Registration is now open for the 1st edition of the course “Practical and theoretical approach to ecological modelling” (Aproximación práctica y teórica a la modelización ecológica), offered by the Spanish Association of Terrestrial Ecology (AEET) and taught by Rubén G. Mateo, head of the SABINA research group (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid). The course is taught in Spanish.
The course provides a comprehensive understanding of the theoretical and practical foundations of ecological modelling, with a particular emphasis on species distribution models (SDMs). Participants will learn to select variables, fit different modelling techniques, and evaluate and interpret models in R, and will apply consensus models with biomod2 and hierarchical models that integrate information at different scales with sabinaNSDM through practical case studies.
Course details
- Dates: 22–26 February and 1 March 2027 (6 days, 24 teaching hours).
- Schedule: 4-hour sessions, proposed from 9:30 to 13:30 (CET).
- Format: live online (Microsoft Teams).
- Places: 20, with a minimum of 15 participants; admission in order of registration.
- Registration deadline: 22 January 2027.
- Fee: €225 for AEET/SIBECOL members (including members of AIL, SEEEE and SPECO) and €325 for other participants.
- Certification: certificates of attendance and achievement, with a minimum attendance of 90% of the teaching hours.
Contents
- Theoretical and practical introduction to geographic information systems (GIS): raster and vector data and coordinate reference systems.
- Theoretical introduction to species distribution models: niche, modelling process, data, reliability, evaluation (AUC) and applications.
- Ecological modelling techniques: Domain, Bioclim, MaxEnt, MARS, GLM, GAM, Random Forest and BRT.
- Consensus models with biomod2: case study, including variable selection.
- Hierarchical models with sabinaNSDM: combining data at two scales and a case study.
Who it is for: researchers, final-year undergraduate students and PhD students in Biology, Environmental Sciences, Geography and related disciplines. Basic knowledge of R, statistics and GIS is recommended, and online resources are provided for prior levelling. Participants need a computer with R, RStudio and QGIS installed, a good internet connection and, preferably, a webcam and headphones. Participants are encouraged to bring their own data for the practical sessions.
Registration: use the “Registrar” button on the course page at AEET (in Spanish), where you will also find the full programme and the payment and cancellation terms. The AEET Secretariat will confirm your place and explain how to pay.