An R Package for Automating the Visualization of African Bird Atlas Project Data
# AfriAtlas: Visualizing African Bird Atlas Data
The **`AfriAtlas`** R package provides robust, publication-ready tools
for ecologists and enthusiasts to download, process, and visualize
pentad-level bird atlas data from the **African Bird Atlas Project
(ABAP)** and its associated country projects (like Nigeria Bird Atlas
Project).
The package is designed for portability and efficiency, handling dynamic
boundaries via the `rnaturalearth` package and enforcing API safety
limits.
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## 🚀 Installation
You can install the development version of `AfriAtlas` directly from
GitHub using the `remotes` package.
``` r
# Install necessary dependencies if you haven't already
if (!requireNamespace("remotes", quietly = TRUE)) {
install.packages("remotes")
}
# Install AfriAtlas
remotes::install_github("bdanmallam/AfriAtlas")
```
# Quick Usage Examples
## 1. Finding and reviewing species codes
The mapping functions require numeric Species Codes (e.g., 11491 for
Common Bulbul). AfriAtlas provides three tools to help you manage these
codes.
## 1.1. Lookup a code by name: `get_species_code()`
If you know the English common name or scientific name, you can quickly
retrieve the code. This function is case-sensitive.
``` r
# Find code for Barn Swallow (Hirundo rustica)
code <- get_species_code("Barn Swallow")
code <- get_species_code("Hirundo rustica")
print(code)
# Find code for Hooded vulture (Necrosyrtes monachus)
get_species_code("Hooded vulture")
get_species_code("Necrosyrtes monachus")
```
## 1.2. Browse all species: `explore_species_codes()`
If you are unsure of the spelling or want to browse the full species
codes, this function opens the internal dataset in the RStudio Viewer.
``` r
explore_species_codes()
```
## 1.3. Reviewing species codes: `show_codes()`
Before running a batch process, it is best practice to review the list
of codes being used. The `show_codes()` function is a simple utili …