get_index: Extract a relative biomass/abundance index, center of...

In sdmTMB: Spatial and Spatiotemporal SPDE-Based GLMMs with 'TMB'

Extract a relative biomass/abundance index, center of gravity, effective area occupied, or weighted average

Description

Calculate quantities derived from a model fitted with sdmTMB() by combining its predictions over a grid (newdata) for each time step, with standard errors and confidence intervals that account for uncertainty in both fixed and random effects:

Usage

get_index(
  obj,
  newdata = NULL,
  bias_correct = TRUE,
  level = 0.95,
  area = 1,
  offset = NULL,
  silent = TRUE,
  derived_link = NULL,
  predict_args = list(),
  ...
)

get_index_split(
  obj,
  newdata,
  bias_correct = TRUE,
  nsplit = 1,
  level = 0.95,
  area = 1,
  offset = NULL,
  silent = FALSE,
  predict_args = list(),
  derived_link = NULL,
  ...
)

get_cog(
  obj,
  newdata = NULL,
  bias_correct = FALSE,
  level = 0.95,
  format = c("long", "wide"),
  area = 1,
  offset = NULL,
  silent = TRUE,
  derived_link = NULL,
  predict_args = list(),
  ...
)

get_weighted_average(
  obj,
  newdata = NULL,
  vector,
  bias_correct = FALSE,
  level = 0.95,
  area = 1,
  offset = NULL,
  silent = TRUE,
  derived_link = NULL,
  predict_args = list(),
  ...
)

get_eao(
  obj,
  newdata = NULL,
  bias_correct = FALSE,
  level = 0.95,
  area = 1,
  offset = NULL,
  silent = TRUE,
  derived_link = NULL,
  predict_args = list(),
  ...
)

Arguments

obj	A model fitted with sdmTMB(). For backwards compatibility, output from predict.sdmTMB() with return_tmb_object = TRUE is also accepted (not for get_index_split()).
newdata	A data frame of locations (and times) to combine predictions over, usually a grid covering the area of interest replicated for each time step (see replicate_df()). Same requirements as newdata in predict.sdmTMB(). Results are returned only for time steps in newdata. Required unless obj is legacy prediction output or was fitted with the deprecated do_index = TRUE.
bias_correct	Logical: apply bias correction? Predictions plugged in at the estimated random effects can be biased once transformed to the response scale and summed; bias correction (Thorson and Kristensen 2016) adjusts the estimate for this. Recommended for final results but slower, so it can be turned off while exploring models. The standard errors are not bias-corrected.
level	The confidence level of the intervals.
area	The area of each row of newdata (e.g., grid cell area), used to weight predictions when combining them: (1) a numeric vector with one value per row of newdata, (2) a single value for all rows, or (3) the name of a column in newdata. With the default of 1, the index is a sum of densities rather than an area-weighted total. See Details for other uses.
offset	An optional numeric vector of offset values, one per row of newdata (not a column name). If NULL (default), the offset is 0, so predictions are per unit of the offset (e.g., density rather than catch when the offset is log area swept).
silent	Logical: suppress TMB's output while calculating? In get_index_split(), controls the progress bar instead.
derived_link	Optional link whose inverse is applied to the linear predictor, in place of the model's own link, before combining predictions. Currently only available for non-delta binomial(), censored_binomial(), betabinomial(), and censored_betabinomial() models fit with link = "cloglog"; there, derived_link = "log" sums expected event rates (e.g., catch per hook) instead of probabilities. See the hook competition vignette.
predict_args	A named list of other arguments to pass to predict.sdmTMB() (supply newdata and offset directly). For example, list(re_form = NA) calculates the quantity with the spatial and spatiotemporal random fields set to zero, and list(re_form_iid = NA) does the same for IID random effects.
...	Passed to TMB::sdreport() or RTMB::sdreport().
nsplit	The number of chunks of time steps to calculate the index in separately. For large grids or models, nsplit > 1 reduces memory use but is usually slower.
format	The shape of the output: "long" or "wide" (see Value).
vector	A numeric vector of values to average (e.g., depth or temperature), one per row of newdata.

Details

• get_index(): total abundance or biomass (an index).

• get_index_split(): the same, calculated a few time steps at a time to reduce memory use.

• get_cog(): center of gravity (the mean x and y coordinates, weighted by abundance).

• get_eao(): effective area occupied.

• get_weighted_average(): the mean of any variable weighted by abundance (e.g., the average depth or temperature occupied).

For each time step, predictions are converted to the response scale (for delta models, combining both components), multiplied by area, and combined. With \mu_i the prediction and a_i the area for row i:

• Index: \sum_i a_i \mu_i.

• Weighted average: \sum_i a_i \mu_i v_i / \sum_i a_i \mu_i, for values v_i given by vector. Center of gravity is the weighted average of the x and y coordinates, in the units of the coordinates used to build the mesh.

