FIELD RESEARCH ASSISTANT

Location:

El Oro, Ecuador

Duration:
15 November 2014 – 15 April 2015

Job Description:
FIELD RESEARCH ASSISTANT needed for investigation of the endangered endemic El Oro Parakeet, Pyrrhura orcesi, throughout its breeding season. Field team will be working in the tropical montane cloud forest of SW Ecuador, in Buenaventura Reserve and the adjacent habitat matrix. The project will examine the impact of habitat fragmentation on this cooperatively breeding parakeet and will design a sociobosque corridor that protects its continued dispersal. Field work will include nestbox trapping of parakeets for measurement, banding, and sampling; observation based on coloured leg bands; gathering landscape data; and outreach, education, and survey work in the local community.

Position is unpaid, but flight costs, accommodation, and food will be covered by the project. Start and end dates are somewhat flexible. The rough aim is for a schedule consisting of 5 field days, 1 data entry day, and 1 resting day; however the schedule will be entirely dictated by the needs of the project and thus be subject to constant modification.

To apply: 
Applicants should send a letter of interest and CV with names, telephone numbers, and e-mail address of three references to Emma Steigerwald atemma.c.steigerwald@gmail.com. The email subject should be ‘Research Assistant Application’. Applications must be submitted by 15 August 2014.

Qualifications:
*Bachelor’s degree in biology or related major, attained or working towards

*Spanish fluency is highly desirable

*Fitness—ability to cope with long field days traversing difficult and steep terrain

*Attention to detail in collecting and entering reliable data

*Experience handling birds, reading colour ID bands, and using GPS will be valued

*Willingness to work in rainy, cool, and muddy conditions