The crayfish lab
Faris Livingstone
Frida Diaz, Jonathan Flores
December 1, 2015
Frida Diaz, Jonathan Flores
December 1, 2015
Affects of non-organic vs. organic fertilizer on crayfish
Purpose
The purpose of the experiment was to see how wildlife in the ocean, specifically crayfish, react to fertilizer in the ocean water. This fertilizer would be running off from farms and factories and coming into the ocean. Would they be less energetic? More energetic? Aggressive?
Procedure
To conduct our experiment we placed about six crayfish in one tank and started with normal water. We noted their behavior and added some non-organic fertilizer. As time went on we kept observing but unfortunately didn't put organic fertilizer in the tank.
Data Tables and Observations
The purpose of the experiment was to see how wildlife in the ocean, specifically crayfish, react to fertilizer in the ocean water. This fertilizer would be running off from farms and factories and coming into the ocean. Would they be less energetic? More energetic? Aggressive?
Procedure
To conduct our experiment we placed about six crayfish in one tank and started with normal water. We noted their behavior and added some non-organic fertilizer. As time went on we kept observing but unfortunately didn't put organic fertilizer in the tank.
Data Tables and Observations
12-2-14
Initial Observations:
Beginning of Class:
Beginning of Class:
12-5-14
Beginning of Class:
After the Weekend:
Beginning of Class:
Beginning of Class:
Beginning of Class:
Last Observation Day:
Initial Observations:
- Very active
- Not very aggressive
- Separated in their own territory
- Minding their own business
- Dominant crayfish are moving toward the smaller ones
- Seemed a little aggressive
- Obvious dominance
- Crayfish saw fertilizer as little bits of food and ate them when added to the water
Beginning of Class:
- The crayfish have divided and they each have taken refuge in the pvc pipes
- Not as active as the first day
- Not aggresive
- Stay motionless for long periods of time
Beginning of Class:
- Tank was cleaned and half of water was replaced by clean water
- Low activity rates
- When fed, two of the crayfish became extremely aggressive towards each other
12-5-14
Beginning of Class:
- Low activity rate
- Crayfish don’t go near one another
- All except 1 are sitting in the pvc pipes
After the Weekend:
- 3/5 crayfish have died
- 2 are remaining and have been hiding in the pvc pipes most of the observation time
- Low activity rate
Beginning of Class:
- Crayfish seem a little more active today and are at least moving slowly
- They quickly swim back into their pipes
Beginning of Class:
- After we cleaned the tank, the crayfish were more energized
Beginning of Class:
- Not very active at all
- The 2 remaining crayfish are hiding in their pvc pipes
Last Observation Day:
- 1 crayfish is out and active
- Other crayfish is hiding in the pvc pipe
Conclusion
Yes, fertilizer does change the behavior of crayfish. From what we saw there was a change in activity from normal water to water with non-organic fertilizer. The crayfish acted slower or at least looked slower to us.
Discussion of Theory
Our experiment, I could say, worked and also didn't work. We were looking for behavior changes of crayfish due to organic fertilizer and non-organic fertilizer in the water. Now we saw behavior changes each day but they were very minor and based off of the observations it was almost like a pattern. On the other hand our experiment didn't fully fulfill our needs because we never experimented with organic fertilizer.
Error Analysis
I think for our group it's safe to say that our experiment didn't go exactly as planned. Initially we wanted to put both organic and non-organic fertilizer in the water so we could compare those observations but we only ended up putting in non-organic and never really did the organic. We were also unsure of how much fertilizer to put in the tank because there was not that much information online about fertilizer and crayfish together so we just ended up adding the recommended amount for the number of square feet our tank was. This amount could have either worked or not worked because we were expecting to see a more drastic behavior change than what we saw. Lastly all except two of our crayfish died, which was definitely unexpected because we didn't end up putting in a lot of fertilizer, so the cause of their death is almost unknown.
Yes, fertilizer does change the behavior of crayfish. From what we saw there was a change in activity from normal water to water with non-organic fertilizer. The crayfish acted slower or at least looked slower to us.
Discussion of Theory
Our experiment, I could say, worked and also didn't work. We were looking for behavior changes of crayfish due to organic fertilizer and non-organic fertilizer in the water. Now we saw behavior changes each day but they were very minor and based off of the observations it was almost like a pattern. On the other hand our experiment didn't fully fulfill our needs because we never experimented with organic fertilizer.
Error Analysis
I think for our group it's safe to say that our experiment didn't go exactly as planned. Initially we wanted to put both organic and non-organic fertilizer in the water so we could compare those observations but we only ended up putting in non-organic and never really did the organic. We were also unsure of how much fertilizer to put in the tank because there was not that much information online about fertilizer and crayfish together so we just ended up adding the recommended amount for the number of square feet our tank was. This amount could have either worked or not worked because we were expecting to see a more drastic behavior change than what we saw. Lastly all except two of our crayfish died, which was definitely unexpected because we didn't end up putting in a lot of fertilizer, so the cause of their death is almost unknown.