Observing the Speed and Mobility of Hypsibius Exemplaris After Extreme Conditions

Overview

The goal of this experiment was to observe the effect that different extreme conditions had on the speed and mobility of Hypsibius exemplaris, an animal from a species of microscopic invertebrates called tardigrades. Tardigrades are famous for their resilience to harsh environments and have been studied for their extremotolerant abilities. My scientific question was: How do extreme conditions (such as liquid nitrogen, UV radiation and alcohol) affect the movement and speed of Hypsibius exemplaris? The hypothesis produced was: If H. exemplaris is exposed to any extreme condition for thirty minutes and afterwards removed for recovery, then its movement would stop, yet gradually resume to normal in short increments by the end of an hour. To collect data, the tardigrades were placed in agarose plates and recorded for an hour before and after experimentation. They were exposed to either 254 nm wavelength of UV, 1 ml of 50% ethanol, or 150 ml of liquid nitrogen for 30 minutes. The data found that tardigrades exposed to UV and liquid nitrogen had average movements of 0.307 and 0.397 µm/s respectively, while those exposed to alcohol had an average movement of 0.531µm/sec. The control group’s speed was 22.23 µm/sec on average, proving that the tardigrades did not regain normal mobility. Confocal imaging also showed DNA breakage in tardigrades exposed to liquid nitrogen and UV radiation. In the end, almost none of the tardigrades survived and those who did only showed extremely limited movement, proving my hypothesis incorrect.

Competition history

• CSEF 2026 Zoology (Junior Division) · Entry J-20-07

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