International Summer School for Stable Isotope Analysis in Animal Ecology

For graduate or undergraduate students interested in learning techniques related to the analysis and interpretation of stable isotope ratios in the study of animal ecology.

Organising Institution: Center for Stable Isotope Ecology in Berlin-Brandenburg

When: 12.-16. September 2016

Where: Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW), Germany (www.izw-berlin.de) and Natural History Museum in Berlin (www.mfn-berlin.de)

Costs: 350€ per participant (includes course script, consumables in laboratory, BBQ, coffee breaks)

Content:

-> Stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios as markers for animal diets and trophic positions

-> Analyses of stable hydrogen isotope ratios for the study of animal migration (includes application of isoscape origin models)

-> Use of labeled compounds in eco-physiological studies

-> Use of multiple isotopes in the study of food webs and trophic interactions

-> Use of stable isotope approaches in paleo climate reconstructions

Students will be involved in all aspects of sample preparation and analysis as well as data interpretation. Used instruments include conventional gas mass spectrometers (Thermo) and laser spectroscopes (LGS, Picarro)

Instructors and lecturers (in alphabetical order):

Stuart Bearhop (University of Exeter): Stable isotope ecology of seabirds

Alexandre Courtiol (IZW): Statistics for interpreting stable isotope ratios

Keith Hobson (U of Saskatchewan): Stable isotope ecology of birds

Stephanie Kramer-Schadt (IZW): Modelling and statistical approaches

Ulrich Struck (Natural History Museum Berlin): SIA in paleo environments

Christian Voigt (IZW): Ecophysiology of mammals

Len Wassenaar (IAEA): Stable isotope ratios in hydrology

Roland Werner (ETH, Zurich): Stable isotopes in botany

Elizabeth Yohannes (U of Konstanz): Stable isotopes in limnology

Registration: Deadline: 1. June 2016; The course is limited to 16 students: Applications should include a CV, a statement of interest and 2 reference adresses (not letters). Please send applications or inquiries to Dr. Christian Voigt at voigt@izw-berlin.de