BioDyn: A tool for the spatiotemporal analysis of intra-specific geographic data

Abstract

The rapid growth of large biodiversity databases has profoundly expanded the availability of species occurrence data across space and time. However, this increase in data volume has not been accompanied by equivalent gains in knowledge, largely due to persistent biases, gaps, and heterogeneity in sampling effort, temporal resolution, and environmental representation. These limitations contribute to shortfalls in biogeo-graphical knowledge, particularly in understanding spatiotemporal patterns at the intra-specific level. Here, we present BioDyn, an R package designed to provide a reproducible workflow for spatiotemporal exploration of species occurrence data, with a focus on interannual variation and intra-specific patterns. The package integrates key pre-modeling steps related to organization, inspection, and segmentation of occurrence data, construction of temporal presence-absence datasets, environmental variable enrichment, and exploratory visu-alization across space and time. Through a transparent, modular and flexible framework, users are enabled to assess data coverage, evaluate sampling biases, and explore spatial and temporal patterns before formal mod-eling. In doing so, it provides a practical tool for studying spatial dynamics, seasonal variation, and migratory systems across large and heterogeneous biodiversity datasets.