Internship: Right Whale Ecology Program (RWEP) - Habitat

Center for Coastal Studies•Provincetown, MA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

The Right Whale Ecology Program (RWEP) conducts long-term monitoring of North Atlantic right whale abundance, distribution, behavior, and prey in Cape Cod Bay and adjacent Massachusetts waters. The habitat intern will participate in research cruises as a marine observer, working alongside the photo-id intern and assisting the RWEP marine ecologist in zooplankton and environmental data collections. Lab responsibilities include zooplankton species identification and counts, archiving samples, data entry, and maintaining field equipment. Office responsibilities include database entry and may also assist in photo-analysis (matching right whale individuals to known animals using an online and in-house catalog).

Requirements

A Bachelor’s degree, preferably in biological/ environmental sciences
Good memorization skills and strong attention to details
Basic computer literacy and experience using Microsoft Office programs (Excel, Word, PowerPoint)
Experience working on boats, ability to withstand harsh elements for up to 10 hours at a time
Not prone to serious seasickness
Must be able to live and work well in a team
Enthusiasm and willingness to learn field and lab-based research methods
Ability to work well under pressure.
Must be available for the full five months
Must be willing to work weekends, holidays and evenings as needed.

Nice To Haves

Plankton identification
Microscopy experience
Marine observer experience
Not prone to seasickness
A valid US driver’s license

Responsibilities

Identification of marine mammals
Collecting behavioral, environmental, and sightings data (other species, vessels, marine debris, and fishing gear)
Zooplankton collection and identification
Database entry and maintenance
Maintaining vessel field equipment