Comparing the Male and Female Respiration Rate in Crickets

Abstract

When crickets are subjected to cold temperatures, they do not have the ability to attain warmth by shivering like humans can. We decided to test if female crickets have a higher respiratory rate at lower temperatures than male crickets. At the start of the experiment we hypothesized that female crickets would have a higher metabolic rate than males in colder temperatures. This is a convincing statement since female crickets are (on average) slightly larger than male crickets and have a larger surface area-tovolume ratio due to their ovipositor.  Our experiment used sets of three crickets, male and female, and placed them in both a cold and room temperature small respiration chamber. Our results were that females in fact did have a higher respiration rate. We also discovered that males do not change in respiration rate. Females have a reproductive system and have to care for not only their own lives, but those of their unborn young also. Thus they will have more movement not only to try and generate warmth but also for protection.