Overview
The presence or absence of a species across a set of landscape units is a fundamental concept used widely in ecology (e.g., as a monitoring metric, species range or distribution, habitat modelling, resource selection probability functions, 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 and dynamics of species occurrence in a landscape while accounting for the imperfect detection of the species. Participants will be introduced to available software through worked 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.
In this 4-day workshop we shall/may cover,
* estimating and modelling occupancy at a single point in time
* estimating and modelling changes in occupancy over time
* using occupancy-type metrics in multi-species and community studies
* key aspects to designing an efficient occupancy study
* available computer software with worked examples
***** NEW *****
The Workshop Agenda can be viewed here.
Computer sessions take place in our modern computer classroom (attached to the seminar room); participants can use our computers or bring their own laptop computers.
Location and Travel Information
For location and travel information please follow this link.
Enquiries
For further information, please contact:
Rhona Rodger
Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling
University of St Andrews
The Observatory, Buchanan Gardens
St. Andrews
Scotland KY16 9LZ
Tel:+44 1334 461842
Fax: +44 1334 461800
Email: rhona@mcs.st-and.ac.uk