Data from: nlstimedist: an R package for the biologically meaningful quantification of unimodal phenology distributions

Phenological investigation can provide valuable insights into the
ecological effects of climate change. Appropriate modelling of the time
distribution of phenological events is key to determining the nature of
any changes, as well as the driving mechanisms behind those changes. Here
we present the nlstimedist R package, a distribution function and
modelling framework that describes the temporal dynamics of unimodal
phenological events. The distribution function is derived from first
principles and generates three biologically interpretable parameters.
Using seed germination at different temperatures as an example, we show
how the influence of environmental factors on a phenological process can
be determined from the quantitative model parameters. The value of this
model is its ability to represent various unimodal temporal processes
statistically. The three intuitively meaningful parameters of the model
can make useful comparisons between different time periods, geographical
locations or species’ populations, in turn allowing exploration of
possible causes.