[Coral-List] Buck Island Sea Turtle Research Program Research Assistant Vacancy Announcement 2008

[Ian_Lundgren at nps.gov]

   Hello all,



   Thank  you  for  your patience. I give up on savvy file-hosting sites.
   Consider  this  a  failed experiment. Regardless, here is the complete
   announcement:



   Buck  Island  Reef National Monument (BIRNM), located on the island of
   St.  Croix,  US Virgin Islands, is seeking applicants for the position
   of  Sea  Turtle Research Assistant (RA) to conduct sea turtle research
   and  monitoring.  This  will  be the 21^st year of the Buck Island Sea
   Turtle Research Program (BISTRP), a long-term monitoring, research and
   conservation  project  supported  by  the National Park Service (NPS),
   Buck  Island  Reef  National  Monument.  BIRNM  is a nesting beach for
   hawksbill    (Eretmochelys   imbricata),   green   (Chelonia   mydas),
   leatherback  (Dermochelys  coriacea), and loggerhead (Caretta caretta)
   sea turtles.


   RAs  must  be  available  from  June through October (applicant should
   state availability in their cover letter) and are expected to stay the
   length  of  the  project  (specific  dates will be identified in phone
   interviews).  This  is a highly competitive project that is physically
   and   mentally   intense,  aimed  at  individuals  who  want  to  make
   ecology/resource  management  their  career.  RAs  must  work  equally
   effectively as a team and alone.


   RAs  will  provide  assistance  to the NPS staff in the collection and
   processing  of  field  data.  Buck  Island's  nesting  beaches will be
   monitored  7  days/week sundown to sunup, by a joint team of NPS staff
   and RAs. Access to the island is by boat only, where there are minimal
   facilities.  All  nesting  turtles will be encountered; biometric data
   will  be collected on turtles, physical data will be collected on nest
   locations,  and  animals will be tagged (inconel and PIT).  Nests will
   be  excavated  to  determine  hatch  success.  Imperiled nests will be
   relocated  as  part  of  graduate thesis research to determine optimal
   relocation  conditions. As part of this graduate work RAs will collect
   soil   samples,   deploy   temperature  loggers,  take  water  related
   measurements, and participate in processing histological samples.


   Each RA will be scheduled for up to 5 nights on the beach, or 4 nights
   and1  day  of lab/office work (data entry and sample processing), on a
   dynamic schedule. RAs will be responsible for field equipment care and
   maintenance. RAs are also responsible for weekly daytime monitoring of
   beaches  at The Buccaneer Hotel, their residence, recording activities
   using  GPS.  RAs  will also conduct outreach to hotel guests. RAs will
   write  a  report at season's end summarizing turtle nesting activities
   at The Buccaneer Hotel.


   RAs   will  receive  meals  and  lodging  from  The  Buccaneer  Hotel,
   reimbursement   for  incidentals  from  the  NPS  ($35/week),  and  an
   invaluable  experience  learning  research techniques and encountering
   threatened  and endangered sea turtles. Potentially, reimbursement for
   travel  may become available; however applicants must expect that this
   will  not happen. RAs need to seriously consider their finances before
   applying to these openings.

Deadline for application: 5 March 2008, 11:59pm
To apply, send a cover letter stating your interest in and qualifications for t
he project, a resume summarizing your experience, and contact information for t
hree references to the email address below. Email is preferred, but postal mail
/fax is accepted.
 If selected for interview you will be contacted by the end of March, no need t
o follow up with a phone call.