readcamtrapDP: Convert Camtrap DP format data to camtrapR format

In camtrapR: Camera Trap Data Management and Analysis Framework

Convert Camtrap DP format data to camtrapR format

Description

This function converts camera trap data from the Camtrap DP standard format to the format used by camtrapR. Camtrap DP is an open standard for the FAIR exchange and archiving of camera trap data, structured in a simple yet flexible data model consisting of three tables: Deployments, Media, and Observations.

Usage

readcamtrapDP(
  deployments_file = "deployments.csv",
  media_file = "media.csv",
  observations_file = "observations.csv",
  datapackage_file = "datapackage.json",
  min_gap_hours = 24,
  removeNA = FALSE,
  removeEmpty = FALSE,
  remove_bbox = TRUE,
  add_file_path = FALSE,
  filter_observations = NULL
)

Arguments

deployments_file	character. Path to deployments.csv file
media_file	character. Path to media.csv file
observations_file	character. Path to observations.csv file
datapackage_file	character. Path to datapackage.json file
min_gap_hours	numeric. Minimum gap in hours to consider as a camera interruption (default: 24)
removeNA	logical. Whether to remove columns with only NA values
removeEmpty	logical. Whether to remove columns with only empty values
remove_bbox	logical. Whether to remove bounding box columns in the observation table
add_file_path	logical. Whether to add file path from media table to the observation table
filter_observations	Controls which observation types to include. NULL or FALSE keeps all observations (default), TRUE keeps only animal observations, or provide a character vector of specific observation types to include.

Details

Camtrap DP is a standardized format developed under the umbrella of the Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) that facilitates data exchange between different camera trap platforms and systems. It supports a wide range of camera deployment designs, classification techniques, and analytical use cases.

While the 'camtrapdp' package (available on CRAN) provides general functionality for reading, manipulating, and transforming Camtrap DP data, this function specifically converts Camtrap DP data directly into the format required by camtrapR, producing the CTtable and recordTable objects that camtrapR functions expect.

This function reads the three primary tables from a Camtrap DP dataset:

• Deployments: Information about camera trap placements

• Observations: Classifications derived from the media files

• Media: Information about the media files (images/videos) recorded

The Media table is only read if the add_file_path parameter is set to TRUE.

The function converts these into two primary camtrapR data structures:

• CTtable: Contains deployment information including station ID, setup/retrieval dates, camera operation problems, camera setup, and more

• recordTable: Contains observation records with taxonomic and temporal information

Additional features include:

• Parsing of deploymentTags and deploymentGroups (in deployments) and observationTags (in observations)

• Extraction of taxonomic information from metadata

• Handling of deployment intervals and gaps

Value

List containing three elements:

• CTtable: Data frame with camera trap deployment information in camtrapR format

• recordTable: Data frame with species records in camtrapR format

• metadata: List containing project metadata extracted from datapackage.json

Note

Camtrap DP was developed as a consensus of a long, in-depth consultation process with camera trap data management platforms and major players in the field of camera trapping. It builds upon the earlier Camera Trap Metadata Standard (CTMS) but addresses its limitations.

The Camtrap DP standard structures data in a way that supports both media-based observations (using a single media file as source) and event-based observations (considering an event with a specified duration as source). For the purpose of this function, both are treated to be equivalent. Event-based observations are converted to a single timestamp in the recordTable (using the event start time).

Consider using the 'camtrapdp' package (Desmet et al., 2024) for more general operations on Camtrap DP data before converting to camtrapR format with this function.

References

Bubnicki, J.W., Norton, B., Baskauf, S.J., et al. (2023). Camtrap DP: an open standard for the FAIR exchange and archiving of camera trap data. Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation, 10(3), 283-295.

Desmet, P., Govaert, S., Huybrechts, P., Oldoni, D. (2024). camtrapdp: Read and Manipulate Camera Trap Data Packages. R package version 0.3.1. https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=camtrapdp

See Also

read_camtrapdp in the 'camtrapdp' package for reading Camtrap DP data check_camtrapdp in the 'camtrapdp' package for validating Camtrap DP data

Examples

## Not run: 
# Read a Camtrap DP dataset
camtrap_data <- readcamtrapDP(
  deployments_file = "path/to/deployments.csv",
  media_file = "path/to/media.csv",
  observations_file = "path/to/observations.csv",
  datapackage_file = "path/to/datapackage.json"
)

# alternatively, set the working directory only
setwd("path/to/camtrapdp_data")
camtrap_data <- readcamtrapDP()   # uses default file names


# Extract components
ct_table <- camtrap_data$CTtable
record_table <- camtrap_data$recordTable
metadata <- camtrap_data$metadata


## End(Not run)

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