Distance Sampling Training Workshops, Aug 2020, Scotland

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Distance Sampling Training Workshops, Aug 2020, Scotland

Postby lbUStAndrews » Wed Mar 04, 2020 5:56 am

Distance Sampling Training Workshops August 2020

In August 2020, the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modelling (CREEM) at the University of St Andrews, Scotland, is hosting three, linked, training workshops on distance sampling survey methods and analysis. Distance sampling is a widely used method of estimating animal density and abundance (Buckland et al. 2001). Conducting such surveys are expensive and so it is important that survey designs and methods are appropriate. The introductory workshop covers the basic methods of distance sampling: for those wishing to learn more advanced methods, or indeed what to do when the basic assumptions of conventional distance sampling methods cannot be met, there is the advanced-level distance sampling workshop.

Introduction to R (for distance sampling): 17-18 August 2020 (1.5 days)

Many of the options available in the Distance for Windows program (Thomas et al. 2013) are now available in the R statistical programming environment (R Core Team 2019) as contributed packages but learning a new computing language can be daunting. The goal of this 1.5 day workshop is to introduce participants to the R language and software for statistics, in the context of analysis of distance sampling data. It is aimed at people who will attend the following distance sampling workshops, but have not used R before, or are not comfortable using R.

Introduction to Distance Sampling: 18-21 August 2020 (3.5 days)

This workshop will give participants a solid grounding in the basic methods for design and analysis of distance sampling surveys. Learning will involve a combination of lectures, computer sessions and discussion groups. Participants can choose to implement the methods in either the Distance Program (Thomas et al. 2010) or the statistical programming language R (R Core team 2019), thus providing an opportunity for those wishing to make the switch from the Distance Program to R.

Advanced-level Distance Sampling: 24-28 August 2020 (5 days)

This workshop will cover simulation of distance sampling surveys for design purposes, survey and analysis methods for dealing with imperfect detection on the track line (double-observer methods) and spatial modelling of distance sampling data (as described in Miller et al. 2013). Participants can choose to implement the methods in either the Distance Program (Thomas et al. 2010) or the statistical programming language R (R Core team 2019) with the exception of the spatial modelling computing sessions which will only be conducted in R. Throughout the workshop, there will be time for participants to work on their own specific problems with instructors.

There is the option for a small number of participants to join in the Advanced-level workshop remotely.

For more information on all the workshops go to https://www.creem.st-andrews.ac.uk/dist ... gust-2020/ or contact Louise Burt (lb9@st-andrews.ac.uk) or Rhona Rodger (rmr5@st-andrews.ac.uk).

References
Buckland ST, Anderson DR, Burnham KP, Laake JL, Borchers DL and Thomas L (2001) Introduction to distance sampling: Estimating abundance of biological populations. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK

Miller DL, Burt ML, Rexstad EA & Thomas L (2013) Spatial models for distance sampling data: recent developments and future directions. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 4 (11):1001–1010. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.12105.

R Core Team (2019) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/

Thomas L, Buckland ST, Rexstad EA, Laake JL, Strindberg S, Hedley SL, Bishop JRB, Marques TA & Burnham KP (2010) Distance software: design and analysis of distance sampling surveys for estimating population size. Journal of Applied Ecology 47: 5-14. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2009.01737.x
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Re: Distance Sampling Training Workshops, Aug 2020, Scotland

Postby scottish » Wed Apr 01, 2020 8:59 am

Because of the Coronavirus, these workshops have been transformed into online workshops. See additional postings on this forum for details of
  • introductory distance sampling, 04-15 May 2020
  • spatial modeling for distance sampling, early June 2020
  • mark-recapture distance sampling, late August 2020
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