1. Fruit Fly Behavior Lab

2. Background Animal Behavior Taxis vs. Kinesis Chemotaxis
Drosophila melanogaster

3. Hypothesis
What types of substances will elicit a chemotaxic response (+ or -) in fruit flies?
You will be required to test at least 3 different substances (your choice—you bring in)
Consider testing the following types of substances:
Fruit juices
Vinegars
Food extracts

4. Experimental Design
You will set up a choice chamber using clear drinking straws and Qtips
Use water as a control vs. your experimental substances
Observe 10 flies for 2-3 minutes and record locations

5. Results
In class, you will be completing an “exit ticket” as a group before you leave
In your lab notebook, you will do a full write-up
Graph results for each substance you test
Perform chi-square analysis to support claims of taxis vs. kinesis (kinesis – expect 5 flies on each end of straw)
Answer lab questions (next slide)

6. Lab Questions
In what ways could chemotaxis be advantageous to fruit flies?
Compare and contrast positive and negative chemotaxis, giving examples of each.
Based on the results of your experimentation, what types of behaviors would you expect from fruit flies in your kitchen at home?