Multivariate Ecological Community Analysis I
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Prepare yourself for a career applying and/or interpreting ‘multivariate’ analysis methods, which are used on datasets with multiple response variables (such as many different species, traits, habitat conditions, genomic information, etc.). This course helps you identify the ecological and statistical properties of multivariate responses, demonstrates how to summarize and graph data to reveal those properties, explains which distance measures will do the best job capturing the patterns among your responses, discusses the consequences of modifying or failing to modify data when needed, introduces the most common multivariate analyses applicable to ecological datasets, describes ordination and how to interpret ordination diagrams, and takes you through a ten-step process for performing, interpreting, and communicating defensible analyses for five different types of guided ordination (WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO). MECA I is the first part in a two-part series (MECA II builds upon MECA I to cover an additional 18 free ordination, classification, group testing, association assessment, and trait analysis tools).
PREREQUISITES
MECA I is designed for ecologists and ecosystem managers in all fields, regardless of statistical training or software familiarity. Although a basic understanding of samples, correlation, regression, p-values, and ANOVA as well as communities, habitats, and ecological gradients would be helpful, the course is designed for those without any background in multivariate statistics or with any particular software package.
MATERIALS
Required Textbook (covers MECA I & II): Peck, J.E. 2016. Multivariate Analysis for Ecologists: Step-by-Step, second edition.
- https://www.wildblueberrymedia.net/store/step-by-step, $48 + shipping
Required Software (covers MECA I & II): PC-ORD version 7, which was written by and for ecologists applying multivariate analyses. A discounted purchase price for a perpetual license has been negotiated for our students.
- https://www.wildblueberrymedia.net/store/pc-ord-7-single-user-license-student-user, $150
PRIMARY INSTRUCTOR
COURSE FORMATS & DATES
FORMAT: Learn on your own and at your own pace over the 3-month term as you watch 37 prerecorded lectures, read up on the covered topics in the required textbook, and watch and perform 19 practice exercises using the PC-ORD software. After each lesson, take a brief knowledge-check quiz before moving on.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: This course has been pre-approved for continuing education by (1) the Ecological Society of America for 4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training, and (2) The Wildlife Society for 16 CEUs in Category I of the Certified Wildlife Biologist® Renewal/Professional Development Certificate Program. Participants must complete all exercises to pass the course (P/F) and receive a CWS Certificate of Course Completion, which can be submitted to ESA and TWS for CEUs. See our Continuing Education Page for more details about CEUs with ESA and TWS.
*** This version of the course can NOT be used to earn academic credit from your college or university, certify as a Professional Ecologist with ESA or a Wildlife Biologist® with TWS, or used to earn a professional certificate with CWS. ***
DATES & PRICES:
Spring: Mar 4 - May 26: $400 professional / $300 student
Summer: June 3 - Aug 25 (early bird* ends May 6): $350 professional / $250 student
Fall: Sept 3 - Nov 24 (early bird* ends Aug 5): $350 professional / $250 student
*Early bird saves $50
FORMAT: Reach out to your instructor over the 3-month term to get help with course materials as you watch the 37 prerecorded lectures and watch and perform the 19 practice exercises. After completing each of the 15 separate lessons, take a brief online knowledge-check quiz before moving on, and at the end of the course take the short comprehensive final exam. Instructor support includes emailing your instructor, accessing live discussion threads, and attending scheduled group Zoom meetings as needed for help with course materials. After completing the course but within the 3-month term, set up an optional one-on-one meeting with the instructor to discuss your own personal project from work or school.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: This course has been pre-approved for continuing education by (1) the Ecological Society of America for 4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training, and (2) The Wildlife Society for 16 CEUs in Category I of the Certified Wildlife Biologist® Renewal/Professional Development Certificate Program. Participants must complete all exercises and course surveys to pass the course (P/F) and receive a CWS certificate of course completion, which can be submitted to ESA and TWS for CEUs. See our Continuing Education Page for more details about CEUs with ESA and TWS.
