• Advanced Courses in Life Sciences

    Header of Ecology at Transmitting Science

Course – 2nd Edition

Model-Based Statistical Inference in Ecological and Evolutionary Biogeography

Ecology

Ecology

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Course Model-Based Statistical Inference in Ecological and Evolutionary BiogeographyCourse overview

This course will cover the theory and practice of widely used methods in evolutionary and ecological biogeography, namely ecological niche modelling / species distribution modelling, and ancestral range estimation on phylogenies.

The course will cover both the practical challenges to using these techniques (obtaining and processing geographical occurrence data from GBIF, setting up and using the models), and the assumptions that various models and methods make.

We take the view that evolutionary models will be improved by including ecology (for example, perhaps the probability of a dispersal event on a phylogeny is likely to be correlated with the environmental distance between regions), and that ecological models are likely to be improved by integrating phylogenetic information into models of species distributions.

We will discuss why the integration of evolutionary information is fundamental to the further development of ecological biogeography, discuss a number of ways in which this might be done, and demonstrate the use of new R packages to implement some of these analyses.

Requirements

Training in the biological sciences, preferably some aspect of ecology or evolutionary biology. Participants must bring a laptop. Participants are expected to have a basic knowledge of R.

Contact

courses@transmittingscience.org

LOCATION

DATE

January 4th-8th, 2021

LANGUAGE

English

COURSE LENGTH & ECTS

40 hours on-site.

This course is equivalent to 3 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) at the Life Science Zurich Graduate School.

The recognition of ECTS by other institutions depends on each university or school.

PLACES

Places are limited to 25 participants and will be occupied by strict registration order.

Participants who have completed the course will receive a certificate at the end of it.

Matthew Van Dam instructor for Transmitting Science

Dr. Matthew Van Dam
California Academy of Sciences
United States of America

Dan Warren instructor for Transmitting Science

Dr. Dan Warren
Senckenberg Biodiversity and Climate Research Center
Germany

Ana Rosa Gomez-Cano coordinator at Transmitting Science

Dr. Ana Rosa Gómez-Cano
Transmitting Science
Spain

Soledad De Esteban-Trivigno Transmitting Science coordinator

Dr. Soledad De Esteban-Trivigno
Transmitting Science
Spain

Program

Monday, December 11th, 2017.

  • Organization and introductions.
  • Spatial data in R.
  • Point data, vector data, and raster data.
  • GBIF, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
  • Interacting with Google Maps.
  • Working with raster and vector data.


Tuesday, December 12th, 2017.

  • Ecological biogeography.
  • ENM / SDM concepts and assumptions.
  • Dismo.
  • Conceptual issues with ecological inferences from distribution data.
  • Simulating species occurrence data.


Wednesday, December 13th, 2017.

  • Testing ecological hypotheses via Monte Carlo methods.
  • ENMTools R package.
  • Ecospat.
  • Questions of taxonomic scale.
  • Incorporating niche conservatism into the modelling process.

Thursday, December 14th, 2017.

  • Phylogenetic biogeography.
  • How to read and use phylogenies.
  • Short history of historical biogeography methods and assumptions.
  • Likelihood-based statistical model choice.
  • New probabilistic models for historical biogeography in BioGeoBEARS.
  • Biogeographical stochastic mapping.
  • Using BioGeoBEARS and interpreting results.
  • Including geographical and environmental distance in models.
  • Using QGIS basics and creating paleo areas.



Friday, December 15th, 2017.

  • Integrating in phenology (NCDF & other data sources) in SDM and trait evolution.
  • Integrating biogeography with biotic interactions (e.g. insect host plant interactions).
  • Running analyses over multiPhylo objects (posterior distribution) and interpreting results.
  • Help session for student projects.
  • Wrap-up.

