lightr: import spectral data and metadata in R

Abstract

Living organisms wildly differ in their ability to see colours (Osorio & Vorobyev, 2008). For this reason, colour science relies on the use of objective measurements of reflectance, transmittance, or aborbance spectra rather than human vision (Bennett, Cuthill, & Norris, 1994; Cuthill, Bennett, Partridge, & Maier, 1999; Eaton, 2005). These spectra are then used in vision models that allow scientists to predict how a given object is seen through the eyes of a given species (e.g., how a male bird is seen by a potential mate). This is the basis of all studies in for example the study of the evolution of colours of animals and plants as communication signals