Geometric Morphometrics
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Course Overview
This course offers a self-contained introduction to geometric morphometrics with a special focus on applications in plant evolution and development. Plant-specific aspects of data acquisition and evaluation are discussed, and the particular possibilities of geometric morphometrics in plants will be highlighted. Lectures about general morphological and developmental characteristics of plants are combined with an introduction to the concepts and techniques of shape analysis. Finally, advanced methods such as regression analyses, modularity tests and comparative phylogenetic analyses are presented. This theoretical basis is complemented by hands-on demonstrations of data collection and analyses.
The main focus of the course will be on landmark morphometrics, but a brief introduction and discussion of outline methods and semilandmarks is also provided.
If there are participants who already have collected their own data, they are encouraged to bring these data for conducting analyses and discussing results.
REQUIREMENTS
Graduate or postgraduate degree in any Sciences discipline, basic knowledge of statistics. All participants must bring their own personal laptop (Windows, Macintosh, Linux) and field equipment (robust shoes!) for the sampling excursion. If you possess a camera, possibly with a macro lens, it might also be useful.
Contact
LOCATION
DATE
September 9th-13th, 2019
LANGUAGE
English
COURSE LENGTH & ECTS
44 hours on-site.
This course is equivalent to 3 ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) at the Life Science Zurich Graduate School and ForBio.
The recognition of ECTS by other institutions depends on each university or school.
PLACES
Places are limited to 20 participants and will be occupied by strict registration order.
Participants who have completed the course will receive a certificate at the end of it.
Program
Daily Program
Monday, May 8th, 2017.
- Morning:
1. Fundamentals of plant morphology.
2. Introduction to geometric morphometrics.
3. Landmarks and data collection.
- Afternoon: collecting plants, formulating simple study questions, taking images.
Tuesday, May 9th, 2017.
- Morning:
4. Fundamentals of plant development.
5. Principal component analysis.
6. Outliers and measurement error.
- Afternoon: continuing with group work, trying PCA, outliers, etc.
Wednesday, May 10th, 2017.
- Morning:
7. Distinguishing groups: canonical variates and discriminant functions.
8. Regression and allometry.
9. Symmetry and asymmetry.
- Afternoon: continuing group work.
Thursday, May 11th, 2017.
- Morning:
10. Complex symmetries.
11. Partial least squares.
12. Plasticity.
- Afternoon: continuing group work.
Friday, May 12th, 2017.
- Morning:
13. Within-plant variation.
14. Morphological integration.
15. Modularity.
- Afternoon: continuing group work.
Saturday, May 13th, 2017.
- Morning:
16. Quantitative genetics of shape.
17. Natural selection on shape.
18. Phylogeny and comparative methods.
19. Presentations of group work.
Fees
- Course Fee
- Early bird (until July 31st, 2019):
- 540 € *
(432 € for Ambassador Institutions) - Regular (after July 31st, 2019):
- 675 € *
(540 € for Ambassador Institutions) - This includes course material, coffee breaks and lunches (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
- Monday to Friday:
- 9:30 to 13:30 Lessons.
- 13:30 to 14:30 Lunch (included).
- 14:30 to 18:30 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.
Accommodation
The course will take place in the city of Sabadell, Barcelona (Spain). Take a look at the venue.
You may stay in Barcelona city or Sabadell. You will find information about Hotels and Hostel in Sabadell here. It takes about 45 minutes by public transport to arrive to Sabadell from the centre of Barcelona city. The place of the course is about 15 minutes walking from the train stop.
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).
5 % Discount
Former participants will have a 5 % discount on the Course Fee.
20 % Discount
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).
40 % Discount
Unemployed scientists living in Spain, as well as PhD students based in Spain 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.
