Arakno - An R package for effective spider nomenclature, distribution and trait data retrieval from online resources

Abstract

Online open databases are increasing in number, usefulness, and ease of use. There are currently two main global databases for spiders, the World Spider Catalogue (WSC) and the World Spider Trait (WST) database. Both are regularly used by thousands of researchers. Computational tools that allow effective processing of large data are now part of the workflow of any researcher and R is becoming a de facto standard for data manipulation, analysis, and presentation. Here we present an R package, arakno, that allows interface with the two databases. Implemented tools include checking species names against nomenclature of the WSC, obtaining and mapping data on distribution of species from both the WST and the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), and downloading trait data from the WST. A set of tools are also provided to prepare data for further statistical analysis.