Estimating the Order of a Sequence of Physiological Changes from Incomplete Data

The problem considered in this paper is the estimation of the underlying order of m physiological changes from incomplete observations. The observations are incomplete in the sense that, for each individual in the sample, only the identity, but not the order, of the first k < m changes are observed, with k varying between individuals. An application to some data on physiological changes in fish undergoing sex change is presented.