Lutchie M. Carrasquillo, a student at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, worked with Christian Hurd and Dr. Andy Davis to study the effects of parasitism on Daphnia heart rate using a new methodology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Abstract: Daphnia<\/em> are a model organism often used in investigations of chemical toxicity, and for biology classes. Measuring changes in heart rate is a commonly-used approach to assess responses to toxins. However, these assessments are usually done manually, which is time consuming and tedious. We developed a novel apparatus for monitoring changes in Daphia<\/em> heart rates in real-time, without harming the animals. We used this approach to investigate how heart rate changes in response to naturally-occurring parasites (epibionts) and a natural Daphnia<\/em> predator (glassworms). Our results showed Daphnia<\/em> heart rates were not greatly affected by these, but we did discover an unusual diurnal effect, where the heart rate response differed between the morning trials and the evening trials.<\/p>\n\n\nCarrasquillo<\/a>\n Lutchie M. Carrasquillo, a student at the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo, worked with Christian Hurd and Dr. Andy Davis to study the effects of parasitism on Daphnia heart rate using a new methodology. Abstract: Daphnia are a model organism often used in investigations of chemical toxicity, and for biology classes. Measuring changes in<\/p>\n