Ecological Niche Modelling - From Theory to Practice

Ecological Niche Modelling – From Theory to Practice is a 5-day course that introduces the ecological, biogeographical, statistical and methodological foundations of ecological niche modelling. Participants will learn the main steps in developing ecological niche models, from defining the ecological question and compiling occurrence and environmental data to calibrating, evaluating, projecting and interpreting models, with attention to the assumptions underlying modelling decisions and how these decisions affect model performance and ecological inference.

The course combines theoretical lectures with hands-on exercises in R using real-world case studies. Participants are encouraged to bring their own datasets and research questions.

• Day 1 – Foundations of Ecological Niche Modelling (ENM): Introduction and course overview; theoretical foundations; baseline data: species occurrences and abundances; environmental predictors.

• Day 2 – Building, Evaluating and Projecting Models: Modelling workflow; model interpretation and communication.

• Day 3 – Remote Sensing for Ecological Niche Modelling: Introduction to remote sensing for ecological applications; deriving environmental predictors from remote sensing; integrating remote sensing into ENM workflows; practical exercise.

• Day 4 – Ecological Niche Modelling: Hands-on: Developing a complete ecological niche modelling workflow in R; evaluating how methodological decisions influence model results; interpreting and critically assessing modelling outputs; visualising and communicating model outputs.

• Day 5 – Student Projects, Presentations and Evaluation: Individual/group modelling project; student presentations and discussion; course synthesis.

Participants must have basic knowledge of Ecology, R and Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

1 to 5 February, 2027

5 days - 30 hours (09:30 - 12:30 & 14:00 - 17:00)

Cândida G. Vale | BIOPOLIS-CIBIO
João Gonçalves | BIOPOLIS-CIBIO

The course will be open to a maximum number of 25 participants.

75% of available student slots are reserved for BIODIV students.

Priority will be given to:

• 1st year and other PhD students attending the BIODIV Doctoral Program;

• PhD students attending other courses;

• Other post-graduate students and researchers.

(A minimum number of 10 participants is required for the course to take place)

To apply fill the FORM

A copy of your submitted form will be sent to the email address you provided. This email is your confirmation that the application was successfully submitted.

If you don't receive this email, your application was not successfully submitted.

We will email you the results within 10 working days after the application deadline.

95€ (students) | 200€ (other participants).

BIOPOLIS/ CIBIO members will have an additional discount of 20%.

Participation is free of charge for BIODIV Students (M BGE & PhD) & CIBIO's TwinLabs members.

(If applicable, payment will be made to Associação BIOPOLIS - VAT No. 516033727. Information on the payment amount and the payment deadline will be sent together with the results notification, and a proforma invoice may be issued in due time).

Registration fees do not include accommodation or meals.

No ECTS credits are awarded for attending the course. Participants receive a certificate of attendance without quantitative evaluation.

To obtain the certificate, participants must attend at least 24 hours of the course and successfully complete the activities proposed by the teaching team.

Education & Training Unit (Post graduation office)

+351 252 660 425