‘SiteTool': a ‘Shiny' application for field site selection and evaluation

Field studies are fundamental to ecological research, yet many studies rely on unspecified or convenience-based methods for site selection, potentially introducing bias that can compromise research results. Remote-sensing data provides a quantitative way to evaluate potential sites without expensive pilot visits; however, interacting with spatial data can be computationally complex. We present an R ‘Shiny' application, ‘SiteTool' (https://github.com/BioDivHealth/sitetool), which integrates geospatial data into the site selection process, helping researchers generate a list of potential field sites in a region of interest and ensuring that sites fall along a gradient of variation relevant to their research questions. By integrating remote-sensing data into an easy-to-use interface, this tool improves researchers' ability to make quantitative site selection decisions, ultimately leading to more robust studies and research results.