Using GitHub to collaborate in scientific programming

The tools of the 21^st century ecologists often hinge on custom written computer code.  Writing these tools, whether simulations in C, scripts in R or Python, webpages / blogs or even LaTeX manusripts, can be facilitated by collaboration between both project participants and the broader scientific community.  The GitHub platform, based on the git version control system, offers a simple and social way to share and collaborate on scientific projects. Using version control, managing multiple authors on any project becomes a simple task. Anyone developing any scientific tools in any programming language can benefit from GitHub.