Students will investigate and analyze how organisms, populations, and communities respond to changing external factors. Students will also be able to interpret relationships among predators and prey and the environment.
Real world application
In the wild, predators and prey constantly interact. Predators depend on prey as a food source, but if they over hunt the prey, they may starve. Numerous biotic and abiotic factors impact the two populations. How are the predator-prey cycles affected by these factors?
Initial prey pop.
Initial prey population: the number of prey at the start of the simulation
Prey birth rate
Prey birth rate: how quickly surviving prey can reproduce
Prey nutritional val.
Prey nutritional value: the amount of calories predators obtain from eating one prey
Initial predator pop.
Initial predator population: the number of predators at the start of the simulation
Predator death rate
Predator death rate: how likely predators that do not kill a prey will starve and die
Predator speed
Predator speed: the speed at which predators can chase prey
Carrying capacity
Carrying capacity: the number of individuals of each population that the environment can support
Natural disasters
Natural disasters: the severity of constant natural disasters in the environment
Diseases
Diseases: the severity of periodic diseases in the environment
Predator-Prey Population
Population size
Time
Prey population
Predator population
Prey controls
Predator controls
Environmental controls
Adjust the sliders on the left to control the prey, sliders on the right to control the predators, and sliders on the bottom to control the environment.