Volunteers are needed in both the laboratory and field for a project that aims to study song development in suboscine birds. The work will take place in Panama, at The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, in collaboration with Nathalie Seddon and Joseph Tobias from The University of Oxford. These positions are most appropriate for individuals interested in pursuing a career in behavioral ecology and evolution. Working at The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute provides ample opportunities to integrate with a large body of tropical scientists, often leading to future collaborations and positions.
Lab Positions: Three-month positions available throughout the year (first position begins in January 2010). Positions will involve caring for captive-raised birds (i.e., hand feeding and cleaning of cages), collection and sorting of native and captive raised arthropods for diet supplementation, monitoring daily song experiments, and processing song recordings. Preference will be given to individuals with prior experience handling birds and/or caring for animals in captivity. Field Positions: May 2010 September 2010. Positions will involve nest searching, mist netting, banding, collecting small blood samples, and recording wild songs. Preference will be given to individuals with relevant experience, and ability to work in challenging field conditions. Volunteers can expect to work 5-6 days a week for 8-10 hours a day. Housing is provided, as is Internet in a nearby computer room. If interested, please email Janeene Touchton at touch...@princeton.edu 1) a cover letter explaining why you are interested in participating in this project, 2) a CV, and 3) names and contact information of two or three references by December 30, 2009.
