Terrestrial Isopods Lab Report

Introduction
Terrestrial isopods are a large group of crustaceans that have adapted for life on land (Post, n.d). Because these isopods breathe through their gills, these gills must stay moist in order for the isopods to continue living (Post, n.d). Therefore, terrestrial isopods prefer to live in damp areas, specifically underneath decaying wood or leaves (Post, n.d). The defenses of these isopods include running, hiding by burying themselves in sight of predators, and their exoskeleton. Isopods found in beach areas can defend themselves by occupying burrows in the sand during the day and rising at night to forage. This tactic works towards their favor, as many types of isopods are nocturnal (Predators & Defenses, n.d). The exoskeleton of isopods also provides a physical barrier against predators.
Two terrestrial isopods to be analyzed in this experiment include

More specifically, both species favor the soil terrain compared to the sand. As the species were examined, they quickly scurried either under the bark or dug themselves into the soil or sand. The speed of both species is very noticeable, as they hid fairly quickly once our presence was known. Most of the isopods were also found in large, cramped groups. The observations collected supports the hypothesis proposed, as both species acquire a similar behavior in habitat selection, therefore increasing chances of survival when faced with predators. The potential improvements to the experiment include possibly tracking each isopod laid in the boxes, as observance errors could easily occur due to their ability to hide so well with their surroundings. Many of the baby isopods were also extremely small, therefore difficult to notice. Having constant adult sized isopods would further strengthen our