蛇通過變成黑色來吸收陽光

In the southern United States, snakes can bevibrant and bright. In the North, they tend to bedark and drab. A dark coat may seem a bitdepressing. It may, however, help northern snakessoak up heat from the sun more quickly than theirsouthern kin, a teen finds. And a quick solar heatingcould prove an advantage in colder climes.

在美國南部，那里的蛇能夠發(fā)出響聲，而且很顏色鮮艷。在北方，這些蛇會傾向于變成黑色或者淺褐色。黑色的蛇皮或會看起來有點(diǎn)了無生氣。但是，一名青少年發(fā)現(xiàn)，與南方的同類蛇相比，黑色皮膚能幫助北方的蛇更快地吸收太陽的溫度。在較為寒冷的氣候下，快速吸收太陽的熱量，對蛇比較有利。

Gianna Fantell, 15, presented the results of her serpentine research, here, at the IntelInternational Science and Engineering Fair.

15歲的吉安娜·范泰爾，在英特爾國際科學(xué)與工程博覽會上，展示了自己對蛇紋石的研究結(jié)果。

Snake fan Gianna Fantell showed that more northerly snakes tend to be darker than those inthe South. Darker colors might help snakes soak up the sun’s warmth.

吉安娜·范泰爾對蛇非常感興趣，她發(fā)現(xiàn)蛇所處的地點(diǎn)越是往北，它們的顏色比南方的蛇就越深。更深的顏色或許可以幫助蛇更好地獲取太陽的溫度。

The freshman at Colonia High School in New Jersey has loved snakes for most of her life. “Iremember I was trick-or-treating, and this woman came out [of her house] with an albino cornsnake,” she recalls. Gianna instantly became fascinated with the creatures.

新澤西州科洛尼亞高中的一名新生在生活中酷愛蛇。她回憶說“我記得有一次我在萬圣節(jié)搗蛋，一位女士就拿著一條白色的玉米蛇走出了房間。”吉安娜立馬對這一生物產(chǎn)生了濃厚的興趣。

When it came time to design a research project for school, snakes were a natural focus. Flippingthrough a field guide, she noticed a pattern. “Farther north, the pigmentation of snakes isdarker.”

當(dāng)學(xué)校需要我設(shè)計一個研究項目的時候，蛇自然成了我研究的重點(diǎn)。通過研究一份野外工作指南，她發(fā)現(xiàn)一個規(guī)律。“越是往北，蛇的顏色越深。”