Colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the availability of an early-view paper that describes a new R package, called qfasar, for the estimation of predator diet composition using quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA). QFASA is one of the most common methods of estimating diet composition for marine species. The package incorporates traditional estimation methods and several improvements drawn from a series of our recent methodology papers. Citation: Bromaghin, J. F. 2017. qfasar: quantitative fatty acid signature analysis with R. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. doi: 10.1111/2041-210X.12740. Summary 1. Knowledge of predator diets provides essential insights into their ecology, yet diet estimation is challenging and remains an active area of research. 2. Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) is a popular method of estimating diet composition that continues to be investigated and extended. However, software to implement QFASA has only recently become publicly available. 3. I summarize a new R package, qfasar, for diet estimation using QFASA methods. The package also provides functionality to evaluate and potentially improve the performance of a library of prey signature data, compute goodness-of-fit diagnostics, and support simulation-based research. Several procedures in the package have not previously been published. 4. QFASAR makes traditional and recently published QFASA diet estimation methods accessible to ecologists for the first time. Use of the package is illustrated with signature data from Chukchi Sea polar bears and potential prey species. Regards, Jeff ----------------------------------------------- Jeffrey F. Bromaghin, PhD Research Statistician USGS Alaska Science Center Marine Ecosystems Office 4210 University Drive Anchorage, AK 99508 907-786-7086 jbromag...@usgs.gov <https://mail.google.com/mail/?view=cm&fs=1&tf=1&to=jbromag...@usgs.gov> *http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/quantitative_ecology/index.php <http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/quantitative_ecology/index.php>*
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