ARCTIC ALASKA AVIAN FIELD BIOLOGISTS – NEST MONITORING CREWS

at Wildlife Conservation Society

Location:
Arctic Alaska

Duration:
25 May to 25 July 2012

Job Type:
Seasonal

Application Deadline:
04/15/2012

Job Description:
Field Associates (3) and Crew Leader (2) needed from 25 May to 25 July 2012 to participate in a project with the Wildlife Conservation Society studying nesting productivity in a suite of tundra-nesting birds (primarily shorebird and waterfowl species). One 3-person crew will work in an oil-developed area near Prudhoe Bay and a 2-person crew will work in a remote region near the Ikpikpuk River in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska. Duties include re-establishing study plots, conducting nest searches (using both rope drag and behavioral nest search techniques), monitoring discovered nests for survivorship, floating eggs to determine age, conducting surveys for potential nest predators, collecting snow cover and habitat data, and data entry. The Ikpikpuk crew will also assist another crew trapping and banding shorebirds species, and with insect sampling. The Prudhoe Bay crew will access study plots in the oilfields using a vehicle and will interact with oilfield personnel on a daily basis. One of the Prudhoe Bay field associates will focus on a separate side-project identifying nest predators at active nests of tundra-nesting shorebirds and passerines using 15 motion-triggered cameras. This position will require maintenance of Reconyx® camera systems and relocating cameras to new nests when the previously monitored nests are no longer active, and be responsible for managing the data (downloading predation events, data entry, etc.). Employees will be paid a monthly stipend of $1200 - 1800 depending on experience. Travel/hotel costs within Alaska will be provided. For the Prudhoe Bay crew, room and board (at facilities in the Prudhoe Bay oil field) will be provided. Essential camping gear will be provided for at the Ikpikpuk site. Travel to Alaska will be partially covered ($500 voucher) by WCS.

To Apply:
. Please send a cover letter, resume and at least three references (with contact information) by email to JOE LIEBEZEIT (EM: jliebezeit AT wcs.org). *Please send application materials as a SINGLE MICROSOFT WORD DOCUMENT*. Include in your cover letter any relevant experience and your interest in applying for this position. Application deadline: April 15, 2012 although hiring will begin AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.

Qualifications:
Preferred applicants will have good bird identification skills, solid nest-searching experience, and be familiar with using a compass, GPS, and Micro-soft Excel. At the Ikpikpuk site preferred applicants will also have some banding / bird handling experience, outdoor camping/wilderness and firearms experience. Applicants must be enthusiastic, in excellent physical condition and willing to hike many miles each day in hip boots, and be able to work independently as well as with others for long hours in, sometimes, difficult field conditions. Field conditions will often be wet and cold, then buggy later in the season. Applicants must be comfortable working in bear country. At Ikpikpuk, employees will be working out of a remote field camp (tent living) for approximately 7 weeks (with 2-3 other people) and will be expected to participate in camp set-up and maintenance. A valid driver's license is required for the Prudhoe Bay crew. A B.S. degree in wildlife ecology or a related field is preferred, but not required. Non-U.S. citizen applicants must have (or obtain) a social security number.