Deer Limiting Factor Simulation

Deer population sizes are controlled or limited by the interaction of many factors.  Please list factors (both abiotic and biotic) that you can think of that might limit their population growth:

In this simulation you as a class are going to act out the interaction that occurs between deer populations and their environment.  Listen closely for instructions and fill out the population fluctuation table.

Signals for the simulation:

            Limiting Factor        Student Signal

Shelter                       Hold hand over head

Food                           Hold hand on stomach

Water                         Hold hand on mouth

Please graph the deer population over time (use the x 5 data).  Please label the X  (years) & Y (deer population size) axes and plot a standard line graph.  Use an appropriate scale on the Y axis to spread the data.

      Deer Population Simulation Results

1)  Describe what you have learned from this simulation about animal population size and limiting factors.

2) The graph to the right shows a hare and lynx population.  Explain what is happening between the populations and give an explanation for why.