Spatio-temporal models in Ecology

Often in Ecology, data collection methods are restricted by the challenges posed by large or complex landscapes or the behavioural characteristics of the study species.  When conducting population surveys, observations are often collected in a spatial pattern determined by the constraints of the landscape, and not as a full survey of the study domain. For example, using point or line transects, or making use of an existing pattern of habitat patches. Subsequent statistical analysis of such data can be computationally challenging and limit the inference of biologically relevant properties. This talk provides an overview of modelling ecological data from different survey designs. I will show with different examples (and pretty pictures) how we can deal with different types of spatial data to analyse ecological processes.