首页
登录
职称英语
What is the lecture mainly about? [br] Why does the professor mention the yucca
What is the lecture mainly about? [br] Why does the professor mention the yucca
游客
2024-01-02
17
管理
问题
What is the lecture mainly about? [br] Why does the professor mention the yucca moth’s mouthparts?
Listen to part of a lecture in a biology class. (P = Professor, T = Tom, J = Jennifer)
P: OK So far we’ve been studying interactions of populations in nature that belong to a category of negative. Urn… we’ve discussed predators that feed on the prey, like wolf and rabbit, com rootworms that feed on the corn and so forth. This type of relationship is characterized by the fact that one organism actually harms the other. Today I wanna begin talking about some positive interactions. First of all, let’s look at mutualism and the classic mutualistic relationship. A mutualistic relationship is when two organisms of different species "work together”, each benefiting from the relationship and doing no harm to each other. Some mutualisms are so close that interacting species actually can’t survive without each other. One good example of this is the mutualistic relationship between the yucca plant and yucca moth, which you read about in your textbook for today. Tom, why is it that yucca plant can’t live without the yucca moth?
T: Well, it needs the yucca moth as a pollinator, right? Um… the yucca moth collects and carries the pollen from one flower to another in different areas. The yucca plant will produce seeds that get carried off by the wind and eventually germinate and grow into new plants again.
P: Great. And interestingly, only the yucca moth can pollinate the yucca plant. Most people think of bees when they talk about a pollinator. But even bees can’t pollinate the yucca plant because they can’t move the yucca pollen. Yucca pollen is really heavy and sticky, so it can’t be scattered by wind or by casual contact with other insects. But the yucca moth has special mouthparts that enable it to carry the pollen. Uh… Jennifer? Why can’t the yucca moth live without the yucca plant?
J: Well, what the female yucca moth does is… urn… when she pollinates the yucca plant, she also lays her eggs. And then, when the eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the yucca plant’s seeds. They can’t eat any other kind of food. I mean, they will die from hunger unless they eat the yucca seeds.
P: Very good! So, this is the perfect kind of relationship. The yucca moth pollinates the yucca plant, the yucca plants make seeds, and in return, the yucca moth gets food for its young from the yucca plant.
T: Excuse me, professor. Um, I seem to be missing something here. I mean, I thought yon said, in mutualism, neither species is harmed. But the yucca moth larvae eat the yucca plant’s seeds. Doesn’t, that mean the yucca moth actually harms the yucca plant?
P: That’s a good question, Tom. Actually it’s not that much of a problem because there’re plenty of seeds for the larvae to eat without harming the yucca plant supply. Also, the yucca moth doesn’t lay too many eggs on one flower. She usually lays about I to 3 per flower. So most of the seeds will still be safe when the eggs hatch. But it raises an interesting question. What if a female yucca moth plays unfair? What if she plays an unfair game and lays more eggs on each yucca flower than the usual one to three. The moth would certainly be benefited this way because more offspring could be produced. But it wouldn’t be very good for the plant. Well, one scientist has observed that the yucca plant produces a huge array of flowers and then drops a large number of flowers including many that have been pollinated and have eggs on them. This dropping of flowers is a matter of pure chance. Uh… you never know which flowers will fall off. So, if the yucca moth lays lots of eggs at a few flowers, those eggs may all be dropped, and she may produce no young at all. But if the yucca moth lays fewer eggs on lots and lots of flowers, there’s a greater chance that more caterpillars will hatch and survive among the flowers that have remained on the plant. According to the observation, perhaps the yucca plant is in a sense forcing the moth to lay eggs thin and wide.
选项
A、To indicate that they are potentially harmful to the yucca plant
B、To point out that the mouthparts are similar to those of bees
C、To explain why only yucca moths can pollinate the yucca plant
D、To explain the difference between the mouthparts of male and female yucca moths
答案
C
解析
题目询问教授提到丝兰蛾的口器的原因。教授提到,丝兰花粉又重又粘,既不能被风吹走,也无法被一般昆虫带走;而丝兰蛾有着特殊的口器,可以给丝兰传粉。由此可知,C项“解释为什么只有丝兰蛾能给丝兰传粉”正确。在提到丝兰蛾的口器时,教授只提及传粉的情况,并没有谈到A项“表明它们可能对丝兰有害”、B项“指出口器与蜜蜂的口器相似”和D项“解释雄丝兰蛾的口器和雌丝兰蛾的口器的区别”。
转载请注明原文地址:https://www.tihaiku.com/zcyy/3327524.html
相关试题推荐
"Professor’sOffice"[img]2012q1/ct_etoefm_etoeflistz_1139_20121[/img][br]Acco
"Professor’sOffice"[img]2012q1/ct_etoefm_etoeflistz_1139_20121[/img][br]Why
"Stress"Readashortpassageandthenlistentopartofalectureonth
NarratorListentopartofalectureinasociologyclass.Nowgetr
NarratorListentopartofalectureinasociologyclass.Nowgetr
NarratorListentopartofalectureinamassmediaclass.Nowget
NarratorListentopartofalectureinamassmediaclass.Nowget
NarratorListentopartofalectureinamassmediaclass.Nowget
NarratorListentopartofalectureinamassmediaclass.Nowget
NarratorListentopartofalectureaboutlibraries.Nowgetready
随机试题
模块A的功能为:从数据库中读出产品信息,修改后存回数据库,然后将修改记录写到维护
马绍尔群岛是在古老玄武岩基岩上形成的珊瑚礁,以环礁居多,科学家研究发现位于图中M
我国基层人民政府与社区居民委员会直接的关系是()。A.服务关系 B.
A.黄芪汤 B.麻子仁丸 C.温脾汤 D.增液汤 E.更衣丸治疗阴虚秘首
正常产褥期为A.3周 B.5周 C.6周 D.7周 E.10周
从所给的四个选项中,选择最合适的一个填入问号处,使之呈现一定的规律性:
维护文件的高度严密性是指:()A.公文的保密性 B.公文语言结构的严密
根据以下资料,回答111——115题。 2007年我国粮食种植面积10553
凝胶剂的常用基质是A.硅酮 B.硬脂酸钠 C.聚乙二醇 D.甘油明胶 E
以下矿物不能由玻璃刻划的有()。A.滑石 B.萤石 C.石英 D.方解石
最新回复
(
0
)