rTPC

rTPC fits thermal performance curves (TPCs) to temperature-dependent biological rate data in R to estimate parameters such as cardinal temperatures, maximum rate, and optimum temperature for ecological and evolutionary analyses.

Key Features:

• Model Formulations: Implements 24 distinct mathematical models for fitting thermal performance curves.
• Reproducibility and Transparency: Provides an open-source pipeline integrating the rTPC package with nls.multstart for reproducible model fitting.
• Non-linear Least Squares (NLLS) Regression: Uses NLLS regression as the core fitting method for non-linear TPC models.
• Multiple Start Values: Leverages nls.multstart to supply multiple starting values during optimization to mitigate local minima.
• Helper Functions: Includes functions to generate sensible start parameters and to define upper and lower parameter bounds for reliable estimation of cardinal temperatures, maximum rate, and optimum temperature.
• Integration with Other R Packages: Designed to interoperate with other R packages to enable fitting of multiple models across TPC datasets simultaneously.
• Advanced Analytical Techniques: Supports model selection and averaging, weighted model fitting, and bootstrapping for inference and uncertainty estimation.

Scientific Applications:

• Ecological and Evolutionary Biology: Characterizes temperature-dependent biological rates for use in ecological and evolutionary studies.
• Climate-change Responses: Quantifies how species' physiological rates respond to temperature variation to inform predictions of responses to climate change.
• Conservation and Adaptation Analyses: Provides parameter estimates used in conservation planning and assessment of adaptive strategies under changing temperatures.

Methodology:

Fits up to 24 predefined TPC models using non-linear least squares regression with nls.multstart for multiple starting values; uses helper functions to set start parameters and parameter bounds; offers model selection/averaging, weighted fitting, and bootstrapping as explicitly stated.