Populations simulation on the internet
Name: _________________
Date:_____________
Go to: http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/rabbits/index.html#
Look through the top tabs “what” “how” and “why” to find answers to the following
questions:
What are the options for forest border? What do they mean?
What happens if the wolves or rabbits eat to their maximum food level?
When can the wolves or rabbits reproduce?
How do the wolves and rabbits move?
In this model, describe the vegetation and how it grows.
Click on the Rabbit parameters. In your own words describe a change in each of the
following. What would you expect to happen to the rabbit population if you lowered
each value:
“Maximum rabbit food level”-
“Rabbit Metabolism Rate”-
“Rabbit Reproduction Age”-
“Rabbit Reproduction Probability”-
“Rabbit Reproduction Food Level”-
“Maximum Rabbit Age”-
Click on the Wolf parameters. In your own words describe a change in each of the
following. What would you expect to happen to the Wolf population if you raised each
value:
“Maximum wolf food level”-
“Wolf Metabolism Rate”-
“Wolf Reproduction Age”-
“Wolf Reproduction Probability”-
“Wolf Reproduction Food Level”-
“Maximum Wolf Age”-
Start the simulation
As soon as it begins, click on the “View populations Graph” to watch the numbers of the
populations.
Describe what happens.
How might you correct this?
Don’t make any switches, run the simulation again. Did the exact same thing happen?
Were the numbers exactly the same? You can check on the numbers by clicking on the
“view cumulative statistics” button. Why might there have been a difference?
Go into the parameters section and change one variable. What did you change?
Run the simulation again. Compare what happens this time.
Try a number of other switches to the parameters. Try to create an ecosystem that
produces viable populations of each species. In order, list the changes that you made and
state why you were doing this?
Change #1Why-
Change #2Why-
Change #3Why-
Change #4Why-
Change #5WhyTo simplify, take the initial number of foxes down to “0”.
After running a few simulations, what can you say about the grass and rabbit
populations? How is the growth of one linked to the growth of the other?
The delayed response of one population to changes in the other is called a lag time. Why
does it happen?