meteR

An R package for the maximum entropy theory of ecology

The maximum entropy theory of ecology can predict a huge range of macroecological metrics, from the species abundance distribution to the distribution of metabolic rates across individuals. It does so using an elegantly simple and robust approach from statistical mechanics and information theory---the principle of maximum information entropy. Despite its potential for broad appeal and use by biodiversity researchers, its mathematical complexity can be prohibitive. Here we make all its predictive power more accessible with an R package that implements its predictions in a intuitive manner, while still making the mathematical details accessible to interested users.