本文來源: 江璞老師的FB粉絲頁 Merica美加江璞
🎊“聽江璞六十秒說托福”🎊
🎥Episode 8: Amazing ant
Mutualistic symbiosis互利共生 is when two species of animals 🐵 or plants 🌴each benefiting from a specific relationship they formed with each other.
比方有一種樹 The Whistling Thorn🌳, 它有著大約五公分長的 thorns and some of these thorns form hollow bulbs, roughly the size of a ping-pong ball🏓. 藉由這些bulbs以及special nectar 🍬glands, 這種樹提供了食物與住宿給一種螞蟻, 叫做 C. mimosae ants🐜🐜. In return, the ants protect the trees from one of their natural predators, elephants🐘.
Elephants are herbivores. 因此會對Whistling Thorn造成傷害, 因為大象🐘會用鼻子break off the branches. 此時螞蟻成群地攻擊大象鼻子內層的皮膚biting down hard with their powerful jaws, 這使得大象 especially vulnerable to these swarming ants.