Marine Mammal Research Internship

Program Description

The IMMS Research Internship Program is designed as a way for students interested in a career in marine mammal science to gain valuable research experience in a real-world setting. Interns will be trained in all aspects of dolphin photo-id research and will participate in other current research projects at IMMS. Interns will also participate in other operations at IMMS including stranding response, education, and animal care. Our goal is to give Interns a well-rounded experience in a variety of areas while providing expert training and experience in marine mammal research.

Principle Duties and Requirements
 Interns must:

• Commit to a minimum of at least 12 weeks.
• Be available to work Mon-Fri from 8:30 AM to 4 PM and must be available for all boat trips.
• Have strong sense of responsibility, work ethic, attention to detail, and ability to admit mistakes.
• Produce high quality research efforts and exhibit strong interpersonal skills.

• Principle Duties include: data entry, searching and cataloging journal articles, learning all research protocols, cropping and sorting photo-id fin images, learning to use photo-id programs such as Darwin (fin matching software), and FinBase (Microsoft Access), and boat based field research.
• Secondary Duties involve: Working with animal care staff, attending marine mammal and sea turtle necropsies, responding to strandings, assisting with educational tours.
• Field days: Interns must be able to spend many hours on the water in sometimes extreme seasonal conditions.  Seasonal temperatures range from over 100 ˚F in summer to 30 ˚F in winter.  Field days typically exceed eight hours and occur once or twice a week. May include overnight trips.

Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must be 18 or older and must have a genuine interest in marine research. Applicants should be actively pursuing a college degree or be a recent graduate in oceanography, marine science/biology, biology, or a related field. Previous research experience in any capacity is a plus. Applicants must be able and willing to fulfill all duties outlined for this Internship Program. This is an unpaid position and Interns are responsible for their own housing and transportation. Once accepted, IMMS staff will be able to assist Interns in suggesting suitable housing options and locations.

To Apply
Please visit http://imms.org/internship.php

Jamie Klaus

Research Assistant

Institute for Marine Mammal Studies

P.O. Box 207

Gulfport, MS 39502

Phone: (228) 701-1761

Fax: (228) 896-9183

Email: jamie@imms.org

http://www.imms.org