[BBC] 'STATS COURSE - Spatial Analysis of Multivariate Ecological Data Using R - PIERRE LEGENDRE'

[Oliver Hooker]

“Advances in Spatial Analysis of Multivariate Ecological Data: Theory 
and Practice”

http://prstatistics.com/course/advances-in-spatial-analysis-of-multivariate-ecological-data-theory-and-practice/

This course is being delivered by Prof. Pierre Legendre who is a leading 
expert in numerical ecology and author of the book titled ‘Numerical 
ecology’

This course will run from 11th – 15th July 2016 at SCENE Field 
Station, Loch Lomond national park, Scotland.

The course will describe recent methods (concepts and R tools) that can 
be used to analyse spatial patterns in community ecology. The umbrella 
concept of the course is beta diversity, which is the spatial variation 
of communities. These methods are applicable to all types of communities 
(bacteria, plants, animals) sampled along transects, regular grids or 
irregularly distributed sites. The new methods, collectively referred to 
as spatial eigen-function analysis, are grounded into techniques 
commonly used by community ecologists, which will be described first: 
simple ordination (PCA, CA, PCoA), multivariate regression and canonical 
analysis, permutation tests. The choice of dissimilarities that are 
appropriate for community composition data will also be discussed. The 
focal question is to determine how much of the community variation (beta 
diversity) is due to environmental sorting and to community-based 
processes, including neutral processes. Recently developed methods to 
partition beta diversity in different ways will be presented. Extensions 
will be made to temporal and space-time data.

Course content is as follows
Day 1
•	Introduction to data analysis.
•	Ordination in reduced space: principal component analysis (PCA), 
correspondence analysis (CA), principal coordinate analysis (PCoA).
•	Transformation of species abundance data tables prior to linear 
analyses.

Day 2
•	Measures of similarity and distance, especially for community 
composition data.
•	Multiple linear regression. R-square, adjusted R-square, AIC, tests 
of significance.
•	Polynomial regression.
•	Partial regression and variation partitioning.

Day 3
•	Statistical testing by permutation.
•	Canonical redundancy analysis (RDA) and canonical correspondence 
analysis (CCA). Multivariate analysis of variance by canonical analysis.
•	Forward selection of environmental variables in RDA.

Day 4
•	Origin of spatial structures.
•	Beta diversity partitioning and LCBD indices
•	Replacement and richness difference components of beta diversity.

Day 5
•	Spatial modelling: Multi-scale modelling of the spatial structure of 
ecological communities: dbMEM, generalized MEM, and AEM methods.
•	Community surveys through space and time: testing the space-time 
interaction in repeated surveys.
•	Additional module depending on time – Is the Mantel test useful 
for spatial analysis in ecology and genetics?

Please email any inquiries to oliverhooker at prstatistics.com
or visit our website www.prstatistics.com
or to book online 
http://prstatistics.com/course/advances-in-spatial-analysis-of-multivariate-ecological-data-theory-and-practice/

Please feel free to distribute this material anywhere you feel is 
suitable

Upcoming courses - email for details oliverhooker at prstatistics.com
SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGIC AL DATA USING R (April)
ADVACNING IN STATISTICAL MODELLING USING R (May)
TIMES SERIES DATA ANALYSIS FOR ECOLOGISTS AND CLIMATOLOGISTS (May)
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON FOR BIOLOGISTS (May)
ADVANCES IN DNA TAXONOMY USING R (August)
GENETIC DATA ANALYSIS USING R (August)
INTRODUCTION TO BAYESIAN HIERARCHICAL MODELLING (August)
MODEL BASED MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF ECOLOGICAL DATA USING R (October)
LANDSCAPE (POPULATION) GENETIC DATA ANALYSIS USING R (October)
APPLIED BAYESIAN MODELLING FOR ECOLOGISTS AND EPIDEMIOLOGISTS (October)

Dates still to be confirmed - email for details 
oliverhooker at prstatistics.com
STABLE ISOTOPE MIXING MODELS USING SIAR, SIBER AND MIXSIAR USING R
INTRODUCTION TO R AND STATISTICS FOR BIOLOGISTS
PHYLOGENETIC DATA ANALYSIS USING R
BIOINFORMATICS FOR GENETICISTS AND BIOLOGISTS

Oliver Hooker
PR Statistics

3/1
128 Brunswick Street
Glasgow
G1 1TF

+44 (0) 7966500340

www.prstatistics.com
www.prstatistics.com/organiser/oliver-hooker/