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VAST

User resources for learning about VAST

There are eleven main resources for learning about VAST:

  • Model structure: Please see the User Manual for a document listing model equations and relating them to the input/output used in R.
  • Change documentation: Please see NEWS for a document listing major changes in each numbered release; this is useful to track development changes (interface improvements, bug fixes, issues regarding dependencies, etc.) over time.
  • Guidance for user decisions: Please see Thorson-2019 for guidance regarding the 15 major decisions needed in every VAST model
  • High-level wrapper functions: I have recently added high-level wrapper functions, which provide a gentle introduction to running VAST
  • Examples: The wiki also includes example code to run VAST for many common use-cases, as listed in the right-hand-side toolbar at that link.
  • R-help documentation: Please see the standard R-help documentation, e.g., by typing ?fit_model or ?make_data in the R-terminal after installing the package and loading it using library(VAST).
  • Publications: Please see the publications list to identify peer-reviewed publications regarding individual features. These publications include statistical theory and model testing.
  • List-serv: Consider joining the FishStats listserve for 4-6 updates per year, including training classes.
  • Slack channel: A slack channel was developed by J. Morano and colleagues to allow real-time, casual discussions among new and longtime users.
  • Talks available online: We post recorded talks and seminars online
  • Issue-tracker: Before posting new issues, users should explore the previous issues in the github issue tracker for VAST, SpatialDeltaGLMM, and FishStatsUtils, including a search for old and closed issues.
  • Wiki: Users should read and are encouraged to actively contribute to the wiki, which is housed at the github for SpatialDeltaGLMM

If there are questions that arise after this, please look for a VAST Point-of-Contact at your institution and consider contacting them prior to posting an issue.

Database

Regions available in the example script: alt text and see FishViz.org for visualization of results for regions with a public API for their data.