Dear Colleagues, my sincere apologies for the scrambled message late last
week. Here's another try-
***Please excuse cross-postings***
Population Viability Analysis IV: Modeling Occupancy for Conservation
Course Dates: December 7-11, 2009
Location: NCTC, Shepherdstown, WV
Course Description/Course Overview:
Population Viability Analysis IV (CSP4140) course will explore the theory
and application of analytical approaches and models useful to the
management of plant and animal populations. Emphasis will also be placed
on reliable estimation of species presence/absence-based population
measures (for example, patch occupancy, species range or distribution,
proportion of area occupied), a potential surrogate for abundance, while
accounting for imperfect detection. The goals of the course are to: (1)
learn how to apply recently developed analytical methods to make robust
inferences about patterns and dynamics of species occurrence and factors
that affect them (for example, habitat, human disturbance, climate); (2)
develop and facilitate the design of studies and monitoring programs that
are both efficient and useful in the field; and (3) provide the students
with important advice to facilitate the collection of useful and high
quality data. The course is designed for the students to learn the concepts
and techniques through lectures, exercises, and working with field data
sets.
Concepts and techniques covered in class will include: (1) the why, what,
and how of inference about animal populations; (2) relevance of species
occurrence modeling to ecology and conservation; (3) relevant statistical
methods and approaches; (4) investigating patterns in occupancy at a single
point or patch in time; (5) making inference about species occurrence
changes through time (dynamics and lambda values for a potential interval);
(6) model selection procedures and the use of Akaike Information Criterion
(AIC) in model selection, (7) study design; (8) species co-occurrence
analysis based on occupancy modeling; and (9) multi-state occupancy and
community level approaches based on occupancy modeling.
Course Objectives: The objective of this course is to develop the
design and practical skills in the students based on
occupancy modeling and the program PRESENCE, given the
diverse array of models and procedures available, and the
need to assess and critique populations or interactions
in the field.
Instructors: Darryl I. MacKenzie, Proteus Wildlife Research
Consultants, Dunedin, New Zealand
Jim D. Nichols, U.S.G.S., Gabrielson Lab, Laurel, MD
Who Should Attend: Biologists and researchers involved in monitoring or
with studies associated with issues surrounding
presence/absence.
Course Length: 4 days/32 hours (plus 4 hours set aside for
individual design considerations)
Prerequisites: For FWS employees a basic course in statistics or
permission of the Science Curriculum Leader (Alan
Temple, Ph.D.) or Course Leader (Joseph Witt, Ph.D.).
Cost: There is no tuition fee for FWS, NPS, and BLM personnel. Tuition is
$760 for participants of other affiliations.
How to Apply: Register online at https://doilearn.doi.gov/. Non-DOI
employees should click on “Public Catalog Login” then type the course code
(CSP4140) in the Search box. Then click on the course title.
Questions: Please contact Joe W. Witt ([email protected]) or So Lan Ching
([email protected]), Branch of Conservation Science and Policy, at
304/876-7447 or 304/876-7771.
