Science 10 – Predator-Prey Simulation
Procedure
1. Go to the following website: http://home.messiah.edu/~deroos/CSC171/PredPrey/PRED.htm
2. Click the “Press to Replot” button.
3. Record the minimum and maximum populations for the rabbit and fox populations.
4. Increase the birth rate of rabbits to 1.0. Record the minimum and maximum populations for
the rabbit and fox populations.
5. Reset the birth rate of rabbits back to 0.7. Set the death rate of foxes to 0.3 Record the
minimum and maximum populations for the rabbit and fox populations.
6. Change the settings in a manner to collapse the predator-prey system. Record the settings you
used to do so. Note: You cannot use 0 for any of the tab settings.
Questions/Discussion
1. Graph the modeled population of this predator-prey system for either step number 3,4 or 5.
Identify on the graph where there is a time lag between population peaks.
2. Explain why there is a time lag between the populations of the two species.
3. Why did the population of the foxes increase, when the birth rate of the rabbits increased?
4. Explain why the particular settings you used to collapse the system were effective in doing so.