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Home » Courses » Evolution » Decoding Species: The Foundation of Biodiversity Data

Live Online Course – 1st Edition

Decoding Species: The Foundation of Biodiversity Data

October 5th, 7th, and 9th, 2026

Course Overview

Species are the basic units of biodiversity, and therefore the basic units in many ecology, evolution, and conservation biology studies, yet most researchers receive little formal training in what defines a species or how much biodiversity remains hidden, which can impact their research. These concepts are in the realm of systematics, a field that’s mostly neglected by universities. This short course is a primer to the basic concepts you need to know to work with biodiversity in your research.

Places are limited to 30 participants.

Programme

  • Best practices for making ecological and evolutionary studies reproducible
  • How to identify species, especially difficult ones
  • Do you have one species or two, or subspecies? What is a species? Is it fluid?
  • How do you know you have a case of speciation?
  • Bit of history of taxonomy/systematics you should know
  • How to tell if you have a new species, and how to describe it. What do the Codes say?
  • Working with biodiversity databases: synonymy & misidentifications
  • Why do species’ names change?
  • The impact of systematic inference on conservation
  • The taxonomic impediment: the impact of “dark taxa” on understanding biodiversity
  • The necessity of taxonomy/systematics vs. declining interest
  • Taxonomy in the era of genomics and AI

Assumed Background

Graduate or postgraduate degree in Life or Earth Sciences.

Dates & Schedule

Online live sessions on October 5th, 7th, and 9th, 2026.

From 17:00 to 19:00 (Madrid time zone).

Total course hours: 8 (6 hours of online live lessons, plus 2 hours of  participants working on their own).

Format

In the live sessions we will combine online lectures with interactive discussions.

Live sessions will be recorded. However, attendance to the live sessions is required to obtain the course certificate.

This course will be delivered in English.

Instructor

Jared Bernard instructor for Transmitting Science

Dr. Jared Bernard

University of Hawaii–Manoa
USA

Registration Fees

  • Course Fee
  • Early bird (until September 15th, 2026):
  • 136 €
    (108.80 € for Ambassador Institutions)
  • Regular (after September 15th, 2026):
  • 175 €
    (140 € for Ambassador Institutions)
  • Prices include VAT.
    After registration you will receive confirmation of your acceptance on the course.
    Payment is not required during registration. Check discounts here.

Registration

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Organiser

Logo Transmitting Science

Collaborators

Logo COBCYL
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