From molecules to ecosystems through dynamic energy budget models

Summary 1. Dynamic energy budget (DEB) models describe how individuals acquire and utilize energy, and can serve as a link between diAerent levels of biological organization. 2. We describe the formulation and testing of DEB models, and show how the dynamics of individual organisms link to molecular processes, to population dynamics, and (more tenuously) to ecosystem dynamics. 3. DEB models oAer mechanistic explanations of body-size scaling relationships. 4. DEB models constitute powerful tools for applications in toxicology and bio