WORKSHOPS

Organizers
Erich Fisher (UFMS, Brazil) & Inara Leal (UFPE, Brazil)
Location: This field-course will be conducted at the Field Station of the UFMS.
Participants: up to 30 graduate students + 6 professors
Date 13-18th June - (6 days)
Costs: USD 120

Workshop Description

This workshop will focus on logical and practical steps of scientific field-studies, including: sampling designs, data collection, data analyses, oral presentation, and scientific writing. In addition, the workshop will lead to a further understanding of the Pantanal ecosystem and biodiversity through the individual field projects and talks. Dates:

June 12: participants should arrive in Campo Grande (MS)
June 13 to 17: workshop activities
June 18: travel to Bonito (arriving for lunch in Bonito)

Daily schedule:

Date	Morning	Afternoon	Evening
June 12	Reception of participants in Campo Grande and accommodation for overnight. Participants can stay in hotels (expenses not covered) or in houses of UFMS students
June 13	Travel to the Pantanal	Field orientation	Class/talks Project 1 (discussion)
June 14	Project 1 (data collection)	Project 1 (analysis and oral presentations)	Class/talks Project 2 (discussion)
June 15	Project 2 (data collection)	Project 2 (analysis and oral presentations)	Class/talks Projects 1 and 2 (reports)
June 16	Projects 1 and 2 (reports)	Projects 1 and 2 (reports)	Class/talks Project 3 (discussion)
June 17	Project 3 (data collection)	Project 3 (analysis and oral presentations)	General evaluation
June 18	Travel to Bonito

Professors: Alan Andersen (CSIRO, Australia), Erich Fischer (UFMS, Brazil), Inara Leal (UFPE, Brazil), Marcelo Tabarelli (UFPE, Brazil), Marco Mello (Universität Ulm, Germany), Rainer Wirth (University of Kaiserslautern, Germany)

Audience: 24 early graduated students.
Venue: Field station of UFMS (Universidade Federal of Mato Grosso do Sul; 19° 34' 37" S; 57° 1' 9" W; 180 km from Bonito). Funds for lodging in Pantanal, field materials, equipment, and transport (from Campo Grande to Pantanal, during the field activities, and from Pantanal to Bonito) will be provided by the Graduate Program in Ecology and Conservation, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso do Sul.
Logistical concerns: Participants should be able to cover their own transportation to Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul. Local organizers will pick up all participants at the Campo Grande airport or bus station on the 12th June, and will drop all participants in Bonito on the 18th June (lunch time).

Organizers
Susana Magallón PhD. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
E-mail : S.Magallon@ibunam2.ibiologia.unam.mx
Lúcia G. Lohmann PhD. Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
E-mail: llohmann@usp.br
Workshop Description

This DIVERSITAS-bioGENESIS workshop will provide a current outlook on some of the most relevant evolutionary approaches for the study of biodiversity. The workshop will exemplify the types of questions that can be addressed, including their general theoretical and methodological background, as well as basic practical examples. It will consist of 12 lectures, presented in four daily sessions, during three days. Each session will include a lecture, followed by software demonstrations or a detailed description of a published illustrative study.

DIVERSITAS-bioGENESIS project is taking the opportunity of the international conference of the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation "Ecology, Evolution and Sustainable Use of Tropical Biodiversity" (19-22 June 2012, Bonito, Brazil; http://www.atbc2012.org/) to organize the first edition of this training workshop. This conference will attract many scientists from different biology disciplines working on tropical issues and focusing on the interface between ecology and evolution, stimulating discussion on ecological questions from an evolutionary standpoint. This training workshop offers the possibility to the conference young scientists to get some training either on improving their knowledge on evolutionary approaches and methods or on gaining experience on how these approaches and methods can inform other disciplines. The longer-term goal of bioGENESIS with this training workshop activity will be to organize it on a regular basis in different part of the world (Latin America, South-East Asia, Africa) to provide to young scientists the most relevant and up-to-date evolutionary approaches for the study of biodiversity and how these approaches can help not only advancing biodiversity science but also contributing to conservation planning or predicting future biodiversity changes.

