_Description_: The United States Geological Survey (USGS) Patuxent
Wildlife Research Center is seeking three to four full-time volunteer
interns to assist with monitoring least terns /(Sternula antillarum)
/and common terns /(Sterna hirundo) /on Poplar Island, an Army Corps of
Engineers habitat restoration project located in the Chesapeake Bay. Two
interns will primarily be assisting a M.S. student with his research
while the other interns will be assisting more generally with field data
collection and office work. Interns assisting with the M.S. student will
have the following duties: 1) assist with data collection in field at
field sites through Maryland, 2) assist with building a surveillance
system and troubleshooting as needed, 3) analyzing footage and
processing temperature data in lab, and 4) collecting scientific
research and proofreading manuscripts. The primary duties of the general
interns will be: 1) assist research scientists with weekly nest
monitoring efforts, 2) assist with banding least and common tern chicks
for a mark-resight study, 3) using binoculars and birding scope, read
unique alpha-numeric code (eg. A03) on plastic field readable banded
chicks, 4) assist with colony counts for nesting herons and egrets, 5)
conduct office work including data entry, proofing, etc., 6) assist with
other duties on the island including habitat restoration, disease
monitoring, UAV (drone) studies, etc., and 7) participate in data
analysis and writing of subsequent manuscripts as appropriate.
This is an unpaid three-month internship; however, internship for
university credit can be supported. PWRC is located in Beltsville, MD
and boat launch will be from Annapolis, MD. Interns assisting the M.S.
student will be traveling to Baltimore and Ocean City, MD as well.
Interns are responsible for their own housing and transportation to the
boat launch (on field days) and office (on non-field days). The position
will begin in May and end in August, with some flexibility on start/end
dates. Interested applicants should send a cover letter, resume, and
three references to Paul Marbán at [email protected]
<mailto:[email protected]>. *Please write “Poplar Internship
Application” and your name in the subject line and send all application
materials as a single attachment using the following naming format:
LastName_FirstName_Internship_Application.doc. Please specify your
available start date and end dates, and any birding experience you might
have.*
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Last date to apply is *March 10, 2017*.
_Requirements_: Minimum qualifications include:
·Bachelor of Science degree (or in the process of obtaining) in wildlife
biology, environmental science, or related field.
·Experience identifying North American waterbirds and shorebirds preferred
·Working knowledge of electrical wiring, carpentry, and power tools
preferred
·Strong attention to detail and safe work habits
·Ability to work as a part of a team as well as independently
·Effective communication skills
·Data entry experience
·Tolerance of hot, humid, or buggy work conditions
·Ability to commute to field-site on a 16-25’ open cabin boat
·Interest in having fun and learning along the way!
