Ecological models and data
ZOO 6927, Section 2130, Fall 2009
4 credits
Meeting time: periods 2-3 MW (8:30-10:25)
Meeting place: McCarty A 2196 (possibly also Carr 611)
Instructor: Ben Bolker
(bolker@ufl.edu)
Meeting time: periods 2-3 MW (8:30-10:25)
Meeting place: McCarty A 2196 (possibly also Carr 611)
Instructor: Ben Bolker
(bolker@ufl.edu)
Please see the note at the bottom of the syllabus on policies on class size and overflow.
Executive summary: This course will focus on methods for fitting relatively realistic ecological models to lab or field data. The main source will be a book that I have written, and the main activity will be learning to fit models to data using a statistical package and programming language called R. In this applied context, we will visit a variety of philosophical topics: parsimony vs. realism, Bayesian vs. frequentist statistics, estimation vs. hypothesis testing. You should finish the course with the ability to (i) ask interesting biological questions with a quantitative flavor; (ii) construct, parameterize, and test models for your own data; and (iii) understand and appreciate some of the deeper issues in modern quantitative ecology.If you have more questions you can send e-mail, come find me (620B Bartram, office hours TBA).
The course summary has a bit more information on the level of preparation I will be expecting.