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Education
Animal Behavior
 

Animal Behavior

Learning Objectives

At the end of this lab, students should know...

What is ethology?

Ethology, or animal behavior, is the study of how animals interact with each other and their environment(s).

What are taxis and kinesis?

Taxis and kinesis are both directional behaviors. Taxis is stimulus-induced movement towards a specific direction. Conversely, kinesis is stimulus-induced movement in random directions.

How do we name taxis behaviors?

Taxis behaviors are named after the type of triggering stimuli and the direction of movement. For example, both food and bug spray are chemical stimuli. Movement towards food is positive chemotaxis, whereas movement away from the bug spray is negative chemotaxis.

What is a choice chamber?

A choice chamber is a device with two sides that allows detection of response to a stimulus by presenting the stimulus in one side and counting the number of flies in both sides at certain time points.

Why is the fruit fly a good model organism?

Fruit flies have a short life cycle and a simple genome. This allows generation and breeding of large numbers of mutant flies fairly quickly. Moreover, fruit flies are maintained easily and are extremely cost-efficient.

List of Materials

  • Wild type Drosophila culture (~40 flies/vial)
    5
  • Clean, empty plastic 16oz water bottles (with caps)
    10
  • Extra, clean water bottle caps
    10
  • Disposable plastic transfer pipettes
    10
  • Sterile cotton balls
    10
  • Polypropylene funnel
    5
  • Sharpie Markers
    5
  • Blade
    5
  • Scissors
    5
  • Tape
    5
  • Stopwatch
    5
  • Petri plate
    5
  • Standard Ruler
    5
  • Distilled Water (10 mL in a petri dish)
    1 station
  • Apple cider vinegar (10 mL in a petri dish)
    1 station
  • Fly morgue (containing 50-70mL 70% Ethanol)
    1 station
  • Double sided tape (1 roll)
    1 station
  • Tin foil (1 roll)
    1 station
  • Drosophila (fruit fly) culture vials with caps (25-30 flies/vial)
    1 Dependent on the lab size
  • Instant Drosophila Medium (1 bag minimum)
    1 Dependent on the lab size

Lab Prep

  1. D. Melanogaster Care
    • Obtain the Drosophila melanogaster specimens at least two weeks before the experiment to allow the specimens to acclimate to the lab room conditions. NOTE: 25 Drosophila adults produce about 50 new adults in two weeks. Each colony-housing container should consist of a clean vial, 1.5 – 3 cm of prepared food medium, and a stopper.
    • Use a funnel to transfer the flies to the colony-housing container. NOTE: House the colonies so there will be approximately 40 flies per student or student group (plus spares) on the day of the experiment.
    • On the day of the experiment, place a dish of apple cider vinegar, a razor blade, a dish of distilled water, two sterile cotton balls, a funnel, scissors, Sharpie pens, a timer, four water bottle caps, and two water bottles onto each lab table.
    • After the equipment is in place, use a funnel to randomly move colonies of 40 adult flies each into the clean vials without food or substrate.
    • NOTE: Vials without food or substrate make it easier for the students to collect only the adults and to avoid adding food to the experimental chambers.

Tags

JoVE Lab Lab: 15 Prep

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