SWIMMERS:  Why They Look Like They Do?



Swimmers in Darwin Pond appear as colorful stick figures.  They live in a flat, shallow two-dimensional puddle of a world.  But don't let their simple bodies fool you - they are capable of some quite complex and intriguing movements.  This is where the true richness of Darwin Pond lies - in lifelike motion.  



Swimmers display a few visual signs as to what they are doing and what may be on their wee minds.  The following list may help you understand exactly what you are seeing as you watch these curious critters live out their lives.  



Color 	

Swimmer coloration is genetically determined.  Body colors include red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet.  Swimmers can be multicolored, or evenly-colored.  Coloration is not merely decorative cosmetics serving as eye-candy for us humans - these swimmers' coloration is a very important part of their intensely dramatic lives, and determines the course of evolution.  Coloration has everything to do with being attractive to potential mates (and thus, having babies).  



Age

Young swimmers are light in color (they're born white, and quickly fade into bright adult colors).  Old swimmers turn dark gray just before dying.  



Starving	

Hungry swimmers turn dark gray just before dying.



Proboscis	

Every swimmer has a long, black, head-like thing which serves as both an eating organ and as a reproductive organ.



Thickness

The proboscis is thicker when the swimmer has recently feasted on a food bit.  It gets thinner as the swimmer loses energy.  



Length	

The proboscis appears longer when the swimmer is interested in mating, and shorter when the swimmer is hungry.



The Love Blob

Sometimes, at the end of the proboscis is a colored dot.  This indicates that the swimmer has fallen in love.  The color of the dot indicates the swimmer's favorite mate color.  