Pillbug

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].

Pillbugs and sowbugs are terrestrial isopods that belong to the order Isopoda and the arthropod class crustacean. According to the Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, the terrestrial isopods have evolved from the marine forms. However despite the fact that they seek moist environments they must also avoid an overly moist environment (Journal of Insect Science, 2008). The two different species resemble one another phenotypically. However, pillbugs are a dark gray and the sow bugs are a light gray with posterior projections. Pillbugs also curl into a ball when they feel endangered and the sow bugs do not. The pill bugs used in this experiment were female. Isopods primarily live in dark, damp habitats in order to prevent dehydration (Isopod Behavior Lab). The purpose of this experiment was to determine the type of environment isopods prefer. First we tested to see if the isopods preferred a dry or moist environment and then we tested to see if they preferred the potting soil or the leaf litter environment. For the observation of isopods in response to moisture experiment it was said that each of the two different species would prefer a different environment. For part two, Observation of Isopods in response to other variables, it was hypothesized that the Isopods would prefer the potting soil or the leaf litter environment.

The isopods used for this experiment range in color from gray to brown and were about 8.5 to 18 mm in length. Each Isopod’s head had one pair of antennae and one pair of antennules, both used to detect sensory stimuli from the environment around the pillbug. Their bodies were made of a hard thorax with seven segments and an abdomen. Each pillbug had seven pairs of legs, one for each segment of its thorax. Pill bugs breathe through gill-like structures and must live in moist places.

The Pill Bug Lab created many various trends or patterns in the data. The data in figure 2 show that towards the beginning of the experiment, the pill bugs were very active in both the wet and dry environments. This is because the Pill Bugs were suddenly placed in an environment they had not been in before, so there first reaction was to find a place of comfort to settle in. Over time, which figure 1 shows, many pill bugs switched from one location to another and continued to move back and forth. As the experiment was coming to an end, the data shows that the pill bugs slowly started to settle into their final destination.

Acid deposition can come in two forms, dry and wet. Wet deposition is when the acid falls in the form of fog, snow or other precipitation. Dry deposition is found in dry areas where it does not precipitate often. In these areas the chemicals fall as dust or smoke, and stick to whatever they land on. Acid deposition can be result to both natural and manmade sources. Natural sources of acid deposition include electrical storms, volcanoes, and decaying vegetation. Man-made emissions, from power plants that burn fossil fuels are released into the atmosphere as nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur dioxide (SO2). These elements react to oxygen, water, and other gasses in the atmosphere in order to form acidic compounds. These acidic compounds then fall in either a wet or dry form. Acid rain can have a potentially devastating effects on the ecosystem it falls on. When acid rain hits the ground, it faces a natural buffer in the soil often in the form of limestone and calcium carbonate. The water will then travel into either a stream or a lake, where it affects fish. If the fallen rain has a pH at or below 5 undesirable species invade, often in the form of mosses or plankton. The top layer of water becomes too acidic for the inhabitants reproductive cycle to work properly, slowly killing off the

The goal of this experiment was to determine the type of environment that pill bugs prefer to live in. The result of the experiment show that the pill bugs react differently when they are placed in the different temperature. Based on the result, in the trial 1, all four pill bugs moved well in the cold and hot environment. The number of full round was high in cold environment compared to the hot environment. The number turns were high in the hot environment than cold environment. In the trial 2, the result shows that all pill bugs moved in the cold and hot environment, but the number of full round and the number of turns made by pill bugs were high in the environment with temperature. Trial 3 result shows that the pill bugs moved

As supported by the data, we can conclude that the pill bugs were able to individually adapt to the environment that best suited each of them. Some preferred the wet soil and others liked the dry, but overall it is all about survival. Animal behavior is centered around the theme of natural selection and survival of the fittest, because an animal’s main goal is to survive and reproduce. The ability for pill bugs to adapt to new environments benefits their survival skills and increases their chance of reproduction. Eventually their increase in survival skills will result in the evolutionary growth of pill bugs, who will become stronger and less

Pill bugs are significant for their decomposition such as earthworms and snails. They are also capable of eating copper, zinc, lead, and cadmium. These creatures are also not a bug since they are part of the Crustaceans meaning which are related to shrimp, crabs, and lobster. These all have a hard shell and have multiple legs on each

In this laboratory experiment we will be testing a variable to see what a pill bugs will be drawn to eat. Pill bugs are detritovores meaning they eat decomposing leaves and other types of decaying matter. As well they will eat their own feces if they need re-digest food they had eaten early and will resort to eating their own fellow pill bugs if they get hurt. Pill bugs possess a sense of smell sight and touch and have small eyes with poor vision. They use this smell to find food and mates as well they use aggregate pheromones to leave a trail so other pill bugs can find them. In environments that are dry they will be less active and prefer the night and cooler environments. ( Web, Animal Diversity.)

Why do organisms respond to environmental factors? Organisms keep themselves in the most favorable conditions in order to survive. Pill bugs are members of the terrestrial isopod family. Terrestrial Isopods retrieve oxygen through their gills and live in dark damp environments. These organisms eat decaying plant and animal matter. Sow bugs, also known as pill bugs were tested to see how they react or respond to environmental factors. In this lab two different experiments were conducted. During the first experiment pill bugs were tested to see if they prefer a light environment or a dark environment. Throughout second experiment the pill bugs were tested to see how many of the bugs prefer an environment with vinegar or environment

Pillbugs (Armadillidiidae) live in moist environments outdoors and usually found under rocks or dark places like crevices. They often bury themselves several inches beneath the soil surface to avoid hot, dry conditions (Merchant 2017). Another frequent hiding place is behind the grass edge adjoining sidewalks and foundations (Potter 2017). Although they sometimes enter in large numbers, they do not bite, sting, or transmit diseases, nor do they infest food, clothing or wood. They are simply a nuisance by their presence (Potter 2017). Pill Bugs feed mostly on decaying animals and plants as their main source of food but sometimes they feed on young plants. If they do eat young plants it does not have any significant impact on the bug. If they

6. In conclusion, in the wet and acidic lab, the pillbugs preferred the wet over the acidic m because the bugs’ natural habitat has neutral pH levels.

living organisms to be able to adjust to acidic rain that quickly in a short time span. According

Ocean Acidification is a process that occurs everyday and majorly affects our planet, but most people don’t even realize it exists. Though it can technically be argued that Ocean Acidification has some benefits for the planet, most of the time the effects of this process are very poor and negatively affect the entire world around us. Human evolution has played a major role in contributing to Ocean Acidification. Whenever humans use energy we release Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere or also known as CO2. This can be in the form of burning fossil fuels from the ground or the removal of national forest by burning. CO2 is a greenhouse gas, which means whenever we can emit it in large quantities or unnatural amounts it can have negative effects on the atmosphere. These high levels of CO2 in the atmosphere result in climate change and more specifically Ocean Acidification. Ocean Acidification occurs when excess Carbon Dioxide is absorbed into the ocean. When this process takes place it can completely disturb the chemical balances of the water. For example, it can reduce pH levels, Biodiversity, and the abundance of calcifying species.