[MARMAM] Fall Internship - Virginia Aquarium's Stranding Response Program

[Sarah R. Mccormack]

The Virginia Aquarium’s Research & Conservation Division is now accepting 
Stranding Response Intern applications for Fall 2018. The application deadline 
is July 15, 2018. Internship duration is September 10, 2018 – December 28, 
2018. Please note that all positions are non-compensatory and housing is not 
provided by the Virginia Aquarium. Interns are fully responsible for fulfilling 
all requirements of their home institutions to receive academic credit.

Position Overview
Virginia Aquarium Stranding Response Program (VAQS) interns promote the 
conservation of marine animal species through research, rescue, rehabilitation, 
and education. Once accepted, interns will be assigned to a focus area of 
either necropsy or rehabilitation. Interns will be cross-trained in all aspects 
of stranding response, however, daily tasks will be assigned to interns 
according to focus area. Stranding work is unpredictable, therefore experiences 
will vary by internship session. VAQS staff will provide as many learning 
opportunities as possible during each session.

Duties

  *   Respond to live and dead marine mammals and sea turtles in the field.
  *   Participate in all aspects of post-mortem examinations: cutting and 
sampling, data collection, photographing, carcass removal, and cleaning.
  *   Perform daily husbandry tasks, including food preparation, feeding, and 
cleaning the rehab area, kitchen and associated supplies.
  *   Assist staff with new admits and daily treatments of patients. Restrain 
animals for exams, collect vitals (heart rate, respiratory rate, temperature) 
and morphometrics, take photographs, administer medications, and perform wound 
care.
  *   Ensure response preparedness by stocking response bags, fueling vehicles, 
and cleaning gear.
  *   Assist with releases of rehabilitation patients, public outreach events, 
and volunteer/cooperator trainings.
  *   Assist staff with daily administrative tasks, including answering hotline 
calls, data entry, and completing response paperwork.
  *   Complete other projects and tasks as assigned by VAQS staff.
Qualifications

  *   Must be at least 18 years old.
  *   Must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program, or have 
recently graduated (within last two years).
  *   Must be physically fit with the ability to lift 50lbs and walk long 
distances on the beach in adverse conditions such as extreme heat and cold, 
humidity, rain, and wind.
  *   Must be self-motivated, articulate, mature, reliable, and responsible. 
Should work well independently as well as with a team.
  *   Should be comfortable around dead and decomposing animals.
  *   Should be comfortable driving large pick-up trucks and vans (preferred). 
Willing to learn how to drive response vehicles, if accepted (required).
  *   Background in biology and familiarity with stranding response (preferred).
  *   Experience with DSLR cameras and Microsoft Access (preferred).
Position Requirements

  *   Attend VAQS training on September 10 and City of Virginia Beach Defensive 
Driving on September 13.
  *   Possess a valid driver’s license.
Internship Learning Objectives
Develop fundamental hands-on stranding response and rehabilitation skills:

  *   Perform post-mortem examinations on sea turtle and marine mammals.
  *   Perform basic health assessments of rehabilitation patients, including 
vitals collection, wound treatment, administering medications, and blood 
processing.
  *   Complete Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network (STSSN) and Level A 
forms.
  *   Enter stranding data in Microsoft Access.
Intern Schedule
Intern is expected to be available 3-4 days per week, 8am-4:30pm. Weekend and 
holiday coverage is expected.

Minimum Commitment Required
24 hours per week for the duration of the internship.


Intern Supervisor/Mentor
VAQS Volunteer Manager and project supervisor.

Work Location
Virginia Aquarium’s Marine Animal Care Center

Application Requirements
To apply, please send applications to 
inte...@virginiaaquarium.com and copy 
vaqstrand...@gmail.com. A complete Stranding 
Response Intern packet must include the following components. Incomplete 
applications will not be considered.

  *   Cover letter including preferred focus area (necropsy or rehabilitation) 
and internship expectations. While we will do our best to accommodate intern 
preferences, staff will make the final focus area determination. There is some 
flexibility with internship start/end dates; please include any known schedule 
conflicts in your cover letter.
  *   Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center internship application form.
  *   Contact information for three references; one must be an academic 
reference.
  *   Resume
  *   College transcript(s)
For more information about the application process, please visit: 
https://www.virginiaaquarium.com/about-us/Pages/internship-application.aspx


Sarah McCormack

Stranding 

[MARMAM] Cetacean Research & Marine Science internships in Spain

[Bruno Diaz Lopez]

Last vacancies 2018 - Cetacean Research & Marine Science internships  


The Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute (BDRI) , a 
marine science and education centre, offers unique hands-on research 
experiences as a marine mammal researcher from September until end November 
2018. BDRI scientists conduct research across a wide range of subject areas 
that link marine top predators (cetaceans and marine birds) ecology with their 
physical environment, society and population dynamics; explore their 
interactions with human activities (such as fisheries, aquaculture and marine 
traffic); and investigate their behaviour and acoustic communication. 
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION - This internships program enables aspiring marine 
scientists to work in conjunction with leading marine biologists as they 
undertake ground-breaking research on the charismatic marine mega-fauna in one 
of the most productive oceanic regions on the world (Galicia, North-western 
coast of Spain). An incredible diversity of cetaceans is present in these 
waters. In 2017, the BDRI team had the opportunity to study bottlenose 
dolphins, harbour porpoises, Risso’s dolphins, common dolphins, striped 
dolphins, pilot whales, killer whales, sperm whales, beaked whales, humpback 
whales, minke whales, sei whales, fin whales, and even blue whales. 

