INSTITUTE OF TERRESTRIAL ECOLOGY - MONKS WOOD

VACATION EMPLOYMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS STUDENT

The above scheme provides funds to employ university students at
Natural Environment Research Council centres.  It aims to introduce
students with a background in mathematics (including statistics) to
quantitive problems in the environmental sciences.

Funds are available for 10 weeks at 133.20 pounds per week to cover,
wages, travel and subsistence and other costs.

A post is available at the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology, Monks
Wood for the summer of 1999.  The student will assist in the analysis
of flight-period distributions of butterfly species using data from
the Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.

PROJECT OUTLINE

Butterfly Monitoring Scheme

The Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (BMS), run by ITE Monks Wood was set
up in 1978 and covers over 100 sites across Britain.  At each site,
counts of butterfly species along 10-15 sections of a 1-2km transect
are recorded once a week from April to September each year.  From
these counts, regional and national indices of abundance are derived. 
The BMS database (running under ORACLE) represents one of the best
long-term biological datasets in Britain, and is widely used in
research.

Background to project

This project aims to develop statistical models to describe the
flight-period distribution of butterfly species.  These models will
incorporate timing (time of day) and weather conditions (temperature,
sunshine and wind) of transects, to improve estimates of counts in
missing weeks.  The approach will use recently developed Generalized
Additive Models that provide a flexible, non-parametric framework for
describing flight-period distributions and incorporating the effects
of weather.

Experience gained

The student will gain experience in the following areas: a)
Increasingly used statistical
techniques of Generalized Additive Models, b) Statistical packages
such as Genstat and Mintiab, c) Manipulation of BMS data in ORACLE, d)
Knowledge of butterfly population ecology, e) Practical experience in
field sampling.

To express an interest in this opportunity please send a CV to David
Roy at:	

David Roy
Institute of Terrestrial Ecology
Monks Wood
CAMBS UK
PE17 2LS
e: [log in to unmask]
t: +44 (0) 1487 773381
f: +44 (0) 01487 773467




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