连小石头都要偷?! 企鹅为了筑巢养育下一代“不择手段”

<正>每年十月底开始,随着南极半岛每天阳光照耀时间的加长,冰雪进入慢慢融化的节奏,持续半年之久的南极冬季即将远去,迎来的是生机勃勃的春天。此时的岸上是异常热闹的,那些原本生活在海洋中的企鹅都回到了它们熟悉的栖息地,开始了一年一度繁殖下一代的工作流程。原本沉寂的冰雪世界有了可爱的企鹅身影,随处可以听到它们求偶时     

Crows: From Holy to Evil Birds

Ridingonhorseback,IpassedDagarVillagebytheNyemo-QuxuHighway.A.truckbehindmewasobviouslyinahurryonitswaytosomewhere,andthedriverkeptpressingthehorntourgememakewayforhim.Allofasudden,adarkcloudrosefromnearbywalnuttreestowardthebluesky.Itwasactuallyadarkcloudofcrows.Outofcuriosity,Imovedtothewalnuttrees.Icountedcrownestsandfoundtheynumberedmorethan100.SKILLSOFCROWS.Crowsaregoodatbuildingnests.Eachnestiscomposedofsevenlayers,andeachlayerisbuiltwithmaterialsdifferentfromotherlayers.Notall…     

Rethinking Easter Island's ecological catastrophe

Rapa Nui (Easter Island) has become a paragon for prehistoric human induced ecological catastrophe and cultural collapse. A popular narrative recounts an obsession for monumental statuary that led to the island's ecological devastation and the collapse of the ancient civilization. Scholars offer this story as a parable of today's global environmental problems. In this paper, I review new and emerging Rapa Nui evidence, compare ecological and recently acquired palaeo-environmental data from the Hawaiian and other Pacific Islands, and offer some perspectives for the island's prehistoric ecological transformation and its consequences. The evidence points to a complex historical ecology for the island; one best explained by a synergy of impacts, particularly the devastating effects of introduced rats (Rattus exulans). This perspective questions the simplistic notion of reckless over-exploitation by prehistoric Polynesians and points to the need for additional research.     

Easter and the Battle of Pollentia

Interest in the battle of Pollentia in recent years has been confined to the issue of dating the year in which it occurred, the extent to which either Claudian or Prudentius, the two late Roman poets who mention it, depended on the other's work, and the significance of the battle in the political and military careers of its two chief protagonists, Stilicho, the Vandal regent of the emperor Honorius, and Alaric, the Visigothic leader and rebellious Roman agent. In this paper, I consider religion as a tactic in the conduct of the battle. We know from Orosius that it was fought at Easter, something for which he chastised Stilicho. While scholars refer to its Easter date and Vanderspoel has found Easter allusions in another of Claudian's poem written in the light of the battle, none has investigated the significance of the battle taking place at Easter. It is argued here that religious considerations were crucial in determining the moment of engagement and not just coincidental and that, by attacking Alaric at Easter, we have another indication of just how precarious Stilicho's position was.     

生蛋快乐!企鹅产卵的季节

正每年10月下旬开始进入了南极半岛一年一度的夏季,原本寂静的冰雪世界开始热闹起来,巴布亚企鹅、阿德利企鹅以及帽带企鹅都从海洋中返回到陆地上,并在这里开始为期4~5个月的繁殖哺育期。企鹅夫妻来到自己熟悉的繁殖栖息地,在一番恩爱之后,终于在11月中下旬产下1~2颗蛋,两颗蛋之间相隔约3天,一般孵化期在3~4周左右。     

关于东晋帝陵的两个问题

本通过史料并结合近年一些考古新发现,对东晋帝陵分布、陵区设立原因、陵区内部构成、陵区内各陵排葬规律以及陵园地面建筑等进行了比较全面的分析和探讨。     

The ‘walking’ megalithic statues (moai) of Easter Island

Explaining how the monumental statues (moai) of Easter Island were transported has remained open to debate and speculation, including their resource expenditures and role in deforestation. Archaeological evidence including analysis of moai variability, particularly those abandoned along ancient roads, indicates transport was achieved in a vertical position. To test this proposition we constructed a precise three-dimensional 4.35 metric ton replica of an actual statue and demonstrate how positioning the center of mass allowed it to fall forward and rock from side to side causing it to ‘walk.’ Our experiments reveal how the statue form was engineered for efficient transport by a small number of individuals.