河蚌帮助人类监测水质

Getting help from nature

真“蚌”！河蚌帮助人类监测水质

A group of clams recently caught people’s attenti on after an article was posted by China Science Communication online. Although these clams are usually regarded as nothing more than delicious food, they work to monitor the local water quality in Poland.  最近，科普中国线上发表了一篇关于河蚌的文章，吸引了人们的注意。文章中科普到，河蚌不仅可以被烹饪成美食，还能帮助检测波兰当地的水质。

Gruba Kaska pumping station, which stands in the River Wisla, helps provide millions of liters of water to Warsaw, the capital of Poland. However, one particular concern for the water quality has been heavy metals, and researchers sought help from nature to solve this problem.  建在维瓦斯河流上的Gruba Kaska 水泵站，为波兰首都华沙提供了数百万升的水资源。然而，重金属污染已经成为该地水质的一大因素，于是有专家试图向大自然寻求帮助来改善水质。

Clams are sensitive to pollutants in their environment as they filter water to feed on microorganisms. They shut their shells immediately after detecting “dangerous”water.  河蚌对于其生存环境中的污染物极其敏感，因为它们滤食水中的微生物。一旦检测到水源发出的“危险”信号，河蚌会立即合上蚌壳。

   Based on this, the researchers selected eight clams at a time and recorded the natural opening of their shells. After the clam “employees” become accustomed to the local water, they are placed in a specially designed container. With sensors stuck onto their shells, the clams are connected to a system that records how wide the shells are open.  基于此，研究者们同时选择了八只河蚌进行试验，并且记录其蚌壳的自然开启。在这些河蚌“员工”适应了当地的水环境后，它们被放置在一个特别设计的容器中。蚌壳上

粘贴的传感器将河蚌与记录蚌壳开启程度的系统连接到一起。

  If four or more clams close their shells at the same time, an alarm will be triggered and the water supply will be shut down. The result is reliable because the creatures are considering many different factors at the same time, according to ZME Science.  如果四只及以上河蚌同时合上蚌壳，就会触发警报，同时切断水供给。ZME Science表明该研究结果十分可靠，因为实验过程中同时考虑到了多种因素。

    Animals have long been helpers for human activities. Farmers in north Queensland, Australia, have been ordering different species of dung beetles to help clean up cattle dung, according to ABC News. As the number of cattle grows, their waste increases, leading to an enormous population of flies and a worsening environment. Dung beetles, however, take the waste and bury it. This way, they help improve soil quality.  动物一直以来都是人类活动的好帮手。据澳大利亚广播公司报道，在澳大利亚昆士兰北部的农民一直依靠不同种类的屎壳郎来帮助他们清理牛粪。随着牛群的扩大，牛的排泄物也随之增加，不仅引来大量苍蝇，还污染环境。然而，屎壳郎可以将排泄物埋进土里，改善土质。

   Similarly, cockroaches are used to deal with kitchen waste at several firms in China, according to a report of The Beijing News in 2018. About 300 million cockroaches are fed 15 tons of food waste on a daily basis, and they themselves are a good protein resource for livestock.  此外，新京报2018年的一篇报道称，中国多家公司利用蟑螂处理厨余垃圾。大约3亿只蟑螂一天可以被喂食15吨餐厨垃圾，并且蟑螂自身对牲畜来说也是很好的蛋白质来源。