Workshops

Scheduled

Beginner Distance Sampling: We anticipate hosting Beginner Distance Sampling workshop at the Wyoming and Colorado Chapter of The Wildlife Society meeting in Ft. Collins CO, March 2025. Additional details will be posted here when available.

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Available Workshops

Beginner Distance Sampling

Conventional line and point transect distance sampling, with covariates, in R.

Description

Estimating population abundance is a fundamental task in wildlife biology. Distance-sampling, implemented as line-transects or point-transects, is one of two primary abundance methods, the other being capture-recapture. Distance-sampling estimates abundance by correcting for detection that declines with increasing distance between observer and target. Conventional distance-sampling approaches which can contain detection covariates (e.g., Buckland et al. 2001, and basic models in Program Distance) have a rich history.

This workshop will introduce participants to conventional and hierarchical line and point transect methods for distance-sampling analysis in Program R. Participants will be able to identify and implement appropriate methods for a given study design. Participants will be exposed to multiple case studies of conventional and hierarchical distance sampling analyses in R.

Target Audience

The workshop is designed for managers, researchers, and students with a basic understanding of statistics and working familiarity with Program R. Someone who knows how to subset a data.frame, fit and work with lm and/or glm model objects in Program R should be able to follow our examples and utilize workshop scripts. Everyone, including R newbies, should benefit from the foundational ‘why’ and ‘when’ and ‘what’ discussions.

General Outline of Topics

Session 1: Half day

1. Welcome
2. Conventional distance sampling (no covariates)
   1. Line transect methods and example
   2. Point transect methods and example
3. Conventional distance analysis with detection covariates
   1. Methods and case study
4. Case study 2
   1. Combined species detection functions, separate species abundance

Session 2: Half Day

1. Introduction to heirarchical distance sampling
2. Case study 3
   1. Real-world aerial surveys
3. Case study 4
   1. Real-world aerial surveys
4. Question and answer

Software

Example datasets, scripts, and other materials will be distributed via download. The workshop will use the following free software:

• Program R
• R packages
  • Rdistance
  • unmarked
  • Potentially others

Software installation instructions will be provided ahead of time.

Instructors

The instructors have conducted and consulted on distance-sampling studies of diverse taxa across the globe, including surveys from the ground, air, and sea. This workshop is a new distillation of beginner content, based on what we’ve learned from past workshops hosted by The Wildlife Society, Society for Marine Mammalogy, Wyoming Game and Fish Department, and University of Wyoming.

Trent McDonald, Ph.D., President and Chief Analyst, McDonald Data Sciences

Jason Carlisle, Ph.D., Quantitative Biologist, Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Embere Hall, Ph.D., Science Unit Supervisor, Wyoming Game and Fish Department

Costs

Negotiable. Costs depend on format, length, expenses, etc.