From CPB Postdoc Luke Mahler:
Dear Davis Ecologists and Evolutionary Biologists,
This Spring Quarter, I’ll be delivering my CPB Postdoctoral Fellowship Workshop, which will be entitled:
“Phylogenetically correct analysis of species data in ecology and evolution”.
This workshop will consist of 3 sessions, to take place over three days:
April 2: 4:10PM-5:30PM (lecture; note this will be the CPB seminar for this week)
April 3: 11:00AM-1:00PM (tutorial 1 – feel free to bring your lunch)
April 4: 1:00PM-3:00PM (tutorial 2)
The format of this workshop will be an introductory lecture followed by two hands-on R tutorials.
In the lecture, which will take place during that week’s CPB seminar slot, my goal is to (1) review why it’s important to account for phylogeny during data analysis, (2) briefly introduce a suite of current methods for doing so, and (3) critically discuss the inherent assumptions and limitations of phylogenetic comparative methods, outlining best practices for conducting basic analyses.
In tutorials, I will lead participants in a series of computer exercises (all in R) designed to provide hands-on experience implementing the most commonly used phylogenetic statistical analyses. In the first tutorial, participants will learn how to prepare and import phylogenetic trees and species data set for analysis, how to visually explore these data, and how to measure phylogenetic signal and select an appropriate model of trait evolution. In the second tutorial, we’ll conduct a number of phylogenetic statistical analyses with a focus on linear models and principal component analysis. We’ll discuss parameter estimation and interpretation under these models, and will cover techniques for assessing sensitivity of results to phylogenetic uncertainty.
The target audience for this workshop are scientists at any stage who are familiar with phylogenetic trees but don’t necessarily have specialized knowledge about how to work with trees when analyzing ecological or other comparative data. No prior experience using R is necessary, although attendees will need to bring their own laptops, and will need to install R in advance of the workshop (it’s free). Attendees do not need to bring data files – we’ll analyze example data sets which I will provide. Faculty, postdocs, and students are all welcome to attend.
If you are interested in attending this workshop, PLEASE CONTACT ME BY EMAILING lmahler@ucdavis.edu. We haven’t decided yet where to hold the workshop – this decision will be based on anticipated attendance. We’ll do our best to secure a room that can accommodate everyone who interested in attending, but can’t guarantee there will be room for you if you don’t let me know in advance.
Thanks, and I hope you can make it.
Best,
Luke Mahler
Center for Population Biology Postdoctoral Fellow
2320 Storer Hall
University of California, Davis
One Shields Avenue
Davis, CA 95616, USA
Jonathan Eisen's Lab 