Marlene Zuk: What we learn from insects' sex lives
瑪琳珠: 怪異的昆蟲性行給我們的啓發
Marlene Zuk studies insect behavior -- and how humans use animal behavior to think about how we behave ourselves. Full bio
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than they are of dying.
"Book of Lists" survey
最劣、最滑稽等在綫調查
worst, funniest lists that you see today.
as sources of fear.
spiders in there,
would have just topped the chart.
of the greatest minds in science,
some of the smallest minds on Earth.
coming back to insects?
magnitude of almost everything about them.
than any other kind of animal.
of insects there are,
are being discovered all the time.
maybe as many as 10 million.
an insect-of-the-month calendar
每月介紹一種昆蟲,
for over 80,000 years.
that 1 out of every 3 bites of food
對事物的根本發現。
discoveries
of our nervous systems
about our own behavior.
everything that people do.
they fight, they break up.
看來像是愛或恨的東西。
like love or animosity.
驅動我們行徑的是不同的東西。
different than what drives our own,
can be really illuminating.
恰恰是我們最感興趣的 ----
of our most consuming interests -- sex.
and I think I can defend,
並且不是沒有道理的:
比人類的性行有意思多啦。
interesting than sex in people.
就足以讓我們質疑
some of our own assumptions
根本無需性行就能繁殖。
to have sex at all to reproduce.
複製很小很小的自己。
of themselves without ever mating.
就在你家的玫瑰枝上。
interesting than human sperm.
than the male's own body.
use their sperm to compete.
like the horns on these beetles.
after mating with their sperm.
that look kind of like Swiss Army knives
跟瑞士小刀一樣,
like scoops,
雄蟲的精子都刮掉。
that the female has mated with.
of us imitating them
應該模仿牠們什麼,
an example for us to follow.
榜樣我們去跟,
is probably just as well.
is rampant among insects?
昆蟲當中非常流行性吞噬的嗎?
that we humans have about the sex roles.
dictates kind of a 1950s sitcom version
50年代的電視喜劇裡看到的、
supposed to be dominant and aggressive,
牠們是蟋蟀和蚱蜢同類
and grasshoppers.
about who they mate with,
sperm during mating,
something called a nuptial gift.
mating in these photos.
the male's the one on the right,
is the female's egg-laying organ.
做材料產出來的,
this from his own body
of his body mass.
and let you think about
every time they had sex,
重的東西,會是什麼情形?
that weighed 50, 60, 70 pounds.
to do that very often.
螽斯雄蟲非常挑剔,
these nuptial gifts to.
送給不經挑剔的雌蟲。
during and after mating.
the better off the male is,
灌進雌蟲體內,授精給她的卵子。
and fertilize her eggs.
are very passive about mating,
are extremely aggressive and competitive,
nutritious nuptial gifts as they can.
那些營養豐富的聘禮。
a stereotypical set of rules.
in the lives of a lot of insects.
the bees and wasps and ants --
to your sugar bowl,
from flower to flower --
理解這種狀況,
their head around that idea for millennia.
有一綱類,雄峰,比工蜂要大。
a class of bees, the drones,
of the drones' laziness
the drones just hang around the hive
轉到婚飛為止,
in gathering nectar or pollen.
the drones' sex,
were aware of the stinging ability of bees
竟然會是雌性的動物。
could possibly be a female.
如果帶螫針的是雄的..."
individuals are going to be the males ..."
because that would have meant
照顧幼蜂的也是雄的啦。
of the young in a colony,
that would be completely impossible.
bees had the organs of both sexes
因為有些動物的確如此。
some animals do that,
did get it figured out.
my students, for instance,
包括昆蟲,都謂之為雄的。
including insects, a male.
那些兇神惡煞的軍蟻,
that the ferocious army-ant soldiers
used to defend the colony,
Antz, Bee Movie --
螞蟻電影、蜜蜂電影-----
in the social insects as being male.
不就是會說人話的動物嘛。
能說會道,有問題嗎?
if they talk like Jerry Seinfeld?
is part of a much deeper one
for medicine and health
衛生、生活多方面的問題。
use what we call model systems,
white rats or fruit flies --
所有其他動物 (包括人) 的替身來的。
for all other animals, including people.
that what's true for a person
也適用於白鼠身上。
that turns out to be the case.
of a model system too far.
as though they are the model system.
都當成是規摹系統,
after you get the basics down.
眼前到底發生了什麼事情。
what was in front of them.
stage was largely occupied by male players
大致上全是雄性,
minor, walk-on roles.
on a lot of what nature is like.
我們會遺漏很多自然界真貌。
如何各異的這方面的認識。
natural, living things, including people,
用的都是雄性規摹,
as models in a lot of medical research,
to both men and women.
既適用於男性,又適用於女性。
很多人會為之驚恐喪膽的。
I really love about insects
find unnerving about them.
被普遍覺得認識能力低。
the way we normally think of it.
but they lack complicated brains.
as though they're little people
the way that we do.
to anthropomorphize insects,
我們很難把昆蟲擬人化,
like they're little people
當作是人的外骨骼,帶六足。
固有的面目來看待牠們。
on their own terms,
what's normal and what's natural.
什麼是常規、什麼是自然的。
and talk about parallel universes.
編寫故事,談論並存世界。
walking among us.
why they want to dabble in the paranormal.
試試非自然到底是怎麽回事。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Marlene Zuk - Evolutionary biologistMarlene Zuk studies insect behavior -- and how humans use animal behavior to think about how we behave ourselves.
Why you should listen
Marlene Zuk is a biologist and writer who researches animal behavior and evolution, mostly using insects as subjects. Zuk is interested in the ways that people use animal behavior to think about human behavior, and vice versa, as well as in the public's understanding of evolution. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota -- including a seminar called “What’s the Alternative to Alternative Medicine?”
In addition to publishing numerous scientific articles, Zuk has published four books for a general audience: Sexual Selections: What We Can and Can’t Learn About Sex from Animals; Riddled with Life: Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex, and the Parasites That Make Us Who We Are; Sex on Six Legs: Lessons on Life, Love and Language from the Insect World; and most recently, Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet and the Way We Live.
Marlene Zuk | Speaker | TED.com