The Effect of Temperature Increase on Crayfish Behavior

Sidney Strama, Sofie Campbell, Sarah Hoyles, Laura Gerken 

Department of Biology, Agnes Scott College, Class of 2023

Crayfish are a very common model system for research studies because they are found in multiple water ecosystems in the United States and beyond. Current climate change is causing water system temperatures to rise causing devastating loss to different marine animals natural habitats. We hypothesize if the water temperature increases to 27 celsius (crayfish are kept at 20-21 celsius) then the crayfish will have increased aggressive behaviors. We chose to observe the aggression of crayfish with increased water temp because of the current climate change intensity. The crayfish will be monitored using a camera daily throughout the week as we change the temperatures. We expect to observe increased aggression with the increased water temperature.