Assitant needed for a study of clearwing butterfly (Nymphalidae: Ithomiini) ecology at the Los Amigos Biological Station (CICRA) in Madre de Dios, Peru.
The study aims to explore drivers of patterns in abundance and distribution in western Amazonian butterflies. The study is based at the Los Amigos Biological Station (CICRA), a privately managed research facility adjacent to the 150,000 hectare Los Amigos Conservation Concession. The station provides easy access to a variety of forest and aquatic habitats, including high and low terrace terra firme forest, oxbow lakes and two rivers, as well as intact plant and animal communities. Assistants will work primarily in butterfly husbandry, and in particular in the rearing of immature stages. Time will also be spent in the field, along forest transects and in plots, searching potential hostplants (Solanaceae, Gesneriaceae) for butterfly eggs and larvae. The field site is remote (ca. 10 hours by boat from Puerto Maldonado) and facilities are basic. Weather is typically mild, but in dry months (May – Oct./Nov. heat and humidity can be oppressive. Mosquitoes are abundant, especially in the wet season (Dec. – March/April). Assistants should be prepared both physically and mentally for the remote and difficult field conditions, as well as long working days. However, the Los Amigos station provides access to some of the most pristine rainforest habitat in the southern Peruvian Amazon, where plant, bird, and mammal communities are undisturbed by logging, mining, or hunting. Insect diversity in particular is extreme, with nearly 1,300 butterfly species alone recorded from the region. Currently no funding is available for the position, and assistants should be prepared to cover their costs at the CICRA station (currently $25 per day, including 3 meals). Assistants are needed from May – August/September 2013. A minimum stay of 1 month is required, but 3 months will be preferred. Exact dates are negotiable. Those interested should send a brief cover letter, CV, and contact information for two references to Geoff Gallice: ggallice [at] ufl.edu CICRA/Los Amigos website: http://www.amazonconservation.org/ourwork/research.html