ESA & TWS CERTIFICATION: Participants that earn a B- or better can use this 1-credit course to help meet the minimum education requirements (in Chemistry, Physical Sciences, and Mathematics) to certify as a Professional Ecologist with ESA (pending approval). Participants that earn a D or better can use this 1-credit course in their application to certify as a Wildlife Biologist® with TWS. See our Professional Certification Page for more details about ESA and TWS certification.
*** This version of the course can NOT be used to earn academic credit from your college or university or to earn a professional certificate with CWS. See the PREMIUM format below ***
DATES & PRICES:
Fall: Sept 3 - Nov 24 (early bird* ends Aug 5): $500 professional / $400 student
*Early bird saves $50
FORMAT: Reach out to your instructor during the first 3 months to get help with course materials as you watch the 37 prerecorded lectures and watch and perform the 19 practice exercises. After completing each of the 15 separate lessons, take a brief online knowledge-check quiz before moving on. You must also complete several assignments and take the long comprehensive final exam. Instructor support during this period includes emailing your instructor, accessing live discussion threads, receiving feedback on your assignments, and attending scheduled group Zoom meetings as needed for help with course materials. After completing the course but within 1 year (during which course materials will remain available), set up an optional one-on-one meeting with the instructor to discuss your own personal project from work or school.
CONTINUING EDUCATION: This course has been pre-approved for continuing education by (1) the Ecological Society of America for 4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in Category I(a): Scientific Education and Training, and (2) The Wildlife Society for 16 CEUs in Category I of the Certified Wildlife Biologist® Renewal/Professional Development Certificate Program. Participants must complete all exercises to pass the course (P/F) and receive a CWS certificate of course completion, which can be submitted to ESA and TWS for CEUs. See our Continuing Education Page for more details about CEUs with ESA and TWS.
ESA & TWS CERTIFICATION: Participants that earn a B- or better can use this 1-credit course to help meet the minimum education requirements (in Chemistry, Physical Sciences, and Mathematics) to certify as a Professional Ecologist with ESA (pending approval). Participants that earn a D or better can use this 1-credit course in their application to certify as a Wildlife Biologist® with TWS. See our Professional Certification Page for more details about ESA and TWS certification.
ACADEMIC CREDIT: This 1-credit course can be taken with pre-approval from an administrator at a your college or university. For an additional fee, students also have the option to complete an Applied Project for an additional 1-2 academic credits (earning up to 2-3 academic credits in total). See our Academic Credit Page for details.
CWS PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE: CWS requires a grade of a B- or higher for the course to count toward earning a Professional Certificate in Applied Quantitative Ecology.
DATES & PRICES:
Fall: Sept 3 - Nov 24 (early bird* ends Aug 5): $600 professional / $500 student
*Early bird saves $50
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Distances and distance measures
Statistical and ecological properties of species and habitat datasets
How to organize your multivariate data
How to import and screen your multivariate data
How to prepare your multivariate data for analysis
Choosing an analysis tool
Introduction to the guided ordination methods:
weighted averaging
polar ordination
canonical correspondence analysis
redundancy analysis
fuzzy set ordination
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After taking this course, students will be able to:
Distinguish between univariate and multivariate analyses
Know the strengths and limitations of common distance measures
Correctly match dataset properties to distance measures
Organize data into matrices for analysis
Import and screen data using the PC-ORD software
Recognize when and how to modify data prior to analysis
Choose among WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO to address analysis objectives
Understand the basic analysis steps of WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO
Perform basic WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO using the appropriate setup options
Interpret the basic analysis output from WA, PO, CCA, RDA, and FSO, including interpreting and presenting ordination diagrams
SCHOLARSHIPS
Full scholarships are available to participants from countries designated as “lower income” and “lower middle income” in the World Bank List of Economies. Please see our CWS World Scholars Program page for details.
CANCELLATION POLICY
Cancellations 30 days or more before the start date are not subject to cancellation fees. Cancellations <30 days before the start date are subject to a 50% cancellation fee. No refunds once the course begins.