FINAL CALL FOR Applied Bayesian modelling for ecologists and 
epidemiologists (ABME04)

https://www.prstatistics.com/course/applied-bayesian-modelling-for-
ecologists-and-epidemiologists-abme04/

This course will be delivered by Prof. Matt Denwood in Glasgow city centre 
form the 15th - 19th October 2018.

Course Overview:
This application-driven course will provide a founding in the basic theory 
& practice of Bayesian statistics, with a focus on MCMC modeling for 
ecological & epidemiological problems. Starting from a refresher on 
probability & likelihood, the course will take students all the way to 
cutting-edge applications such as state-space population modelling & 
spatial point-process modelling. By the end of the week, you should have a 
basic understanding of how common MCMC samplers work and how to program 
them, and have practical experience with the BUGS language for common 
ecological and epidemiological models. The experience gained will be a 
sufficient foundation enabling you to understand current papers using 
Bayesian methods, carry out simple Bayesian analyses on your own data and 
springboard into more elaborate applications such as dynamical, spatial and 
hierarchical modelling.

Monday 15th – Classes from 09:30 to 17:30
Module 1: Revision of likelihoods using full likelihood profiles and an 
introduction to the theory of Bayesian statistics. Probability and 
likelihood. Conditional, joint and total probability, independence, Baye’s 
law. Probability distributions. Uniform, Bernoulli, Binomial, Poisson, 
Gamma, Beta and Normal distributions – their range, parameters and common 
uses of Likelihood and parameter estimation by maximum likelihood. 
Numerical likelihood profiles and maximum likelihood. Introduction to 
Bayesian statistics.
Relationship between prior, likelihood & posterior distributions. 
Summarising a posterior distribution; The philosophical differences between 
frequentist & Bayesian statistics, & the practical implications of these.
Applying Bayes’ theorem to discrete & continuous data for common data types 
given different priors. Building a posterior profile for a given dataset, & 
compare the effect of different priors for the same data.

Tuesday 16th – Classes from 09:30 to 17:30
Module 2: An introduction to the workings of MCMC, and the potential 
dangers of MCMC inference.  Participants will program their own (basic) 
MCMC sampler to illustrate the concepts and fully understand the strengths 
and weaknesses of the general approach.  The day will end with an 
introduction to the bugs language.
Introduction to MCMC. The curse of dimensionality & the advantages of MCMC 
sampling to determine a posterior distribution. Monte Carlo integration, 
standard error, & summarising samples from posterior distributions in R. 
Writing a Metropolis algorithm & generating a posterior distribution for a 
simple problem using MCMC.
Markov chains, autocorrelation & convergence. Definition of a Markov chain. 
Autocorrelation, effective sample size and Monte Carlo error. The concept 
of a stationary distribution and burnin. Requirement for convergence 
diagnostics, and common statistics for assessing convergence. Adapting an 
existing Metropolis algorithm to use two chains, & assessing the effect of 
the sampling distribution on the autocorrelation. Introduction to BUGS & 
running simple models in JAGS. Introduction to the BUGS language & how a 
BUGS model is translated to an MCMC sampler during compilation. The 
difference between deterministic & stochastic nodes, & the contribution of 
priors & the likelihood. Running, extending & interpreting the output of 
simple JAGS models from within R using the runjags interface.

Wednesday 17th – Classes from 09:30 to 17:30
Module 3: Common models for which jags/bugs would be used in practice, with 
examples given for different types of model code.  All aspects of writing, 
running, assessing and interpreting these models will be extensively 
discussed so that participants are able and confident to run similar models 
on their own. There will be a particularly heavy focus on practical 
sessions during this day.  The day will finish with a discussion of how to 
assess the fit of mcmc models using the deviance information criterion 
(dic) and other methods. Using JAGS for common problems in biology. 
Understanding and generating code for basic generalised linear mixed models 
in JAGS. Syntax for quadratic terms and interaction terms in JAGS.
Essential fitting tips and model selection. The need for minimal cross-
correlation and independence between parameters and how to design a model 
with these properties. The practical methods and implications of minimizing 
Monte Carlo error and autocorrelation, including thinning. Interpreting the 
DIC for nested models, and understanding the limitations of how this is 
calculated. Other methods of model selection and where these might be more 
useful than DIC. Most commonly used methods Rationale and use for fixed 
threshold, ABGD, K/theta, PTP, GMYC with computer practicals. Other 
methods, Haplowebs, bGMYC, etc. with computer practicals.

Thursday 18th – Classes from 09:30 to 17:30
Module 4: The flexibility of MCMC, and precautions required for using MCMC 
to model commonly encountered datasets. An introduction to conjugate priors 
and the potential benefits of exploiting gibbs sampling will be given. More 
complex types of models such as hierarchical models, latent class models, 
mixture models and state space models will be introduced and discussed. The 
practical sessions will follow on from day 3.
General guidance for model specification. The flexibility of the BUGS 
language and MCMC methods. The difference between informative and diffuse 
priors. Conjugate priors and how they can be used. Gibbs sampling. State 
space models. Hierarchical and state space models. Latent class and mixture 
models. Conceptual application to animal movement. Hands-on application to 
population biology. Conceptual application to epidemiology.

