Natural Selection Lesson 1: Let's Hunt

1 collaborator

lin xiang (Author)

WHAT IS IT

This model allows students to hunt mice like a predator. They can compete with their peers to catch as many mice as possible. The competition yields selection pressure and demonstrates coloration evolution in the mouse population.

HOW TO USE

Choose an environment color
Click "Start/Reset" to set up the model
Click "Let's hunt!" and then hunt mice using your mouse.

HOW DOES IT WORK

Mice move around in the simulation window. The mice's coat colors vary from dark brown (color number 31) to light brown (color number 38). Each time when one or a few mice are hunted, the same number of mice will be randomly chosen from the rest of the population to reproduce offspring. At a 90% chance, the offspring's color will be the same as the parents'; at a 10% chance, the offspring's color will mutate to a different shade of brown.

CREDITS AND REFERENCES

This module is created by Dr. Lin Xiang at the University of Kentucky. If you mention this model in a publication, we ask that you include the citations below.

Xiang, L. (2023). Natural Selection Lesson 1: Let's Hunt. Department of STEM Education, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY.

Part of this model code is adopted from Novak and Wilensky's Bug Hunt Speeds model (2005).

Novak, M. and Wilensky, U. (2005). NetLogo Bug Hunt Speeds model. http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/BugHuntSpeeds. Center for Connected Learning and Computer-Based Modeling, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License. To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

Comments and Questions

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Click to Run Model

breed [mice mouse]
breed [predators predator]
globals [num-prey total-catches color-watched-mouse bk-color color-A color-B]

to setup
  clear-all
  setup-turtles
  setup-patches
  reset-ticks
end 

to setup-turtles
  create-mice 50
  [
    set color 31 + random 8
    set shape "mouse top"
    set size 2.75
    setxy random-xcor random-ycor
  ]

  create-predators 1
  [set size 2
    set color 48
  set shape "bird"
    set heading -45
   hide-turtle
  ]
end 

to setup-patches
  ask patches [set pcolor Environment-color]
  set bk-color Environment-color
end 

to move-1
  ask mice [
            fd 0.1
            if random 5 = 0
    [rt (random 90) lt (random 90)
          ]
  ]
end 

to predation

  if bk-color != Environment-color
  [ask patches [set pcolor Environment-color]
    set bk-color Environment-color]

  ask predators [
    ;set hidden? not mouse-inside?
    setxy mouse-xcor mouse-ycor
  ]

  if mouse-inside? and mouse-down? [
    let prey mice with [distance one-of predators < (size / 2)]
    if any? prey [
      set num-prey count prey
      ask prey [die ]

  ask n-of num-prey mice
  [hatch 1
    [setxy random-xcor random-ycor
       if random 100 < 10 [
          set color 31 + random 8
        setxy random-xcor random-ycor]
        if color < 31 [set color 31]
      if color > 38 [set color 38]]]
  ]]
end 

to count-total-catch
  set total-catches total-catches + num-prey
  set num-prey 0
end

There are 6 versions of this model.

Uploaded by	When	Description	Download
lin xiang	almost 2 years ago	adjust the interface	Download this version
lin xiang	almost 2 years ago	adjust the interface	Download this version
lin xiang	almost 2 years ago	adjust the interface	Download this version
lin xiang	almost 2 years ago	adjust the interface	Download this version
lin xiang	almost 2 years ago	Fix info typos	Download this version
lin xiang	almost 2 years ago	Initial upload	Download this version

Attached files

File	Type	Description	Last updated
Natural Selection Lesson 1: Let's Hunt.png	preview	Preview for 'Natural Selection Lesson 1: Let's Hunt'	almost 2 years ago, by lin xiang	Download

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