Our research group is looking for driven and
energetic students and researchers interested in working with tropical
birds in Manu National Park, Peru. Our project will take place between
first week of August and mid-December of 2014 at sites along an
elevational gradient from 400 – 3400m (lowland jungle to montane
treeline). Within this gradient, we work at several permanent field
stations (Pantiacolla – 400m, San Pedro – 1400m, Wayqecha – 2900m).
We have a number of volunteer positions available. Primary activities in
this work include nest searching and monitoring as well as mist-netting
and banding, collection of samples from captured birds, vegetation
plots, field recordings, metabolic measurements, and playback
experiments.
We work six days a week at each field station from approximately 6am to
6pm, with occasional data entry and organization in the evenings.
Mist-netting teams are expected to hike to and work in more remote areas
for up to two weeks at a time. Field conditions are variable, depending
on the field station to which assistants are assigned. Please visit our
webpage (link below) for specific details on each station. In all
cases, communication is limited at best, and assistants can expect to be
out of touch for 2-3 weeks at a time. We camp in tents for the entirety
of the season and cook for ourselves (rice, pasta, legumes, cassava,
plantain, and fresh-ish vegetables). At field stations, generator power
is available on a nightly basis.
Applicants should be in good physical condition, must be able to work
well in a group setting, and should be willing to work long hours under
difficult conditions (heat, rain, cold, high humidity and lots of biting
and stinging insects). Please read comments from previous field
assistants at our project website
(http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~jankowsk/Manu_Assistants.html).
In this
position, we cover station fees, food and transportation to and from the
field sites for all assistants. Salaries and airfare to Cusco are not
provided.
This work is most appropriate for those pursuing a career in ecology or
behavior and who have previous field experience working in remote
locations.
There are
often opportunities for students to develop thesis projects, and such
students are strongly encouraged to apply.
Please keep in mind that
these are competitive positions and we receive many applicants each
year. We will accept applications for field assistant positions until
May 10 for the fall portion of the project (August to December), which
includes all activities.
To apply, please send a completed application form (available on our
website) and your CV to manubirdproject@gmail.com.
More information on the project and information for potential assistants
can be found on our project webpage:
http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~jankowsk/Manu_Project.html
To apply, please
send a completed application form (available on our
website;(http://www.zoology.ubc.ca/~jankowsk/Manu_Assistants.html) and
your CV to manubirdproject@gmail.com.
We are
looking for volunteers that have previous experience with nest
searching, mist netting and studies with bird behavior in the field.
Additional, we prefer people that like to leave in remote areas, camp
and hike and that would be affect by weather or limited diet during long
periods of time (5 months)