The purpose of this experiment was to see which color attracted ghost shrimps more: red, blue, or white.

In this project, three tanks were used with the exact same settings, and each week, the order of the lights was changed. To calculate the data, the numbers of shrimps in each section were counted. After completing the experiment, it turns out that most of the ghost shrimps stayed where white light occupied in the tanks, implying that the shrimps were more attracted to white light. This data also provides scientists with a certain color light source that will allow them to have a more accurate population census in the waters ecosystem, leading to a deeper study of ghost shrimps.

If the shrimp are presented with white, red, and blue light, red light would attract them the most.

Animal behavior is predictable. Their behavioral tendencies are influenced by their relationship to their environment amongst many other things like light. By observing animal behavior under different colored lights, collecting data and analyzing the results, behavioral patterns can be established, and conclusions can be drawn about how light affects animal behavior. However, some animals are not attracted to certain colors of light while others are. Nocturnal animals such as the tawny owl and the brown rat are attracted to red light (Finley). Since it was revealed by Doug Stamm in the book, The Springs of Florida that ghost were nocturnal species as well, it only seemed reasonable that ghost shrimps would be more attracted to red light

compared to blue or white light ("The Springs of Florida" 100). This experiment was created to question whether this idea that nocturnal species are attracted to red light holds true for many species, and also to see whether or not different colors of light attract animals as well. To produce more accurate results, red light, which is located on one end of the visible light spectrum, blue light, which is on the completely opposite side of the spectrum, and white light, which is a blend of all colors in the spectrum, were all used.

Three ten gallon tanks were used, each with the exact same settings ten gallons of water, the water temperature of 72.5F, an air pump, three opaque, black dividers with dimensions of 1" by 1" cut into the bottom of it, the order of lights, two chair statues, gravel, six snails, two guppies and ten ghost shrimps. Ghost shrimps were bought in Petsmart. Some were male and others were female due to the limited supply of this species. There was one white rectangular light bulb and two pieces of colored tissue paper, one was blue and one was red placed on the light bulb to represent the different colored lights. The room was closed from any outside light sources as well.

To test this hypothesis, all supplies and species were placed in their correct spots. The shrimps were fed six sinking pellets a day, three in the morning and three in the evening (one in each section). Each tank was divided into three parts, using one of the plastic dividers with a 1" x 1" square hole cut out at the bottom. This door was made to provide the shrimp a means of traveling between sections of the tank. Each section was illuminated by red, white, or blue light. These color differentiations were made by taking the light of a fish tank hood, and dividing it into three equal parts. One portion had red tissue paper taped over it, and the resulting light was red. Another portion had blue tissue paper, and the light was blue, and the light from the third

portion was naturally white light, so no tissue paper was needed. To collect more accurate data, the order of the lights was switched every five days. First it was red, white, and blue, in order from left to right in the tank. Then, it was white, blue, and red. Finally, it was blue, red, and white. Data was recorded twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening. Each time, the amount of shrimp located in each section of the three tanks was recorded. Shrimps that were found to be between two sections were counted as being in the section to the immediate left of the tank.

Color of Light

Avg. shrimp amount in Avg. shrimp amount in the morning the evening

Red White Blue

7 13 9

8 15 7

The data table and the graphs above both indicate that shrimps are more attracted to white light than red or blue light. This data does not agree with Robert B. Finley Jr.s findings on the tawny owl and the brown rat. They were attracted to the red light but the shrimps were not, indicating that not all nocturnal creatures prefer red light. This data provides future scientists a glimpse of what color of light they should use for future experiments on these shrimps. A possible use for colored lighting could be to attract ghost shrimps in an ecosystem in order to provide a more accurate measure of a population census. In order to figure out if shrimps are truly attracted to just white light, further experiments are needed to be done. One experiment would be

cycling the order of the lights by having different colors next to each other, and seeing if the order of lights had anything to do with a shrimp's choice of lighting. Another experiment would be to test the different colors located between white and blue on the visible light spectrum and gauge the shrimp's preference to these colors.

The Average Number of Shrimps Found in Each Colored-light Section of a Tank in the Morning
Blue

Light Colors

White

Red

10

12

14

Number of Shrimp

The Average Number of Shrimps Found in Each Colored-light Section of a Tank in the Evening
Blue

Light Colors

White

Red

10

12

14

Number of Shrimp

Works Cited Finley, Robert B., Jr. Observation of Nocturnal Animals by Red Light. Jstor. ITHAKA, n.d. Web. 22 May 2011. <http://www.jstor.org/pss/1376280>. The Springs of Florida. Google Books. N.p., 2008. <http://books.google.co.uk/ books?id=WME603o89XwC&pg=PA100#v=onepage&q&f=false).>. Rpt. in The Springs of Florida. By Doug Stamm. N.p.: n.p., n.d. 100. Google Book Search. Web. 22 May 2011. <http://books.google.co.uk/ books?id=WME603o89XwC&pg=PA100#v=onepage&q&f=false>.