Introduction to Occupancy Modeling

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  • Species presence/absence is a fundamental concept used in many areas of ecology (e.g., species distributions, habitat modeling, monitoring, and metapopulation studies), however imperfect detection can lead to false absences. Unaccounted 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. Exercises are completed using Program PRESENCE and RPresence.

    Webinar: Design advice for species occurrence studies - Darryl’s 5 top tips.

  • This course is for those with no, or little, experience with occupancy modeling, but more experienced users may also benefit from attending. Familiarity with regression, logistic regression, or generalized linear modeling would be advantageous (e.g., R Boot Camp, Ecological Statistics and Modeling, & Generalized Models). Suggested readings for the course:

    MacKenzie, D. I., Nichols, J. D., Lachman, G. B., Droege, S., Royle, J. A., & Langtimm, C. A. (2002). Estimating site occupancy rates when detection probabilities are less than one. Ecology, 83(8):2248–2255.

  • BACKGROUND

    • Why estimate population attributes

    • What, and how, to estimate population attributes

    • Occupancy modelling applications

    • Statistical concepts and notations

    • Probability-based methods of estimation

    • Models: comparisons and inference

    SINGLE SEASON MODEL

    • Basic single-season model

    • Incorporating covariates to the single-season model

    • Missing observations and unequal effort

    • Model assumptions

    • Assessing model fit

    • Small area and finite population occupancy estimation

    • Spatial correlation

    • Analysing data using Program PRESENCE and R

    SINGLE-SEASON STUDY DESIGN

    • Defining your sampling unit

    • Selecting sampling units

    • Defining a ‘season’ and repeat surveys

    • Effort allocation

    • Design tools

COURSE OPTIONS & INFORMATION (Review chart above, then click below)

  • 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

PROMOTIONAL VIDEO

 
TESTIMONIALS

The Occupancy Modeling course offered by CWS is great for beginners or experts working with presence/absence data. Each module is designed to reinforce different occupancy modeling concepts and provides you with tools to best analyze your presence/absence data. I really appreciated the group discussion page that showed different points of view on topics from other students taking the course. Definitely a course worth taking!”

Max Larreur

PhD student, Southern Illinois University

 

Darryl MacKenzie is an awesome instructor. He was able to make Occupancy Modeling both interesting and understandable. The real-world examples and discussions helped me apply the methods to my project design. Thanks for the great experience.”

Vickie DeNicola

Vice President of White Buffalo Inc.

 

SCHOLARSHIPS

Full scholarships are available to participants from countries designated as “lower income” and “lower middle income” in the World Bank List of Economies. Please see our CWS World Scholars Program page for details.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Cancellations 30 days or more before the start date are not subject to cancellation fees. Cancellations <30 days before the start date are subject to a 50% cancellation fee. No refunds once the course begins.