Simulators / APES Unit 2 / Topic 2.3

Island Biogeography Simulator

Build islands of different sizes and distances from the mainland, watch species arrive and go extinct season by season, and test what a habitat disaster does to generalists and specialists. Free, with no login.

Island A

Island size 500 km²

Distance from mainland 25 km

Compare with a second island

Show the average of 300 islands

Every island starts as bare rock. Each season, species arrive from a mainland with 12 species, then a storm may wipe some out. Changing a slider resets the islands.

Habitat disaster

Run a few seasons first, then destroy one habitat. A species is lost only if every habitat it needs is destroyed.

Habitat destroyed

Species on the island

Press Run to start. Island A begins as bare rock.

Who lives there

Habitat key: W woodland, M meadow, S shore. A generalist uses two or three habitats. A specialist uses one.

Take it to class

Island Hop

The simulator shows the pattern. Island Hop is the classroom activity that goes with it: teams run four new islands through eight seasons, survive a habitat disaster, graph real-looking island data, and decide which forest parcel a land trust should buy.

Hands-on colonization race

Species chips, Storm Strips and an island ledger for each Keeper, in print, with this free simulator to show the pattern on a screen.

Evidence and a decision

Students graph bird counts from eight islands, calculate cost per species, and write a memo to the land trust.

Teacher guide and key

A pacing plan for about 95 minutes, expected results, misconceptions to listen for, and a full answer key. A Canvas Digital Lab Sheet (QTI) is included, and the activity is free.

See Island Hop on TpT

About the model: a mainland with 12 species, and four rules. Closer islands receive more colonists each season. Larger islands lose fewer species to storms. Species already on the island can still go extinct. Generalists use two or three habitats and specialists use one. It is built to show the pattern of island biogeography, not to predict a real archipelago, and the species are simplified. The count levels off while arrivals and extinctions keep happening. That balance (MacArthur and Wilson, 1967) is supporting detail beyond the CED.