Modeling Patterns and Dynamics of Species Occurrence

[Melanie Colón]

The Tributary Group and the Department of Natural Resource Management at South Dakota State University will host a Modeling Patterns and Dynamics of Species Occurrence workshop at the Swiftel Center in Brookings, South Dakota, 21-25 March 2016.

The presence or absence of a species across a set of landscape units is a fundamental concept widely used in ecology (e.g., species range or distribution, epidemiology, habitat modeling, resource selection probability functions, as a monitoring metric, metapopulation studies, biodiversity, and species co-occurrence). An important sampling issue, however, is that a species may not always be detected when present at a landscape unit.
This will result in "false absences" causing parameter estimates to be biased if unaccounted for, possibly leading to misleading results and conclusions, even with moderate levels of imperfect detection.

This workshop will cover many of the latest methods for modeling patterns of dynamics of species occurrence in a landscape while accounting for the imperfect detection of the species. Participants will be introduced to available software through work ed examples, and there will be special emphasis on aspects of study design. While primarily aimed at the beginner and intermediate level, more experienced researchers will also benefit from attending. Topics to be covered include: single season occupancy models for patterns in species occurrence, building predictive models for species occurrence, creating maps of species occurrence probabilities, e.g., species distribution maps, multiple-season occupancy models for dynamics of species occurrence and changes in distribution, important study design considerations, and sample size determination.

Instructor - Dr. Darryl MacKenzie. Darryl is an internationally renowned biometrician, particularly for his work on the development and application of species occurrence models. He has over 15 years of experience in applying statistical techniques to ecological and environmental situations, starting at the University of Otago, then progressing to North Carolina State University (based at USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center) in 2000, before commencing full-time with Proteus in 2001. Darryl has provided advice on studies for a wide-range of species and enjoys the challenge of combining the statistical theory with the practical realities to develop a pragmatic solution.

Salary: Registration cost for the 5-day workshop is $950. This fee includes course materials, facilities for the workshop, lunch Monday through Thursday, and morning and afternoon refreshments.

Qualifications: The workshop is strictly limited to a set number of registrants. Register early.

To register, visit http://thetributaryg...ies-occurrence/. Please contact Dr. Troy Grovenburg (605-688-5064) with questions.

Website: http://thetributaryg...ies-occurrence/

Contact: Dr. Troy W. Grovenburg, troy.grovenburg@sdstate.edu