Species occurrence data download and cleaning with R

Species occurrence data are essential for a range of ecological and biogeographical analyses, from species distribution and ecological niche models to biotic regionalizations and global biodiversity trends.

Species occurrence data are now widely available in multiple online sources, although they are heterogeneous and come with caveats that need to be addressed before moving on with the analysis. In this short course, we will use a range of tools to:

1) Import species occurrence data from various sources into R (e.g. GBIF, iNaturalist, VertNet, EcoEngine, national / regional / continental atlases)

2) Join and arrange these data into a homogeneous dataset for analysis

3) Map and visually inspect the data for taxonomic and spatial errors and bias

4) Clean the data by removing detectable errors, using both non-automatic and automatic tools

5) Correct or minimize spatial bias using different procedures (e.g. thinning, rarefying, gridding).

The course will be highly interactive and will include both theoretical and practical sessions. Participants are encouraged to work with their own species of interest, although several illustrative examples will also be provided.

Places are limited to 18 participants.