Pill Bug Lab Report

The purpose of our experiment is to test animal behavior and reactions to a change in environment. Our guiding question is, “Why do living organisms respond to environmental factors?” This is basically a question that is asking why living things will react a certain way to environmental changes. The task to answer this question is to experiment with changing environmental factors with pill bugs.

Pill bugs, Armadillidium vulgare, are terrestrial isopods [Gibbs, Smigel, 2008]. Thus, they are not very well adapted to land [Gibbs, Smigel, 2008]. Water loss is a reoccurring theme because terrestrial isopods lack “cuticular lipids and the elaborate spiracular apparatus of insects” [Gibbs, Smigel, 2008]. Most of the water loss is evaporation from the respiratory organs [Gibbs, Smigel, 2008]. The respiratory organs are called pleopods, and are gill-like organs “located on the ventral abdominal segments” [Gibbs, Smigel, 2008]. Interestingly, pill bugs are capable of conglobation, the ability to roll up in a ball [Gibbs, Smigel, 2008]. In addition to protection from predation, conglobation may also conserve water [Gibbs, Smigel, 2008].

The vials were placed in the water and the oxygen levels were read every 5 minutes until 30 minutes was reached. As the oxygen levels were collected they were put into a table that had all three tubes labeled at each 5-minute increment. After 30 minutes the experiment was completed and the clean up process could begin.

This information would suggest that the sow bugs were not especially interested in food at the time the experiment took place.

Natural selection is the process whereby organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring. One saline solution yielded the highest hatching viability because only one of the solutions was suitable for the brine shrimps and they were able to adapt to that place. The other

This information is true because the data have a p-value of 0.055793. This also allows us to support the null hypothesis, and reject the previously stated hypothesis. Shifting next to hypothesis 2, using the chi squared test to find a p-value of 0.00000000605505 to determine that acidity of a region had a significant relationship between the amount of isopods and the amount of acid or base present. This means that we should reject the null hypothesis, and support our original hypothesis. Now, hypothesis 3 had a p-value of 0.001823 showing us that the relationship between the isopod count and the amount of light present is significant. This information disproves the null hypothesis, as well as the previously stated hypothesis because the isopods were in fact drawn to a darker environment. Lastly, hypothesis 4 gives a p-value of 0.0000000153118 expressing that the relationship between temperature and amount of isopods are significant. This allows us to determine that we should reject the null hypothesis as well as the original hypothesis due to the fact that there was a significant amount of isopods in the cold

This experiment was performed to observe the taxis and kinesis of certain organisms. This is important because the organism’s survival and ability to reproduce depends on how they orient to stimuli using senses. We investigated the behavior of pill bugs to determine if they’ll move towards or away from the vinegar through smell. If I place pill bugs in a behavior tray with different chambers, then they’ll move away from the chambers that contains vinegar. A behavior tray with 5 chambers is used and 2 were control while the other 2 has cotton balls with a few drops of vinegar on it. 5 pill bugs are positioned in the center of the chambers and is covered with a transparent cover to observe the organisms for 10 minutes. Results had shown the class

Wet and Dry Environments To find whether Pill bugs gravitate toward a wet or a dry experiment, two coffee filters were cut to the size of the petri dish and placed inside, however one was dampened before being placed on the bottom. Dirt was then added on top to promote a more realistic environment and five Pill bugs were placed in each side before starting to prevent bias on an environment. A log was taken every thirty (30) seconds for ten (10) minutes on how many bugs were in each chamber and a graph was then made to show the changes of the bugs' positions over time. Again, if a Pill bug was in the transgression tunnel he was determined to be in a dish by the direction he was moving or the way it's head was facing.

Acidity increases by ten times for one pH level increase. Soil pH is a major constraint on plant growth. Since plants are the base of the ecosystem, pillbugs may be affected by the pH change as well. Soil acidity can be assisted by addition of certain other plants, like AM fungi, or the addition of basic materials (Kawahara, et. al., 2016). We decided to investigate which pH level pillbugs naturally preferred. We created three different choice chambers that had pH levels of 5, 7, and 9. This experiment will test if pH has an effect on pillbug choice of habitat.We predicted that there will be more pillbugs in the choice chamber with a pH of 7 because a pH level of 5.5 to 7 is considered to be the normal, natural environment of pillbugs. Usually, the pH that pillbugs are found in are 5.5 to 7 (Kawahara, et. al., 2016). In each habitat, the number of pillbugs will be counted every minute for 15 minutes. If a pillbug is in between chambers during the counting, they may be counted for the chamber to which they are

Then we inverted the tubes so an air bubble would form in the little tube that is now upside-down. Now that we know what to do, we marked the little tube 2/3 full. One tube was filled to that line with glucose solution, another with fructose solution, sucrose solution and the last one with water. Next, the little tubes were topped off with a yeast solution. Then we slide a big tube over the little one and completed the inversion, this is done for every little test tube. After they are all inverted our group measured the bubble present at the top of the little tube. Then we put all of the inverted test tubes into a hot water bath for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes we took the tubes out and measure the air bubbles in the tubes. Next, we recorded the data calculated the net change from the beginning of the experiment to after the hot

Which of the following conclusions is most valid, given the results of experiment 1? 6-8.2

However, the experiment could have been conducted in further detail to produce a more accurate set of results.

Group 1 received 107% for 0.0m, 109% for 0.25m, 112% for 0.5m, and 126% for 0.75m. Group 2 received 100% for 0.0m, 107% for 0.25m, 116% for 0.5m, and 117% for 0.75m. Group 3 received 100% for 0.0m, 106% for 0.25m, 114% for 0.5 m, and 117% for 0.75m. Group 4 received 100% for 0.0m, 106% for 0.25m, 113% for 0.5m, and 116% for 0.75m. Group 5 received 98% for 0.0m, 105% for 0.25m, 110% for 0.5m, and 115% for 0.75m. Group 6 received 104% for 0.0m, 108% for 0.25m, 111% for 0.5m, and 104% for 0.75m. The trend line that occurred for the rate of osmosis was an upward increase as the solute concentration increased.

1. 5 sucrose solutions were made of increasing molarity: 0.2 M, 0.4 M, 0.6 M, 0.8 M, 1.0M. 2. 50 mL of each unknown solution were poured into 5 separate cups. A slice of potato was placed into 5 equal cylinders. 3. The mass of the 5 potato cylinders were then recorded. 4. The cylinders were placed into the foam cups with solution and covered with plastic wrap. It is to be left overnight. 5. The room temperature was recorded in Celsius. 6. The cylinders are then to be removed from the cups and carefully blotted of any excess solution. 7. The mass of the potato cylinders were recorded afterwards.

This experiment was used to examine the hypothesis that: Osmosis is dependent on the concentrations of the substances involved.