Materials:
35mm Camera
Multitudes of camera film
Mist bottle
Metric measuring device
Spider collecting containers
Reference material on spiders
String to Grid off bush
Survey Area: The horseshoe bushes out side of Peabody and Shriver Center on Miami Univesity’s Oxford Campus
Pre-Lab Discovery:
1. Do some general research on spiders. (i.e. their basic tendencies and lifestyles.) Such research can be done on the internet, or any local library.
2. A data sheet needs to be constructed to record the size of the spider, orientation of the web, the number of prey caught in the web, relation of spider to the web, and the relation of one spider web to the others in a confined area. A data sheet needs to also be constructed to record a grid of the bushes so the movement of the spiders can be tracked.
Procedure:
1. Collect materials.
2. Collect multiple spiders from the surveyed area to determine if the spiders on the bush are all the same species. Collect these spiders into individual collecting containers for further study.
3. Take picture of each individual species of spider.
4. Determine the species of each spider collected by comparing the spider with the reference material.
5. On average, we will attempt to study this species between six and eight hours per week. The following steps will be focused on collecting that species data.
a. Take picture of the web using the camera and mist bottle.
b. Measure size of species.
c. Location of web in relation to the other webs on the bush.
d. Orientation of web (diameter, shape, size, height, length)
e. Number of prey caught in web in each study session of the species' web.
f. Location of spider in relation to web.
6. Grid off the bush so the movement of the spiders on the bush can be tracked. Make a map of this grid and the location of the spiders on a sheet of paper so comparisons can be to the new locations of the spiders at the end of the lab.
7. Once a week we will destroy all the webs on the bush so we can determine the rate at which a spider rebuilds its web. Close attention will also be paid to the number of returning spiders in relation to the previous number of spiders, and the location of the new spider webs.
8. Analyze data and come to conclusions. Record conclusion and data.
Conclusion & Hypothesis:
Entering this lab we have many questions regarding spiders and their tendencies. Do certain spiders tend to live in communities? If destroyed will spiders reappear in the same location as their last web? Is there only one type of spider on the bushes outside of Peabody Hall and Shriver Center? Do spiders that live in groups tend to catch more prey per web than spiders who live individualistically?
We will answer all of these questions in this lab while we gain a better understanding of the scientific process. In starting this lab we believe that we will find the same species of spiders on the bushes outside of Peabody Hall and Shriver Center. It is also our belief that these spiders live and function as a community. Furthermore, if a spiders web is destroyed it will rebuild a web in the same location as the original web.
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