[adegenet-forum] Use of other projected coordinate systems (e.g. Lambert conformal conic) in the sPCA

[Cristen Watt]

Hello,
I have a question regarding conversion to UTM and the way the sPCA handles
spatial data. I have lynx sampling locations from Western Canada and
Alaska. I was originally given these locations in the North America Lambert
Conformal Conic projection. However, I saw that the sPCA should be done
using UTM.

I converted my points to lat/long in ArcMap, then tried using convUL to
convert to UTM. However, I am concerned with this method because my
coordinates span a wide geographical extent. The convUL conversion is not
recommended for more than one zone to the right or left of the central
zone. My data span 10 zones (from Western Alaska to Eastern Alberta). I
tried using convUL with the most central zone, but the connection network
looked quite distorted, and am concerned about the possibility of
'erroneous results' mentioned in the PBSmapping package.

Here is my main question: Since the projection I originally used (North
America Lambert Conformal Conic) is already in meters, is it possible to
use these coordinates without conversion to UTM? Will the sPCA perform the
correct analyses using this projection?

Thank you,
Cristen
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