Ecobeaker is an ecological modeling program; it lets you experiment with different habitats and species that you have designed, so you can watch the creatures eat, reproduce, die, and move around. Our interest is in using it to model island biodiversity. Your goal is to design a computer experiment to test a hypothesis, run that experiment, and interpret the results. I have purposely assigned you a topic different than that of your seed experiment.

The first thing you need to do is get together as a group and run through the tutorial, which has been given to one member of your group. You can check out the program from me in my office anytime, for 2 hour intervals.

The final product will be a report, following the outline:

1. Introduction: describe the hypothesis you are testing, why it is important, how the computer model fits in, etc.
2. Method: describe exactly what you did (the parameters you set in the model, how you recorded the output, and how you evaluated the output).
3. Results: in both graphical and rhetorical form, describe and discuss the results of your modeling effort.
4. Conclusions: interpret your output in light of the hypothesis to be tested. The more quantitative your final conclusions, the better. Discuss how your experiment might be improved or expanded in the future.

Antilles: Biodiversity of an island increases linearly with time. For example, if you plot time vs. species, it increases regularly under all types of run conditions.

Canaries: Biodiversity increases linearly with increasing area of an island.

Galapagos: The extinction rate of an individual species increases with the number of competing species on an island.

Indonesia West: The biodiversity of an island is inversely related to its distance from the mainland.

Indonesia East: Biodiversity increases linearly with increasing area of an island.

Seychelles: What are the factors that affect the colonizing ability of birds?

Societies: The biodiversity of an island is inversely related to its distance from the mainland.

• A progress report from each group (that will be graded) is due 10/18 by email.
• Your final report is due 10/25 at 2:30 as an email attachment.