SEEKING RESEARCH ASSISTANTS FOR THE

CETACEAN RESEARCH UNIT, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Program:          The South West Marine Research Program is a long-term, multi-faceted project on the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins of South West Australia. This program is based in Bunbury (south of Perth) and is a collaboration between Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit and numerous industry and non-profit partners. The research, of PhD and masters students, focuses on dolphin population dynamics, abundance, social structure and behaviour, habitat use, conservation genetics and foraging ecology.

http://mucru.org/research-projects/south-west-marine-research-program/

Outline:           Here, I am seeking research volunteers to assist on a PhD project focussing on population dynamics and predictive habitat modelling of coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) in Bunbury. Long term data will be used to investigate population dynamics and habitat use, in order to aid in future conservation and management efforts.

Field work is conducted from Busselton to Binningyup within a 520km² area consisting of coastal beaches, inshore bays, estuarine inlets and a river. Using a rigid sampling design, this research is conducted year round via standardised line transect surveys (up to 5nm offshore) from a small research vessel.

This experience will be most useful to students or anyone hoping to pursue a career in behavioural ecology, population biology or marine science.

http://mucru.org/group-members/kate-sprogis/

Supervisors:     Dr Lars Bejder (Murdoch University), Prof. Ken Pollock (Murdoch University), Dr Halina Kobryn (Murdoch University), Dr Dave Johnston (Duke University, North Carolina) and Dr Randall Wells (Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, Florida).

Office:             Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit, South West Marine Research Program Office based at the Dolphin Discovery Centre in Bunbury.

http://www.dolphindiscovery.com.au/

Duties:             Field: spotting wildlife, data collection, boat driving, photo identification

Office: Data entry, fin matching, project organisation

Computer programs used for data are: FinBase, ACDSee, Logger, Microsoft Access, Excel and Word.

Time Period:   Seeking skilled research assistants in the period of January 2012- March 2013. Because of the training required, applicants must be willing to commit to the project fulltime (five days a week) for a minimum of two months. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide monetary compensation or living provisions and research assistants will be responsible for their own travel to Western Australia and living expenses. Please note, the Bunbury backpackers provide good discounts for assistants of the Dolphin Discovery Centre.

Assistants should:

Be adaptable and patient as fieldwork is highly weather dependent. Fieldwork will vary between weekdays and weekends. When the weather permits fieldwork could be long and on consecutive days.

Preferred   skills/traits:PRE

1. Enrolled in or completed a degree in biology, marine science, animal behaviour or a related field.

2. Previous field experience with wildlife (field data collection, photo-identification, boat handling skills).

3. Be enthusiastic, team oriented and have a positive attitude as well as a genuine interest in wildlife science.

If you are interested in volunteering or interning, please provide a short CV and a cover letter to the attention of Kate Sprogis (k.sprogis@murdoch.edu.au).

Kate Sprogis, BMarSt Hons

PhD Candidate

Murdoch University Cetacean Research Unit

Centre for Fish and Aquatic Ecosystems Research

School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology

Faculty of Science and Engineering

Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia