WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

Biodiversity in Spatial Rock-Paper-Scissors Games

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run
steps per update
100
500
1000
reset grid
reaction rates
reproduction
selection
mobility
critical mobility
set critical mobility
grid properties
grid length
30
50
75
100
Moore neighbors
temperature gradient
initial grid population distribution
please click "reset grid" to apply changes
steps: 0
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C
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B
A
total population
The struggle for survival between competing bacteria species in a petri dish can create beautiful spiral patterns—until one type conquers all the available space, destroying the entangled structure. Kerr et al. made these observations when they mixed three E. coli populations exhibiting cyclic dominance (Kerr et al., 2002): A beats B beats C beats A. As shown in (Reichenbach et al., 2007; 2008), the mobility of the bacteria, that is, their spatial relocation rate, is crucial for the stability of coexistence. Using this Demonstration, you can simulate a spatial rock-paper-scissors game and observe the role mobility plays.