Want to learn more about creating and restoring habitat for wildlife? Want to build wetlands, tropical fish pools, and other types of aquatic habitat and wait and see the amphibians and other aquatic species that move in? Would you like to spend time living and learning about the tropical jungle and its inhabitants? Happy to get down and dirty? Then this is the internship for you!

The T.R.E.E.S Research Center sits on 200 acres of lowland broadleaf forest and has a large permanent creek running through the property fed by numerous mountain streams. There are several species of stream-breeding amphibians as well as semi-aquatic turtles that live and breed on site, including some rare and endemic species. However, permanent and ephemeral wetland habitat is lacking and is a limiting factor in the persistence of a number of amphibian and reptile species. Some species have been observed breeding at the center in man-made structures such as water cisterns, livestock ponds, and buckets and barrels. The goal of this internship is to create a variety of ephemeral and permanent waterbodies that will attract and maintain populations of breeding amphibians as well as fish, reptiles (especially turtles), birds, and other wildlife. In keeping with our sustainable agriculture and permaculture initiatives, we would also hope to create habitat that may have other uses as well, including ponds that are stocked with native edible fish like tuba and crana and wetlands that may also act as natural septic fields that serve to fertilize water-loving fruit trees like bananas, heliconia, and plantain.

T.R.E.E.S will provide manpower and tools to implement this project and Ecorana will advise from a scientific perspective with respect to amphibian breeding habitat requirements, but ultimately it will be the student’s responsibility to design the project(s) and see its creation through. We are looking for interns who are independent yet willing to work in a team environment. This internship is ideal for a student pursuing a career path in ecological restoration that wants to gain hands-on experience in their field of study while living immersed in a tropical environment.

Tasks

In partnership with Ecorana biologists, conduct a literature review using peer-reviewed resources to identify the breeding habitat requirements of target Neotropical amphibians to ensure that the location and dimensions of wetland habitat created will be adequate.
Design a habitat creation project (or multiple habitat creation projects depending on the target species and use) including specific site identification as well as identifying the appropriate size, materials and tools required to create the habitat and ensure that all materials are available.
Execute the project, which will require a lot of digging and other manual labour (most of the work will be done by manpower and not by machinery).
Transplant and plant native wetland plants, native riparian plants, and food plants that would grow well in wetted conditions.
Transplant native fish and amphibians to populate created wetland and monitor survival and growth rates.
Understand and follow all safety regulations and priorities while working in the field and office.
Create a scientific-style report that includes the literature review and also a methods, results, and discussion section as well as management guidelines outlining how to maintain the created habitat

 

Desired qualifications, physical requirements and work conditions, benefits, terms, fees, and application instructions can all be found here

 Terms

  • No application deadline
  • Length of position: 4 to 6 weeks
  • Schedule: 30 hours per week, Monday–Friday.

To Apply:

For more information about the internship center (T.R.E.E.S Hosting Center), visit: www.treesociety.org

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *