aggregateStations: Aggregate Camera Trap Table to Station Level

In camtrapR: Camera Trap Data Management and Analysis Framework

Aggregate Camera Trap Table to Station Level

Description

Aggregates a camera trap table from a station-camera (location-deployment) level to a station (location) level. This function is useful when modeling or analysis is conducted at the station level, when multiple cameras were deployed at a single station or a single camera had multiple deployments.

Usage

aggregateStations(
  CTtable,
  stationCol,
  cameraCol = NULL,
  setupCol = NULL,
  retrievalCol = NULL,
  dateFormat = NULL
)

Arguments

CTtable	A data frame or 'sf' object representing the camera trap table. Each row typically represents a unique camera deployment.
stationCol	A character string specifying the name of the column in CTtable that contains the unique station identifiers.
cameraCol	A character string specifying the name of the column in CTtable that contains the unique camera (deployment) identifiers.
setupCol	character. name of the column containing camera setup dates in CTtable
retrievalCol	character. name of the column containing camera retrieval dates in CTtable
dateFormat	character. The format of columns setupCol and retrievalCol (and potential problem columns) in CTtable. Must be interpretable by either as.Date or the "orders" argument parse_date_time in lubridate. Can be a date or a date-time.

Details

The aggregation logic handles different column types as follows:

• Station ID (specified by 'stationCol'): Remains unique for each row in the output.

• Camera ID (if present): A character vector (comma-separated) of unique camera IDs deployed at that station.

• Setup/Retrieval Dates: The earliest setup date and the latest retrieval date for all deployments within a station will be retained.

• Numeric Columns: The 'mean' of all values for that station will be calculated.

• Logical Columns: The 'mean' (which effectively calculates the proportion of 'TRUE's) of all values for that station will be calculated.

• Character Columns (other than Camera ID): A character vector of unique values (comma-separated) for that station will be created.

• Factor Columns: Similar to character columns, unique levels will be combined.

• Geometry Column ('sf' objects): Centroid (midpoint) of all unique points at a station is calculated.

It is recommended to inspect the aggregated output carefully, especially for columns with mixed data types or specific aggregation requirements not covered by the defaults.

Value

A data frame with one row per unique station, containing aggregated information. Spatial information (for 'sf' objects) is preserved.

Note

The function is mainly intended for aggregating covariates to station level. It does currently not handle camera malfunction (via columns 'ProblemX_from' / 'ProblemX_to') and does not provide proper handling of problem columns. Use cameraOperation to aggregate camera trap tables to station level for analyses while accounting for camera malfunction / problem periods.

camtrapR documentation built on Nov. 5, 2025, 6:54 p.m.