animal behavior lab

Siri Dominguez

F Block

4/12/2014

Animal Behavior Lab with Pillbugs

ABSTRACT: to study the behavioral characteristics of pillbugs, my partner and I tested three different experiments. The first was wet v. dry, the second was light v. dark, and the third was honey v. wet. For the first experiment we found that the bugs did not really seem to care whether the paper was wet or not. In the second experiment, we concluded that our hypothesis had been correct since most of the pillbugs stayed in the shaded area. Finally for the third experiment, we found that the pillbugs preferred to stay on the wet dish, rather than the one covered with honey.

INTRO: Animal behavior is defined as anything that an organism does involving action and response to stimulation. Therefore, there are many different types of question one can ask concerning animal behavior. Two main types of questions are proximate and ultimate. Proximate questions give an explanation of an animal's behavior based on trigger stimuli and internal mechanisms. Ultimate questions give an explanation of an animal's behavior based on evolution. Requires that behavioral traits, like physical ones, are genetically heritable, and then explains behavior using an explanation of why this specific behavioral trait was favored by natural selection. Example of proximate question: What hormones trigger birds to sing during mating season? Example of ultimate question: How have bird songs adapted to become better at attracting mates? Imprinting is an example of both ultimate and proximate causation. Proximate cause: During an early, critical developmental stage, the young geese observe their mother moving away from them and calling which allows them to remember their mother call. Ultimate cause: On average, geese that follow and imprint on their mother receive more care and learn necessary skills, and thus have a greater chance of surviving than those that do not follow their mother. Within behavior there are also many noticeable patterns which can be referred to as a fixed action.  A fixed action pattern is one of the few types of behaviors which can be said to be hard-wired and instinctive. An example of a fixed action pattern is the hibernation of bears during the winter. Behavioral response also have to main categories, kinesis and taxis. Kinesis, like a taxis or tropism, is a movement or activity of a cell or an organism in response to a stimulus. However, unlike taxis, the response to the stimulus provided (such as gas exposure, light intensity or ambient temperature) is non-directional. An example kinesis: the locomotion of a woodlice in relation to humidity. With increased humidity there is an increase in the percentage time that the woodlice will remain stationary. An example of taxis: the migration of birds south for the winter in response to the cold. There are two main categories I which a behavioral technique can be introduced, classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning is a learning process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired; a response that is at first elicited by the second stimulus is eventually elicited by the first stimulus alone. Operant conditioning (or instrumental conditioning) is a type of learning in which an individual's behavior is modified by its antecedents and consequences (rewards and punishments).

HYPOTHESIS: Experiment #1: if the one of the papers is wet, then the pillbugs with congregate to that area because they prefer cooler surfaces.

Experiment #2: if one dish is covered, then the pillbugs will prefer to stay in that dish because they are more accustomed and comfortable with being in the dark.

Experiment #3: if one of the papers is covered with honey and the other is wet, then the pillbugs will prefer the wet dish because the honey is sticky and different from what they are accustomed to.

MATERIALS (for all experiments):

·         10 pillbugs

·         2 petri dishes connected

·         Light

·         Circle sheets of paper

·         Box cover (to cover one side)

·         Honey

·         Water

PROCEDURE:

1^st experiment:

1.      Place two sheets of circle paper in petri dish and wet one side.

2.      Place 10 pillbugs spread evenly on both sides

3.      Place box cover on top of dishes and collect data

4.      After four minutes, remove box cover and continue to collect data for 3 more minutes

2^nd experiment

1.      Place two sheets of circle paper in dishes and cover one side with box cover

2.      Place lamp over the other side that is uncovered

3.      Put 10 pillbugs on dishes

4.      Record data

3^rd experiment

1.      Place two sheets of circle paper in dishes wet one side with water and the other with honey.

2.      Place 10 pillbugs in dishes

3.      Record data

RESULTS:

1st experiment:

2^nd experiment:

3^rd experiment:

CONCLUSION: For the first experiment we found that the bugs did not really seem to care whether the paper was wet or not. This disproved our hypothesis, since we originally thought the bugs would prefer the wet dish. Our control was the dry piece of paper, and our two constants were temperature, and amount of pillbugs. Sources of error were miscounding, and uncovering the dishes too soon. In the second experiment, we concluded that our hypothesis had been correct since most of the pillbugs stayed in the shaded area. Our two constants were amount of pillbugs and dry petri dish paper. Sources of error may have been timing incorrectly or miss counting the bugs. Finally for the third experiment, we found that the pillbugs preferred to stay on the wet dish, rather than the one covered with honey. This also proved our hypothesis correct since we had guessed the wet texture would be more “normal” to the pillbugs. Our two constants were amount of pillbugs and temperature. Sources of error could have been too much water or honey, and miscounting.

CITATIONS:

Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.

 Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 12 Apr. 2014.