In this exercise, you will examine competition between two species. One species is a superior grower and one is a superior colonizer. You will examine the effects of habitat heterogeneity , cost of living, and food value on competitive outcomes of the species interactions. The purpose of this model is to examine the concept of competition and the idea of competitive exclusion. The grid of the simulation contains two habitats upon which the colonizer and grower interact.
Food is introduced each time step only to the good habitat.
Cost of living is the amount of energy used to maintain the organism in the habitat that it is in for one time step. The food value is the amount of energy that is received when the organism eats a piece of food. The differences between the grower and colonizer are a result of changing the three parameters just mentioned. All other parameters are the same. The grower has a higher food value but must pay a higher cost of living when moving through the bad habitat.