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Summer School "Ecology and Society: Frontiers and Boundaries" / 3 - 7 June 2019

Ecosystems societies Climate change Forests Hydrosystems Atmosphere Biodiversity Agrosystems Pressures Impacts Modelling Pollution Ecotoxicology Biogeochimical cycles Ecology Adaptability
Hydrosystems week
Hydrosystems week
Crédit, G.Loubota
Crédit, G.Loubota
Classroom - Crédits photo LabEx COTE
Classroom - Crédits photo LabEx COTE
Cellars
Cellars
Fieldtrip Vineyard - Crédits photo LabEx COTE
Fieldtrip Vineyard - Crédits photo LabEx COTE
Conference room
Conference room
Dégustation - Crédits photo LabEx COTE
Dégustation - Crédits photo LabEx COTE
Students 2014
Students 2014
Field trip - Salles
Field trip - Salles
Cellars
Cellars
Forest trip
Forest trip
Field trip - Salles
Field trip - Salles
Forest trip
Forest trip
Field Trip
Field Trip
Dune du Pyla
Dune du Pyla
Dune du Pyla
Dune du Pyla
Field Trip
Field Trip
Visiting Bordeaux
Visiting Bordeaux
Field Trip
Field Trip
Biogeochemical cycles of disrupted ecosystems
Biogeochemical cycles of disrupted ecosystems

Weak signals from an ecological and statistical perspective

Last update Monday 03 July 2017

by Frédéric Barraquand

In this talk, I will try to delineate how our ability to detect a difference of ecological relevance depends not only on a signal nature and strength, but also on ecological and observational noise as well as study design. Then I will explore several ways to obtain weak ecological signals despite reasonably large sample sizes: coarse measurement tools and multiple confounding factors. These notions will be illustrated with varied ecological case studies, from bird monitoring to threats to pollinators. I will then discuss recent attempts to infer signs of imminent ecological collapse from so-called early warning signals, that are often a rather weak manifestation of impending large-scale ecological changes.