Ecology & Environment Mission
Explore food webs, population dynamics, biodiversity, and matter cycling — from local food chains to global ecosystem services.
7 activities · Work through in order for a complete lesson arc
Food Chain & Food Web Builder
Build food chains and food webs by connecting producers, consumers, and decomposers. See energy flow arrows, auto-classify organisms by role, and simulate what happens when a species is removed
Start by building a simple food web.
Trophic Transfer Explorer
Build energy pyramids and explore the 10% rule of ecological efficiency. Adjust transfer rates across trophic levels, compare energy, biomass, and number pyramids for different ecosystems.
Population Growth Simulator
Simulate exponential, logistic, and Lotka-Volterra predator-prey population models. Interactive JSXGraph plots with carrying capacity, inflection points, phase portraits, and ecological presets.
Biodiversity & Island Biogeography Explorer
Explore MacArthur-Wilson island biogeography, species-area relationships, habitat fragmentation, and diversity indices. Calculate Simpson's D and Shannon-Wiener H' from species count data.
Ecosystem Matter Cycle Explorer
Interactive ecosystem model showing matter flow between sun, plants, animals, and decomposers. Build food webs, explore organism roles, and simulate what happens when species disappear.
Population Ecology & Demography Lab
Investigate population dynamics through exponential and logistic growth, Lotka-Volterra predator-prey cycles, and harvest sustainability analysis. Discover carrying capacity, inflection points, and maximum sustainable yield
Biodiversity & Habitat Fragmentation Lab
Investigate species diversity and habitat fragmentation. Calculate Simpson and Shannon-Wiener diversity indices, explore island biogeography and species-area relationships, and test how fragmentation and corridors affect species richness
Capstone — measure how habitat loss affects diversity.
Study Materials
Worksheets
