Kristen Harper, Laura Boyd, Sean Burkholder, Mike Suriano, and Mary Drake
Dr. Hays Cummins
29 September 1997
Proposal for Student Generated Lab
A Conditioned Observance of Insects around the Western Duck Pond
The goal of the student generated lab is to test and discover the attraction of insects to foods in various conditions around the Western Duck Pond. The affects of each observed condition will provide insight into the behavior of insects in relation to their eating habits and preferences. The lab will attempt to introduce various conditions by controlling the different aspects involved in the study. The food that will be used to test the insects is the most important
factor. It is the resource from which data and information will be collected. Since the foods used will be so important in the discovery, only pure, unprepared foods will be used. The hope is that by using pure foods, the insects will be attracted to the food itself and not the added ingredients or preservatives. After careful consideration, the food that will be used in the lab includes: turkey, lettuce, apple, bread, potato, and a sugar cube.
Many observations will hopefully be accumulated from the research done in the lab. The anticipated results will ultimately give information as to the affects of conditions to the eating habits of insects around the pond.
The locations for the observed food insect feedings will be: The Peabody 3Bush-henge,2 the Boyd Greenhouse south bushes, and under a bush on the duck pond to avoid confrontations with curious waterfowl. Numerous conditions will be observed and recorded in order to interpret the actual relevance of each factor on the insects.
Various weather and atmosphere conditions will recorded and observed. The effects of temperature will be noted during each observation in order to discover the temperature1s affects. The humidity should also be noted. This information can be taken from a newspaper or the local
weather program, along with data recorded from each site. Environmental factors will be recorded in order to realize the role of the weather. This will be broken into categories such as sunny, rainy,
overcast, snowy, and foggy. Each change in season will also be noted, allowing a grouping of seasons to occur.
The habits of insects will hopefully be discovered. The types of bugs attracted to the different foods will be written down, along with if the insect lives in a colony or is self-sufficient. The types
of insects that are often seen together in the food samples should allow the discovery of which insects tend to get along. It should also show the insects that don1t interact well or at all.
Factors that will have to be carefully considered include the conditions that the lab controls. This consists of the condition of the food and the time in which the data is taken. The freshness of the food is a factor that will have to be carefully regulated and controled in order to get accurate results from the observations. The contents of each food should give a general idea of what attracts
insects. The type and major component will be able to be identified. The affects of starches, sugars, fats and other components will be the identified contents. The time will have to be closely coordinated so that data is taken at approximately the same time each day of the appropriate week. The position of the food will also have to be controlled to test different and the same locations. The closeness and proximity to the pond should be carefully regulated. The surface the food is set on will also play a role. Different surfaces such as grass, dirt, and rock will be tested.
Through careful and accurate testing, the student generated lab on the affects of observed conditions will render information that reveals the behavior of insects in relation to their eating habits and preferences. Several conditions will need to be recorded from the surroundings of the test, while others will have to be artificially created and manipulated to achieve the desired results of the lab. Hopefully, with careful planning and documentation, accurate and insightful information will be gathered and achieved.
Commence experiment--Oct. 6, 1997
10/6--set out 6 jars of food at each of three stations
Each lab member will check jars twice daily on each person1s given weekday.
Kristen- monday
Mike- tuesday
Mary- wednesday
Sean- thursday
Laura- friday
This schedule will persist for 6 weeks. In this time period will will record, modify and photograph our stations at any two given times in the day. The times will be decided by each individual, in order to accomodate their schedules. The food will be changed as needed, probably every two weeks.
11/14--collect final data for report
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