Job Type: Student / postdoc
Salary Details: Commensurate with Experience
Deadline: Aug 20, 2023

At Osa Conservation, we reconnect the rainforest, monitor and protect biodiversity, and work hand-in-hand with the local community to build climate resilient ecosystems for people and wildlife. Our team works across Southern Costa Rica, connecting and protecting landscapes and biodiversity from the ridges of the Talamanca mountain to the coral reefs of the Golfo Dulce and the Pacific Ocean. Be part of our conservation successes and come get your boots dirty in one of Earth’s greatest wildernesses. 

Osa Conservation’s Movement Ecology Program

Broadly, the project aims to develop and use novel animal tracking technology to increase our understanding of the movement ecology of scavenger networks, and the predators which drive them, in south and central America. It involves the capture and deployment of tracking equipment on cathartidae vultures and large cat species, taking biological samples and implementing a variety of different surveys to estimate the density and determine the ecological roles of scavenging communities. 

Long-term intern activities, training  and experience 

This is an opportunity to learn more about the scavenger networks in a tropical rainforest, and document their importance via photographs and videos but also to tell the stories of the passionate  biologists, conservationists and veterinarians who dedicate their lives to this physically and mentally challenging work. Long-term internships are designed to empower and immerse early-career conservationists in one of the most important neotropical landscapes on Earth while developing crucial career skills. Come live in a tropical rainforest and learn, explore and achieve alongside an outstanding community of conservationists, biologists, media-specialists, educators, community outreach leaders, and more to fill knowledge gaps and push the frontier of tropical conservation. This team will provide one-on-one mentorship, and equip interns with tangible career skills to produce effective conservation communication. 

The Scavenger Networks Storytelling Field Fellow will: 

  • Experience training in capture and monitoring techniques by experienced biologists and veterinarians for vultures and predators; this includes camera trapping and radio tracking. 
  • Execute the production of 15-20 high quality photos to tell the story of each of the scavenger network projects: 
    • Radio tracking: What are animals doing in these locations? 
    • Vulture Photobox: Exploring the colors of vulture heads and why these colors change? 
    • Vertebrate Exclusion: What happens to dead things if vultures disappear?
    • Vulture mark-recapture: Using ground-break technologies to estimate population densities
    • Carcass Provisioning: What is the tropical rainforest scavenger network
    • Farmers: Perspectives and relationships with scavengers and predators 
  • Support Conservation Videographer – Ian Rock in producing content for a youtube series where science meets reality TV. Showcasing the species, conservation, science and team members of the movement ecology program. This will include programmed filming sessions and acting in the moment as things happen and develop. 
  • Assist the movement ecology team in designing and creating materials for an outreach campaign for each species/species group we are tracking with GPS technologies [currently vultures, tapirs and wildcats] to be used in workshops, presentations and media campaigns. 
  • Assist the movement ecology team in all field activities with a special focus on community outreach activities. 
  • Produce 3 posts a month for your personal social media account to showcase the life of a storyteller/ conservation communicator living in the field. 
  • Assist the Movement Ecology Team in producing 2 social media posts a month to showcase stories from the field and the big impact of the work for Osa Conservations media platforms – twitter, instagram and facebook. 
  • Create workshops and working sessions to develop the Movement Ecology teams communication skills and generate an excitement for media creation to allow for bigger impact in the youtube series and program social media posts. 

In addition to Movement Programactivities, long-term field interns will interact with and build skills alongside Osa Conservation’s wide breadth of programs. You will have the opportunity to: 

  • Release baby sea turtles, monitor nesting mothers, and relocate threatened nests. 
  • Plant and monitor native tree restoration efforts. 
  • Trial new rewilding techniques for tropical rainforest restoration.
  • Install and organize data from camera traps, acoustic devices and citizen science apps for vital wildlife monitoring across the Osa region. 
  • Practice regenerative farming techniques to grow sustainable produce. 
  • Develop scientific communication skills and learn to produce cutting-edge stories from one of Earth’s greatest wilderness areas. 

Long-term field fellowship details:  

Long-term field fellowships range from 6-12 months. Interns live alongside the team at the Osa Conservation Campus (OCC), located at the heart of Osa’s tropical rainforest. The OCC is home to our top-tier biological station, boasting a new research lab and classroom, regenerative farm, arboretum, restoration experiment, and over 20 km of trails through old-growth and secondary forests, mangroves, rivers and pristine coastlines. 

During your internship, all food and accommodation will be provided. At the OCC, you will live in the middle of the rainforest in basic shared-living accommodation. You will be provided with groceries to cook meals in your living quarters as part of a team. 

HOW TO APPLY

If you are interested in this unique field opportunity to develop your scientific and conservation career, please send your CV, cover letter and a 1-minute video explaining why you are the perfect person for this tropical rainforest conservation experience to sarahwicks@osaconservation.org with the email title “Scavenger Networks Storytelling Field Fellow” by 20th August. Please note you will only be contacted if you are selected for the interview phase.