Animal Behavior Lab

ABSTRACT:

In this lab, we are experimenting to find out the behavior of pill bugs. We created two experiments. One tested for the reaction of pill bugs to wet and dry areas. The other tested for the reaction of pill bugs to areas with and without honey. We originally thought that since pill bugs are found in wet places in nature, the pill bugs would be drawn to the wet chamber. We also originally thought that since honey can be a food source, the pill bugs would be drawn to the honey chamber. We were able to determine if our hypothesis was correct by recording the number of pill bugs in each chamber for a set period of time.

INTRODUCTION:

Behavior is an animal's response to sensory (internal or external) input. There are two basic types of behavior, learned and inherited/innate. The study of animal behavior is called ethology. The proximate questions about behavior are questions that focus on the environmental stimuli that trigger a certain behavior. These questions are also known as the "How" questions. Ultimate questions are ones that ask about the evolutionary significance of the certain behavior. Theres questions are also knows as the "Why" questions. If a bird is singing, a proximate question could be, How can the bird know when is the right time to sing? An ultimate question could be, Does the singing have evolutionary benefits e.g. is it able to attract mates to continue the bloodline of the bird? Fixed action patterns are a pattern or sequence of unlearned behavior acts that is unable to change once started and is usually carried to the end or completion. An example of fixed action patterns are mating dances of birds. Imprinting is a type of behavior that includes innate and learning components and is usually irreversible. Imprinting has a sensitive period meaning that there is a limited phase in an animal's development when particular behaviors can be understood and learned. A proximate question for imprinting in young geese is, What specific actions does the mother goose do in order to trigger imprinting? An ultimate question is, Does imprinting help the young geese learn vital skills which will help them succeed in their lives? Orientation behaviors help move the animal into its most desirable environment. In taxis, the animal goes toward or away from a stimulus. The stimulus is usually light, heat, moisture, sound, or chemicals. Kinesis is the movement that does not result in the orientation with respect to the stimulus and is random. If an animal responds to loud noises by coming towards it, then that is taxis. If it responds by moving all over the place and by random movements, then that is kinesis. Classical conditioning is a type of associated learning where arbitrary stimulus is associated with a reward of punishment. Operant conditioning is a type of associated learning where an animal learns to associate one of its behaviors with a reward or punishment.

HYPOTHESIS:

If the 10 pill bugs are placed in two chambers, one wet and one dry, then they will move into the wet chamber over time in a taxis manner because in nature pill bugs are usually found in wet habitats. If the 10 pill bugs are placed in two chambers, one with honey and one with nothing, then the pill bugs will also move in a taxis manner to the honey chamber because honey contains sugar and other sources of food and nutrients. In our experiment the independent variable would be the time that the pill bugs stay in the chambers. The dependent variable would be the number of pill bugs in each different chamber.

MATERIALS:

- 2 containers each with 2 attached chambers
- 4 pieces of filter paper
- 10 pill bugs
- beaker containing water
- beaker containing honey
- brush

PROCEDURE:

1. Use a container with 2 chambers attached in it. Put filter paper in each chamber. Put water in one chamber and leave the other alone as a control.

2. Gently brush pill bugs into chambers and record the number of pill bugs in each chamber.

3. Cover the the chambers to make them dark. After 30 seconds, record the number of pill bugs in each chamber.

4. Keep recording the number until 7 minutes are up. Then take the pill bugs out and clean up.

5. For the honey experiment, use the same steps above but instead of water use honey.

RESULTS:

Time (Minutes)	# of pill bugs in wet chamber	# of pill bugs in control chamber
0	5	5
0.5	4	6
1	5	5
1.5	6	4
2	6	4
2.5	6	4
3	5	5
3.5	3	7
4	5	5
4.5	5	5
5	5	5
5.5	6	4
6	7	3
6.5	7	3
7	7	3

Time (Minutes)	# in honey chamber	# in control chamber
0	4	6
0.5	4	6
1	4	6
1.5	5	5
2	4	6
2.5	5	5
3	5	5
3.5	5	5
4	5	5
4.5	5	5
5	5	5
5.5	5	5
6	6	4
6.5	6	4
7	5	5

CONCLUSION:

In the first experiment with the wet and dry chambers, at first it seems that the pill bugs are moving around in a kinesis manner. However over time majority of the pill bugs eventually move towards the stimulus, the water. If we timed the pill bugs for longer, they probably would all move towards the water eventually because their natural habitat is wet as well. For the second experiment with the honey, the pill bugs do not show a preference to either chamber. They move in a kinesis manner. For a long time there is an equal amount of pill bugs in each chamber. This concludes that even though honey may be a source of nutrients to some animals, it does not have a direct effect on pill bugs. But, if we had timed longer, we might have seen a pattern or a preference. One source of error is that we might have spilled a drop of water into the control or dry chamber during the honey experiment, so the pill bugs may have been drawn to that.