The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) is now accepting applications for its Tutorial, "*Applications
of Spatial Data: Ecological Niche Modeling*," to be held May 16-18,
2018, at NIMBioS.
*Objectives:* The distribution of a species may be influenced by an
array of factors. The combination of these factors results in the
ecological niche, the set of conditions that allow a species to exist in
a geographic area. However, defining these conditions is difficult, due
to the complexity of natural systems. One approach to characterizing the
ecological niche uses spatial data GIS software. The objectives of this
tutorial are to teach participants the concepts of ecological niche
modeling, introduce them to select analytical techniques (formatting
data in GIS; running Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) models), and present how
to interpret and apply spatial analyses. Participants will further be
familiarized with several commonly-used and/or newly-available online
spatial data resources. Participants will be provided datasets to use in
hands-on simulations, but can also bring their own data if desired.
This tutorial is intended for advanced graduate students, postdocs, and
faculty who are interested in learning how to incorporate ecological
niche modeling into their research. Some basic knowledge of GIS software
and ecology is preferred. Little to no programming will be involved,
with ecological niche modeling and spatial analysis conducted using
existing applications (MaxEnt) and packages in QGIS and R.
*Location:* NIMBioS at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville
*Co-organizers:* Mona Papeş, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, Univ. of
Tennessee, Knoxville, and Director, Spatial Analysis Lab at NIMBioS;
Greg Wiggins, NIMBioS
*Instructors: *Mona Papeş; Greg Wiggins; Town Peterson, Ecology &
Evolutionary Biology and Biodiversity Institute, Univ. of Kansas,
Lawrence, KS; Xiao Feng, Institute of the Environment, Univ. of Arizona,
Tucson, AZ
For more information about the tutorial and a link to the online
application form, go to
<http://www.nimbios.org/tutorials/SpatialData>http://www.nimbios.org/tutorials/SpatialDataENM
Participation in NIMBioS tutorials is by application only. Individuals
with a strong interest in the topic are encouraged to apply, and
successful applicants will be notified within several weeks after the
application deadline. Lodging, breakfast and lunch will be provided for
tutorial attendees.
*
**Application deadline: February 15, 2018*
The National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) (http://www.nimbios.org) brings together researchers from
around the world to collaborate across disciplinary boundaries to
investigate solutions to basic and applied problems in the life
sciences. NIMBioS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation, with
additional support from The University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
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