Fees

  • Course Fee
  • Early bird (until January 31st, 2020):
  • 545 € *
    (436 € for Ambassador Institutions)
  • Regular (after January 31st, 2020):
  • 634 € *
    (507.20 € for Ambassador Institutions)
  • This includes course material, coffee breaks and lunches (VAT included).
    * Participants from companies/industry will have an extra charge of 100 €.
  • Course Fee + Accommodation Package
  • Early bird (until January 31st, 2020):
  • 895 €*

    (786 € for Ambassador Institutions)

  • Regular (after January 31st, 2020):
  • 984 €*
    (857.20 € for Ambassador Institutions)
  • This includes course material, coffee breaks, transportation between the Venue and Heraklion, accommodation from Sunday to Friday, breakfasts, lunches and dinners (VAT included).
    * Participants from companies/industry will have an extra charge of 100 €.

You can check the list of Ambassador Institutions. If you want your institution to become a Transmitting Science Ambassador please contact us at communication@transmittingscience.com

Schedule

Course Schedule

Participants will make their own way

  • Wednesday to Sunday:
    • 9:30 to 13:30 Lessons.
    • 13:30 to 15:00 Lunch (included).
    • 15:00 to 18:00 Lessons.

The class schedule is approximate; it is possible that the content of one day may run into the next and a working day may be longer than advertised.

Course + Accommodation Package Schedule
  • Tuesday:
    • 19:00 Meeting point in Estación del Norte (Valencia train station) to take the bus to Grao de Gandía.
    • 20:00 Registration at the Hotel.
    • 20:30 Dinner.
  • Wednesday to Saturday:
    • 08:00 to 09:00 Breakfast
    • 9:30 to 13:30 Lessons
    • 13:30 to 15:00 Lunch (included)
    • 15:00 to 18:00 Lessons
    • 20:30 Dinner
  • Sunday:
    • 8:00 to 9:00 Breakfast.
    • 9:30 to 13:30 Lessons
    • 13:30 to 15:00 Lunch (included)
    • 15:00 to 18:00 Lessons
    • 18:00 Meeting point in the Venue to take the bus to Valencia city.
    • 19:00 Arrival at Estación del Norte (Valencia train station).

Valencia train station is connected with Valencia Airport by subway. There will be more information about how to get there soon.

The class schedule is approximate; it is possible that the content of one day may run into the next and a working day may be longer than advertised.

Accommodation

If you take the Accommodation Package you will be hosted in the Cibeles Hotel, in single-sex shared dormitories (2 – 3 people) with bathroom en-suite.

A supplemental charge will be added if you prefer to stay in a single room.

Accommodation is included from Sunday (check-in) to Friday (check-out). Breakfast, lunch and dinner are also provided during the week, starting from the dinner of Sunday to lunch of Friday (included).

Hotel Cibeles is located at 3 blocks from the Venue and 3 blocks from the beach.

The Accommodation Package includes transportation from the centre of Heraklion to the venue and back, at the start and end of the course, respectively. The trip takes around 1 hour 50 minutes each way. If you require transportation from or to Chania (the other city of Crete with an airport), please contact the course coordinator who can arrange it at an additional cost.

If you do not wish to take the Accommodation Package, you can find a few other options in the surrounding area. However, please be aware that access to and travelling around the area requires a private vehicle as public transport is scarce. Therefore, course participants will find choosing the Accommodation Package more convenient.

  • Hotel-Cibeles

Funding

Discounts are not cumulative and apply only on the Course Fee. We offer the possibility of paying in two instalments (contact courses@transmittingscience.com).

Former participants will have a 5 % discount on the Course Fee.

20 % discount on the Course Fee is offered for members of some organizations (Ambassador Institutions). If you want to apply to this discount please indicate it in the Registration form (proof will be asked later).

Unemployed scientists living in the country were the course will be held, as well as PhD students based in that country without any grant or scholarship to develop their PhD, could benefit from a 40 % discount on the Course Fee. If you want to ask for this discount, please contact the course coordinator. That would apply for a maximum of 2 places and they will be covered by strict inscription order.