The Effect of Alcohol on the Heart Rate of a Gammarus

Introduction The gammarus is a marine animal found in shallow waters. Reaching lengths of 2 cm (George), it feeds on diatoms, crustacean larvae and other tiny attached or floating food items (Craig). Its outside environment easily affects this tiny organism. When a crustacean is placed in alcohol it's heart rate is known to decrease. This is due to the interference with nerve pulses. For example, an experiment was conducted when a Daphnia was placed in ethanol. …

…BPM) 0<Tab/>198, 222, 240, 138, 204, 156, 312, 240, 432, 228, 240, 240, 366, 240, 198, 288, 204, 240, 228, 204, 204, 102, 144, 150, 210, 216, 210 2<Tab/>270, 288, 300, 197, 108, 84, 72, 90, 114 4<Tab/>270, 300, 318, 132, 180, 102, 174, 114, 186 6<Tab/>108, 144, 162, 216, 210, 222, 198, 174 References: Carlson, John. General Biology, madsci.org. Mar 28 1999. < http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/mar99/922685827.Gb.r.html > Craig, Sean F., Thoney, Dennis A., Schlager, Neil, Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, Second Edition, Vol.2. Protosomes, 2004, Gale, Thomson Learning Inc., MI. pp. 265 George, David and Jennifer. Marine Life, 1979, Lionel Leventral, Vancouver. pp. 16