The Effect of Light Conditions on the Resting Metabolic Rate of House Crickets, Acheta domesticus.

Abstract

House crickets, Acheta domesticus, are ectothermic organisms that are more active at night than during the day. Due to their nocturnal nature, we predicted that crickets will have a higher resting metabolic rate when placed in an environment with little light pollution as opposed to an environment with a bright, white light or an environment with a light source that alternated between light and dark. We later found that our results did not support our hypothesis. The crickets released more CO₂ in the environment with light relative to the other two conditions. We came to the conclusion that this was most likely a result of high stress levels when placed in light. The crickets were subjected to unfamiliar conditions, causing their resting metabolic rates to rise indicated by the higher levels of carbon dioxide produced.