A graphical user interface for R in a rich client platform for ecological modeling

For many ecological analyses powerful statistical tools are required for a profound analysis of spatial and time based data sets. in order to avoid many common errors of analysis and data acquisition a graphical user interface can help to focus on the task of the analysis and minimize the time to fulfill certain tasks in a programming language like r. in this paper we present a graphical user interface for r embedded in the ecological modeling software bio7 which is based on an eclipse rich client platform. we demonstrate that within the bio7 platform r can not only be effectively combined with java but also with the powerful components of eclipse. additionally we present some custom bio7 components which interact with r and make use of some useful advanced concepts and libraries of this connection. our overview on the bio7 r interface also emphasizes a broad applicability for disciplines beyond ecological modeling.