Release notes of Bio-ORACLE version 2.2.
Version 2.2 substitutes two layers: Cloud Cover and Diffuse Attenuation. In addition, some other fixes and developments were applied:
Some layers were already available through the R package sdmpredictors in version 2.1 but not in the Bio-Oracle portal:
All Bio-Oracle layers have been centralized in the Bio-Oracle portal.
The sdmpredictors R package has been updated (v2.10.0). Find more information in this link.
The Cloud Cover from version 2.1 and version 2.0 has its minimum and maximum values below zero and above one respectively. However, the Cloud Cover indicates the proportion of sky covered by clouds, therefore its values are expected to be between 0 and 1. We found out as well inconsistencies regarding the values of the Diffuse Attenuation layer between the version hosted at lifewatch.be and bio-oracle.org.
The Cloud Cover and Diffuse Attenuation layers that were provided in version 2.1. and 2.0 were versions in early development stage and were erroneously uploaded during the publication of these two versions.
The present version 2.2 makes available the final versions of the Cloud Cover and the Diffuse Attenuation on the Bio-Oracle portal. Note that these layers were always correct in sdmpredictors: the software that makes Bio-Oracle in the R language.
To prevent that these type of inconsistencies happen again, we have taken the following measurements:
The Bio-Oracle dataset is now hosted only in the Bio-Oracle website. Before, there were two copies of the Bio-Oracle available online that were not automatically synchronized: One copy in hosted in the Bio-Oracle website and another copy in Lifewatch.be.
The R package sdmpredictors has been updated to download raster layers from both the Bio-Oracle website and Lifewatch.be.
Assis, J., Fernández Bejarano, S.J., Salazar, V.W., Schepers, L., Gouvêa, L., Fragkopoulou, E., Leclercq, F., Vanhoorne, B., Tyberghein, L., Serrão, E.A., Verbruggen, H., De Clerck, O. (2024) Bio-ORACLE v3.0. Pushing marine data layers to the CMIP6 Earth system models of climate change research. Global Ecology and Biogeography. DOI: 10.1111/geb.13813
Assis, J., Tyberghein, L., Bosh, S., Verbruggen, H., Serrão, E. A., & De Clerck, O. (2017). Bio-ORACLE v2.0: Extending marine data layers for bioclimatic modelling. Global Ecology and Biogeography. DOI: 10.1111/geb.12693
Tyberghein L, Verbruggen H, Pauly K, Troupin C, Mineur F, De Clerck O (2012) Bio-ORACLE: A global environmental dataset for marine species distribution modelling. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 21, 272–281. DOI: 10.1111/j.1466-8238.2011.00656.x