Sowbugs Preference Lab Report
Sowbugs Lab: Will Sowbugs Prefer Grass or Sand?
Tianna Szczesniak
Biology 125-F
Tuesday/Thursday 3PM
Dr. Wittke-Thompson
December 1st, 2011
ABSTRACT
Sowbugs live in wet locations. They are found under damp objects or in organic garbage. If they enter a building, they will often dry out and die. The purpose of this experiment was to observe the trend of sowbug preference. Our hypothesis was that sowbugs prefer grass to sand as a ground covering because grass is more suitable to them due to its moisture level and that it contains decaying matter. In this experiment, we put 20 sowbugs into a container filled half with sand, and half with grass and documented their preference. The results of this experiment show that sowbugs prefer sand to grass. There are many factors that can affect the preference of the bug. Some factors including the following: species, diurnal rhythms, time of the experiment, and oxygen concentration.
INTRODUCTION
According to Cloudsley-Thompson (1951) there are two types of diurnal rhythms: exogenous and endogenous. The factors that could have affected this experiment are endogenous, which are frequently correlated with environmental changes such as light, temperature, and relative humidity. They were taken from their natural habitat and put into a room with different temperature and lighting than what they are used to. Another factor to be considered is that although many species are active during a certain period of day or night and are quiescent for the remainder of the 24 hours, some exhibit different kinds of activity at different times. (Cloudsley- Thompson, 1951) Our hypothesis was that sowbugs prefer grass to sand. If the bugs prefer sand to grass, it could be because of other factors.
MATERIALS & METHODS
The first thing we did when we performed this experiment was gather our materials. We needed the clear, plastic experiment container, fresh grass, sand, and 20 Sowbugs. Next, we measured the amount of grass
Tianna Szczesniak
Biology 125-F
Tuesday/Thursday 3PM
Dr. Wittke-Thompson
December 1st, 2011
ABSTRACT
Sowbugs live in wet locations. They are found under damp objects or in organic garbage. If they enter a building, they will often dry out and die. The purpose of this experiment was to observe the trend of sowbug preference. Our hypothesis was that sowbugs prefer grass to sand as a ground covering because grass is more suitable to them due to its moisture level and that it contains decaying matter. In this experiment, we put 20 sowbugs into a container filled half with sand, and half with grass and documented their preference. The results of this experiment show that sowbugs prefer sand to grass. There are many factors that can affect the preference of the bug. Some factors including the following: species, diurnal rhythms, time of the experiment, and oxygen concentration.
INTRODUCTION
According to Cloudsley-Thompson (1951) there are two types of diurnal rhythms: exogenous and endogenous. The factors that could have affected this experiment are endogenous, which are frequently correlated with environmental changes such as light, temperature, and relative humidity. They were taken from their natural habitat and put into a room with different temperature and lighting than what they are used to. Another factor to be considered is that although many species are active during a certain period of day or night and are quiescent for the remainder of the 24 hours, some exhibit different kinds of activity at different times. (Cloudsley- Thompson, 1951) Our hypothesis was that sowbugs prefer grass to sand. If the bugs prefer sand to grass, it could be because of other factors.
MATERIALS & METHODS
The first thing we did when we performed this experiment was gather our materials. We needed the clear, plastic experiment container, fresh grass, sand, and 20 Sowbugs. Next, we measured the amount of grass