Theory - Spotted Fish Model

In the Spotted Fish model, you control a virtual pond filled with spotted fish and their predators. You control the initial number of fish, the number of predators, the typical timescales required for fish to mate, live, and be eaten, and the variability in spot size that baby fish can have.

Application

The Spotted Fish Model attempts to address the question of trait change within a species, sometimes referred to as microevolution. Many scientists to believe this to occur through a process known as natural selection.

Algorithm

Monte Carlo modeling is used to determine what happens to this population of fish. All events are considered random, and random numbers are created and compared against probabilities in the model to determine if fish are born, eaten, or die.

Architecture

The model is presented in a Java Applet.