Friday 19th – Classes from 09:30 to 17:30
Module 5: Additional practical guidance for the use of Bayesian methods in 
practice, and finish with a brief overview of more advanced Bayesian tools 
such as Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation (INLA) and stan.
Additional Bayesian methods. Understand the usefulness of conjugate priors 
for robust analysis of proportions (Binomial and Multinomial data). Be 
aware of some methods of prior elicitation. Advanced Bayesian tools. 
Strengths and weaknesses of INLA compared to BUGS. Strengths and weaknesses 
of stan compared to BUGS.

Email [email protected]

Check out our sister sites,
www.PRstatistics.com (Ecology and Life Sciences)
www.PRinformatics.com (Bioinformatics and data science)
www.PSstatistics.com (Behaviour and cognition) 


1.      October 8th – 12th 2018
INTRODUCTION TO FREQUENTIST AND BAYESIAN MIXED (HIERARCHICAL) MODELS 
(IFBM01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Andrew Parnell
https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-frequentis-and-bayesian-
mixed-models-ifbm01/

2.      October 15th – 19th 2018
APPLIED BAYESIAN MODELLING FOR ECOLOGISTS AND EPIDEMIOLOGISTS (ABME04)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Matt Denwood, Emma Howard
http://www.prstatistics.com/course/applied-bayesian-modelling-ecologists-
epidemiologists-abme04/

3.      October 23rd – 25th 2018
INTRODUCTIUON TO R (This is a private ‘in-house’ course)
London, England, Dr William Hoppitt

4.      October 29th – November 2nd 2018
INTRODCUTION TO R AND STATISTICS FOR BIOLOGISTS (IRFB02)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Olivier Gauthier
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-statistics-and-r-for-
biologists-irfb02/

5.      October 29th – November 2nd 2018
INTRODUCTION TO BIOINFORMATICS FOR DNA AND RNA SEQUENCE ANALYSIS (IBDR01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr Malachi Griffith, Dr. Obi Griffith
www.prinformatics.com/course/precision-medicine-bioinformatics-from-raw-
genome-and-transcriptome-data-to-clinical-interpretation-pmbi01/

6.      November 5th – 8th  2018
PHYLOGENETIC COMPARATIVE METHODS FOR STUDYING DIVERSIFICATION AND 
PHENOTYPIC EVOLUTION (PCME01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Antigoni Kaliontzopoulou
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/phylogenetic-comparative-methods-for-
studying-diversification-and-phenotypic-evolution-pcme01/

7.      November 19th – 23rd  2018
STRUCTUAL EQUATION MODELLING FOR ECOLOGISTS AND EVOLUTIONARY BIOLOGISTS 
(SEMR02)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Jonathan Lefcheck
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/structural-equation-modelling-for-
ecologists-and-evolutionary-biologists-semr02/

8.      November 26th – 30th 2018
FUNCTIONAL ECOLOGY FROM ORGANISM TO ECOSYSTEM: THEORY AND COMPUTATION 
(FEER01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Francesco de Bello, Dr. Lars Götzenberger, Dr. 
Carlos Carmona
http://www.prstatistics.com/course/functional-ecology-from-organism-to-
ecosystem-theory-and-computation-feer01/

9.      December 3rd – 7th 2018
INTRODUCTION TO BAYESIAN DATA ANALYSIS FOR SOCIAL AND BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCES 
USING R AND STAN (BDRS01)
Glasgow, Dr. Mark Andrews
https://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-bayesian-data-analysis-
for-social-and-behavioural-sciences-using-r-and-stan-bdrs01/

10.     January 21st – 25th 2019
STATISTICAL MODELLING OF TIME-TO-EVENT DATA USING SURVIVAL ANALYSIS: AN 
INTRODUCTION FOR ANIMAL BEHAVIOURISTS, ECOLOGISTS AND EVOLUTIONARY 
BIOLOGISTS (TTED01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Will Hoppitt
https://www.psstatistics.com/course/statistical-modelling-of-time-to-event-
data-using-survival-analysis-tted01/

11.     January 21st – 25th 2019
ADVANCING IN STATISTICAL MODELLING USING R (ADVR08)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Luc Bussiere, Dr. Tom Houslay
http://www.prstatistics.com/course/advancing-statistical-modelling-using-r-
advr08/

12.     January 28th–  February 1st 2019
AQUATIC ACOUSTIC TELEMETRY DATA ANALYSIS AND SURVEY DESIGN
Glasgow, Scotland, VEMCO staff and affiliates
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/aquatic-acoustic-telemetry-data-
analysis-atda01/

13.     February  4th – 8th 2019
DESIGNING RELIABLE AND EFFICIENT EXPERIMENTS FOR SOCIAL SCIENCES (DRES01) 
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Daniel Lakens
https://www.psstatistics.com/course/designing-reliable-and-effecient-
experiments-for-social-sciences-dres01/

