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The Effect of Temperature on Caterpillar Development Rate
Our conclusion was that we rejected our null hypothesis because
temperature did affect the growth rate of the painted lady butterfly. The
heating pad in our treatment group malfunctioned over the weekend, and
the temperature increased from 25oC to 31oC. This caused the food to dry
out, and the caterpillars were dead when we found them. Too much heat
killed the treatment group, and stopped their growth completely.
Other future experiments could be done to further tell us about caterpillar
growth and development, but this time more precautions would have to be
taken to prevent accidents that gave us unexpected results due to
equipment error. We expected caterpillars given more warmth to pupate
more quickly than those in a cooler environment, but we did not foresee
the death of the individuals in the experimental group.
Unfortunately, 100% of our treatment group died because of a heating pad
malfunction. The two survivors both formed a chrysalis on Day 11. The control
group, having grown naturally were larger, and took an average of 14 days to
pupate. The P value associated with our t statistic was 0.87-9 , indicating a
highly significant difference between treatment and control. Our null hypothesis
was rejected.
One of the principal parameters of thermodynamics, a branch of physics, concerns itself with the effects of changes in
temperature on physical systems . It is believed that metabolic reactions are somehow affected by temperature and generally,
the higher the temperature, the faster the metabolic reactions occur. Does temperature affect metabolic reactions? Do
metabolic reactions affect development rate? We studied larvae of Vanessa cardui , the Painted-Lady Butterfly, to answer
these questions. Vanessa cardui is a well-known colorful butterfly, sometimes known in North America as the
Cosmopolitan. It is one of the most widespread of all butterflies, found on every continent except Antarctica. Moreover, it
occurs in any temperate zone. This organism metamorphoses from a larva to a butterfly, making development easily
observable. Furthermore, its relatively short life cycle makes collecting data more time efficient.
Domain: Domain: EukaryaEukaryaKingdom: Kingdom: AnimaliaAnimaliaPhylum: Phylum: ArthropodaArthropoda
Class: Class: InsectaInsectaOrder: Order: LepidopteraLepidoptera
Family: Family: NymphalidaeNymphalidaeGenus: Genus: VanessaVanessaSpecies: Species: carduicardui
To perform our experiment, we obtained 12 caterpillars for each of a
control and experimental group. Then we placed 6.35 grams of caterpillar food
in each of 24 cups. We gently brushed one caterpillar into each of the 24 cups
and then placed 12 cups into a control bin and the other 12 into an
experimental bin. To test one variable, temperature, we placed a heating pad
under our experimental bin to keep a temperature of 25oC. Our control group
was left at 20oC. To make sure that our temperatures remained constant in
both groups, we placed thermometers in each bin. We then measured, in days,
the time it took until each caterpillar reached the pupa stage. We used a
student’s t-test to analyze our data.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
METHODS AND MATERIALS
INTRODUCTION RESULTS
TAXONOMIC RANKS
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TRT# DATE CON# DATEE1 D11 C1 D13
E2 N/A C2 D14
E3 N/A C3 N/A
E4 N/A C4 D13
E5 N/A C5 D14
E6 N/A C6 D14
E7 N/A C7 D14
E8 D11 C8 D14
E9 N/A C9 D14
E10 N/A C10 D14
E11 N/A C11 N/A
E12 N/A C12 D13
Hurtled Turtles:Desmond Bellinger Gabriela HueteKeandre Heard Trenton Knight
Gabby Ramirez
Legend:Legend:• C# is the name used to identify each caterpillar in the control groupC# is the name used to identify each caterpillar in the control group• E# is the name used to identify each caterpillar in the experimental groupE# is the name used to identify each caterpillar in the experimental group• D# is the number of days it took for the caterpillar to reach the pupa stageD# is the number of days it took for the caterpillar to reach the pupa stage• N/A is used to identify the caterpillars that died before the pupa stageN/A is used to identify the caterpillars that died before the pupa stage