The study of animal behavior is called Ethology. Responding to sensory input is what animal behavior essentially is. Animal behavior is divided into three categories: orientation, competitive and mating. Orientation behavior implies that the animal proceeds towards the desired environment that best suits it. When an animal approaches or moves away from a stimulus it is called a Taxi. Taxi occurs when a stimulus is altered, such as change in heat or light. When an animal interacts with each other with hostile or compliant movements, this is called agonistic behavior. Finally, mating behavior essentially occurs when a member of the same species finds another member and mates. Terrestrial isopods are also known as Pill Bugs. They are crustaceans that live on land. They are related to lobsters, crabs and shrimp. Pill bug growth involves shedding an exoskeleton while shedding cuticles in waves. Pillbugs have a diet consisting primarily of decayed vegetables, grass, weeds, fruits, and plants. Pillbugs are found in moist environments, particularly under logs or leaves, for example. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay As the experiment progressed, there was something worth pointing out. First of all, the pillbugs experienced kinesis and taxi as they moved toward a dark, moist environment. This stimulus is what causes the animal's behavior. As noted at 6.45pm, in the experiment, the pillbugs still continued to move, however they seemed hesitant as they were unfamiliar with the area, especially dishes with bright light (taxis). Some insects were not fond of light as they moved to shaded areas or into dark Petri dishes. No agonistic behavior was observed during the experiment as the pill bugs were relatively friendly and non-hostile. In fact, pillbugs were actually passive and the only time they touched each other was during mating. Signs of mating behavior were observed only once during the entire experiment. In some cases, larger insects were seen to be on top of smaller ones as they moved, which could suggest that communication actually occurred at times. This form of behavior does not help the pillbug defend itself from natural predators, however the natural defense mechanism does. When a pillbug senses danger, it curls up into a ball as observed when it was picked up. Pill bugs are really small, so they can't be seen by many. Pill bugs are great at hiding thanks to their ability to bury themselves along with their color combinations. One way I could have improved this experiment better was to not place bedding material in the central Petri dish so that the pillbugs might have had an easier chance of going into other Petri dishes. Any errors that may have been present in the experiment could be due to such a small test size. This could have been improved by adding more pillbugs because the larger the sample size the more accurate the data is likely to be. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Based on From the experiment results, pill bugs prefer dark environments over brighter ones. Pill bugs also prefer humid conditions than.