The Fox and Rabbit Game: Predator – Prey Simulation
By: Erick Chung
Lab Partners: Bryan Oh, Justin Jang, Wilmer Roca
6/6/17
Introduction
Objective: The objective of this lab is to discover and understand how predator-prey interactions affect population size.
Hypothesis: If were to model the predator-prey relationship for 35 generations, then we would see that the relationship is inverse.
Results
Predator-Prey Simulation Data
Qualitative Observations:
The fox square was a thin piece of construction paper.
There were multiple fox squares with different colors such as yellow, pink, orange, brown, and green.
The meadow or square was created with masking tape.
The beans used to represent the rabbits were brown …show more content…
Based on the data, if the foxes were never introduced to the meadow, the rabbit population would’ve grew extremely quickly due to a lack of predation. The rabbit population was kept in check and was prevented from overpopulating the area by the introduction of the fox. On the other hand, the fox population was also dependent on the rabbit population because the foxes relied on the rabbits for food. Therefore, if the fox was unable to catch a rabbit then it would starve to death. The scarcity of rabbits would soon decrease the fox population due to the lack of food. The relationship between predator and prey was found to be relatively linear. The data that was recorded throughout the experiment shows that once the foxes were introduced to the meadow, the populations of both the foxes and the rabbits fluctuated and tended to have a relatively linear relationship except for the few generations where there was a minor inverse relationship. The results show that once both populations stabilized, for the most part, they both either increased or decreased together. It was only shown in a couple of generations where the two populations portrayed an inverse correlation. For example, from generations 17 to 21, both populations increased. However in generation 22, the rabbit population decreased from 84 to 10 while the fox population increased from 15 to …show more content…
Without predation, the population of prey would exponentially grow without limitation. However, without prey, the population of predators would rapidly decrease and go extinct due to the scarcity or absence of food. Therefore, it is imperative to understand that the populations of predators and prey have a direct correlation and that the competition within a single population affects the population size as well. The data recorded throughout the experiment shows that the rabbit population and the fox population had a relatively linear relationship with the exception of a couple of generations which showed an inverse relationship. One way to improve this lab would be to make sure that no simple or careless errors were made during the experiment. The process of counting the beans and dropping the fox squares was very tedious and had a lot of room for making simple errors such as not counting the beans properly. Therefore, methods like double-checking your answer or using multiple people to count could help prevent careless errors. Another way to improve the lab would be to provide a better alternative to the fox square or change the height at which the fox square is dropped. The fox square was to be dropped at a height of 20 cm from the square. However, the fox square almost always fell straight down and therefore was too predictable or unreasonable. Increasing the height at which the fox square
By: Erick Chung
Lab Partners: Bryan Oh, Justin Jang, Wilmer Roca
6/6/17
Introduction
Objective: The objective of this lab is to discover and understand how predator-prey interactions affect population size.
Hypothesis: If were to model the predator-prey relationship for 35 generations, then we would see that the relationship is inverse.
Results
Predator-Prey Simulation Data
Qualitative Observations:
The fox square was a thin piece of construction paper.
There were multiple fox squares with different colors such as yellow, pink, orange, brown, and green.
The meadow or square was created with masking tape.
The beans used to represent the rabbits were brown …show more content…
Based on the data, if the foxes were never introduced to the meadow, the rabbit population would’ve grew extremely quickly due to a lack of predation. The rabbit population was kept in check and was prevented from overpopulating the area by the introduction of the fox. On the other hand, the fox population was also dependent on the rabbit population because the foxes relied on the rabbits for food. Therefore, if the fox was unable to catch a rabbit then it would starve to death. The scarcity of rabbits would soon decrease the fox population due to the lack of food. The relationship between predator and prey was found to be relatively linear. The data that was recorded throughout the experiment shows that once the foxes were introduced to the meadow, the populations of both the foxes and the rabbits fluctuated and tended to have a relatively linear relationship except for the few generations where there was a minor inverse relationship. The results show that once both populations stabilized, for the most part, they both either increased or decreased together. It was only shown in a couple of generations where the two populations portrayed an inverse correlation. For example, from generations 17 to 21, both populations increased. However in generation 22, the rabbit population decreased from 84 to 10 while the fox population increased from 15 to …show more content…
Without predation, the population of prey would exponentially grow without limitation. However, without prey, the population of predators would rapidly decrease and go extinct due to the scarcity or absence of food. Therefore, it is imperative to understand that the populations of predators and prey have a direct correlation and that the competition within a single population affects the population size as well. The data recorded throughout the experiment shows that the rabbit population and the fox population had a relatively linear relationship with the exception of a couple of generations which showed an inverse relationship. One way to improve this lab would be to make sure that no simple or careless errors were made during the experiment. The process of counting the beans and dropping the fox squares was very tedious and had a lot of room for making simple errors such as not counting the beans properly. Therefore, methods like double-checking your answer or using multiple people to count could help prevent careless errors. Another way to improve the lab would be to provide a better alternative to the fox square or change the height at which the fox square is dropped. The fox square was to be dropped at a height of 20 cm from the square. However, the fox square almost always fell straight down and therefore was too predictable or unreasonable. Increasing the height at which the fox square