KiaOra!
A position is open for volunteers to assist
with bottlenose and common dolphin field surveys in the East Coast Bay of
Plenty, New Zealand, from November 2010 to April 2011.
PROJECT BACKGROUND:
Growing interest in observing and swimming
with free-ranging cetaceans has contributed to a rapid growth of dolphin-based
tourism operations. The present study aims to assess the effects of interacting
activities on common and bottlenose dolphin behaviour within the East Coast Bay
of Plenty waters.
FIELD WORK:
Observations and
data collection will mainly be conducted from a 5.5m research boat equipped
with an outboard engine. Surveys will be carried out in the coastal
waters of the East Coast Bay of Plenty, starting from Tauranga.
Fieldwork will be weather
dependent and may vary between weekdays and weekends, so volunteers should be
available full-time including weekends and be prepared to work long hours with
early starts. Aboard
the research boat assistants will be required to assist in boat handling and
data collection (photo-identification, behaviour
monitoring). Volunteers are also expected to participate in data entry and
database/catalogue maintenance duties.
Field work is physically and at times mentally demanding but it is a great opportunity to gain knowledge in visual cetacean surveying, to get hands-on field experience in relation to survey techniques, photo-identification, behavioral observations, and improve practical skills.
PREREQUISITES:
-
Be reliable, adaptable, hardworking and patient as fieldwork is
highly weather dependent. This means office based work during bad weather and
long consecutive days in the field when weather permits.
-
Be prepared to work long days with early start in a small vessel.
-
Be sociable, enthusiastic and have a positive attitude.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
-
A
background in Biology, Marine Biology, Ecology, Zoology or related field
-
Basic
computer proficiency in Microsoft Office (especially
Excel and Access) +
ArcGIS
-
Field
research experience with marine mammals (preferred but not required)
-
Must
be able to swim
-
A
full driving license (manual transmission)
-
Boat
operation experience (preferred but not required)
-
An
ability to work, live and communicate well with others
Priority
will be given to volunteers available for a minimum of 2 months, however all
applicants will be considered.
This is a volunteer position, so
there is unfortunately no monetary compensation or living provisions.
Volunteers will be responsible for travel to Tauranga and their own living
expenses. Pick up from Auckland may be possible but will be dependent on
arrival time.
If you are interested, please send a letter
of interest, a CV (with photo) and contacts for referees to a.m.meissner@massey.ac.nz
Cheers, Anna
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Anna M. Meissner
PhD student
Coastal-Marine
Research Group
Institute of Natural
Sciences
Massey University
Private Bag 102 904
North Shore City, 0745
Auckland, New Zealand
Tel: +64
9 414 0800 ext 41520
Cell:
+64 22 603 6646
Fax: +64
9 443 9790
Email: a.m.meissner@massey.ac.nz
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