Food Webs and Competitive Exclusion Simulator

Below is a link for a food web and competitive exclusion simulator.

LINK TO FOOD WEB SIMULATOR

You will use this simulator to answer the following questions:

1.  If you select just two plants and run the simulation, after 100 days only one of the plants is left and the other plant is no longer in the ecosystem.  Why did the one plant disappear?

2.  Create a food web so that all three species of plants survive the 100 days and are still in the ecosystem.  Draw the food web on a piece of paper.

3.  Create a food web using all 9 species.  Draw your food web on a piece of paper.  Then run the simulation for 100 days.  At the end of the 100 days record the population for all 9 species on your paper.

4.  Remove one species from the food web you created in question 3.  Now run the simulation again for 100 days.  At the end of the 100 days record the population of the 8 remaining species.  Which species were effected by removing that one species from your food web.

5.  Challenge: create a food web that will allow for all 9 species to survive for 100 days.  You will likely have to try several different food webs to make this work.  When you find the one that works, write that food web on a piece of paper, record the population of each species after 100 days, then graph the population graph for each species.