Methods
In this experiment we looked at the preference of moisture of the isopod Armadillidium vulgare. The test was conducted in a 6×12 inch plastic container with 75% of the container filled with dry soil and the other 25% filled with wet soil. The isopods (5 in total) were placed individually at the far end of the dry soil and the time it took for it to reach the wet soil was measured. Then the conditions of the container were changed so that 75% of the container was filled with wet soil and 25% of the container was filled with dry soil. This test was conducted in the same fashion as the first. The mean amount of time of the individuals was determined and used to perform a T-test to determine if the data was statistically significant.
Results
The mean amount of time it took for the individuals to get to the dry soil from the wet was longer than the mean amount of time it took for individuals to get from the wet soil to the dry soil. This data was not statistically significant according to the T-test with a P value greater than .05, but with more tests and individuals it is possible these results would change.
Figure 1. Mean amount of time for individuals to get from dry to wet soil (left) and wet to dry soil (right) with P = 0.165 showing there is statistically no significant difference in the data