Objectives:
To investigate the habituation of snails to harmless stimulus.
To develop problem solving and experimental skills, for example, information is accurately processed and presented, experimental procedures are planned, designed and evaluated properly, producing valid results, recording results, and valid conclusion is drawn.
To learn the correct way of poking the snail.
Problem Statement:
When a garden snail is touched, it withdraws its eye stalks into its body quickly. This is a quick response of the snail to avoid dangers and ensure survival. Do snails habituate to the stimulus of touch with repeated stimulation?
Abstract:
The main objective of this experiment is to investigate the habituation of snails to touch stimulus. The main method used in this experiment is to touch the part of the snail between their eye stalk. The time taken for the eye stalks to enter and re-emerge from the shell is measured by using a stopwatch. This step is then repeated until the snail no longer withdraws its eye stalks into the shell. The main result in this experiment is that the time taken for the snail to enter and re-emerged from the shell decreases with every poking done. Therefore, it is to conclude that a snail can be habituated with a harmless stimulus.
Introduction:
Snail
“Snail is a common name for all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda which have coiled shells on their back in the adult stage.” (Wikipedia, 2010) This includes land snails and snails that live in water. In this experiment, we use the common type of land snails which are also known as the garden snails. Snails are used in this habituation investigation because they are slow-moving animals and thus, making them easier to be ca...
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...Tables. Available from: http://www.edexcel.com/migrationdocuments/GCE%20New%20GCE/N38210A-GCE-Mathematical-Formulae-Statistical-Tables.pdf. Accessed on: 29th March 2010.
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Grubb T.C., Jr. Ohio State University. 1986. Beyond Birding - Field Projects for Inquisitive Birders. Available from: http://birdcentral.net/spearman.htm. Accessed on: 29th March 2010.
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Wikipedia. 2010. Snail. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snail. Accessed on: 29th March 2010.
Wikipedia. 2010. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spearman's_rank_correlation_coefficient. Accessed on: 29th March 2010.
I hypothesized that sowbugs preferred damp soil, to dry, because moisture was the perceived causative agent. I observed that the sowbugs spent more time on the damp soil, rather than the dry soil (Table 1). The sowbugs spent 85% of their observed time on the damp soil side of the experimental chamber (Table 1). These results support my hypothesis, because they suggest that moisture of soil determines where sowbugs will prefer to spend their time (Table 1).
In the lab the isopods were observed in a way to where behavior and structures could be properly recorded. The isopods were revealed to two dissimilar scenarios, normal temperature water vs. warm temperature water, to calculate which environment was most preferred. In each distinct scenario ten isopods were placed ten a choice chamber, one side being normal temperature (26.7celsius) and the other being warm temperature (43.3 celsius) , and observed for a total of ten minutes with thirty second intervals which was when we recorded our observations. After observations, it was seen that normal conditions was the most preferred environment by the isopods. In the scenario the Isopods exhibited taxis behavior, which is behavior caused by factors such as light, temperature, water and such. Nothing physical, but rather environmental.
The red-cockaded woodpecker, an inhabitant of mature pine forests and pine-grassland ecosystems from Maryland to eastern Texas, has had a troubled history within the last decade (Roise et al, 1990). Ten years ago, James documented a population decline in America’s largest remaining red-cockaded woodpecker population (1991). Of the 2,157 clusters, or living groups, contained in national forests, 693 of them were located in Florid...
P6: ‘The animals behaviour and natural instinct changes in a marine park compared to in its natural habitat’ (para 3).
Every day many species are slowly becoming either endangered or extinct and recently an endangered bird species called piping plovers, started nesting on Revere Beach. What would seem as a miraculous discovery, many are averse to their new inhabitants on the beach. Many Revere residents are complaining because the piping plovers now occupy parts of “their” beach. But in the article “Revere Beach should welcome the piping plover” The Editorial Board believes that the presence of the piping plover could be greatly beneficial to the city of Revere and I certainly agree. What led me to select this particular article is my concern for the many endangered species in the world like the piping plover. Human hands have led many species to become endangered
Deborah L. Duffy, Yuying Hsu, James A. Serpell ,Applied Animal Behavior Science - 1 December 2008 (Vol. 114, Issue 3, Pages 441-460, DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2008.04.006)
Thomas, Lewis. The Medusa and the Snail: More Notes of a Biology Watcher. New York: Viking, 1979.
...d by the lamp being on cannot be easily controlled and could be a factor for the increasing heart rate. The heart rate may also increase as a result of the efforts of the Daphnia in escaping from the cavity slide due to limited water supply.
8. Taylor, Dan. 1998. Audubon Society Inspired to Action by Bird Die -offs . 17 Jan. 1998 . E-mail . Available bkus@sunstroke.sdsu.edu
Eastman, J. (1997).14-Crow and Jay Family (Corvidae). Birds of forest, yard, and thicket. (pp. 127- 145). Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books. Retrieved from: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) [Accessed 3 March 2014]
Thousands of different types of birds roam the Earth as we know it today, so let’s begin consider the origin of these beings. How had these creatures come to be? What was their original form? The evolution of birds has only recently begun to explode with new information within the last decade (Savile, 1957, p. 212). Birds are unique creatures and inhabit a wide variety of locations, but constant among them is the fact that they came from Archaeopteryx. Over time, three key changes have developed with the bird’s anatomy that makes it a paradigm of evolution.
Harry Harlow’s work on attachment was conducted on two groups of rhesus monkeys. The monkeys were separated from their mothers and were subsequently given a choice of two surrogate mothers, one made of wire, the other of towelling (or terry-cloth)(Custance 2010). In one group the wire mother provided food in the form of a baby feeding bottle containing milk and the terry-cloth mother provided no food. In the other group the wire mother did not provide food and the terry-cloth mother did. The young monkeys would cling to the soft terry-cloth mother whether or not it provided them with food, and they chose the wire surrogate mother only when it provided food. The monkeys would go to the terry-cloth mother for comfort when frightened or anxious no ...
Dr. Dr. h.c. Grzimk, Bernhard. “The Penguins.” Animal Life Encyclopedia. Volume 7, Birds I. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 1968.
Experiments use inquiry skills and methods to make estimates, predictions, gather and analyze data, draw conclusions, and present findings. Examples include texting sink or float objects, growth conditions, and steps needed to create an electrical circuit.
Decision-making, problem solving, value: Students develop and practice skills in Explanation, communication, critical thinking, communication, conflict resolution, and Together.