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Watch a scientist attach a collar and sensor to a crab! Materials for CAPMON2:
Other materials that you will need:
A. Loading the Software CAPMON2 software is pre-loaded. Just click on the red heart on the screen to start the program. B. Setting Up An Experiment 1. Before you begin, you should already have decided on the experiment that you are going to perform, and set up the appropriate experimental and control treatments in separate aquaria. 2. Connect the CAPMON2 converter box to the computer with the 9-pin cable provided in the kit. The “female” end connects to the computer and the “male” end connects to the CAPMON2 unit. Ensure the CAPMON2 unit has working batteries 3. Connect the computer to its power supply. Connect the floppy drive to the computer if you wish to save data to a floppy disk or connect to a network if you wish to store data on a network. (See your local system administrator for network details) Attach the mouse to the computer. Turn the computer on using the on/off button above the left side of the keyboard. 4. Double click on the red heart to start the program. 5. The computer display will be divided into 2 channel sections (1 red and 1 green), each of which represents the output from one sensor. Each channel window is split in half to display the continuing heartbeat pattern on the top, and a histogram of the heart rate (in beats per minute) on the bottom. 6. Connect the sensor cables to the sensor ports on the front of the CAPMON2 unit. Channel A is on the right and Channel B is on the left. 7. Turn on the CAPMON2 unit at the back using the slide switch. The red light on the front should light up. 8. Click the “start monitoring button” to test each sensor by tapping your finger over the light emitter and observing the change in the shape of the graph on the computer display. C. Locating the Heart Crabs: the heart is located just under the dorsal carapace, near the rear of the animal. A small square-shaped indentation is often visible on the carapace just over the heart. Mussels: the heart is usually located near the edge of the shell, just forward of the shell hinge (closer to the anterior, more pointed end). D. Attaching the Sensors ***IMPORTANT*** Before attaching the sensors, find the heart of each animal by placing the sensor over the appropriate area on the shell (see above) and observing the heartbeat pattern on the computer. A regular and consistent wave pattern should be observed, and the trace should pass up and then down through both of the dashed lines. Micro sensors without collars: Locate the heart on the animal as above, blot dry the shell of either the mussel or the crab, and glue the sensor directly to the shell using a small amount of super glue. E. Adjusting the Signal On the CAPMON2 unit: The gain or amplitude of the signal can be adjusted for each channel with the corresponding knob on the front of the CAPMON2 box. On the computer: When the program is initially activated, it will automatically set the trigger level. Before recording the actual data, you can make adjustments to the gain on each heartbeat signal for optimal results. You can adjust it on the computer by clicking the slider bar for each channel. F. Recording Data Once the signal for each channel has been appropriately adjusted, click the input of file name button and enter a file name to save the data into. Press the start monitoring button to begin recording. You will be asked to enter a file name; choose one that gives enough information about the experiment without being too lengthy. You should note the time at which you begin recording. A simple way to generate a recognizable filename is to use the numerical representation of the day’s date, such as 012302 for Jan. 23, 2002, and then use a postfix to identify the individual files generated during that day 012302A, 012302B etc. Make clear notes on the experimental setup used for each recording. Push the stop monitoring button. The data will automatically be saved with the name you assigned it and a “.csv” extension (name.csv), which you can import into Excel or other spreadsheet program. G. Accessing the Data 1. Transfer the file from the laptop computer using the floppy drive or the network connection to a computer that has Excel, which you will use to analyze the data. Or alternatively you can load Excel or other spreadsheet software onto the laptop using the network connection or floppy disks. 2. Open the Microsoft Excel program and import the file for analysis.
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