Pretoria – The Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) is pleased to announce a 3-day workshop supported through the Foundational Biodiversity Information Programme (FBIP).
We aim to introduce participants to the fundamentals of biodiversity data management and analysis, and provide the practical tools to implement these techniques. The workshop is targeted at post-graduate students*.
The workshop takes place 30 October to 1 November 2019 at the University of the Western Cape. Students will be taken through the entire biodiversity data life cycle – from data capture, management, and publication to data analysis and use – as well as to create awareness of data sharing platforms and international biodiversity data standards.
The workshop is relevant for researchers in the biological sciences, especially those collecting and analysing organismal distribution data. The workshop is structured as follows:
Day 1: Biodiversity data capture, standardisation and management
We will introduce DarwinCore as the global biodiversity standard, and introduce tools to ensure the standardised capture of data, as well as simplifying the cleaning and standardisation of existing data. We will also introduce the concept of data publishing and reuse of existing data on shared platforms.
Day 2: Using the open source R software
We will start with the basics of programming in R and will then introduce concepts and methods for importing data into R, conducting exploratory analyses, and visualising results.
Day 3: An introduction to Ecological Niche Modelling using R
We will teach participants how to format data for inclusion into the models, how to download and format environmental data, and how to run models in order to make spatiotemporal predictions of species distributions.
Lunches and teas will be provided during the workshop, and other meals, accommodation, and transport will be provided to participants travelling from outside the Cape Peninsula.
Note that there are a limited number of places on the workshop.
To apply for a place on the course please fill out this Google form: https://forms.gle/GTMfjvovoigW9XATA . The deadline for applications is Friday 20th September and applicants can expect to hear the outcome of their application by 30th September. Students need to include a letter of motivation for why they should attend the course, as well as a supporting letter from their supervisors.
For queries, please contact Dr Lizanne Roxburgh (lizanner@ewt.org.za) or Dr Dominic Henry (dominich@ewt.org.za)
* Students from previously disadvantaged universities are particularly encouraged to apply.
Download flyer PDF HERE