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Intro Bayesian occupancy workshop | Brazil, Feb 2015

PostPosted: Fri Nov 07, 2014 12:49 pm
by Marc Kery
Introductory workshop
Occupancy modeling for species distribution and habitat selection using R and BUGS/JAGS


Instructors: Marc Kéry & Jérôme Guélat, Swiss Ornithological Institute
Date: 9–11 February 2015
Venue: Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Computers: Bring your own laptop with latest R, JAGS and WinBUGS or OpenBUGS
Costs: 1000 Reais (400 US$)

This course gives an introduction to Bayesian statistical modeling using BUGS software and then introduces a key class of models for the analysis of species distribution, habitat selection, occurrence and abundance: site-occupancy models (MacKenzie et al. 2002, 2003; Tyre et al. 2003). Model fitting is shown using the Bayesian BUGS software and the R package unmarked. The course follows the book “Bayesian population analysis using WinBUGS” (Academic Press, 2012) by Kéry & Schaub and the upcoming book “Applied hierarchical models in ecology” (Academic Press, 2015) by Marc Kéry & Andy Royle.

Course modules include the following:
• Introduction to the modeling of occurrence/distribution: spatial point patterns, abundance and distribution
• Statistical analysis using likelihood and Bayesian methods
• Introduction to linear, generalized linear and mixed models
• Simulation of data with the example of a static occupancy data set
• Introduction to BUGS for fitting LMs, GLMs, LMMs and GLMMs
• Static (= single-season) occupancy models in R and BUGS
• Dynamic (= multi-season) occupancy models in R and BUGS
• Spatial modelling of occurrence: CAR, spatial exponential, autologistic

In this applied workshop about 80% of the time is spent on lecturing and the remainder on solving exercises. No previous experience with program WinBUGS, or Bayesian statistics, is assumed. However, a good working knowledge in R programming and of modern regression methods (ANOVA, ANCOVA, generalised linear models) is required.

Please send your application to Prof. Carlos Sperber (sperberufv@gmail.com), describing your background and knowledge in statistical modeling, R and WinBUGS/OpenBUGS/JAGS, by 15 December 2015 at the latest. Workshop invitations will be sent out before the end of the year.