The tbeptools R package is an open-source software program to read, analyze, and visualize data used by TBEP. Many of the data tools on our web page depend on functions within the tbeptools package to work with the raw data provided from our partners. Although tbeptools is primarily used by TBEP staff, the package is provided free of use (under the MIT license) for anyone interested in exploring the data on their own.
The web page provides instructions for installing tbeptools, references and help files for all functions, and detailed vignettes describing package use. The vignettes are organized by topic and are an excellent place to start for understanding how to use the package. Currently, there are five vignettes available for tbeptools:
- Water Quality Data: Overview of functions for working with water quality data and the water quality report card
- Tampa Bay Nekton Index: Overview of functions to import, analyze, and plot results for the Tampa Bay Nekton Index
- Tampa Bay Benthic Index: Overview of functions to import data for Tampa Bay Benthic Index, under development
- Tidal Creeks Assessment: Overview of functions to import, analyze, and plot results for the assessment of tidal creeks in southwest Florida
- Seagrass Transect Data: Overview of functions to import, analyze, and plot results for the seagrass transect data collected in Tampa Bay
- Habitat Master Plan: Overview of functions to analyze and create a report card for the Tampa Bay Habitat Master Plan 2020 update
All source code is also available on GitHub (). This information can be useful to understand exactly how data are processed for reporting or assessment products used by TBEP. For developers, pull requests are always welcome but please see the contributing guide. Any questions, bug reports, or suggestions for the package can be posted on the issues page on GitHub.
If you use the package in any publications, please use the following citation: Beck, M.W., Schrandt, M.N., Wessel, M.R., Sherwood, E.T., Raulerson, G.E., Budihal Prasad, A.A., Best, B.D., (2021). tbeptools: An R package for synthesizing estuarine data for environmental research. Journal of Open Source Software, 6(65), 3485, https://doi.org/10.21105/joss.03485
