Summer School in Bayreuth 2nd -5th of August 2011: An Introduction to Bayesian Modeling for Ecologists

Motivation

Statistical modeling with Bayesian methods has become increasingly popular in ecology, but the techniques required for doing so are not part of the standard curriculum in most Universities. Our aim for this course is to give a simple and practical introduction to Bayesian modeling for graduate students and early-stage researchers in ecology.

Organizers:

Björn Reineking, University of Bayreuth
Florian Hartig, UFZ Leipzig
Jörn Pagel, University of Potsdam
Joseph Chipperfield, University of Trier

Content

Content of the course will include:

• Introduction to Bayesian statistics (Priors, Likelihoods)
• Introduction to sampling methods (e.g. Markov Chain Monte Carlo)
• Introduction to hierarchical Bayesian models
• Introduction to the Bugs software for Bayesian Models

The course will consist, each day, of lectures in the morning, practical exercises in the afternoon, and a talk on advanced topics in Bayesian statistics in the late afternoon. Course language will be English unless all participants speak German. ECTS credits can be awarded if necessary from the University of Bayreuth. Basic knowledge of R, or competency in another programming language, will be advantageous to profit from the exercises.

Venue and course fees

The course will take place at the University of Bayreuth. There is no course fee; however, accommodation and food must be paid by the course participants. We have reserved a basic and very reasonably priced option from 1st -5th of August in an old farmhouse close to the University. The price is 6 Euro per day for camping mats in a barn, no meals included; alternatively there is probably the option to bring a tent, too. If you would like to book accommodation there, please indicate so in your application. Of course, you may also organize your own accommodation in a hotel.

How to apply

To apply for the course, please send an email with your contact details and a brief summary of your research interests and motivation for attending this course (max 150 words) by June 25th to joern.pagel*at*uni-potsdam.de. After this date, we will make the initial selection and later applications will be considered only if not all places have been filled.