• Effective area occupied: (\sum_i a_i \mu_i)^2 / \sum_i a_i \mu_i^2, the area needed to hold the total if density were spread evenly at the abundance-weighted average density.

Standard errors use the delta method. Confidence intervals for the index and effective area occupied are calculated on the log scale, so they are asymmetric and always positive. Those for the center of gravity and weighted average are calculated on the original scale.

More generally, area is any multiplier on the response-scale predictions. For example, binomial or beta-binomial models fit to proportions (with weights giving the number of trials) predict proportions per trial. Setting area to a standard number of trials (e.g., hooks per longline set) gives an index of expected counts. The fitting weights are not reused automatically.

Value

A data frame with one row per time step (time column named as in the fitted model), a type column, and:

• get_index() and get_index_split(): est (the index), lwr and upr (confidence interval), log_est (log of est), se (standard error of log_est), and se_natural (standard error of est).

• get_cog(): with format = "long" (default), two rows per time step, one per coordinate (coord is "X" or "Y"), with est, lwr, upr, and se (standard error of est). With format = "wide", one row per time step with these columns suffixed ⁠_x⁠ and ⁠_y⁠.

• get_eao(): est, lwr, upr, log_est, and se (standard error of log_est).

• get_weighted_average(): est, lwr, upr, and se (standard error of est).

References

Geostatistical model-based indices of abundance (along with many newer papers):

Shelton, A.O., Thorson, J.T., Ward, E.J., and Feist, B.E. 2014. Spatial semiparametric models improve estimates of species abundance and distribution. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences 71(11): 1655–1666. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1139/cjfas-2013-0508")}

Thorson, J.T., Shelton, A.O., Ward, E.J., and Skaug, H.J. 2015. Geostatistical delta-generalized linear mixed models improve precision for estimated abundance indices for West Coast groundfishes. ICES J. Mar. Sci. 72(5): 1297–1310. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1093/icesjms/fsu243")}

Geostatistical model-based center of gravity:

Thorson, J.T., Pinsky, M.L., and Ward, E.J. 2016. Model-based inference for estimating shifts in species distribution, area occupied and centre of gravity. Methods Ecol Evol 7(8): 990–1002. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1111/2041-210X.12567")}

Geostatistical model-based effective area occupied:

Thorson, J.T., Rindorf, A., Gao, J., Hanselman, D.H., and Winker, H. 2016. Density-dependent changes in effective area occupied for sea-bottom-associated marine fishes. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 283(1840): 20161853. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1098/rspb.2016.1853")}

Bias correction:

Thorson, J.T., and Kristensen, K. 2016. Implementing a generic method for bias correction in statistical models using random effects, with spatial and population dynamics examples. Fisheries Research 175: 66–74. \Sexpr[results=rd]{tools:::Rd_expr_doi("10.1016/j.fishres.2015.11.016")}

See Also

get_index_sims() for derived quantities from simulation draws.

Examples

if (ggplot2_installed()) {
library(ggplot2)

# use a small number of knots for this example to make it fast:
mesh <- make_mesh(pcod, c("X", "Y"), n_knots = 60)

# fit a spatiotemporal model:
m <- sdmTMB(
 data = pcod,
 formula = density ~ 0 + as.factor(year),
 time = "year", mesh = mesh, family = tweedie(link = "log")
)

# prepare a prediction grid:
nd <- replicate_df(qcs_grid, "year", unique(pcod$year))

# biomass index:
ind <- get_index(m, newdata = nd, bias_correct = TRUE)
ind
ggplot(ind, aes(year, est)) + geom_line() +
  geom_ribbon(aes(ymin = lwr, ymax = upr), alpha = 0.4) +
  ylim(0, NA)

# the same, calculated in 2 chunks of years;
# slower but uses less memory for very large grids:
ind <- get_index_split(m, newdata = nd, nsplit = 2, bias_correct = TRUE)

# center of gravity:
cog <- get_cog(m, newdata = nd, format = "wide")
cog
ggplot(cog, aes(est_x, est_y, colour = year)) +
  geom_point() +
  geom_linerange(aes(xmin = lwr_x, xmax = upr_x)) +
  geom_linerange(aes(ymin = lwr_y, ymax = upr_y)) +
  scale_colour_viridis_c()

# effective area occupied:
eao <- get_eao(m, newdata = nd)
eao
ggplot(eao, aes(year, est)) + geom_line() +
  geom_ribbon(aes(ymin = lwr, ymax = upr), alpha = 0.4) +
  ylim(0, NA)

# weighted average (e.g., depth-weighted by biomass):
wa <- get_weighted_average(m, newdata = nd, vector = nd$depth)
wa
ggplot(wa, aes(year, est)) + geom_line() +
  geom_ribbon(aes(ymin = lwr, ymax = upr), alpha = 0.4)
}

sdmTMB documentation built on Oct. 17, 2026, 1:07 a.m.