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Article Excerpt
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON UNIVERSITY
MADISON, NEW JERSEY
APRIL 5, 2003
AWARD WINNING ORAL PRESENTATIONS
SECTION 1. PSYCHOLOGY AND ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
THE EFFECT OF TASKS ON THE PERCEPTION OF ELAPSED TIME
GARRETT MARINO
High Technology High School (Roche)
FIRST PLACE
The experiment examined people's perceptions of time while engaging in three separate tasks: a word-find puzzle in Dutch, one in English, and the absence of a word-find. Several studies have shown significant increases in prospective time judgments during more difficult tasks. Thus, it was hypothesized that an increase in task difficulty would increase the necessary attention allotted to the task, consequently decreasing the attention toward time and increasing prospective time judgments. Participants (72) were tested in a controlled environment, and the three tasks were counterbalanced. For each task, the participant alerted the proctor when he or she believed a five-minute interval had elapsed. All differences among and between pairings of tasks were significant (ANOVA P <<.001 and t-test p <<.001). The highest average time estimates existed for the Dutch word-find, while the lowest average time estimates were in the absence of a word-find phase. Consequently, the null hypothesis was rejected, supporting th e notion that fewer "ticks" of the "mental clock" are perceived as less time in passing.
PHEROMONE PRODUCTION IN THE GROMPHADORHINA PORTENTOSA
KARL EBER
Montclair Kimberley Academy (Marchioni)
SECOND PLACE
Pheromones are chemical signals emitted by organisms to send messages or commands to other members of the same species, utilized for purposes including aggregation, recognition, establishment of territorial claims, and reproduction. The experiment at hand tested the Gromphadorhina portentosa (Madagascar Hissing cockroach), a cockroach species native to Madagascaran rainforests, for pheromone production by determining what, if anything, were their chemotactic responses to frass-contaminated paper. This experiment necessitated 10 cockroaches of each sex. For seven days, four males were placed in a small cage, the bottom of which was lined with ultra-absorbent filter paper such that there was no way to avoid contact with it; the same was done in a different small enclosure with four females. Concurrently, twelve cockroaches were grouped by sex and placed into one of two large, circular tubs, the bottoms of which were smooth wood, that contained 20 wood chips each. Concentric circles had been drawn on the wooden bottoms of each tub with radii of 2cm, 7cm, 12 cm, and 28cm; these circles designated regions. The center circle was region 1, the 2nd was region 2, etc. Twice a day for six days, the locations of the cockroaches were recorded in terms of the region in which they were. This procedure, when done without paper in the tub, was the control group; after this, a 2 cm circle of the frass-contaminated paper that lined the small enclosures was cut from the center and taped to the middles of the tubs, covering region 1. The paper contaminated by males was placed into the male tub, and data was collected in the aforementioned manner; the same was done for females with female-contaminated paper while the cockroaches in the small enclosures contaminated new paper for seven days. After this, the new male-contaminated paper was placed in the female tub and vice-versa; data was again collected in the aforementioned manner. The entire process was then repeated in order to verify data. Once data was collected, trends were anal yzed in order to determine whether the cockroaches produced pheromones (and if so what type) based on the trends in cockroach location (disproportionate placement in the interior regions is indicative of pheromonal attraction). It was concluded that female Gromphadorhina portenrosa do not engage in any type of discernable pheromone production. However, data revealed that male-contaminated paper in the female tub resulted in unusual aggregation; therefore, the conclusion was reached that males produce either sex or aggregation pheromones to which females are attracted.
THE EFFECT THE SIZE OF THE MALE'S LARGE CHELIPED HAS ON THE REPRODUCTION PATTERNS OF FIDDLER CRABS
(UCA PUGNAX)
JOSHUA GROSSMAN
Ocean Township High School (Kowaliwskyj)
THIRD PLACE
The purpose of this project was to determine if male fiddler crabs that have lost their large cheliped, which remolds to a smaller size, would continue their normal...
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