Evolutus: A configurable platform designed for ecological and evolutionary experiments tested on foraminifera

Abstract

In this paper we present a new software platform called eVolutus, which is designed formodelling the ecological and evolutionary processes of living organisms. As a model organism we choose foraminifera—single-celled eukaryotes that mainly occupy marine benthic and pelagic zones. These organisms have lived on Earth for at least 500 million years and have an extraordinary fossil record. This makes them an ideal objects for testing general evolutionary hypotheses. We use a multiagentbased modelling platform called AgE. Our platform is designed to provide a highly configurable environment for conducting in silico experiments.