Animal Behavior Lab

Background Information:
Armadillidium vulgare, also known as the pill-bug, is a species of woodlouse and is a terrestrial
isopod (crustacean). They are oval shaped and flat along their dorsal plate, with an incompletely
fused carapace. They also have unstalked eyes and protruding antenna. Armadillidium vulgare
is abundant both in soil and on the surface of terrain. They are found in Mediterranean climates
(due to them being native in the Mediterranean). Their optimal habitats have decomposing
organic matter, moderate temperatures, low light, and moderate to high humidity. Their natural
environment is not a rough terrain, but instead soft soil. In ethology, there are two types of
movement seen in organisms: taxis and kinesis. Taxis is movement in response to a stimulus
that is directional either towards and away from the stimulus, it is purposeful movement. Kinesis
is movement in response to a stimulus that is non-directional, or random.
Hypothesis:
If 8 pill bugs are given the choice between a roughly textured substrate and a smoothly textured
substrate in a choice chamber, then the pill bugs will position themselves to the chamber with
the roughly textured substrate because it most resembles their natural environment of dirt.
Materials:
● 1 choice chamber
● 1 piece of mesh
● 1 piece of white copy paper
● 1 petri dish
● 8 pill bugs
● 7 pieces of double-sided tape (6 for the white copy paper, 1 for the mesh)
● 1 timer/stopwatch
● 1 small paintbrush
Procedure:
1. Cut white copy paper and mesh to fit circular choice chamber
2. Place a piece of double-sided tape in the middle of the mesh, and fit it into one side of
the choice chamber
3. Place six pieces of double-sided tape on the white copy paper to create a hexagon
shape
4. On the other side of the choice chamber, carefully place the white copy paper to fit into
the chamber so that it lays flat with no space for pill bugs to climb underneath
5. Using the paintbrush, carefully move 4 pill bugs into each side of the choice chamber
6. Place the tops to each side of the choice chamber on once the pill bugs are in each side
7. Once the tops are on, begin a 10 minute timer. Take measurements of how many pill
bugs are on each side every 30 seconds
Data Table:
 Number of Pill Bugs on Substrate per 30 Seconds

Time (minutes)

30 1 1:30 2 2:30 3 3:30 4 4:30 5 5:30 6 6:30 7 7:30 8 8:30 9 9:30 10

Rough 4 3 2 4 3 4 2 6 4 4 8 8 5 5 5 5 4 5 5 4
Substrat
e

Smooth 4 5 6 4 5 4 6 2 4 4 0 0 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 4
Substrat
e

Graph:

Conclusion:
The hypothesis was not supported. There is no stable evidence that points to a preference for
either side of the chamber, with data ranging from a seeming majority during the first half of the
lab for the smooth substrate (times 1, 1:30, 2:30 and 3:30) and a majority during the second half
of the lab for the rough substrate (5:30-8, 9, and 9:30). There were also times during the
experiment where both sides had an equal number of pill-bugs on each (0:30, 2, 3, 4:30, 5,
8:30, and 10). This is the result of pill bugs using kinesis instead of taxis. Pill bugs have random
movements to get to a food they need or a preferred environment, this explains the random
movements back and forth between the choice chambers. The independent variable was the
substrate in each choice chamber and the dependent variable was the number of pill bugs on
each side of the choice chambers. Possible sources of error include that the substrate material
needed to be switched out and a new experiment started, incorrect timing, incorrect writing
down of data (switching how many were on the rough substrate and how many were on the
smooth substrate), the temperature of the room may have affected the pill bugs as well as the
amount of light, or the tape used to prevent the pill bugs from slipping under each substrate
(towards darkness), as this resulted in some pill bugs avoided the taped areas and getting
stuck. A recommendation for improvement in this experiment would be better controlled
environments (preventing light from becoming a variable) and other types of independent
variable substrates such as sandpaper or jello.