ecoteach-package {ecoteach} | R Documentation |
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 weh9000@gmail.com [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. 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. 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. 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? 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. 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. 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. 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. doi:10.5061/DRYAD.SF7M0CGH1
Hahn, N. (2021). Elephant agricultural use metrics in Mara-Serengeti ecosystem. doi:10.5061/DRYAD.RN8PK0PBN
Nöbel, S., & Kaufmann, T. (2025). Data from: Mate copying in Drosophila simulans. 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. 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. 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). 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. doi:10.5061/DRYAD.C866T1GJN
Bieber, C., Turbill, C., & Ruf, T. (2019). Effects of aging on timing of hibernation and reproduction. 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")