Modeling Patterns and Dynamics of Species Occurrence Workshop

Darryl MacKenzie, Proteus Wildlife Research Consultants

Fort Collins, Colorado, USA: 27-30 September 2010

The presence or absence of a species across a set of landscape units is a fundamental concept widely used in ecology (e.g., species range or distribution, epidemiology, habitat modeling, resource selection probability functions, as a monitoring metric, metapopulation studies, biodiversity and species co-occurrence). An important sampling issue, however, is that a species may not always be detected when present at a landscape unit. This will result in "false absences" causing parameter estimates to be biased if unaccounted for, possibly leading to misleading results and conclusions, even with moderate levels of imperfect detection.

This workshop will cover many of the latest methods for modeling patterns and dynamics of species occurrence in a landscape while accounting for the imperfect detection of the species. Participants will be introduced to available software through worked examples, and there will be special emphasis on aspects of study design. While primarily aimed at the beginner and intermediate level, more experienced researchers will also benefit from attending. Topics to be covered include:

• single-season occupancy models for patterns in species occurrence
• multiple-season occupancy models for dynamics of species occurrence
• study design and it's influence on the interpretation of "occupancy"
• species co-occurrence models
• community-level applications
• multi-state occupancy models
• integrated modeling of habitat and species occurrence dynamics