魔鬼椒护卫！田鼠退避！

SUMMER

4 Aug 2018

Conservationists trying to restore the United States’s grasslands kept running into a problem: As soon as they planted the seeds meant to bring back native flora, hungry mice would gobble them up.

试图恢复美国绿地的保育学家们总是会碰到一个难题：每当他们种好了那些将会恢复本地花草的种子时，饥饿的老鼠们就会把它们吃掉。

In an effort to deter the rodents, biologists tried coating the seeds with capsaicin, the active ingredient that gives chili peppers their signature fiery taste.

为了对抗鼠类，生物学家们试着给这些种子包裹上辣椒素，辣椒素是给红辣椒们带来标志性的辛辣味道的活性成分。

It worked: Dusting the seeds with chili powder reduced the number of seeds consumed by deer mice by 86%, researchers report in Restoration Ecology.

结果起作用了：用辣椒粉撒在种子上后，被老鼠吃掉的种子减少了86%，研究员们最近在《复原生态学》上发表了结果。

The hot discovery required some trial and error.

这次重大的发现也经历了很多的试验和失败。

One big challenge was finding a chili powder that would deter the mice but not prevent the seeds from germinating.

一大挑战就是要找到一种辣椒粉，既能够对抗老鼠，又不会阻碍种子发芽。

Another was finding a coating that wouldn’t weather away after a few months outdoors.

另一大挑战就是要找到一种包裹方法，几个月内它都不会在户外被冲刷掉。

After 4 years of laboratory and field experiments in Montana’s Missoula Valley, researchers found a workable recipe.

在蒙大拿的米苏拉谷经历了4年的实验室和田间试验之后，研究员们终于找到了一个可用的配方。

A powder made from the Bhut jolokia, or ghost pepper, from India—considered to be one of the world’s hottest chilis—did the trick.

利用来自印度的断魂椒或者叫做魔鬼椒制成的粉末—被认为是世界上最辣的辣椒—符合要求。

The scientists suggest their findings demonstrate how nontoxic, natural plant defense compounds—such as capsaicin—can be used to aid restoration efforts.

科学家们建议说，他们的发现展示了这种非毒性的，自然的植物防御化合物—比如辣椒素—可以用于帮助保育尝试。

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