The Effects of Cold Temperatures on the Metabolic Rate of Superworms

Abstract

In order to test our hypothesis, we performed several experiments that measured the metabolic rate of superworms in cold and room temperature environments. Using a CO2 probe, we measured the amount of CO2 released from the superworm over a 5-minute time interval. Our data showed that the metabolic rate of the organism has a direct correlation to the change in temperature. These results show that the superworm is an ectothermic organism, which means that external forces such as temperature effect their metabolism.