Learning outcomes
- Understanding the implications of the different species concepts
- Pros and cons of different types of data for species assessments
- Gain an overview of different methods for species delimitation using DNA sequence data, and their advantages and limitations.
- Hands-on experience with distance and tree based approaches.
Course content
What is a species? Are they real entities we can define and diagnose? In this course you will learn about theoretical and practical issues around species concepts. Species boundaries in many organism groups are still in a state of flux, and for empirical species delimitation, finding appropriate character sets and analytical tools are among the greatest challenges. We will review the advantages and disadvantages of different types of data for species assessment and you will be introduced to the different methods for species delimitation based on DNA sequence data and interpretation of results. Students will gain hands-on-experience about distance and tree based methods for species delimitation, including the use of software such as VSEARCH, CROP, ABGD, UCLUST, PTP, GMYC, BPP and STACEY. We will generate stimulating discussion about the interpretation of results and the advantages and limitations of these methods.
Teachers
Paschalia Kapli, University College London, United Kingdom, Joan Pons, Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA), Balearic Islands, Tomochika Fujisawa, Evolutionary Bioinformatics Lab, Pasteur Institute.
Coordinator: Hugo de Boer – ForBio.
Credits: A 2 ECTS course certificate will be given to students that pass the course by ForBio.
Level: PhD students, postdocs and researchers - with experience in phylogenetic analyses.
Participants: Maximum number of participants is 18.
Fee: No course fee. Travel, food and accommodation: Shared accommodation is free of charge. In addition, ForBio will cover travel for Norwegian ForBio members. Meals are included, and the station has cooking facilities and participants will prepare food together in shifts.
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