ranacapa

Ranacapa is an R package that bridges the gap between complex environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding results and a diverse audience, including natural resource managers, students, community scientists, and naturalists. eDNA metabarcoding has become a pivotal tool in ecology and conservation biology, facilitating various applications from biodiversity monitoring to public outreach programs. However, the technical complexity of bioinformatics analysis can pose a significant barrier to those without extensive training in the field, making it challenging for a broader audience to engage with and understand eDNA results.

ranacapa features a core Shiny web application that simplifies exploratory biodiversity analyses and visualizations of eDNA results. The app is user-friendly, requiring only a taxonomy-by-sample matrix and a simple metadata file with descriptive information about each sample for its operation. Through interactive figures and straightforward community ecology analyses, ranacapa allows users to delve into eDNA data, facilitating a deeper understanding of biodiversity and ecological relationships present in their samples.