An Introduction To Using GIS In Tropical Ecology and Conservation

This new course will provide an introduction to the use of geographic information systems (GIS) in the study of tropical ecology. Unlike most traditional GIS courses which are desk-based, this course will include the hands on collection of data in a tropical rainforest. This means that course attendees will learn not only how to use GIS, but also how to collect field GIS-compatible data in a tropical environment and how to import field data into a GIS. In addition, rather than using theoretical examples, the course will be based on real data collected from research projects that are ongoing at the course location.

To apply for this course please visit the crees website.

The GIS course will be run at the Manu Learning Centre (MLC) in the Manu Biosphere Reserve in Peru. This area is a UNESCO world heritage site and one of the most biodiverse tropical forests in the world. It will be hosted by CREES who established the MLC as a research station in 2003. Course materials are developed by GIS In Ecology who specialise in providing training and advice on the use of GIS to ecologists in a language they can understand. Training will be delivered by burdGIS who provide GIS training and consultancy.

The entire duration for participants will be 10 days. The GIS course will consist of 5 days of teaching (4 of which will involve time spent in the field) spread over a 7 day period at the MLC, with 2 days travel to and from Cusco in Peru (the nearest large city) and an initial registration day in Cusco.

During this time, participants will not only learn GIS in a hands on and practical manner but will spend time practicing collecting field data within a tropical rainforest. In addition, 2 days of free time during the 7 days at the MLC will allow participants to explore the rainforest trail system around the MLC and see how the research station's ongoing tropical forest research projects function.

Projects include:

• large mammal monitoring with camera traps

• amphibian night surveys

• clay lick monitoring of macaws

• line transects surveys for birds and mammals

As such, this course offers a unique opportunity to learn about the practical use of GIS in tropical ecology in a tropical environment. On journey between Cusco and the MLC, participants will receive first hand explanations by crees research staff of the changing environments as the bus passes through high Andean towns and puna grasslands before descending into biodiverse cloud forest. Participants will stay overnight at a lodge which provides an excellent opportunity to see beautiful hummingbirds. Cusco itself is deep in culture and history and is worth some time to soak up its quaint cobblestone streets and colourful markets.

The GIS course will cover how to set up a GIS project, how to make a map for use in a publication, collecting field data for use in GIS, how to use a GPS to record biological data, how to create a GIS compatible spreadsheet, how to error-check field data, how to add field data into a GIS project, how to incorporate environmental information into a GIS, how to link data together based on their spatial relationships, how to use GIS to map species distributions, how to use GIS to help set up surveys using camera traps and butterfly traps as examples, how to add remote sensing imagery to a GIS project and how to use Google Earth to share GIS data layers with non-GIS specialists.

Participants will need to bring their own Windows laptop and have a licensed copy of ArcGIS software (the course will be primarily be taught based on ArcGIS 10.x but ArcGIS 9.3 will be supported). Participants will need a licence for the ArcGIS Spatial Analyst extension installed on their machine. You can find information about how to get this software package for use in ecological research projects at the GIS in Ecology Google group. Finally, you will also need to have spreadsheet software, such as Excel, on your machine.

This course will run between the 12th August and 21st August 2016.

Attendance will be limited to a maximum of 12 people to allow for a more personal teaching environment. Please note that all profits generated from this course will be used to support ongoing ecological research at the MLC. Participants will be responsible for their own travel to and from Cusco in Peru and must have travel insurance which covers medical repatriation.

The course will cost 1799 USD. To apply for this course please visit the crees website.

For technical enquiries, please email cdmacleod@gisinecology.com or info@burdgis.com

For more information regarding the itinerary and/or to be added to a mailing list for further announcements about this course or to book a place, please email jasmine@crees-manu.org