Voluntariado estudiando aves en África

The Social Savannah: studying cooperation and conflict in southern African birds

We are looking for field research assistants to work on our wild bird
study in Mbuluzi Game Reserve, Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). This work
is part of an ongoing project to monitor the reproductive and social
behaviours of a number of bird species including speckled mousebirds,
arrow-marked babblers, white-crested helmet shrikes and dark-capped
bulbuls. Fieldwork involves catching and ringing individuals and
taking biological samples (during the non-breeding season), and
finding and monitoring nesting attempts (in the breeding season). Field
assistants will also be responsible for tasks like data management and
vegetation/arthropod surveys.

Field assistants will be stationed at the reserveĄĶs research centre
as part of a small collaborative research team from the Universities
of Groningen and Wageningen in the Netherlands, and the University of
eSwatini. The field base is in a remote but beautiful location and offers
basic sanitary facilities, a research station, and clean but basic tented
accommodation and food.

Most of the fieldwork is conducted by mountain bike or car ĄV a
valid driving licence is therefore needed and some experience driving
on poor roads or dirt tracks would be a bonus (but not strictly
required). Fieldwork at our study site is physically demanding,
so applicants must be physically fit and able to cope in harsh
conditions. Applicants are expected to work both independently and as
part of a group, and experience of catching and observing wild birds
would be a strong advantage. The position offers lots of opportunities
to learn and practice important research and data collection skills
and the chance to collaborate on projects covering a range of topics
including parental care, endocrinology and sociality. There are also
opportunities for field assistants to conduct their own small research
projects as part of ongoing data collection.

The position will run from July to December 2019. A six month stay is
preferable but we will consider all applicants than can stay for at
least three months. The costs of accommodation and food will be covered
for the duration of the position.

We are looking to fill this position quickly and will stop reviewing
applications once a suitable candidate has been found, so we encourage
potential candidates to get in touch ASAP. To apply, please send a cover
letter explaining your suitability for the project, along with a CV,
to the email address below. We look forward to hearing from you!

For further information or to submit an application, please contact:

Kat Bebbington
University of Groningen, Netherlands
k.bebbington@rug.nl