EAGER: Making code-based analyses widely accessible for modeling species niches and distributions

环境生物学家模拟生物体的生存地点，它们在空间中的分布（生物地理学），以及它们如何与当地环境相互作用，填补一个特定的生态位。要完成此建模需要来自多个来源的数据，并使用多个分析包：将这些数据组合到有用的工作流中需要专门的技术能力。该提案将创建一个名为“Wallace”的软件应用程序，通过图形界面将数据和分析组件结合在一起，使组件的选择更容易，保存工作流以便其他人可以重新运行，并为分析的最佳设置提供指导。它还将提供交互式地图、表格和图表来探索结果。该应用程序被设计为易于扩展，并且该软件将作为开源，通过Github免费提供的资源进行管理。在其他进展中，使用该软件的结果将有助于更好地估计保护生物学、入侵物种和气候变化的影响。在环境生物学中，具有和不具有强大编码技能的研究人员之间存在着巨大的鸿沟：提议的活动旨在利用一种可能改变该领域的软件开发创新方法来缩小这一差距。在初始阶段，该项目将发布软件应用程序“Wallace”，为新兴的利基/分布建模领域提供最佳的计算建模实践。该软件是一个模块化的web应用程序（也可以在本地运行），通过图形用户界面（GUI）提供可定制的工作流。它将使用最近开发的R包shiny构建，这将允许通过添加R包轻松扩展到该领域中正在生产的许多尖端方法。具体来说，Wallace将：1)利用来自在线数据库或用户输入的数据；2)组合各种工具来构建和评估模型；3)为关键的概念和方法问题提供指导文本；4)采用交互式地图、表格和图形来查看和探索数据和模型预测；5)在每个分析阶段结束后，以多种形式提供结果供下载；6)提供文档化和可执行的代码，以便在用户会话结束时重新运行整个分析。随着软件的成熟，它的模块化特性将有助于其他研究人员稍后添加新元素。

Environmental biologists model both where organisms live, their distribution in space (biogeography) and how they interact with the local environment, filling a particular niche. To do this modeling requires data from a number of sources and the use of multiple analytical packages: putting these together in useful workflows requires specialized technical abilities. This proposal will create a software application, called 'Wallace', that brings together the data and analytical components through a graphical interface to make selection of components easier, saves the workflow so others can rerun it, and provides guidance for the best settings for the analyses. It will also provide interactive maps, tables and graphs to explore the results. The application has been designed to be easily extended, and the software will be managed as an open-source, freely available resource through Github. Among other advances, results from using the software will lead to better estimates in conservation biology, invasive species, and the impact of climate change. A substantial divide exists in environmental biology between researchers with and without strong coding skills: the proposed activities aims to close that gap, using an innovative approach to software development that could transform the field. In the initial phase, The project will release the software application 'Wallace', to enable best computational modeling practices for the burgeoning field of niche/distributional modeling. This software is a modular web application (that also can be run locally) offering customizable workflows through a Graphical User Interface (GUI). It will be built using the recently developed R package shiny, which will allow easy extensibility to the many cutting-edge methods now being produced in the field, via the addition of R packages. Specifically, Wallace will: 1) harness data either from online databases or input by the user; 2) assemble a variety of tools for building and evaluating models; 3) give guidance text for critical conceptual and methodological issues; 4) feature interactive maps, tables, and graphs to view and explore data and model predictions; 5) offer results for download in multiple forms after each stage of the analysis; and 6) provide documented and executable code for rerunning the entire analysis at the end of a user session. Its modular nature will facilitate later addition of new elements by other researchers as the software matures.