PhD Kurser
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På denne side kan du læse om de ph.d.-kurser, som forskere ved Institut for Bioscience udbyder.
MARCH 2012
R for Macroecology
Organizer: Brody Sandel
Venue: Aarhus University, Building 1540, 3rd floor
Scientific content: As the amount of data available to ecologists grows, more sophisticated tools are needed to extract knowledge from data. The statistical programming language R is well-suited for addressing this challenge, with the capabilities of handling massive datasets, interacting with traditional GIS software, and performing spatial analyses.
This course will introduce R, with a focus on aspects of the language that are relevant in the analysis of large spatial datasets. The course assumes no or little prior knowledge of R. However, each student will be required to prepare for the course and the course project by reading a specified curriculum of background literature (~20 papers). We will begin with an introduction to R, including the philosophy of the language, object types and basic handling of data frames. We will then introduce the programming aspects of the language, including control commands such as for, while, if and repeat, work on writing functions, and explore R’s plotting capabilities. The introductory portion of the course will conclude with linear and ANOVA model specification and selection. With this foundation, we will then introduce more advanced topics related directly to macroecological and biogeographical studies. We will begin this section of the course with an introduction to spatial data formats in R, as well as packages to work with spatial data. We will also focus on integrating R with GIS packages, including ArcGIS and GRASS. The course will then cover the issue of spatial structure in data: what it means, how to detect it, and how to deal with it. At this stage, we will introduce simultaneous autoregressive models and implement them in R. The course will conclude with student projects. The instructors will provide data, research questions and guidance to groups of students, who will use R to perform a macroecological or biogeographical study.
See more here.
JANUARY 2012
Methods and practical approaches for measuring oxygen consumption in resting
and swimming fish
Aim: This course will focus on experimental techniques for measuring fish respiratory metabolism with particular emphasis on 1) measuring oxygen using different instruments and electrodes, 2) automated collection and analysis of oxygen consumption measurements in fish using different software – particularly AquaResp, 3) experimental approaches to measuring metabolic rates in fish at rest and swimming and 4) the effect of various environmental factors (e.g. hypoxia and temperature) on fish at rest or swimming.
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Tidligere afholdte kurser
SUMMER 2011
Evolutionary theory and its applications
Aim: The power of evolutionary approaches to very different disciplines from economy over philosophy to medicine is getting increasing attention among scientists while at the same time the validity of evolutionary explanations concerning the origin of life and the forces that shape its diversity has been under attack - a significant proportion of the populations of western (and other) countries is not satisfied by the answers that biologists provide and feel comfortable with non-scientific based ideas as intelligent design or creationism. On this background, it is timely to improve the knowledge on evolutionary concepts and the evolutionary approach among students in biology and other disciplines with interest in evolutionary thinking. Thus we invite PhD students in biology and related fields to participate in a course that provides the opportunity to refresh knowledge on central elements in evolutionary theory and to discuss the concept of evolution in a broad perspective. The course shall familiarize the participants with “thinking evolution” and encourage them to include this thinking in reflection on their own project.
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Program, Course Material and List of Teachers will be added as soon as it has been finalized.