AP Biology
Fall Semester
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Behavior: How an organism responds/reacts
to its surroundings.
Investigate: Ch. 51.2-51.3 for this information:
Taxis vs. Kinesis (one has purpose and one is
random… which is which?)
What is learning?
What are the 4 main types of “learning?”
Did your roly poly learn? How do you know?
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Roly polys aren't bugs at all. They are terrestrial
crustaceans. These little isopods are related to
shrimp.
Their color can vary from gray to brown.
Sometimes they are two-toned because they are
molting. First the back half molts and then the
front half molts. They molt about 4 to 5 times
during their life span.
On rare occasions you will find a bright blue or
purple roly poly. The purple/blue roly poly is a sick
roly poly. The color is caused by the iridovirus
which causes crystals to form beneath the roly
poly's exoskeleton. Don't worry, the virus is not
dangerous to humans.
They have a hard exoskeleton called a cuticle and
it's made from chitin. They are usually less than 1
inch in length.
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Roly polys can live up to 2 years. Sadly, sometimes
less when my son comes in contact with them. Let's
just say he is learning the meaning of gentle.
Roly polys are super common. They are pretty
much found all over the world. They can live in
grasslands and rain forests. They just tend to like
moist areas so you will find them under rocks,
leaves, barks, or logs.
They eat decaying plants and animals which is a
good thing. They are like nature's little waste
management team. Sometimes, however, they also
eat seedlings and ripe strawberries which can
really annoy gardeners. They can't eat thicker
plants, however, so they aren't really a danger to
most of the plants in your garden.
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You can catch a whole bunch of roly polys by
placing a cantaloupe upside down in the garden.
The roly polys are attracted to the rotting fruit and
the moist environment.
Predators of the roly poly include: frogs, newts,
toads, spiders and small mammals. When the roly
poly is molting and soft, they sometimes are eaten
by other roly polys.
Females have brood pouches that hold eggs and
embryos. They tend to have 2 dozen offspring at a
time and have two to three broods a year. Baby
roly polys looks just like big roly polys except they
are white and very small.
No daddy required here. The roly poly can
reproduce by parthenogenesis.
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They aren't related to the pill millipede even
though they look a ton like them.
They are able to roll into cool little balls. This
process is called conglobation. It is a defense
against predators.
They have a gill-like structure that they use for
breathing. Therefore, they require moist
environments to live in.
A roly poly is a true blue blood. Roly polys have
haemocycanin in their blood which makes it blue in
color when it is carrying oxygen.
They can drink through their anus. They have
uropods on their rear ends and are able to suck up
moisture through them.
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They eat their own poo. This is called
coprophagy and it allows them to get back
some of the copper they lost when they
poo'ed.
Wolbachia bacteria can turn a male roly poly
into a female roly poly.
They don't urinate. Instead they release a
form of ammonia gas.
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What did you test?
How did you conduct the test?
How often did you collect the data?
Show your data table
Graph your data
What does this all mean???