Here are five facts that I have learned by reading this article:
- The experiment that was done in this article provides the first evidence of bioluminescence being used as a warning signal much like chemicals or bright colors are used by other animals.
- Bioluminescence is thought to help attract mates, attract prey, or send messages back and forth between members of the same species.
- The difference between having a warning signal and not having one, could mean life or death for an animal because ones without a signal could be attacked more often.
- Small animals like rodents are one of the millipedes most likely predators.
- Although these millipedes do glow in the dark, they don't use the same mechanism as a firefly or glowworm to ignite their light.
In this article about glow-in-the-dark millipedes, the scientists conducted an experiment in which they used the scientific method. Here is my evidence as to why I think that the scientific method was used:
- The scientists made a hypothesis as to what they predicted would happen. "Marek and his coworkers hypothesized by using bioluminescence as a warning signal, luminescent millipedes would be attacked less than non-luminescent ones."
- They conducted an experiment to test their hypothesis and gather results. "For the field experiment, the group took their clay millipede collection to Giant Sequoia National Monument in California, where they set them on the ground along a transect line, spaced five meters (16 feet) apart. Glowing and non-glowing individuals were distributed in random order to avoid sampling bias."
- They analyzed the data that they gathered and made a conclusion to their experiment. "The next morning, the researchers went to collect the live and clay millipedes and assess the results."It was just -- carnage," Marek said. "We were really surprised at the predation rate on these millipedes. Overall, about one-third of them -- both real and fake -- had been attacked."
