Bacteria Evolution Simulation - User Guide
Overview
This interactive simulation allows you to observe and experiment with bacterial colonies evolving under different environmental conditions. You can adjust various parameters to see how they affect bacterial growth, movement, and evolution over time.
Getting Started
- Visit the simulation at: https://wuwvzkog.manus.space
- The simulation starts with a default set of parameters and 10 bacteria placed randomly in the environment
- Click the "Start" button to begin the simulation
- Use the controls to adjust parameters in real-time
Controls
Environment Tab
- Temperature (°C): Adjust the environmental temperature (affects bacterial fitness)
- pH Level: Set the pH of the environment (affects bacterial fitness)
- Initial Nutrients: Set the starting nutrient level in the environment
- Flow Rate: Control the rate of environmental flow
- Flow Direction: Set the direction of environmental flow (in degrees)
Bacteria Tab
- Initial Population: Set the starting number of bacteria
- Growth Rate: Control how quickly bacteria grow
- Mutation Rate: Adjust how frequently genetic mutations occur
- Chemotaxis Strength: Control how strongly bacteria are attracted to nutrients
Simulation Tab
- Grid Width/Height: Adjust the size of the simulation area
- Time Step: Control the simulation speed
- Max Iterations: Set the maximum number of simulation steps
Visualization Options
You can view the simulation in different modes:
- Bacteria: View bacteria colored by fitness level
- Nutrients: View the distribution of nutrients in the environment
- Temperature: View the temperature gradient
- pH: View the pH distribution
Interacting with Bacteria
- Hover over bacteria to see basic information
- Click on a bacterium to select it and view detailed genetic information in the Bacteria Details panel
Statistics
The Statistics panel shows:
- Population count over time
- Genetic diversity trends
- Average fitness of the population
Tips for Experimentation
- Environmental Stress: Try setting extreme temperature or pH values to observe how bacteria adapt
- Nutrient Gradients: Create nutrient-rich and nutrient-poor areas to observe competition
- Evolution Speed: Increase the mutation rate to accelerate evolution
- Selection Pressure: Combine challenging environmental conditions with high mutation rates
- Flow Effects: Observe how environmental flow affects bacterial distribution and evolution
Understanding the Simulation
- Bacteria consume nutrients from their environment
- Each bacterium has genes that determine its optimal temperature, pH, metabolic efficiency, etc.
- Bacteria with genes better suited to the environment have higher fitness
- Higher fitness leads to more energy, faster reproduction, and passing genes to offspring
- Mutations during reproduction create genetic diversity
- Natural selection favors bacteria with genes better suited to the environment
Enjoy exploring the fascinating world of bacterial evolution!