During the internship period participants will be working side by side with the 
chief biologist, and other experienced researchers. With state-of-the-art 
facilities and equipment, participants will be trained to get involved with 
multiple research projects involving a combination of boat-based surveys 
onboard research vessels, land-based observations, laboratory work 
(photo-identification, GIS, bioacoustics, diet analysis, diving behaviour, 
video analysis, database work, etc), and strandings (response, rescue, 
necropsy, and data collection). 

The BDRI is a very international environment, and the everyday working language 
is English. Laboratory work days typically last six hours and field days 
typically exceed seven hours and occur several times per week (weather 
dependent). There will be two days off per week. 

HOW TO APPLY – Research experiences are open to all applicants 18 years of age 
or older. An academic background in biology, veterinary or natural science, 
coupled with motivation and interest in marine research make the most qualified 
individuals. Start and end dates are flexible but the position requires a 
minimum of 30 days continuous commitment sometime between September 2018 
through to end November 2018. 

The BDRI is a private and self-funded centre, hence, this research experience 
requires a monetary contribution which is used to off-set the cost of 
accommodation in an apartment, training, use of research equipment, facilities 
and research vessels, and other expenses (access to wifi in the apartment, 
kitchen utensils, electricity, taxes, etc). Successful applicants will be 
responsible for their own transportation expenses to and from the research 
centre (O Grove, Galicia, Spain). 

Interested candidates should submit an e-mail to sever...@thebdri.com, and we 
will provide you further information about the program. Approved applications 
are accepted on a first-come, first serve basis. Positions are open until 
filled. 

For more information about BDRI's research projects, please visit 
 or our Facebook page (BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN RESEARCH 
INSTITUTE BDRI). 

Scientific articles published recently by the BDRI (for a full list of 
publications please visit: ) 

- Methion, S. & Díaz López, B. (2018) Abundance and demographic parameters of 
bottlenose dolphins in a highly affected coastal ecosystem. Marine and 
Freshwater Research https://doi.org/10.1071/MF17346 
- Díaz López, B & Methion, S. (2018) Does interspecific competition drive 
patterns of habitat use and relative density in harbour porpoises? Marine 
Biology (2018) 165:92. http://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-018-3345-8 
- Díaz López, B., López, A., Methion, S., & Covelo, P. (2017). Infanticide 
attacks and associated epimeletic behaviour in free-ranging common bottlenose 
dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). Journal of the Marine Biological Association of 
the United Kingdom, 1-9. doi:10.1017/S0025315417001266 
-  Diaz Lopez B. and Methion S., 2017. The impact of shellfish farming on 
common bottlenose dolphins’ use of habitat. Marine Biology 164: 83. 
- Díaz López, B., Grandcourt, E., Methion, S., Das, H., Bugla, I., Al Hameli, 
M., Al Hameri, H., Abdulla, M; Al Blooshi, A; Al Dhaheri, S.(2017). The 
distribution, abundance and group dynamics of Indian Ocean humpback dolphins 
(Sousa plumbea) in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi (UAE). Journal of the Marine 
Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 1-9. 
doi:10.1017/S0025315417001205 
- Diaz Lopez B., 2017. Temporal variability of predator presence around a fin 
fish farm in the North-western 

[MARMAM] New publication: Visual cues do not enhance sea lion pups’ response to multimodal maternal cues

[Kaja Wierucka]

 Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to share our recent publication in Scientific Reports:

Wierucka K., Charrier I., Harcourt R., Pitcher B. J. (2018) Visual cues do
not enhance sea lion pups' response to multimodal maternal cue. Scientific
Reports 8: 9845.

Abstract:
Mammals use multiple sensory cues for mother-offspring recognition. While
the role of single sensory cues has been well studied, we lack information
about how multiple cues produced by mothers are integrated by their
offspring. Knowing that Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea) pups
recognise their mother’s calls, we first tested whether visual cues are
used by pups to discriminate between conspecifics of different age classes
(adult female vs pup). We then examined if adding a visual stimulus to an
acoustic cue enhances vocal responsiveness of Australian sea lion pups, by
presenting wild individuals with either a visual cue (female 3D-model), an
acoustic cue (mother’s call), or both simultaneously, and observing their
reaction. We showed that visual cues can be used by pups to distinguish
adult females from other individuals, however we found no enhancement
effect of these cues on the response in a multimodal scenario. Audio-only
cues prompted a similar reaction to audio-visual cues that was
significantly stronger than pup response to visual-only cues. Our results
suggest that visual cues are dominated by acoustic cues and that pups rely
on the latter in mother recognition.

The open-access article can be accessed at: https://rdcu.be/18E8

Best wishes,

Kaja

-- 

*Kaja Wierucka*

*PhD candidate*Marine Predator Research Group
Department of Biological Sciences | Building E8A Room 385
Macquarie University
T: +61 2 9850 7975 | M: + 61 435 958 382

Equipe Communications Acoustiques
Department of Cognition & Behaviour
Institut des Neurosciences Paris Saclay (NeuroPSI), UMR 9197
Université Paris Sud, Bat.446, 91405 Orsay, FRANCE
M: +33 7 68 08 64 96
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