Juan Meza
Ms. Johnson
A.P. Biology, Per 1
November 5, 2014
Animal Behavior Lab
Objective: The objective of this lab was to observe the behavior of pill bugs in different environments. If the pill bugs were exposed to hydrochloric acid, then they will stay where the hydrochloric acid is.
Materials/Methods: Materials involved in the lab were; 2 filter papers, 10 pill bugs, a behavior tray, masking tape, hydrochloric acid and a timer. For part C, my group put a few drops into the behavioral tray section labeled, “A”. We then recorded how many pill bugs were in each chamber, each minute, for ten minutes.
Results: The observations recorded for part B, the trials were there was no chemical influence, were that the larger pill bugs tended to stay together in a single chamber. The smaller pill bugs soon followed. On average, the total amount of pill bugs in chamber A was 4.6 and the average for chamber B was 5.4. During chemo taxis, part C, the pill bugs tended to slow down when over the hydrochloric acid and stayed over the acid for a long period of time. The average for chamber A was 7.1 pill bugs, the chamber with acid, and the average for chamber B was 2.9. There were always more pill bugs in chamber A than B. The table on the left is for part B and the table on the right is for part C.
Discussion: Pill bugs are usually found in moist or damp environments. These bugs fall under the category of crustaceans but can live their lifetime on just land alone. There are over 4,000 species of pill bugs according to Northern State University. These bugs must live in damp environments or they will dry out and die. The optimal temperature necessary for a pill bug’s survival is humidity greater than 50%. Pill bugs are vital to their ecosystems because they form part of the decomposing fauna. These pill bugs return organic matter to the soil where it is further digested by fungi, thus making nutrients for plants to grow. My group chose
