NOAA Hollings Marine Laboratory’s Marine Animal Health Program is recruiting to fill two dolphin photo-identification internship positions for the fall of 2013. The positions are at the NOAA National Ocean Service Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina and will involve a commitment of 20 hours per week extending over a 14 week period from September 9 to December 13, 2013. There is some flexibility in these start and end dates. 
 
Interns will primarily assist with laboratory activities such as data entry, photo-analysis, and stranding response, in addition to participating in a limited amount of fieldwork. Building on existing data from long-term monitoring which has spanned 15+ years, boat-based photo-identification (id) surveys will be conducted for Western North Atlantic bottlenose dolphins in estuaries and near-shore waters of South Carolina as well as remote biopsy surveys near Jacksonville, FL. Specific research questions focus on relationships between contaminants and environmental factors.  The internship offers an excellent opportunity for qualified and motivated individuals to obtain field and laboratory training in photo-id methodology and analysis under the mentorship of experienced dolphin researchers. 
 
There is no compensation for this position, and interns will be responsible for their own living expenses and transportation to and from the laboratory. There may be travel involved for some components of the fieldwork, which will be paid for by the laboratory.
 
Ideal applicants will be advanced undergraduates or
recent graduates of a scientifically-oriented university program in marine
science, biology or a related field. 
Preference will be given to applicants with well-developed computer
skills and boat-based field experience. The internship application consists of
a letter of interest, transcripts of university coursework and two letters of
recommendation from professors or research supervisors who are familiar with applicant’s
scholarship, research skills and work habits relevant to the internship. 

Interested applicants should first correspond with Todd Speakman by email (Todd.Speakman@noaa.gov) before
preparing and submitting application materials. We anticipate filling this
internship position by the August 15, 2013.

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Todd Speakman, Biologist