We hope everybody is safe and healthy! We at ForBio are monitoring the situation closely and making adjustments to our course program along the way. Some of our courses will be canceled, some will be taught online, and some will be postponed to the fall or next year. Some courses that are co-financed from other grants maybe cancelled altogether, but for those we are trying to find alternative solutions. This newsletter gives you an update on our course program with the latest courses and deadlines, as well as a lot of cool job opportunities.
Our upcoming annual meeting in Oslo, Mon Aug 31 - Wed Sep 2, is still scheduled to take place. However we are looking into either postponing it to December, or maybe canceling it for 2020 and aiming for an even larger meeting in 2021. We will keep you posted!
April 24 –May 3, 2020, Espegrend Marine Biological Station, University of Bergen, Norway This course has been cancelled, we are looking into an opportunity to offer this course in spring 2021
May 7–13, 2020, Espegrend Marine Biological Station, University of Bergen, Norway This course is postponed to April-May 2021, follow future announcement
Spatial Analysis in R [Virtual course] May 25–27, 2020, Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Center
During this three-day workshop you will learn how to work with spatial biodiversity data in R, starting with the very basics. The course is split into three days, which you can also choose to attend individually. On the first day you will be introduced to the basic R syntax for dealing with the most common spatial data types, such as points, lines, polygons, and rasters. During the second day we will use specific R-packages that allow you to mine large biological data sets from big data platforms such as IUCN and GBIF. Application deadline is May 4th 2020
Python for biologists [Virtual course] May 25–27, 2020, Gothenburg Global Biodiversity Center
This 2-day workshop is intended to introduce you to the world of Python programming and to make you wonder why you haven't started using Python much earlier. No prior knowledge or experience with Python programming is necessary, yet previous exposure to other programming languages (such as R, bash, Perl, etc.) is certainly useful. Application deadline is May 4th 2020
NRS: Science Communication – Creating Scientific Illustrations June 8–11, 2020, University of Oslo This course will use virtual teaching if we are unable to have it in Oslo as planned
This course will introduce the theory and method of how to visually represent your scientific research. Being able to translate complex research into information that can be understood by a wide range of audiences is an important skill that will help you throughout your career.Communicating your work using different methods helps you to think about your work from different perspectives. Not only will this help you understand your own work better, but it will also give you the tools to be able to explain your work to others. Application deadline is April 1st 2020
ForBio and NIBIO field course: Genetic monitoring of arctic plant-insect networks July 13–18, 2020, NIBIO Svanhovd Research Station, Finnmark
The following topics will be discussed: (1) composition of the flora in the main vegetation zones of the forest–tundra ecotone in northern Fennoscandia; (2) effects of habitat and plant species on the diversity and community structures of herbivores, parasitoids, and pollinators; (3) the uses of DNA barcoding for inferring relationships between plants and insects; (4) methods for sampling insects and monitoring community structures in different habitats; (5) metabarcoding methods for large-scale monitoring arctic insect communities; (6) causes and consequences of moth outbreaks in subarctic birch forests; (7) the future of arctic insect communities in a changing climate. Application deadline is April 15th 2020
STI and ForBio course: Baltic macrophytes – systematics, sampling, species identification Sep. 6–12, 2020, Askö laboratory - Stockholm University Baltic Sea Centre, Sweden
The course will present and provide an overview of macrophytes in the Baltic sea. It will cover the systematics, taxonomy and identification of different macrophyte groups, including macroalgae, phanerogams and bryophytes. Sessions will include lectures, fieldwork and laboratory exercises. The students will learn various techniques for identification and sampling. Application deadline is August 1st 2020
This course is formally open for application but we are looking into possibility to postpone it. More information will come shortly.
