[Coral-List] job announcement: translator Spanish-English for non-commercial taxonomic field guide project (marine benthic fauna of Chilean Patagonia)

[Vreni Haeussermann]

Job
announcement: (marine) biologist as translator of Spanish chapters into English
for a taxonomic field guide in Chilean fjords, start: asap

 

We are a private Foundation (www.huinay.cl) that is operating a biological field station
in Chilean Patagonia. Huinay Scientific Field Station was inaugurated in 2001
and is situated 100 km south of Puerto Montt, in the fjord Comau; it is the
only biological station in a Chilean fjord. The surroundings are characterized
by steep mountains and volcanoes. Almost 6000 mm annual precipitation gives
rise to extremely lush vegetation characterized by extra-tropical rain forests.


The small
village Huinay with its approx. 25 inhabitants can only be accessed by a 1 hour
boat-trip (speed boat) from Hornopiren. Most infrastructure - except some small
shops and a rural hospital in Hornopiren - is located in Puerto Montt, a 3 to 4
h drive or bus trip from Hornopiren. 

 

We have started
working on a non-profit taxonomic field guide project in 1997
("Benthic fauna of the Chilean fjord region"), and have collected
thousands of specimens from all over the fjord region which have all been
photographed in their habitat. We are working in cooperation with more than 40
renowned taxonomic specialists from 13 countries who have been identifying the
material and writing the chapters. The book will be published in English and
Spanish. The first edition of the book will include the 500 most common
shallow-water species. Most chapters have already been submitted, the rest will
be submitted by the end of this year. More than half of the English chapters
have already been revised. 

 

Due to the sudden and unexpected death of our translator, we are at
short notice looking for:

 

a (marine)
biologist with experience in taxonomy who can translate our Spanish chapters
into English (presence in Huinay not needed).

The following
chapters have to be translated:

a)     
general: oceanography, geology,
geography (approx. 10-15 pages each)

b)     
species descriptions: Sipunculida,
Echiura, Polychaeta, Platyhelminthes, Bivalvia, Gastropoda, Ascidia, fish
(altogether approx. 150 species plus introductions)

 

We can offer:
6000 Pesos per page (13 US $), or 10 Pesos (2,1c) per word.

When: now to end of July

 

Contact: please send your CV and cover
letter to Vreni Häussermann, v.haussermann at huinay.cl, and cc to huinayresearch at gmail.com

 

Some
background of the field guide project 

Of all South
American countries, Chile,
with 4200 km of straight measured coastline, has the longest coast with the
South East Pacific Ocean. More than one third of its geographical length is
taken up by the highly structured Patagonian fjord region; stretched out this
would translate into more than 80,000 km of coastline. For technical and
historical reasons, and the difficulty of access in the past, this region
possesses some of the least studied marine environments in the world; even the
Antarctic shelf and many deep-sea areas are better known. Only recently studies
revealed that the Patagonian fjord region is a biodiversity hot spot and is
inhabited by very unique and fragile marine benthic communities such as the
cold-water coral banks found in shallow waters. 

Valuable natural resources and favourable
conditions for aquaculture provided an incentive to 'open-up' the region for
development resulting in an unparalleled economic boom during the last 15
years. Fish farming is still increasing exponentially, with last years
production of Chilean farmed salmon surpassing 400.000 t. Lately, authorities
have recognized that this development requires coastal management plans, legal
regulations and compensatory conservation efforts. But data on marine
environments in the fjord region are so poor that these goals can't be
accomplished satisfactorily with the available information. For example, due to
the lack of biological information, a recent project for a coastal management
plan in the 11 th region was solely developed to “harmonize” economic
interests. 

It is obvious, and increasingly accepted,
that there is an urgent need for biological inventories and ecological studies
to bring zoning projects, management plans, environmental laws and protection
efforts on a sound base. But these basic studies often fail because expertise
and the literature are too fragmentary. Patagonian species of many taxonomic
groups, especially those of minor or no commercial interest, are practically
not identifiable in the field. This depressing situation goes hand in hand with
the false belief held by a large proportion of the Chilean population; that the
marine life along their coast is poor and of no interest. 

The existing environmental laws demand that
the benthic communities close to fish farms are monitored. Biological inventory
studies are necessary for coastal zoning and management plans. The design and
management of marine protected areas requires knowledge of the distribution and
function of benthic communities. All these applications are not possible
without reliable and practical (field-) identification tools for marine
organisms. 

At the moment in Southern Chile, there is
only one marine multi-taxa field guide (bilingual), which includes 123 species
of the exposed coast of Valdivia
. Although illustrated with 1 colour image for each species, the short
descriptions generally do not allow reliable identifications. And, for the
entire fjord region (more than ¾ of the southern Chilean coastline), no
multi-taxa field guide currently exists! Only 3 illustrated field guides
include species from the fjord region (all are molluscs), and only 2 of them
are available in English language. 

           
An illustrated, bilingual (English and Spanish), scientifically rigorous, and
multi-taxa identification field guide, will definitely improve the taxonomic
knowledge and expertise of the marine diversity in the Patagonian fjords. It
will promote sustainable management and conservation efforts and stimulate
research interest and effort in this scientifically neglected region. The
publication will also raise the awareness of the rich, unique, and fragile
marine life of Patagonia amongst the Chilean
and International public. 

 




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