Animal Behavior Lab

                                    Study on the different behaviors and characteristics of pill bugs

Abstract

In this lab, we collected 10 pill bugs to observe their reactions toward different environments, determining what conditions they preferred and what senses they actually owned.We set up three different experiments consisting of two different connected chambers that gave 10 pill bugs the choice of going into whichever side they liked. We then recorded the number of pill bugs in each chamber every 30 seconds and recorded the numbers on a graph. In our experiment that tested pill-bugs sensitivity to wet and dry climates, we had a chamber that consisted of a wet floor(wet filter paper) and a chamber of a dry floor(dry filter paper). After recording seven minutes worth of data, we find that the majority of the Pill bugs prefer a dryer chamber. We then tested to see if the Pill-bugs could sense temperature by having a cold chamber of 0 degrees Celsius and a room temperature chamber of 22 degrees Celsius. After six minutes of observation, we found that there were equal amounts of pill bugs in each chamber(however that may be due to the fact that the pill bugs in the cold chamber seemed to be too frozen to move and migrate onto the room temperature side). This can also be called a kinesis where an animal moves randomly as a result of external stimuli. In this case, the cold temperatures made the pill bugs curl up and stop moving, probably preventing them from moving out of the cold chamber. Finally, our last lab tested the pill bugs sensitivity to taste as well as touch where we placed some honey in one chamber. After six minutes of observation, we noticed that the pill bugs tended to drift towards the Honeyed chamber of 8 to 2. This is an example of kinesis which is a specific action as a result to a stimulus where the pill bugs moved to the honeyed chamber in response to the sweet taste and scent of it. 

 

various senses of a pill bug

Introduction

In this lab, we will analyze the behavior of pill bugs or more commonly known as roly-polis. First however, we have to understand what behavior is. Behavior is an animal's response to sensory input and can be divided into two categories, learned and innate. An example of learned behavior is if a baby touches a hot pan, it knows not to touch it again because it hurt but an example of innate behavior is when a domesticated house cat who has never learned how to hunt pounces and kills a mouse. Another name for innate behavior "fixed action pattern" which essentially means instinctive behavior that is indivisible and runs to completion. There are two different questions that can be asked about behavior; proximate and ultimate questions. Proximate questions ask how an animal's mechanism works and ultimate questions ask why this happens and how it may have developed historically or functionally. An example of these questions can be seen with birdsong. A proximate question would be something like, how is a bird such as the brown thrasher able to sing more than 4,000 different songs? An ultimate question for bird songs would be why did the brown thrasher evolve to develop capabilities to sing more than 4,000 different songs? Another aspect of behavior is imprinting. Imprinting is related to the early stages of an animal's life where it becomes attached and begins to develop its own identity through what it sees. In young geese, when they are born, the first living they see becomes, in their eyes, their mother and they follow the  creature around. A proximate cause for this happenstance is the baby geese imitate their mothers by copying their exact movements and following them around. An ultimate cause for this idea is the baby geese follow their "mother" in order to learn how to survive and be able to pass on its own offspring in the future. 

 

These geese are imprinted that the man is their mother and follows him around

How do these pill bugs associate and act on those associations to move between chambers however? That is through either operant or classical conditioning. Classical conditioning is an involuntary response that ties a nonrelevant sense to another. For example, when a pill bug tastes honey and feels something sticky, it would associate sticky stuff to be sweet and tasty. Operant conditioning is different however in that this involves rewards and punishments to stimulate behavior. An example of this in pillbugs is every time a pill bug goes into the honey chamber, it realizes that it has something delicious to eat and decides to go there every time for sweet food.  

Question

Do pill bugs prefer a cooler environment?

Hypothesis

If ten pill bugs are placed in a two chambered structure with one chamber close to 0 degrees celisius, they  would stray more towards the cooler side because they are used to cooler and darker areas such as under rocks. 

Materials 

One soft brush

one two chambered structure

10 pill bugs

2 Ice Packs

1 Timer

2 thermometers

Procedure

1. Place filter paper in both chambers

2. Place ten pillbugs in middle of structure

3. Surround one chamber of the structure with 2 ice packs, one on top and one on bottom

4. begin timer and record the initial amount of pillbugs in each chamber

5. record for 6 minutes

Results                         Number in Cold Chamber         Number in Room Temp Chamber

Time (Mins)

0.0                                               2                                                           8

0.5                                               5                                                           5

1.0                                               5                                                            5

1.5                                               5                                                            5

2.0                                               5                                                            5

2.5                                               5                                                            5

3.0                                               5                                                            5

3.5                                               5                                                            5

4.0                                               5                                                            5 

4.5                                               5                                                             5

5.0                                               5                                                             5

5.5                                               5                                                             5

6.0                                               5                                                             5

This data shows that within the first thirty seconds of the experiment, three more pillbugs moved from the room temperature chamber to the cooler chamber. This shows that a large amount of pillbugs actively moved into the cooler chamber. However, this can also be an example of kinesis because the pillbugs may not have had the chance to move back as the cold chamber drastically slowed their movements and practically froze the pillbugs. 

