Volunteer field assistant for a dissertation project examining woolly monkey male development and behavior in Ecuador
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Position:
Volunteer field assistant for a dissertation project examining woolly monkey male development and behavior in Ecuador
Position description:
Two field assistants are needed for a dissertation project studying male development and social behavior in wild woolly monkeys (Lagothrix poeppigii). The research is conducted at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station in Yasuni, Ecuador and is part of the long-term data collection overseen by Dr. Anthony Di Fiore of UT Austin. Field assistants will be responsible for (a) learning individual identities, (b) learning to locate study groups using radiotelemetry, (c) collecting group scan data, (d) taking photographs to track individual growth over the course of the study, (e) collecting fecal samples to analyze testosterone and cortisol, and (f) taking GPS data on range use. The fieldwork for this project involves long days of following monkeys in the rainforest (~13 hours a day) and office days spent inputting data into the project database. The TBS field station is located on the Tiputini river in the lowland rainforest of Ecuador. The site includes office space for researchers, cabins with showers (each room is shared with 1-3 other people depending on how crowded the site is) and dining facilities. Laundry services, housekeeping and meals are provided by the station staff. The staff are very accommodating about individual dietary restrictions (i.e. vegetarian, lactose intolerance, etc…) Electricity is available for a few hours a day in the cabins and most of the day in the office. Limited internet access is available for an additional fee ($1.50 per hour). Travel from Quito to the site will be arranged for you. More information on the site can be found at: http://www.usfq.edu.ec/programas_academicos/Tiputini/Paginas/default.aspx and http://woollology.weebly.com/
Qualifications:
Applicants should have a B.S. or a B.A. in Anthropology, Biology, Ecology, or a related field. Fluency in English is required and experience with Spanish is helpful. Good physical fitness is essential as most of the day will be spent hiking after the study groups. Applicants should be comfortable being outdoors for long periods of time and off trail in the forest. Previous experience with camera equipment (especially taking photographs in low light levels) and/or behavioral data collection is a plus.
Salary/funding:
This is a volunteer position so there is no salary. Volunteers will be expected to pay for their travel to the site (usually around $800 round trip from the U.S.) and the first two months of their stay (at $38 a day). After the first two months, the P.I. will cover the remainder of the stay at the site. The daily price is set by the field station and includes housing, meals and the other services the station provides. The volunteer must provide proof of health insurance and vaccination for yellow fever (this should be set up in advance of coming to the site). The volunteer will also be responsible for providing their own basic gear (binoculars, field clothing, backpack, etc…). The project will provide other equipment, including GPS, radiotelemetry, etc… A comprehensive list of what to bring will be provided to successful applicants.
Term of appointment:
6 months beginning in late September/early October of 2015. Because the training process requires at least a month assistants must be willing to commit to at least 6 months.
Application deadline:
Position will remain open until filled.
Comments:
If interested please email Evelyn Pain at evely...@gmail.com. with your CV/resume, contact information for two references (at least one of which should be academic) and a brief letter stating why you are interested in participating in this project. The subject heading for the email should read: Application for field research position.
Contact information:
Evelyn Pain
S-512 Social and Behavioral Sciences Building,
Stony Brook University,
Stony Brook, NY 11794-4364
USA
Website:
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