shinySDM: Point and click species distribution modeling

Abstract

The focus of this research work is to address the difficulties involved in creating visualizations for species distribution modeling. We focus on two aspects of this problem: running models for predicting the likelihood of outbreak locations and testing the significance of the models generated. To improve this process, this work develops a web application which allows researchers to upload their data, create informative and interactive visualizations, and run desired models in addition to testing their significance. Such an application empowers researchers without any programming experience to both generate complex models and interpret results quickly and effectively. This paper will focus on maximum entropy modeling as the example modeling technique by providing an example run using data on vaccine-preventable diseases.