Creates a local database of many commonly used taxonomic authorities
             and provides functions that can quickly query this data.

Creates a local Lightning Memory-Mapped Database ('LMDB') 
             of many commonly used taxonomic authorities
             and provides functions that can quickly query this data.
             Supported taxonomic authorities include 
             the Integrated Taxonomic Information System ('ITIS'),
             National Center for Biotechnology Information ('NCBI'),
             Global Biodiversity Information Facility ('GBIF'), 
             Catalogue of Life ('COL'), and Open Tree Taxonomy ('OTT'). 
             Name and identifier resolution using 'LMDB' can
             be hundreds of times faster than either relational databases or
             internet-based queries. Precise data provenance information for
             data derived from naming providers is also included.

A novel feature-wise normalization method based on a zero-inflated negative binomial model. This method assumes that the effects of sequencing depth vary for each taxon on their mean and also incorporates a rational link of zero probability and taxon dispersion as a function of sequencing depth. Ziyue Wang, Dillon Lloyd, Shanshan Zhao, Alison Motsinger-Reif (2023) <doi:10.1101/2023.10.31.563648>.

Calculates taxonomic diversity indices for ecological community
    data using Deng entropy framework and classical approaches (Shannon,
    Simpson, Clarke & Warwick). Provides functions for computing taxonomic
    distinctness, average taxonomic distinctness (AvTD/Delta+), variation in
    taxonomic distinctness (VarTD/Lambda+), and Deng entropy-based measures
    that incorporate taxonomic hierarchy information. Includes tools for
    constructing taxonomic trees and computing pairwise taxonomic distances.

Computation and visualization of Taxicab Correspondence Analysis, Choulakian (2006) <doi:10.1007/s11336-004-1231-4>.  Classical correspondence analysis (CA) is a statistical method to analyse 2-dimensional tables of positive numbers and is typically applied to contingency tables (Benzecri, J.-P. (1973). L'Analyse des Donnees. Volume II. L'Analyse des Correspondances. Paris, France: Dunod).  Classical CA is based on the Euclidean distance.  Taxicab CA is like classical CA but is based on the Taxicab or Manhattan distance.  For some tables, Taxicab CA gives more informative results than classical CA.