Bob's World

Overview

Objectives/Goals There are many different objectives for Bob#s World, though they are all based on evolution. The first objective is to see how the effects of Genetic Drift change with the population size. The second objective is to see how natural selection can affect a population#s genetic information with different environments. The final objective is to see which is more effective: sexual or asexual reproduction. Methods/Materials The source code for Bob#s World was created using BASIC. The program is a Monte Carlo simulation of evolution using two gene creatures. These creatures can reproduce sexually, and have four different phenotypes have all different levels of move lengths. There are many different input variables which can be changed. Results The results for the first experiment demonstrated that when the population was large the populations for the phenotypes assumed the 9:3:3:1 ratio. When the population was small one of the phenotypes became dominant, killing all the others in the process. The second experiment showed that when there were environments with the food spread out, the long-moving phenotypes would be the most successful. When the food was packed together around certain areas, the short moving phenotypes would be the most successful. In the third experiment asexual reproduction was more successful in a normal environment, while sexual reproduction was more efficient in a changing environment. Conclusions/Discussion The results for all of the experiments matched the results the way they were supposed to according to the hypothesis. The reason why the phenotype populations were not stable at a low population is because very easily, due to random luck, one of these phenotypes could die out. Just that would affect all the other phenotypes drastically. The reason why certain phenotypes survived in certain environments is obvious. Some traits are more successful than others in certain situations. Sexual reproduction was more successful than asexual reproduction in a changing environment is because of the fact that sexual reproduction allows for more genetic diversity and adaptability in different situations. This project relates to evolution in many ways. One of them is just the simulator. It is a powerful tool that can be used to model all kinds of situations. With some minor tweaks to the source code, you could even model such things as effect a sexually transmitted disease has on a population.

Awards (1)

• Category Award

Competition history

• CSEF 2002 Mathematics & Software · Entry J1218

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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