Many of the most fundamental questions in biology have to do with the origins, evolutionary history, and ecological function of morphological characters. Biological structures are complex and varied, and shared evolutionary history due to common ancestry means that specialized statistical tools are required in order to study them.  This course introduces methods and applications for the quantification and evolutionary analysis of morphology.  First, the course will first provide an overview of modern analytical tools available to measure and study them, including imaging techniques, and working with linear measures and ratios, landmarks and coordinates, outlines, and surfaces. The course will then cover the statistical methods used to test evolutionary hypotheses, with a focus on modern phylogenetic comparative methods that use a phylogeny to study the process and pattern of evolutionary change through time and among taxa.  This workshop will teach students the theory, implementation, and use of phylogenetic comparative methods, with particular attention to methods implemented for the R statistical computing environment.  Several of the instructors are responsible for developing the analytical methods and software packages that will be presented.  Students with their own data are encouraged to bring it along for advice and practice. 

The course will take place Oct 17-24th, 2023, at Seaside House, on the campus of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, in beautiful Okinawa, Japan.  Registration, accommodation, and meals will be provided to all participants.  Some accommodations may be in shared rooms.  A limited number of need-based travel subsidies will be awarded.   Participants will be chosen through a competitive application process, please find the application here and apply before the deadline of May 1, 2023.

For more details please visit the workshop's website.

OIST is deeply committed to the advancement of women in science, in Japan and worldwide. Women are strongly encouraged to apply.