dsm
provides a Generalized Additive Model (GAM)-based approach to calculate spatially-explicit estimates of animal abundance from distance sampling (also presence/absence and strip transect) data. Several utility functions are provided for model checking, plotting and variance estimation.
Open Access paper describing the methods:
- Miller, DL, ML Burt, EA Rexstad and L Thomas (2013). Spatial models for distance sampling data: recent developments and future directions. Methods in Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12105