Dates: June 16, 17 and 18, 2012 (Saturday, Sunday, and Monday)
Audience: 50 Graduate level students and early career professionals
Venue: Universidade Federal of Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito Campus


Syllabus

	TOPIC	INSTRUCTOR
1	Phylogenetic methods, including approaches to combine morphological and molecular data. Session 1. Data (morphological and molecular), primary homology (alignments); data mining; phylogeny estimation (parsimony).	• Lúcia Lohmann, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
2	Phylogenetic methods, including approaches to combine morphological and molecular data. Session 2: Substitution models; phylogeny estimation (ML and Bayesian inference) and hypothesis testing.	• Rafael Zardoya, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid
3	Population genetics, population structure and phylogeography	• Christopher Dick, The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
4	Measuring selection and predicting adaptation	• Andrew Hendry, McGill University, Montreal
5	Speciation and hybridization	• Elena Conti, Insitut für Systematische Botanik, Zürich
6	Phylogenetic community structure and Beta Diversity measures	• Cam Webb, Harvard University
7	Phylogenetic and functional diversity (including PD) and phylogenetic conservation planning	• Dan Faith, The Australian Museum, Sydney
8	Biodiversity informatics (including data mining) and biodiversity measures (EDGE, PE)	• Félix Forest, Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, UK
9	Comparative method, evolution of morphological/ ecological traits, and ancestral character state reconstructions	• Michael Donoghue, Yale University
10	Biogeography	• Joel Cracraft, American Museum of Natural History
11	The fossil record and the evolutionary process	• Carlos Jaramillo, Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama
12	Molecular clocks, including fossil calibrations	• Susana Magallón, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City

Contents of each session:

(a) A lecture describing the types of questions that can be addressed by each method, including a theoretical framework and basic methodological implementation.
(b) An exercise that will allow students to follow the steps necessary to implement basic analyses using different softwares.
(c) A list of background literature for each topic (available beforehand).

Organizers
T. Mitchell Aide, University of Puerto Rico; e-mail tmaide@yahoo.com
Carlos J. Corada-Bravo, University of Puerto Rico; e-mail: ccorrada2@gmail.com
Carlos Milan, University of Puerto Rico, e-mail: carlosjmilan@gmail.com
Marconi Cerqueira, INPA, Manaus, e-mail: marconi.campos.cerqueira@gmail.com

Workshop Description

Automated recording devices have improved our ability to simultaneously monitor biodiversity in many sites. This has resulted in millions of audio recordings, but it is often difficult to extract useful data from these recordings. Many researchers have collected thousands of recordings, but they have no way to manage or process the files, let along automate species identification. In the end, their studies are often based on listening to a subset of the recording. To help solve this problem the Automated Remote Biodiversity Monitoring Network (ARBIMON) project (arbimon.net) has developed a database and analytical tools that integrate file management, audio processing, sonogram evaluation, species-specific identification modeling and verification in a web-based application.

The major objectives of this workshop will be: 1) introduce the participants to the hardware, software, and on-going projects/collaborations of ARBIMON, 2) learn how to use the species identification interface, 3) create species specific identifications models, and 4) apply these models to the participant's recordings. We will dedicate approximately ½ day to each of these objectives.

The main purpose of the species identification interface is to provide tools for the user to view and listen to their recordings and create, test, and validate species-specific identification models. The components that make up this interface include:

1) Visualizer - This module is used for viewing, listening, and annotating recordings. The interface can accept recordings of any length and from most recording devices.

2) Species validation – This tool allows the user to specify which species/call is present or absent in each recording. In addition, the user can determine if the particular call is correctly marked by the automated ROI (regions of interest) generator.

