Daphnia Ethanol Experiment

Introduction

Numerous experiments have been conducted to analyze the influence of ethanol on different sections of the human brain and how different concentration levels affect behavior. For example, it has been observed that excessive amounts of ethanol affect the cerebellum. As we know, the cerebellum controls balance and coordination, but when exposed to excessive amounts of ethanol, an individual is more prone to lose balance. Furthermore, the hippocampus, a part of the brain associated with memory, is also impaired by the consumption of ethanol. As the consumption of ethanol increases, long memory retainment decreases. While human beings consume this substance for pleasure despite side effects, there are other species that need

The purpose of this experiment is to determine the ideal concentration of ethanol necessary for the fruit fly to successfully reproduce to become an adult fly, and to analyze how exaggerated amounts of ethanol negatively affect the the life cycle

The videos varied from the concentrations of 0%, 5% and 10% ethanol to calculate the difference in Daphnia’s pulse. Each person then recorded Daphnia’s pulse for ten seconds under 0% ethanol, 5% ethanol, and 10% ethanol.

For the second experiment, the reproduction of fruit fly was manipulated by placing different levels of ethanol into the test tubes in which adult males and females were inserted. First, 2 adult males and 3 adult females were placed inside test tubes for two weeks. These test tubes contained different levels of ethanol in order to determine how many adult flies would hatch depending on the concentration of ethanol in the environment. There were a total of ten groups containing different amounts of ethanol. The five groups of two contained 0%, 1%, 2%, 4%, or 8% ethanol. After the two weeks, hatched adult flies were anesthetized with Fly Nap in order to remove them from the test tube to calculate how many were produced in the different levels of ethanol. They were then counted to determine which level of ethanol concentration best allowed the fruit fly to hatch. After the counting of the flies the adult flies were disposed of into a jar of