WLHS/Marine Biology/Oppelt Name ______

Arthropod Research Activity

DIRECTIONS: Read through the following questions. Choose 3 of the 5 questions to answer. Using the internet, type a paragraph on the following topics. Make sure to use your OWN words. Plagiarism will result in a 0. Cite the sources you found your information for each section.

1. Report on the farming of shrimp, crab, lobster, or crayfish. Compare the size, the technology, and the economic importance of this kind of farming in your state and other states. Compare crustacean farming with fish farming. What environmental issues affect crustacean farming?

2. Learn more about where crabs or shrimp live in natural environments. How, if at all, are their bodies adapted to their habitats? What do they eat and, in turn, what animals prey on them (in other words, eat them)?

3. Many people think that barnacles are mollusks. Read references to learn about the anatomy and life history of barnacles. Explain what makes them arthropods. Learn of their economic impact on the shipping industry, which must cope with barnacles growing on ship hulls.

4. Find out what commercial and medicinal products are extracted from arthropod by-products. An example is chitoson, which is extracted from the carapaces of crabs for use in making fibers, films, and artificial human skin.

5. What is the nutritional value of shrimp, crabs, and lobster? How do they compare with fish in protein, fat, and calories? Do you have to eat more crustaceans to get the same nutritional value as fish or vice versa? Which do you think can feed more people and WHY? (Hint: think about factors like number of offspring produced, how long does it take for them to mature, etc..)