The qfasar R package for predator diet estimation

What is it about?

Quantitative fatty acid signature analysis (QFASA) has become a popular method of estimating diets, especially for marine species. Although QFASA was introduced in 2004, publicly-available software implementing the method only started to become available in 2015. The new R package qfasar is freely-available software to estimate predator diet composition via QFASA. The package includes the original estimator as well as numerous enhancements or extensions presented in four papers authored by Dr. Bromaghin in 2015 and 2016. In addition, the package implements several methods that have not yet been published, to make their evaluation easier, and provides considerable support for simulation-based research. The goal is for the package to be useful to investigators estimating predator diets using QFASA and also as a tool to speed future research into improved estimation methods.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

The R package qfasar incorporates traditional and enhanced diet estimation techniques into a single, integrated software system, making these methods accessible to the scientific community for the first time.