18-21 May 2026

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to stable isotope ecology, explicitly integrating theoretical foundations with practical data analysis. Participants are guided from first principles—such as isotope fractionation, baselines, tissue turnover, and isotopic niches—through to the interpretation of real-world isotope datasets. The course is designed to demystify stable isotope methods and show how isotopic information can be used to answer ecological, fisheries, and environmental questions with confidence.
A central feature of the course is the tight coupling of theory and application. Each conceptual topic is paired with hands-on analytical examples, ensuring participants understand not only how to run analyses, but why particular approaches are appropriate, what their assumptions are, and how results should be interpreted in ecological context.

The course combines recorded lectures with guided data-analysis tutorials using R and real ecological datasets. Analytical workflows are demonstrated step by step, with scripts provided so participants can adapt them to their own research or management needs. The emphasis is on transparency, reproducibility, and transferable skills rather than black-box solutions.
The course is suitable for senior undergraduate and postgraduate students, early-career researchers, and professionals working in ecology, fisheries, conservation, and environmental management. No prior experience with stable isotope analysis is assumed, though basic familiarity with R is helpful for the data-analysis components.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
•    Understand the fundamental principles governing stable isotope variation in ecological systems
•    Critically evaluate the use of isotopes for studying diet, trophic position, niche width, and movement
•    Apply appropriate analytical methods to stable isotope datasets using reproducible workflows
•    Interpret and communicate isotope results clearly, including sources of uncertainty and limitation

Day 1 – 14:00 – 18:00 Berlin time 
Introducing the core foundations of stable isotope ecology
Biogeochemical processes
Creating and interpreting stable isotope biplots

Day 2 – 14:00 – 18:00 Berlin time 
Stable isotope mixing models
Introduction to SIMMR, CoSIMMR & MixSIAR

Day 3  – 14:00 – 18:00 Berlin time
Estimating trophic position using bulk and compound specific approaches
Tutorial in tRophicPosition

Day 4  – 14:00 – 18:00 Berlin time
Isotopic niche and food web metrics
Tutorial in SIBER