Along Came a Spider: Using Live Arthropods in a Predator–Prey Activity

ABSTRACT

We developed a predator–prey activity with eighth-grade students in which they used wolf spiders (Lycosa carolinensis), house crickets (Acheta domestica), and abiotic factors to address how (1) adaptations in predators and prey shape their interaction and (2) abiotic factors modify the interaction between predators and prey. We tested student understanding with pre- and postquizzes, written observations, and interpretations of graphical results.

KEYWORDS:

• Acheta domestica
• habitat complexity
• house cricket
• invertebrate
• Lycosa carolinensis
• temperature
• wolf spider

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

We thank the eighth grade students at Urbana Middle School for their dedication and enthusiasm. We also thank P. Reagel and E. Richardson for constructive comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript and M. Hari for the images in Figures 3 and 5.