Conclusion

Through this experiment, we can see that pillbugs are able to sense a cooler temperature, confirming the presence of touch as they were able to feel a cooler chamber. We also see that a large number of pillbugs voluntarily moved to the cooler chamber thus showing that some pillbugs do prefer a cooler climate. We kept both chambers dark so as not to add two different variables of light and dark but we still saw that the pillbugs were equally divided between room temperature and cooler temperature chambers. We also saw that while in the cold chamber, the pillbugs were stacked on top of each other, and mostly curled. That might have been an instinctive mechanism triggered when they found the chamber to be cold. This shows that some pillbugs may have a preference for a cold chamber but some could also have a preference for the room temperature chamber. A common mistake we may have made is the pillbugs may have randomly moved about and froze while in the cold chamber and making them unable to move back into the room temperature chamber. 

Quiz

How does the immune system provide an immediate nonspecific immune response

The immune system does a number of things to provide an immediate nonspecific immune response. There are skin cells and mucus membranes that are able to prevent many pathogens from entering the body.
Skin has a low pH, fatty acids, and salts found on it that serve as chemical barriers to prevent infectious invaders from entering the body. The first thing the immune system does is to use mucus to sweep out the pathogens before even knowing what the bacterium is but there is a completely different process for when invaders
Inflammation

When skin is pierced and something punctures a body cell, it releases chemicals such as histamines that tell white blood cells, natural killer cells, and Phagocytes such as macrophages to surround and destroy foreign microbes. Then, fluid moves into the area which explain the swelling of the inflamed area, the local blood vessels are now leaky and blood vessels are dilated in order for a greater chance for infection fighting cells to enter the area. Phagocytes then consume bacteria and cell debris, healing the tissue. Phagocytes consume bacteria by finding the carbohydrates found in the bacteria, surrounding them and using lysosomes to kill and digest the bacteria. The kinds of chemicals that are released during tissue injury are histamine, prostaglandins, kinines, complement, and cytokines. These mediators work to increase blood flow by increasing the metabolic rate which explain the redness and heat. Then, they make local capillaries permeable which swell and make the area very sensitive to pressure. This brings oxygen and nutrients into and clotting proteins into the area. Also, mediators such as histamine help in phagocyte mobilization.


Here is an interesting picture to see what happens. Summary of what I explained.



T and B cells in infections

T and B cells are very different.
There are two types of T and B cells, there is a t helper cell that activate B cells and receive information from macrophages and cytoxic T cells that target and destroy infected cells. B cells are divided between memory cells that remember the shape of antigens and antibody b cells that create antibodies to attach to antigens that stop them in their tracks and tell killer cells to get rid of them. Memory B cells recognize these antigens by their shape and when they deal with them, they remember the shape of the antigens and are more prepared the second time the antigens appear again. Antibody B-cells are present to create Y shaped proteins called antibodies that stick to foreign invaders and that alert the body to the invader's presence. Basically, this is a watch guard that is yelling "HEY LOOK THERE IS A BAD GUY HERE KILL HIM". Phagocytes, natural killer cells, and cytoxic T cells then kill and destroy the intruders or infected covered with antibodies. T cells are activated when a phagocyte eats a foreign substance and takes it to the spleen to figure out what it is. The T cells kill the invader and the b cells create antigens that are able to bind to the invader. When it happens a second time, this is able to be done much faster because the b cells remember the shape of the invader now. This is why we have antibiotics and vaccinations so B cells can get the shape of the disease without actually getting the disease and be able to react to the infection much faster than it usually would

Notice this how a helper T cell receives information and activates other cells. .


The entire process. Notice how the Helper T cell is the first thing that receives the antigen and stimulates the B cells and memory T cells and Memory B cells.



T and B cells against themselves?

T and B cells can distinguish invader from self because the ones that distinguish molecules in our body have been destroyed while in the womb. The rest are memory cells that are trained to identify new invaders that enter the body rather than cells that already exist in the body.

T and B cells work together to remember invaders through shape and attack them when they recognize them.

Every cell also has a major histocompatibility complex(MBC) that is able to tell T and B cells if they are targeting themselves or not. This is why we cannot simply just accept someone else's liver because their liver's MBCs are different from ours and will be rejected by our body and attacked because our body will think the liver is a foreign invader.

Notice the MHC present that tells T and B cells it is self.

