Comparison of Bayesian and numerical optimization-based diet estimation on herbivorous zooplankton.

ABSTRACT: Consumer diet estimation with biotracer-based mixing models provides valuable information about trophic interactions and the dynamics of complex ecosystems. Here, we assessed the performance of four Bayesian and three numerical optimization-based diet estimation methods for estimating the diet composition of herbivorous zooplankton using consumer fatty acid (FA) profiles and resource library consisting of the results of homogeneous diet feeding experiments. The method performance was evaluated in terms of absolute errors, central probability interval checks, the success in identifying the primary resource in the diet, and the ability to detect the absence of resources in the diet. Despite occasional large inconsistencies, all the methods were able to identify the primary resource most of t

SUBMITTER: Litmanen JJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7333965 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature