Dear MARMAM readers, Marine Mammal Research Center (DMAD) is inviting volunteers to participate in thefirst season of boat based cetacean surveys in the Turkish coast ofMediterranean. Theproject aims to determine the cetacean fauna, their distribution and habitats inthe Antalya Bay. 9 cetacean species were recorded in the Turkish part of theMediterranean so far. While bottlenosedolphins, striped dolphins, common dolphins, Risso's dolphins, Cuvier's beaked whale wereconsidered common, minke whale, fin whale, sperm whale, long-finned pilot whaleand  Mesoplodonsp. were considered rare. However, there wasn't any consistant or a long termstudy in the area to identify the cetacean residency in the area. Many listed cetacean species were categorized either as data deficient, vulnerableor endangered.  Therefore, the project aimto fullfill the gaps of missing long term studies in the area by collectingdata on cetacean fauna. Volunteers willbe responsible from collecting sighting and behavioural data together with organisingphoto-ID files thus you will obtain hands-on experience in marine mammalsresearch, boat based field work. Moreover intensive training and mentoring inmarine mammals, photo-ID, statistics and GIS will be provided.Volunteers should be prepared forlong working days in the field, hours of work may vary between 6 to 12 hoursper day, and expect to wake up very early (around 4:30 a.m.). The work will becarried under hot or cold weathers conditions. The field work will take around 2days in a week and office work will take a day or two.Successful applicants will beresponsible for their own transportation to and from Antalya-Turkey. As a newly formed  NGO, the DMAD is just a self-funded centre which means that no outside funding israised yet . In order for you to volunteer, you will have to pay a volunteeringfee that includes the accommodation andcovers a part of other expenses such as the rent for theresearch vessels, the work equipment and their maintenance. Thus, the project cango on independently.  Successful applicants will need to:- be able to live and work withothers in a multi cultural team-have a strong desire to work withmarine mammals under harsh condition This project provides an excellentopportunity for students and individuals interested in getting more experienceand knowledge in the field of marine mammal research. Applicants should send a short emailintroducing themselves to akkayaaylin@yahoo.com. The email should include an outline of why you would like to work on this project.Please also attach a brief CV.  There is no deadline to apply.However, approved applications are accepted on a first-come, first serve basis.Start and end dates are flexible. All the best,Aylin Akkaya Baş