Partitioning and mixed models for biodiversity analysis in R

This is a study-lab course in which topics are presented by short texts, practical sessions are introduced and explained and assignments are completed  by students. It is made of seven units: three theoretical units, each followed by a practical unit. In order to exemplify the use of the proposed  methods and models, a final unit is devoted to a case study on benthic macroinvertebrates in the Po River delta, providing the data, the R code and some interpretative comments. Practical units are based on the use of the R software, with purpose-specific libraries and functions. Quizzes are given following every unit, together with practical assignments to be addressed with the R software.

After this introductory unit, the first practical unit will be devoted to briefly introduce the R software. Biodiversity partitioning will be the subject of the next two units, where methodology and software for γ , α and β diversity profiling will be described and applied to a sample data set. The theory behind mixed effects modeling will be sketched and applied to investigate the variation of biodiversity measures. The last practical unit exemplifies the use of the R implementation of mixed effects modeling routines with data from ecological surveys. Finally we will summarize and exemplify the proposed methods with the complete analysis of a case study.