Program MARK Workshop
The Workshop is now FULL. Registration is Closed.
April 6-11, 2008, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM
This introductory-level workshop will provide research biologists and graduate students with the basic background to understand the main-stream analyses performed by Program MARK and the familiarity with the program to perform these analyses. A mixture of lectures and laboratory exercises will be provided. Participants will learn the basics of parameter estimation with likelihood theory, model selection with Akaike's Information Criterion (AIC), and the binomial and multinomial distributions. The Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) mark-recapture, band (tag or ring) recovery, known fate, and closed captures models will be covered in detail. More advanced models will be described so that participants will understand the benefits of these models, but those models would not be covered extensively. Use of covariates, including individual covariates, will be covered with the closed capture models.
The clientele for this workshop are biologists and graduate students that have some or limited prior experience with Program MARK and will need to estimate abundance or vital rates from mark-recapture data in the near future. Untutored analysis of personal mark-recapture data sets in the evenings at the workshop lab will be possible following each day of instruction. Possession of data sets eligible for analysis in MARK is not a requisite (but it is advantageous). Questions and problems stemming from preliminary analysis of a mark-recapture data set will be the focus on the last workshop day. Those without questions stemming from analysis of their own data do not have to attend all of the last day of the workshop (see Format below).
Format of the workshop will be a
combination of lectures and computer lab exercises. The workshop will
start on Monday morning, 8:00am, 7 April 2008, and end Friday 11 April at noon
(with time during Friday afternoon to address specific user questions).
Evening use of MARK in the lab facility will be available to facilitate
exploration of MARK and use with personal data sets. A get-acquainted
social will be held Sunday evening, 6 April. We expect you to attend the
Sunday evening social to become acquainted with the instructors and others
taking the workshop. Thus, arrange your travel to arrive in
Attendees should bring their own notebook computers. We will be using a computer lab, so if you do not have your own notebook then please indicate this on the registration form. If bringing your own notebook be sure that you have the administrative privileges to install MARK on the notebook that you bring.
Registration cost for the 1-week workshop is $375 for university students (photocopy of spring 2008 registration will be required), or $450 for professionals. This fee would include all course materials, CD with Program MARK and supporting documentation and examples, and facilities for the workshop, pre-workshop-socials and morning and afternoon refreshments. Other costs (including travel and lodging) will be the responsibility of the workshop participants. See Travel and Lodging Information, below.
Instructors:
- Primary
- Gary C. White
- Secondary
William R. Gould
TBA
Registration Form:
Fill out the registration form, and mail with payment to Attn: Sandra Day-MARK Workshop, Department of Fishery and Wildlife Sciences, PO Box 30003 MSC 4901, New Mexico State University 88003-8003; FAX (575) 646-1281; Telephone (575) 646-2245; email: sanday@nmsu.edu.
Last year, this workshop filled a month before the deadline, and we expect it to fill rapidly again. Therefore, to reserve your place, be sure to register early. This workshop will be limited to 20 people, so that the 3 instructors will have plenty of time to interact with students and answer questions.
Logistics:
Travel and Lodging Information.
You should not need a car in Las Cruces if you stay at one of the hotels near campus. The computer lab (Physical Sciences Computer Training Lab within Anderson Hall) is 3/4 mile from the Ramada de la Palms Inn, where a block of rooms has been set aside for workshop participants.There are 6 single (I King bed) and 4 double (2 Queen beds) rooms, set aside for 4/6 through 4/11 (noon checkout) at $65/single and $75/double/night. Please call the Ramada Inn to make your own reservations. Ask for one of the NMSU MARK Workshop rooms.Parking permits will be available for those that do drive. Please check the box on your registration form if you will need a parking permit. The Las Cruces Shuttle and Charter Service provides service directly to the Ramada Palms (1-800-288-1784) to and from the El Paso International Airport. There are a number of useful links on the Las Cruces Travel Page.The other hotels close to campus are shown on the Las Cruces map.If you have questions concerning travel or lodging, email mailto:sanday@nmsu.edu (subject - MARK Workshop