Does metabolism differ between sexes: a study on Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches

Abstract

In this experiment we compared the respiration rate of male and female Madagascar hissing cockroaches through CO2 output. Our purpose for this experiment was to see if males would have a higher respiration rate due to their natural aggressive behavior to portray dominance. We performed five trials for each sex. We measured the CO2 output of the roaches in a closed bio-chamber over 15 minutes. Our results showed that the females had an overall higher CO2 output. This resulted in our hypothesis being unsupported.