Welcome to the DEBtox information site
Welcome to the DEBtox information page, the
site for people that want to make sense of ecotoxicity data.
This site contains information on mechanistic models for the
analysis of stressor effects on the life-history traits of
individual organisms (and from there to higher and lower
levels of biological organisation). Specifically, this site
is about models based on animal energy budgets (DEBtox and DEBkiss) and survival models
from the GUTS framework.
This website constitues a node in the international DEBnet
network, together with the associated site of DEBtox Research.
The mission of DEBtox.info is to simplify biology to
get to the essence of what toxicants (and other stresses)
are actually doing to organisms. Simplification is necessary
if we need to gain understanding. Furthermore, we cannot
expect to test even a small fraction of all possible
(combinations of) toxicants, species and environmental
conditions. Once we get to the essence, it is possible to
make educated predictions of toxicant effects for untested
chemicals, untested species, and under untested conditions.
Here, you can find information, lists of relevant
publications, (links to) free e-books, and freely
downloadable Matlab packages to analyse your data. Use the
major categories on the top left of the screen to navigate
through this site; the corresponding sub-categories will
appear right next to it in the submenu.
BREAKING NEWS!
The free and open-source software
openGUTS is now available for download!
It is available as a standalone Windows executable
or as Matlab package. It supports the use of GUTS for regulatory
purposes, but will also prove useful for scientific
studies. The dedicated website http://openguts.info/
provides more information.
In August 2020, we will again organise our
much-praised summer school "Dynamic modelling of
toxic effects" in Denmark. Registration is open, and
will close on 31 May 2020. See the course page. Download flyer.
WARNING! For users of BYOM, see the notes and
warnings on the BYOM page.
Specifically pertinent: the likelihood-region method
yielded exaggerated confidence intervals on model
predictions (fixed in version 4.2), and the LPx
calculations (used with GUTS, to calculate
multiplication factors on concentration profiles) is
biassed when there is substantial background
mortality in the calibration data set (fixed in
version 4.2b).
If you are working with
BYOM, and would like to be notified immediately in
case of errors, new versions, etc., email me and I will
include you in a mailing list. I may also use this
mailing list for other important developments such
as new (versions) of the e-books, and new papers.
This saves you the hassle of checking this website
every week ;-).
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Upcoming courses and events
- Dedicated 2-day GUTS courses, geared towards
professionals in risk assessment of pesticides.
Wageningen, the Netherlands, dates to be announced. More information.
- Roman Ashauer and myself will be giving a short course
on the openGUTS
software at the upcoming SETAC-Europe
conference in virtual space. This will be a
hands-on course for using the software, so very limited
attention to the backgrounds of the GUTS model itself.
However, you should be able to combine out course with
Sandrine Charles' planned full-day course (which
dedicates its morning session to GUTS theory).
- In August 2020, we will again organise our
much-praised summer school "Dynamic modelling of toxic
effects" in Denmark. Registration is open, and will
close on 31 May 2020 (or when we reach the maximum
number of participants). More information on the course page; keep 10-19
August free! Download
flyer.
Job opportunities for modellers
- Nothing at the moment (that I know of).
Latest news
- 11 Dec. 2019: new paper presenting an updated
simplified DEB model for ecotoxicology (based on
DEBkiss, compound parameters). See https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2019.108904.
- 18 Sept. 2019: the GUTS course planned for October
2019 has been cancelled due to insufficient
registrations.
- 2 Sept. 2019: update for BYOM and a new DEBtox2019
package (replacing DEBkiss-tox). See
the BYOM page.
Older news over here.
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