Project description:
The
Pheasant-tailed jacana project was started by Prof. András Liker, University of
Pannonia, Veszprém (Hungary) with Dr. Nolwenn Fresneau as a postdoctoral
researcher in 2019. This
project focuses on understanding the demographic drivers of sex-role reversal
and skewed sex adult ratio in this fascinating polyandrous and sex-role
reversed shorebird. Field
work will be conducted in Thailand as part of a newly made collaboration with Dr
Wangworn Sankamethawee, Khon Kaen University. This project is also in
collaboration with the “Elvonal Shorebird Science project” (https://elvonalshorebirds.com/) which is an
international project involving some world leading researchers in shorebird.
Role
description:
We are
currently recruiting a Volunteer Field Assistant for our 2020 field
season. The position will be available for a 2 or 3 months
period, starting from mid/early May 2020. The study site will be situated near
Khon Kaen city (Thailand).
The fieldwork
will involve daily behavioural observation of jacanas as well as nest
monitoring and nest finding. The field assistant will also participate in the
catching, measuring and ringing of the birds.
This position
will be under the supervision of Dr. Nolwenn Fresneau who will be on the field
through the whole season.
The assistant
is expected to work 5 days per week with sometimes long working days. However,
schedule and day off can be adapted according to the bird and nest timetable.
What expenses we
cover:
This is an unpaid position, the field assistant
has to arrange his/her
own transport to the field site as well as VISA,
insurance and needed vaccination. From the moment the volunteer arrives at the field
site all the work-related costs, including accommodation and meals will be
covered.
Who we are looking
for:
We are looking
for someone strongly motivated with an interest in evolutionary and behavioural
ecology and working in the field with animals. The assistant should be able to
handle some hard-working condition with sometimes long working days: Pheasant-tailed
jacanas get up with the sun (between 5 and 6 am) and are quite active until
dusk (between 7 and 8pm) with every now and then small breaks around noon. Some
evenings might be used for bird catching. Temperature during the day will be
above 30°C with numerous heavy but short rainfall.
How to apply
If you are
interested in this position or need more information, you can send an email to nolwenn.fresneau@gmail.com. Application should be sent by the 1st of March 2020 the latest to this email address with “Volunteer position application” as the subject. It should contain a CV
including the name and e-mail contact of at least two referees as well as a
cover letter.