Who Turned On the Lights? The Effect of Light Intensity On the Metabolic Rate of Dubia Roaches (Blaptica dubia)

Abstract

There are 4,300 known species of roaches and so far few of them are known to react positively to light. Currently there are few studies that test the correlation between metabolic rate and light exposure, we wanted to broaden the studies and test this experiment. We hypothesized that if we place Dubia roaches into a respiration chamber of varying light exposure, as the light gets brighter the metabolic rate of the roaches will increase. To test whether or not the metabolic rate of the roaches did increase, we tested the CO₂ production of the roaches four times every minute for ten minutes at each light exposure; controlled, extreme, and absent light. Upon our investigation, our trials did support our hypothesis: as we made the light brighter the production of CO₂ increased, which indicated an increase in metabolic rate. Relating to science, this experiment gives us a perspective on ecology and reflects. With this experiment we have furthered our understanding of the human response system and the complexity of individual stress signals.)