Effect of Temperature on the Rate of Movement of Gammarus...

Effect of Temperature on the Rate of Movement of Gammarus setosus Abstract Gammarus setosus is a marine amphipod that is found in the intertidal waters of British Columbia. A study of temperature on the rate of movement of Gammarus setosus was undertaken to find whether temperature would positively or negatively affect the activity of Gammarus setosus. Specimens of Gammarus setosus was obtained and tested. 30 ppt salt water of 5 °C, 23 °C, and 30 °C was used to perform the experiment. The specimens were allowed to acclimate for one minute. Then, the distance traveled by the specimens was collected and analyzed. A total of 13-15 replicates were tested per trial. It was found that the specimens were most active in the 20 °C trial. The†¦show more content†¦Freeman (2008) furthers Eckert et al’s argument by stating that the actin filaments of the muscle cell in organisms are able to intake ATP (adenosine triphosphate) faster and will move the organism faster when higher temperatures are imposed. This is because of an increase in enzyme reaction rates (Freeman 2008). These arguments can be applied to our experiment to help explain the trends observed. It can be argued that as the Gammarus setosus experiences the cold treatments, the organ of Bellonci senses the cold temperature, which in turn signals the organism to preserve its energy to protect itself; therefore, the organism will swim slower. In addition, the enzymes in the muscle cells of the organism, when experiencing the cold treatments, will have decreased ability to carry out enzymatic reactions, therefore inhibiting the uptake of ATP, which will cause the organism to swim slowly. Conversely, as the organisms are put into the heated treatments, the organ of Bellonci senses the heat, and allows the organism to swim faster, since it does not have allocate as much of its energy towards survival. Furthermore, the enzymes in the cells will be able to catalyze reactions more quickly, therefore allowing the organism to swim faster. However, when the temperature o f the surroundings is too high, the enzymes will denature, therefore, reducing the activity rate of