The Effect of Temperature on the Population Density of Pill Bugs
Abstract
The effect of temperature on the population density of pill bugs was studied in a quadrat with an area of 408 m2 in Surrey and a quadrat with an area of 400 m2 in Abbotsford. The population density of pill bugs was estimated, and the air temperature was measured for three weeks from October 28 to November 13. The pill bug population was estimated using Chapman’s estimator, which is a form of the mark and recapture method. The mark and recapture method was based on the probability of capturing the identical pill bugs in two samples collected two days apart. The correlation between temperature and the population density of pill bugs was not statistically significant, according to the t-test of the population correlation coefficient. The p-value was found to be 0.869, which means that the probability of obtaining this correlation coefficient by chance is 86.9% if it is assumed that the correlation coefficient is zero. Our study’s results do not support the hypothesis that the population density of pill bugs decreases as temperature decreases because we fail to reject the null hypothesis that there is no correlation between the temperature and population density of pill bugs in the population.
