2022 Wildlife Biology Research Program

 

Field Projects International (FPI) is extremely happy to announce our new Wildlife Biology Field Training Program for 2022, which will be held at the Los Amigos Biological Station in Southeastern Peru. Enrollment starts now for limited spots in four specialty tracks⁣. Please find more details below, and feel free to share this information with any students who may be interested in applying. We greatly appreciate your support! Program Start Dates: May 29, 2022 June 19, 2022 July 10, 2022   Note: There is a minimum 5 week commitment. Only in special circumstances will we consider 4 weeks. In most cases, though, participants can be approved to add more weeks.   Learn more and apply:  https://fieldprojects.org/participate/wildlife-biology Enrollment Deadline: April 1, 2022, or until all spots are filled We have conducted our research programs at the Los Amigos Biological Station in the Madre de Dios department of Southeastern Peru for more than a decade. This year's specialty tracks reflect the growing diversity of our field studies, as well as our partnership in establishing a new in situ laboratory resource. Specialty Tracks: 1.) Primate Monitoring 2.) Biodiversity and Wildlife Health 3.) Animal Movement and Spatial Ecology 4.) Conservation Genetics While participants all work together to make the field season a success, those enrolled in a given specialty track will spend approximately 60% of their time engaged in the core activities of that particular project. The remaining 40% of the time is spent learning more general field skills that support all projects, as well as helping out other teams that need assistance. The goal is to offer a more well-rounded experience that will better prepare students for future field studies and research.   Skills and Training Specialty 1: Primate Monitoring Conduct a primate handling session including sample collection, morphometric monitoring, monitoring of animals under anesthesia, and safe release Appropriately restrain and handle wild primates with proper technique and PPE Record data on animal weight, TPRs (temperature, pulse and respiration), injuries, dentition, and much more. Collect biological samples such as feces, urine, hair and blood from each animal Construct and organize animal processing kits and in-situ animal processing tents Determine sex and appropriate age of individuals by morphological characters Identify primate species by sight and sound Comfortably and safely work and navigate on and off trail systems in a Neotropical rainforest Track primates by sight, sound, radio telemetry, and GPS devices Conduct full-day behavioral follows of wild primates using focal, scan, and ad-libitum data sampling methods recorded on Animal Observer software Clean and organize data for a relational database system Organize and project spatial data in QGIS and Garmin BaseCamp Specialty 2: Biodiversity and Wildlife Health Field sampling for environmental DNA screening programs GPS navigation training for off-trail navigation Sample biobanking under field conditions Species identification using morphometrics Sample coordination during field anesthetizations of mid-sized mammals by veterinarians. Best practices for personal safety and wellbeing while conducting field work in forest systems Non-invasive sample collection Animal tracking and safe capture-release techniques Safe animal handling procedure focused on bats, small mammals, and birds, including a number of opportunities to participate directly in collection events Sample collection, handling, labeling, and storage protocols, including the use of sterile technique to prevent self-contamination and preserve specimen integrity Animal health data collection and data management Specialty 3: Animal Movement and Spatial Ecology Deployment and monitoring of smart traps for biosurveillance Work on setup of CTT grid (tentative) Assist in optimizing LoRa communication network Gain familiarity with passive animal monitoring technology Data pipeline development for sensor produced data Daily expeditions into the rainforest for sensor deployment and checks Presence at mark-recapture events where animals will be tagged with tracking devices Prior knowledge with programming (ArduinoIDE/Rasberry Pi/Java/Python) may be beneficial, and should be mentioned in the interview. Specialty 4: Conservation Genetics  Participant experience very much depends on the laboratory’s work schedule. We will not be doing all lab activities simultaneously or continuously. You will shadow and assist scientists as they carry out a range of tasks, which are likely to include some (but not necessarily all) of what is listed below: DNA/RNA extraction PCR amplification Gel electrophoresis Library prep and indexing Portable nanopore-based sequencing DNA barcoding including submission to BOLD databases Bioinformatics pipeline executions for field genomics Methylmercury testing Sample handling, labeling, and storage protocols, including the use of sterile technique to prevent self-contamination and preserve specimen integrity. COVID-19 and Our Programs Field Projects International (FPI) and our partners in Peru are committed to the safety of all program participants, as well as everyone else working at or visiting the field station. All participants will be required to strictly adhere to the PPE and social distancing policies of FPI, Conservación Amazónica, and the Peruvian government. Additional biosafety protocols have also been enhanced, vetted, and adopted for lab work as well as activities in close contact with wildlife. Testing and vaccination: To ensure the health of everyone at the field station, no one will be admitted to this program who is not fully vaccinated against COVID-19. All program participants also need to have a negative pre-flight PCR test taken within 72 hours of their departure to Peru. Upon arrival at our meeting point in Puerto Maldonado, we arrange an additional rapid antigen test. These policies enabled us to have a healthy and successful 2021 field season, and we are committed to the same in 2022.   *****   You can follow Field Projects International on Facebook and Instagram. Always feel free to contact us with questions or subscribe to our mailing list HERE.