3) model builder – This component has four steps.

a. Training data – the first step in developing a species-specific model is to provide training data for the model by identifying examples of the song/call that the user wants to model. The user describes a call sequence by selecting a series of ROIs from a recording. This process is repeated with other examples of the call to provide the program with additional training samples.
b. Model creation – the next step is to define the model (number of notes, and the length of the sequence) and train the model.
c. Applying model – The initial model then can be applied to any group of recordings in the database. Usually, the user will apply the model to batches of 500 recording, looking for matches that can be incorporated into the training data of the model. Once the user is satisfied with the model it can then be tested against the validation data.
d. Validation – In this step, the system applies the model only on the recordings where the user has validated the presence/absence of the species. In this step the user is provided with an error matrix and statistics on the accuracy, precision, and kappa. Based on these statistics the user can modify the model by varying the range of values (e.g. minimum frequency, duration) used in determining which ROIs are used in the model.

4) Apply model, data export, and publish model – In this step, the user can apply the model to their complete data set. In our case, we have been testing the system with 3.5 years of recordings from our original permanent station site in Sabana Seca, Puerto Rico. The system takes approximately three hours to process ~120,000 1-minute recordings. The results from this analysis can be exported to excel for further analyses. In addition, the user can "publish" the model, making it available to other users and other projects.

Dates: June 17 and 18, 2012 (Sunday and Monday).
Audience: 12 Students
Venue: Universidade Federal of Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito Campus
Required equipment:
• Personal computer with the latest version of Mozilla Firefox, Safari, or Google Chrome, and Flash.
• Audio recordings (optional)

Organizer
Bette A. Loiselle, Center for Latin American Studies & Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, 319 Grinter Hall, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611
E-mail: BLoiselle@latam.ufl.edu

Workshop Description

Experts from funding agencies will be joined by experienced investigators and NGO professionals to discuss the strategies of achieving success with grant-writing and fund-raising. The afternoon will be divided into two sessions – one focusing on grant-writing and the other on fund-raising. The expert panelists in each session will first give a short presentation on their "tips to success" which will be followed by an interactive exchange with the participants. Participants are encouraged to present to the panelists specific challenges and obstacles they have experienced in achieving their goals. Participants from all stages in their career are invited.

Dates: June 18, 2012 (Monday).
Venue: Universidade Federal of Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito Campus

Organizers

Jean Paul Metzger PhD. Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil
E-mail: jpm@ib.usp.br
Alexandre Uezu PhD. Instituto de Pesquisas Ecológicas, Brazil
E-mail: aleuezu@ipe.org.br
Alexandre Camargo Martensen MSc. Taki Ambiental, Brazil
E-mail: acm@ib.usp.br

Workshop Description

This workshop will provide a current view on some of the most relevant potentialities of applying landscape ecology concepts and principles for biodiversity conservation in practice. We will tackle different questions for which landscape ecology could give a solid base for conservation and restoration decisions. The general theoretical aspects will be discussed, but the focus will be in how to apply this background in practical examples. The workshop will consist of 5 lectures and 3 practical classes, divided in four sections, during two consecutive days. Each session, except the first one, will include a lecture, followed by demonstrations of potential applications, and also software demonstrations and simulations.

Dates: June 16 and 17, 2012 (Saturday & Sunday)
Audience: 20 Graduate level students and early career professionals
Venue: Universidade Federal of Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito Campus

	TOPIC	INSTRUCTOR
1	Basic landscape ecology principles and general applications	· Jean Paul Metzger and Alexandre Camargo Martensen
2	Spatial metrics	· Alexandre Uezu
2b	Calculating spatial metrics	· Alexandre Uezu
3	Applying landscape principles	· Alexandre Camargo Martensen
3b	Practice	· Alexandre Camargo Martensen
4	Site selection for conservation and restoration	· Jean Paul Metzger
4b	Practice	· Alexandre Uezu

Organizers

Krista McGuire, Barnard College, Columbia University;
email: kmcguire@barnard.columbia.edu
Seline Meijer, World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Malawi and University College Dublin; email: s.meijer@cguiar.org or seline_meijer@hotmail.com

