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After collecting the data over a two-day time period. Record on an Excel sheet and compare to other projects. The excel sheet should include the distance(in cm) of the spider from the LED light (in the x,y,and z dimension), and the diameter of the web, if present at all. This will be recorded with a ruler from outside the container.  Pictures of the spider best depicting its distance from the LED can be taken for reference. Determine whether the light, time exposure, length, color, brightness, or species of spider had any effect on presence of webs in the chamber. This is done by comparing each project results to one another and deciding whether the web that was produced was influenced by the light that was exposed to the spider. If the spider was attracted to the light, then the distance of the web from the light should be smaller than if the spider was not attracted to the web.

There is a common chamber in which all six projects use to observe their spider. This keeps each experiment controlled and avoids any external factors that may skew the results. The chamber consists of a medium, square, Ziploc Tupperware. The Tupperware is placed upside down in order to ensure easy observation. A needle is heated with a flame in order to poke ten holes into the top of the container to allow air flow for the spiders. An additional larger hole was made in the middle of the container to allow the LED light to be placed in the chamber. This hole was made by repeatedly heating a needle and melting the plastic container to create a large enough space for the LED bulb to fit through. The LED light was held in place with masking tape. The light complex requires a small LED light, two jumpers, a resistor, and a 9V battery. Each spider chamber had its own light complex, placed to the side of the chamber in order not interfere with the LED light on the top of the complex. The LED light contains two needles that are inserted into one end of both jumpers. The other end of the jumpers obtain needles that resistors are wrapped around. The ends of the jumpers that are not attached to the LED light are then tapped to opposite ends of the 9V battery. This should illuminate the LED light. The LED light is inserted into whichever hole is designated to it in the chamber (this may be different depending on which project is being performed). Add two, three-inch sticks to each environment. One should be placed directly under the light, the other at one edge of the plastic container. Lastly, a cardboard box should be placed over each environment once they are completed. This stops any ambient light from entering the plastic container.

There are six possible projects that can be carried out, manipulating different variables in order to see how it affects spider web production and location. Although the six projects have different variables, they all contain one spider, are observed once a day; every morning, for two days, and feed flies every morning. During the daily observations, the observer should record any presence of webbing and its location in a style depicted in Table 1. 

The chamber that is used in each experiment is similar to avoid variability that could skew the results. Spiders can easily live in small, enclosed areas. Yet, spiders thrive in a playful environment to prevent boredom. This is why two sticks are placed in each chamber. This will ensure that the spiders have a suitable, controlled environment to create webs and live efficiently.

Incandescent lights create the most attraction to insects due to their high emission of light and heat. LED lights have the lowest attraction of insects, yet still attract a wide variety of insects. This is because they do not give off much light or heat (Arthur 2017). Cooler colors of light attract more insects than warmer coolers of light due to the lower frequency of wavelength that is given off. The lower the frequency of wavelength in cooler colored light is easier for insects to detect and therefore is highly attractive. The more insects that are attracted, the more likely a spider will produce a dense web in that relative location in order to increase its likelihood of capturing prey.

Web-building spiders are sit-and-wait foragers. This means that they are relatively inactive and create traps for their preys. Spiders strategize the location and density of their web to maximize the number of prey that are captured. The types of insects spiders capture are attracted to light. Most spiders will build their web close to a light source to increase their probability of catching the maximum amount of prey. In addition, spiders may be genetically determined to be attracted to light because they use reflected moonlight to find high insect densities (Heiling 1999).

One thing I enjoyed about this movie was being able to learn about the primitive communities that are still present in this era. I was intrigued by the ancestral ways of hunting and living. I thought it was very interesting that the San Bushmen use ostrich eggs to transport water in the desert in order to prolong their hunting adventures. It amazes me how different one's life in North America is to one who lives in a primitive community. This reveals how far along the human population has evolved and advanced into today’s society.

The movie, The Great Human Odyssey, explains how humans evolved and spread throughout every inch of the world. It starts off by describing how it was almost unheard of for a species to be able to evolve into such an advanced population and be able to adapt to almost any climate. The movie showed many artifacts that revealed the development of the Homo Sapien mind and migration. The advanced tools, culture, and communication that resulted from adapting survival behaviors to benefit in unique environments allowed our species to become superior to others. The DNA in fossils found proved that humans in North America did not come from Europe, but came from Asia. Our intelligent minds enabled us to conquer not only land, but the sea as well. The technologies created to hunt, gather, and communicate prevented Homo Sapien extinction through drastic climate changes.

Although ecology is not typically thought of as a subject in the medical field, it can play a role in environmental medicine. This uses environmental science, environmental pathology, and the knowledge of relationships between organisms and the environment to study the individual’s physical, mental and emotional responses to them. Although this may not directly relate to my path in the medical field, it is an important topic that may affect many other branches of the field. Without ecology, we would not be able to study the environmental, or other organisms, effects on human health.

The healthcare field has always interested me since a young age. The science classes I had taken in grade school have always been a priority to me due to my drive to explore the field. My father is a doctor and that may have influenced my interest path due to my exposure to the medical field at such an early stage in my life. I am a biology major and hope to eventually go to school to become a Physician Assistant. I aspire to be a Physician Assistant because I strive to make a difference in people’s lives everyday. By being a PA, I would be doing something I enjoy while helping people. Due to my focus in the medical field, I enjoy the classes such as anatomy and physiology, public health, and microbiology. Yet, ecology can play a role in the medical field in many ways that are not as obvious as one may think.