Tadpole Behavior

Tadpole Behavior

Observations

Materials:

  • Xenopus Laevis
  • Water
  • food
  • peachtree dish

The tadpole was placed in a peachtree dish with water. The room ranged from 21-23 degree and was fairly dark. The tadpole was very active when the lights were off and remain still or with minimal movement when the lights were on. It immediately interacted to another tadpole when it was together in the same container and were a little more active. 

Scan Sampling 

Scan Swimming Head Bobbing Collision Relax Play Kissing
1   1   1    
2   1   1    
3   1   1    
4       2    
5       2    
6       2    
7 1     1    
8 1     1    
9       2    
10 2      

Continusous Sampling

Time (s) Swimming Head Bobbing Collision Relax Play Kissing
00:00-10:33 1          
10:34-37:34       1    
37:35-38:36     1      
38:37-1:23:06   1        
1:23:07-1:24:00     1      
1:24:01-3:12:00       1    
3:12:01-3:13:08     1      
3:13:09-5:00:00   1        

Ethogram

Behavior:

Description:

SINGLE  
Swimming Moving its body side to side in forwarding motion
Relax No body motion, only tail movement
Head bobbing Body remain still as it takes in water through mouth and move head
GROUP  
Kissing Placing mouths together and remaining still
Playing Swiming behind each other
Collision Running into each other and

Questions

  1. Would there be more collisions if there had been more than 2 tadpole present?
  2. Would there be more vertical swimming if the tadpoles were placed in a larger container?

Hypothesis

  1. Tadpoles will collide more often if they are placed in a more crowded environment.
  2. Tadpoles will experience more vertical swimming if there were in a larger container.

Predictions

  1. If tadpoles collide more often, then they must be in a crowded environment.
  2. If tadpoles experience more vertical swimming, then they must be in a larger container.
Photo by me


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