Course Announcement
US Fish & Wildlife Service National Conservation Training Center
FISH POPULATION DYNAMICS AND
ASSESSMENT-CSP2300
June 13-17, 2011
Shepherdstown, WV
Instructor: Dr Mike S. Allen , University of Florida
Course Description: The goal of this course is to provide a set of tools
useful for managing fish resources. This course will focus on techniques
associated with the two fundamental activities for successful management:
1) monitoring fish populations with sufficient rigor to characterize key
population attributes important to management objectives (e.g., growth,
mortality, abundance, and size distribution); and 2) predicting how key
population attributes might change with implementation of management
actions. Students will learn basic parameter estimation, fisheries
modeling and a framework to estimate key population attributes using
monitoring data. The methods covered in this course will focus on
exploited fisheries applications (e.g., managing harvest) but will also
have application in conservation settings (e.g., endangered species).
Students will learn how to use models to communicate ideas about the
behavior of fish populations and to predict how populations might change
with changing environmental or management drivers. The course will utilize
case histories and actual fisheries data to elaborate these concepts.
Students will build estimation and simulation models in Microsoft Excel.
Who should attend: Federal and state fisheries managers and researchers
interested in learning how to use fish population dynamics concepts and
models to better assess and manage fish resources.
Course Length: 4.5 days; 36 hours
Course Objectives:
1. Become familiar with common fisheries population models to describe
growth, mortality, recruitment, and fishing.
2. Conduct parameter estimation using least squares and likelihood
approaches in a spreadsheet framework.
3. Use of simulation modeling to evaluate the efficacy of monitoring
designs and to predict the outcome of management actions.
Cost: $950
For inquiries concerning course material:
Contact: Mike Allen or Lew Coggins
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
Phone: 352/258-3454 or 304/876-7436
For inquiries concerning registration, transportation, and lodging:
Contact: So Lan Ching
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 304-876-7771
REGISTRATION DEADLINE APRIL 11, 2011
