Simulations
NOTE: Assignments for these simulations will be given in class.
Do not work ahead!

Behavioral Ecology Tools

  1. Windows-based and Palm OS laboratory tools for behavioral ecology can be found here.

General Simulations and Information

  1. The Impact of Mathematics on Ecology and Evolutionary Biology.General Source for Simulations: Downloads will be assigned in class.
  2. Visit the Quantitative Population Ecology Web Page. General readings on many topics can be found here. Visit it often during the semester,
  3. A tutorial (with examples) of ecological simulation. This includes discussions on the usefulness of simulations, their limits, and methods of modeling ecological situations.
  4. Modeling Population Growth. A readable explanation of the modeling process from a mathematician's point of view.
  5. Using the keyboard.

MathCAD Simulations. NOTE: These only run on campus.

To run mathcad, first click on the MathCAD button shown below. When given the option to download or open the file, OPEN it (downloading will not give you a working copy of MathCAD). This will open up MathCAD on the Bellarmine server. Next, use the File/Open command from MathCAD's menu, navigate to the \WORKING\ECOLOGY directory and double-click on the file you need to explore.

MathCAD.gif (2104 bytes)Run MathCAD NOTE: These will only run on campus.

NOTE: Do not attempt to save your work on the server (the program may crash). If you want to save the changes you've made, use the File...Save as... menu function and save your work either on the A: drive or the Zip drive.

The following files are on the Bellarmine Server (Word versions are available for printing out if you have a problem with MathCAD):

  1. CLIMATE SPACE.MCD: This is our climate space model (black-box animals near a bush or rock). You can examine or print out a Word version of the climate space model by clicking HERE.
  2. SELCTION.MCD: This is a model of natural selection. It uses the same set of formulae as our pepper moth simulation that was run in the laboratory. Click Excel.gif (1067 bytes) for an Excel Spreadsheet to test the natural selection. Read the Peppered Moth lab that goes along with the selection calculations  HERE. You can look at a Word version of the MathCAD selection model and save it to disk or print it out. Read about the Peppered moth in greater detail.
  3. GROWTH,MCD: Discrete generation growth models. Click Excel.gif (1067 bytes) for an Excel Spreadsheet to test the logistic model. Look at and/or print out a Word version of the MathCAD growth model by clicking HERE.
  4. CGROWTH.MCD: Continuous growth models. A Word version is available.

Multimedia.gif (2077 bytes)Movies, Animations, Sound Clips and the like.

Tietjen Dos-Based Simulations. You can download these and run them on your own computer at home or run them directly on campus. NOTE: Graphs and other screens can be copyed to the clipboard by pressing Alt-PrintScreen. Then juust paste them into your homework documents.

1) Natural Selection Simulation. Click here to run or download the program.
2) Leslie Matrix. Click here to run or download the program.
3) Growth. Click here to run or download the program.
4) Two Species Interactions. Click here to run or download the program (choose OPEN to run or DOWNLOAD to a directory).
5) Dendogram. Click here to run or download the program (NOTE: this runs better on your system rather than off the network).
6) Marine Productivity Simulation. Click here to run or download the program.
7) Leaf Transpiration Model. Click here to run or download the program.

Tietjen Web-based Simulations

First download and install the models. Note that the first install (the one that you register) may not work on your system. If it doesn't, run the second installation procedure. If neither works, use the data provided in the simulation (Press thespansr_button.gif (1827 bytes) button). For the test, run population growth, then read through the competition simulation. Don't forget to do the side readings too! The Evolution and Genetics Simulations and the Games shown below are NOT on the final. The final is at 12:00 on Wednesday. It will run an hour at most.

1) Install and Download Models
2) Population Growth Simulation.
3) Competition Simulation.
4) Outside readings include Limits of Human Growth and a review of r- and K-selection.

Populus

Click here to run the program. You can get your own version of Populus to run at home by clicking here. Indicate that you want to DOWNLOAD the file (not open it). Then choose or create a directory to save the file (usually \populus). Run pop34p in that directory and it'll unpack the Populus files. Then run populus.exe on your system. NOTE: Some new versions of Windows 95 and all versions of Windows 98 will not run populus. If you get an error message (Runtime error 200) click here. NOTE: If you hand in your Populus homework over the internet, you can copy the populus graphs by pressing Alt-PrintScreen to put the graph on the clipboard, and then paste it into your homework document.

Simulation Server

1) Lotka-Volterra Predator Prey equations. Click here to run the simulation.
2) Lotka-Volterra Competition Model. Click here to run the simulation.
3) Interactions between Plants and their Pollinators. Click here to run the simulation.
4) Climate Model with Carbon Cycle: Run it.

Evolution and Genetics Simulations

1) Biomorphs. Visit the Richard Dawkins web page for more information on this concept (see The Blind Watchmaker)
2) Ecobeaker web site. Download demo and labs here.

Games

1) Download ecomaster shareware game. Bid for and trade animals based on their abilities to survive in different environments.
2) Get Animal Quest 4.0 (or Dinosaur Predators)!