Lotka-Volterra equation solver

This webpage uses the Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg fourth-order method with fifth-order error checking (RKF45) to approximate the solution to Lotka-Volterra equations: \[ \begin{aligned} \dfrac{dx}{dt} &= \alpha x - \beta xy \\ \dfrac{dy}{dt} &= \delta xy - \gamma y \end{aligned} \] where \(x\) is the number of prey animals and \(y\) is the number of predator animals and \(\alpha, \beta, \gamma\), and \(\delta\) describe their interactions with one another.
Parameter Value Explanation
Natural growth rate of the population of prey animals.
The rate at which prey animals are killed by the predators.
The rate at which predator animals die in the absence of their prey.
The rate at which the population of predator animals increases due to the presence of their prey.
Starting time for the simulation in seconds (s).
End time for the simulation in seconds.
Prey population.
Predator population.
Absolute error tolerance. Too small of error tolerance can cause the solver to error.
Initial guess for step size.
Minimum limit for step size.
Time for skipping ahead in animation.
Time you want to skip ahead to in the animation.

The buttons below pertain to the animation immediately below them.