Project Title: Improving analysis of marine mammal populations using natural marks and capture-recapture analysis
Chief Investigators: Prof Kenneth Pollock, Dr Lyndon Brooks and A/Prof Peter Harrison
Twenty nine marine mammal researchers from several Australian universities and the
University of Auckland, and other organisations, participated in the 5-day workshop.
Their interests covered a wide variety of species from widely distributed environments.
We found the participants enthusiastic and well engaged with the material.
We had a third person request feedback by email following the workshop to ensure
confidentiality. Twenty six of the 29 participants responded. We asked for ratings on
a five-point scale (1 = very poor … 5 = excellent) to 5 items and for general comments.
The sample descriptive statistics for the rated items are presented in the table below.
Table of descriptive statistics for responses to 5 items on the scale 1 = very poor, 2 , 3, 4, 5 = excellent
| Item |
N |
Min. |
Max. |
Mean |
SD |
| How well chosen was the content of the lectures? |
26 |
4 |
5 |
4.38 |
0.50 |
| How clearly were the ideas presented in the lectures? |
26 |
3 |
5 |
4.29 |
0.60 |
| How clearly were the example analyses demonstrated? |
26 |
2 |
5 |
4.04 |
0.87 |
| How well balanced was the mix of lectures and demonstrations? |
26 |
3 |
5 |
4.50 |
0.58 |
| How well did the workshop meet your needs? |
26 |
3 |
5 |
4.35 |
0.74 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
These data represent a very positive evaluation of the workshop with none of the items
receiving a mean rating of less than 4 and an overall mean response of 4.3 on the
5-point scale.
Briefly, these responses were very positive. There are many references to the relevance
of the material and the value of the workshop. Our approach to discussing each
participant’s particular research and attempting to relate it to the workshop content
as we moved around the room during the exercise sessions was particularly valued. While
a few participants found the material challenging, most found it pitched at the
appropriate level. Several participants expressed an interest in a second, more advanced
workshop building on the material presented in this one. We are preparing a more advanced
workshop to deal with environmental and individual covariates, transience, movements
between sites and states, and temporary emigration.
We were gratified by the enthusiasm and appreciation of the participants and very much
enjoyed presenting the workshop. We’ve subsequently received several requests for advice
which we were pleased to respond to.
