Here is are some details about the specific Isopods I chose.
Giant canyons (Porcellio dilatates)
Isopods are terrestrial crustations that primarily eat detritus. According to a 2016 journal on soil ecology titled "Pedobiologia" There are about 4500 marine, 500 freshwater and 3600 terrestrial species currently described globally. Isopods generally feed on decaying matter and sometimes minerals like limestone and minerals in the substrate.
The isopods people in the midwestern united states are most familiar with are Armadillidium vulgare. Also called pill bugs, roly polies, wood louse and potato bugs. Little black or brownish "bugs" with 14 legs that can conglobate (curl up). Usually found underneath dead leaves and bark in parks, woodlands and our own backyard. These are not actually bugs at all but land crustations. They breath through modified gills on the underside of their hind ends and rely on moisture to help these organs properly diffuse oxygen on land. The waste they produce is called "frass" and it no longer contains living organic or rotting material.
Isopods are also an ovoviviparous species (Internal yoked eggs with live birth). Eggs are laid and fertilized in a membrane called a marsupium on the underside of the females abdomen. There the eggs incubate and hatch. After hatching the young remain in the membrane until mature enough to safely live outside. Then the mother lays on her back, wriggling her legs to loosen the membrane and the mancae (baby isopods) are born. Miniature yellowish versions of their parents, the mancae can walk, eat and (in some species) care for themselves right after their birth.
The species I chose are called Giant Canyon Isopods. Native to the UK, they cannot conglobate and are far less round. Unlike Armadillidium species they can burrow completely into the substrate they inhabit. They are also very hearty and able to tolerate higher levels of silica in soil without desiccating (drying out). Porcellio dilatates is larger than any of our native species which are 8.5 to 18mm average as adults with Porcellio dilatates averaging their adult size around reaching up to 22mm in length. They are lighter in color and brown with flatter looking bodies. They also don't have the glossy appearance that our native rolie polies do. The also raise their young for a short while after birth, feeding and guarding them.
I chose this species when researching what species would be able to handle the high silica content of the mars substrate simulant. I also wanted a species that was hearty enough to withstand changes in humidity and environment well. The team at 'Josh's Frogs' used their expertise to not only select this species, but they donated the species to the project. Their contribution of isopods and knowledge has been massively helpful to my project!
Another contributor was the You Tube channel "The Insect Spotlight Project." His Spotlight video on the order Isopoda sparked much of my interest and helped me a lot as I constructed their enclosure. You can watch his video and his other videos here The Insect Spotlight Project . He has also been kind enough to exchange emails with me and share his knowledge and brainstorm some ideas. I'm thankful and excited.