Lecture Overview

Glucose
Glucose is absorbed through the ileum and Jejunum and when blood Glucose is found to be too high, beta cells within the pancreas release insulin hormones that target Body Cells. They bind to receptors on top of these cells because they are not fat soluble. When Insulin binds to these receptors, it triggers the Cells to absorb Glucose which lowers the amount of glucose in our blood. Insulin also targets the liver to Produce Glycogen which are hundreds of Glucose molecules bound together and is stored in the liver and muscles. When blood glucose levels begin to lower below the optimum level, the body then breaks down the glycogen stored in the liver and muscles into glucose and releases it back into the bloodstream. The way Glycogen is created is through the process of Dehydration where substrate glucoses turn into product Glycogen through the use of enzymes. When Dehydration occurs, we are able to lower our Blood Glucose level. Opposingly, we can use Hydrolysis that uses an Enzyme, H20 and ATP to convert glycogen back into many Glucose molecules in order to raise our Blood Glucose levels.We also went over Protein synthesis and how many things could effect a strand of DNA to mutate it through Pt Base mutations, Frameshifts that involve deletions, insertions and duplications. During Protein Synthesis, we go from DNA to mRNA to Amino Acids and the first stage is Transcription where the DNA, a two stranded nucleotide is changed into mRNA, a one stranded nucleotide through the work of RNA Polymerase that reads the strand from 3' to 5' and lays down the mRNA from 5' to 3'. RNA Processing then occurs where Splisosomes cut out introns and a G cap and a poly A tail is placed on the mRNA strand to protect it from nucleases that constantly eat nucleotides in order to protect the body from foreign viruses. We then go to Translation where mRNA enters a ribosome that is found on the rough part of the endoplasmic reticulum and is read by codons and goes through a sequence of APE, A as accept, P as peptide bond and E as exit to go on to create proteins.

Muscular System and Calcium
There are 2 types of proteins, Actin and Myosin.. Actin is thin and Myosin is thick. Actin is a Globular Protiein that is helix shaped and Myosin is a Linear Protein. The way a muscle works is for the Myosin heads to be able to touch the actins but to do that we require ATP. With ATP, when it binds onto the myosin head, it hydrolyzes into ADP and a Phosphorous molecule and energy that essentially spring loads the myosin to move whatever it is attached to and eventually move the entire muscle when this process occurs repeatedly. How do we create ATP you ask? Well, it all starts with food entering the mouth where salivary amylase and the duodenum breaks down carbohydrates into disacharides through disacharidases called sucrase lactase and maltase that break down glucose, fructose and galactose. We then use glucose through glycolysis in the cytoslol to create 2 three carbon molecules called pyruvates that generate 2 ATP and 2 NADHs and going into the mitochondria we have the kreb's cycle that change the pyruvates from 2carbons to six carbons to four carbons to create 2 ATPs, Nadhs, and FADH2 s and this then goes through oxidative Phosphorylation where the electron transport chain accepts an electron and attracts protons and going through chemiosmosis where the Hydrogen proton goes through ATP Synthase to create 36 ATPs in optimum conditions. Now we use Calcium to move Tropomyosin to expose myosin binding sites on actin heads and causes the muscle to move. We have salt to polarize this process with sodium, potassium and chloride that create an electrical current to move the myosin binding sites. This entire process stimulates muscle movement.

PODCAST OMGOMGOMG

To access awesomeness click here

Transcript

Hi, thank you for tuning in to Penta A 42.42 FM, Andrew here with the latest and greatest in human bodily functions. Today, we’ll be talking about a special hormone that asks, like my favorite fictional character Hamlet, “to pee? or not to pee?”

So Mineralocorticoids are part of the class of steroid hormones and they are heavily involved in controlling the frequency of your pee. They’re pretty much the gatekeepers of awesome. Why and how do they control this you ask? Well, the body needs to be in homeostasis with its sodium levels and the MVP that regulates this amount is the one and only, Mineralocorticoid. It follows a negative feedback loop and determines whether electrolytes such as sodium should be secreted or conserved until the excess leaves on the choo choo train of freedom.This hormone is produced in the cortex of the adrenal gland and, like it’s brothers and sisters in the steroid hormone family, is hydrophobic. Mineralocorticoid is also regulated by two hormones, angiotensin II and andrenocorticotrophic hormone. It is also derived from the lipid, Cholesterol and is therefore, fat soluble but here comes a problem. How can this hormone travel in the bloodstream then? It’s not water soluble and blood is water-based. Well, this clever hormone has a way around that. Mineralocorticoids bind to a serum globulin, a transport protein and the fact that it is fat soluble helps even more in that it is able to enter a cell through its bi lipid fat layer.

Now here’s a fun fact about the Mineralocorticoid, it’s structure, like it’s siblings is very complex compared to other hormones. In fact, it is so complex that it has a half life of around sixty minutes whereas the amino acid based hormone, epinephrine has only a half life of one minute. Also, the name Mineralocorticoid comes from the idea that it controlled the flow of sodium, a mineral. Neat, right?

