NEWS

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ascent 0.1.1 (2026-07-30)

CRAN Resubmission Updates

• Expanded ASC-CFD acronym in DESCRIPTION to 'ASC-CFD' (Assemblage Shift Characterization - Community Functional Dynamics).
• Added missing \value tag in plot.ascfcd_entities.Rd.
• Refactored random number generation (RNG) in asc_null() to strictly comply with CRAN policies regarding .GlobalEnv and .Random.seed manipulation.

ascent 0.1.0

Initial CRAN release

Core Framework

• asc_paired(): Temporal/paired functional restructuring (Layer 1-3).
• asc_pairwise(): Bidirectional spatial functional divergence across all community pairs.
• asc_baseline(): Absolute functional topology (CWM, FDis, FRic) for isolated communities.
• asc_null(): Hierarchical triad of null models (Structural/Curveball, Quantitative/SAD, Identity/Trait Shuffle).
• asc_transitions(): Species-level Functional Leverage decomposition.
• asc_entities(): Species clustering into discrete functional entities.
• assess_functional_space(): Diagnostic tool for evaluating PCoA quality before analysis.

Architecture

• Centralized internal engines (.build_functional_space(), .calc_core_topology()) shared across all modules.
• S3 class system with print(), summary(), and plot() methods for all output types.
• PCoA quality metric ($Q = \sum\lambda^+ / \sum|\lambda|$) with automatic warning when $Q < 0.80$.

Null Models

• Model A (Structural): Curveball algorithm preserving richness and prevalence.
• Model B (Quantitative): SAD reshuffle with fixed incidence. FRic reported as NA (hull invariant).
• Model C (Identity): Trait shuffle breaking species-trait association.

Validation

• 28 testthat unit tests covering class structure, edge cases, orthogonal scenarios, null model isolation, and leverage additivity.
• 61 functional tests (standalone script) including cross-validation against manual computation.