ISSN:
1420-9071
Keywords:
Computer analysis
;
ethogram
;
ethology
;
Protozoa
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Summary The behavior of Protozoa can be studied by using the ethogram as a conceptual tool capable of giving an almost complete picture of the motor biology of these microorganisms. A new semi-automatic, computerized method for drawing ethograms is described here: it allows a time-saving of about 70%, in comparison with the similar manual procedure. Microorganism movements are photographed by a Pentax LX camera from the screen of a TV monitor, connected to the stereomicroscope by a TV camera, and resolved into single images using a stroboscopic apparatus. The pictorial data are introduced into the computer by means of a digitizing tablet, and the track analysis is performed semi-automatically. The measurements recorded are then processed using a commercial statistics package in order to obtain a general view of the quantitative parameters of each ethogram.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF01941739
