評論
打印
Females have their own concerns.
雌性恐龍要顧好自己的事。
They must prepare to bring a new generation into the world...
它們準備將新的生命帶到這世界，
a new generation that needs to be a little bit better than the last.
新一代的恐龍需要做的就是青出于藍而勝于藍。
Fossil records show that dinosaurs needed to prepare for mating early in life.
化石記錄顯示，恐龍在很年輕的時候就得為交配做好準備。
One of the things we're finding in common for all dinosaurs is that they started reproducing when they were still growing,
我們發現了所有恐龍的一個共同之處，那就是當它們還在發育時就開始繁殖了，
and this tells us that life was cheap in the age of dinosaurs.
這點告訴了我們在恐龍時代生命是廉價的。
These dinosaurs may be young, but they've got plenty of work to do.
那些恐龍也許很年輕但它們有很多事要做。
They must ensure that they are in good health, well-fed,
它們要保證自己身體健康，營養充足，
and have plenty of nourishment for their unfertilized eggs.
必須要為自己的未受精卵攝取大量的營養。
As these big dinosaurs are growing up,
隨著那些大恐龍的成長到了一定的程度，
there comes a point where they have to start putting some of the resources not just into growth anymore, but into reproduction.
它們就得開始把一部分營養用到繁殖上，成長再也不能獨享這些資源了。
Whether a carnivore or an herbivore, calories are key.
無論對食肉還是食草動物來說，熱量都是關鍵。
To be a successful mother, females need plenty of nutrients.
要成為一名成功的母親雌性恐龍就需要攝取大量的營養。
That means high-calorie young leaves and shoots, or if you're a carnivore, more red meat.
那來自于高熱量的嫩葉和嫩枝，如果你是食肉動物，就得吃更多的肉。
Without it, they can't produce eggs.
沒有熱量，它們就無法產卵。
Females have to be stockpiling resources big-time...lots of protein, lots of fats, lots of calcium.
雌性恐龍必須要儲備非常多的物資大量的蛋白質，脂肪和鈣元素。
All those materials have to be stored in the body so that they're available instantly to start producing the eggs as soon as the animal has mated.
所有的這些營養都必須儲存在體內所以，它們可以在一交配完后，就立刻產卵。
Hormones in females stimulate the liver to send yolk to the ovaries.
雌性恐龍體內的荷爾蒙刺激肝臟從而把卵黃送入卵巢。
When her eggs are fertilized, the yolk will provide enough nutrition to keep a growing dinosaur embryo alive for as long as three months.
當它的蛋受精后卵黃將會提供充足的營養來使發育中的恐龍胚胎存活三個月。
A dinosaur mother-to-be also needs calcium for eggshells.
恐龍孕婦也需要為蛋殼攝取鈣元素。
The dinosaur eggshell is composed of calcium carbonate,
恐龍蛋的蛋殼是由碳酸鈣組成的，
just like bird eggshells today, like some crocodilian eggs have this hard calcium carbonate eggshell.
就像今天的鳥蛋和鱷魚蛋一樣，蛋殼都是由這種堅硬的碳酸鈣組成的。
And that eggshell protects the developing embryo.
那些蛋殼保護著發育中的胚胎。
A single female Sauroposeidon produces 300 to 500 eggs each season.
一頭雌性波塞冬龍在每個繁殖季節內會產下三至五百枚卵。
That takes a lot of calcium, a mineral in short supply in the plants of the Cretaceous.
需要消耗很多鈣元素在白堊紀，這是一種稀缺的礦物質。
So just how does this Leviathan, a creature requiring almost 400,000 calories a day just to survive,
那么這種每天需要四十萬卡熱量的"海怪"是如何生存的，
manage to maintain its girth and get enough nutrients to reproduce?
又是怎樣給全身提供供養并攝取足夠的營養來進行繁殖的呢？
