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Document Type

Poster

Description

This study examined the parameters needed to reliably induce a freezing fear response to a predator-like auditory stimulus in the earthworm species Eisenia Fetida. Previous work from our lab found that a grunting noise was more reliable in causing freezing compared to a mole sound, i.e. artificial versus natural predators of E. Fetida (Worthen et al., 2024). In the present study, 8 amplitude levels of grunting sound were presented in either serial or random order. The speaker location was varied so that it either did or did not touch the apparatus, thus producing a mechanical vibration in addition to the sound for one group. It was hypothesized that the addition of mechanical vibration would elicit higher rates of freezing than sound alone. We also explored the effects of amplitude order (serial versus random) and amplitude level (low versus high) on the frequency of freezing behavior.

Publication Date

2024

Keywords

Earthworms; Auditory Stimuli; Vibratory Stiumli

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Engineering | Life Sciences | Medicine and Health Sciences | Physical Sciences and Mathematics | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Colleges & Schools

Science and Mathematics

Department

Psychology

Faculty Advisor Name

Dragana Claflin

A Systematic Study of Freezing Behavior in Earthworms in Response to Auditory and Vibratory Stimuli


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