ForBio course: DNA barcoding - from sequences to species September 21–25, 2020, NTNU Trondheim, Norway
DNA barcoding has found multiple uses in biodiversity science and management, as well as in authentication and bioinformatics. This five-day intensive course on molecular identification will give a basic introduction to the theory and best-practice of DNA barcoding in biodiversity science and management. Various topics will be presented by recognized experts in the field, and students will actively contribute to their own learning through hands-on exercises and seminars. Application deadline is August 1st 2020
ForBio and UiB Dead Wood Course 2020 October 16-20, Espegrend Marine Biological Station, University of Bergen, Norway
The intensive five-day course program is comprised by lectures, workshops, excursions, and an obligatory book exam. The target group is advanced master and PhD students. It is recommended that students have taken basic courses in entomology, mycology, and ecology. The aim of the course is to familiarize students with various aspects of the habitat, organism groups and ecological processes in dead wood. Dead wood experts will provide deeper coverage of their fields and research and will give examples of case studies and the workshop sessions. We will go through a broad range of topics, such as biodiversity in dead wood in boreal and temperate environments, biodiversity conservation and restoration, and of course all kinds of lignicolous organisms: fungi, insects, and more. Application deadline will be announced in late spring 2020
ForBio and UiB course: Introduction to phylogenetic methods November 2020, University of Bergen, Norway
The is an introductory course that is aimed at students who will need to preform phylogenetic analyses in their work, but who have little or no experience with phylogenetic analyses. The ForBio component of the course is focused on the practical aspects of phylogenetic analyses and students that have not attended the theoretical part of the course are expected to have read the relevant literature. The course will cover all basic aspects of phylogenetic analyses with emphasis on use of DNA data. Students will learn how to prepare their data, explore its properties and how to analyze it using distance, parsimony, likelihood and Bayesian methods. In the last two days students will also get an introduction to molecular dating with focus on the use of BEAST and to comparative methods used to study the evolution of discrete and continuous traits. Application deadline will be announced in June 2020
DEST and ForBio course: Basics of Taxonomy - describing, illustrating and communicating biodiversity Nov 2-13, 2020, Kristineberg Marine Research Station
This two week course gives a comprehensive theoretical overview and hands-on experience about different methodologies on how to describe, illustrate and communicate biodiversity. The course covers the following topics, each taught by an expert in the matter:
• Digital drawing
• Scientific illustration
• Scientific writing and communication
• e-Taxonomy and biodiversity informatics tools and workflows
• DELTA (DEscription Language for TAxonomy) Tentative application deadline will be September 1st 2020
Funding opportunities
ForBio & Transmitting Science ForBio organises some courses together with Transmitting Science (announced in the ForBio website). For these courses, ForBio will cover the registration fee for all accepted ForBio members. In addition, ForBio will cover travel and accommodation for ForBio members affiliated to Norwegian institutions. In order to benefit from this agreement, you need to indicate you are a ForBio member when registering through the transmitting Science website. A 30% confirmation fee may be required when registering; this will be reimbursed to ForBio members after the course.
ForBio members and associates also get a 20% discount on ALL Transmitting Science courses. You just need to indicateyour ForBio affiliation when registering.
Researcher in fungal diversity. Department of Biosciences, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, University of Oslo, in Oslo Mycology Group (OMG).
Application deadline: 13th April 2020
TIP: Lots of interesting jobs and other opportunities are published on the Evolution Directory (EvolDir) mailing list, and not all of them make it to the ForBio newsletter! You can subscribe to EvolDir or check out the recent postings here.
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NIBIO Svanhovd Research Station, Finnmark
m phylogenetic analyses in their work, but who have little or no experience with phylogenetic analyses. The ForBio component of the course is focused on the practical aspects of phylogenetic analyses and students that have not attended the theoretical part of the course are expected to have read the relevant literature. The course will cover all basic aspects of phylogenetic analyses with emphasis on use of DNA data. Students will learn how to prepare their data, explore its properties and how to analyze it using distance, parsimony, likelihood and Bayesian methods. In the last two days students will also get an introduction to molecular dating with focus on the use of BEAST and to comparative methods used to study the evolution of discrete and continuous traits.
