bdvis: visualizing biodiversity data in R

Abstract

Biodiversity studies are relying increasingly on primary biodiversity records (PBRs) for modelling and analysis. Because biodiversity data are frequently 'harvested'-i.e. not collected by the researcher for that particular study, but obtained from data aggregators such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility-researchers need to be aware of strengths and weaknesses of their data before they venture into further analysis. R is becoming a lingua franca of data exploration and analysis. Here, we describe an R package, bdvis, which facilitates efforts to understand the gaps and strengths of PBR data with quick and useful visualization functions.

Availability and implementation: The full code of the R package bdvis, along with instructions on how to install and use it, is available via CRAN - The Comprehensive R Archive Network (http://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/bdvis/index.html) and in the corresponding author's main GitHub repository: http://www.github.com/vijaybarve/bdvis The source code is licensed under CC0 CONTACT: vijay.barve@gmail.com.