Multivariate Ecological Community Analysis I

Prepare yourself for a career applying and/or interpreting ‘multivariate’ analysis methods, which are used on datasets with multiple response variables (such as many different species, traits, habitat conditions, genomic information, etc.).  This course helps you identify the ecological and statistical properties of multivariate responses, demonstrates how to summarize and graph data to reveal those properties, explains which distance measures will do the best job capturing the patterns among your responses, discusses the consequences of modifying or failing to modify data when needed, introduces the most common multivariate analyses applicable to ecological datasets, describes ordination and how to interpret ordination diagrams, and takes you through a ten-step process for performing, interpreting, and communicating defensible analyses for five different types of guided ordination (WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO).  MECA I is the first part in a two-part series (MECA II builds upon MECA I to cover an additional 18 free ordination, classification, group testing, association assessment, and trait analysis tools).

MECA I is designed for ecologists and ecosystem managers in all fields, regardless of statistical training or software familiarity.  Although a basic understanding of samples, correlation, regression, p-values, and ANOVA as well as communities, habitats, and ecological gradients would be helpful, the course is designed for those without any background in multivariate statistics or with any particular software package.

• Learn on your own and at your own pace over the 3-month term as you watch 37 prerecorded lectures, read up on the covered topics in the required textbook (see below), and watch and perform 19 practice exercises using the PC-ORD software.  After each lesson, take a brief knowledge-check quiz before moving on.

• Required Textbook (covers MECA I & II):  Peck, J.E.  2016.  Multivariate Analysis for Ecologists:  Step-by-Step, second edition. https://www.wildblueberrymedia.net/store/step-by-step, $48 + shipping

• Required Software (covers MECA I & II):  PC-ORD version 7, which was written by and for ecologists applying multivariate analyses.  A discounted purchase price for a perpetual license has been negotiated for our students. https://www.wildblueberrymedia.net/store/pc-ord-7-single-user-license-student-user, $150

TOPICS

• Distances and distance measures

• Statistical and ecological properties of species and habitat datasets

• How to organize your multivariate data

• How to import and screen your multivariate data

• How to prepare your multivariate data for analysis

• Choosing an analysis tool

• Introduction to the guided ordination methods: 

  • weighted averaging

  • polar ordination

  • canonical correspondence analysis

  • redundancy analysis

  • fuzzy set ordination

LEARNING OUTCOMES

After taking this course, students will be able to:

• Distinguish between univariate and multivariate analyses

• Know the strengths and limitations of common distance measures

• Correctly match dataset properties to distance measures

• Organize data into matrices for analysis

• Import and screen data using the PC-ORD software

• Recognize when and how to modify data prior to analysis

• Choose among  WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO to address analysis objectives

• Understand the basic analysis steps of WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO

• Perform basic WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO using the appropriate setup options

• Interpret the basic analysis output from WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO, including interpreting and presenting ordination diagrams

FORMAT:

• 3 months of access to course materials as you work at your own pace 

CONTINUING EDUCATION:

• 16 CEUs with The Wildlife Society

• 4 CEUs in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training with the Ecological Society of America

• Go to our Continuing Education Page for more details

DATES & PRICES:

• Winter: Dec 2 - Feb 23 (Early bird ends Nov 4th): $275 student / $375 professional

*Early bird saves $75

FORMAT:

• 3 months of access to course materials as you work at your own pace 

• Get instructor support for the 3-month term via email, discussion threads, group meetings, and one-on-one appointments

• After working through the course materials, set up an optional meeting with the instructor to discuss your own personal project from work or school

CONTINUING EDUCATION:

• 16 CEUs with The Wildlife Society

• 4 CEUs in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training with the Ecological Society of America

• Go to our Continuing Education Page for more details

CERTIFICATIONS:

• Earn 1 credit toward certification as an Associate/Certified Wildlife Biologist® (at any level) with The Wildlife Society

DATES & PRICES:

• Winter: Dec 2 - Feb 23 (Early bird ends Nov 4th): $425 student / $525 professional

*Early bird saves $75

FORMAT:

• 12 months of access to course materials as you work at your own pace 

• Get instructor support for the 3-month term via email, discussion threads, group meetings, and one-on-one appointments

• After working through the course materials, set up an optional meeting with the instructor to discuss your own personal project from work or school

CONTINUING EDUCATION:

• 16 CEUs with The Wildlife Society

• 4 CEUs in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training with the Ecological Society of America

• Go to our Continuing Education Page for more details

CERTIFICATIONS:

• Earn 1 credit toward certification as an Associate/Certified Wildlife Biologist® (at any level) with The Wildlife Society

• Earn 1 credit towards a professional certificate in Applied Quantitative Ecology with CWS

• Earn an additional 1-2 academic credits with an Applied Project

• Go to our Academic Credit Page for details

DATES & PRICES:

• Winter: Dec 2 - Feb 23 (Early bird ends Nov 4th): $575 professional / $675 student

*Early bird saves $75