The Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve of the University of Minnesota has opportunities for students to work as Research Interns in two types of positions; 1) Plant community ecology and 2) Insect diversity. These positions will run through the end of October or later. Typical work days are eight hours Monday through Friday, however some projects require weekend and evening work. Pay is $10.00 per hour. If you are a newly graduated student with a background or interest in biology, ecology, environmental science, botany, environmental education, wildlife biology, or related field we encourage you to apply. Below are brief descriptions of the two types of positions available: 1) Plant Community Ecology: We have two large scale projects, along with several smaller scale experiments, that require most of our intern resources throughout the summer. BioCON is one of the large scale experiments where we explore the ways in which plant communities respond to environmental changes such as increased nitrogen deposition, increased atmospheric CO2, decreased biodiversity, and altered precipitation patterns. Another large scale project is the Big Biodiversity experiment that studies how plant diversity affects the rates, dynamics, and stability of ecological processes at the population, community, and ecosystem levels. There are multiple experiments nested within the Big Biodiversity experiment as well, looking at factors such as irrigation and increased temperatures. Throughout the summer we maintain and sample these experiments. For more information and to apply click here. 2) Insect Diversity: This is part of a study of the tallgrass prairies of Minnesota that looks at how harvesting restored prairies for biofuel affects wildlife. The goal of this internship is to sort insect samples collected from different harvest treatments to reveal affects of harvest on diversity and abundance. Sweepnet, pitfall, bee bowl and quantitative samples were frozen after collection and now insects need to be separated from vegetation and identified. This work will take place in the lab at Cedar Creek ESR or at the University of Minnesota’s St. Paul Campus. Prospective interns should be prepared to spend most of the day in front of the microscope and have the ability to handle small objects carefully and efficiently. If you have good attention to detail, patience and an interest in insects, you will find seeing the diversity, strange morphology and rare orders that we encounter to be fun and rewarding. Applicants preferably will have taken an entomology course or will be able to identify many common orders of insects and other arthropods. For more information and to apply click here.
To apply for any of the above intern positions please visit our website, http://www.cedarcreek.umn.edu/about/employment/internships/. The deadline for application submission is August 28th. We will start hiring before the deadline so please submit your application materials as soon as possible.
