This simulation tests the effect of a toxin on a predator species that has resistance to the toxin.
Description of the scenario:
A prey species produces a toxin strong enough to kill nearly all animals. A single predator species has resistance to the toxin. While the toxin does not kill this predator, it will slow them down. The more resistant an individual is, the less they will be slowed by the toxin. It is hypothesized that this is an example of an evolutionary "arms race," with the resistant predator driving toxicity in the prey, and the prey toxicity driving resistance in the predator.
Part I is a lab setup to examine the effect of increasing amounts of toxin on predator speed. Each time the simulation is run, a new predator is randomly selected from a large population. Four trials are run; one without any toxin and then with 1, 2, and 3 units of toxin injected prior to the trial. Assume that there is sufficient time lapse between trials for the toxin from the previous trial to have been flushed from the predator's system. For each trial, the predator is timed as it moves through a narrow track.
Part II examines the effect of different prey composition on the resistance of the predator species over ten generations. The user can select the percentage of the predator's diet that consists of the toxic prey species. Choosing 0% means that the toxic prey is not present in the ecosystem. Choosing 100% means that the predator's only food source is the toxic prey. Speed tests are run on a sampling of predators from the population prior to adjusting the prey composition and then again after ten generations at the chosen percentage. The predators are tested before toxin exposure and then again after an injection of 2 units of toxin. The average results are displayed in a graph.