Introduction to Occupancy Modeling - Live Workshop

[jeff.stetz]

Introduction to Occupancy Modeling, April 27 - May 1, 2026, at the San Diego Zoo.

Species presence/absence is a fundamental concept used in many areas of ecology (e.g., species distributions, habitat modeling, monitoring, and metapopulation studies), but imperfect detection can lead to false absences. Not accounting for false absences can lead to misleading inferences about patterns and dynamics of species occurrence and the factors that influence them. We will learn methods for accounting for imperfect detection with species detection/non-detection data and also discuss important study design considerations. All exercises will be conducted in R, covering data analysis and presentation of results (plotting results, creating maps, etc.).

Class will meet each day 8:30 AM-5PM, with an 1.5-hr break at noon. Dr. MacKenzie will meet with individuals or groups to discuss course materials or projects from school or work.

Participants will have access to all course materials in Canvas, the Center for Wildlife Studies’ learning management system. All materials, including live lectures, will be available to all participants for a 3-month period (ending July 19th).

‍PREREQUISITES: This course is for those with no, or little, experience with occupancy modeling, but more experienced users may also benefit from attending. Basic data tidying and manipulation tasks in R (e.g., R Boot Camp). Familiarity with regression, logistic regression, or generalized linear modeling in R is advantageous (e.g., Ecological Statistics and Modeling & Generalized Models).

Find details and register here: https://www.centerforwildlifestudies.or ... g-inperson

Join us in San Diego for this outstanding workshop!