The purpose of this lab is to study the behavior of two species of tarantulas in varied climates. We will be studying their eating consumption, weight, span, and activity level. The tarantulas will be raised each in their own cage. There are six tarantulas of each species. One of each species will be put into each established climate. One at normal room temperature, one above, and one below. The cages will also be in normal room light or in an area with little or no light. We will study the tarantulas each day for an extended period of time. Each day the data will be recorded for further use. Our hypothesis is that the Brazilian Salmon Pink Birdeater will be more active than the California Ebony species. The question we are asking is how much, if at all, does a difference in the amount of light or the temperature change the daily activity of two different species of tarantulas. We predict that the tarantulas will be most active at room temperature and in normal light. In the below average temperature we believe that the tarantulas temperature will slow down and therefore consume less food. With this experiment we hope to find out more about tarantulas. In particular, we hope to gain more knowledge on the two specific species of tarantulas that we are raising. We want to learn about their eating habits and how they grow, and at what kind of rates. Ultimately, we hope to successfully raise twelve tarantulas. Our interest in this project stems from a reletive group interest regarding tarantulas and their importance in our ecosystem. Not to mention we like scary bugs! We just thought that raising out own tarantulas might be more interesting than researching those which other people had already rasied, not to mention it would be a good learning experience and we could ultimately start our experiment on a "clean" slate!
Tarantulas are perhaps the most valuable yet the least understood of all species of spiders found worldwide. They can be located on almost every continent, in practically every country across the globe, and are widly regarded as a supreme yet dangerous hunter. What humans may not know is that most species of tarantulas are quite docile and harmless, deploying their attack mechanisms only towards their prey and not people. Tarantulas, unlike their spider counterparts, do not weave webs, but prefer to catch their prey by a pursuit and capture technique. In addition to this information, tarantulas have extremely poor eyesight, and must hunt using their other sense, particulary smell and touch. As a group, we decided that researching tarantulas might be beneficial for many reasons. Not only were we all (for the most part) enthralled by the species, but we wanted to know how they were affected by climate change. Taking into the experiment our knowledge on how humans and other mammels react to extreme temperature changes, we were interested to find out what a tarantula's behavior might be, and how the change would affect the species physically. Through research and observation, we hope to come out of the experience with a better understanding of the tarantula species, as well as some specific information that might be helpful in comparing different species of animals worldwide and how they are affected by the changing climate and therefore changing ecosystem.
Materials & Methods Presentation
***Hayes: We worked VERY hard on a Materials and Methods PP Presentation and Data Sheet, but are unsure as to whether they will actually show up on this proposal (our html is a little iffy). If they don't, we have them both saved in the ns1fall2001 file if you have any doubts. We will show you asap. Thank you!
The Tarantula Group
For Further Info on this Topic, Check out this WWW Site: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/tarantulas/introframe.html .
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