RYAN, W.L.: Experimental Design in the Teaching Lab: Prey Density and Feeding Stimuli in the Sea Anemone Aiptasia

The current trend in science education is to enhance the experience of students by providing opportunities for scientific inquiry. The project reported here expanded this by providing a series of related questions for students to analyze as a research team throughout the semester. The objectives of this project included students gaining experience searching the primary literature, writing and submitting a grant proposal, designing and performing experiments to answer specific questions, using digital imaging technology and statistical analysis, and preparing both oral and written presentations of the experimental results. These skills were introduced in the context of examining prey selection and capture mechanisms of the sea anemone Aiptasia. Students were presented with questions related to sea anemone feeding, a list of available equipment and supplies, and a short list of pertinent primary literature sources with which to develop appropriate experimental protocols. Working in small groups, the students designed and executed experiments on the effect of density on prey selection, plus the effects of both physical and chemical stimuli on the firing of nematocysts. In the examination of prey selection, it was determined that Aiptasia preferred adult brine shrimp (Artemia) when they were presented alone or in combination with nauplii (α=0.05, Student‘s t-test). Experiments examining chemical and physical stimuli and the release of nematocysts involved the use of excised tentacles and digital imaging technology; however, there were difficulties in quantifying the number of beads that actually contacted the tentacles. These experiments on Aiptasia will be refined and expanded this coming spring semester by a new group of student researchers.