Marine Biology
Name________________________
Period______ Date_____________
Predator-Prey Simulation
Data Table
Generation Rabbits Lynx
Rabbits
Caught
Lynx
Lynx
Starved Surviving
New Baby
Lynx
Rabbits
Left
1
3
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
1. Graph the data for 25 generations. Place both the rabbit and the lynx data (the first two columns on this data
table) on the same graph so that the relationship can be easily observed. Label the y axis (vertical Axis)
Number of animals and the x axis (horizontal axis) Generations. Use one color for lynx and one for rabbits.
2. Study the graph for the 2 populations. How are the lynx and rabbit population related to each other? How
does the size of each population affect each other?
3. Under what modifications can both populations continue to exist indefinitely?
4. In your opinion, what would happen if you introduced an additional predator, such as a coyote, which
requires fewer rabbits to reproduce?
5. What would happen if you introduced another type of rabbit, one that could run faster and escape its
predators? (In the same simulation, you could give the new type of rabbit a chance to escape by tossing a coin
after it is caught and it go if you got heads.) Which type of rabbit would predominate after many generations
of predation?
6. How does this simulation relate to the human population and its interaction with it’s environment? Are
there any predator-prey relationships humans are involved in?