About Tiny Sea Simulation

Research Purpose

Tiny Sea Simulation is a scientific research platform developed in collaboration with marine biologist Brian Helmuth to study climate change impacts on marine food webs. This simulation has evolved from a temperature-based management game into a sophisticated tool for generating research data on ecosystem dynamics.

Two Ways to Explore

Tiny Sea comes in two modes that share the same underlying ecosystem model:

Temperature Modeling

The simulation uses realistic temperature modeling that incorporates multiple environmental factors:

• Base Temperature: Starting point for the marine environment
• Seasonal Variation: Natural temperature cycles throughout the year
• Climate Warming Trends: Long-term temperature increase over time
• Interannual Variation: Year-to-year fluctuations with memory effects
• Daily Variation: Short-term temperature changes with autocorrelation to simulate weather persistence

Ecosystem Structure

The simulation models a complete marine food web with:

• 27 Marine Species across 3 ecological tiers (producers, herbivores, carnivores)
• 3 Thermal Variants per species representing different temperature adaptations
• Realistic Population Dynamics based on predator-prey interactions
• Temperature-Dependent Performance using Arrhenius equations

How It Works

Thermal Performance Calculations

Each species has an optimal temperature range. Performance is calculated using the Arrhenius equation, which models how biological rates change with temperature. Species perform best at their optimal temperature and experience reduced efficiency in warmer or cooler conditions.

Feeding Dynamics

Predator-prey relationships are modeled with realistic feeding mechanics:

• Herbivores consume producers based on availability and temperature performance
• Carnivores hunt herbivores with efficiency affected by environmental conditions
• Population sizes fluctuate based on food availability and reproductive success

Population Tracking

The simulation tracks population counts for each species and thermal variant over time, generating CSV data for scientific analysis. This allows researchers to observe how different species adapt (or fail to adapt) to changing temperature conditions.