小昆蟲本領(lǐng)大(Big ability of small insects)
think twice before you swat a fly or squash a bug: a new study says insects contribute more than $57 billion (euro47 billion) a year to the u.s. economy.
think twice before you swat a fly or squash a bug: a new study says insects contribute more than $57 billion (euro47 billion) a year to the u.s. economy.
and that is a very conservative estimate, said john losey, a cornell university associate professor of entomology who conducted the study, published in the current issue of the journal bioscience.
"most insects tirelessly perform functions that improve our environment and lives in ways that scientists are only beginning to understand,'' said losey, who wrote the study with mace vaughan of the portland, oregon-based xerces society for invertebrate conservation.
there are more than 1 million named insect species _ and probably an equal number unidentified _ making them the most abundant life form on the planet.
the study focused on four particular services that bugs provide, and what the cost would be if the insects were gone:
nutrition for wildlife. the researchers looked at how much is spent annually on observing or hunting wildlife, and how much these animals depend on insects for food. value: $50 billion (euro41.3 billion).
pest control. insects often prey on other insects. the researchers looked at the amount of damage done by pests, and the losses that would result if their predators disappeared. value: $4.5 billion (euro3.7 billion).
pollination. the researchers looked at the value of crops that are insect-pollinated (not including crops pollinated by domesticated honeybees). value: $3 billion (euro2.5 billion).
dung burial. if not for dung beetles, manure on grazing land would attract more flies and parasites that farmers would have to control. also, dung beetles help return nutrients to the soil. without them, farmers would have to spend more on fertilizer. value: $380 million (euro314 million).
the study focused only on wild insects and did not count the value of commercially produced insect-derived products, such as honey and silk.
lawrence abrahamson, an entomologist at the state university of new york, agreed the $57 billion (euro47 billion) figure is conservative.
"most people think of insects and go yuck. they think about mosquitoes and flies. they don't realize just about everything in life is affected some way, somehow, by insects,'' he said.
"小昆蟲本領(lǐng)大"英語作文譯文:
當(dāng)你揮動蒼蠅拍想要打死一只蒼蠅或臭蟲時,最好三思而后行。因為一項最新的研究結(jié)果顯示,昆蟲每年給美國經(jīng)濟帶來的貢獻竟然超過了570億美元之多。
據(jù)美聯(lián)社日前報道,這項研究的負責(zé)人、美國科內(nèi)爾大學(xué)的昆蟲學(xué)副教授約翰·羅賽對此表示,不僅如此,而且上述數(shù)字還是一個非常保守的估計。他說:“大部分昆蟲都在不知疲倦地行使著改善人們生活環(huán)境的職責(zé),而它們所用的這些方式科學(xué)家們才剛剛開始了解。”
目前,有超過100萬種已命名的昆蟲種類,而且可能還有相同數(shù)量的未經(jīng)確認的昆蟲,這使它們成為地球上生活方式最為豐富多彩的物種。
諸多好處 一一列舉
此項研究將重點放在了昆蟲向人們提供的4種特殊服務(wù)以及如果這些小蟲消失不見,人們在這些方面應(yīng)該相應(yīng)付出的花費上。
1、野生動物的營養(yǎng)來源。研究人員對美國每年觀察或捕獵野生動物花費多少,以及這些動物中有多少以昆蟲作為食物來源進行了研究。研究得出的結(jié)論是,昆蟲對美國經(jīng)濟的貢獻價值為500億美元。
2、控制害蟲。昆蟲經(jīng)常以其它昆蟲為食。因此,研究人員對害蟲造成的危害以及如果這些害蟲的天敵消失,美國將要為此遭受的損失進行了分析研究。研究得出的結(jié)果是,昆蟲對美國經(jīng)濟的貢獻價值為45億美元。
3、授粉。研究人員還對那些由昆蟲授粉的農(nóng)作物(不包括那些由馴化蜜蜂授粉的農(nóng)作物)的價值進行了估算。并由此得出結(jié)論,昆蟲對美國經(jīng)濟的貢獻價值為25億美元。
4、消化糞便。如果不是蜣螂(屎克螂)這種小昆蟲在幫忙,那么在土地上施肥就會吸引更多的蒼蠅和寄生蟲,這樣農(nóng)民們就不得不想辦法來解決這個問題。另外,屎克螂還有助于將營養(yǎng)物質(zhì)重新輸送回土壤。如果沒有它們,辛勤勞作的農(nóng)民們就要花費更多的錢來購買肥料。由此,研究人員得出的結(jié)論是,在這方面昆蟲對美國經(jīng)濟的貢獻價值為3.8億美元。
報道說,此項研究的對象僅僅為野生昆蟲為美國社會創(chuàng)造的財富,并不包括諸如蜂蜜和絲綢等由昆蟲帶來的商業(yè)產(chǎn)品的價值。這項研究的具體結(jié)果發(fā)表在最近一期的《生物科學(xué)》雜志上。