ESSO - Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services

(An Autonomous Body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India)
Home ITCOocean "Machine Learning based Species Distribution Modelling"

Training Course & HackWeek
on
"Machine Learning based Species Distribution Modelling"
during 11-22 September, 2023
Organized by
International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean), ESSO-INCOIS, Hyderabad, India


Overview:

In depth understanding of machine learning for species (macrofauna) distribution modelling (SDM) is needed by many young ecosystem researchers. SDMs are an important class of models used to understand species association with the environment. SDMs are widely used to understand how species distributions are changing with ocean climate change and are also used to estimate abundance over large ocean regions from fisheries survey data. This course is devised to familiarize the young professionals in the Indian Ocean-rim (IOR) countries with the latest developments in this field.

This course does not aim to teach ecology and habitat to the oceanographers/modellers/machine learning experts, rather it aims to teach machine learning and coding (and its relevance to fisheries) to fishery professionals.

Aims and Objectives:

  • Introduce the participants to machine learning models used in species distribution modelling.
  • Obtain hands-on experience in using species distribution modelling.
  • Learn how to discover and use oceanographic remote-sensing data in species distribution models
  • Work on a group project using species distribution modelling to estimate habitat associations or obtain a stock estimate using a species distribution model.

Learning Outcomes:

  • Knowledge and understanding to the topic of machine learning and coding applied to oceanography and fisheries research.
  • Improved skill in coding with R for oceanography and fisheries.
  • Experience accessing and using ocean remote-sensing data for use in models.

Target Audience:

  • This course is exclusively designed to train the post-graduation students and research scholars of Fisheries Science/Marine Biology or with similar background.
  • Relevant professionals across the globe, especially from the Indian Ocean-rim (IOR) countries are highly encouraged to apply.

Course Fees:

  • There is no course-fee. However, registration is required.
  • Participants may be provided accommodation and food at nominal rates as per ITCOOcean norms.
  • Participants will have to make own travel arrangements. ITCOOcean will help by providing necessary support (e.g., letter) for participants’ efforts to apply for travel-grants elsewhere.

Course Pre-requisites:

  • Participants should have fundamental knowledge of marine ecology and habitats.
  • The medium of instruction is English, hence working knowledge of English is must.
  • Participants must make their own arrangement to bring their own laptop along with relevant software pre-installed. Information on software will be provided well in advance to selected participants. Readiness to learn coding/programming within the timeframe of the course.
  • The group project will require species data (lat-long location and abundance or presence/absence). Participants who have an available dataset will be given preference for the course. However, not all participants will need a data set, as they can have joint projects with participants with data for the hackweek.
  • Complete a 4 hour (and no-cost) intro to R online course before the in-person course.

Background:

  • Robinson NM, Nelson WA, Costello MJ, Sutherland JE and Lundquist CJ (2017) A Systematic Review of Marine-Based Species Distribution Models (SDMs) with Recommendations for Best Practice. Front. Mar. Sci. 4:421. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2017.00421
  • Champion C, Brodie S and Coleman MA (2021) Climate-Driven Range Shifts Are Rapid Yet Variable Among Recreationally Important Coastal-Pelagic Fishes. Front. Mar. Sci. 8:622299. doi: 10.3389/fmars.2021.622299

Application Process :

Please fill the online application form. https://forms.gle/fDhzr7UYPqB988zW6

Period for Applications: 06th June - 03rd July, 2023

Applications closing on : July 03rd, 2023 05:00 PM IST (GMT +05:30)

Certificate: At the end of the course each successful participant will be provided with a certificate.

Programme Dates: 11-22 September, 2023

Venue :

International Training Centre for Operational Oceanography (ITCOocean),
Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS),
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
"Ocean Valley", Pragathi Nagar (B.O), Nizampet (S.O)
Hyderabad - 500 090, INDIA

Course Coordinators: Dr. Nimit Kumar and Dr. TVS Uday Bhaskar (ITCOO)

Faculty Members:

  • Dr. Elizabeth Holmes (NOAA Fisheries, USA) / EH
  • Dr. Nimit Kumar /NK

For Any questions please contact: itcoocean@incois.gov.in


Schedule:

For more details of this training visit: https://hackweek-itcoocean.github.io/2023-Hackbook/

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