Methods for Optimizing Scales of Effect

A tool for optimizing scales of effect when modeling ecological processes in space. Specifically, the scale parameter of a distance-weighted kernel distribution is identified for all environmental layers included in the model. Includes functions to assist in model selection, model evaluation, efficient transformation of raster surfaces using fast Fourier transformation, and projecting models. For more details see Peterman (2026) .

multiScaleR

Overview

multiScaleR is an R package to identify the scale of effect of spatial environmental variables in regression analyses.

Functions to simulate data with known scales of effect are included with this package.

Installation

Install the CRAN release with:

install.packages("multiScaleR")

If installing from GitHub on Windows, you may need Rtools to compile the package from source. Choose the Rtools release that matches your version of R and follow the installation instructions at https://cran.r-project.org/bin/windows/Rtools/.

Then execute the following commands in R:

# Install 'remotes' package, if needed
if (!requireNamespace("remotes", quietly = TRUE)) {
  install.packages("remotes", repos = "https://cloud.r-project.org")
}

remotes::install_github("wpeterman/multiScaleR", 
                        build_vignettes = TRUE) # Install & build vignette

library(multiScaleR) # Load the package

The package vignettes provide worked analyses of simulated data and explain the main workflows.