Modeling Sublethal Effects of Chemicals: Application of a Simplified Dynamic Energy Budget Model to Standard Ecotoxicity Data

To assess ecological risks from chemical
exposure, we need tools
to extrapolate from the sublethal effects observed in the laboratory
under constant exposure to realistic time-varying exposures. Dynamic
energy budget (DEB) theory offers a mechanistic modeling approach
to describe the entire life history of a single organism and the effects
of toxicant exposure. We use a simplified model, which can be wholly
calibrated from standard chronic bioassay data. Case studies on standard
test organisms (Americamysis bahia and Pimephales promelas) are presented to demonstrate
the calibration procedure, and for the second case, data are available
to pseudovalidate model performance. We use these results to highlight
gaps and shortcomings in the current state of the science, and we
discuss how these can be overcome to maximize the potential of DEB
theory in ecological risk assessment.