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Short Course on Designing Natural Resource Monitoring Surveys Conducted through conference calls and over the web, April 7 - 11, 2008 Home | Schedule | Presenters | Register | References | Participants | Discussion Join our mailing list for short courses.

Map of Simulated Park

The USGS is offering a free short course to assist resource managers in designing surveys for monitoring natural resources. The short course should provide a good introduction, which will allow participants to understand survey design concepts, as well as the issues and trade-offs which need to be resolved, although it is not intended as a substitute for working with a professional statistician. The course is open to all who are interested. You will need to pay for long distance calls to our phone bridge in Iowa, but there are no other costs. If conflict prevent you from participating in some of the sessions or you are only interested in some sessions, you are encouraged to register and participate in the sessions you wish.

Because of travel restrictions, we will need to conduct the short course by conference calls with power point presentations, lecture notes, and background information posted on the web.

For more information, please contact Paul Geissler, Paul_Geissler@usgs.gov, 301-219-6803

The first day, we will give examples where monitoring provided critical information for resource managers, examples of statistical blunders as a consequence of poor survey design, and experiences and case studies of sampling vegetation and birds. The second day will be a basic introduction to sampling, using online exercises. We will describe situations where it is advantageous to use different sampling techniques including: stratification (dividing the population into relatively homogenous areas), cluster sampling (measuring several subplots or using transects), double sampling (using an inexpensive preliminary sample to stratify the sample), and adaptive sampling (taking more samples near where a rare species is fund). Procedures for projecting the necessary sample size and optimal allocation of samples to strata and clusters will be discussed. A simulation program will allow participants to model their area, and to try and compare alternative sampling designs. Random, systematic, grid and GRTS sampling will be compared. We will introduce the use of GIS to select samples. Changes in the detectability of individuals may be interpreted as population changes. We will present methods of estimating and adjusting for differences in detectability to avoid biases and indefensible estimates.

Can you pick a representative sample? Find out at http://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/brd/RepresentativeSample.htm.

SCHEDULE
To participate:
• Please Register so we can send you updates.
• Register for each of the 10 Webinar sessions by clicking on the links below
At the time of the presentation:
• Call 641-594-7000 and enter code 940658#
• Log into the Webinar using the link provided when you registered. You can also download the PowerPoints and follow along.

Files are available at ftp://ftpext.usgs.gov/pub/cr/co/fort.collins/Geissler/ except for S-Draw.

Files from last year's course are on the server now, but we will be updating them and adding new files shortly before the presentations.

Files on FTP server are not password protected. If asked, just leave the user name and password blank. The files are too large to e-mail.

PRESENTERS

•  Steve Garman, Ph.D. (Steven_Garman@nps.gov, 970-248-1476 ), Quantitative Ecologist, NPS Northern Colorado Plateau Inventory & Monitoring Network. He has considerable experience using R and GRTS sampling.

•  Paul Geissler, Ph.D. (Paul_Geissler@usgs.gov, 301-497-5780), Coordinator, USGS National Park Monitoring Project and former Statistician (Biology) at Patuxent Wildlife Research Center . He has worked with the Breeding Bird and Waterfowl Harvest and other Surveys.

•  Andrew Gilbert (agilbert@usgs.gov, 207-622-8201 X134), Wildlife Biologist (Research) at USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. He is principally involved with developing and conducting resource inventory and monitoring programs and has worked on an inventory of mammals at National Parks in the northeast and a monitoring design for freshwater wetlands of Acadia National Park.

•  Kurt Jenkins, Ph.D. (Kurt_Jenkins@usgs.gov, 360-565-3041 ), Wildlife Biologist (Research) with the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center stationed at Olympic National Park. He has worked on Population, Community and Ecosystem studies of Large Mammals and Wildlife-Habitat Relationships and has worked closely with Olympic National Park on designing their monitoring.

•  Allan O'Connell, Ph.D. (Allan_O'Connell@usgs.gov, 301-497-5525), Wildlife Biologist (Research) at USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center . He conducts research on wildlife issues of management concern to federal land agencies, particularly the National Park Service.

•  John Sauer, Ph.D. (John_R_Sauer@usgs.gov, 301-497-5662), Wildlife Biologist (Research) at USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center . He has conducted research into population ecology, development of monitoring methods, estimation of population change, and modeling of survey data.

•  Dave Smith, Ph.D. (DRSmith@usgs.gov, 304-724-4467), Statistician at USGS Leetown Science Center. He has extensive experience with design of surveys in aquatic systems and is coauthor of Strayer, D. L. and D.R. Smith. 2003. A guide to sampling freshwater mussel populations. Amer. Fisheries Soc. Monograph 8.

•  Andrea Woodward, Ph.D. (Andrea_Woodward@usgs.gov, 206-526-6282 x332), Ecologist with the USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center stationed at Olympic National Park. She has worked on related to plant-animal interactions of elk, mountain goats and their habitat, the potential effects of global change on subalpine plant communities, an inventory of park non-vascular cryptogams and has worked closely with Olympic National Park on designing their monitoring.

REFERENCES

• Cochran, W.G. 1977. Sampling techniques. Wiley
  - Classical sampling text that is still very useful today.
• Levy, P. S. and S. Lemeshow. 1991. Sampling of populations: methods and applications. Wiley.
• Lohr, S.L. 1999. Sampling: Design and Analysis. Duxbury Press
  - Excellent intermediate sampling text.
• McDonald, T. 2004. GRTS for the Average Joe: A GRTS Sampler for Windows. http://www.west-inc.com/reports/grts.pdf
  Program http://www.west-inc.com/programs/S-Draw1b.zip
  - A program to draw a GRTS sample, which does not require R or GIS.
• National Park Service (NPS). 2005a. Guidance for Designing an Integrated Monitoring Program. http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/monitor/vsmTG.htm#Introduction
• National Park Service (NPS). 2005b. Monitoring Natural Resources in Our National Parks. http://science.nature.nps.gov/im/monitor/index.htm
• Olsen, A. R. 2005. Generalized random tessellation stratified (GRTS) spatially-balanced survey designs for aquatic resources. http://www.epa.gov/NHEERL/arm/documents/presents/grts_ss.pdf
• Scheaffer, R.L., W. Mendenhall, and L. Ott. 1990. Elementary survey sampling. PWS-Kent Publishing Co,
  - Excellent elementary sampling text.
• Strayer, D. L. and D.R. Smith. 2003. A guide to sampling freshwater mussel populations. Amer. Fisheries Soc. Monograph 8.
  - Excellent introduction to sampling, with an aquatic emphasis.
• Stevens, D. L. and A. R. Olsen. 2003. Variance estimation for spatially balanced samples of environmental resources. EnvironMetrics, 14: 593-610.
  - Variance estimator for GRTS samples
• Stevens, D. L. and A. R. Olsen. 2004. Spatially balanced sampling of natural resources. Journal of the American Statistical Association 99: 262-278.
  - Develops GRTS sampling.
• Thompson, S. K. 2002. Sampling. Wiley.
  - Excellent advanced sampling text, with ecological examples.