Gender change in certain species: an agent-based modeling study

Biologists have found that certain creatures like frogs, orchids, and shrimp change their gender. Some research is proposing that species somehow know there is a gender imbalance and adjust the gender ratio accordingly. The mechanism in which the species change gender is unknown. Some scientists are suggesting that hormones are released which causes one type of reproductive organs to disappear and another type to appear. For organisms which display this phenomenon, apparently there are chemical triggers that respond to the number of members in a population. This will activate the gene(s) that will allow for the disintegration of one set of reproductive organs and the development of the other. The purpose of this paper is not to study how species technically change gender, but to explore how each individual in the population know the gender ratio and who decides who will change gender and who will not. This paper will build an agent-based model, using Netlogo©, to test the following hypothesis, "each individual in the collective does not have to know the gender ratio of the entire population in order to make decisions that will positively impact the collective." Results show that individuals change their gender in accordance with their own needs. Regardless of the initial gender ratio and despite the fact that the individuals do not possess knowledge about the whole population, there will always be almost-equal number of males and females after a certain time.