Hey Guys!!! Need Help!!! Shrimp Q's!!! Science Project!!!

[TheFishBoss97]

Hey guys,

So I am participating in a state(if you win, becomes national) level high school science fair, and am doing it on freshwater shrimp...basically the question I am answering for the project is will FW shrimp be able to survive if global warming continues as water temps will drop lower throughout the world gradually...I am testing them from 76F going down to 62F...My teacher said our(I'm doing it with a friend) project was accepted but we need to find a way to accurately measure stress other than noticing them swim around...any ideas? She said I could try stressing out a few shrimp(4-6) and observe to see if there is any difference depending on how drastic the change is...to make like a scale?

Anybody got any ideas? We'd really appreciate some help!

Here is our project if anybody is interested in viewing it...it was accepted but the change has to be made as otherwise the judges would think it being to simple as yes=they survive, and no=they die.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Z3Mq1zCtVBViewOYhnu-hBtEQGOWaK5wvTpLddRMIeI/edit


Thanks guys! Really appreciate it!

-Ritap

 

[TheFishBoss97]

any ideas on how to stress shrimp on purpose?

I was thinking of water temp...as the question pertains to temp too so it'd relate

 

[SubRosa]

Have you stopped to ponder how rising air temps would result in decreasing water temps? Perhaps creating a system which replicates that phenomena would be a good start. Good luck!

 

[TL1000RSquid]

Lowering the temp probably wont do much unless you lower and raise it repeatedly rapidly. My shrimp dropped from 78 to 60-62 and were still reproducing after Sandy.

 

[XanAvaloni]

I'm with subrosa here...at first i thought you mistyped in excitement but then you talked about stressing the shrimp with lower temperatures. The planet is WARMING, water is going to get (in fact is getting) warmer too. Stress shrimp with HIGHER temperatures if that's the point of the experiment.

do some research on the variety you're working with, or their natural/native ancestors, and what water temps they live in in the wild. (to be thorough you should further research how much the temps of their native waters vary with the seasons on average, to see what range of variation they are built to cope with now.

Then using very good thermometers and heaters, set up tanks with water heated to (1) "normal" current temps, this is your control tank; (2) another at let's say 5 degrees higher than tank 1, then (3) another at 10 degrees above normal. Of course raise the temps in tanks 2 and 3 to the experimental level over as much time as you can manage, let's say a week at very least.

then maintain all other factors the same in all tanks: same size, same number and number of male and female of shrimp, same substrate (can be bare bottom for simplicity but something approaching the actual conditions in their native streams would be more realistic), same plants etc. Most important of course is to keep feedings identical between tanks, although in the wild it is likely some food sources would also change if the temperature of the stream kept going to a higher average level.

Then sit back and observe. If you fluctuate the temps do it the same amount in all, like between day and night. For an actual scientific study this would continue over a considerable time, at least a year to allow for seasonal change, but I doubt you have that luxury. Note any changes in behavior: movement (more or less) in general; movement to hanging in a different part of the tank, upper or lower; rate of interaction between individuals; behavior at feeding time; rate of reproduction if any; you can no doubt think of more. Assuming you can't sit there 24/7 to record all this, make your observations at the same time(s) each day. And RECORD, in notebooks (paper or electronic) all of the factors you are studying, with dates and times carefully noted. Recording is the essence of science, not to mention the only thing the judges are going to have in rating your project for the contest.

Nobody really expects school science projects to produce breakthroughs in scientific progress. The point is to teach you how to be a scientist, at least once in your life. But hey, this is a realm of new reality we're all-shrimp and human alike-- moving into whether we want to or not, and you might be the exception to the rule. Good luck.

 

[TheFishBoss97]

Have you stopped to ponder how rising air temps would result in decreasing water temps? Perhaps creating a system which replicates that phenomena would be a good start. Good luck!

thank you! major mistake on our parts, lol as we overlooked the air temp with the ice melting(adding to lower water temps) but obviously you are right since air temps have a much greater impact over water temps especially if in SW...thank you!

Lowering the temp probably wont do much unless you lower and raise it repeatedly rapidly. My shrimp dropped from 78 to 60-62 and were still reproducing after Sandy.

Thank you! This helped greatly as now we have a point to go beyond if we decide not to do global warming and do lower temps! Thanks!

I'm with subrosa here...at first i thought you mistyped in excitement but then you talked about stressing the shrimp with lower temperatures. The planet is WARMING, water is going to get (in fact is getting) warmer too. Stress shrimp with HIGHER temperatures if that's the point of the experiment.

do some research on the variety you're working with, or their natural/native ancestors, and what water temps they live in in the wild. (to be thorough you should further research how much the temps of their native waters vary with the seasons on average, to see what range of variation they are built to cope with now.

Then using very good thermometers and heaters, set up tanks with water heated to (1) "normal" current temps, this is your control tank; (2) another at let's say 5 degrees higher than tank 1, then (3) another at 10 degrees above normal. Of course raise the temps in tanks 2 and 3 to the experimental level over as much time as you can manage, let's say a week at very least.

then maintain all other factors the same in all tanks: same size, same number and number of male and female of shrimp, same substrate (can be bare bottom for simplicity but something approaching the actual conditions in their native streams would be more realistic), same plants etc. Most important of course is to keep feedings identical between tanks, although in the wild it is likely some food sources would also change if the temperature of the stream kept going to a higher average level.

Then sit back and observe. If you fluctuate the temps do it the same amount in all, like between day and night. For an actual scientific study this would continue over a considerable time, at least a year to allow for seasonal change, but I doubt you have that luxury. Note any changes in behavior: movement (more or less) in general; movement to hanging in a different part of the tank, upper or lower; rate of interaction between individuals; behavior at feeding time; rate of reproduction if any; you can no doubt think of more. Assuming you can't sit there 24/7 to record all this, make your observations at the same time(s) each day. And RECORD, in notebooks (paper or electronic) all of the factors you are studying, with dates and times carefully noted. Recording is the essence of science, not to mention the only thing the judges are going to have in rating your project for the contest.

Nobody really expects school science projects to produce breakthroughs in scientific progress. The point is to teach you how to be a scientist, at least once in your life. But hey, this is a realm of new reality we're all-shrimp and human alike-- moving into whether we want to or not, and you might be the exception to the rule. Good luck.

Thanks XanAvaloni! I sent what you said to my partner and teacher, I think this is a great idea! I can't believe we overlooked air temps having a greater impact over water temps...in our original, we had 3 tanks, same species of shrimp, but diff sub-species(red/blue/yellow), same lighting/filter/substrate/plants/heater/thermometer/etc., but not the same # of sex, good catch!

We actually have until I think April/May, so not a year, but 3-4 months as we start in January since we are both in/out of town this month...Thank you for all the help! Best advice so far!




Btw, idk who asked to view the doc(permission), but I gave permission! Thanks guys! Any other thoughts? It has been a big help!