Conclusion
Bearded dragons are far from fierce predators. My hypothesis was that if I present the bearded dragons with food that moves and is in close proximity, they will eat it. By using the variables of distance and time, the bearded dragons will be attracted to the live food that is close to them and they will eat it.
To test my hypothesis, I put bearded dragons in a box, one at a time, and measured the distance I placed the food from the bearded dragon. I then timed how long it took the lizard to eat the food, if it even eats the food. After this, I placed the first lizard back in its cage and repeat those steps with the other lizard. When finished, I reviewed the data I collected and wrote my blog. My independent variable is the distance, the distance of the bearded dragon from the food. This is my independent variable because I have no control over it. My dependent variable is the amount of time it takes the dragon to eat the food. This is my dependent variable because I am the one who changes it. I can control the food and control the bearded dragon by taking it out of the experiment if it takes too long to get to the food. My constants/controls are the bearded dragons, because no matter what, they never change.
As I performed this experiment, I saw many things. One thing I noticed was that the larger bearded dragon preferred lettuce over every other food, as my data has shown. Also, both lizards seemed to like lettuce more than other food types. The smaller of the two bearded dragons was the only lizard to eat anything from fifteen or more centimeters. It ate lettuce. I was very surprised that the bearded dragons didn't eat the mealworm every time. Another thing that I noticed was that the smaller lizard was a lot more active than the larger one.
According to my data, they ate something at close range, whether it was lettuce, carrots, or a mealworm. The part of my hypothesis that is wrong was when I predicted that the bearded dragons would most always eat the mealworm. This was incorrect, because the large lizard never ate the mealworm. In all of my tests, it didn't even touch the mealworm. The small bearded dragon ate something from 15 centimeters, which surprised me because I anticipated that neither bearded dragon would eat anything from that far of a distance. My independent and dependent variables are related because as I changed the distance, the results and time were different. The farther the distance the food was from the bearded dragons, the less likely the lizards were to eat the food.
I felt that after performing my experiment, I realized how interesting dealing with live animals can be. Not just interesting, but also very hard. It is near impossible to know when a bearded dragon is hungry, when it isn't, and when it wants to or doesn't want to eat. There is no way to really communicate with a bearded dragon. I learned a lot from this experiment, and I really enjoyed the time I got to spend working with the bearded dragons in the science lab. The procedure of my project ran very smoothly, and I don't see myself carrying out my procedure any other way. I was very surprised with my results because going into my project, I expected the bearded dragons to basically eat anything I gave them, as long as they didn't have to do anything too "hard" to get it. This was very wrong, as my results have shown. Another thing that I learned was that both lizards have food preferences. The smaller lizard liked lettuce and mealworms, but definitely not carrots. As for the larger lizard, it liked lettuce above all things. In areas of further study, I would say that animal behaviors would interest me the most. I think this science fair project is a good start to a future of animal behavioral studies. In conclusion, I learned about the food preferences of bearded dragons, and I also learned a lot about the species and how to carry out an experiment efficiently.
Bearded dragons are far from fierce predators. My hypothesis was that if I present the bearded dragons with food that moves and is in close proximity, they will eat it. By using the variables of distance and time, the bearded dragons will be attracted to the live food that is close to them and they will eat it.
To test my hypothesis, I put bearded dragons in a box, one at a time, and measured the distance I placed the food from the bearded dragon. I then timed how long it took the lizard to eat the food, if it even eats the food. After this, I placed the first lizard back in its cage and repeat those steps with the other lizard. When finished, I reviewed the data I collected and wrote my blog. My independent variable is the distance, the distance of the bearded dragon from the food. This is my independent variable because I have no control over it. My dependent variable is the amount of time it takes the dragon to eat the food. This is my dependent variable because I am the one who changes it. I can control the food and control the bearded dragon by taking it out of the experiment if it takes too long to get to the food. My constants/controls are the bearded dragons, because no matter what, they never change.
As I performed this experiment, I saw many things. One thing I noticed was that the larger bearded dragon preferred lettuce over every other food, as my data has shown. Also, both lizards seemed to like lettuce more than other food types. The smaller of the two bearded dragons was the only lizard to eat anything from fifteen or more centimeters. It ate lettuce. I was very surprised that the bearded dragons didn't eat the mealworm every time. Another thing that I noticed was that the smaller lizard was a lot more active than the larger one.
According to my data, they ate something at close range, whether it was lettuce, carrots, or a mealworm. The part of my hypothesis that is wrong was when I predicted that the bearded dragons would most always eat the mealworm. This was incorrect, because the large lizard never ate the mealworm. In all of my tests, it didn't even touch the mealworm. The small bearded dragon ate something from 15 centimeters, which surprised me because I anticipated that neither bearded dragon would eat anything from that far of a distance. My independent and dependent variables are related because as I changed the distance, the results and time were different. The farther the distance the food was from the bearded dragons, the less likely the lizards were to eat the food.
I felt that after performing my experiment, I realized how interesting dealing with live animals can be. Not just interesting, but also very hard. It is near impossible to know when a bearded dragon is hungry, when it isn't, and when it wants to or doesn't want to eat. There is no way to really communicate with a bearded dragon. I learned a lot from this experiment, and I really enjoyed the time I got to spend working with the bearded dragons in the science lab. The procedure of my project ran very smoothly, and I don't see myself carrying out my procedure any other way. I was very surprised with my results because going into my project, I expected the bearded dragons to basically eat anything I gave them, as long as they didn't have to do anything too "hard" to get it. This was very wrong, as my results have shown. Another thing that I learned was that both lizards have food preferences. The smaller lizard liked lettuce and mealworms, but definitely not carrots. As for the larger lizard, it liked lettuce above all things. In areas of further study, I would say that animal behaviors would interest me the most. I think this science fair project is a good start to a future of animal behavioral studies. In conclusion, I learned about the food preferences of bearded dragons, and I also learned a lot about the species and how to carry out an experiment efficiently.