋掉時，他們也在不知覺的情況下，保護了種子免受獵食者威脅，也增加了種子發芽的可能性。

The advantage is so great that one South African plant has evolved to produce seeds that look and smell like dung to trick beetles into burying them.

這項功用重大到一種南非的植物，甚至演化出看起來和聞起來都像糞便的種子，好誘騙甲蟲把它們埋到土裡。

Dung beetles also play important roles in agricultural systems.

糞金龜同時在農業系統中扮演重大角色。

Livestock, like cows and sheep, produce huge amounts of dung, which contains nutrients that can benefit plants.

牛和羊這類的家畜會排出大量糞便，這些糞便含有對植物有益的營養成分。

The beetles break up the dung and tunnel it deep into the soil, bringing the nutrients into close contact with plant roots.

甲蟲將糞便拆解，埋到地下隧道裡，同時將營養帶到距離植物根部更近的地方。

Their services to farmers have been valued at $380 million a year in the US and £367 million a year in the UK.

在美國，他們這項服務相當於每年替農夫省下 3.8 億美金，在英國則是每年 3.67 億英鎊。

Dung beetles can even help us battle global warming by reducing greenhouse gas emissions associated with farming.

糞金龜甚至能幫助我們減緩溫室效應，因為他們降低了農業產生的溫室氣體排放。

Microbes living in oxygen-poor livestock dung produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas.

在家畜糞便的低氧環境中生存的微生物會產生甲烷，一種威力強大的溫室氣體。

But beetles oxygenate pats when they tunnel into them, preventing the microbes from producing methane.

但是當糞金龜在糞堆中挖掘時，他們同時將氧氣帶進糞便，防止了微生物產生甲烷。

The dung beetle spreads seeds, helps farmers and fights climate change—and accomplishes it all simply by doing its business.

糞金龜散播種子、幫助農夫，並且打擊氣候變遷；這一切都仰賴他們的盡忠職守。

Maybe next time you come across some dung in the forest or a field, you'll be tempted to take a closer look.

或許下一次你在森林或是田野中遇到一坨糞便時，你會提起興趣多看幾眼。

If you want to learn more about nature's pooper-scoopers, we highly recommend "Animal Weapons" by Douglas J. Emlen.

如果你想多了解大自然的撿糞鏟，我們強烈推薦你這本 Douglas J. Emlen 寫的書 Animal Weapons。

This book includes more wildly fascinating facts about dung beetles and digs deep into the survival strategy of animal's around the world.

這本書包含更多關於糞金龜瘋狂且有趣的事實，並深入挖掘世界上動物的生存策略。

Read our full recommendation and snag a copy by visiting ed.ted.com/books. Check out the comment section to learn more.

請前往 ed.ted.com/books 查看推薦序並抓一本來看看，請在留言區查看更多資訊。