Ecosystem Population Dynamics

Model a food chain of coral, fish, and humans.

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Question

How can interactions among coral, fish, and humans produce changing population cycles?

A population that provides food rises first, followed later by the population that depends on it.
A population that provides food rises first, followed later by the population that depends on it.

Goals

  • Build a simple agent-based food-chain model.
  • Track how population counts respond when organisms are added or removed.

Method

Give each type of organism a small set of movement, feeding, and survival rules.

  • Let fish depend on coral and let humans interact with the fish population.
  • Update every agent and population count in short time steps.
  • Change the starting populations and compare whether the ecosystem grows, cycles, or collapses.

Try an example

Predator!

Source code ↗ Open full screen ↗

Change the numbers of humans, fish, and coral in a simple agent-based food-chain model.

Controls: Press Enter to start. Use Q, W, and E to add humans, fish, and coral.