Workshop Description

Young female scientists starting off their careers in tropical biology and conservation come across various challenges including balancing careers and family with field work. The ATBC meeting offers a great opportunity for younger researchers and students to interact with more senior scientists to gain insight from their experiences. However, it can be quite daunting to approach a senior scientist in the short breaks between sessions, and the opportunities to talk at length about such challenges are often limited. In previous years, the gender committee of the ATBC has organized panels and discussion sessions around topics related to challenges that women in tropical biology face. For the 2012 ATBC meeting in Bonito, we propose to continue this tradition by organizing a women's mentoring workshop that facilitates interaction among junior and senior female scientists. The structure of this workshop will center around a speed-mentoring session, in which participants will rotate and offer advice to the junior person they are paired with. After 5 minutes, we will ring a bell and people will move to the next partner. We would like to organize this in the form of a social event where female scientists can interact with each other after the speed-mentoring session has ended, for example in an area near a bar so people are encouraged to stay around, have a drink, and socialize.

Date: TBA, late afternoon, after the last session of that particular day has finished
Duration: Approximately 2 hours
Audience: Female Scientists
Venue: Hotel Zagaia Eco-Resort

Organizers
Dr. Renato A. M. Silvano, Dep. Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; E-mail: renato.silvano@ufrgs.br
Dr. Juarez C. B. Pezzuti, Núcleo de Altos Estudos Amazônicos, Universidade Federal do Pará, Belém (UFPA), PA, Brazil; E-mail: juca@ufpa.br

Workshop Description

There is an increasing consensus that satisfactory sustainable use, resources management and biodiversity conservation can only be achieved if managers and scientists actively work with and involve local people, who ultimately are responsible for the use (or abuse) of natural resources. However, notwithstanding the overwhelming recent evidence (mostly published after 2000) of the benefits derived from research and collaborative work with local human communities, still many biologists are skeptical or ill prepared to include socio-economic aspects in their research. Human Ecology jointly addresses ecological and socio-economic approaches. We aim to present and to discuss recent and applied topics in Human Ecology science, highlighting its many applications to biological conservation, natural resources management and sustainability. We also want to emphasize practical and methodological issues, as well as to promote discussion and exchange of ideas and experiences among the audience. The activities will be organized in four modules, spanning two days (six hours per day).

This proposed Workshop is closely related to one of the main themes of the conference (sustainable use of biodiversity), it differs in content from all other proposals already mentioned in the conference website and it deals with an important (but often neglected) theme: how to properly work with local people to improve (or achieve) natural resources management. We believe that several researchers and professionals would be interested in such theme. The theoretical and methodological aspects addressed also goes beyond local people and could be adjusted to deal with any problem arising from the interaction between human society and biological diversity.

Dates: June 17 and 18, 2012 (Sunday, and Monday)
Audience: 30 Graduate level students and early career professionals
Venue: Universidade Federal of Mato Grosso do Sul, Bonito Campus

Workshop schedule

17th June (morning): Introduction, theoretical basis of Human Ecology and Ethnoecology.

17th June (afternoon): study cases on Ethnoecology, Common based management and Ecological Economics. We will comment on surveys (including our own research, both published and original) that apply local (or traditional) ecological knowledge of resource users to improve our current ecological knowledge and management strategies. We will address some useful tools of Ecological Economics, such as ecosystem services, compensation schemes and payments for ecological services (PES). We will also discuss study cases of co-management of natural resources with an emphasis on fisheries and faunal resources.

18th June (morning): main methodological approaches currently used in Human Ecological research, with an emphasis on interviews. We will address interview techniques (structured questionnaires, group interviews, among others), selection of informants, sampling design and the benefits and shortcomings of quantitative and qualitative approaches. We will provide some examples of quantitative analyses that can be made with interview based data, such as frequency analyses (chi-square), correlations and multivariate analyses (ordinations). We will also comment on approaches to interpret and analyze qualitative interview data, to devise participatory mapping of natural resources' use and to conciliate interview data with geographic information system (GIS).

18th June (afternoon): overall discussion of participants' own experiences and expectations related to Human Ecology research and applications. Participants should voluntarily comment on their own concerns and questions related to topics addressed in the Workshop and how they could be applied in their current research activities. The study cases posed by some of the participants would then be briefly discussed among the organizers and the other participants. In doing that, we want to approximate the workshop topics to the reality of participants' professional activities, besides reinforcing the advantages provided by research on Human Ecology.