6600萬年前，小行星撞擊恐龍滅絕後，螞蟻開始種植真菌

儘管導致了全球大規模滅絕，但事件發生後，螞蟻群開始養殖這些生物，為它們的繁衍生息創造了理想的條件。

Ants began farming fungi around 66 million years ago, shortly after an asteroid hit Earth and caused a mass extinction event, according to new research.

最新研究表明，大約 6,600 萬年前，小行星撞擊地球並引發大規模滅絕事件後不久，螞蟻就開始種植真菌。

The study, published in the journal Science, also found that it took nearly another 40 million years for ants to then develop higher agriculture, where they began to domesticate fungi in a similar way that humans domesticated crops.

這項發表在《科學》雜誌上的研究也發現，螞蟻又花了近 4,000 萬年才發展出高等農業，它們開始以類似人類馴化作物的方式馴化真菌。

Researchers say many animals have been growing their own food since long before humans existed.

研究人員表示，早在人類出現之前，許多動物就已經開始自己種植食物了。

Ants are known to be skilled farmers, and some species even practice higher agriculture, where they grow their own food and tend to it like a farmer would tend to crops.

眾所周知，螞蟻是熟練的農民，有些物種甚至從事高級農業，它們自己種植食物並像農民照料農作物一樣照料它。

These ants, known as leafcutter ants, harvest bits of fresh vegetation to provide sustenance for their fungi, which in turn grow food for the ants.

這些螞蟻被稱為切葉蟻，它們收穫新鮮的植被為其真菌提供營養，而真菌又為螞蟻種植食物。

Ted Schultz, curator of ants at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, USA, and the lead author, said: “Ants have been practicing agriculture and fungus farming for much longer than humans have existed.

研究的主要作者、美國史密森國家自然歷史博物館螞蟻館長特德舒爾茨 (Ted Schultz) 表示：「螞蟻從事農業和真菌種植的歷史比人類存在的歷史要長得多。

“We could probably learn something from the agricultural success of these ants over the past 66 million years.”

“我們或許可以從這些螞蟻在過去 6600 萬年的農業成功中學到一些東西。”

The study, which also involved researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, USA, and the University of Texas at Austin, USA, also shed light on how the asteroid impact helped to pave the way for ants to become farmers.

這項研究還涉及美國加州大學柏克萊分校和德州大學奧斯汀分校的研究人員，也揭示了小行星撞擊如何幫助螞蟻成為農民鋪平了道路。

The asteroid impact filled the atmosphere with dust and debris, which blocked out the sun and prevented photosynthesis for years, wiping out roughly half of all plant species on the planet.

小行星撞擊使大氣中充滿了灰塵和碎片，這些灰塵和碎片遮擋了陽光，並阻礙了光合作用多年，消滅了地球上大約一半的植物物種。

However, this time was ideal for fungi, with some thriving as they consumed the plentiful dead plant material littering the ground.

然而，這段時間對真菌來說是理想的時期，有些真菌因為消耗了大量散落在地上的死去的植物材料而茁壯成長。

According to the researchers, many of the fungi that grew during this time likely feasted on decaying leaf litter, bringing them into close contact with ants.

研究人員表示，這段時期生長的許多真菌可能以腐爛的落葉為食，使它們與螞蟻有密切接觸。

These insects harnessed the plentiful fungi for food and continued to rely on it as life rebounded from the extinction event.

這些昆蟲利用豐富的真菌作為食物，並在生命從滅絕事件中恢復過來時繼續依賴它。

Dr Schultz added: “Extinction events can be huge disasters for most organisms, but it can actually be positive for others.

舒爾茨博士補充說：「滅絕事件對大多數生物體來說可能是巨大的災難，但實際上對其他生物體來說可能是正面的。

“At the end of Cretaceous, dinosaurs did not do very well, but fungi experienced a heyday.”

“白堊紀末期，恐龍的表現並不好，但真菌經歷了鼎盛時期。”

He noted that while ants began using fungi 66 million years ago, they did not begin higher agriculture until around 25 million years ago.

他指出，雖然螞蟻在 6,600 萬年前就開始使用真菌，但它們直到大約 2500 萬年前才開始高級農業。

When ants took fungi out of the wet forests and into drier areas, the isolated fungi became completely reliant on ants to survive in the arid conditions, with the ants essentially domesticating these fungi in the same way that humans domesticated crops.

當螞蟻將真菌從潮濕的森林帶到乾燥的地區時，孤立的真菌完全依賴螞蟻在乾旱條件下生存，而螞蟻基本上就像人類馴化農作物一樣馴化這些真菌。