Call for Applications: Applications of Spatial Data - Ecological Niche Modeling, a NIMBioS Tutorial

[Catherine Crawley]

Back by popular demand! 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 December 3-5, 2018, at NIMBioS. The tutorial was previously
held in May 2018.

*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, Education & Outreach Coordinator, NIMBioS

*Instructors: *Mona Papeş; Town Peterson, Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
and Biodiversity Institute, Univ. of Kansas, Lawrence, KS; Xiao Feng,
Institute of the Environment, Univ. of Arizona, Tucson, AZ; Luis
Escobar, Fish and Wildlife Conservation, Virginia Tech

For more information about the tutorial and a link to the online
application form, go to 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: September 18, 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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/////Catherine Crawley, Ph.D. /
/////Communications Manager/
/////National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis
(NIMBioS) /
/////University of Tennessee /
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/////Knoxville, TN 37996/
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