Research Assistant. The Owl Monkey Project
Position description
The
field site is located in a 25,000 ha cattle ranch, 30km away from
Formosa city (150,000 people). The area includes gallery forests,
savannahs and wetlands. Over the course of the year, there will surely
be plenty of opportunities for encountering two species of peccaries,
two species of deer, rheas, armadillos, howler monkeys, various snakes,
toucans, and tamanduas.
Every
now and then we encounter capybaras, tapirs, cats, foxes, giant
anteater, and maned wolf. We can guarantee the assistant will also
experience other creatures from the forest: mosquitoes and ticks are
definitely bad (but carry no diseases in this area). There are
relatively low risks of poisonous snakes or spiders (although we had the
first, and only, bite by a poisonous snake in 2010). We all are
required to wear rubber boots in the field.
The
work will be rigorous and demanding. Assistants will be expected to
work about 10 hours in the field each day, about 25 days out of each
month. There will also be much time spent in the Field Station in the
City of Formosa, where the assistant will stay at least one or even two
days every 10 days. The climate is very frequently hot; thus
persistence, maturity, dedication, and good humor are very important.
Accommodation
can be in a few different settings. The project has access to a house
in the city of Formosa, 25km away from the forest, where there will be
lodging facilities during weekends, when the weather is not conducive to
being in the field or when there is the need to work in the office. In
the forest, accommodation will be in tents, where there is no electric
power and no toilettes. In the field, the project has a hut (a.k.a the
“quincho”) where we storage our equipment and food. It also has a
gas-kitchen and an area for communal use.
You can now watch out our work on Netflix's documentary: Night on Earth (ep. 3) and Night on Earth: shot in the dark!
We are currently looking for assistants to collaborate in two ongoing studies:
1. The
first study, led by Dr. E. Fernandez-Duque, will evaluate the influence
that the competition between solitary floaters and resident reproducing
adults has on a pair-bonded primate society. Owl monkeys are born into
small groups that include a pairbonded male and female, and some young.
Once they become adults, all male and female owl monkeys disperse from
their natal groups to become solitary floaters. Both male and female
solitary adults need to enter a group to reproduce, which generates
intense competition between them and the pair-bonded adults who already
have reproducing positions in groups. The assistant will collect life-history /demographic data, and biological samples (feces)
from which DNA will be extracted, from all individuals in 30 groups of
owl monkeys within the Owl Monkey Reserve, as well as from 15 groups
upstream and 15 groups downstream from the main area of study.
2. A
second study, led by Ph.D. candidate Griette van der Heide, explores
the bottom-up effects of a tree community’s spatiotemporal distribution
of functional and trophic effect traits on the nutritional ecology and
mating pattern of Azara’s owl monkey. Functional traits affect plant
growth and survival, while trophic effect traits affect organisms at the
next trophic level. Since primates heavily depend on plants as food in
tropical forests, they are bound to respond to a community’s “functional
landscape”. The goals are to (1) identify the ecological correlates of
owl monkey feeding, diet, and nutrition, and (2) monogamy, (3) greatly
improve our understanding of Humid Chaco forest functioning, and (4)
develop a drone remote sensing phenology method and a novel “primate
functional ecology” data collection framework. We will collect fruits on trees (yes, we will climb!) and we will use drones to assess forest composition.
Qualifications
We
are looking for applicants whose qualifications include a background in
primatology, animal behavior, ecology, biology, or biological
anthropology, and who have a demonstrated motivation and capacity for
independent work. Proficiency in Spanish is helpful, though you need not
be a fluent speaker. Good social skills and a profound sensitivity to
and respect of foreign cultures are a MUST. Flexibility and adaptability
to different living conditions also a must. Previous field experience
is required; previous experience climbing trees and/or collecting
behavioral data is a plus, but not required. Expertise in data
management, ArcGIS, telemetry, behavioral methods, and/or statistics
will also be considered a plus, but not required either. We would like
to have the assistants start not later than May 2020. A commitment of at
least 6 months is required.
Funding
This is a volunteer position.
Support provided for internship/volunteer positions (travel, meals, lodging)
Assistants
will have their lodging costs covered; the lodging fees in the field
station in the city of Formosa (which includes shared room and bathroom,
use of laboratory facilities, use of
kitchen,
internet access), the research fees associated with staying in camp,
the costs of traveling back and forth to the field when needed and the
required membership with Fundación ECO of Formosa.
Necessary research gear for field work (e.g., binoculars, notebooks) will also be provided.
Applicants
are expected to cover their own visa costs (in case they need it),
health and accident insurance and personal field gear (clothes, boots,
pack, etc).
Assistants
will receive a small stipend to cover their meals while in camp, any
other personal expenses will be covered by applicants. US citizens can
request being considered for additional funding through a USA National
Science Foundation award to Fernandez-Duque.
Term of Appointment:
6-12 months.
6-12 months.
Application Deadline:This position is opened until filled. Applications will be evaluated in the order they are received.
Comments:
Interested applicants must sent, via email, the materials indicated below. All materials should be combined into a single PDF file saved with the applicants’ first and last name as follows: “FirstName_LastName.pdf”. Successfully following these simple instructions will be part of the applicant’s evaluation.
Interested applicants must sent, via email, the materials indicated below. All materials should be combined into a single PDF file saved with the applicants’ first and last name as follows: “FirstName_LastName.pdf”. Successfully following these simple instructions will be part of the applicant’s evaluation.
* Letter of interest
* CV including any courses taken in ecology, biology, botany, and animal behavior
* Description of your computer skills, including details of your expertise with
Excel, stat packages and Access.
* Description of previous fieldwork and outdoor experiences
* Email references from two people (preferably professors or research supervisors with whom you have worked closely) in which they provide information about you experiences, skills, and training
Contact Information: