Job Type: Volunteer Position Opportunity location: Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, Africa
Closing date (if specified): November 15th, 2009 Start date: January 2010; 3 mo commitment. I am seeking two volunteers to assist with data collection on wildlife, including 7 diurnal primates, in la Gran Caldera-Southern Highlands Scientific Reserve, Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. Bioko Biodiversity Protection Program (BBPP) monitors the populations of these primates, along with other mammalian megafauna in the forests of Bioko. Field assistants will be specifically assisting in the collection of this data. The project will be looking at how ecological and human factors define species composition gradients in multiple areas of a protected reserve. The commitment will be for a period of 3 months, beginning in January, and working through the end of the dry season in mid-March. Field assistants work under the supervision of Drew Cronin (BBPP Ph.D. Student) and Dr. Honarvar (BBPP Research Coordinator). Assistants will be living primarily in the field, working out of tents, within or along established BBPP transects. Assistants are expected to devote a minimum of 40 hrs/week to the project, but due to the nature of the project and living conditions, the hours will likely be considerably more. This is an unpaid (volunteer) position. However, BBPP will provide housing (tents), food and local transportation. You are expected to provide international transportation to and from Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, medical and medical evacuation insurance, and appropriate immunizations (yellow fever) and medications (anti-malarial medications). Qualifications: Field assistants are expected to be at least 21 years old. Other desirable qualifications include: Spanish language ability: Spanish is the national language of Equatorial Guinea, although many local people also speak some French, but less English. Experience in remote locations in developing countries and experience camping and hiking in wilderness areas. Physical fitness and a positive attitude towards physically exhausting work in a sometimes hot and humid climate. All assistants should be prepared for very demanding and time consuming work. If interested, please visit our website, www.bioko.org, and/or email your CV to Drew Cronin, dt...@drexel.edu.