Dataset for: The unexpected absence of nickel effects on a <i>Daphnia</i> population at three temperatures is correctly predicted by a dynamic energy budget individual-based model (DEB-IBM)

Recent studies have shown that temperature affects chronic Ni toxicity to <i>Daphnia magna</i> at the individual (apical) level. However, the effect of temperature on Ni toxicity to <i>D. magna</i> at population-level is unknown. The present study investigated whether the effect of temperature on chronic Ni toxicity to <i>D. magna</i> assessed on apical endpoints can be extrapolated to the population-level. The results of the performed population experiment showed no consistent Ni effects on total <i>D. magna</i> population abundance at 15, 20 and 25ºC although the Ni concentrations tested were previously reported to significantly reduce reproduction in <i>D. magna</i> individuals. This result supports the idea that ecological risk assessment should not extrapolate as such from apical endpoints to the population-level. A Dynamic Energy Budget Individual-Based Model (DEB-IBM) was calibrated using apical Ni toxicity data at 15, 20 and 25°C. The goal was to investigate whether the calibrated DEB-IBM would be able to predict the unexpected absence of effects at population-level and to further investigate the effect of temperature on Ni toxicity to a <i>D. magna</i> population. At the population level, the calibrated DEB-IBM correctly predicted the unexpected absence of Ni effect to a <i>D. magna</i> population. Extrapolated EC50 values for population density predicted that the effect of temperature on Ni toxicity to <i>D. magna</i> populations was smaller (1.9-fold higher at 25°C than at 15°C) than on Ni toxicity to <i>D. magna</i> apical reproduction (the EC50 is 6.5-fold higher at 25°C than at 15°C, previous study). These results show that the DEB-IBM can help to replace population experiments by <i>in silico</i> simulations and to optimize the experimental design of population studies.已有研究表明，温度会影响个体（顶端）水平下大型溞(Daphnia magna)的慢性镍毒性。但目前针对种群水平下大型溞镍毒性的温度效应仍不明确。本研究旨在探究：基于顶端终点指标评估的温度对大型溞慢性镍毒性的影响，能否外推至种群水平。本研究开展的种群实验结果显示，在15、20、25℃三个温度梯度下，镍对大型溞总种群丰度未呈现一致影响；尽管此前已有研究证实，本次实验所用的镍浓度可显著抑制大型溞个体的繁殖能力。该结果提示，生态风险评估不应直接将个体顶端终点的试验结果外推至种群水平。本研究基于15、20、25℃下的大型溞镍毒性顶端终点数据，对动态能量预算个体模型（Dynamic Energy Budget Individual-Based Model，缩写DEB-IBM）进行了校准。本研究的目标在于：一是验证经校准后的DEB-IBM能否预测种群水平下未出现预期镍毒性效应的情况；二是进一步解析温度对大型溞种群镍毒性的影响。在种群水平上，经校准的DEB-IBM成功预测了大型溞种群未出现镍毒性效应的意外结果。外推得到的种群密度半最大效应浓度(EC50)预测结果显示：温度对大型溞种群镍毒性的影响（25℃下的EC50较15℃仅高1.9倍），弱于其对大型溞个体顶端繁殖指标镍毒性的影响——此前研究表明，25℃下的EC50较15℃高6.5倍。上述结果表明，DEB-IBM可通过计算机模拟(in silico)替代种群实验，并优化种群研究的实验设计。