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.
Keywords: Daphnia magna; Density-dependence; Multi-scale data; Sensitivity analysis; Structured population model; Uncertainty quantification.
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