Workshops and Continuing Education

We have some fantastic courses lined up this year! We hope to see you in class.

NEW! A Brief and Gentle Introduction to Program MARK for Fisheries Biologists

Jim Peterson, USGS Oregon Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Oregon State University; [email protected]; Kimberly Millers, Oregon State University

The goal of this introductory short course is to familiarize fishery biologists (professionals and students) with the most widely used closed and open population capture-recapture estimators for fish population parameters using program MARK (available for free download). Participants will be provided with an overview of the general concepts and assumptions and example datasets for running analyses with program MARK. These hands-on examples will be used to illustrate basic concepts in estimation.

Participants are required to bring laptops to the course and download MARK and the example data sets from the course website (https://sites.google.com/site/caprecapafs2015/home) prior to the workshop.

Student member: $107

Student non-member: $132

Young professional member: $132

Member: $161

Non-member: $246

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NEW! Introduction to Hard-Part Microchemistry of Fishes

Brenda Pracheil, Oak Ridge National Laboratory;  [email protected] Robert Humston, Washington and Lee University;  [email protected]

This course is designed to provide the necessary background and introduction to techniques for designing and implementing a study that uses hard-part microchemistry. Topics covered will include how and when hard-part microchemistry techniques can be used and how and when they cannot, study design considerations, laboratory considerations and specimen preparation techniques, and data reduction and analysis techniques.

Student member: $107

Student non-member: $132

Young professional member: $132

Member: $161

Non-member: $246

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NEW! Analyzing Fish Diets to Assess Trophic Status

Jim Garvey, Southern Illinois University,  [email protected] Marybeth Brey, Southern Illinois University,  [email protected]

Fishes occupy multiple trophic levels, with their management and conservation depending on knowledge of feeding behavior, energy intake, and ultimately, growth, survival and reproduction. This workshop will explore the relative pros and cons of collecting data spanning short-term (e.g., diet contents, foraging experiments) and long- term (e.g., tissue samples, elemental composition) approaches to trophic ecology. Data from these collection techniques will be analyzed using a variety of statistical approaches including parametric and non-parametric hypothesis testing, Bayesian modeling, multivariate statistics, and ordination. Participants will leave the workshop with a grasp of techniques including gut collection, experimental design, bioenergetics, stable isotope analysis, understanding how to tackle resulting complex, and multivariate data to understand the trophic relationships of fishes. A rudimentary understanding of statistical packages such as R, SAS, and PRIMER would be helpful but not required.

Student member: $107

Student non-member: $132

Young professional member: $132

Member: $161

Non-member: $246

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NEW! Bayesian I: Introduction to Bayesian Inference Using Gibbs Sampling (BUGS) for Fish Biologists

Dan Rawding, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; [email protected]

This beginner-level course will provide a brief overview of Bayesian statistics as well as an introduction to application of BUGS language for Bayesian inference. Participants will learn to estimate parameters from a sample of statistical distributions available in BUGS as well as conduct regression analysis using salmon datasets. No previous experience with BUGS software or Bayesian statistics is required. A basic knowledge of statistical methods including regression models is required. An understanding of capture‐mark-recapture models is desirable.

Student member: $107

Student non-member: $132

Young professional member: $132

Member: $161

Non-member: $246

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NEW! Bayesian II: Intermediate Bayesian Inference Using Gibbs Sampling (BUGS) for Fish Biologists

Dan Rawding, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife; [email protected]

In this intermediate-level course, participants will learn to use BUGS language to conduct more advanced analyses, such as random effects/hierarchical models, assessing convergence and the sensitivity of the prior as well as model selection and checking. Previous experience with BUGS software, Bayesian statistics, and generalized linear models is required. An understanding of capture‐mark-recapture models is desirable.

Student member: $107

Student non-member: $132

Young professional member: $132

Member: $161

Non-member: $246

*Members can register for Bayesian I & II as a package at a discounted price:

Student member: $164

Young professional member: $222

Members: $272

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Beginning/Intermediate GIS for Fisheries Scientists

Nick Sievert, University of Missouri Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit; [email protected]

Jacob Schwoerer, University of Missouri;  [email protected]

This course will provide an overview of beginning/intermediate GIS skills for fisheries biologists using ArcGIS, including use of existing data, creating your own data, and review of fundamental concepts for GIS.

Student member: $134

Student non-member: $166

Young professional member: $166

Member: $236

Non-member: $321

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NEW! Decision Support Tools for Adaptive Management

Elise Irwin, USGS Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, Auburn University;  [email protected]

This course will be an overview of the principles of adaptive management and decision support tools to assist with the framework. The course will be a combination of lecture and hands-on exercises with some commonly used software. Decision tools will range from simple linear programming on graph paper to Bayesian belief networks. Participants will also be introduced to decision making tools for setting up monitoring programs that are needed for effective adaptive management programs.

Student member: $140

Student non-member: $165

Young professional member: $165

Member: $207

Non-member: $292

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NEW FIELD WORKSHOP! Large Wood, Partnerships, and Lessons Learned

Bruce Zoellick, Bureau of Land Management; [email protected]

Greg Wanner, Forest Service, [email protected]

Jeff Uebel, Forest Service, [email protected]

Through site visits to areas of the Salmon River as well as Still Creek, participants will be able to visually see the effects of long-term restoration over multiple flow events. As a result, they will be able to identify appropriate large wood designs that are effective in meeting aquatic habitat restoration objectives. Participants will have the opportunity to see the development of restoration designs spanning 20 years. Learning from experienced aquatic specialists, they will be able to describe what projects have worked and what did not meet the desired outcomes and why.

Student member: $175

Student non-member: $200

Young professional member: $200

Member: $225

Non-member: $310

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NEW! Age and Growth Analyses with R

Dr. Derek H. Ogle, Northland College; [email protected]

This one-day course is for fisheries professionals interested in expanding their R skills to include analysis of age and growth data.  Through a  sequence of demonstrations and hands-on application exercises, participants will use R to construct appropriate metrics and graphics for comparing precision (APE, CV) and bias  (age agreement table, tests of symmetry, and age-bias plots) between two sets of estimated ages,  construct and apply an age- length key to estimate ages of individual fish  from their lengths, summarize mean length-at-age with a von Bertalanffy growth model, and statistically compare von Bertalanffy growth model parameters  between two or more groups of fish. Participants should be familiar with the fundamentals of R, including basic applications.

Student member: $140

Student non-member: $165

Young professional member: $165

Member: $207

Non-member: $292

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FREE! Leadership at All Levels in AFS

Steve McMullin, Virginia Tech University,  [email protected]

This workshop is designed for new and emerging leaders in AFS. It addresses the need for new and emerging leaders to better understand how AFS functions, the roles of unit leaders in AFS, and how to be an effective leader in an all-volunteer organization such as AFS.