Module #1 Introduction to Predictive Modeling for Species Protection Overview of the importance of predictive modeling in species protection and conservation, course objectives, and expected outcomes
Module #2 Species Protection Fundamentals Understanding species extinction risks, conservation biology principles, and international agreements on species protection
Module #3 Predictive Modeling Overview Introduction to predictive modeling concepts, types of models, and common applications in ecology and conservation
Module #4 Data Collecting and Preprocessing for Species Protection Importance of data quality, sources, and preprocessing techniques for species occurrence data, habitat data, and environmental data
Module #5 Introduction to R Programming for Predictive Modeling Basics of R programming, data manipulation, and visualization for predictive modeling in species protection
Module #6 Species Distribution Modeling (SDM) Fundamentals Understanding species distribution modeling concepts, Correlative SDMs, and Machine Learning SDMs
Module #7 Correlative Species Distribution Models (SDMs) Building and evaluating correlative SDMs using methods such as GLMs, GAMs, and Random Forest
Module #8 Machine Learning Species Distribution Models (SDMs) Building and evaluating machine learning SDMs using methods such as MaxEnt, SVM, and Neural Networks
Module #9 Species Distribution Model Evaluation and Validation Evaluating and validating SDMs using metrics such as AUC, sensitivity, and specificity
Module #10 Habitat Suitability Modeling Understanding habitat suitability modeling concepts, applications, and methods such as Ecological Niche Factor Analysis (ENFA)
Module #11 Predicting Species Extinction Risks Using predictive models to estimate extinction risks, application of IUCN Red List criteria, and conservation implications
Module #12 Climate Change and Species Protection Impact of climate change on species distribution, projecting climate-driven range shifts, and climate-informed conservation planning
Module #13 Conservation Planning using Predictive Models Applying predictive models in conservation planning, reserve design, and habitat connectivity analysis
Module #14 Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis in Predictive Modeling Understanding and addressing uncertainty in predictive models, sensitivity analysis, and model ensembles
Module #15 Predictive Modeling for Invasive Species Management Applying predictive models to identify invasion hotspots, predict invasion risk, and develop management strategies
Module #16 Case Studies in Predictive Modeling for Species Protection Real-world examples of predictive modeling applications in species protection, including success stories and challenges
Module #17 Predictive Modeling for Human-Wildlife Conflict Mitigation Using predictive models to understand and mitigate human-wildlife conflict, including predicting conflict hotspots and identifying effective solutions
Module #18 Communicating Predictive Modeling Results for Conservation Effective communication of predictive modeling results to stakeholders, policymakers, and the general public
Module #19 Advanced Topics in Predictive Modeling for Species Protection Exploring advanced topics such as multi-species modeling, Spatially-Explicit Models, and integration of predictive models with other conservation tools
Module #20 Predictive Modeling for Urban Ecology and Biodiversity Conservation Applying predictive models to understand and conserve urban biodiversity, including predicting urban species distribution and habitat fragmentation
Module #21 Predictive Modeling for Freshwater Ecosystems and Aquatic Species Using predictive models to understand and conserve freshwater ecosystems and aquatic species, including predicting habitat quality and species distribution
Module #22 Predictive Modeling for Marine Ecosystems and Species Applying predictive models to understand and conserve marine ecosystems and species, including predicting habitat quality and species distribution
Module #23 Species Protection Policy and Management Understanding policy and management frameworks for species protection, including international agreements and national legislation
Module #24 Collaborative Conservation and Stakeholder Engagement Importance of collaborative conservation, stakeholder engagement, and community-based conservation in species protection
Module #25 Ethical Considerations in Predictive Modeling for Species Protection Exploring ethical considerations in predictive modeling, including data privacy, model transparency, and potential biases
Module #26 Future Directions in Predictive Modeling for Species Protection Emerging trends and opportunities in predictive modeling for species protection, including the role of AI, citizen science, and open data
Module #27 Hands-on Exercise:Building a Species Distribution Model Guided hands-on exercise to build and evaluate a species distribution model using R and associated libraries
Module #28 Hands-on Exercise:Habitat Suitability Modeling Guided hands-on exercise to build and evaluate a habitat suitability model using R and associated libraries
Module #29 Group Project:Applying Predictive Modeling to a Real-World Conservation Problem Group project to apply predictive modeling to a real-world conservation problem, including data collection, model building, and presentation of results
Module #30 Course Wrap-Up & Conclusion Planning next steps in Predictive Modeling for Species Protection career
