insectecol - Insect Ecology Data Analysis Toolkit

A collection of analytical tools for insect ecology research, currently covering age-stage, two-sex life table analysis, dose-response bioassays, temperature-dependent development and insect phenology prediction. The life table module follows the age-stage, two-sex life table theory of Chi (1988) <doi:10.1093/ee/17.1.26> and Chi et al. (2020) <doi:10.1127/entomologia/2020/0936>. It supports fast batch processing of multi-group datasets, validates raw 'csv' data, computes cohort size, mean fecundity, age-stage survival rates, age-specific survival, age-specific fecundity, life expectancy, and derived population parameters (net reproductive rate, intrinsic and finite rates of increase, mean generation time), simultaneously generates age-stage survival curves for all groups, and exports all tabular results and plots to 'Excel' in a single run. The bioassay module estimates lethal concentrations by the traditional and the weighted (improved) linear regression methods and by probit analysis (Bliss, 1934) <doi:10.1126/science.79.2037.38>, with the control-mortality correction of Abbott (1925) <doi:10.1093/jee/18.2.265a>, 95% confidence intervals and chi-square goodness-of-fit tests; the lethal proportion can be set freely (e.g., 25%, 50%, 70% or 90%), so any LC value such as the LC25, LC70 or LC90 can be computed, not only the LC50. The regression plots and tables are exported to 'Excel'. The degree-day module estimates the developmental threshold temperature and the effective accumulated temperature by the linear degree-day method (Campbell et al., 1974) <doi:10.2307/2402197>, and fits the common nonlinear temperature- dependent development models following Logan et al. (1976) <doi:10.1093/ee/5.6.1133> (Logan-6), Lactin et al. (1995) <doi:10.1093/ee/24.1.68> and Briere et al. (1999) <doi:10.1093/ee/28.1.22>, plus a 7-parameter Wang model; it selects the best model by AICc, predicts durations and accumulates field degree-days. The emergence module applies the stage-grading method to a single survey of the population stage structure, i.e. to stage-frequency data (Kiritani and Nakasuji, 1967) <doi:10.1007/bf02514921> and Manly (1974) <doi:10.1007/bf00345751>, and projects the beginning, peak and end of the adult emergence period (the 16%, 50% and 84% quantiles), optionally shifting the eclosion dates by the pre-oviposition period and the egg duration to forecast larval hatch. Further extensions, such as median lethal temperature/time (LT50), are planned.