eng International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Computational Ecology and Software 2220-721X 2026-3-1 16 1 1 34 1 article Arpita Srivastava 1 2 Simoni Singhal 1 2 Anuradha Yadav 1 2 Rahat Zehra 1 2 Jyoti Verma 1 2 Aquatic Ecology Lab, Department of Zoology, C.M.P Degree College, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, U.P - 211001, India Geospatial Information Science and Engineering Hub, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Powai, Maharashtra, India This study aims to integrate open-source computational tools with ecological biomonitoring by harnessing the capabilities of RStudio and the DiaThor package. The goal is to simplify the calculation of diatom-based indices and generate insightful visualizations for water quality assessment. Using RStudio as the platform and the DiaThor package as the computational engine, a case study was conducted on water quality datasets. Various ecological indices were computed including IPS, TDI, SLA, and others. The manuscript provides an end-to-end demonstration of data formatting, function usage, and graphical outputs for visual interpretation. The study successfully generated multiple plots such as bar plots, heatmaps, and radar diagrams, each representing the variation in diatom-based indices across multiple sample sites. The visualization outputs made it easier to detect ecological gradients and interpret water quality conditions efficiently. DiaThor in RStudio offers an efficient and reproducible method for ecological data processing. Its integration with R's visualization ecosystem enhances data clarity and enables automation in environmental monitoring workflows. This paper underscores the potential of open-source packages to revolutionize diatom-based assessment practices. http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/ces/articles/2026-16(1)/harnessing-R-Studio-package-for-ecological-insights.pdf Diatoms biomonitoring ecological indices visualization open-source tools water quality