School of Life Sciences
Department of Environmental Management & Ecology
Training workshop on
Analysis of Multivariate Data from Ecology and Environmental Science, using PRIMER v6
La Trobe University , Albury-Wodonga Campus, Thursday 11th, Friday 12th, Saturday 13th, Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th June 2009.
Course
 This five-day workshop will cover the statistical analysis of assemblage data (species by samples matrices of abundance, area cover etc) and/or multi-variable environmental data which arise in many contexts in environmental science and ecology, from environmental impact assessments, through fundamental studies in community ecology and monitoring of biodiversity change, to biomarker studies or purely physical or chemical analyses
Based on the PRIMER package (Plymouth Routines In Multivariate Ecological Research), a worldwide standard software tool used in over 4000 SCI-listed papers for analysis of aquatic assemblages and, increasingly, terrestrial, palaeontological, microbial and genetic data, also for model output, in ecotoxicology, epidemiology, sociology etc
The workshop covers definitions of similarity, clustering (CLUSTER), ordination by non-metric multi-dimensional scaling (MDS) and principal components analysis (PCA), hypothesis testing on similarity matrices (ANOSIM) and other permutation tests (RELATE), linking biotic patterns to environmental variables (BEST), identifying species responsible for the observed community pattern (SIMPER, BEST), comparison of ordinations (2STAGE, eg 2nd stage MDS), dominance curves and (bio)diversity indices, including measures based on taxonomic relatedness of species (TAXDTEST). All other features of PRIMER v6 are also covered: choice between over 50 (dis)similarity measures, including dispersion-weighted and relatedeness-based coefficients, new 'exploratory' permutation tests for structure in a priori unstructured samples (SIMPROF) and optimal biota-environment relationships (the latter also examined by a non-parametric form of multivariate regression tree, LINKTREE). Also covered are tests for dominance curves (DOMDIS), SIMPER analyses for 2-way layouts and abiotic variables, missing data algorithms for environmental data, merging of non-matching species lists, classic estimators of 'unseen' species, etc.
Also, much of the Saturday pm session will be devoted to the newly-released PERMANOVA+, an add-on package to PRIMER v6, developed by PRIMER-E in collaboration with Professor Marti Anderson (Massey University, NZ). This software provides semi-parametric multivariate equivalents of higher-way analysis of variance (PERMANOVA), with permutation-based tests for interactions, fixed or random effects, in crossed or nested models, of any complexity (including unbalanced designs and covariates), and multivariate multiple linear regression (DISTLM), dispersion homogeneity tests (PERMDISP) etc. Also in this Windows PERMANOVA+, which makes full use of the PRIMER v6 environment (workspaces, graphics, data handling etc), are further unconstrained (eg PCO) and constrained ordination techniques (eg CAP, for discriminant analysis). Coverage of these topics will inevitably be brief and selective, a comprehensive account of PERMANOVA+ requiring a five-day workshop of its own!
The workshop will be given by Professor K R Clarke (PRIMER-E and an honorary fellow of the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Marine Biological Association, UK). Bob Clarke is an ecological statistician who has worked for many years at the PML, where he was responsible for adapting and developing the methods underlying PRIMER
PC lab sessions will use real literature case studies, analysed with PRIMER (and PERMANOVA+). Participants are also encouraged to bring some of their own data to the course. The emphasis throughout is on practical application and interpretation, the theoretical aspects (e.g. the multivariate statistical methods which are the core of the course) being carefully selected to be those that are simple to describe and understand. Prior statistical knowledge is not necessary in order to gain competence and confidence with most of this material (though the PERMANOVA+ session on the Saturday afternoon would benefit from some knowledge of univariate ANOVA models)
Date and times
From 08:45 to 17:45 each day: Thursday 11 June, through Friday, Saturday (all day, though the PERMANOVA+ session from 15:00 could be regarded as optional, for those with no experience of univariate ANOVA or regression designs), Monday and Tuesday, finishing by 15:00 on Tuesday 16 June
Venue
The workshop will be held in Computer Lab 1, Main Building , La Trobe University, Albury-Wodonga Campus, University Drive , Wodonga VIC Australia 3690.
Lectures and labs will take place in a computer suite in which lab PCs will have the PRIMER v6 software (and the PERMANOVA+ add-on) mounted, but participants are still welcome to bring their own laptop computers to analyse literature data sets and some of their own data, during the lab sessions and breaks (with Bob Clarke's help)
Several hotels are within a short distance from the University. Comfort Inn Blazing Stump (10 minutes), Belvoir Village Motel (3 minutes), Best Western Stagecoach Motel (3 minutes), Border Gateway Motel (2 minutes) driving time of the venue. Qantas and Regional Express flies into Albury from Sydney and Melbourne daily.
Workshop costs
Course fee: $975 ($725 for full-time students) for a full 5 days (all prices are in AUD$). This includes materials, coffee/snacks at breaks and lunch but not software or other meals and accommodation.
Workshop dinner: $55- meal only Saturday 13th June 6.30pm (Restuarant 579, Hotel on Olive)
Software licence for PRIMER6. The PRIMER v6 software will be used throughout and, to register, participants must either already have purchased a licence for this version or purchase/upgrade at the time of the course (at substantially discounted rates). Purchase of the PERMANOVA+ add-on is not a necessary pre-requisite (this is mainly a PRIMER course) but that, too, is offered at a discounted course price. Follow this link for detailed information and costs.
Contact and registration
To register and secure a place at this workshop please complete the registration form and fax to Ms Rachel Bahrij on +61 2 60249888.
Registration form
Accepted registrants will be sent a tax invoice for payment, which will need to be paid by 13 May 2009. This invoice will cover both course fee and any necessary purchase of the PRIMER6 software. Later registrants will be accepted if space permits or earlier accepted registrants have failed to submit payment.
A programme will be e-mailed to registrants once the registration form has been processed.
For further information please contact the local organiser , Rachel Bahrij, e-mail: r.bahrij@latrobe.edu.au , phone: +61 2 60249885.
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