14.     February 11th – 15th 2019
REPRODUCIBLE DATA SCIENCE FOR POPULATION GENETICS
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Thibaut Jombart, Dr. Zhain Kamvar
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/reproducible-data-science-for-
population-genetics-rdpg02/

15.     25th February – 1st March 2019
MOVEMENT ECOLOGY (MOVE02)
Margam Discovery Centre, Wales, Dr. Luca Borger, Prof. Ronny Wilson, Dr 
Jonathan Potts
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/movement-ecology-move02/

16.     March 4th – 8th 2019
BIOACUSTIC DATA ANALYSIS
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Paul Howden-Leach 
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/bioacoustics-for-ecologists-hardware-
survey-design-and-data-analysis-biac01/

17.     March 11th – 15th  2019
ECOLOGICAL NICHE MODELLING USING R (ENMR03)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Neftali Sillero
http://www.prstatistics.com/course/ecological-niche-modelling-using-r-
enmr03/

18.     March 18th – 22nd 2019
INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICS AND R FOR EVERYONE (IRFE01)
Crete, Greece, Dr Aristides (Aris) Moustakas
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-statistics-and-r-for-
anyone-irfe01/

19.     March 25th – 29th 2019
LANDSCAPE GENETIC DATA ANALYSIS USING R (LNDG03)
Glasgow, Scotland, Prof. Rodney Dyer
http://www.prstatistics.com/course/landscape-genetic-data-analysis-using-r-
lndg03/

20.     April 1st – 5th 2019
INTRODUCTION TO STATISTICAL MODELLING FOR PSYCHOLOGISTS USING R (IPSY01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Dale Barr, Dr Luc Bussierre   
http://www.psstatistics.com/course/introduction-to-statistics-using-r-for-
psychologists-ipsy02/

21.     April 1st – 5th 2019
INDIVIDUAL BASED MODELS FOR ECOLOGSITS (IBME01)
Glasgow Scotland, Dr Aristides (Aris) Moustakas
Link to follow

22.     April 8th – 12th 2019
MACHINE LEARNING 
Glasgow Scotland, Dr Aristides (Aris) Moustakas
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/machine-learning-using-r-mlur01/

23.     April 8th – 12th 2019
Spatial modelling, analysis and statistical inference of genomic data 
(SMAG01)
Crete, Greece, Dr Matt Fitzpatrick
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/spatial-modelling-analysis-and-
statistical-inference-of-genomic-data-smag01/

24.     May 6th – 10th 2019
MARK RECAPTURE METHODS AND DATA ANALYSIS FOR ECOLOGISTS (MRKR01)
Myuna Bay, Australia, TBC

25.     May 16th – 18th 2019 (please note this a 3-day course from Thursday 
to Saturday)
Aquatic movement ecology using R (AMER01) 
Myuna Bay, Australia, TBC

26.     May 16th – 19th 2019 (please note this a 4-day course from Thursday 
to Monday)
Introduction to R for everyone (IRFE02)
Myuna Bay, Australia, Dr Aristides (Aris) Moustakas

27.     May 20th – 24th 2019
MODEL BASE MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS OF ABUNDANCE DATA USING R (MBMV03)
Myuna Bay, Australia, Prof. David Warton
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/model-based-multivariate-analysis-of-
abundance-data-using-r-mbmv03/

28.     May 21st – 24th 2019
A statistical tool box for ecologists (STBE01
Myuna Bay, Australia, Dr Aristides (Aris) Moustakas

29.     June 10th – 14th 2019
STABLE ISOTOPE MIXING MODELS USING SIAR, SIBER AND MIXSIAR (SIMM04)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Andrew Parnell, Dr. Andrew Jackson 
www.prstatistics.com/course/stable-isotope-mixing-models-using-r-simm04/

30.     June 17th – 21st 2019
INTRODUCTION TO PYTHON FOR BIOLOGISTS (IPYB06)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Martin Jones
http://www.prinformatics.com/course/introduction-to-python-for-biologists-
ipyb06/

31.     June 24th – 28th 2019
ADVANCED PYTHON FOR BIOLOGISTS (APYB03)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Martin Jones
www.prinformatics.com/course/advanced-python-biologists-apyb03/

32.     July 1st – 5th 2019
DATA VISUALISATION AND MANIPULATION USING PYTHON (DVMP01)
Glasgow, Scotland, Dr. Martin Jones
http://www.prinformatics.com/course/data-visualisation-and-manipulation-
using-python-dvmp01/

33.     October 7th – 11th 2019
CONSERVATION PLANNING USING PRIORITIZR : FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE (PRTZ01)
Crete, Greece, Dr Richard Schuster and Nina Morell
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/conservation-planning-using-prioritizr-
from-theory-to-practice-prtz01/

34.     October 21st – 25th 2019
A COMPLETE GUIDE TO MIXED MODELS (INCLUDING TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL 
AUTOCORRELATION) (MMTS01) 
Crete, Greece, Dr Aristides (Aris) Moustakas
https://www.prstatistics.com/course/a-complete-guide-to-mixed-models-
including-temporal-and-spatial-autocorrelation-mmts01/

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