Introductory material:
Background:
Outline the physical similarities between the (Blaptica dubia) cockroach and the cricket. Explain previous studies on physical stress in the cricket and in different species of cockroaches. Briefly discuss how the metabolic rate between the two species has been found to be very similar.
Two studies have shown that the resting metabolic rate of 11 species of cockroaches were VO2=0.261 Moles (Coelho and Moore, 1989) and 3 species of crickets were VO2=0.277 (Prestwich and Walker, 1981) are very similar.
Resting Metabolic Rate is the basal cost of the somatic maintenance for an individual and demonstrates the unavoidable costs of maintaining bodily functions (Okada, et. al., 2011).
The Resting Metabolic Rate has also been shown to have an impact on energetically costly activity allowing for resources to be dispersed to other functions (Okada, et. al., 2011).
The “increased-intake hypothesis” states that with a higher Resting Metabolic Rate, more energy can be converted into secondary sexual traits (Okada, et. al., 2011).
The “live-fast-die-young” hypothesis claims that having a high Resting Metabolic Rate is actually costly towards fitness and that this energy is allocated to non-maintenance functions (Okada, et. al., 2011).
What we are testing:
We are testing the metabolic rate of a cricket and (Blaptica dubia) cockroach under physical stress, cold, heat, and lethal heat.
Hypotheses:
Hypothesis:
1. We hypothesize that the metabolic rate for the cricket and the cockroach will be different when the two animals experience physical stress and temperature changes.
Null Hypothesis:
2. The metabolic rate for the cricket and (Blaptica dubia) cockroach will be the same when physical stress and ...
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...ically demanding. Their metabolic rate increases as their pitch increases. They increase the pitch by increasing the frequency at which their forewings move. They also increase the pitch when the temperature rises. The metabolic rate increases as their pitch increases. This is similar to the physical stress that we applied to the cockroach by shaking it.
Rantala, M. J., and Roff, D. A. 2006. Analysis of the importance of genotypic variation, metabolic rate, morphology, sex and development time on immune function in the cricket, Gryllus firmus. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. Vol. 19, No, 3: 834-843.
This article looks at the impact of having an energetically costly immune system on the rest of the body’s functional traits. This article found that crickets metabolic rates were heritable and that there was no connection between immune functions and metabolic rate.
Madagascar hissing cockroaches (Gromphadorhina portentosa) were the ectotherms used to compare standard metabolic rates and mass specific metabolic rates between organisms. To calculate metabolic rates for these individuals a system comprised of many parts was needed. A gas pump was needed to deliver airflow into the system. This gas pump was connected to a flow meter that could detect the flow rate of the gas passing through. The air would then flow into a Ascarite Column that would scrub out the CO2 from the system before the animal chamber was reached so that no CO2 that was not emitted by the animal would be collected. Then the Madagascar hissing cockroach would be in the animal chamber connected to the Ascarite Column and it would
We observed Sowbugs in multiple environments to determine which environment they preferred. The observational chamber was a rectangle box split equally in half. One side of this rectangle was filled with dry sand that had been heated for five minutes by a lamp, and the other side was filled with damp soil that did not receive the lamp heat. We placed each sowbug on the middle boarder of the cool, damp soil and the hot, dry sand. We each chose one sowbug to track, and made a record of its placement each minute for five minutes total. We repeated this process three times. After each repetition, we removed the sowbugs, and replaced them with new sowbugs to observe. After this observation, we shared, and recorded our results. The sowbugs spent
..., Department of Zoology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, Available from Journal of Insect Physiology. (46 (2000) 655–661)Retrieved from http://www.units.muohio.edu/cryolab/publications/documents/IrwinLee00.pdf
After conducting the experiments, the hypothesis was found to be incorrect. The data’s common trend was; as the beetle’s mass increased, the amount of weight it could pull decreased. One of the beetles tested had a mass of 1.6 grams and was able to pull only a mass of 18.6 grams. The second beetle had a mass of 1.8 grams and was able to pull 37.3 grams.
Abstract: The house cricket, Acheta domesticus, was used to test whether food and potential mates drive aggressive behavior. Male crickets were randomly selected in pairs and place into a cage to observe aggressive behaviors in the presence of no food, food, and female. The cage provided a confine area for the crickets to fight one another while the variables of food and female were used in attempts of increasing aggressive interactions between the male crickets. There was no significance found through this experiment due to a lack of data. It was discovered that the experiment would have to be done at a larger scale to be able to see any significance in the two variables.
In the following experiment, we will attempt to examine the relationship between metabolic rate and environmental temperature in both an ectoderm and an endotherm. I predict that for the ectotherm, the metabolic rate will increase as the outside environment temperature will increase. I also predict that the metabolic rate in the endotherm will remain relatively the same as the outside environment temperature changes. I also make the prediction that the ectotherm will have much lower metabolic rates than the endotherm.
Harvard Medical Group “Best medicine: The science of exercise shows benefits beyond weight …..loss.” Harvard Heart Letter. 23(11) (2013) 6
However, evidence such as fossils is more than enough to lend support and disprove any other theory to the development of species. Examples used by Root-Bernstein and McEachron also provide strong support to evolution. The authors detail how natural selection works in both insects and germs to create organisms better adapted to methods of control. Disease used to run rampant, until the creation of vaccines which led to many diseases becoming extinct. Root-Bernstein and McEachron note that the diseases that have survived to this day have been constantly mutating and evolving to become more resistant to any attempts at suppression. The same can be said for insects that have been consistently exposed to pesticides. The ones that survived the pesticides were able to reproduce and pass along a resistance to their offspring which in turn makes the species more resilient and better suited to their
Audesirk, Teresa, Gerald Audesirk, and Bruce E. Byers. Biology: Life on Earth with Physiology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2011. 268-69. Print.
7. Ravussin, E., & Bogardus, C. (2000). Energy Balance and Weight Regulation: Genetics Versus Environment. British Journal of Nutrition , S17-S20.
Somewhat more precise descriptions can be made by using the terms poikilothermic and homoiothermic. The body temperature of poikllotherms is relatively variable, while that of homeotherms is relatively constant.
L. humile is a very aggressive ant species. They will raid, immobilize and sometimes kill native ants (Zee and Holway 2006), even when unprovoked. This is a key component of L. humile’s ability to displace native ant species. A study by Zee and Holway monitored potential raiding behav...
more than half the variation was found to be due to heredity. Among these traits were
One of the first reason why insects are so successful because they possess a tough exoskeleton that is covered with a waxy water repellant layer. The exoskeleton of insects also has helped them survive. An insect's external skeleton, or exoskeleton, is made of semi-rigid plates and tubes. In insects, these plates are made of a plastic like material called chitin along with a tough protein. A waterproof wax covers the plates and prevents the insect's internal tissues from drying out. Insect exoskeletons are highly effective as a body framework, but they have two drawbacks: they cannot grow once they have formed, and like a suit of armor, they become too heavy to move when they reach a certain size. Insects overcome the first problem by periodically molting their exoskeleton and growing a larger one in its place. Insects have not evolved ways to solve the problem of increasing weight, and this is one of the reasons why insects are relatively small. But compared to animals the Exoskeletons d...
Postlethwait, John H., and Janet L. Hopson. "Body Function and Nutrition." Modern Biology. Orlando: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2006. Print.