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  • This episode is brought to you by the Music for Scientists album,

  • now available on all streaming services.

  • [♪ INTRO]

  • In the late 2010s, scientists realized that what everyone had long thought of as one species

  • of electric eel was actually three.

  • Also, they figured out that in the biggest species, which they decided to call Volta's electric eels,

  • individuals grow to be over two meters long and can stun their prey with an 860-volt electric shock.

  • That's over fifty times the voltage of a car battery!

  • Butthat's not the most shocking thing about them

  • Thanks to further research on this newly described species,

  • we now know that these eels can hunt, and zap, in packs!

  • Electric eels are basically living tasers

  • They have specializedelectric organsthat contain thousands of special cells called electrocytes

  • These generate and store electricity until it is time to unleash a zap.

  • But until recently, we didn't know much about how these giant fish hunt,

  • since they're kinda hard to find.

  • They live in remote, murky waterways in South America.

  • Waterways that people are, understandably, like a bit hesitant to dive into.

  • There's a bunch of electric eels in there

  • We assumed, based on the few observations that had been made,

  • that all electric eels hunt at night, alone, using their supercharged abilities to stun small fish.

  • So it came as a surprise when researchers found a lake on the Iriri River in Brazil's state of Pará

  • where more than a hundred of them appeared to be hanging out together in a big electric eel gang

  • Scientists first noticed that something weird was up with the eels in this lake in 2012,

  • and they returned in 2014 to collect more data.

  • They found that these giant packs of eels actually hunt cooperatively.

  • Massive groups of eels in the lake, as many as a hundred at a time,

  • work together to drive schools of fish into tight balls.

  • Then, a few eels move in close to deliver a massive shock to the cornered fish,

  • stunning them so hard that they sometimes fly right out of the water.

  • Once the fish are stunned, the eels can all enjoy an easy and enormous meal.

  • I mean, yikes!

  • There are still a lot of unanswered questions about electric eels' cooperative hunting behavior.

  • For one thing, it's not clear how the eels coordinate

  • Though, some other fishes use gentle pulses of electricity to talk to one another.

  • So, it's possible they're somehow communicating via low-voltage shocks!

  • Which would be very cool.

  • Also, the researchers haven't been able to measure exactly

  • how much voltage is actually delivered when the eels work together.

  • Of course, “a lotis probably a safe guess!

  • And no one knows if all this is unique to the eels living in one lake.

  • The lake certainly has features that might encourage cooperative behavior,

  • including a lot of available prey and a lot of room for eels.

  • Those factors could come together in other places,

  • but if roving packs of hungry eels working together were a common occurrence,

  • you'd think we'd have heard about it by now.

  • But, maybe not.

  • There's a lot we don't see happen in those murky waterways!

  • So the scientists who discovered this have a lot of fun field work ahead of them to sort out all the details.

  • In the meantime, we all get to be stunned by the incredible ingenuity of these fish

  • Speaking of things that have stunned me: I loved the Music for Scientists album,

  • written and recorded by Patrick Olson.

  • It's an artistic tribute to everyone who has dedicated their lives to science

  • and science-driven work, and every song is beautiful.

  • For example there's the songthe current,”

  • which isn't/about electricity, but it is about that uniquely wonderful feeling that psychologists callflow

  • and how you can lose yourself in music.

  • I do that all the time.

  • So, if you want to check it out, look forMusic for Scientistson any of the major music streaming services.

  • [♪ OUTRO]

This episode is brought to you by the Music for Scientists album,

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B2 中高級 美國腔

电鳗比您在包装中更大(Electric Eels Bigger Than You Zap in PACKS)

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    joey joey 發佈於 2021 年 05 月 14 日
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