title: Statistical validation of structured population models for Daphnia magna.
abstract: In this study we use statistical validation techniques to verify density-dependent mechanisms hypothesized for populations of Daphnia magna. We develop structured population models that exemplify specific mechanisms and use multi-scale experimental data in order to test their importance. We show that fecundity and survival rates are affected by both time-varying density-independent factors, such as age, and density-dependent factors, such as competition. We perform uncertainty analysis and show that our parameters are estimated with a high degree of confidence. Furthermore, we perform a sensitivity analysis to understand how changes in fecundity and survival rates affect population size and age-structure.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Scientific Computation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States; Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Kaska
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Adoteye
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Scientific Computation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States; Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States. Electronic address: htbanks@ncsu.edu.
authors.forename: H T
authors.initials: HT
authors.lastname: Banks
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Karissa
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Cross
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Stephanie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Eytcheson
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Scientific Computation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States; Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Kevin B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Flores
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Gerald A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: LeBlanc
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Scientific Computation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Chelsea
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ross
authors.affiliation: Department of Mathematics, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Emmaline
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.affiliation: Toxicology Program, Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stemkovski
authors.affiliation: Center for Research in Scientific Computation, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stokely
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003621:Daphnia; D015233:Models, Statistical; D011157:Population Dynamics
keywords: Daphnia magna; Density-dependence; Multi-scale data; Sensitivity analysis; Structured population model; Uncertainty quantification