MWPARC Pre-Conference Workshops

Friday, 7 November | 2:00–5:00 PM Student cost: $25 | Professional cost: $35 (Registration for the full weekend is not required.) Workshop 1: Community Outreach Project Development - How to develop and implement conservation projects in your community - Dr. Nicole Palenske Ladner (Department of Natural Sciences, Central College) and Dreux Watermolen (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) Interested in learning how to connect your community with herpetology and conservation? This workshop will guide participants in developing community-focused outreach and education projects centered around reptiles and amphibians. Topics will include designing and implementing community science programs, using live animals in education, and creating project ideas suited to your own community. Worksheets will be provided, and participants are welcome (but not required) to bring laptops. Workshop 2: Getting Started with Ecological Niche Modeling / Species Distribution Modeling - Dr. Mona Papes (Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee) Advances in GIS have opened powerful new research tools in ecology and evolution. This workshop introduces the foundations of ecological niche modeling (ENM) and species distribution modeling (SDM). Participants will learn about the theoretical basis of ENM, the types of data required, and the fundamentals of modeling algorithms. A demonstration using Maxent will be provided, followed by a discussion of the applications and limitations of potential distribution maps in addressing questions of ecology, conservation, and biogeography.