Dim Light Lab Report

In the above hypotheses, the research done previous to the lab supported the alternate hypotheses for the colored lights in relation to the dim lights, and the null hypothesis for the experiment in which both sides of the chamber had dim light. The dim light on Side B of the chamber would be favored because, in a previous study, D. Melanogaster were exposed to different illuminations, and “their favorite resting, grooming, and feeding places were determined with an infrared-sensitive camera.” Additionally, the study used infrared beams to collect data on the activity levels of the flies during their most active period of the day under different light intensities. Each of these methods demonstrated D. Melanogaster’s preference for dim light occurring “between 5 and 10 Lux” (Rieger et al.). Thus, one would expect the alternate hypotheses

Upon further research, it was discovered that Drosophila Melanogaster have a very high sensitivity towards light (Vinayak). To investigate, the light preferences of Drosophila Melanogaster were tested under different conditions. Previous experiments showed that Drosophila Melanogaster tend to be most active during dawn and dusk, when the light level (measured in Lux) is around 7.5 Lux (Rieger et al.) An experiment by a group of Japanese biologists found that Drosophila Melanogaster are insensitive to red light, and can only see wavelengths between UV and green (Hanai, Hamasaka, Ishida). However, high frequency light waves tend to kill many Drosophila Melanogaster (Hori et al.) Thus, the experiment was done using several colored lights: red light was tested to see if D. Melanogaster were insensitive to it, UV and green light were used to test the ends of the flies’ visible spectrum, and blue light was tested to investigate how short wavelengths affected the