Do Cockroaches Like to Move-it, Move-it: Effects of High Relative Humidity on Activity in Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches

Abstract

How does humidity influence activity level? Furthermore, how is a species affected when it has lived its entire life in a foreign environment, and suddenly it is placed in an environment with a similar climate as its native land? We used a respiration chamber to hold both a constant high relative humidity and a constant relative humidity that matched the room, and we used a relative humidity probe to measure the humidity. We used a quadrant map to monitor the cockroaches’ movement in the different levels of humidity, and a timer to monitor the three-minute trial. During the first four trials (using the same three individuals), there was more activity when the cockroaches were in the higher relative humidity environment. During the second four trials (using a new set of three individuals), there was more activity when the cockroaches were in the lower relative humidity. We hypothesized that when we mimicked the natural/native climate (20.7 degrees Celsius/81% relative humidity in February in Madagascar), we would see an increase in activity of the Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches due to them being in their desirable native climate, when compared to the control. We found no consistent indication of any correlation between activity level and relative humidity.