Occupancy modelling for forest sciences – 3-day workshop (Solsona, Spain)
Dates: Monday 28 October to Wednesday 30 October 2024
Venue: Centre Tecnològic i Forestal de Catalunya. Crta. Sant Llorenç de Morunys, km 2, 25280 Solsona, Lleida · 25280 · SOLSONA (Catalunya, Spain)
Target audience: researchers and graduate students in forest sciences
Teacher: Dr. Marc J. Mazerolle, Center for Forest Research, Université Laval, Canada
Marc J. Mazerolle is professor of quantitative conservation biology in the department of wood and forest sciences at Université Laval in Canada. His research aims to quantify the factors that influence animal population dynamics within forest ecosystems, especially under the influence of various disturbances such as logging activities, road development, and agricultural expansion. His primary research focus is on amphibians, though his studies also include reptiles, birds, mammals, and arthropods. His methodological approach integrates field-based capture-mark-recapture techniques, controlled mesocosm experiments, passive acoustic and visual monitoring, and citizen science. Marc specializes in the estimation of parameters after accounting for presence of the probability of imperfect detection, employing both frequentist and Bayesian frameworks.
Program
Day 1: Introduction to occupancy modelling
-maximum likelihood estimation
-review of classic GLM's
-design considerations and data types
-fitting single season models using the unmarked package
Day2: Occupancy models in the Bayesian framework
-simulating data for occupancy models
-checking model fit
-introduction to Bayesian analysis and diagnostics
-fitting single season models using a Bayesian formulation
Day 3: Advanced occupancy models and other models for unmarked individuals
-dynamic occupancy models
-multispecies occupancy models
-N-mixture models for count data
-tips and useful resources
Workshop structure:
Each day will feature presentations of the material, time for questions and interactions with the participants, and hands-on exercises.
Course prerequisites:
Participants should have a working knowledge of R to import their data and run classic models such as multiple regression and generalized linear models. Participants are encouraged to bring their own laptop. Some statistical consulting time for occupancy models will be reserved for participants wishing to bring their own data during the workshop.
Important information:
Maximum number of participants: 20
Language of workshop: English
To register for the workshop, contact Mariano Feldman: mariano.feldman@ctfc.cat