Role
description
The Mandrillus Project
aims at longitudinally studying wild mandrills in Southern Gabon. We are
currently recruiting Volunteer Field Assistants for our 2020-2021 field season.
These positions combine practical research with training and are entirely
field-based. The volunteers are trained by and work alongside local field
assistants, field managers, students and researchers, contributing to the
research activities of the Mandrillus Project. Following established protocols,
the fieldwork will primarily involve daily follows of a natural population of
mandrills on foot, collecting data on the behavior of individually recognizable
animals, together with the collection of non-invasive measurements and samples.
Please visit the website of the project to get an idea of the scientific programs
that are currently running (http://www.projetmandrillus.com/research-and-conservation.html).
Positions
available
Three Volunteer Field
Assistant positions are currently available running for 12 months from September
2002 to August 2021.
What
we cover
Once the volunteers
arrive in the field site, the Mandrillus Project covers all their work-related
costs, including accommodation (private equipped room with air-con and private
bathroom, shared kitchen) and a stipend for meals (about 200€/month). Stipend
may increase after 6 months of stay. Volunteers need to
take at their own charge, a repatriation and health insurance for their entire
stay (we will ask for a proof).
Who
are we looking for?
This position is open
to all with an interest in animal behavior and ecology. We are particularly
keen to hear from applicants who:
• Are
friendly, easy-going people, happy to live in small team at a remote field site
• Are
strongly motivated, reliable, honest and committed
• Have
good levels of physical fitness and stamina - you will be following the
mandrills on foot 12 hours a day, 5-6 days per week, over mountainous terrain,
in heat
• Show
good initiative, with a willingness to learn and show attention to detail
• A
good level in French is a plus
What
do volunteers get out of it?
• An
amazing opportunity to share the lives of wild mandrills in an equatorial
forest landscape
• An
opportunity to learn new skills and gain experience, especially those relevant
to research in behaviour and ecology
• An
opportunity to be involved in a long-term project on African wildlife, hosted
by an international research institution
• An
opportunity to use this field experience with the Mandrillus Project as a
stepping stone on to future Masters and PhD degree courses
• Experience
a new culture and share knowledge with local assistants
Further
information
For further details
about the position, including the work involved, our living conditions in the
field, preparations prior to departure, and what to bring with you, please see
below (and additional information will be provided to successful candidates).
How
to apply
If you would like to
apply, please prepare a CV and a detailed covering letter that should explain
why you would like to work on the project. The CV should include the names of
two referees with e-mail contact details. Applications must be
sent at projetmandrillus@gmail.com by July 15th 2020.
We will notify successfully shortlisted candidates few days after this
deadline, and interviews will be held in Montpellier (for local successful
candidates) or by skype in the following week. Telephone/skype interviews will be
possible for overseas applicants.
* * * * * *
The
Study Site
Weather
Gabon has an
Equatorial climate with little seasonality. Precipitations are important,
almost every day from October to May, and days may be hot (up to 30°C),
although the Lekedi Park benefits from a cooler weather because of its altitude
(600m). The long dry season, from June to September, is characterized by cool
weather (temperatures can fall below 18°C) with no precipitation.
Landscape
The Lekedi Park is
characterized by a mix of savannas and gallery forests interspersed with rivers
and riverbeds. Equatorial Marantaceae forests are found in the area.
Wildlife
The Lekedi park is
home to a variety of wildlife including forest buffalos, several Apes
(chimpazees, gorillas) and other primates (cephus, nictitans) and, of course,
mandrills! Predators include, occasionally, leopards (but don’t expect any
encounter with them!). Birds and reptiles also abound.
Location
The Lekedi park is
located in Southern Gabon. It is only a 1 hour drive from Moanda, the nearest
town that comprises hotels, petrol stations, banks, basic shops and markets.
Working
Conditions
Data collection
requires full-day follows of the study group. This ensures that the location of
the sleeping sites used by the mandrills each night is known, which in turn
facilitates their pick-up by observers early the next morning. If the day
begins late, or ends early, the mandrills can be lost and may take several days
to relocate. Each day, seven days a week, a team of at least two persons goes
in the field from approx. 6am-6pm. A
driver brings every day the team by car the closest to the mandrills. When
mandrills are located with high confidence, the team enters into the forest and
starts following the mandrills. Field assistants work 5-6 days per week and
benefit from one day or two days off per week during the entire stay.
Working
with mandrills in the Lekedi landscape
Observers and local
field assistants spend half the day on foot in the company of the mandrills in
the forest. Forested environments may be physically demanding because there are
often closed and hilly. Field team members travel (with small backpacks) up to 10-12km
a day, ascending and descending small hills and slippery, muddy, slopes as they
follow the mandrills. The mandrills are habituated to the presence of human
observers, allowing data to be collected from close proximity without causing
disturbance, but observers must always act carefully and responsibly when in
the company of these wild animals. Data collection is largely conducted with
handheld computers. Faecal and urine samples are also collected on a routine
basis. On-site supervision and detailed guidelines will be provided describing
how to work with the mandrills in the forest.
Living
Conditions
Accommodation
The fully-furnished, air-conditioned rooms are located in a small research complex where the lab and offices are. It is located at the entrance of the park near other houses: the house of the managers of the project, the one of the director of the park and another one for the vet of the park.
The fully-furnished, air-conditioned rooms are located in a small research complex where the lab and offices are. It is located at the entrance of the park near other houses: the house of the managers of the project, the one of the director of the park and another one for the vet of the park.
Food
Field team members prepare their own food in the communal, fully-furnished kitchen located in the research complex. Once every two weeks, the manager brings the field team members to Moanda to buy food and supplies.
Field team members prepare their own food in the communal, fully-furnished kitchen located in the research complex. Once every two weeks, the manager brings the field team members to Moanda to buy food and supplies.
Telephone
and e-mail
The Project has access
to wi-fi in the Field team members are advised to buy a local mobile phone chip
when they arrive in Libreville or in Moanda.
Visitors
and vacation
Volunteers cannot make
arrangements to receive visitors during their stay at the Project (including
local visitors). In addition, tourists are not allowed to visit the study group
of mandrills. For vacations, volunteers need to plan to stay additional weeks
following their 6-month commitment to the project. In these cases, a visa
extension will be needed. Volunteers need to make their own arrangements.