Hermit Crabs Lab Report

Introduction
In Ecology, available resources are a key aspect to the vitality of organisms. Certain resources obtained from the environment have a distinct influence on population distribution and density in communities. These resources are often limiting factors in the carrying capacity of a particular species in an ecosystem. An example of resource limitation that affects the population of an ecological community is the dependency of hermit crabs on snail shell availability.
Hermit crab species require snail shells to survive in their environment (Tricarico 2006). Shells are essential to habitat structure and processes (Gutierrez 2003). Hermit crabs are soft bodied crustaceans that cannot produce a hard exoskeleton themselves. The snail shells provide shelter from
At Lanai Lookout Right, the mean density of hermit crab species was 41.6 per m2 (Figure 1). At Lanai Lookout Left, the mean density value of hermit crabs was 14.25 per m2. (Figure 1). The density of Lanai Lookout Right was nearly three times the density value of Lanai Lookout Left. The standard deviation for Lanai Lookout Right was 80.52 and the standard deviation for Lanai Lookout Left was 16.07. The differences in hermit crab densities were not statistically significant (ANOVA, p=0.26). The difference in average density values of snail shells was greater than hermit crab densities. At Lanai Lookout Right, the mean density of snail shells was 79.36 per m2 (Figure 2). At Lanai Lookout Left, the mean density value of snail shells was 394.82 per m2 (Figure 2). The density of Lanai Lookout Left was nearly five times the density value of Lanai Lookout Left. The standard deviation for Lanai Lookout Right was 164.94. and the standard deviation for Lanai Lookout Left was 337.3. The differences in snail shell densities were not statistically significant (ANOVA,