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Create pie charts showing functional group composition

Source: R/plot_info.R
pr_plot_PieFG.Rd

Visualise the relative proportion of plankton functional groups averaged across all samples. Useful for summarising community composition in a simple, accessible format.

Usage

pr_plot_PieFG(dat)

Arguments

dat

A dataframe from pr_get_FuncGroups() containing functional group abundance or biomass data

Value

A ggplot2 object that can be further customised or saved with ggsave()

Details

Plot Structure

The pie chart shows:

  • Each functional group as a wedge

  • Wedge size proportional to mean abundance/biomass across all samples

  • Colours from the "Set1" palette for clear distinction

  • Legend below plot listing all functional groups

Interpretation

This plot provides a quick overview of which functional groups dominate the plankton community on average. Use this for:

  • Initial data exploration

  • Comparing overall community structure between surveys or regions

  • Educational presentations requiring simple visualisations

Limitations

  • Shows average composition only, hiding temporal variability

  • Cannot show changes over time (use pr_plot_tsfg() for that)

  • Works best with 5-10 functional groups; too many makes wedges hard to distinguish

Functional Groups

The plot automatically detects whether data are:

  • Phytoplankton: Diatoms, dinoflagellates, ciliates, etc.

  • Zooplankton: Copepods, appendicularians, fish larvae, etc.

And labels the legend accordingly.

See also

Examples

# Phytoplankton functional groups from CPR
dat <- pr_get_FuncGroups("CPR", "Phytoplankton")
plot <- pr_plot_PieFG(dat)
print(plot)


# Zooplankton functional groups from NRS
dat <- pr_get_FuncGroups("NRS", "Zooplankton")
pr_plot_PieFG(dat)