The Effects of Extreme Temperature on Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches' Metabolic Rate

Abstract

The purpose of the experiment was to show the effect of ambient temperature on the metabolic rate of ectotherms, specifically Madagascar hissing cockroaches.  After choosing the cockroaches we placed them into a respiration chamber at room temperature, in an ice bath, and on a heating pad for five minutes. We were then able to measure the CO2 output of the cockroaches. We hypothesized that as the ambient temperature increase, the carbon dioxide output would increase as well. Our results did not support our hypothesis, instead it showed that as the temperature increased so did the CO2 output, yet as the temperature decreased the CO2 output increased. Although this is not what we expected we found that there are varying factors that play into the metabolic rate of the cockroaches.