ecoteach-package: ecoteach: Educational Datasets for Ecology and Agriculture

In ecoteach: Educational Datasets for Ecology and Agriculture

ecoteach: Educational Datasets for Ecology and Agriculture

Description

A collection of curated educational datasets for teaching ecology and agriculture concepts. The package provides clean, well-documented datasets that can be used for teaching data analysis, statistics, and ecological concepts in classroom settings. Each dataset includes comprehensive documentation and examples of potential analyses.

Details

The package includes the following datasets:

• berberis_treatment: Data on invasive Berberis management treatments

• magellanic_penguins: Long-term monitoring data on Magellanic penguins

• vulture_diet: Diet composition analysis of African vultures

• chimpanzee_cameras: Camera trap detection data for wild chimpanzees

• lion_reproduction: Reproductive data for Galapagos sea lions

• barnswallow_brightness: Plumage brightness data for barn swallows

• pangolin_habitat: Habitat occupancy data for Chinese pangolins

• whale_brains: Brain size evolution data for cetaceans

• elephant_farmers: Agricultural use metrics for elephants

• Dsimulans_matechoice: Mate copying data for fruit flies

• carrion_arrivals: Vertebrate scavenger visits to roe deer carrion

• scavenger_community: Scavenger community structure along environmental gradients

• badger_energy: Energy expenditure data for European badgers with tuberculosis

• raccoondog_environment: Raccoon dog activity and environmental factors in China

• dormouse_hibernation: Hibernation and reproduction data for edible dormice

All datasets are provided in tidy format, with factors appropriately coded, and include proper citation information. The package aims to make it easy for instructors to incorporate real ecological data into their teaching.

Data Sources

All datasets are derived from published scientific studies and are available under CC0 or compatible licenses. Full citations and DOIs are provided in the documentation for each dataset.

Author(s)

Maintainer: W. Edwin Harris [e-mail] [copyright holder]

References

Adriaens, T., Verschelde, P., Cartuyvels, E., D'hondt, B., Vercruysse, E., van Gompel, W., Dewulf, E., & Provoost, S. (2019). A preliminary field trial to compare control techniques for invasive Berberis aquifolium in Belgian coastal dunes. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5281/zenodo.3351504")}

Rebstock, G. A., Boersma, P. D., & García-Borboroglu, P. (2022). Magellanic penguin nest counts and reproductive success at Punta Tombo, Argentina, 1982-2021. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.8931ZCRSV")}

Baino, A., Hopcraft, G., Kendall, C., Munishi, L., Behdenna, A., & Newton, J. (2021). We are what we eat, plus some per mill: Using stable isotopes to estimate diet composition of African vultures. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/dryad.1ns1rn8qf")}

Crunchant, A-S., Borchers, D., Kuehl, H., & Piel, A. K. (2020). Listening and watching: do camera traps or acoustic sensors more efficiently detect wild chimpanzees in an open habitat? \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/dryad.5dv41ns34")}

Kalberer, S., Meise, K., Trillmich, F., & Krüger, O. (2018). Reproductive performance of a tropical apex predator in an unpredictable habitat. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.6S48579")}

Morosse, O., Tsunekage, T., Kenny-Duddela, H., Schield, D., Keller, K., Safran, R., & Levin, I. (2025). North American barn swallows pair, mate, and interact assortatively. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.1G1JWSV8G")}

Subba, A., Tamang, G., Lama, S., Basnet, N., Kyes, R. C., & Khanal, L. (2024). Habitat occupancy of the critically endangered Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla) under human disturbance in an urban environment: Implications for conservation. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.73N5TB34T")}

Peacock, J., Waugh, D., Bajpai, S., & Thewissen, J. G. M. (2025). The evolution of hearing and brain size in Eocene whales. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.SF7M0CGH1")}

Hahn, N. (2021). Elephant agricultural use metrics in Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.RN8PK0PBN")}

Nöbel, S., & Kaufmann, T. (2025). Data from: Mate copying in Drosophila simulans. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.ZS7H44JMC")}

Schwegmann, S. (2023). Use of viscera from hunted roe deer by vertebrate scavengers in summer in central European mountainous mixed forest. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.Q573N5TPP")}

Gomo, G., Rød-Eriksen, L., Andreassen, H. P., Mattisson, J., Odden, M., Devineau, O., & Eide, N. E. (2020). Scavenger community structure along an environmental gradient from boreal forest to alpine tundra in Scandinavia. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1002/ece3.6834")}

Barbour, K., McClune, D. W., Delahay, R. J., Speakman, J. R., McGowan, N. E., Kostka, B., Montgomery, I. W., Marks, N. J., & Scantlebury, D. M. (2019). No energetic cost of tuberculosis infection in European badgers (Meles meles). \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.MN84H20")}

Miyamoto, K., Chen, C., & Luan, X. (2025). Seasonal activity changes in raccoon dogs and influences of environmental factors from autumn to winter. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.C866T1GJN")}

Bieber, C., Turbill, C., & Ruf, T. (2019). Effects of aging on timing of hibernation and reproduction. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.5061/DRYAD.8004G37")}

Examples

# Load a dataset
data(vulture_diet)

# View the structure
str(vulture_diet)

# Basic summary
summary(vulture_diet)

# See what datasets are available
data(package = "ecoteach")

ecoteach documentation built on June 29, 2025, 5:08 p.m.