Well, that’s it for today, tune in next time for another hot topic on the human body system! Stay tuned for some sweet learning about Obama care and why it sucks by our very own conservative republican, Steve.

Citations
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10467229
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26/box/A517/?report=objectonly
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK26/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineralocorticoid

BIO #AWESOME

Abstract

We preformed this lab in hopes of uncovering the various qualities present in the cellular respiration of yeast. In this specific case, my partner and I decided to find out how yeast underwent cellular respiration in different temperatures. After recording the amount of CO2 released from the yeast in different temperatures, we were able to figure out that the yeast in the ice box (roughly 1°C) produced significantly less CO2 than the control yeast that respired in room temperature (roughly 21°C) and finally that the yeast in the warm bath (roughly 45°C) produced at a much more rapid pace than both the cold and room temperature yeast.                         

                               

Introduction

In cellular respiration, the process of glycolysis requires the presence of oxygen in order to continue the cycle and continue producing NADH that is a major component in producing ATP. When oxygen is not available, a substance such as yeast then undergoes fermentation, producing ethyl and releasing carbon dioxide. The effectiveness of this process can be measured by the amount of carbon dioxide released from the entire fermentation reaction.

Hypothesis

If  yeast undergoing fermentation were to be placed in a hot temperature, it would be much more active and produce more carbon dioxide than yeast that is undergoing fermentation in a room temperature setting whereas yeast in a cold temperature would produce little to no carbon dioxide and have the process of fermentation slowed drastically because the molecular motion involved within these processes would be sped up dramatically in a hot temperature and slowed drastically in a cold temperature.

Materials

Water

3 grams of sugar

3 grams of yeast

5 grams of Salt

Digital Scale

Weighing paper

5 syringes

5 test tubes

1 ice chest

1 room of room temperature

1 warm bath

Procedure

1.       Measure 3 test tubes with 35 ml water in it

2.       Place 1 gram of yeast in each test tube along with 1 gram of sugar and .2 grams of salt

3.       Attach the syringes with the corks and wait 5 minutes for the fermentation process to begin

4.       Then place each beaker in their corresponding areas, one in an ice bath, one in a warm bath and one in room temperature

5.       Record the temperatures of each different station and record the amount of CO2 produced in each vial every minute for five minutes

6.       profit

Results

Time(minutes)  Control (21°C)      Cold (1°C)                Warm (45°C)
0                        0                        0                                  0
1                        0.4                        0.8                                  1
2                        1.2                        0.8                                  2.2
3                        1.8                        0.8                                  4
4                        2.6                        0.8                                  6.4
5                        3.6                        0.8                                  8.6

Conclusion

After conducting the experiment accurately and precisely, we’ve found the vial in the warm bath produced significantly more CO2 than both the control and the cold vial. We also found the cold vial to produce virtually no CO2 throughout the entire five minutes of fermentation in the ice bath. We found the control to produce CO2 but not as fast as the vial in the warm bath. This is because of molecular motion and how it affects the processes involved within fermentation. In order to create ethyl, molecules need to move around and energy is required and when the warm bath supplies a lot of heat energy, the process is catalyzed whereas in the cold bath, heat energy is taken away and the process slows to a stop.

Citations

Mr. Quick’s bio lectures

Crash Course biology

MYSTERY

A twenty-year old man was found supine on Thompson Creak Trail with a bullet wound. The entrance of the wound was on the left lateral side 1 cm above the third rib. The exit wound was 5 cm above the belly button in the umbilical region. While tracing the bullet path you notice at the entrance the bullet travels in the frontal plane with a 45-degree downward angle. On inspection of the right side of the rib cage by x-ray you observe the 8th rib fractured. Fragments of the bullets are then traced to the final exit wound. What is the leading differential diagnosis(and why ) and what are three plausible alternatives and how would you rule them out.

The bullet could have the fourth, fifth, or sixth rib and fracture those ribs, causing the bone to crack into the 8th rib. The bullet then could have changed direction and exited from around the umbilical region. This would explain the fracture of the eight rib while the third rib was the area hit.

Some other plausible alternatives

The bullet could have splintered after contacting the third rib and would have hit the eight rib, as well as the exit area.

The exit area could have been the entrance and the bullet coudl have split when hitting the third rib again.

The bullet could have gone straight through but the patient fell and fractured his/her eighth rib.

Your Inner Healers, steam cells

There is something called ISPCs that is basically a mature body cell that has chemicals that are active within an early stage embryonic cell inserted into it that then performs a benjamin button kind of thing and reverts back to the early embryonic state. This is good because as an early embryonic state, this ISPC could change into any kind of cell including nerve cells for parkinsons and spinal chord cells for Spinal chord injuries. Good stuff.