The SimUText Ecology package is a fully online replacement for a traditional ecology text. SimBio Software's ecology modules provide an innovative and engaging way to incorporate student-centered, inquiry learning into ecology or environmental science units. The modules include lab simulation activities and interactive e-text chapters that focus on specific concepts. The simulations combine an intuitive user interface with informative sidebars containing facts about the species involved, and a lab worksheet guides students through each activity.

The simulations are inquiry-based in that they prompt students to test their own preconceptions. For example, in the Isle Royale simulation, students are asked to predict whether increasing the food supply will help stabilize the fluctuations of the moose population; then, after running the simulation, they must compare their prediction with the output of the model. (The answer: more food actually results in larger booms and busts.)

Another excellent simulation is based on Robert Paine's...

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