Careers at RFCUNYJob Openings

DESCRIPTION

In the urban ecology lab (https://urban-ecologist.com/), Queens College at the City University of New York, our overarching concern is biodiversity loss in the urban century, when our population increasingly lives in cities. One phenomenon at least partly related to urbanisation is growth in the drone (unmanned aerial vehicle) industry. Nascent applications, such as parcel delivery and traffic monitoring, suggest that skies over cities worldwide will become increasingly crowded by drones.

But these skies area also key habitats for animals that fly, and almost nothing is known about how drones affect these species, because nearly all drone-impact studies have focused on animals on land or in the water.

This summer, we are launching a pilot study of impacts on bats and are recruiting one research intern to do the fieldwork and preliminary analyses.

The Field Ecologist will work in green spaces in the New York City metropolitan area and Long Island (Nassau County). They will select suitable sites, and conduct the 10-week field experiment, which involves flying a recreational drone while acoustically monitoring bats (two hours a night, four evenings a week).

The Field Ecologist will be responsible for:

• traveling to the field sites (using public transit or own vehicle, TBD),
• field equipment (set up, take down, maintenance; equipment is not heavy),
• downloading acoustic data and managing data cards,
• viewing and interpreting spectrograms,
• entering raw, bat-activity data,
• data quality control,
• preliminary data analyses, depending on time and skills.

The successful candidate will work in the field four evenings a week, monitoring bats for two hours a night (plus equipment setup and takedown). The terrain is not physically challenging, but there will be some walking within sites, bending, crouching, stretching, etc. Additionally, they will manage equipment and data, for a total of 19 hours of paid work per week.

The number of hours per week and minimum qualifications dictate the official CUNY position title, which is Research Intern. The salary is ~22 USD per hour, plus statutory benefits, DOE.

Duration: 23 May through August and possibly into first half of September 2022.

Please upload the documents (IN A SINGLE PDF - EMAILED /UPLOADED APPLICATIONS WITH MULTIPLE ATTACHMENTS WILL NOT BE ENTERTAINED). If you have questions, please contact Asst Prof Joanna Coleman (joanna.coleman@qc.cuny.edu) as soon as possible, and mention “Seasonal Ecologist” in the subject line of your email.

1. Brief cover letter (1.5 pages max) describing interest in the position and how you meet ALL the listed selection criteria (see qualifications below)
2. Resumé (2.5 pages, max)
3. Contact info for three referees (preferably supervisors or employers who can vouch for your working ability). Please do not send reference letters.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled.