Species Interactions Web

View Species Interactions Web Fullscreen

About This MicroSim

This interactive network graph visualizes ecological relationships among 14 species in a community. Species are represented as nodes with emoji icons, and their interactions are shown as color-coded edges: red for predation/herbivory (+/−), orange for competition (−/−), green for mutualism (+/+), blue for commensalism (+/0), and purple for parasitism (+/−). Hovering over an edge reveals the interaction type, effect notation, and a detailed description. Clicking a species node highlights all of its connections and dims unrelated species. A quiz mode hides all edge labels and asks students to classify each interaction from the five types.

How to Use

Hover over any edge (connecting line) to see the interaction type, the +/−/0 effects on each species, and a description.
Click a species node to highlight all of its interactions and dim unrelated species. Click again to deselect.
Read the info panel on the right for detailed descriptions and interaction summaries.
Enable Quiz Mode to test your knowledge — edge labels are hidden, and you must classify each of the 10 interactions by selecting from five types.
Click "Reset" to return to the default explore view.

Lesson Plan

Grade Level

9-12 (college placement Biology)

Duration

10-15 minutes

Prerequisites

Understanding of food webs and trophic levels
Knowledge of the five major types of species interactions
Familiarity with +/−/0 effect notation

Activities

Exploration (5 min): Hover over each edge in the web. For each interaction, identify the +/−/0 effects on both species. Which species has the most interactions? Which interaction types are most common in this community?
Guided Practice (5 min): Click the Lion node. How many interactions does it have? Now click the Zebra. Notice that the zebra is involved in both predation (as prey) and herbivory (as consumer). How does this reflect its role as a primary consumer?
Assessment (5 min): Enable Quiz Mode. Classify all 10 interactions without hints. Then answer: What is the key difference between commensalism and mutualism? Why is competition (−/−) harmful to both species? Give a real-world example of parasitism not shown in this web.

Assessment

Can students correctly classify all five interaction types using +/−/0 notation?
Can students distinguish between mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism?
Can students explain why competition is harmful to both species involved?
Can students identify the trophic roles (producer, primary consumer, predator) of species in the web?