Biology Experiment Design Stupid Snail

Biology Experiment Design Title: Effects of Moisture and Temperature on the Movement of Snails.

Problem Statement: Does the moisture (humidity) and the temperature of the surrounding environment have any effect on the movement of snails?

Introduction: This project was carried out to examine the movement of snails under different moisture and temperature condition. Snails are cold-blooded organisms, poikilotherms. Another similar example are reptiles. Cold-blooded organisms basically would move slowly when the surrounding environment is cold as they require heat energy from their surroundings to increase the temperature of their internals as well as metabolism. With a warm internal temperature they are able to metabolise foods more quickly to produce the energy required to sustain their activities. Snail slime contains 90% water, some mineral salts and as much as 10% mucus. Snail mucus when mixed with water is what we know call slime, a “biopolymer gel” with some amazing properties that helps them to move around by reducing friction.

Mucus production alone accounts for about one third (1/3) of the total energy output of these creatures, making crawling for them to be the most energetically expensive type of locomotion known among vertebrates as well as invertebrates. This also shows that both the temperature and the moisture factor are both quite closely related and have major effects on the snail’s movement.

Objective: To determine how would the temperature and the moisture (humidity) of the surrounding environment affects the movement of snails. Variables:Manipulated variables: Temperature and air moisture (humidity) Constant variables: Type/Size of snails. Responding variables: Distance covered by marked snails. Hypothesis: The higher the temperature and humidity, the further the average distance travelled by the snails. Apparatus and materials: Snails, digital calliper / ruler, different colour colour if paint, thermometer, sling psychrometer, buckets(3), popsicle sticks (coloured-coded ,flashlight.

Procedure: 1. During daytime, a few snails of about the same size were captured and marked with different colours of paint on their shell and placed in three different buckets that corresponds to the marking colours on the shell. 2. Three hours after sundown, the snails are then released at the centre of the backyard garden and their exact initial positions of the released are marked using coloured-coded Popsicle sticks. The temperature and the humidity were also recorded. 3. The distance travelled by the snails on the following day is then recorded based on the distance as marked by the Popsicle sticks. 4. The marking and measuring were repeated for the following 18 nights at about the same time until the data points for most temperature or humidity combinations are obtained. Average length travelled by the snails based on a temperature and humidity factor. Humidity

Dry

Damp/Rainy

Temperature Below 5°C

0.7 inches

1.9 inches

Between 5°C to 10°C

7.4 inches

33.2 inches

Above 10°C

20.5 inches

29.5 inches

Expected outcome: Our results shows that the snails move further on warm and damp nights. On cold nights at about below 5°C, the snails showed an average distance travelled of about 0.7 inches when it was dry. On the medium temperature nights at about 5°C to 10°C, the snails only moved on an average of about 7.4 inches when it was dry but moved at a greater distance when it was damp or rainy i.e. About 33.2 inches. On the other hand, on warm nights i.e. more than 10°C, the snails travelled an average of 20.5 inches when it was dry and as much as 29.5 inches when it was damp or rainy. Conclusion: The hypothesis is accepted. The observations show that snail move further on warm which proves to be consistent with the fact that the snails, metabolism would be higher. And on days when humidity is relatively high, snails move further as well, as the moisture in the air would consequently help in the snails movement by reducing the amount of slime they are required to produce in order to move forward.