Description
Return Lotka-Volterra predator and prey rates.
Biological growth and substitution models encode specific assumptions about rates, interactions and state spaces. Evaluating their formula at one supplied state can illustrate the model without fitting parameters, integrating a trajectory or establishing that its assumptions hold for real observations.
Return Lotka-Volterra predator and prey rates.
When to use this tool
Use Lotka Volterra One Species Rate when evaluating the stated biological rate or substitution-model term under its declared assumptions.
How to use the tool and how it works
- Enter prey, predators, preyGrowth, predation, conversion, predatorMortality. Use the units and conventions below.
- Run the tool. Correct any format, range, or cross-field input error before interpreting the output.
- Read preyRate, predatorRate. Use the output convention below.
Return Lotka-Volterra predator and prey rates. Require all populations/parameters nonnegative; predationFlux = predation*prey*predators, preyRate = growth*prey-flux, predatorRate = conversion*flux-mortality*predators.1
| Input field | Meaning and units | Accepted input |
|---|---|---|
| prey | Prey | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| predators | Predators | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| preyGrowth | Prey Growth | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| predation | Predation | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| conversion | Conversion | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| predatorMortality | Predator Mortality | Required. Finite number; minimum 0. |
| Output field | Interpretation | Returned shape |
|---|---|---|
| preyRate | Prey Rate | Required. Finite number. |
| predatorRate | Predator Rate | Required. Finite number. |
{
"input": {
"prey": 10,
"predators": 2,
"preyGrowth": 1,
"predation": 0.1,
"conversion": 0.5,
"predatorMortality": 0.2
},
"output": {
"preyRate": 8,
"predatorRate": 0.6
}
}Limitations and assumptions
- Parameters must use compatible population/time units; this evaluates one state without integration or ecological validation.
- Inputs must satisfy both the field types and the cross-field conditions above. Invalid input causes an error; a successful false flag or documented placeholder is a different result.
- Numeric calculations use binary floating point unless exact decimal-integer arithmetic is explicitly stated. No hidden measurement tolerance or decimal rounding is added; nonfinite or out-of-contract results are rejected. Numeric signed-zero results are exported as zero.
Alternative or Complementary methods
Fit and validate an appropriate complete model against relevant data, with parameter, time-unit and numerical-error checks for biological inference.
References
Similar or alternative tools
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